Back to blogging very soon!

Oh my God I am so stuffed. Mince pies, turkey, chicken, cassava pie, roast plain and sweet potatoes, roast parsnips, carrot and swede mash, gravey, cookies, brandy butter, brandy, champagne, wine, baileys, chocolates, stuffing, stollen, smoked salmon, salad, cakes, ginger bread, ginger bread men and spiced nuts. I am gonna need to butter myself to get through the door. Every year it com, and every year I am never prepared for the amount of food I will force myself to ingest. I mean I was eating when over stuffed, just because it was there! It was all worth it, and it was one of the best Christmas days I have had in a long time. You should have seen Jeremy's face when he got his light saber!!!! So worth it!! Here is a selection of the amazing gifts me and mine got this year!
A fantastic musical DVD
Jeremy is a geek
Red iPod Nano helping AIDS relief in Africa
The best gift I could have ever received
I book I will finally now read
A brilliant DVD which accompanies 'The best gift I could have ever received' nicely
Something to be creative with
My Toni
And finally my childhood obsession

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!

Well, it is that time of year again, only for the first time in 31 years I will not be at my family home, or be in Bermuda (my place of birth). So such traditions as a family Xmas eve dinner, gathering around the TV with Mark and Pheona and the family to watch ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ (animated version thank you!) and frantically trying to finish off the baking will not be happening today. Instead Jeremy and I plan to clean the apartment, do some last minute baking using the Williams Sanoma cookie press I was given years ago, go for a nice walk and a drink down the pub, and come home to a warm stew and watch A Christmas Story…….and maybe I will read him The Grinch…with voices and everything!!!
So to all my family and friends who may have a look at my blog tonight. Have a wonderful Christmas eve and may you not be woken by footsteps on your roof.

Music Video Backtrack 1

Oh, this so brings back memories. VH1 pulled this version as it was deemed too raunchy, and she released the performance video y'all saw. Considering the song was one of the first top 10 songs about lesbian love, I really don't understand why the VIDEO was the problem for American audiences. Oh Sophie B.....how I loved thee....(but my mate Robyn loved you more).

BEST DIRECTOR 2007

I LOVE Toni Collette!!!!

This woman is not only a brilliant actress and dancer, but a fantastic singer!!! Here is hoping she continues doing remarkable and amazing character work. Although I, and many, feel she is due for more serious consideration, she will never be an Oscar recognized actress as you never notice her acting. She just is the person on screen, the wife, the mother, the girl, but never the actress. This is the gift of a true chameleon. And just to think, she lost the part of Roxy Hart in Chicago to lemon face! Oh the horror!!!! oh.......and she was truely robbed for The Sixth Sense!!!! Angelina who?????
Here is a video stolen from you tube (with everything else on here) of her first single. Toni Collette and The Finish - Beautiful Awkward Pictures

I LOVE Jennifer Hudson!!!!!

What did I tell you y'all. I love this girl, and without even seeing the movie I hope she wins every award possible. Loved her from day one on American Idol to today. I even made a "Robbed" T-shirt with her picture on after she was voted off and wore it proudly. What I liked about her is the fact that she understood music history and she was so humbled by herself. I remember watching as she performed "Imagine" by John Lennon on American Idol. After finishing she broke down crying, and when asked why by the judges, she replied something like "It was my dream to perform on national television, and now I have." Ahhhhhhhhh bless.

Taken from her website:

"In a recent interview, I was asked how I reconciled being a Christian with performing at events for my gay fans. I find it upsetting that some folks equate being a Christian with being intolerant of gay people. That may, unfortunately, be true for some, but it is not true for me. I have talked often of my love and support of the gay community. I have said again and again that it was the gay community that supported me long before and long after AMERICAN IDOL, and kept me working and motivated. It is the gay community that celebrated my voice and my size and my personality long before DREAMGIRLS. Yes, I was raised Baptist. Yes, I was taught that the Bible has certain views on homosexuality. The Bible also teaches us not to judge. It teaches us to love one another as God loves us all. I love my sister, my two best friends and my director dearly. They happen to be gay. So what? While some search for controversy, I hope that my friends and fans who know me, know where I stand."
-Jhud

MAFFE - BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 2007

Well I like to keep five nominees and sometimes it is very difficult as if there is a shift in my mood then I may like to place in either Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls or Mark Wahlberg - The Deprated or Alan Arkin - Litttle Miss Sunshine and take out one of the above. However the hardest to leave off the list was Steve Carrell - Litttle Miss Sunshine. As of now I am happy with this line up, but I did feel Wahlberg, Arkin and Murphy were both very deserving of their nominations.

