tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47367436031829416442024-02-19T05:29:43.950+01:00Sweet Film MemoriesArticles, opinions and reviews about cinema and entertainmentOlga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-24156256321485765482012-02-26T19:46:00.001+01:002012-02-26T19:46:54.658+01:00And the Oscar goes to...<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's no better excuse to resurrect the blog after... (how long it was?!) to talk about the biggest night of cinema: Oscar Night!</div>
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Billy Crystal returns!! To me, the best host the Oscars can have. Can't wait to see him back. Been told Cirque du Soleil will perform after their performance post-9/11 Oscars ceremony. Really looking forward to see my boys (even two are presenters and the other is just a wonderful to support his movies noms) and which is the most elegant woman/man of the night. I enjoy fashion, what can I say? LOL</div>
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As every year, I tried to watch all the movies nominated and once again, I accomplished this great challenge. YAY! I think it's the best thing you can do if then you wanna actually voice your opinion and ponder if the final winners are the ones deserving it or not.</div>
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So, here are my bets in the main categories and little bit of analysis:</div>
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<u><b>Best Picture</b></u></div>
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The Artist</div>
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The Descendants</div>
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close</div>
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The Help</div>
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Hugo</div>
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Midnight in Paris</div>
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Moneyball</div>
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The Tree of Life</div>
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War Horse</div>
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Prediction: The Artist.</div>
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I believe <b>The Artist</b> will be the main winner of the night because the movie won the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Plus, the big almighty producer Harvey Weinstein is behind this production. Everybody knows in Hollywood how powerful this man. A very high profile marketing & promotional campaign behind. The Artist is the most original choice of the night. A black & white and mute movie in the 21st Century. Considering that half of the members of the Academy are +60, they would really appreciate this trip back in time. Still, the movie is well constructed, consistant score and Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin do a great job in transmitting emotions and keep us interested in the plot.</div>
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<b>The Descendants</b> presents a familiar drama, helmed by wonderful George Clooney who has to take care of a dying unfaithful wife and two daughters with whom he didn't really had a very deep paternal connection. The movie accomplishes the taste of moral instilled in all Alexander Payne's movies: Live life intensely, learn to cope with death, learn to love what you have.</div>
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<b>Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close</b> is a nice movie. A stellar cast there with Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and Max Von Sydow. A movie with barely Oscarwatch promotion but with much ado about nothing won 2 noms at the awards. It's a touching story, a boy who loses his father at the 9/11 NYC terrorist attack and afterwards, goes around the city trying to find a lock that matches the key his dad gave him before dying.</div>
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<b>The Help</b> happens to be one of my favorite movies of the Awards Season. The cast is just marvellous, all the actresses shine and the dialogues are funny, witty and sparkling. It really makes laugh a lot at some points, specially when nominee Octavia Spencer is around. Nothing funny about the theme touched (The Civil Rights movement of the 60's) in this movie though. </div>
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<b>Hugo</b> is a fairytale, in my opinion. I enjoyed it. It's a different Scorsese we're used to see. An homage to the history of cinema. Melies. Paris. A bit slow path, though.</div>
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<b>Midnight in Paris</b> is an enjoyable movie. I enjoyed it more than Vicky Cristina Barcelona. (Sorry!) Being able to meet Hewingway, Dali or any other personality from the Golden Age in Paris by a touch of magic is quite appealing to me. Allen's portrait of love relationships are always material to discuss. Paris looks super lovely, as always!</div>
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<b>Moneyball</b> is one of the movies I didn't quite enjoy. Sorry for the people who loved it to bits. To me, it's Jerry Maguire in beisbol. It didn't touch my heart, although I must say Brad Pitt's performance is good.</div>
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<b>The Tree of Life</b>, that's one some loved and other's hated to death. I'm in between. Really long movie.</div>
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<b>War Horse</b> is not the best Spielberg but it's Spielberg and it's a must-see. Based on a West End production, the movie centers in the strong bond of a boy and his horse Joey, which takes a big part at war. One of the things I loved about the movie is that it's a war movie but there's not a bloodshed, which is something to be appreciated. If you want blood, go see Saving Private Ryan. The photography is just so beautiful, just mindblowing: That wheat field and all the soldiers getting ready to assault. Please, let me just mention the biggest scene-stealer of the movie, a certain outstanding Brit you all know I love and respect. 15 minutes on screen and got the best speech of the movie. Bravo Major Stewart!</div>
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Missing Movies: Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Drive. </div>
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<u><b>Best Director</b></u></div>
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Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist</div>
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Alexander Payne - The Descendants</div>
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Martin Scorsese - Hugo</div>
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Woody Allen - Midnight In Paris</div>
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Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life</div>
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Prediction: Michel Hazanavicius.</div>
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Missing Directors: Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Roman Polanski (Carnage)</div>
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<u><b>Best Actor in A Leading Role</b></u></div>
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Damián Bichir - A Better Life</div>
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George Clooney - The Descendants</div>
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Jean Dujardin - The Artist</div>
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Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</div>
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Brad Pitt - Moneyball</div>
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Prediction: Jean Dujardin</div>
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I can't comment of <b>Damián Bichir</b>'s performance because I haven't seen his movie but I think I'm not the only one who got surprised by his nomination, considering other more powerful names where sounding.</div>
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<b>George Clooney</b> is just so great in The Descendants. Fragile, lovable, worried and with the biggest mission of trying to decipher his daughters. Personally, Clooney is my third winner's choice the winner but Dujardin has better options. </div>
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<b>Jean Dujardin</b>'s performance is great. Brings back to old Hollywood Gold era and because with no dialogue connects with the audience. </div>
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<b>Gary Oldman</b>, the veteran of the list. He's my personal choice. I love Oldman since God was a child. Long overdue at the Oscars, this will be a wonderful time to award him. His performance as George Smiley is powerful, outstanding and elegant. A portrait of a spy pre-James Bond. If I was the one to choose, I'd nominee each one of the actors of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. You can't really tell who's better because all are stellar. </div>
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<b>Brad Pitt</b> is ok in Moneyball but as I said before, the movie didn't touched my heart.</div>
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Missing actors: Michael Fassbender (Shame), Ryan Gosling (Drive)</div>
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<u><b>Best Actress in A Leading Role</b></u></div>
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Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs</div>
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Viola Davis - The Help</div>
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Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</div>
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Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady</div>
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Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn</div>
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Prediction: Meryl Streep</div>
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<b>Glenn Close</b> tries her best in Albert Nobbs but she doesn't convince me. Starts strong but at the end, it's so weak. It's a pity because Close is such a magnificent actress.</div>
