Yuma News Now

Yuma, Arizona (NAPSI) - An Oscar nomination signifies that a movie is among the year’s best. Although the emblematic statuette stands just slightly above 13 inches, it reigns supreme as the motion picture industry’s greatest honor.

The competition is tough. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a total of 265 films are eligible for consideration in the 2011 Academy Awards® competition. In the original movie score category alone, there are 97 musical scores from eligible feature-length movies in contention for nominations. Awards are presented for outstanding individual or collective efforts in up to 25 categories.

Movie critics and cinephiles are already placing their bets on who will win Oscar gold, while the average movie buff may still have some serious catching up to do before making any educated predictions. In fact, ReelzChannel’s popular critic Leonard Maltin just issued “The 11 Best Films You May Have Missed In 2011.” But there’s good news for enthusiasts who want to join the fun. Without ever leaving the house, and with the push of a button, Movies on Demand on cable means they can discover or relive some of the finest films in cinematic history throughout the awards season.

Oscar prognosticators can easily find out what’s currently available and what’s coming soon to Movies on Demand at www.rentmoviesondemand.com. Current buzz-generating flicks such as “The Help,” “Bridesmaids,” “Midnight in Paris,” along with past winning greats such as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Erin Brockovich,” “The Pianist” and “Million Dollar Baby,” are among thousands of films available on Movies on Demand on cable.

In addition, many of the latest films are also on MOD, weeks before they can be rented on DVD and years before they become available via legal streaming subscription services. Plus, there’s no waiting in line at a vending machine or waiting for a movie to arrive in the mail.

A few of the new titles now playing on Movies on Demand include “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who assembles a successful baseball team on a budget, and “Real Steel,” in which Hugh Jackman turns a discarded robot into a boxing champ. Two young sisters befriend an invisible entity that lives in their home in “Paranormal Activity 3.” And Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard star in a comedic tale with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose chances of beating cancer are “50/50.”

Lights, camera, action! It’s time for a “close-up.” It’s Oscar season, the Super Bowl of movies.