Over the past couple of weeks, whispers have been making the rounds that The Weinstein Company was pondering the possibility of cutting their critically acclaimed and Academy Award-nominated film, The King’s Speech, so that the MPAA would drop the rating from R to PG-13.

This has had fans up in arms because the only reason the movie is R-rated (which is silly to begin with) is due to a string of f-bombs by star Colin Firth, used only as a tool for trying to cure his speech impediment…which also happens to be the basis for the entire film. The scene is far too important to the film to remove, so it was said that they might even resort to — get this — bleeping a couple out in order to get their rating and expand their movie to younger audiences.

As of yesterday, this wholly confusing situation became a reality when it was announced that the Weinsteins had indeed made their changes and “muted” out the necessary words, received their PG-13, and that that version would be hitting theaters soon. It’s said that the MPAA told the studio that if three of the five f-word usages were taken care of, they’d get their rating.

The Social Network over the past couple months has been unabashedly accepting every award and congratulatory remark that has been sent its way. It seemed the film was determined to be held in eminence amongst other films that are in awards contention this year. Since the film opened in early October it has been on an irrepressible ascent, exceeding every other film in critical acclaim (according to the online site Metacritic it scored an impressive 95).

Satisfaction endured on the film’s behalf all the way up until this past Tuesday morning, where David Fincher‘s Facebook film tallied a total of 8 Oscar nominations. You may say such a particular outing is absolutely superb. But taking into consideration the mentality of students attending Harvard University (like those in The Social Network), 8 is somewhat of a disappointment when you can have many more. Such students anticipate nothing but the best. Given the multitude of accolades The Social Network received, a measly 8 nominations simply cannot be adequately embraced.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol
DVD | Blu-ray | 3D Blu-ray
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date: November 16, 2010

Ever since 2004’s The Polar Express, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis has been obsessed with motion-capture performance and has been at the forefront of its technology. With his hand so firmly planted in the medium, it’s no surprise that his last few films have employed motion-capture animation, including his latest, Disney’s A Christmas Carol.

I’ll admit, with each film the animation does gets better. Beowulf (2007) trumped The Polar Express, and now A Christmas Carol tops Beowulf. But, I have to ask, how many more classic stories must Zemeckis run through the mo-cap mill before he gives it a rest?

I don’t mean to sound harsh. Like I said, the technology is improving and I think non-human characters are rendered wonderfully with motion capture, for the most part. I just wish Zemeckis would maybe do an original script, like James Cameron did with Avatar, and give adaptations of classic novels a break for a while.

Disney is offering a $10 off coupon for the 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack for A Christmas Carol, which comes with a 3D Blu-ray disc, as well as the regular Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download versions.

Visit Disney Movie Rewards site to print up the coupon, which is a limited time offer, redeemable at participating retailers.

The 4-Disc pack also has loads of bonus features, including an exclusive 3D bonus feature, “Mr. Scrooge’s Wild Ride” where director Robert Zemeckis and the cast talk about how 3D was used in this stop-motion animated film adaptation of the Dickens classic.

A Christmas Carol, which stars Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, and Colin Firth, comes out this Tuesday, November 16, 2010 on DVD, Blu-ray, and 3D Blu-ray.

See below for a clip from the film, as well as the bonus feature clip “On Set With Sammi.”

As always, we like to have the results of the big awards ceremonies here for all to see, and tonight was the biggest of them all: the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

This, the king of all awards shows, has faced much criticism the last few years, and their nominations this year did not help bring validity to their cause. Many of the films and actors were very deserving of their nominations, but many others were passed over in lieu of some big box office successes of questionable overall quality. And though they made a valiant effort to increase the excitement of the show with 10 Best Picture nominations, the end result was frustrating to we the film lovers of the world?

In the end, some fantastic films and performances were justly awarded, and as always, there were a few that rubbed the wrong way. Continue on over to the other side to see all of the final results!