Latest News

05 / 11 / 2008
Review: After the gruelling James Bond press junket tour, I bet Daniel Craig could use a Quantum of Solace.

02 / 11 / 2008
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Japan are in - just one rally to go and still the lead keeps changing! See how your team fared or see the Japanese rally results. Any of the top ten could still claim overall honours!

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Brad Pitt steals the latest from the Coen brothers: Burn After Reading.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Simon Pegg learns How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Ben Stiller directs stars aplenty in Tropic Thunder.

12 / 10 / 2008
Review: A few words on some recent movies: RocknRolla,
Death Race,
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,
Space Chimps,
Stuck,
The Babysitters,
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder,
Son of Rambow,
Jack and Jill vs the World,
Made of Honor,
Meet Dave,
Doomsday,
Pathology.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can mess with Adam Sandler, but You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: Mike Myers tickles some chakras in The Love Guru.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: Toot and come in, it's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can stop watching the skies now, it's The X Files: I Want to Believe.

31 / 07 / 2008
Review: Batman Began and now continues in The Dark Knight.

24 / 07 / 2008
Review: The Chronicles of Narnia continue with Prince Caspian.

23 / 07 / 2008
Review: Pixar goes Short Circuit with Wall-E.

22 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jules Verne never envisaged a 3D version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up in The Forbidden Kingdom.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Will Smith keeps the streets safe and smelling of booze in Hancock.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: M Night Shyamalan's latest, The Happening.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Spanish creepy-creepy The Orphanage.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: A quick catchup of movies that don't get the full treatment:
Be Kind Rewind,
Street Kings,
What Happens In Vegas,
Superhero Movie,
The Ruins and
Teeth.

08 / 07 / 2008
Review: Bend that bullet Angelina! Wanted.

01 / 07 / 2008
Review: Those cats were fast as lightning - Kung Fu Panda.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Don't make Ed Norton angry - The Incredible Hulk.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Carrie and Big's wedding, it can only be Sex and the City.

11 / 06 / 2008
Review: Everyone's favourite pot-addicts are back in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Harrison Ford returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Tube driver seeks suicidal man in Three and Out.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: CGI fantasy motor racing in Speed Racer.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: Your creases will fly away with Iron Man.

18 / 08 / 2005
Sudoku! Have a go at the online Sudoku game.

Plenty more
See the rest of the reviews here.

The Oscars 2008 - Sunday 24th February

Just a bit of fun - my tips for the Oscars and who I'd have voted for if I could. I promise I won't change my predictions after the winners are announced! Over the past couple of years my predictions have got progressively worse, and this year looks like the most open year yet, so I could conceivably get them ALL wrong this year!

Previous years' tips: 2005, 2006, 2007.

Best Picture

Nominees:
  Atonement,
  Juno,
  Michael Clayton,
  No Country For Old Men,
  There Will Be Blood.

My prediction: No Country For Old Men.

My opinion: The Bourne Ultimatum.

Was I right? Yay!

Best Leading Actor

Nominees:
  George Clooney (for Michael Clayton),
  Daniel Day-Lewis (for There Will Be Blood),
  Johnny Depp (for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street),
  Tommy Lee Jones (for In the Valley of Elah),
  Viggo Mortensen (for Eastern Promises).

My prediction: Virtually impossible to call this year. I think it's between Daniel Day-Lewis and Johnny Depp. Johnny might get it as he hasn't won one yet and was inexplicably beaten by Sean Penn when nominated for the first Pirates movie - but I'll still go with Daniel Day-Lewis.

My opinion: I really enjoyed Daniel Day-Lewis's performance so I'll agree.

Was I right? Yes! Apparently everyone else thought this was a no-brainer.

Best Leading Actress

Nominees:
  Cate Blanchett (for Elizabeth: The Golden Age),
  Julie Christie (for Away From Her),
  Marion Cotillard (for La Vie en Rose),
  Laura Linney (for The Savages),
  Ellen Page (for Juno).

My prediction: Hard to be confident as I haven't actually seen most of these - the bookies have Julie Christie, but I reckon the Academy's track record will see it fall on Marion Cotillard.

My opinion: Of the movies I've seen, I think Sienna Miller was a big surprise in Interview so I'll leave it with her until I see the rest.

Was I right? Yes! Beat the bookies on that one.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:
  Casey Affleck (for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford),
  Javier Bardem (for No Country For Old Men),
  Philip Seymour Hoffman (for Charlie Wilson's War),
  Hal Holbrook (for Into the Wild),
  Tom Wilkinson (for Michael Clayton).

My prediction: I've gone on record saying that Javier Bardem is a shoe-in for this one ... but that was before I saw Casey Affleck's performance. I'll still go with Javier Bardem but my eyes are closed...

My opinion: For me, both Casey Affleck and Hal Holbrook were far and away the best of the year, I'll give it jointly to both of them.

Was I right? Yep, 4 from 4 so far.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees:
  Cate Blanchett (for I'm Not There),
  Ruby Dee (for American Gangster),
  Saoirse Ronan (for Atonement),
  Amy Ryan (for Gone Baby Gone),
  Tilda Swinton (for Michael Clayton).