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<b>Viola Davis</b> is simply fantastic in The Help. Strong performance, friendly to the audience and to me, it's the other winner if Streep doesn't win. </div>
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I'm in the group who really liked <b>Rooney Mara</b> as Lisbeth Salander. Strong, totally believable and cool, at times. Impossible not to point out the great chemistry with fantastic Daniel Craig. The loss of weight, accent, body piercing and compromising scenes in the movie are reason enough to appreciate her job. Not Oscar worthy but you gotta say it was a great job.</div>
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<b>Meryl Streep</b> or The Perfect Actress. We all love Streep at home. Give her a drama, a musical, a comedy and she's always superb. Her performance as Margaret Thatcher is impecable. The best rendition the politician could have. Academy is about time, you give the statuette after a decade of many nominations and no wins. Golden Globes, Baftas, Screen Actors Guild show her love, now it's your time. It'll be a standing ovation if that happens, guaranteed!</div>
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<b>Michelle Williams </b>is becoming a recurrent in these leads. Last year, she was nominated for her super job in Blue Valentine and this year, resurrects that blonde bombshell called Marilyn Monroe. I really enjoyed her performance but her competition is stronger.</div>
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Missing actresses: Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin), Jodie Foster & Kate Winslet (Carnage)</div>
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<u><b>Best Actor in A Supporting Role</b></u></div>
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Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn</div>
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Jonah Hill - Moneyball</div>
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Nick Nolte - Warrior</div>
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Christopher Plummer - Beginners</div>
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Max Von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close</div>
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Prediction: Christopher Plummer</div>
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I would love <b>Kenneth Branagh</b> to win. He's just a fantastic actor, good at everything he does. He's the perfect encarnation of Sir Laurence Olivier in the movie and every interaction with Marilyn Monroe is just priceless. Moreover, he happens to be another actor he didn't not have Oscar love and I think it's about time.</div>
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I don't have to say much about <b>Jonah Hill</b>. His nomination surprised me because I think there are actors who deserved his spot more than him, but that's just me. Guess this nomination proves that he can also do drama after so much comedy in his career.</div>
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<b>Nick Nolte</b> or how to show how my past was in a movie. An ex-alcoholic boxing trainer tries to reconnect with his two boxer sons. There are tears, arguments, breakdowns. Nolte is a veteran for the Academy and he deserved to be nominated in his comeback.</div>
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A word to define <b>Christopher Plummer</b> in Beginners is sensational. You instantly fall in love with his character once you meet him. A gay man in his 70's who confesses his son, Ewan McGregor, his sexual orientation once he discovers he's dying of cancer. </div>
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And another veteran in this category is <b>Max Von Sydow</b>. When silences speak more than words.</div>
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Missing actors: Christoph Waltz (Carnage)</div>
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<u><b>Best Actress in A Supporting Role</b></u></div>
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Bérénice Bejo - The Artist</div>
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Jessica Chastain - The Help</div>
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Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids</div>
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Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs</div>
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Octavia Spencer - The Help</div>
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Prediction: Octavia Spencer</div>
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<b>Bérénice Bejo</b> is just adorable in The Artist. She's articulate with her body and as well as his partner, Dujardin, connects with the audience instantly. We all wanna be Peppy!</div>
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<b>Jessica Chastain</b> is one of the busiest actress in Hollywood, that's not a doubt! Playing the naive Celia, she's one of the scene-stealers of the movie. A vulnerable and humble woman trying her best to pursue the American dream.</div>
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<b>Melissa McCarthy </b>is the soul of Bridesmaids. Simply hilarious! Nice to see a comedy actress being nominated at the Oscars, where drama envolves it all.</div>
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Knockout performance of <b>Janet McTeer</b> but a bad year to be nominated.</div>
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There's nothing not to love of <b>Octavia Spencer</b> in The Help. Outstanding, witty, funny and a woman who fights for hers and her community. Never a pie full of shit had such an hilarious response. </div>
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Missing actresses: Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Carey Mulligan (Shame) </div>
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Let's see how many of my predix come true! My gut says it'll be a very French night! Oh, la la! Enjoy!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-39309063907714641322011-12-31T15:14:00.000+01:002011-12-31T15:14:01.062+01:00My 2011 In MoviesI think this year I have seen more movies than in 2010. YAY!!! Counting, counting... 153 movies, all new releases. Some were excellent, some were OK, some were really forgetable! 44 more than last year. Not bad!<br />
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Here's the list, how many have u seen?<br />
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50-50<br />
127 Hours<br />
Abduction<br />
A Dangerous Method<br />
Afterwards<br />
Albert Nobbs<br />
Amigos<br />
Angels' Crest<br />
Another Year<br />
Anonymous<br />
Arthur<br />
Arthur Christmas<br />
Apollo 18<br />
Bad Teacher<br />
Balada Triste de Trompeta<br />
Battle: Los Angeles<br />
Beginners<br />
Blitz<br />
Blue Valentine<br />
Bridesmaids<br />
Bringing Home Ashley<br />
Brooklyn's Finest<br />
Breaking Dawn P. 1<br />
Burlesque<br />
Captain America: The First Avenger<br />
Carnage<br />
Ceremony<br />
Cinco Metros Cuadrados<br />
Colombiana<br />
Contagion<br />
Conviction<br />
Country Strong<br />
Cowboys & Aliens<br />
Crazy Stupid Love<br />
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark<br />
Dream House<br />
Drive<br />
Eva<br />
Faces in the Crowd<br />
Fair Game<br />
Fast Five<br />
Final Destination 5<br />
Five<br />
Footloose<br />
Friends with Benefits<br />
Fright Night<br />
Fuga de Cerebros 2: Ahora en Harvard<br />
Habemus Papam<br />
Hanna<br />
Happythankyoumoreplease<br />
Happy Feet 2<br />
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows P.2<br />
Horrible Bosses<br />
How do you know...?<br />
Hugo<br />
I Am Number Four<br />
I Don't Know How She Does It<br />
Immortals<br />
Insidious<br />
In Time<br />
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Intruders<br />
J. Edgar <br />
Jack & Jill<br />
Jane Eyre<br />
Johnny English Returns<br />
Just Go With It<br />
Killer Elite<br />
La Piel Que Habito<br />
La Voz Dormida<br />
Larry Crowne<br />
Last Night<br />
Le Premier Cercle<br />
Les Émotifs Anonymes<br />
Les Petits Mouchoirs<br />
Like Crazy<br />
Limitless<br />
Lo Contrario al Amor<br />
London Boulevard<br />
Love and Other Drugs<br />
Manuale d'Amore 3<br />
Margin Call<br />
Martha Mary May Marlene<br />
Melancholia<br />
Micmacs<br />
Mientras Duermes<br />
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol<br />
Morning Glory<br />
Moneyball<br />
Midnight in Paris<br />
New Year's Eve<br />
No Habrá Paz Para los Malvados<br />
No Strings Attached<br />
One Day<br />
Paranormal Activity 3<br />
¿Para qué sirve un oso?<br />
Perfect Sense<br />
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides<br />
Puss In Boots<br />
Real Steel<br />
Red Riding Hood<br />
Sanctum<br />
Scream 4<br />
Shark Night<br />
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows<br />
Sleeping Beauty<br />
Something Borrowed<br />
Soul Surfer<br />
Source Code<br />
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World<br />
Straw Dogs<br />
Super 8<br />
The Adjustment Bureau<br />
The Adventures of Tintin<br />
The Beaver<br />
The Collector<br />
The Conspirator<br />
The Change Up<br />
The Debt<br />
The Fighter<br />
The Green Hornet<br />
The Green Lantern<br />
The Help<br />
The Hungover II<br />
The Idus of March<br />
The King's Speech<br />
The Muppets<br />
The Perfect Host<br />
The Resident<br />
The Romantics<br />
The Roomate<br />
The Rum Diary<br />
The Smurfs<br />
The Son of No One<br />
The Three Musketeers<br />
The Tree of Life<br />
The Whistleblower<br />
Thor<br />
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy<br />
Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis<br />
Tower Heist<br />
Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon<br />
Trespass<br />
Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo<br />
True Grit<br />
Unknown<br />
Verbo<br />
Water For Elephants<br />
Warrior<br />
We Need To Talk About Kevin<br />
What's Your Number?<br />