Bermuda-Land of Hypocrites

Take from www.365gay.com June 4th, 2006.
"(Hamilton, Bermuda) Hundreds of people have demonstrated on the grounds of Bermuda's House of Assembly, protesting against a wall of silence by legislators on a bill that would have added to sexuality to the Human Rights Act.
The bill was introduced by MP Renee Webb and sent to committee where Webb made an impassioned 90 speech.
"We in Bermuda need to ensure that we join the democratic countries of the world and fight for freedom for all of its people," she told committee members.
"I believe that Bermuda needs to move towards becoming a more compassionate society and not allow discrimination under the guise of any particular belief to take place."
When it came up for debate MPs without saying a word voted it down.
The majority of those who came out to demonstrate were not gay, rallied together by a Hamilton human rights group.
“I’m ecstatic that so many people came out and stood up for democracy,” said Webb, a former Cabinet Minister.
The inclusion of gays in the Human Rights Act was opposed by the island’s black church leaders.
One of those who voted against the measure was Patrice Minors a member of the cabinet. Asked by one protestor why she had opposed the bill Minors said defended herself saying that she voted according to her “Christian principles.”
Webb said she intends to reintroduce the bill next year, the earliest it could return to the Assembly."

This is where I grew up. It is funny how religion is so closely resembling Nazism.

Mini Review Number 3 - Pan's Labyrinth

Set during the Spanish Civil War, a bookish and curious little girl is taken up to the mountains by her sickly pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, who is the fascist captain of a military camp. Lonely and book-hungry, the young girl finds herself transported into a fantasy world, where she meets her guide, a faun, who reveals she is the long lost princess of his world. She needs to perform 3 tasks to prove she is worthy of her title before she and her unborn brother can come back to her kingdom. All while trying to avoid the nightmare of the war going on around her.
Dark, twisted and beautiful, this entwines fairy-tale fantasy with war-movie horror to startling effect. The idea that the most horrific monster is man himself even in a fantasy world where there are creatures that eat children speaks volumes about the world we live in today. Guillermo del Torro has crafted an exquisite fable about the innocence and the price one pays to preserve it. If only he had directed The Chronicles of Narnia.

Mini Review Number 2 - Happy feat....

The penguins seem to be the toast of Hollywood. They shuffled miles across the brutal Antarctic to the podium at the Kodak Theater to accept the best documentary Oscar in 2005 for The March of the Penguins, and they stole Madagascar from the singing dancing lemurs. Now Happy Feet arrives with a plucky penguin who dances his way to fame.
In Happy Feet, Mumble (Elija Wood) is born into a colony of Emperor penguins that specialize in singing. Every Emperor worth his ice can carry a tune but Mumble can't sing at all. However, he's a fabulous dancer who specializes in tap (of course…ballet or modern would be far to gay). This impresses his childhood sweetheart Gloria (superbly voiced by Brittany Murphy) but everyone else deems him a freak, and blames his abnormality for the lack of fish in the waters. His is sent away by his ‘flock’ and vows to find out why there are no fish, but more importantly prove himself to his colony and his family.
From here the film takes a ‘message movie’ route tackling how mankind is destroying the environment. This route is none to subtle either, but with the state of the environment as it is people need to be hit over the head with the message. I felt the environment message did not go as far, dark and frightening as it should have, children are impressionable and need to see the consequences of their and their parents actions. Out of the mouths of babes comes the truth....or so they say.
However the film does a fantastic job at representing the natural world of the penguins, their environment, the dangers they face and struggle to survive from egg to chick. Before you write it off as a message movie, remember it is a musical. There are musicals numbers around every turn and long after you leave the theater you will be humming ‘Somebody to love’ by Queen, and ‘Boogie Wonderland’ by Kool and the Gang – both of these sung amazingly well by Brittany Murphy. Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams and Nicole Kidman also supply songs by the like of Elvis, Prince and Frank Sinatra. Go see it, take the kids (or not) and buy the soundtrack…you won’t be sorry.

