An interesting quote...

Appropriate? I think so....


"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

--Hermann Goering, 1946

My Favorite Song Right Now

The artist is Mika, a British guy of Lebanese descent. This is his first single and it just got to number 1 on the UK singles chart this past Sunday.

My two penneth worth...

(Italics=who I want to win, Bold=who will win)
By no means have I seen ALL the movies nominated. My predictions on what will win are based on my knowledge of how the academy usually votes. My opinion on what I want to win is either because I've seen the work in question or from what I've read.

Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Director
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, BABEL
Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN
Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

Actress
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN
Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Kate Winslet, LITTLE CHILDREN
Penelope Cruz, VOLVER
Meryl Street, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

Actor
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Peter O'Toole, VENUS
Will Smith, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Leonardo DiCaprio, BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling, HALF NELSON

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS
Adriana Barraza, BABEL
Rinko Kinkuchi, BABEL
Abigail Breslin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Cate Blanchett, NOTES ON A SCANDAL

Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS
Alan Arkin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Mark Wahlberg, THE DEPARTED
Djimon Hounsou, BLOOD DIAMOND
Jackie Earle Haley, LITTLE CHILDREN

Original Screenplay
THE QUEEN
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
BABEL
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
PAN'S LABYRINTH

Adapted Screenplay
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
BORAT
CHILDREN OF MEN

Animated Feature
HAPPY FEET
CARS
MONSTER HOUSE


The only movie that can or will beat Babel to best picture is The Departed. For actor, I wouldn't mind if any of the nominees won. They're all fantastic. For actress, I want Dame Helen to win, but I secretly also want Penelope Cruz to win, too. I wouldn't begrudge Eddie Murphy his win if for no other reason than his excellent multiple-roles acting work in Coming To America and The Nutty Professor. Oh, and Monster House was EASILY the best animated movie I saw this year.

Colbert v. O'Reilly - Part Two

Colbert v. O'Reilly - Part One

Seriuosly, how can you not love Colbert? Regular readers know of my intense dislike of Fox News and the current "Right Wing" in America, but props to O'Reilly for being game enough to have Colbert on and then going on The Colbert Report.

My New Favorite Blog (after mine, of course)

I recently discovered this great blog about movies called Pajiba. It's a funny and satirical blog that is about movies first and being funny second. Check out this post entitled "The First Annual Pajiba (Sh)it List"

Finally, a reason to watch an American Football match...PRINCE RULES!!!

The 10 Best Films of the Year

I didn't even get a chance to see all the movies I wanted to this year, so of the ones I saw, here's the cream of the crop:

1. The Departed - If you saw my original review of this, you know how much I loved this film. Scorsese back to his best, Jack kicking ass, Matt Damon and Leo ruling and Mark Wahlberg stealing the movie. Best and most enjoyable movie of the year.

2. Volver - I'm a huge fan of Almodovar's work and I think that this is the best thing he's ever done. Penelope Cruz proves that she can really act, Carmen Maura is fantastic as the Mother, the music is perfect and the production design and use of color (especially red) make this the most beautiful movie I saw this year. Nobody can write about women like Pedro Almodovar.

3. United 93 - Wow. Considering the subject matter, it's almost unbelievable that Paul Greengrass has been able to make a film that is powerful, accurate, inspiring and, crucially, not over-emotional. This was both the most uncomfortable and powerful movie of the year.

4. When the Levees Broke - Reigning in his usual angry polemical style, Spike Lee lets the people of New Orleans speak for themselves in this amazing four-hour documentary. More than your opinion or my opinion, the victims give their own account of one of the worst days in the nation's history. This film is a hugely important and accurate indictment of a government's (lack of) response to a tragedy.

5. Little Miss Sunshine - This is one of those movies that is so built up with hype about how brilliantly funny it is, that you just know it's gonna disappoint when you finally see it. Well, it turns out that this wasn't the case when I finally saw this last week. Equally hilarious, prescient and touching, the first time directors present a microcosm of the (now) typical American family. Abigail Breslin is magnificent as the titular heroine.

6. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - The best and only western I saw this year. Tommy Lee Jones wrote, directed and starred in what is on the surface a revenge/road movie. Underneath, however, are commentaries on the plight of hispanics in the south, general ignorance, the new west and plain (no pun intended) friendship. Highly recommended.

7. Brick - I read a lot of good buzz about this movie on the internet and from friends so I decided to rent it to check it out. Man, it really knocked my socks off. Some people thought the cod-noir dialogue was too gimmicky but I thought it suited the plot perfectly, as did the milieu of high school, that is, the traditional whodunit. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since 3rd Rock.

8. Inside Man - The second Spike Lee joint on this list, this was, for me, almost the perfect movie in that it combined entertainment and social commentary in a perfect stew. A clever heist story that would have worked well in the hands of a hack is turned into a hugely impressive thriller in the hands of a director as talented as Spike. Add to this comments on race in America, how we interact with each other under pressure and a kick-ass performance from Jodie Foster and you get one of the most entertaining "joints" in years.

9. Quinceanera - This is a small independent movie that won several prizes at the Sundance Film Festival. It tells of the coming of age party (the "Quinceanera" of the title) of 15 year old Magdalena and the troubles and issues facing teenagers in America today. By focussing on a Mexican community, non-Hispanics can see that some truths are universal. Uniformly excellent performances from an inexperienced cast, especially Jesse Garcia as Carlos.

10. (tie) V for Vendetta and Jackass Number Two - I really couldn't decide which one of these to leave out so I cheated and included them both. The former was far better than I expected it to be. The script, sets and Hugo Weaving made this the best movie I saw in the first quarter of the year. The latter was quite simply one of the funniest movies I've ever seen (and I saw Borat this year). If you judge how successful a comedy is on laughs per minute (and intensity of laughs) then this is a text book example of the formula. I was actually crying in some parts.

Honorable mention:

I really, really, REALLY loved:
Rocky Balboa (whodathunkit)
An Inconvenient Truth (you can't argue with facts, Mr President)
Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius)
Hard Candy (Ellen Paige - what an actress!)

I just really, really loved:
Talladega Nights ("Dad, you made that grace your Bitch!")
Lady in the Water (why do so many people hate on this movie? It was WAY better than The Village)
MI:3 (three words: Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
Open Season & Happy Feet (highly entertaining)
The Descent (best horror movie of the year)

Movies I didn't get a chance to see, but some of which I'M SURE would have made it into my Top ten are:
The Illusionist
The Prestige
Thank You For Smoking
The Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Casino Royale
The Fountain
Apocalypto
The Holiday
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Notes on a Scandal
The Good Shepherd
Pan's Labyrinth
Miss Potter
The Queen

Crap Movies of the Year:
Failure to Launch
Failure to Launch
Failure to Launch
Miami Vice

The 10 Best TV Shows of the Year

Here are my ten favorite TV shows of this past year. Some are American, some are British, but all are available somewhere online. Again, they're in no particular order.

The Shield - Season 5
For me, this is the best US cop show on television. Set in and around the fictional LA borough of Farmington, it tells the story of a group of cops called the Strike Team, led by Det. Vic Mackey, who are corrupt and break the rules, but are the best cops on the streets. All five seasons have set an incredibly high standard in terms of writing, acting and, most surprisingly considering it's not on HBO, realism. Michael Chiklis is unbelievable as Det. Mackey and this season, Forest Whitaker (look for him to nab the Best Actor Oscar this year for The Last King of Scotland) matches him as Internal Affairs agent Kavanaugh. Most highly recommended. Best moment: When Mackey nails Kavanaugh's wife!!