X-Men: First GenerationOlga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-26659498983332850482010-12-30T20:10:00.002+01:002010-12-30T20:25:27.351+01:00My 2010 In MoviesSo, 2010 is living its last hours and there's been plenty of cinema this year. I must say the quality hasn't been really good, in my opinion. Too many sequels, superheroes and all that stuff that I've watched anyways (sometimes really wanting the movie to finish, I confess), LOL. Still, I miss quality and stories that move my spirit and make me think. Hollywood needs talented writers!! They exist but they are not given a chance! Take some risks sometimes! I'm one of those people who like to put in the main character's shoes. I like to cry, smile, feel nervous, frightened or laugh when I'm told a story. That hasn't happened much this year, that's why I'm making this reflection. <br />
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109, I've counted. Not bad considering there are 365 days in a year. Let's surpass this mark in 2011! My fave films of the years, um, clearly Inception, Black Swan, A Single Man, Rabbit Hole. A bit of Downey Jr, Cruise, Brosnan and Streep always make me happy. Weaknesses that one has.<br />
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Here's the list, how many have you seen?<br />
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Sherlock Holmes<br />
Up In The Air<br />
The Lovely Bones<br />
Precious<br />
It's Complicated<br />
Leap Year<br />
The Fourth Side<br />
Did You Hear About The Morgans?<br />
Daybreakers<br />
Nine<br />
Love Happens<br />
The Stepfather<br />
Motherhood<br />
Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief<br />
Shutter Island<br />
Crazy Heart<br />
Alice in Wonderland<br />
Green Zone<br />
Dear John<br />
Remember Me<br />
The Back Up Plan<br />
Date Night<br />
Spanish Movie<br />
Iron Man 2<br />
Killers<br />
The Crazies<br />
Letters To Juliet<br />
The Losers<br />
The New Daughter<br />
Sex And The City 2<br />
Knight & Day<br />
Grown Ups<br />
Fix<br />
Eclipse<br />
Shrek Forever After<br />
The Ghostwriter<br />
Nanny Mcphee and The Big Bang<br />
The Sorcerer's Apprentice<br />
The Greatest<br />
Kick Ass<br />
Inception<br />
Salt<br />
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee<br />
Chloe<br />
Toy Story 3<br />
The Bounty Hunter<br />
Prince of Persia<br />
Despicable Me<br />
The Joneses<br />
El Mal Ajeno<br />
The A Team<br />
Splice<br />
The Rebound<br />
Hierro<br />
Dinner For Schmucks<br />
New York, I Love You<br />
Paris, Je T'Aime<br />
Legion<br />
Predators<br />
The Switch<br />
The Expendables<br />
I Love You Philip Morris<br />
Piranha 3D<br />
Fantastic Mr. Fox<br />
Greenberg<br />
Cheri<br />
Resident Evil 3D: Afterlife<br />
The American<br />
The Last Exorcism<br />
Gainsbourg<br />
Repo Men<br />
Going The Distance<br />
Monsters<br />
Eat, Pray, Love<br />
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps<br />
A Single Man<br />
The Social Network<br />
RED<br />
Saw 3D<br />
Paranormal Activity 2<br />
The Kids Are All Right<br />
Due Date<br />
Skyline<br />
Harry Potter and the Deathly Shadows: Part 1<br />
Unstoppable<br />
Buried<br />
Didi Hollywood<br />
Megamind<br />
Rabbit Hole<br />
The Next Three Days<br />
The Tourist<br />
Life As We Know It<br />
Tron: Legacy<br />
Black Swan<br />
Somewhere<br />
Tangled<br />
The Extra Man<br />
For Coloured Girls<br />
Little Fockers<br />
Every Dat<br />
Stone<br />
Biutiful<br />
Los Ojos de Julia<br />
Never Let Me Go<br />
I'm Still Here<br />
The Town<br />
Let Me In<br />
You Will Meet a Tall Dark StrangerOlga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-21263515375533401732010-12-14T18:38:00.000+01:002010-12-14T18:38:23.935+01:00Golden Globes Nominations: What it is and what it should have been?<div style="text-align: justify;">So, the Golden Globes nominations have been announced and I'm so happy to see that my predictions were very close to reality. There were some surprises, though. Let's compare what I said yesterday and what happened today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in drama movies: Black Swan, 127 Hours, Rabbit Hole, The King's Speech, Inception, The Social Network and The Fighter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in drama movies: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King's Speech and The Social Network.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>* My predix of Rabbit Hole and 127 Hours have not been included but it's normal, the category is for five movies only. I would have put Rabbit Hole instead of The Fighter or The Social Network. The rest have been what I said it would.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy/musical movies: The Kids Are Alright, Love and Other Drugs, Due Date, Easy A.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in comedy/musical movies: Alice in Wonderland, Burlesque, The Kids Are All Right, Red, The Tourist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>* Super surprised by this category, two action movies have been included in a comedy category where Easy A, Love and Other Drugs and Due Date should have been. Alice in Wonderland is a good choice but Burlesque is definitely not. Thank God, The Kids Are Alright has been included. </em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in drama actresses: Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Helena Bonham Carter</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official lead & supporting drama actress nominees: Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams, Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, Mila Kunis, Melissa Leo & Jacki Weaver</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*The three names I proposed are in the list. I'm happy with this category, they all deserve it. The only name that troubles me is Halle Berry. Don't know if she should have been nominated.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy actress nominees: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official comedy actress nominees: Annette Bening, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*My four choices were included. Angelina's nominees was unexpected. She's a great actress but she doesn't deserve it for The Tourist. I think Anne Hathaway should have had a double nom: one for Love and Other Drugs and the other for Alice in Wonderland.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in drama actor nominees: James Franco, Aaron Eckhart, Colin Firth, Javier Bardem</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official lead & supporting drama actor nominees: Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Michael Douglas, Andrew Garfield, Jeremy Renner, Geoffrey Rush</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*2 of my four were included. I cannot believe Aaron Eckhart was left out. He should have taken Jesse Eisenberg's nomination. Happy for Ryan Gosling, Michael Douglas and Geoffrey Rush. Michael Douglas was better in the first Wall Street but as always, awards take pity to the ones who are sick. Shouldn't be that way but every single time happens the same. Take the example of Michael C. Hall last year. And Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, whoa, really?? </em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy actor nominees: Robert Downey Jr.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in comedy actor nominees: Johnny Depp, Johnny Depp, Paul Giamatti, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kevin Spacey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>* Must say that Depp's nomination for Alice in Wonderland is understandable but the second for The Tourist isn't. That one should have been taken by Robert Downey Jr, who was super hilarious in Due Date. Giamatti, Gyllenhaal and Spacey are good choices.</em><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, on TV, the old family reunited again. It was predictable! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in drama series: Mad Men, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Lost. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official predix in drama series: Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, The Good Wife, Mad Men, The Walking Dead</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*Very deserved nomination for The Good Wife. 2 of my predix were in. Happy not to see True Blood because as I said yesterday, the past season wasn't really good. </em><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy series: Glee, Modern Family</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official predix in comedy series: 30 Rock, Glee, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, The Big C, Nurse Jackie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*No complains here. It is what it was supposed to me.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in lead drama actress: Julianna Margulies, Anna Paquin</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in lead & supporting drama actress: Julianna Margulies, Piper Perabo, Elisabeth Moss, Katey Sagal, Kyra Sedwick, Hope Davis, Kelly McDonald and Julia Stiles</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*Nice to see that Anna Paquin is not in the list because as I said yesterday, Sookie is annoying. Kyra Sedwick had to be there and more now that The Closer has been cancelled. Thumbs up for Julianna and Elisabeth but Piper Perabo?? Excuse me? I must say that I like Covert Affairs and Piper Perabo but not in a way that it should be considered in awards. Covert Affairs is not Alias, just as Piper Perabo is not Jennifer Garner. Sorry but that Perabo's spot should have been for Anna Torv.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy actress: Laura Linney, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official predix in lead & supporting comedy actress: Toni Collette, Edie Falco, Tina Fey, Laura Linney, Lea Michele, Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*Same group as last year, no complains.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in drama actor: Hugh Laurie, Jon Hamm, Michael C.Hall</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in lead & supporting drama actor: Steve Buscemi, Bryan Cramston, Michael C.Hall, Jon Hamm, Hugh Laurie, Chris Noth, Scott Caan and David Strathairn.