For Carolyn.

My cousin Carolyn and I spent many a day acting out scenes like these. Oh those were the days. We always ended up so bruised afterwards.
Oh how we laughed!!!!

Oscar Talk - The Backlash

Every year, coming up to the day the final Oscar ballots are mailed there is a controversy that darkens the chances of one of the serious contenders. Brokeback Mountain is too gay, A Beautiful Mind white washed over unflattering aspects of its subjects life, Roman Polanski is a pervert, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes this hurts the nominee (Russell Crowe) sometimes it doesn’t (Renee “Wasn’t your character black in the book?” Zellweger). Who will it be this year? Everyone loves Clint and Marty, so not them. Kate and the Dames never get bad press (must be the British thing). Meryl is royalty. Forrest and Will are harmless, and Peter is OWED big time. So that really leaves one film, and 2 performers who could get hurt. Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson seem the most likely.
Eddie because he dumped his pregnant girl friend Melanie Brown (scary spice) via the press, then practically insinuated she was sleeping around, which is what he was apparently doing with Tracey Edmonds behind her poor Scary's back. What a bastard!
And now, more tricky, Jennifer Hudson. Not because of anything she has done, aside from the fictitious account that she is homophobic (come on people, just because she is religious does not make her a bigot), but because Dreamworks has failed to acknowledge Jennifer Holiday, the original Effie White. Not only did Ms. Holiday help create the role on broadway, but she also won the Tony for it and apparently the studio has not been giving her the time of day. So Dreamworks needs to step up and make amends before it all goes Pete Tong, or better yet, have Ms. Hudson pay respect. Oh and honey child.....there is alot of talk about how Ms. Hudson would be know where without Bill Condon, so she needs to be prepared to lavish him with love and respect whenever she can.
Then again I could be wrong.............Clint could always be caught with a hooker.

Critics Awards Chart

This is purely for my good mate Dean so he can look at it quickly. Oh and for my sister and cousin 'cause they usually can't be bothered...........click to enlarge.

Those were the days.

My friend Steven Emery aka Tamisha, reminded me of this little number a while back. He had wanted to perform it in a drag act, but I never actually know if he ended up doing it.
Right now I am busy buying presents for my nieces and after being bombarded with Barbie and dress up set requests I remembered Steven and School House Rock. How I wish there was a region 2 DVD of it so I could get it for them, watch them learn while appreciating the complexities for the musical number. I guess they will have to deal with me singing and acting it out for them....now where is my globe?

Remember kids. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!

I LOVE Kate Winslet!!!

I love Kate Winslet, my best friend Robyn LOVES Kate Winslet, and it looks like Kate may get yet another nomination this year for her acclaimed work in Little Children. This has gotten me thinking about the eventual Helen Mirren steam roller of awards. If, by some divine intervention of the Gods, Kate winds up with a 5th Oscar nomination, could she win? Yes Dame Helen is a formidible opponent, but Kate has worked with so many of the Academy members that I find it hard to think that they will let her go home a loser for a 5th time. So think about this, Dame Helen Mirren as the Queen in the lead, Dame Judi Dench as an obsessed school teacher closing in, all is needed is a slip up near the finish line for dark horse and overdue Kate to take the Gold.
Oh Kate....you are great!

Oscar Talk - the BFCA (Broadcast Film Critics Association) nominations!

