The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards), one of the industry’s most prized honors, will take place on January 29 in Los Angeles. The event is well known since it presents thirteen awards for acting in film and television. The awards focus on both individual performances as well as on the work of the entire ensemble of a drama series and comedy series, and the cast of a motion picture.

“The Help,” has scored a total of four nominations, an admired movie about race relations in the sixties that is based on a book by the same title from author, Kathryn Stockett. Viola Davis, who played maid Airbileen Clark, earned a leading role nomination. Other movies that have been given multiple nominations are sensation comedy Bridesmaids, The Artist and romantic comedy Midnight In Paris.

Nominees were announced on December 14, 2011 from the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.

The full list of nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Armie Hammer (J. Edgar)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight In Paris

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
X-Men: First Class

Tickets are not available to the general public, they are by invitation only. The cost of the tickets are $800 each, and there is a limit of 2 tickets per member. 

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The fan-demanded return of Blink is taking Dani Moonstar and her team of New Mutants right into the heart of X-Men Regenesis. Beginning in New Mutants #34, from the critically acclaimed writing team of Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and artist David Lopez, Cyclops gives the New Mutants no time to rest as he sends them on a wild goose chase across the Marvel Universe.

What has Blink done to require immediate extraction and is she to blame? Sinister things are afoot this November, in New Mutants #34.

Meanwhile, fans of Wolverine & The X-Men #1 from Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo have a lot to look forward to this winter. Wolverine & The X-Men #2 is on sale November 23, #3 on December 28 and #4 on January 11, 2012.

Marvel Comics have also unveiled Giuseppe Camuncoli’s covers for Fantastic Four #601 and FF #13.

The future of the Fantastic Four and FF collide this December as Marvel is presenting the first look at Giuseppe Camuncoli’s connecting variant covers for Fantastic Four #601 and FF #13.

After the universe altering events of the highly anticipated Fantastic Four #600, Reed, his family and friends embark on a bold new journey into the Marvel Universe. No fan of superstar writer Jonathan Hickman’s critically acclaimed run can miss out on these exciting new variants.

The #601 issue of Fantastic Four is written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Steven Epting and will be on sale December 21. Issue #13 of FF is by Jonathan Hickman as well has art by Juan Bobillo and will be in stores December 28.

Fantastic Four #600 has art by Steve Epting, Leinil Yu, Carmine Digiandomenico, Farel Dalrymple and Ming Doyle and will be on sale November 22.

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X-men: First Class is the answer to every X-Men fans prayers. After the 2009 release, and subsequent flop, of X-Men Origins: Wolverine many people wondered how, or if, the franchise would bounce back. Well it did, and it bounced back hard. This is easily the best comic book superhero movie to be released since The Dark Knight.

Director Matthew Vaughn did a great job introducing moviegoers to the two most important mutants of the X-Men universe. He also decided to start the franchise up from scratch. By ignoring the events of the past X-Men films, he gives us a fresh view of who became who and why. Magneto’s anger towards humans is explained as is Professor X’s belief that humans and mutants can co-exist.

The film starts out by introducing us to a young boy named Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto, Michael Fassbender) being separated from his mom at a concentration camp. During this separation he becomes enraged and showcases his talent of being able to manipulate metal. This catches the attention of a crazed Nazi scientist (played by Kevin Bacon) who wants to learn more about the boy’s amazing power.

At the same time, on the other side of the world another boy, Charles Xavier (James Mcavoy), is excited to find out that he is not the only person with super-human abilities. His power is telekinesis and he becomes Professor X. He is awoken by sounds from the kitchen of his mansion, and upon investigating the source of the noise he discovers Raven (you might know her as Mystique), an abandoned child who can shift her shape to assume the form of another human. An immediate friendship is forged because Charles makes Raven feel unashamed of her natural blue, rough skinned form and accepts her for who/what she is.

The main question being asked in the movie is how a group that is feared and shunned by society should go about gaining acceptance. Magneto believes that since mutants are the next step in human evolution, that they are better than mere humans. For that reason all mutants should stick together to protect each other from the wrath of humans. Professor X, however, believes that mutants and humans can and must co-exist. While Magneto and Professor X are not enemies, their strong beliefs force them to go there separate ways.

The balance between showcasing Magneto’s views and Professor X’s is close to perfect, leaving the viewer wondering who is right and who is wrong. Of course, both characters propose great arguments for why they are right, but in the end it is impossible to simply say one or the other is right and the other wrong. Here I think Vaughn did an extraordinary of making viewers feel sympathy for both the hero (later on in X-Men that will be Professor X) and the villain (eventually Magneto).

Right from the start the movie captivates the viewers. The action and special effects are awesome and so is the dialogue. It is witty, funny, smart, and at times even thought provoking.

The film serves as a re-boot of the X-Men franchise. Instead of taking all of the most popular mutants and building a story around them with little background, it starts from scratch. The movie ignores the events of the prior movies in the franchise, while at the same time keeping and advancing one of the main themes of X-Men, acceptance in society. This is a must see not only for fans of X-Men, but also for anyone looking for a fun movie.

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