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*The family of lead drama actors reunites again. Nice to see Hugh again, it was a relief because wasn't so sure. Noth, Caan and Strathairn really deserve their nomination as supporting actors. Happy overrall.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My predix in comedy actor: Eric Stonestreet</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Official nominees in lead & supporting comedy actor: Alec Baldwin, Matthew Morrison, Steve Carell, Jim Parsons, Thomas Jane, Chris Colfer, Eric Stonestreet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>*As in dramatic actor, the same old family joins again. Hello Thomas Jane!</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I miss nominations!! Fringe and Lost deserved some! At least to Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson. Maybe the Emmy....</div></div></div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-81380100102021628372010-12-13T21:09:00.000+01:002010-12-13T21:09:51.196+01:00Reflections Pre Golden Globe NominationsIt's been a month since my last entry (I still have three or more articles pending about Undercovers, I feel bad about it but the show's already cancelled, what's the point then?) and I've been repressing myself because I have so much to say and very little time to sit down and write without rush. Believe me, I've sit in front of the computer many times these past weeks but when I was beginning to map something up, my mind went back to all the things I had pending to do. (Never underestimate the great power of the brain!). Now, I'm about to start my xmas holidays and I have less stuff to do, that's why you are all reading these lines. LOL<br />
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The thing is that tomorrow are the Golden Globes nominations and I couldn't be more excited about it. You may think, why's that? You're not even an actress? True, it's true (although I've been an actress in dreams, LOL) but I'm a massive consumer of cinema, I like to know who's doing what and with whom and believe me, every single day I'm discovering more and more interesting stuff about this business thanks to the master's degree I'm doing and dear friends who are near this fascinating world that my love for cinema is like a great and true love story.<br />
<br />
So, why do I like the Golden Globes? To me, it's the most spontaneous award show ever. Everybody all together at Beverly Hills Hotel' dining room, having some drinks, eating, chit-chatting, gossiping, standing out to say hello to friends who are on the side of the room. You can see all that from home (yeah, we're peeping tom!) and you comment to your sofa partner how wonderful that dress Anne Hathaway is wearing or how well Hugh Laurie wears his tux (which is true!) or you can't believe your eyes when you see Brad whispering Angie something or George Clooney giving a hug to Julia Roberts. You don't see stars there but normal people hanging out. It's an annual night where everybody sees everybody because otherwise, they won't see each other. Kinda like X-Mas when all the family is all together. It's NOT AT ALL a tight show like the Academy Awards are. I think if the Academy Awards introduced a little sparkle of this spontaneous interaction, people at home and at the Kodak Theater would enjoy it a whole more. Because, let's be honest, the Academy Awards are boring! Another reason why I love this awards is because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives them and they tend to be very fair. I've been watching these awards for 10 years and I've never felt disappointed. They award people wisely.<br />
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The host, this year, will also be Ricky Gervais, who was absolutely great. What can I say? I love witty dark British humour. Every single time he appeared on stage, he took a sip to his beer and bam! great joke. He really can't shut his mouth, he likes flattering people but also say what other people don't dare in a way that 98% of the people would enjoy and the rest would feel offended. <br />
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I won't be able to get my predictions 100% but taking into account what I've seen and what I've read, my predictions will be kinda close. So, here are some names that I expect to be called tomorrow.<br />
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In movies, Black Swan, 127 Hours, Rabbit Hole (this is a personal choice! even though the movie hasn't been considered in its whole), The King's Speech, Inception and The Social Network (telling you the truth, I'm an avid Facebooker but the movie was kinda blah! to me, don't get why critics think is that good). The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg is getting a lot of buzz but what's the point? Didn't we have The Wrestler two years ago? Sounds like an old story to me. That's in drama. In comedy, The Kids Are Alright, Love and Other Drugs, Due Date, Easy A.<br />
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As for actors: Natalie Portman, James Franco, Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart (that's another personal choice), Colin Firth, Javier Bardem, Helena Bonham Carter, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening (although both have done better performances). Probably Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone and Roberth Downey Jr.<br />
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I think in the TV category, the same old family will be reunited again and a couple of newbies will get in. Glee, Mad Men, Modern Family (which will win!), True Blood (even though, I think this season doesn't deserve it ), Boardwalk Empire, Lost. Sadly, I have the feeling my dear and loved Hugh Laurie won't get his sixth nomination but I want to be wrong. He already has two GG, can't complain at all but it's always nice to see him win because he deserves and his acceptance speeches are awesome. He's such a SUPERB actor. Jon Hamm, Michael C.Hall, Julianna Margulies, Laura Linney, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet and probably Anna Paquin (although, I must say Sookie Stackhouse is becoming more and more annoying). Please, I'd like to see some Lost nomination, I think it's appropiate and please, give Anna Torv some love. She's fantastic in Fringe, one of the greatest series on TV these days that FOX refuses the good treatment it deserves.<br />
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Let's see if my intuition gets close to reality or not tomorrow....Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-78445281845975324772010-11-14T15:51:00.000+01:002010-11-14T15:51:25.412+01:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Assassin"<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "TV Review: Undercovers - "Assassin"" on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all, let me apologise for writing the review of the <em>Undercovers</em> episode "Assassin" two weeks after it aired. Still, the episode is worth exploring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this new adventure, Agents Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Steven (Boris Bodjoe) Bloom must travel to Lima (Peru) in order to prevent the assassination of the new president of the country, Alberto Loya.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCDo7_I8zx1UOCnzWgogKi9lxwkUIALcTvHTBJovjqXN-8iGhG1BBX69zZ4WqmprBorsW1ms0odkAE74CL3YH5tE5WIuXtxJk6zFh-RZJ6zGvrH7iyGos5fKNaX-mmTJj5ow4UEoR-V5p/s1600/assassin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCDo7_I8zx1UOCnzWgogKi9lxwkUIALcTvHTBJovjqXN-8iGhG1BBX69zZ4WqmprBorsW1ms0odkAE74CL3YH5tE5WIuXtxJk6zFh-RZJ6zGvrH7iyGos5fKNaX-mmTJj5ow4UEoR-V5p/s200/assassin2.jpg" width="133" /></a>The opening teaser shows us Steven aiming a gun and ready to shoot the president of Peru but, wait a minute, wasn't Steven a good guy? At this point, the episode goes backwards so we can all get an explanation to why Steven is in this situation. This strategy of storytelling was greatly used in <em>Alias</em> as well. I think it's a good cliffhanger for the audience.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">As in every episode, we get to know how the Bloom Catering is doing. This week, the catering's new client is Jennifer Anthony, an old friend of Sam's who opens Pandora's Box again when she mentions a former college professor with whom Sam had a special friendship.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Agent Shaw (Gerald McRaney) pays his weekly visit to the store so he can debrief the couple about their new mission. Shaw tells them about Victor Guzman, a very dangerous hitman who was recently caught by the authorities and who had confessed he was hired by a guy called Ivanov to assassinate Loya.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sam infiltrates in a junket as a reporter in order to talk with Loya and warn him about being in danger. Like in almost all J.J Abrams' productions, Abrams likes to give small roles to friends or actors who have previously worked with the director. Here, the familiar face is David Anders. Probably if I say he played Sark in <em>Alias</em>, you'd quickly remember him, right? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the meeting in Lima, the team travels to Rio so Sam could get important data related to Loya and Steven could approach Ivanov and take Guzman's job as he's "dead" - actually Guzman is imprisoned but that's the lie Steven tells to Ivanov. I think now you understand why Steven was aiming that gun at the beginning of the episode.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to Leo's (Carter MacIntyre) hookup with a member of Loya's administration, we get to know the real (oil) enemies of the politician. Then, the story suddenly takes a twist when Sam gets captured and we realize that the enemy targered by the agents is not who they thought he was.