In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look back at their memories of the high school prom and share their thoughts on proms on the screen — from John Hughes's "Pretty in Pink" to the new Disney teen flick, "Prom."

In this week's Movie Date, Kristen is crackling with excitement for the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Rafer couldn't care less, but he agrees to look back at royal romances on film with Kristen, if only to get off the subject of commemorative wedding tea towels. Everybody loves tea towels, right? 

In this week’s podcast, Kristen and Rafer talk about the movies they’re most looking forward to seeing this summer. Warning: most of them are extremely stupid.

Here's a sampling: Woody Allen's new star-packed flick "Midnight in Paris"; "Larry Crowne," starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks; "Bad teacher with Cameron Diaz as a drunk irresponsible teacher and Justin Timberlake as the hot new sub; Alex Gibney's latest documentary, "Magic Trip"; "The Change Up," starring Ryan Reynolds; and "30 minutes or Less," about a pizza delivery guy-turned robber.

What's worse? Jokes about farts or boobs? Are there certain subjects that should be off limits for humor? And when does a movie cross the line from raunchy to completely tasteless? Rafer and Kristen debate these questions and share their opinions on the medieval raunch fest "Your Highness."

In honor of April Fool's Day, Rafer and Kristen decided to turn this week's Movie Date into a Movie Dare. Knowing that Kristen would never choose to see "Road House" on her own, Rafer dared her to see the Patrick Swayze classic. And knowing that Rafer had yet to enjoy the entire Mariah Carey oeuvre, Kristen dared him to see "Glitter." Was this the scariest dare ever?

This week's biggest film news was all about an actress who appeared in her first movie at the age of nine. Rafer and Kristen look back on the career of Elizabeth Taylor and share their favorite memories of the legendary star who died this week, aged 79.

Rafer and Kristen have a major disagreement about the drugs-make-you-smarter themed movie “Limitless.” They also look back on other movies – good and bad – in which drugs are a main character.

This week, Rafer and Kristen look at the newest imagining of Red Riding Hood and discuss their favorite fairy tales on film. Along the way, Rafer explains why fairy tales make men feel like objects and Kristen explains why she'd like them to be a little more like Sophie's Choice.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look at the new Johnny Depp animated lizard cowboy vehicle, "Rango," and debate whether the film's grissly characters and graphic violence make it the best or worst children's movie ever.

After nearly four hours of winners and losers and montages and speeches and glitzy gowns and fancy jewels, all I can say is … not every Oscars can be magical.

Or, more accurately, the Oscars can be downright boring.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen share their Oscar predictions and preferences for the big five categories — supporting actress, supporting actor, lead actress, lead actor, and picture. They also throw in a wild card category that they both admit they know nothing about.

It’s hard to believe that Oscars day – my favorite day of the year – is only 48 hours away.

All year, I’ve been gearing up for the big day, watching everything from awful foreign language flicks (the worst: "Biutiful") to amazingly touching animated shorts (my favorite: "The Lost Thing").

Below are my predictions for who I think will win and who I want to win for a dozen randomly selected categories. Check back in late Sunday night/early Monday morning to get the final (and full) list of winners and be sure to follow my live Tweeting on Oscar night.

And don't forget, to make your own picks before Sunday!

The Oscars are this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and all week long, we’ve been gearing up for the big night, interviewing nominees and blogging about the awards show. And even before their nominations were announced, we were sitting down with Melissa Leo, Colin Firth, and Danny Boyle. Today we'll make our final bets on the weekend's winners and losers.

It's Oscar weekend and we're letting you play judge. Register your votes for The Takeaway's Movie Date Oscar poll. We'll let you know how well you did Monday morning. And you can watch the Oscars and compare your answers with The Academy on Sunday at 8pm EST on ABC.

Fill in your choices below.

Today’s Los Angeles Times features an article about the lack of recognition that casting directors get at the Oscars. Today’s New York Times features a brief piece on the lack of recognition that opening and closing credit sequences get at the awards. For years, there have been campaigns to remedy the lack of recognition that stuntmen get at the Academies. And no doubt, for as long as the Oscars continue to exist, there will be even more categories (many that we’ve never heard of) that some people think ought to be added to the awards show.

Over thirty-five years ago, a woman in traditional Apache dress named Sacheen Littlefeather accepted Marlon Brando’s Oscar for “The Godfather.” But do you remember why Brando chose her to take his place?

Twenty years ago, the red AIDS ribbon was every star’s favorite Oscars accessory. But almost as quickly as it became trendy, it disappeared. Do you remember the last year all the celebrities wore red ribbons?

And a mere two years ago, the Kodak Theatre exploded into thunderous applause when Sean Penn said protestors outside the venue should be ashamed of themselves. But do you remember the reason for the protests?

Each week, Rafer and Kristen spar about the movies they think you should or shouldn't see. This week, they ponder whether the new paranormal teen romance film "I Am Number Four" is the new "Twilight" or just a substandard rip-off. And it's one of those rare times when they're actually in agreement.

Let’s make something clear. I am not a gambler. I hate the stock market. I have no interest in watching celebrity poker. On the two occasions I visited Las Vegas, I played only the penny slots (and limited the value of the pennies to $20 total for 6 hours, not counting the extra $20 my sister pushed on me).

That being said, I cannot resist a little Oscar gambling. And I’m not alone. According to Gambling911.com, the Oscars are “the 3rd biggest single day betting event of the year after the Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby” and “the most wagered on nonsporting event after the U.S. Presidential race.”

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I can’t think of a better time to discuss what’s come to be known as the Best Actress Oscar Curse. No doubt, you’ve heard about it by now. If you haven’t, here’s a little crash course, starting with Sandra Bullock.

I'm thinking about the Oscars and looking at Justin Bieber, and his new film “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.” No doubt, you’ve heard of the film, and, even if you’re not suffering from Bieber Fever, you’ve heard of the young teen heart throb (or, in the very least, heard of his bangs).

Now, you might be wondering? what does Justin Bieber have to do with the Oscars? He’s never been nominated. He’s only ever appeared in one movie (his new documentary, out today), and that movie is not up for any Oscars at this time (though, who knows, it might be when the 2011 nominees are announced…the Beliebers can dream).

But regardless of whether his film wins any awards down the road, it can be used to demonstrate what a small world Hollywood truly is, and as we all know, getting along with others in that small world is what winning an Oscar is all about. Our demonstration will come in the form of something I call Six Degrees of Justin Bieber.