Is Highland Park Home to a Future Oscar Winner?

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The Academy Awards can make a superstar out of an unknown. Take Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who each won an Oscar for "Best Original Screenplay" for the film Goodwill Hunting in 1998. From then on, the childhood buddies became household names. In fact, the Affleck-produced film Argo is up for seven awards at this year's 85th annual Oscars, airing at 6 p.m. Sunday on ABC. A Star is Born Every community, no matter how big or small, has star potential. Oscar winner Marlon Brando once lived in Libertyville and attended Libertyville Township High School, according to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune.  Actors Vince Vaughn and Lauren Holly are from Lake Forest. Beloved Brady Bunch dad Robert Reed was born in Highland Park. Highland Park has …

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Patch Chatter

2013 Oscar Nominations: Which Film Should Win Best Picture?

Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi and Les Misérables were among the nine films nominated for the 85th Academy Awards.

The Academy Awards announced the 2013 Oscar nominees Thursday morning. Patch wants to know, which movie do you think should win the Oscars for Best Picture? Do you agree with the Oscar nominees? Who would you have included or scratched off the list? Tell us in the comments section below. Can't make up your mind? Watch the movie trailers above.  For a full list of the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards, visit: Oscar.go.com

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Tribune Critics To Give Oscar Predictions

Michael Phillips, Nina Metz discuss nominated films.

Do you think the silent film "The Artist" should win Best Picture? Are you hoping Woody Allen snags a Best Director Oscar for "Midnight in Paris" at this year's Academy Awards? Are you wondering about what you consider this year's awards snub? If you answered emphatically to any of the above questions, then you need to head over to Highland Park Public Library Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Chicago Tribune's film critics Michael Phillips and Nina Metz will give their Oscar predictions and show film clips from the award-nominated films.  Phillips gave a similar presentation last year at the library, where he wrongly predicted "The Social Network" would win Best Picture. It lost to "The King's Speech." To be fair, Phillips anticipated a bad year …

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Top Redbox Rentals: May 12-19

"No Strings Attached" tops this week's list.

The clash of the box office gold, popcorn flick against the artsy films or Oscar-chasers is never more clear than when deciding what movie to rent. Sometimes you want to watch something you'll appreciate for years to come, and sometimes you want to watch something you'll enjoy... and immediately forget. Below is the list of top 10 Redbox rentals for Highland Park  for the week of May 12 through May 19. Aside from "Black Swan" and "The King's Speech," this week was one where the popcorn movie reigned.  Rank Title 1 No Strings Attached 2 Green Hornet 3 Little Fockers 4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 5 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 6 Black Swan 7 The Mechanic 8          The King’s Speech 9 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage …

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Tribune Film Critic Predicts Wins for 'Social Network'

Michael Phillips predicted the Facebook film would win big last week in Highland Park.

The Chicago Tribune's film critic gave his Oscar predictions during an hourlong event last Wednesday at the Highland Park Public Library.  "It's a pleasure just to be nominated to come here," joked Michael Phillips, the Tribune's film critic and former host of "At the Movies" as he began his "A Night at the Oscars" event.  Phillips showed clips of the movies nominated for the major awards like Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress. He paused throughout to explain which he thought would win and why, sharing tidbits of movie trivia along the way. "(David) Fincher beats the acting out of the actors," Phillips said about The Social Network director. According to Phillips, the opening scene of the film, where Best Actor nominee Jesse …

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Get Out: Talk Academy Awards with the Tribune's Film Critic

Michael Phillips discusses the Oscar contenders at the library tonight.

What: A Night At the Oscars Where/When: The Highland Park Public Library; Wednesday at 7 p.m. Why Go: Will Natalie Portman win Best Actress for her role in Black Swan? Should she? Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips will discuss this year’s Academy Awards nominations, offering predictions for this year's winners as well as what movies he thinks were overlooked by the Academy.

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Film Review

Princely Performances in 'The King's Speech'

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush are excellent in period piece about stammering British royal.

The King's Speech is the type of historical biopic that gives history movies a good name. It's not at all surprising that it's on the Oscar shortlist for several little golden statues. After all, where would Oscar season be without at least one critically well-loved flick about the British monarchy? Make no mistake though, The King's Speech goes well beyond the history genre. The story of a begrudging, mismatched friendship set in a meticulously detailed historical backdrop The King's Speech is more than worthy all the Oscar talk.                    The film works because it packs a lot of life into a simple but stuffy premise: an unwilling king fears that his nervous stammer will ruin his ability to speak to his people on the eve of World…

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