from LA Times

This Sunday, millions of film lovers around the world will come together to watch the 84th Academy Awards.

Billy Crystal will host for the ninth time and the Academy must be hoping to bring back some of the show’s rating success, which has been in decline.

Today we review the two biggest categories with close association with each other. In the history of the Academy Awards 62 of the 85 Best Picture winners also score an Oscar for the film’s director. Let’s see how it looks this year…

Best Picture

• The Artist
• Hugo
• The Descendants
• The Help
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• War Horse
• The Tree of Life
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

We’ve actually made this easy and put the movies in order that we think their chances of winning.

The Artist seems to be the clear favorite in this race. It actually hardly seems like a race at all the way most are speculating.

If there is any competitor among the group, Hugo would be it. Curiously both movies have a similar concept… They both deal with a love of cinema in its early years (a subject that should pull at the heartstrings of the Academy).

We cannot complain too much about The Artist winning, since it enchanted us just as the critics. Still,  there is some unease with the picture. Perhaps because the category as a whole has some lackluster options.

The worst nominee is easily Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which is at a extremely poor 46% on Rotten Tomatoes.  This film’s appearance in the finals may be in part due to its ample pre-launch buzz that quickly dissipated after the release.

Another nominee we thought was undeserving was Spielberg’s epic wannabee War Horse.We thought it was a decent film but it too started fast in the box office and faded fast down the stretch.

Our last complaint is The Help. This film fills the spot of “crowd-pleasing, box office champ” which has been a staple since the category was expanded. The film is completely carried by its excellent performances. But we feel the praise ends there for this uneven, under-edited, self-important movie.

The big shock in this category is for the extremely divisive The Tree of Life. It is incredibly well-crafted but certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. The recognition by the Academy was unexpected (but pleasant) considering most viewer’s love-it-or-hate-it response.

And now for the snubs: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Drive, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Bridesmaids, The Ides of March and 50/50 all had qualities that we felt made them nominee-worthy but alas there can only be 5-10….

Directing

• The Artist Michel Hazanavicius
• The Descendants Alexander Payne
• Hugo Martin Scorsese
• Midnight in Paris Woody Allen
• The Tree of Life Terrence Malick

No huge surprises in this category except for Malick, which with his film’s Best Picture nod becomes less of a shock. Using the Best Picture indicator, Michel Hazanavicius is our predicted winner… but there is always a chance for an upset.

Again we’d go with Martin Scorsese if this category goes a different way. He’s obviously a highly esteemed director, and was praised for his first family-friendly film that also made good use of the hit-or-miss 3D technology.

We can’t really say that any of these directors are undeserving of their nomination, but we could have seen David Fincher get a nomination after last year’s (in our humble opinion) snub for The Social Network.

But enough about our opinions, who do you want to win Best Picture this year and take home the Oscar for Direction?

Google is running an Android Camp this summer where 30 selected students will attend an all-expense-paid program at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, July 22-28.

The camp will include an interactive and collaborative curriculum focusing on a practical introduction to developing applications for Android and will explore the concepts behind Android, the framework for constructing an application, and the tools for developing, testing, and publishing software for the platform. Students will also get the opportunity to enjoy technical talks by Googlers, and social activities around the Bay Area.

To be eligible, you must be a current freshman or sophomore majoring in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related area and have at least a year of proven Java development experience.  The application deadline is March 11.

For more information and to apply, see the 2012 Google Android Camp site.

George Huguely and Yeardley Love

25 years in prison for murder, plus one extra for stealing a laptop.

So goes the recommended sentence for former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely of Chevy Chase, MD. It’s been two years since he was arrested and charged with the brutal beating and death of Cockeysville, MD native Yeardley Love.

George and Yeardley had a rocky, on-and-off relationship in the time leading to the murder. Friends of both students testified to previous altercations between the couple. The physical abuse had been occurring even before the night Huguely broke down Love’s apartment door and inflicted blunt force trauma to her head.

This case which has gained national attention has raised a heightened awareness in colleges and universities of the issue of domestic abuse, and has even had an effect on Virginia policy, making it easier for people in dating relationships to obtain restraining orders.

Jurors found Huguely of second-degree murder and grand larceny.He won’t likely leave prison until he is 50 years old.

Yeardley’s remaining family, her mother and her sister, are putting their efforts into the One Love Foundation to support “service, kindness, humility, and sportsmanship” in her honor.