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the end of the episode, the president and Peru are saved thanks to the team. We again are hinted about the possibility of a romance between Leo and Lizzy (Mekia Cox) as they seem to have very good chemistry together and Sam confesses to Steven the reason why she left the agency. At last, we get to know a little bit of her past!! Too bad, it's so late, because the show won't run for much longer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">NBC announced the cancellation of <em>Undercovers</em> days ago. Don't you find it a bit contradictory? I mean, a few weeks ago, the network ordered nine more scripts and now, the idea has been revoked. I feel bad for the cast and crew because new plots and roles were announced. There are three more episodes pending before we say a definite goodbye to the Blooms & Co, so stay tuned!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-70953230856522979562010-11-05T10:01:00.000+01:002010-11-05T10:01:05.882+01:00Five Movies That Scream Oscar Buzz<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as Five Movies That Scream Oscar Buzz on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/five-movies-that-scream-oscar-buzz/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fall is a season I particularly dislike but when it comes to cinema, it represents the very best of the year. Fall season seems to be the time of the year when big studios reveal the greatest treasures they have been working and hiding for months. It also means the beginning of the award season - at least, when it comes to nominations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my opinion, 2010 has generally lacked of strong and powerful movies. So, I really hope the last months of the year contribute to great quality. I know there are plenty of offers coming up but here's a short selection of movies I can bet they'd be considered for the Oscar race.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. <em>The King's Speech</em> by Tom Hooper (Nov. 26th)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year's Oscar contender Colin Firth seems to want to return to the Oscar race this year, not as a single man but as king, as George VI of Britain, to be exact in Tom Hooper's <em>The King's Speech</em>. The movie is centered on George VI's sudden ascension to the throne and his constant struggle to overcome his insecurities. Presented in many film festivals such as Telluride, Toronto or London, the cast is completed with Helena Bonham Carter, who plays George VI's wife, Queen Elizabeth; Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Rush and Guy Pearce. A very big and talented British cast in a history drama. <em>The Queen</em>'s Helen Mirren reigned the Oscars in 2007; will Firth be crowned best actor this year? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. <em>The Kids Are All Right</em> by Lisa Cholodenko (in theaters)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a long time and loving lesbian couple with two children conceived by artificial insemination in this dramedy that has delighted critics since it was presented in Sundance. Children are curious by nature, there's no doubt about that! So, what do you think is going to happen when they look for their father (Mark Ruffalo) and decide to bring him to the family life?. This is not American Beauty but the Academy tend to like family issues. Plus, I think it's about time that both Bening and Moore get recognized after many nominations for the golden statuette.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. <em>Black Swan</em> by Darren Aronofsky (Dec. 3rd)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This movie has travelled all over the world and has visited the most prestigious film festivals you can imagine. In <em>Black Swan</em>, director Darren Aronofsky turns Natalie Portman into a ballerina haunted and pressured by a new dancer (Mila Kunis) who wants to snatch her spot in the ballet company's new production. This fight for the precious spot leads Portman to a deep and dark turmoil we haven't seen the actress portraying before. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. <em>Rabbit Hole</em> by John Cameron Mitchell (Dec.17th)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm really excited about this movie because I think it'll represent Nicole Kidman's comeback to drama; to her best, strong and almost flawless performance level she used to give us years ago in movies like <em>The Others</em>, <em>The Hours</em>, and <em>Eyes Wide Shut</em>. Based on David Lindsay-Abaire's play, the story revolves around a young happy couple (Kidman and Aaron Eckhart), whose life is turned upside down after their son dies in an accident. I haven't seen the movie yet but it seems the movie is not only centered on the grief and helplessness of losing a child but also on how a marriage is affected by such loss. A very delicate matter and by the trailer, we can see all the cast is giving very heartfelt performances.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. <em>127 Hours</em> by Danny Boyle (Dec. 22nd)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> gave success and excellent recognition to Danny Boyle, will the same happen to <em>127 Hours</em>? Based on a true story, the movie focuses on Aron Ralston (James Franco), a young fearless climber who gets trapped under a boulder in Utah and resorts to very desperate measures in order to stay alive. This is a story about survival - we are Aron's company during those terrible 127 Hours and we suffer with him - but also about how extreme situations could make us re-examine our lives and look for things to improve if we are able to move on safe and sound. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other contenders: <em>Inception</em> by Christopher Nolan, <em>Biutiful</em> by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu,<em> Somewhere</em> by Sofia Coppola, <em>The Social Network</em> by David Fincher and <em>True Grit</em> by Joel & Ethan Coen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What do you think of these movies? Which one are you really looking forward to watch? Share your thoughts!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-83895794016457320822010-11-01T13:34:00.000+01:002010-11-01T13:34:04.100+01:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Xerxes"<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as TV Review: Undercovers - "Xerxes" on <a href="http://www.blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-undercovers-xerxes/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's all refresh our memory and go two weeks back. Just forget about last week's episode "Not Without My Daughter" because that episode was not in order. Focus on the episode "Jailbreak" where we all started to get hints about Agents Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Law) and Steven (Boris Bodjoe) Bloom's past, Agent Shaw (Gerald McRaney) having a mysterious conversation on the phone about being careful with the Blooms or else they would find out the truth of their reactivation and their mission was solid and interesting. Are we all placed in the context? Ok, let's proceed, then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This week, the Blooms travel to Tuscany to purchase at auction a painting containing an encrypted formula for a biological weapon, (tested succesfully in an Australian tour bus). They are to apprehend Xerxes, a dangerous arms dealer eluding the authorites for the past three years; he is interested in getting the formula for Lord knows what evil reason why.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99zTYoMHSZDENZwZB6V_C9aq40S2tI96oDx26LsGU9j214ZfFL3N5mv-ypgetwEfkEhL91mtGDhP7SR47Wd6D-Fdt7bQnHXBQQIGtQFAYq_HvADuTQTYqhtNjld-qwNhYjVrh60giOYCb/s1600/undercovers-s1e6-xerxes-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99zTYoMHSZDENZwZB6V_C9aq40S2tI96oDx26LsGU9j214ZfFL3N5mv-ypgetwEfkEhL91mtGDhP7SR47Wd6D-Fdt7bQnHXBQQIGtQFAYq_HvADuTQTYqhtNjld-qwNhYjVrh60giOYCb/s320/undercovers-s1e6-xerxes-03.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most interesting aspects to this mission is that Sam has to assume one of her old covers and have as partner (a.k.a fake husband for the mission) an MI-5 agent called Clive instead of her husband Steven. Tension arises! So, Sam and Clive are the big frontrunners in Italy while Steven and Hoyt (Ben Schwartz) are backups along with Tessa, a young beautiful girl who comes with Clive and draws Hoyt's attention. Love is in the air...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, Clive is an interesting fellow because thanks to him, we get more hints about Sam and Steven's pasts. It's clear that Clive has worked with them separately and wants to take a trip to memory lane and revive some anecdotes but Sam stops him in time by mentioning the non-past talking pact we got to know in "Jailbreak".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, as they hack the history of every painting so they can locate the piece of art containing the lethal formula, Sam forgets about this pact. Clive starts telling her why Steven was brought out of the agency's training programme. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hoyt likes Tessa more and more and asks advice of Steven, whom Hoyt considers a master in "risky" love relationships. Who better to play Dr. Love than Steven, who's married to a fierce sexy spy?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story has its first twist when Hoyt and Steven are caught in the act as they proceed to exchange the painting for a replica. The day of the auction arrives and, Sam supervises the event herslef to see if Xerxes makes his appearance. Instead he has sent a lead to do the bidding. Tracing the phone used by the lead for bidding, the agents learn that the call was coming from a secured location in the villa, specifically, the room used by Sam and Clive, which had been previously set in a secured mode. Sam goes to the room and finds Clive shot on the floor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clive tells Sam that Xerxes is not a "he" as they assumed but a she. Why do we always initially think that villains are male? Xerxes is Tessa and she has been able to escape with the formula!! A very very nice twist for the plot! In my opinion, Tessa has been the best villain the show has had so far. Who could suspect that this innocent and nice looking girl who has stolen Hoyt's heart is actually a cold-bloodied killer? Poor Hoyt, he was so attracted to her, I feel bad for him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Florence, Agent Shaw informs the Blooms that the case will now be handled by the British, but Hoyt suddenly recalls hearing Tessa saying some numbers and code names on the phone in the villa. Thanks to Hoyt's good memory, they are able to trace Tessa in Hong Kong. There, the team is able to find the painting with the formula and Hoyt takes the lead in apprehending Tessa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the end, back home, Steven continues the story Clive started to tell Sam during the mission. Sam tells him there's no need but he proceeds telling her that he was kicked out of the training programme because he hacked in a highly classified database in order to get Sam's name and where she was because he had seen her before and was instantly attracted. He followed her until he got to marry her. A sacrifice gave a reward in return. Awwwwwwwww! But is that the real reason or was Steven just trying to sweeten the story?