Welcome back to the red carpet, movie fans! The stage is now set for my 3rd annual “Countdown to the Oscars” blog!  Each year it gets more and more exciting to delve deep into the newest additions in film history, and again I am thrilled to get back to commentating on this year’s fantastic cinematic achievements.

Starting today and continuing right up until the ceremony, I will post regularly about the Oscars.  These posts will include both my “Top 15 Films of the Year” list and my own personal Oscars ballot for this year’s major categories (14 of the 24 categories, to be exact).  I will also again be posting a review about the actual ceremony in late February. In addition to these perennial posts, I will also include a new post—tomorrow morning I will release my “Top 3 Most Disappointing Films of the Year.”

This year, Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting the Oscars ceremony. NPH is a decently humorous actor, but in my opinion, he has some massively large shoes to fill. Last year, Ellen DeGeneres absolutely killed it, and I would have loved to see her return to the stage. DeGeneres’s performance last year garnered universal acclaim, provided a wealth of memorable moments, and even included a “celebrity selfie” that went on to become the most retweeted tweet of all time. Needless to say, NPH will have to elevate his game to meet the new “Ellen” standard. But ultimately I think he will come through—he is a veteran awards show host, with a résumé that includes hosting four Tony Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. I imagine his performance will include musical numbers, mirroring the performances of Billy Crystal and Hugh Jackman in their years as hosts; obviously, this is because NPH is a talented performer, adding a Tony in 2014 for his role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch to his long list of accolades.

This year, the Oscars will be broadcasted live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on February 22nd, 2015—that is just 23 days away!!

Many thanks to all of you that are back again this year, and I look forward to any new readers—I really do appreciate the support.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show—it’s OSCAR TIME!