My prediction: Cate Blanchett.

My opinion: Michelle Pfeiffer for Stardust.

Was I right? No, it couldn't last. Tilda Swinton picked up this one.

Best Director

Nominees:
  Julian Schnabel (for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly),
  Jason Reitman (for Juno),
  Tony Gilroy (for Michael Clayton),
  Joel & Ethan Coen (for No Country For Old Men),
  Paul Thomas Anderson (for There Will Be Blood).

My prediction: The Coens for No Country For Old Men.

My opinion: I was tempted by Francis Lawrence for I Am Legend, but in the end I've veered to Matthew Vaughn for Stardust.

Was I right? Yes again.

Best Animated Feature

Nominees:
  Persepolis,
  Ratatouille,
  Surf's Up.

My prediction: Ratatouille SURELY - though Persepolis will be close behind. How Surf's Up got in here over Bee Movie I'll never know.

My opinion: Ratatouille, without a shadow of a doubt.

Was I right? Yes, travesty number one averted.

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees:
  Juno,
  Lars and the Real Girl,
  Michael Clayton,
  Ratatouille,
  The Savages.

My prediction: Juno is a typical winner in this category so that's my choice, though I'm worried about The Savages even though I haven't seen it yet.

My opinion: Hot Fuzz. Yes, that really was less than a year ago.

Was I right? Yes!

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees:
  Atonement,
  Away From Her,
  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,
  No Country For Old Men,
  There Will Be Blood.

My prediction: This one's really hard to pick, any of them could take it. I'll go for No Country For Old Men, though I think Atonement has a great chance too.

My opinion: Stardust. How has that movie not got a single nomination?

Was I right? Yes.

Best Cinematography

Nominees:
  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,
  Atonement,
  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,
  No Country For Old Men,
  There Will Be Blood.

My prediction: This one is so open I don't want to make a prediction - any of these could easily take it. But I have to pick so I'll go for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

My opinion: Tough call, I'll nod to No Country For Old Men.

Was I right? No, surprisingly it went to There Will Be Blood.

Best Art Direction

Nominees:
  American Gangster,
  Atonement,
  The Golden Compass,
  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,
  There Will Be Blood.

My prediction: There's a lot of buzz around Sweeney Todd, but I'm going with Atonement.

My opinion: 300.

Was I right? No, should've gone with the buzz - Sweeney Todd won.

Best Special Effects

Nominees:
  The Golden Compass,
  Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,
  Transformers.

My prediction: This is the one I'm most sure about this year: Transformers, though Pirates was brilliant too, effects-wise. Frankly it's sickening to see The Golden Compass even mentioned in this exalted company.

My opinion: Transformers. Best visual effects I've ever seen.

Was I right? Aaargh! I do not BELIEVE IT! FIX! FIX! The Golden Compass had EASILY the worst visual effects of these three, and somehow the dozy feckers voted it the winner?!?! What's going on?! This result makes a mockery of the whole process, it's completely ridiculous. You would have to be blind, stupid AND bribed in order to come up with that asinine result. Can you tell I'm not pleased?

Costume Design

Nominees:
  Across the Universe,
  Atonement,
  Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
  La Vie en Rose.
  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,

My prediction: Silly to predict as I haven't seen two of them, but I have a hunch on Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

My opinion: Couldn't really give a toss to be honest.

Was I right? Yes.

The Bernard Matthews Award

What was 2007's Turkey of the Year? Well, Death Proof was a major disappointment, as was 30 Days of Night, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets was a predictable lowlight, but they all seem like Citizen Kane compared to the stunning incompetence of Why Did I Get Married, which got the only zero of the year. However, seeing as that isn't getting a UK release, I'm giving it to Rush Hour 3. Chris Tucker is my new favourite rhyming slang.

Highlights of the Year

Other than the many quality products already mentioned, other highlights of the year included Judd Apatow's double successes Superbad and Knocked Up, a seemingly endless run of three-quels (Shrek 3, Ocean's Thirteen, Spider-Man 3, Resident Evil: Extinction, Pirates 3 and Bourne 3: As Three as the Wind Blows and, er, Die Hard 4), while the final quarter brought us Rendition, Beowulf, Cloverfield, the surprisingly not-crap-at-all St Trinian's and the Oscar-overlooked Kite Runner. All that and I haven't mentioned The Simpsons Movie, Evan Almighty, Sunshine, Hostel Part 2, Run Fatboy Run and so many more. There certainly were an awful lot of "pretty good" movies this year. let's hope 2008 brings some really great ones.

Overall results

Nine right from thirteen predictions. Pretty good, happy with that. With such random and blatantly corrupt results as giving the Visual Effects to The Golden Shower, I can't really expect to do any better, can I?

Coming up in 2008

Robert Downey Jr will be trying on his superhero pants with Iron Man, but surely the only movie we care about is Daniel Craig 2: Quantum of Solace. Could this be the year that Bond's bird finally gets her baps out?