There was a time when just about every man, woman, and child in America could see all the best picture Oscar nominees before the big night; a time when the number of nominees was so manageable that you could see one movie a week between the nominations announcement and the awards show and still see them all. More innocent times, more innocent days, I remember them well. It’s hard not to. It was only two years ago. But then 2010 came along and changed everything. Or, more accurately, changed everything back.

In honor the people in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere who have been rising up, Kristen and Rafer share their favorite movies that celebrate the revolutionary spirit.

It’s February 4, less than three and a half weeks before the Academy Awards telecast. For some people, three and a half weeks might seem like the perfect time to start discussing the big awards show. But if I had my way, everybody in America would be talking about the Oscars every day of the year. I already do. And now I'm blogging about the big show as much as I possibly can.

The biggest movie news of the week, and the second biggest movie news of the year, happened this week: The nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards. Kristen and Rafer size up the field of Oscar contenders, how "The King's Speech" became the favorite and why "True Grit" was redeemed. And Kristen laments the lack of diversity in this year's lineup.

When the Oscar nominees were announced on Tuesday, Takeaway producer, Kristen Meinzer noticed that they were — by her measurements — the least culturally and racially diverse in over a decade. Kristen is here with Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday and co-host for the Takeaway’s Movie Date podcast, to discuss race and the Oscars.

Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder once sang that there's good and bad in everyone. And that applies to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as much as it does to the rest of us. When I tuned in to this morning's Oscar nominations announcement, I kept this in mind.

Whenever Kristen and Rafer watch a movie together, they keep their opinions a secret from each other until the podcast. But that's hard when they bring along their friends, as they did with this weekend's big movie, "No Strings Attached," starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The friend Kristen brought is in a real "friends with benefits" situation and Kristen talks about how the movie's story compares with her real life.

This Sunday, awards season officially kicks off with The 68th Annual Golden Globes. Will "The Social Network" beat "The King's Speech"? Can Natalie Portman trump Michelle Williams? Kristen and Rafer debate who they think will win and should win.

The new backstage celebrity drama "Country Strong" hits theaters Friday, and the big question on everyone's mind is, can Gwyneth Paltrow actually sing?

Highlights include a discussion about Mel Gibson's new puppet movie, a disagreement over Russell Brand and thoughts on the new "Green Lantern."

This week, Rafer and Kristen talk about two of Christmas weekend’s big openers: “True Grit” and “Little Fockers.” Not surprisingly, they disagree on the merits (and shortcomings) of both films.

Disney saw fit to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at "Tron: Legacy," despite the world having neither become bathed in black light nor overrun by light-trailing motorcycles since 1982's "Tron" ... and both Rafer and Kristen think the money might have been better spent elsewhere.

"The Fighter" is the latest movie from director David O. Russell and stars Mark Wahlberg as boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his coach, (played by Christian Bale). Rafer and Kristen discover each other's true feelings about the movie (hint, they don't agree.) 

Rafer and Kristen find agreement on the creepiness of Daron Aronofsky's new thriller with Oscar-buzz, "Black Swan," debate the ending, and decide that a movie can sometimes be good even if it offers more questions than answers.   

Rafer and Kristen go to see the bumps, grinds and half-naked vixens in "Burlesque," but find themselves yawning and surrounded by nearly every cliché from the stripper movie pantheon.

Rafer and Kristen, possibly the only two people in the world who aren't enthralled with Harry Potter, talk with Takeaway Digital Editor (and Potter aficionado) Jim Colgan about the latest in the Harry Potter series.

Kristen and Rafer's weekly disagreement returns as they debate "Morning Glory," along with morning news shows, a few movies about journalists, and ways to tell if a movie was made several years ago and only released recently.

Kristen and Rafer discuss the upcoming "127 Hours," films primarily about single characters, and the exact circumstances under which Kristen thought she might lose her lunch during the film.

A look ahead to the movies coming out over the holiday season, some of them hoping for love at The Oscars. Rafer and Kristen start from Saw-3D and quickly move on to the (better) films they're looking forward to in the next few months.

With special guest Mary Ann Winkowski, paranormal investigator, Rafer and Kristen talk about the ghosts that show up in Hollywood films.