Life On Mars - Season 1
If The Shield is the best US cop show, then this is, by far and away, the best UK cop show. Detective Sam Tyler, whilst investigating a murder case, gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. He doesn't know why or how except that he may be in a coma in the present day. He becomes a cop in 1973 (experiencing all the fish-out-of-water situations) while trying to find out how to get back to the present. Funny, gritty and extremely well-acted it's like Hill Street Blues crossed with Quantum Leap, The Sweeney and Starsky & Hutch. Best moment: When Tyler and his boss punch the dude from The Catherine Tate Show

Extras - Season 2
Ricky Gervais once again comes up with the most excruciating, embarrassing and downright hilarious show on TV. He plays Andy Millman, a TV and film extra who dreams of becoming famous. This season, he appears to have struck gold, landing a sitcom deal with the BBC. Nothing, of course, goes to plan and Andy is forced to compromise in order to keep his new found fame. Guest stars this season included Robert DeNiro, Chris Martin, Sir Ian McKellen and Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. Best moment: When Andy catches his agent and Barry off Eastenders having a wank over a pen

Planet Earth
This 10-part documentary series from the BBC is eye-wateringly, groundbreakingly, titty-wobblingly brilliant covering, as it does, the entire planet. Five years in the making, the series shows us footage of things never before filmed including snow leopards searching for food on the himalayas, a pride of lions taking down an adult elephant at night and an aerial view of wolves chasing wildebeeste. Each episode covers a different physical part of the planet, from mountains to jungles, rainforests, deserts and beyond. Narrated by the legend that is Sir David Attenborough, your gob will literally be smacked. Best moment: The Great White leaping out of the ocean in super slo-mo

Survivor: Cook Islands
This season caused controversy with it's pronouncement that, for the first time ever, there would be four tribes of five, divided into Black, Hispanic, Asian and White contestants. After not watching this show for about six seasons, this premise intrigued me, to say the least. it was, without doubt, the best season ever. Despite copping out after three weeks and mixing the tribes up, the combination of characters, twists and challenges made this the most purely entertaining show of the year. By the way, no white people made the final three! Yay! Best moment: Ozzy (Viva La Raza!) making it to the final two

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Season 1 (and maybe the last?)
This was my most anticipated show of the year. Created by the guy (Aaron Sorkin) who wrote The West Wing and A Few Good Men, this show is about the behind-the-scenes machinations of a fictional TV comedy series, loosely based on SNL. This show certainly met my expectations offering this year's best and wittiest dialogue and some extremely touching moments. It hasn't exactly set the ratings alight, though, and may not make it to a second season. For shame! Best moment: The homeless New Orleans band's rendition of O Holy Night

The Vicar of Dibley 2006 Xmas Special
After 2004's worthy but unfunny Make Poverty History special, this was a welcome return to the hilarity of a show that most fans have a great affection for. For the uninitiated among you, this sitcom tells the story of the small village of Dibley's female vicar, Geraldine, played with great humor by Dawn French of French and Saunders fame. This special concerns Geraldine finally making it down the aisle and contains some truly inspired scenes that rank up there with the best the series has ever produced. Best moment: Geraldine's reaction to the marriage proposal

Real Time with Bill Maher - Season 4
Has an administration ever provided satirists and comedians such an abundance of material? Maher was funny when Clinton was in office. Now, though, he looks like a genius. Mixing serious political comment with satirical flourishes and some downright goofiness, this no-holds-barred HBO series is one of the funniest and most informative things on the box. Best moment: Bill's closing monologue at the end of episode 20

Nip/Tuck - Season 4
When compared with the previous three seasons, this season was the weakest. However, the fact that it is still in my top 10 should illustrate the brilliance of this show. Following the adventures of two Miami plastic surgeons, this season we had a guy who wanted his balls enlarged, Sean's wife's affair with their dwarf nanny, Christian banging Rosie O'Donnell's trailer trash lottery winner for money and the return of Escobar. This is, without doubt, TV's guiltiest pleasure. Best moment: Peter Dinklage's entire performance as Marlo the nanny

Elizabeth I
If, like me, you've seen many dramatizations of the life of Queen Elizabeth I, then this, the umpteenth version of the story, could have easily gotten lost in the crowd. The script was very good, the costumes and production design were, predictably for a BBC/HBO co-production, excellent and the supporting cast were uniformly impressive. What makes this one of the best shows of the year, and one of the best Elizabeth stories ever, though, is Helen Mirren. With this, the final Prime Suspect and The Queen, Helen reminded everyone why, along with Meryl, she is quite simply the finest actress working today. Best moment: When she gets pissed off at Hugh Dancy in front of everyone