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, what do you think of the episode? Did you miss Leo Nash in the mission? How about Tessa? Share your thoughts!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-37052073261888142112010-11-01T13:26:00.000+01:002010-11-01T13:26:35.862+01:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Not Without My Daughter"<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as TV Review: <em>Undercovers</em> - "Not Without My Daughter" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-undercovers-not-without-my/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this week's episode of Undercovers, Agents Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Steven (Boris Bodjoe) Bloom are assigned to bring in a North Korean physicist called Shin Won and retrieve a device called Delta, which is able to change an object's state of matter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zdTleaaoW62WdKUC2WKSRRr14DKhYRH3ONvUQQt6u46h2oj-VkWAOFAp7FQAgClW2nWyLFTMi0LelbG-2ZxUmmRyDUA3-3Ix7M2Fta5iPSk0ucYGn9ZHDpxuNj50vWheuspHo7OfDSxI/s1600/UNDERCOVERS-Without-My-Daughter-4-550x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zdTleaaoW62WdKUC2WKSRRr14DKhYRH3ONvUQQt6u46h2oj-VkWAOFAp7FQAgClW2nWyLFTMi0LelbG-2ZxUmmRyDUA3-3Ix7M2Fta5iPSk0ucYGn9ZHDpxuNj50vWheuspHo7OfDSxI/s320/UNDERCOVERS-Without-My-Daughter-4-550x366.jpg" width="320" /></a>The episode opens with Lizzy (Mekia Cox) speaking secretly on the phone while browsing her sister's closet in search for the perfect dress to wear in her 90-day sober celebration. Over the phone, Lizzy is clearly worried about the possibility of them (that is, her sister and husband) figuring something out but what is it they are going to figure it out? Last week, we got Agent Shaw talking mysteriously on the phone and this week, it's Lizzy. It may not be a coincidence, and it got me thinking that Lizzy could also be a part of the plot of the Bloom's reactivation. Could it be? What do you think?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While on the mission, Sam gets emotionally attached to Shin Won because he wants to renegotiate the terms of his defection in exchange of his daughter's safety. It is at this moment that Sam realizes that despite the fact that her job is crucial for the world's security, family always comes first.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Blooms travel to North Korea despite Agent Shaw's disapproval. Once in Pyongyang, Agents Bloom encounter their doppelganger, a French intelligence couple who are also there to save May. You have the right to be suspicious of these two because the French are not there to help May; their main target is getting hold of he Delta device and kill the Blooms.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The mission causes Sam to miss her sister Lizzy's 90-day sober celebration. I truly understand Lizzy's disappointment at the end of the episode and more after Sam promises her to be there in that important day. After all, Lizzy forgives her sister because deep down, it seems to me that Sam has always been there with Lizzy during her alcohol detox. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was really pleased with last week's episode as it presented an interesting and solid mission and what seemed to be the beginning of the exploration of Agents Bloom's past. This week, the show seems to have taken a step back with an episode that looks a bit off because Leo (Carter MacIntyre), a crucial backup for the couple, isn't on screen and Steven, Sam or Hoyt don't even mention him during the mission. Was this episode to be aired before last week's "Jailbreak"? I'm thinking that's the case! And here I was hoping to discover something new and shocking about the spies. Next week, I guess!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though NBC has ordered four more scripts of Undercovers for this season, the show really needs more powerful and good episodes as the one from last week to boost its audience because it's still not as good as it was expected.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, what did you think of "Not Without My Daughter"? Do you feel that the show needs a big guest star to draw the audience's attention? Share your thoughts!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-62113201928940046822010-10-15T10:36:00.000+02:002010-10-15T10:36:40.720+02:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Jailbreak""Article first published as "TV Review: <i>Undercovers</i> - "Jailbreak"" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-undercovers-jailbreak/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
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This week's target for our Undercovers Agents Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Bodjoe) is travelling to Ireland and England to recover a CIA hardrive in danger of falling into enemy hands.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0cnuGbzO8eNVpmfCldEQDZN7yozvq1ZR72Ep3F5RpEVvpwqvAV3rO66sw0_qw32qS0hz3n5lCsCOiwpf0bT9lGwVku_dBuSyqzq4q64ITHDuqaTu8-shzGj14YJzRJEDkArOG6KygLhD/s1600/sam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0cnuGbzO8eNVpmfCldEQDZN7yozvq1ZR72Ep3F5RpEVvpwqvAV3rO66sw0_qw32qS0hz3n5lCsCOiwpf0bT9lGwVku_dBuSyqzq4q64ITHDuqaTu8-shzGj14YJzRJEDkArOG6KygLhD/s1600/sam.jpg" /></a>Before talking about the mission itself, let's focus at Sam's sister, Lizzy. As in every episode, we can see the action moving to the catering company that Sam and Steven own as part of their cover. There, the couple find Lizzy working hard at 7 a.m. which seems really suspicious for Steven. We know that Lizzy is a bit of a troublemaker and always has second intentions. Steven has the right to be suspicious and he even has the guts to joke about Lizzy's past alcoholism in order to understand why she's working in the business that early in the morning. Steven, don't be bad! There's a reason she's there; she needs money for her cooking classes! Do you believe that? I don't! Steven doesn't help her, and warns Sam that Lizzy is going hit her up for money. In the end, Sam, always the very nice and supporting sister, gives $700 to Lizzy with the promise to pay them back soon.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So are we getting a bit of mystery in this week's episode? The answer is yes but just a little! We see Agent Shaw (Gerald McRaney) speaking on the phone with an unidentified male about the Blooms and the need to be careful or else they will find out the true reason of their reactivation. Nice way of teasing us but we want to know what's behind!! Please, try to be more specific!</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Another hint is dropped during the mission when Leo (Carter MacIntyre) asks Sam why she hasn't told Steven her true reason for leaving the agency five years earlier. So, does this mean that Leo knows the real reason? Does that reason involve him? Still, we have to thank Leo because at least, we got to know something new about the Blooms. It turns out Sam and Steven made a pact about not talking about their past. Whoa! </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Overall, this week's mission is much more interesting than those we've seen so far. There are some turns in the storyline, but what's important to point out is that the Blooms are doing their job way better. We discover that they are excellent interrogators (especially Sam) and Steven is a human lie detector. It is clear that the couple has things more under control, and despite Leo's presence to help them, I felt they could have solved the mission without him.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl6iwQV1xzpLFmqhEUm7v1OlH7yH0NUIQ8vGoKycN-qIOPFD-8xsisKjCP6LnWg0LtFbsXsy_WF4yiTbf9XTfxEg08vOdQEj8N7QbihHiE5V_wef4HP3JnmrmkVzAsflX5tzcTwS3TDy8/s1600/jailbreak1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl6iwQV1xzpLFmqhEUm7v1OlH7yH0NUIQ8vGoKycN-qIOPFD-8xsisKjCP6LnWg0LtFbsXsy_WF4yiTbf9XTfxEg08vOdQEj8N7QbihHiE5V_wef4HP3JnmrmkVzAsflX5tzcTwS3TDy8/s320/jailbreak1.jpg" width="320" /></a>One moment really surprising to me was when Leo is taken hostage. Facing the dangerous situation, Sam allows no negotiations with hostage takers, despite the fact that the victim is her friend Leo. What if it was her husband in the same situation? Do you think Sam would act the same way? This kind of behaviour made me think that we don't know Sam's personality at all. </div><br />
We are not the only ones, Steven doesn't know his wife as well as he thinks he does either. He can be a lie detector and find out if Sam has given Lizzy the money she wants but the mutual communication and understanding he shows off in front of Agent Shaw once the mission is over is not that apparent from Sam's side. <br />
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At the end of the episode, a nervous Sam mentions the "non-speaking about the past" pact and wants to tell Steven something about her past because she feels not telling is no different than lying. Sam is not able to tell him the real reason why she left the agency because Steven assumes and only accepts that Sam left because she fell in love with him and wanted to live a normal life. It's clear that Sam wants to confess but Steven shuts her up with nice and romantic words. Keep insisting, Sam! Do it for us, we want to know!!<br />
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What do you think of this week's episode? What do you think Sam is hiding? Share your thoughts!!Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-75336580989827180702010-10-15T10:04:00.000+02:002010-10-15T10:04:26.338+02:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Devices"<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "TV Review: <i>Undercovers</i> - "Devices"" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-undercovers-devices/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This week's mission of Undercovers centers on recovering a code breaking device that could crack open the identities and covers of all CIA agents around the world and put them in jeopardy.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YU1UxG2ElzvwtcTp2FIHeirgLJkJtGio_SSscCitO3yjXZwam2HCYauNKOsZ12kZVzW-r20_ozmms5HrMaT0EzDE3hmybkxN-zsT1GTnJVgJmtcxuNOnsciRuh9mFFBwT4k0uzocKWsj/s1600/devices1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YU1UxG2ElzvwtcTp2FIHeirgLJkJtGio_SSscCitO3yjXZwam2HCYauNKOsZ12kZVzW-r20_ozmms5HrMaT0EzDE3hmybkxN-zsT1GTnJVgJmtcxuNOnsciRuh9mFFBwT4k0uzocKWsj/s320/devices1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The episode opens in Germany where two armed men infiltrate a secluded hospital and extract Mathias, a psych patient who loves jelly beans, with the promise that he'll back to the hospital safe and sound if he does what they say. This beginning could ring a bell because the procedure (entering-killing-kidnapping) is exactly the same as last week's episode "Instructions". I truly believe writers should change this format as soon as possible because the audience will get tired of the same old story over and over again. Think about more possible scenarios! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>The action moves to Samantha and Steven Bloom's (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe) bedroom where they are enjoying the aftermath of a nice morning loving. it seems the couple has brought back the sparkle they used to have in the very beginning of their relationship.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In the pilot, we saw a very different picture of the couple. We saw them as a young beautiful couple who had fallen into a monotone relationship pattern, and by the way Samantha moved around Steven, they only had sex every so often. What on earth happened between these two? A five year old marriage suggests they are not in the so-called honeymoon phase but why acting so cold? Now, everything has taken a turn; they are both more passionate and devoted to each other, and despite all the bantering, their relationship is healthier and solid. So deep down, the Blooms must thank the agency for reactivating them as spies because it has mended their marriage. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I think we are able to describe Agent Shaw (Gerald McRaney) as a sarcastic, witty and tough boss that is able to do anything to make a point. His point being that the Blooms are not qualified for the job. His breaking and entering into the Blooms' residence in order to brief them about their new case (going to Germany, talk with Hans Bauer about the code breaking device and stop him) makes us smile but at the same time, it makes us believe Shaw's point somehow. Five years off the field is not such a long time for the Blooms to forget what is like to be spies and what precautions have to be taken.</div><br />
After Shaw leaves the premises, Samantha expresses her concern about working with her husband, worrying that their marriage could get in trouble if they work together. Steven assures her that nothing wrong is going to happen; they have worked with many people in the past and this time won't be different. They are married, yes!, but when they're working, they are partners. Period! Do you want to know my opinion? There's no way this couple will be able to separate their personal and private lives.<br />
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In the Bloom Catering, we are introduced a new character, Lance (Jay Scully), a gay cook who has a rather tense relationship with Lizzy (Mekia Cox). They are all the time bantering making their interactions very funny to see. Now, why does it seem that Lizzy is a much more interesting character than Samantha? Last week, there were hints about Lizzy's possible past alcoholism. This week, we discover Lizzy's dating problems. What's best, real dating or online dating? Sam thinks dating and advises her sister to try to look for someone in the real world rather than virtually. It's not going to be easy, I'm sure.<br />
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Lance's introduction to the show adds an element of tension in the kitchen. His constant disapproval and concern about how things run in the business when Lizzy is involved proves that Sam treats Lizzy as her protegée. Ok, they are sisters but it's a fact that Lizzy works in the catering because her sister is there and not for her skills as a cook or as someone who can be in charge of a client's catering.<br />
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In Berlin, Bauer dies during the meeting and Steven put himself near death for not obeying Sam's orders which causes another moment of tension between the couple. One of the things I truly adore about the show is the nice touch of the writers when relieving moments of tension like this one with smart dialogues and hilarious situations. In this episode, the change of tone happens thanks to Hoyt (Ben Schwartz), our Gadget Man, who appears in his pajamas (96% silk and 4% Lady Gaga) and tries to put some peace between the couple.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In my opinion, Hoyt is a very endearing and funny character, he always seems to be in the middle of the Blooms when they are scolding each other. In a way, he acts as their peacemaker when it comes to marriage issues and as their guardian angel in missions. His abilities as tech man are unquestionable but why do I have the feeling that he'd like to be Steven's skin every now and then? He always shows such admiration and respect towards the Blooms - he never refers to them as Steven or Samantha but as Mr or Mrs. Agent Bloom - that makes us think he really thinks of them as mentors. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Leo Nash makes his entrance to the mission as extra support for Sam, Steven and Hoyt again. We can see there's a very good comradeship between the Blooms and himself as it's seen in the scene at the club where Steven asks Leo to follow the lead they used in a past mission in Budapest. Leo is also a very interesting character to explore. He was their partner and he even dated Sam in the past but are his feelings towards Sam a thing of the past? Does Leo really want to help the Blooms to restablish the good status as spies they used to have or does he want to win Sam back?</div><br />
Despite Leo's help, the Blooms fail at the mission and as you can imagine Shaw is not happy about it. Shaw takes them off the case but the couple doesn't surrender and keeps working in the case on their own. Don't miss Steven standing up to Shaw, it's priceless!! Deep down, the Blooms are good spies, they speak several languages, they have experience, they know how to use gadgets and everything but they are not efficient.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk92xuXkEHcjWDAbj_ewBd86WieDkBgwxJrxS_kWUBrvFfB8Kk578E-kZIUp_ySraPKZcJ_KBfDWdmvuNEwY79vT2EvGun24N-4G-416OYBL92DCW821d8_GCbSkB4Iy16zSMWsHBFOIU/s1600/devices2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk92xuXkEHcjWDAbj_ewBd86WieDkBgwxJrxS_kWUBrvFfB8Kk578E-kZIUp_ySraPKZcJ_KBfDWdmvuNEwY79vT2EvGun24N-4G-416OYBL92DCW821d8_GCbSkB4Iy16zSMWsHBFOIU/s1600/devices2.jpg" /></a></div>The mission takes a turn when they realize the code breaking device is not machine but a person, Mathias. Once the mission is over, the baddies are taken into custody, Mathias is safe and the Blooms are able to save the identity and covers of all the CIA agents. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The episode ends the same same way it started: in Sam and Steven's bed, reprising the conversation about separating their professional life from their private one. It's clear that both tried their best to stay focused on the mission, but let's face it, they are married and care about each other: that's the deal, no matter what. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I think it was a nice episode but it seems the show is (so far) very formulaic. I really hope we get to know about the real reason why the Blooms left the agency five years ago and how they both were as independent agents. Ratings show the series is not doing as well as expected but I have the feeling that Undercovers is going through the same thing Fringe went through in its first season. Quite regular ratings and then a big boost as the plot developed. It seems next week some of the issues from the Blooms' past will be dealt, so stay tuned, please! J.J Abrams' shows never tend to disappoint.</div></div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-86550011228238688842010-10-15T09:52:00.000+02:002010-10-15T09:52:52.301+02:00Meet Gugu Mbatha-Raw: J. J Abrams' Fresh New Face<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "Meet Gugu Mbatha-Raw: J.J Abrams' Fresh New Face" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/meet-gugu-mbatha-raw-j-j/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not only is J.J Abrams well known for his successful and smart productions but also for taking talented "newcomers" and turn them into successful, popular, and prolific stars, see the examples of Keri Russell (Felicity), Jennifer Garner (Alias), Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and most recently, Anna Torv (Fringe). He has always made good choices when casting the leading ladies of his shows and I'm sure Gugu Mbatha-Raw won't be an exception in Undercovers.