Leave it to the folks behind the Grammys (that would be The Recording Academy) to put things right when it comes to movie music. Sure, they have a bazillion categories, but, unlike the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars), they know a good musical score when they hear it and don't allow outrageous reasons to disqualify it.

Specifically, we're talking about The Dark Knight, whose composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer were disqualified for consideration because they listed too many people on the cue sheet, and There Will Be Blood, whose composer Jonny Greenwood was DQed because the Academy thought his score was "diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music." Both scores were nominated for a Grammy last night, in the category "Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media." (Bear in mind that their eligibility period is different from the Oscars, which is why they're just now getting around to Blood.) Yay to the Grammy people for getting it right!

The other nominees for best score were John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Ramin Djawada for Iron Man, and Thomas Newman for WALL-E. More cool Grammy movie nominees include the title song from Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story (Judd Apatow, Marshall Crenshaw, Jake Kasdan, and John C. Reilly), plus American Gangster and Juno for "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album," alongside August Rush, Mamma Mia!, and Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

You can check out the complete list at the official Grammy site. Do you agree that they got it right, at least as far as the movie nominees are concerned? The awards show airs on February 8, 2009.

Right off the bat, I must say: While I love music in film, I don't like most of the musicals out there. Try as I might, most just inspire me to daydream through the musical numbers. But those that capture me, I adore. I never get tired of the rapid wordplay from Pirates of Penzance. I love most of the music in Moulin Rouge -- especially the inclusions of Lamb's "Gorecki." If it's done right, I'm a fan forever (Evil Dead: The Musical).

Surprisingly enough, there are two films that came out in the last year that I really dug, even though they really didn't hit the mark with fans. They came, they danced, they crooned, and they fell flat. I sat down to watch both of these expecting disappointment, and in one case, I was digging it from the first minute, and the other, I just couldn't stop giggling. In a very brief journey back in time, I give you: Across the Universe and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

British rock journalist Nick Kent perfectly summed up pop music by nothing how the best rock combines the Byronic and the moronic. That uneasy mix of poetry and poses, swagger and stagger, makes rock and roll ripe for mockery -- and, with Walk Hard arriving on DVD this week, what better time to name a few great comedies that have mocked rock and punctured the pretensions of pop?

1) Walk Hard

Starring John C. Reilly as roots-rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard doesn't just stick a foot out to trip up Walk the Line; it also manages to spoof The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Elvis and much more. (Indeed, Walk Hard follows such a carefully-crafted timeline as it travels through pop music history, it almost feels like a second take on the brilliant, underseen Grace of My Heart, another film that spanned decades through musical styles.) With a brilliant supporting cast and Reilly's cement-headed self-centered performance in the lead role, Walk Hard is that rare parody that nonetheless still loves what it mocks.

Best Line: "Wait a minute, son: Dewey Cox has to think about his whole life before he performs. ..."

This week, there's a few mainstream films to check out that won't be hitting this column. Go to Erik's review for a taste of There Will Be Blood, and check out mine for a little bit of Lions for Lambs.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
It's hard to remember that spoofs used to be more than just bad movies that we either ignore completely, or watch when we want to check out a really bad movie. Current incarnations in the genre have left a large door of opportunity open, begging for satire that is both smart and entertaining -- one that constructs a funny plan, rather than a blanketed and desperate grab for laughs. It's not surprising that Judd Apatow was the man to make it happen.

But it's not just about J.A., or director Jake Kasdan. It's an entire film full of today's big names in comedy. John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig and other SNL vets, and my personal favorite -- the best group of Beatles to come since the actual Beatles: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long, and Jason Schwartzman.

The parody subgenre once gave us comedy classics like Young Frankenstein, Airplane!, Top Secret!, and The Naked Gun. This glorious tradition has been disgracefully violated in recent years by the likes of the cleverly titled Epic Movie and Date Movie. (As for the latter -- a spoof of comedies? Outstanding idea!) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a parody of musical biopics like Walk the Line and Ray, marks the pretty damn triumphant return of the spoof film. The movie also marks the return of Judd Apatow, and I'm pleased to report that Walk Hard completes a 2007 hat trick for the man. It easily joins Knocked Up and Superbad to form the unholy trinity of the year's superior comedies.

Starting in fictional rock star Dewey Cox's boyhood Tennessee home and ending some sixty years later after his bouts with women, booze, and pills, the film traces the blood pumping rise...of Cox. (First and last Cox joke, I promise.) The script gets Cox making music quickly, and good thing. I'm not sure why the first ten minutes of Walk Hard were released online as part of the marketing plan, they're easily the weakest scenes of the film. But once John C. Reilly enters the picture, portraying Cox at age fourteen despite being 25 years older (a dig at Kevin Spacey in Beyond the Sea?), it's pretty much smooth sailing.

Straight off its two Golden Globe nominations, Cinematical is happy to announce that we have 10 pairs of tickets to give away for next Wednesday's (12/19) New York City Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story screening, followed by a live performance from the man himself, Dewey Cox, at The Knitting Factory! Watch the movie, dance your ass off and when it comes time to ship off to heaven, you'll be glad you at least got to see a live Dewey Cox performance during your lifetime. Brought to you by Cinematical and Gen Art Pulse, the Walk Hard screening will be held on December 19th (beginning at 7pm) at the Regal Battery Park cinemas, which is only a short hop, skip and a jump away from The Knitting Factory. On that day, you must be in or around the New York City area in order to attend, and you'll need to travel to each destination on your own dime. But c'mon, is it not worth it for this! We'll be giving away 10 pairs of tickets to 10 random commenters, so start commenting ... now!

