Despite great action scenes, this potentially fascinating look at the Iraq war is spoiled by weak story elements and almost no character development. Matt Damon once again manages to catch me up in his great grasp of character and I love him in this film. Green Zone is a look at the early days following the “Shock and Awe” blitzkrieg of G.W. Bush’s war. Like George Senior’s war, there were almost no casualties, but unlike his father, George W. couldn’t walk away and there were weapons of mass destruction to find. The problem – he couldn’t find them. No one in Green Zone seems to be able to find any either. Green Zone’s take… there were no WMDs and the U.S. government, or at least a few elements, knew it. READ MORE

The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) were announced on Thursday, with a few surprises.

George Clooney's Up in the Air, which just received a Golden Globe nomination for best picture, was snubbed by SAG in the best ensemble category. Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up in the Air earned the most nominations, with three a piece. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe will be competing in the lead actress category for her role in Precious against Sandra Bullock, Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren.

Showtime's Dexter continues to chop up the nominations. It received three, tieing NBC's 30 Rock and TNT's The Closer. The buzz of comedy newcomers Glee and Modern Family seem to have dampered voters love for The Big Bang Theory as it was shut out of the ensemble comedy series category. Toni Collette, who won the Emmy for best actress in a comedy series for her role in United States of Tara will be going up against Edie Falco, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Christina Applegate, who received a nomination for her role in the now canceled Samantha Who?. READ MORE

Glee's Cinderella story. The musical dramedy raked in four Golden Globe nominations on Tuesday. Fox's freshman series was nominated for Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) and landed Best Acting nominations for Matthew Morrison  and Lea Michele and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Jane Lynch. Hot on the heels of Dexter's shocking season finale, and record breaking ratings come nominations for its star Michael C. Hall and his onscreen nemesis John Lithgow. Glee wasn't the only new series to land a Golden Globe nomination. ABC's Modern Family also received one.

The Golden Globes, which give out awards in both TV and film, also showed the love to George Clooney's Up in the Air. It garnered six nominations. Rob Marshall's highly anticipated Nine earned five nominations, while James Cameron's upcoming blockbuster Avatar earned four. Summer hits District 9 and Inglourious Basterds also earned nominations. Comedian and Precious star Mo'Nique received a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Woody Harrelson, who starred in Zombieland and played an important role in 2012, earned recognition for his work in The Messenger. Sandra Bullock capped off a standout year with a Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) nod for her role in The Proposal and a Best Actress (Drama) nod for The Blind Side.

Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical)

30 Rock
Entourage
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

Best Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical)

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee READ MORE

Okay, I'm not going to argue much about whether some of the following films belong on AFI's "most outstanding achievements in film and television,” but what about those that did not appear on the list. How did films like Star Trek, Avatar, District 9 and Inglourious Basterds miss get overlooked. The films AFI did include were: Coraline, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker, The Messenger, Precious, A Serious man, Sugar, Up, Up in the Air, A Single Man. According to Nikki Fink's Deadline Hollywood it's "More Proof That AFI is Irrelevant." Check out more details of the AFI story at the LA Times website The Envelope.

The Hangover? I think not. It may have been funny and interesting, but one of the "most outstanding achievements," no! Coraline, visually excellent but otherwise pointless and silly, should never been included in any list. My picks would have included: Up, Up in the Air, Precious, A Serious Man and The Hurt Locker, but none of the others. Check out the BFCA list which mirrors my own (except Star Trek which would be in my top ten). Check out AFI's Top ten clip after the break. READ MORE

Opening in select theaters this week on June 26, 2009, The Hurt Locker focuses on the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives doing one of the worlds most dangerous jobs. If you are tired of fake fighting robots this weekend then I strongly suggest you watch this intense movie instead, which stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes.