It’s hard to face it, but we are neck-deep in the heart of the Award-getting part of the film year. When studios and actors try their hardest to tug on the heartstrings of audiences and try to set their footing for this year’s Oscar race.

With that, one film that surely has reason to win some awards is the new 9/11 drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. The film stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock and just the synopsis alone may get you to choke up.

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” tells the story of one young boy’s journey from heartbreaking loss to the healing power of self-discovery, set against the backdrop of the tragicevents of September 11. Eleven-year-old Oskar Schell is an exceptional child: amateur inventor, Francophile, pacifist.

And after finding a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11, he embarks on an exceptional journey–an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. As Oskar roams the city, he encounters a motley assortment of humanity, who are all survivors in their own ways. Ultimately, Oskar’s journey ends where it began, but with the solace of that most human experience: love.

Even the 11 year old protagonist’s name is Oskar, so there you have it. Take a look at the new trailer after the jump, and catch the film in limited theaters on Christmas Day.

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On paper, Robin Hood appears to have it all: an amazing cast, beautiful costumes, spectacular set pieces, meticulously choreographed fight scenes, and a beloved protagonist. Yet somehow, I found the movie stultifying. It’s dull, complicated, and waaaaay too long.

Essentially, this serves as an origin story for Robin Hood. Russell Crowe stars as Robin Longstride, an archer fighting with King Richard (Danny Huston), who stumbles into a sequence of events that ultimately result in him being condemned and banished as an outlaw.

I was rooting for this Robin Hood retelling: after all, my last name is Hood, and I have had such a life-long affinity for the character that at my wedding reception my father made a toast about me finally meeting my Robin. I have been trying to pin down exactly why this movie just didn’t do it for me, and I offer you the following observations:

We all know the original story, but director Ridley Scott’s take is more of a historical drama. Admittedly, Scott has an astute eye for detail. That’s admirable, but most of us associate Robin Hood (the character) with swash-buckling heroics and swoon-worthy romance, not body odor and grimey fingernails. In the opening sequence, do we really need to see Robin playing parlor games? Of course not.

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Though this was one of the weakest years for trailers at the Superbowl, it did give us one of the first HD looks at Russell Crowe’s newest project, playing the leader of the Merry Men in the upcoming Robin Hood. The first trailer looked cool, but a little bit like every other Crowe film. We new get a brand new trailer to snack on that gives us a bit more eye candy.

This incarnation of the classic goes a bit further into the lore than any other story (with the exception of the brilliant BBC series). The film spans over the time of Robin’s parents, his journey to the crusades, and his return to Sherwood Forest where he leads a revolution against the corrupt King John.

The film stars Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, and the now ubiquitous Mark Strong. Robin Hood marks the fifth collaboration between director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. Check out the newest trailer, courtesy of Yahoo, after the jump, and catch Robin Hood in theaters on May 14th.

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Martin Scorsese’s latest potboiler bears the unmistakable markings of a classic film noir. Cigarette smoke  hangs heavy in the air  and tendrils about the characters, almost taking on a life of its own. Dream sequences become engulfed in flames and smoke. The camera lingers on one character taking a drag off of a cigarette and inhaling the smoke directly into his nostrils.

The smoke  is so pervasive that I kept thinking there has to be a reason for it, beyond atmosphere.  My conclusion is that the smoke is an allegorical symbol for “smoke and mirrors”, quite apropo because on Shutter Island, nothing is as it appears.

Leonardo DiCaprio (with a thick Boston accent) plays Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal who has been summoned to the mysterious Shutter Island, a foreboding chunk of land surrounded by rocky precipices. This makes the island ideal for housing dangerous and severely disturbed psychiatric patients. The movie takes place in 1954, when psychiatric patients were routinely given lobotomies, and other “treatments” were inflicted that are considered unethical and inhumane today.

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One of our own Chris Ullrich’s favorite films this year, Solomon Kane, has apparently been acquired for U.S. distribution by Lionsgate, a studio known for supporting genre and independent movies. According to Fangoria, who broke the news, there are rumblings that the film may even get a theatrical run prior to a DVD release.

Horror aficionados might be familiar with director Michael J. Bassett, who previously directed Deathwatch (2002) and Wilderness (2006). Soloman Kane is a character originally created by pulp fiction author Robert E. Howard, of  Conan the Barbarian fame. Stories about the character appeared in Weird Tales magazine in the 1920′s.

James Purefoy stars as the title character, who roams the earth trying to wipe out evil after the devil acquires his soul and he has a change of heart about his evil ways. The movie also stars prolific actor Max Von Sydow (Flash Gordon, Dune, The Tudors). No release date has been given yet but we’ll keep you posted on all the developments.