In case you weren't aware, Walk Hard was nominated for two Golden Globe awards yesterday (for best actor and best song). Looks like those For Your Consideration ads certainly paid off. Here's what both John C. Reilly and Judd Apatow had to say following the nomination announcement:

"I am thrilled and honored that the HFPA has acknowledged the hard work of everyone who poured their hearts into Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. I look forward to celebrating our film and all the other great movies, comedic and dramatic, at this years Golden Globes. I am proud to carry the torch for Jake Kasdan, Judd Apatow, and Mike Andrews without whom I could not have pulled off this performance. Somewhere, Dewey Cox is smiling." -- John C. Reilly

"I'm very proud of John C. Reilly and even more proud of Dewey Cox. Dewey would have loved this if he wasn't dead." -- Judd Apatow

Here are some pics from Dewey's LA performance. Check out the Walk Hard trailer and the official rules for this contest after the jump.

The Golden Globe nominations were released this morning, and I take it you first read all about it right here on Cinematical, right? Because you love us, right? Anyway, there weren't any major surprises to be found. I'm happy to see The Simpsons Movie land a nod for best animated feature, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story came away with two nods ... which should help bolster its box office take. Same goes for the other films on the list that still haven't arrived in theaters; most notably Sweeney Todd, The Great Debaters, There Will be Blood and Charlie Wilson's War. Thankfully, Amy Ryan was thrown a bone for her excellent supporting performance in Gone Baby Gone (though the film as a whole was missing from the other, larger categories) and -- whaddya know -- Juno got a whole lotta love.

Atonement looks to be this year's "Best Film That No One Will See," while it almost sickens me to see John Travolta (for his drag performance in Hairspray) listed in the same category as Javier Bardem (for No Country for Old Men). The best motion picture drama category features a whopping seven films, though Michael Clayton and The Great Debaters probably could've been left off. Shockers? How about Don Cheadle coming away empty following his terrific performance in Talk to Me? Personally, and I know a lot of people will argue against this, I thought Joaquin Phoenix in Reservation Road was better than Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises. How many lines did Viggo actually have in that film? Seven? I imagine Across the Universe hypnotized people into believing it belonged in the best motion picture (musical or comedy) category, with all its wacky colors and what not. Once is not even mentioned, well, once. And where is the nomination for Waitress? Did I miss it. Oh wait, it's not there. But Cate Blanchett is there -- twice -- for both I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. You're telling me both Hairspray and Across the Universe were better than Waitress? And where's Zodiac? Do you agree with this? Should we write a letter?

So, what do you think?

And for much much more on this year's Golden Globes, be sure to check out Moviefone's official Golden Globes page.

The Judd Apatow gang always markets the crap out of their movies, and the promotional blitz is in full force for their latest, Walk Hard. Posters are everywhere, they released the "R" Rated international trailer to the internets, they took out a very cool "For Your Consideration" ad in The Hollywood Reporter, and John C. Reilly is rocking the country on the "Cox Across America" tour, which I was lucky enough to check out this week. And now you can watch the first ten minutes of the film online! Head over to http://rocklikecox.com/myspace/ to enjoy. If you figure it costs ten bucks to see a movie, and the movie is 100 minutes -- this is one dollar's worth of entertainment for free!

You have to verify your age to see the clip -- the film is Rated "R" after all, but this ten minutes is strictly "PG." Sorry, folks. (By the way, has anyone under the age of 18 ever been dissuaded by an age verification? You can enter any birthdate you want! It's not like they're asking for a thumb print or something! Fools! Let's move on.) The clip mainly focuses on Dewey as a boy, played by Conner Rayburn, and it builds to a 14 year-old Dewey's declaration "Just wait 'till you see what happens now." I must say, I only laughed out loud once during the clip -- the line "How are we gonna follow that?" got to me -- but I have a feeling this is going to be a very funny movie. I'm checking it out Wednesday night, and I'm muy excitedo. How about you guys, thoughts on the opening scenes?

Monday night I had the privilege of seeing Dewey Cox -- better known as John C. Reilly -- live at The Roxy ("Coxy") Theater on the Sunset Strip. Cox and his band The Hard Walkers put on a hell of a show, tearing through all the hits from Cox's glorious career -- soon to be given the big screen treatment in Walk Hard. Reilly came out of the gate ready to rock, and stayed in character all night. He came off like a cruder, nastier Elvis Presley -- guzzling tequila, repeatedly calling us all "motherf***ers, making a downright overwhelming amount of "Cox" jokes, and asking a woman in the audience if he could grab her breast. And grab he did!

But what about the music? Cox performed nearly every track from the Walk Hard soundtrack, and considering this was his "first performance since 1984," he was in fine voice. Reilly dropped out of tune for a song or two but on the whole he sounded pretty terrific, especially on the strangely affecting Roy Orbison homage "A Life Without You (Is No Life at All)." Other standouts included the Johnny Cashtastic "Guilty as Charged," the rollicking "You've Got to Love Your Negro Man," and the hilariously offensive protest song "Dear Mr. President." Reilly played guitar and harmonica pretty well, but since the actors in Cox's movie band (Chris Parnell, Tim Meadows) don't really play, they had to watch on from the audience -- along with co-writer/director Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow -- while a stand-in group of musicians rocked the house.

The show closed with a shirtless Cox moaning through the beguiling "Have You Heard the News (Dewey Cox Died)," rubbing his nipples, and throwing down his microphone. I can't imagine anyone leaving the theater disappointed, and if the live show is any indication, Walk Hard is going to be one hysterical movie. Wanna see Cox? There's still a few dates left on the "Cox Across America" mini-tour.

Check out the gallery below ...