NOMINEES FOR THE 12TH ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

BEST PICTURE:
Babel
Blood Diamond
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
Notes on a Scandal
The Queen
United 93

BEST ACTOR:
Leonardo DiCaprio – “Blood Diamond”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “The Departed”
Ryan Gosling – “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole – “Venus”
Will Smith – “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker – “The Last King of Scotland”

BEST ACTRESS:
Penelope Cruz – “Volver”
Judi Dench – “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren – “The Queen”
Meryl Streep – “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet – “Little Children”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Ben Affleck – “Hollywoodland”
Alan Arkin – “Little Miss Sunshine”
Adam Beach – “Flags of Our Fathers”
Djimon Hounsou – “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy – “Dreamgirls”
Jack Nicholson – “The Departed”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Adriana Barraza – “Babel”
Cate Blanchett – “Notes on a Scandal”
Jennifer Hudson – “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi – “Babel”
Catherine O’Hara – “For Your Consideration”
Emma Thompson – “Stranger Than Fiction”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:
Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
A Prairie Home Companion

BEST DIRECTOR:
Bill Condon – “Dreamgirls”
Clint Eastwood – “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Stephen Frears – “The Queen”
Paul Greengrass – “United 93”
Martin Scorsese – “The Departed”

BEST WRITER:
Michael Arndt – “Little Miss Sunshine”
Guillermo Arriaga – “Babel”
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta – “Little Children”
Zach Helm – “Stranger Than Fiction”
William Monahan – “The Departed”
Peter Morgan – “The Queen”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
“Cars”
“Flushed Away”
“Happy Feet”
“Monster House”
“Over the Hedge”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR:
Cameron Bright – “Thank You For Smoking”
Joseph Cross – “Running With Scissors”
Paul Dano – “Little Miss Sunshine”
Freddie Highmore – “A Good Year”
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith – “The Pursuit of Happyness”

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS:
Ivana Baquero – “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Abigail Breslin – “Little Miss Sunshine”
Shareeka Epps – “Half Nelson”
Dakota Fanning – “Charlotte’s Web”
Keke Palmer – “Akeelah and the Bee”

BEST COMEDY MOVIE:
Borat
For Your Consideration
Little Miss Sunshine
The Devil Wears Prada
Thank You For Smoking

BEST FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Akeelah and the Bee
Charlotte’s Web
Flicka
Lassie
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION:
Elizabeth I
The Librarian
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
The Ron Clark Story
When the Levees Broke

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Apocalypto
Days of Glory
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pan’s Labyrinth
Volver
Water

BEST SONG:
“I Need to Wake Up” – Melissa Etheridge – “An Inconvenient Truth”
“Listen” – Beyonce – “Dreamgirls”
“My Little Girl” – Tim McGraw – “Flicka”
“The Neighbor” – Dixie Chicks – “Shut Up & Sing”
“Never Gonna Break My Faith” – Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige – “Bobby”
“Ordinary Miracle” – Sarah McLachlan – “Charlotte’s Web”

BEST SOUNDTRACK:
Babel
Cars
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
Marie Antoinette

BEST COMPOSER:
Philip Glass – “The Illusionist”
Clint Mansell – “The Fountain”
Thomas Newman – “The Good German”
Gustavo Santaolalla – “Babel”
Howard Shore – “The Departed”
Hans Zimmer – “The Da Vinci Code”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up & Sing
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Wordplay

MAFFE - BEST ACTRESS 2007

I struggled to include Shareeka Epps for Half Nelson and Helen Mirren for The Queen, but whom do I leave off??? Difficult choices all the way around.

Oscar Talk - New York Film Critics Circle Awards!

Best Picture: - United 93
Runners up: - (1st) The Queen, (2nd) The Departed

Best Director: - Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
Runners-up: - (1st) Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN. (2nd) Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA)

Best First Film: - Half Nelson
Runners-up: (1st) Little Miss Sunshine, (2nd) A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Best Actress: - Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN
Runners-up: - (1st) Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, (2nd) Meryl Streep, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA)

Best Actor: - Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Runners-up: - (1st) Ryan Gosling, HALF NELSON, (2nd) Sacha Baron Cohen, BORAT

Best Foreign Film: - Army of Shadows
Runners-up: - (1st) Volver, (2nd) The Death of Mr. Lazarescue

Best Non-Fiction Film: - Deliver Us From Evil
Runners-up: - (1st) 49 Up, (2nd) Borat (3rd) An Inconvenient Truth

Best Animated Film: - Happy Feet
Runners-up: - (1st) A Scanner Darkly, (2nd) Cars

Best Supporting Actor: - Jackie Earle Haley, LITTLE CHILDREN
Runners-up: - (1st) Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS, (2nd) Steve Carell, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Best Supporting Actress:- Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS
Runners-up: - (1st) Shareeka Epps, HALF NELSON, (2nd) Catherine O'Hara, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Best Screenplay: - The Queen
Runners-up: - (1st) The Departed, (2nd) Little Miss Sunshine

Well one thing for sure, never think you know anything when it comes to Oscar.

