Oscar Predictions 2011

The 2010 Academy Awards threw up a number of unexpected results but I think this year will be a little more settled. Oscar likes to redress the balance from time to time and tonight some of the winners will be recieving their award not because they were the best in the field but more that their body of work over the years means they are 'owed' one.

Best Picture:
The Social Network

Maybe Harvey Weinstein has been throwing his considerable weight around as he so often has and pushed The Kings Speech ahead but I still think we will see The Social Network take this one.


Directing:
David Fincher

He's due one. An impressive body of work, the Coens won recently, Russell isn't well liked and Hopper is new to the scene. Aronofsky is the only real competion but I feel this is Fincher's year.


Actor in a leading role:
Colin Firth

Actress in a leading role:
Natalie Portman

I think both Actor and Actress are a given this year.


Actor is a supporting role:
Geoffrey Rush

Actress in a supporting role:
Hailee Steinfeld

I have a feeling the evening's biggest shock will come in from one of the above winning.


Animated Film:
Toy Story 3

Should be more of a contender for Best Picture in a perfect weorld


Documentary Feature:
Exit Through The Gift Shop

Everyone in the academy votes so in a category such as this the biggest name is always going to win out; unless they have offended Hollywood ala Michael Moore. More important documetaries in the nominees but this is a brilliant film none the less.


Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
The Social Network

Aaron Sorkin; everyone loves him. He'll win.


Writing (Original)
Inception

This will be the consoltation prize after not getting the director nod for Nolan


Visual Effects
Inception

Even the haters won't be able to dismiss this was the most visually impressive film of the year.

Sound Mixing
Inception

Sound Editing
Inception

Editing:
127 Hours

Costume Design:
Alice In Wonderland

Cinematography:
Black Swan

Art Direction:
The King's Speech

Documentary Short:
Killing In The Name

Foreign Language Film:
Biutiful

Makeup:
The Way Back

Music (Original Score):
The Social Network

Music (Original Song):
Toy Story 3

Short Film (Animated):
Day and Night

Short Film (Live Action):
Wish 143

Song of the Week 2011 - Week 8

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19th February to 25th February
Freestyler - Bomfunk MC

Rock the microphone...

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Double Titanic...all the way?!

I was in HMV today and spotted this absolute shocker of a title...Titanic 2 (2010).


Apparently; 'The passengers on the Titanic II discover that history has a habit of repeating itself when they step aboard the state-of-the-art, luxury ocean liner, and set sail on the same course as the ship's doomed predecessor'

I somehow feel history won't be repeated in terms of this film matching the original Titanic's record matching 11 Oscars.

From what I can see it has 3 redeming features;

-It's produced by The Asylum; without whom we wouldn't have such instant classics as Mega Piranha (2010) or Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009).

-Titanic 2 is written, directed and starring none other than Sean Van Dyke...you know...Dick Van Dyke's grandson. He played a doctor is Diagnosis Murder.

-Celion Dion does not feature in the soundtrack.

But as much as I love The Asylum and hate to judge a movie without actually watching it I reckon you should save your money and buy the film on the shelf below...now that is an award winning production right there.

Colonel 'The Ram' Gaddafi

What is Mickey Rourke doing in Libya?! Can we expect the rest of The Expendables to get involved? Regardless it's clear we have an obvious casting choice for the inevitable movie!

Mickey Rourke--------------Colonel Gaddafi

Hammer Horror...

Song of the Week 2011 - Week 7

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12th February to 18th February
Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

The show goes on...

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Technically wrong but oh so right.....

Blue Army Going To The Finals!

The Isle of Man's Premier Rugby Team Ramsey B aka The Blue Army overcome impossible odds to earn a place in the Manx Plate Final. March 12th 2011; see you there!

Ding Dang Blue!

Kinder Surprised! Egg The Third

Final day; final egg. The law of averages states this is going to be a kit toy. The box says 'The toys are mainly in kit form'. This to me suggests that at least 51% of toys are kits. Statistically speaking we already know that 66.7% of the toys in this 3 pack are not kits. The last one has to be!



You can therefore imagine my surprise to find tucked inside the sweet sweet chocolate egg...another monster! 100+ toys and in my 3 pack 2 are from the same series of bouncing creatures! At first I was shocked; even a little disappointed. 3 eggs and I didn't get to build anything?! But after the initial blow I kinda like the little guy. Now the original monster has a friend to fuck shit up with. I can even start my own Monsters Inc!

Same instructions (at least I know what I'm doing this time) and same silhouette game.

Here is the 2nd Little Monster in all his glory! Has an extra eye compared to the first one! This one is named Ke$h.

Kinder Surprised! Egg The Second.

One of the biggest debates in terms of Kinder Egg etiquette is the order in which you consume. Some people eat the whole egg before even looking at the toy. Some tear into into; disgarding the chocolate in a frenzied race for the centre. I like to take the middle ground on this issue. To get the toy you have to break the egg so you may as well treat yourself to a half but save the other segment until you've got your game on. This means if the toy is bitterly disappointing you still have some chocolate to compensate and make you feel better. Win Win!

Despite the initial disappointment that once again I hadn't received a kit to build I was actually quite excited to receive a 'little monster' on the day Lady GaGa's much anticipated new single got released. Cosmic!


One side of the instructions show the whole monster collection. Yellow monster is clearly quite important within the group.



