At 10 Years Old, "Little Miss Sunshine" is Still a Proud Super Freak

Scene from Little Miss Sunshine

It was the Little film that could. When one reads the plot description to co-directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's Little Miss Sunshine, you'll be forgiven for thinking that it's stretching for laughs. The central cast features a beauty pageant dreamer, a failed salesman father, an aspiring fighter pilot son who remains silent, and a drug-addled grandfather. It's the stuff that would barely work in Arrested Development, yet somehow came to define an unprecedented indie hit that among other things received a Best Picture nomination along with a Best Supporting Actor win for Alan Arkin. It was a comedy that challenged the notion of dysfunctional families while also connecting on something deeper and more human. After 10 years, it still is a film that captures the essence of following your dreams, even if you're shut out for being different. It may have a lot of bizarre tassels to get over, but what it ends up being is sweet, sincere, and one of the most original independent comedies in recent history.

A Look at the 11 Youngest Oscar Nominees Throughout History

Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense

The time is upon us. We are officially in the single digits of the Academy Awards countdown. Leading up to the big day, I will be sharing random goodies that will be meant to highlight various Oscar trends. Yesterday was a ranking of every nominated film with more than 10 wins. In honor of today marking only 9 days to go, I have decided to pay tribute to the little guy. By that, I mean the kids who have populated the Oscar circles with their own impressive performances. The following is a list of the 11 youngest performers, for whom cinema would be  greatly different without.

Review: "August: Osage County" Has a Lot of Great Performances... and Meryl Streep

Left to right: Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Nicholson

The appeal of director John Wells' August: Osage County is that it pits many talented actresses against each other in a fight over family dysfunction through varying generations. Lead by Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, this adaptation of the Tracey Letts' play is an effective slice of drama that lets characters shine and even tear into each other with a vibrant, hostile script that makes one hot weekend in Osage County into a pivotal point in the Weston family's life. It may at times suffer from overacting, but at its core, it is an engrossing family case study.

Is "August: Osage County" Capable of Being a Last Minute Best Picture Contender?

Left to right: Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts

*Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to write up a piece on director John Wells' August: Osage County during its premiere week.

With the Oscar nominations exactly one week away, it is an exciting time at The Oscar Buzz to look at all of the nominees. While I have covered majority of the big contenders over the past few months, the one that I forgot to write a piece on is August: Osage County, which looks to be a haven for potential actor nominations, specifically for that of Meryl Streep in the Best Actress race. The truth is that as the literal last film of 2013 to come out that had any awards potential, it does seem strange that it hasn't quite caught any buzz yet.