Honorable Mentions:
I haven't seen the new seasons of Lost and Scrubs, yet but if I had, you can be sure they would have been on this list. Other shows I thought were the nuts:
The Catherine Tate Show - Season 3
The Sopranos - Season 6
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Match of the Day
The Royle Family - The Queen of Sheba

The 10 Best Albums of the Year

Here are what I believe to be the best albums of 2006. As you all know, my taste in music cannot be faulted, so you would do well to pick these up! In no particular order they are:

Keane - Under the Iron Sea
While not managing to surpass the genius of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, the trio come mighty close with this follow-up. Best song: Nothing in My Way

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
I'm not with a lot of critics who say that this is their masterpiece. I would rate Blood Sugar Sex Magik, By The Way, One Hot Minute (just kidding!) and Californication over this. Having said that, the quality throughout this 2-disc is fantastic. SO many artists bring out a double-album that only has about one album's worth of good songs on it (yes, I'm talking to you Foo Fighters and R Kelly!). Best song: Dani California

Outkast - Idlewild Soundtrack
This was easily my most anticipated album of the year. Outkast are, after all, my favorite band. I suppose it was inevitable that they couldn't top the untoppable (is that a word?) heights of Speakerboxx/The Love Below. Hell, they didn't even manage to top Aquemini or Stankonia either. However, Outkast running on half-power are still better than most artists at full strength. Best song: Morris Brown

Prince - 3121
The greatest artist of all time released this follow-up to his "comeback" album, Musicology, in March. I never understood why Musicology was so popular. I thought it was one of his least genius-like albums ever (I just can't use the word "worst" when referring to the man). 3121 was certainly a step up from Musicology and there were even flashes of the old master. On the Prince scale, I'd rate this album as a 6 out of 10, which is 10/10 for anyone else! Best song: Black Sweat

The Feeling - Twelve Steps and Home
These guys came out of nowhere to score five UK top ten hits from this, their debut album. As I mentioned in a previous post, they are like a happier Coldplay and write some of the catchiest choruses you'll ever hear. Best song: Sewn

Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Having listened to this album quite a few times since the first review I posted, I can confirm that it is brilliant. I still can't get over the fact that she's managed to top Love Angel Music Baby with an even more eclectic CD, but she certainly has. Best song: Early Winter

Various - BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
There's a DJ called Jo Whiley on BBC's radio 1 who does a weekly feature called the Live Lounge, where she gets musical guests to come into the show, go into the studio and then do acoustic versions of either their own songs or covers. This double-disc is a collection of these from the past few years. A few highlights are: The Automatic doing Gold Digger, Outkast-Ms Jackson, Queens of the Stone Age-No One Knows, Lemar-I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Franz Ferdinand-What You Waiting For. Best song: Gold Digger

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
I can't believe that this guy used to be in a boyband. I think JT is possibly the best male solo artist working today that is not Prince. The album gets more and more rewarding with each listening. Seriously, if you haven't picked this up yet, I urge you to do so. Best song: My Love

Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah!
I think that I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was possibly the greatest song of the year. If you don't get his album, at least download that song. But, if you like infectious disco beats with a dash of Elton and a dollop of 70s New York, download the whole thing. Best song: I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

Razorlight - Razorlight
Lead singer Johnny Borrell is a dickhead in the vein of Liam Gallacher or Brandon Flowers. I'm talking major assholeage, here. However, as long as Razorlight keep coming up with albums this good, I suppose we can let this slide. Best song: America

Honorable Mention:
In a weaker year, all of these would have made the list. I really liked
John Legend - Once Again
Pharrell - In My Mind
Diana Krall - From This Moment On
Nelly Furtado - Loose
Gnarls Barkley - St Elsewhere
Lily Allen - Alright Still
Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not