As for the actual details...it took me a while to figure this out. I placed the monster on a table as shown and waited for it to jump. It didn't. After about 5 minutes of waiting I realised your meant to throw it and it bounces. The section on the right is a game. I think they just had some space to fill

The Little Monster in full. Now named GaGa!

Song of the Week 2011 - Week 6

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5th February to 11th February
Noah and The Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

Pay a high price

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Kinder Surprised! Egg The First

Onto the first egg. The anticipation of the chocolate treat that lays ahead is almost too much. The mystery of what the contents are cause my mind to go into overdrive. Will it be a kit to build? I hope so. What if it disappoints? I don't think I could deal with rejection from a chocolate egg toy. Do I already have it? On the basis there are 100's of possible toys that have changed over the years this is highly unlikely but not unheard of.

Tip: The weight of the egg is a good indicator of what is inside. Light and you're looking at a jigsaw. Heavy and its more that likely one of the models. Mid weight eggs generally produce a kit toy.


One thing you learn quickly about Kinder toys is they are mental on a level even the Japanease would struggle to comprehend. On the whole they are completely insane. I can imagine in some nut house in Europe brilliantly damaged minds are working on these tiny gems. And they out did themselves on this occasion.


At first I was confused. This isn't a toy. It looks like the hat you'd find in a cracker. Where is my toy?!?!

Each toy includes instructions and/or a bonkers picture showing all the toys in the series. The instructions rarely help and further increase the insanity. Example;

So...you inflate the bag and it becomes a rabbit ball that you can throw around or hang on a washing line with your socks...OK....

The inflated Kinder Rabbit in full; looking after tomorrow's egg!

Kinder Surprised! Intro

I had the fortune of being the recipient of a three pack of Kinder Surprise (Kinder Egg as they really should be called) today and thought as I consumed the chocolate and enjoyed the toys over the next few days I would share the experience with everyone!


A bit of background to the uninitiated. The Kinder Surprise is a hollow egg made with the greatest chocolate in the world. The outer shell is milk chocolate. The inner shell is white chocolate. What of the yolk? Well the space inside houses a capsule in which a toy is held. Traditionally the toy is in kit form and you get the pleasure of making your plaything. Sometimes you may find a limited time model that forms part of a series. Previous variations have been Cavemen, Spy Moles and Cool Turtles.

Andrew WK the Villager

Finally got to play Fable 3 and who do I find living in the town of Brightwall? Andrew WK the Villager. The one I created back in November. Resisting the urge to draw my sword and kill him on the spot for the whole 'Dinner with WK' screw job I instead ended up going on quest to find his missing father. Turned out bandits had killed him but WK was just happy to know what happened.

We are friends now; slowly rebuilding a relationship after his betrayal. I don't trust him though. The minute he steps outta line he's finished. He's got some redeeming to do.

'It was when I was 11 that I first read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was then that I realized that I must devote my life to science'

Google have gone and doodled a rather cool Jules Verne tribute today to mark the author's 183rd birthday. And its interactive!

Using the control on the right you get to steer the Googlised Nautilus around a stylised ocean vista. So much more fun than actually doing work. Below are some of the best findings on my aquatic expedition. No doubt I'll be highly praised by the Royal Society for my findings.

Here we see two Narwhal diving towards a Basking Shark. It is very rare to see them together...

This view shows two intrepid divers looking down the abyss towards a giant octopus. Fortunately there are no mega sharks to be seen.

This is what happens when you play with your cock...

Possibly the greatest headline...EVER!

Batheo! for the other team...

Today's time waster is BATHEO!

Described as 'a 2D city building browser-based game that requires players to play in a persistent world with smart strategy and tactics'. In layman's terms; you have to run a fantasy city whilst sending your troops off to war juggling the politics of city maintenance with the hardships of war.

Thankfully not blocked at work it adds a bit more depth than the usual office time waster games. Since you open an account (using my work email no less) any progress can be saved and continued. Thus I feel this is going to keep me occupied for some time! Maybe even all the way to the summer.

You start by selecting your first hero; You can have lionhearted knights, Beowulf, Roman gladiators, even Robin Hood! I obviously choose the babe with a bow and arrow. As a leader I felt she had the best assets to lead my soldiers to victory.



Orianthi proved herself to be a loyal follower as she guided me through the tuition before I sent her off to take on the forces of Perseus. I don't know exactly why I was at war with him, possibly because of the awful 3D conversion in Clash of the Titans (2010), and I don't know why his enemies from Greek mythology were fighting at his side on this occassion. But Ori (as she's affectionately know) quickly dispatched Calibos, Io and Medusa amongst others and even won over the support of Bellerophon with her dashing heroics.


The final battle was swift and ShawZy had won the day. Perseus was recruited to the cause and the long white sails were unfurled once more as the ships headed to join the Trojan War. I don't think much work will be done tomorrow. Thank the Gods it's casual friday!

Horses on camels and whiskers on kittens...

I spent most of today following the BBC's Live Coverage of the protests in Egypt. Instead of doing the job I get paid to. During the feed this brilliantly absurd message appeared;


'Later, when pro-government demonstrators charged on horses on camels, at least six were dragged from their animals and beaten.'

Horses on camels?! Is that a mistake or does Egypt have horses that ride camels? If so I think we need a regime change quick before they get more. If they tried to invade with horses on camels I don't think anyone stands a chance!

Song of the Week - Week 5

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29th January to 4th February
Ke$ha - We R Who We R

Number One in the UK on my 25th!

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