The films that have gotten the biggest boost from the critics awards are:
United 93 – Glad THIS film and Director are emerging as strong contenders.
Pans Labyrinth – Needed these critics awards to garner enough attention for a Foreign Film nom.
Little Miss Sunshine – There is definite love and respect for this small little crowd pleaser.

The performances that have now gotten more traction are:
Jackie Earle Haley, LITTLE CHILDREN – Will the Academy go for this?
Ryan Gosling, HALF NELSON – This critically praised performance almost got lost, now he looks like a serious contender.
Shareeka Epps, HALF NELSON – And the same for his co-star
Catherine O'Hara, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION – She needed this to stay in the game for her 1st possible nomination.
Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Getting a lot of attention based on acting and not just charisma,
Djimon Hounsou – BLOOD DIAMOND – They loved him enough for In America!
Sacha Baron Cohen, BORAT – Can you imagine if he won…..what they wouldn’t do to get him on the stage.

This looks like a wonderful year for the actress…..I just hope Kate Winslet is not nominated…..I don’t think I can bear seeing her loose yet again.

Oh and by the way, my heart break when she was kicked off of American idol is wearing off....oh the sweet justice!

A little break from the Oscar posts for about eh....10 minutes.

Ahh back home from work, today we had secret Santa and I have come home with a lovely bottle of plonk. Tis the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks Cath!! (boss extraordinaire) will suck this one down tonight.
To celebrate excess and Christmas....here is the Queen.

Oscar Talk - Los Angeles Critics Association and Washington DC Critics Awards

2006 Los Angeles Critics Association winners:

Picture: "Letters From Iwo Jima" - (Runner-up: "The Queen")
Director: Paul Greengrass, "United 93" - (Runner-up: Clint Eastwood, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima")
Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat" and Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" (tie) (no runner-up)
Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen" - (Runner-up: Penelope Cruz, "Volver")
Supporting actor: Michael Sheen, "The Queen" - (Runner-up: Sergi Lopez, "Pan's Labyrinth")
Supporting actress: Luminita Gheorghiu, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" – (Runner-up: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls")
Screenplay: Peter Morgan, "The Queen" – (Runner-up: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine")
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, "Children of Men" – (Runner-up: Tom Stern, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima")
Production design: Eugenio Caballero, "Pan's Labyrinth" – (Runner-up: Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland, "Children of Men")
Music: Alexandre Desplat, "The Queen" and "The Painted Veil" – (Runner-up: Thomas Newman, "The Good German" and "Little Children")
Foreign-language film: "The Lives of Others" – (Runner-up: "Volver")
Documentary/non-fiction film: "An Inconvenient Truth" – (Runner-up: "Darwin's Nightmare")
Animation: "Happy Feet" – (Runner-up: "Cars")
__________________________________________________

Washington DC Critics Name United 93 Best Film

From Hollywood-Elsewhere:
The Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) has announced winners of its 2006 awards.

Best Film – ‘United 93’
Best Director – Martin Scorsese ‘The Departed’
Best Actor – Forest Whitaker ‘the Last King of Scotland’
Best Actress – Helen Mirren ‘The Queen’
Best Supporting Actor – Djimon Hounsou ‘Blood Diamond’
Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Hudson ‘Dreamgirls’
Best Adapted Screenplay - Jason Reitman ‘Thank You For Smoking’
Best Original Screenplay - Michael Arndt, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
Best Animated Feature – ‘Happy Feet’
Best Documentary – ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
Best Foreign-Language Film – ‘Pan's Labyrinth’

Oscar Talk - New York Film Critics Online Awards

New York Film Critics Online is composed of major reviewers in the New York area who work exclusively for online
publications or for print/broadcast media with a strong online presence. The twenty-six members (NYFCO.ORG) met at
O'Neal's Restaurant, 49 W 64 Street in Manhattan on December 10th, 2006, and voted for these awards:

Picture - THE QUEEN
Director - STEPHEN FREARS - The Queen
Screenplay - PETER MORGAN - The Queen
Cinematography - DICK POPE - The Illusionist
Actor - FOREST WHITAKER - The Last King of Scotland
Actress - HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
Supporting Actor - MICHAEL SHEEN - The Queen
Supporting Actress - JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls (tie) CATHERINE O'HARA - For Your Consideration
Ensemble Cast - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Debut as Director - JONATHAN DAYTON, VALERIE FARIS - Little Miss Sunshine
Breakthrough Performer - JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls
Film Score - PHILIP GLASS - The Illusionist
Documentary Feature - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Animated Feature - HAPPY FEET
Foreign Language Picture - PAN'S LABYRINTH
Ten Best Pictures (Alphabetical)

BABEL (Paramount Vantage)
THE FOUNTAIN (Warner Bros.)
INLAND EMPIRE (Absurda)
LITTLE CHILDREN (New Line)
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Fox Searchlight)
PAN'S LABYRINTH (Picturehouse)
THE QUEEN (Miramax)
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (Fox Searchlight)
VOLVER (Sony Pictures Classics)
WATER (Fox Searchlight)

Oscar Talk - National Board of Review, AFI and Boston announce!!

National Board of Review Announces, if you can call these awards deserving of an announcement as they mean nothing during awards season.

Best Film: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Best Director: MARTIN SCORSESE, The Departed
Best Actor: FOREST WHITAKER, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: HELEN MIRREN
Best Supporting Actor: DJIMON HOUNSOU, Blood Diamond
Best Supporting Actress: CATHERINE O'HARA, For Your Consideration
Best Foreign Film: VOLVER
Best Documentary: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Best Animated Feature: CARS
Best Ensemble Cast: THE DEPARTED
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: RYAN GOSLING, Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: (2) JENNIFER HUDSON, Dreamgirls and RINKO KIKUCHI, Babel - YAY!!!!
Best Directorial Debut: JASON REITMAN, Thank You for Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: ZACH HELM, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: RON NYSWANER, The Painted Veil

The top 10 from the National Board of Review:
"Letters From Iwo Jima"
"Babel"
"Blood Diamond"
"The Departed"
"The Devil Wears Prada"
"Flags Of Our Fathers"
"The History Boys"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Notes on a Scandal"
"The Painted Veil"

_______________________________________

American Film Institute.

These guys have announced their top 10 movies of the year. Comments below.

BABEL
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
DREAMGIRLS
HALF NELSON
HAPPY FEET
INSIDE MAN
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
UNITED 93
_______________________________________

Boston Film Critics.

Best Picture: The Departed (United 93, runner-up)

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed (Paul Greengrass, United 93, runner-up)

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland (Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson, runner-up)

Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen (Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal, runner-up)

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed (TIE: Michael Sheen, The Queen; Alec Baldwin, The Departed/Running with Scissors/The Good Shepherd, runners-up)

Best Supporting Actress: Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson (Meryl Streep, The Devil Wore Prada, runner-up)

What NBC didn't show.

Sometimes the best messages get censored.

Mini Review Number 1 - Shortbus

Shortbus

John Cameron Mitchells second film after the amazing 'Headwig and the Angry Inch' follows in the same footsteps.
This is a film about finding connections. In this films world, however, a big part of connection is sexual connection. The sex displayed here is real, but Shortbus is not porn, in fact the sex displayed is sometimes indifferent, funny, sad and desperate. The sex is about love and relationships and the joy one finds in truly connecting with someone else, or the frustration in not finding that connection.
The connection is sought out at Shortbus, a club/orgy room/performance space where the intellectual, sexual and curious of New York congregate so that they can be.
The brilliance of this film is highlighted by the performances, especially Sook-Yin Lee (who plays a sex therapist who has never had an orgasm) and Paul Dawson (a depressed former hustler with an over adoring boyfriend). Both equally funny and quietly devastating in very physically and emotionally brave roles. The true star of the film, however, is New York itself, this wonderful eutopia where you can truly be yourself.

Welcome!!!

Yet another movie, music blog to hit the airwaves!