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6u2fsIx0x7yojGd6C-ZhyTRGCf2IXNwQb7X7oRx_3hG9DC6P4Eg8fhcHCij8MUaDheqLDRVyiale_xmF-2oPjUoq_3rWrTI42tiqj1BqJ-Qb-3Osuc8fyDF5-36aXh7QE3LsJEs2Wnam/s1600/gugu-mbatha-raw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6u2fsIx0x7yojGd6C-ZhyTRGCf2IXNwQb7X7oRx_3hG9DC6P4Eg8fhcHCij8MUaDheqLDRVyiale_xmF-2oPjUoq_3rWrTI42tiqj1BqJ-Qb-3Osuc8fyDF5-36aXh7QE3LsJEs2Wnam/s320/gugu-mbatha-raw.jpg" width="222" /></a>Mbatha-Raw is yet another example of British actress who trying her fortune with a role in TV across the pond, following the footsteps of Hugh Laurie (House), Tim Roth (Lie To Me) and Stephen Moyer (True Blood). Born in Oxford (just like Laurie), the actress is definitely a newcomer in the U.S but she’s had a quite intense career on TV in shows like Doctor Who and MI5 and in theater in her native England. There is no doubt that her Broadway debut next to Jude Law in Hamlet is her best letter of presentation to the American audience.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, every Wednesday, Gugu Mbatha-Raw embodies Samantha Bloom, a sexy former spy who is reactivated next to her spy husband, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe) after years out of the field in NBC's Undercovers. Expect action, sexy chemistry, bantering, and Abrams' trademark essence in the new show. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading her recent interview on <a href="http://www.essence.com/entertainment/hot_topics/gugu_mbatha-raw_undercovers_leading_lady.php">Essence's website</a>, it seems clear that we're going to be seeing a lot more of Mbatha-Raw in the future. The piece covers her debut on U.S TV, how she's prepared for her role, her opinion about her co-star Boris Kodjoe, and more. It's definitely good reading for those wanting to find out more about this actress.</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-43584806169322310212010-10-03T13:18:00.001+02:002010-10-03T13:20:06.732+02:00TV Review: Undercovers - "Instructions"<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as TV Review: Undercovers - "Instructions" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-undercovers-instructions/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
<br />
With the second episode of Undercovers, we can see that the show seems to follow the formulaic path we all know: first a teaser about the mission to come followed by the assignment itself, and then its development and conclusion. Nothing new.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As in many spy/action shows and movies, one of the things that can make the path more dynamic is to take the action into new and different locations. This week, the action starts in Pakistan, where a pair of armed men escort some business men into a science lab located in the middle of the desert. What seems to be a business meeting turns into a massacre when one of the men (John) suddenly opens fire, surprising his comrades (John's brother, Bruce and Hollis Krueger) killing the business men and all the scientists working in the lab. With everybody dead, John finds what he had been seeking: Dr. Nassir, the only survivor of the massacre, a scientist whom John hopes to coerce into creating a bomb once she learns that they have her husband.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGpW-KzbV9ooV7E7wkO_GsLeFEHab6QjGj4v0Rszipj9Uzpd4cH9OtZ6f3H0Nd0_kdz1EqwvgSPhTn_5U0F6RVp6AwQrU46lEFEjyPM6322UrlXJipozPPcgokmmZLnnzS9o5zIjlZJdo/s1600/NUP_140924_1197-240x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGpW-KzbV9ooV7E7wkO_GsLeFEHab6QjGj4v0Rszipj9Uzpd4cH9OtZ6f3H0Nd0_kdz1EqwvgSPhTn_5U0F6RVp6AwQrU46lEFEjyPM6322UrlXJipozPPcgokmmZLnnzS9o5zIjlZJdo/s1600/NUP_140924_1197-240x300.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">The action now moves to the Bloom's catering company, the business Samantha and Steven Bloom opened together after marrying and leaving the espionage; now it serves as cover-up after they got reactivated as agents in the pilot episode. In this scene, we see Samantha and Steven bickering over a coffee machine he broke after not reading the instructions. It's impossible not to smile at this situation because it is so domestic and fun, plus the chemistry between these two make it believable. As you probably can imagine the bickering could continue on and on but Lizzy (Sam's sister, who also works in the catering) interrupts them by announcing Carlton Shaw (Sam and Steven's boss at the agency), or as she calls him, the "hotel guy".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Bloom's little office, Shaw informs them of Dr. Nassir's kidnapping and presents them the suspects (John, Bruce and Krueger). Once he explains the mission, Shaw shows some distrust to the couple's spy abilities, which are a bit rusty after years off the field.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaw has definitely a point; after all, if Steven doesn't even know how to make a coffee machine work, how can he complete this complex mission successfully? Afterwards, Sam announces that she must leave for a trip again, leading Lizzy to believe that they are planning to sell the catering business to the "hotel guy" (you know, spies, they always have that double life!), which could leave her without a job and, possibly relapsing to alcoholism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Is Lizzy a former alcoholic? What happened to her in the past? I guess we'll have to wait and see.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before travelling to Turks and Caicos to find Krueger, we see another domestic scene of Sam and Steven at home packing and mission planning. This time, the lady takes the lead in the mission.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once in the exotic location, Sam approaches Krueger using her charm while Steven supervises from a distance. A third party, Hoyt (the Gadget Man and backup support for Sam and Steven in the missions) enters the game, which later gives Steven access to the tools needed to enter Krueger's room while Sam keeps "distracting" him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tropical action takes a brief break and moves to Stockholm where we see Dr. Nassir being rushed to finish the bomb. Back in Krueger's room at Turks and Caicos, Steven cracks a safe and finds some documents in Arabic that he cannot read — but his wife can.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm starting to wonder what Steven's abilities are in this game; his wife seems more prepared for the job. Steven asks Sam to lure Krueger into the room while he plants a tracking device into Krueger's watch without following Hoyt's instructions on how to do it properly. You know what is going to happen, right? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sam and Krueger get into the room, Krueger gets knocked out and after Hoyt joins the couple, the interrogation starts. Krueger blames everything on John Sidel and tells them that he has to deliver the Arabic documents to an unidentified contact tonight at the bar. While examining the documents, Sam discovers the address of John's residence in Caracas, and Steven suggests Sam and Hoyt to travel there while he supervises Krueger's meeting with the contact. As you can imagine, the debate of who goes where and with whom starts another bantering moment between the Blooms.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Caracas, Sam and Hoyt pick the lock of John's residence and after doing some search around the house, they find nothing, but they encounter John's brother Bruce, initiating a chase between him, Sam and Hoyt. Hoyt stops him with their car and the two agents urged him to tell them what is really going on. Bruce reveals that initially everything that took place in Pakistan was John's plan but once they got Dr. Nassir, everything turned and Krueger took the lead and shot him and his brother resulting in John's death. The target of the agents is not John or him but Krueger. In the meantime, Steven, who is supervising Krueger's meeting with the unidentified contact in the bar, gets distracted when a bunch of ladies approach to seduce him and loses sight of Krueger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back home, Shaw again questions the espionage abilities of the couple (especially Steven's) because not only did he let Krueger go but the tracking device isn't activated. What did I say? Oh, yeah, it was bound to happen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaw's patience has a limit and brings Leo Nash in to activate the tracker and finish the mission. As you can imagine, Steven is not really happy with this decision because Leo has a kind of romantic past with her lovely wife. Leo exploits his charm in flirting with Sam's sister, who happens to be in the room asking them to try the quiche she's cooked. Of course, Sam doesn't really like the flirting because Leo is an alcoholic and Lizzy is recovering from her alcoholism. Whoa!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the Bloom's house, Leo tries to reactivate the tracking device which is in silent mode while Steven tries to fix the coffee machine. While doing that, both men start talking about Leo and Sam's former relationship and about what was the real cause that led Sam and Steven to leave the espionage in the past. Steven says it was because they wanted to have a normal married life but Leo doesn't buy it at all. The tracking device activates and locates Krueger in Stockholm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Stockholm, Krueger tries the effectiveness of the first bomb, which causes a big explosion and confirms Dr. Nassir's abilities. Later, he urges her to prepare the other bomb but she demands to see her husband, which Krueger refuses. Sam, Steven and Leo pick up Hoyt and lead their way to the location the tracking device indicates, a ship. There they find Dr. Nassir on the floor bleeding after Krueger shot her. She tells them Krueger plans to detonate a bomb in the Global Business Summit taking place in the city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO02WyZisetS9XpDhYBURbMCBBWW-8nPwgwmDkYyHaXpgzIypZiwzlcezlQWp0Gn3N2ORrQ_0JzskJblFG2xJnBCcvp8YyYMpuj6MI_OIUu70R_Zk3PxoLK_HMFkDstEVRoHunwPaK_klv/s1600/undercovers-nbc-s1e2-Instructions-04-550x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO02WyZisetS9XpDhYBURbMCBBWW-8nPwgwmDkYyHaXpgzIypZiwzlcezlQWp0Gn3N2ORrQ_0JzskJblFG2xJnBCcvp8YyYMpuj6MI_OIUu70R_Zk3PxoLK_HMFkDstEVRoHunwPaK_klv/s320/undercovers-nbc-s1e2-Instructions-04-550x366.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hoyt stays with Dr. Nassir while Sam, Steven and Leo dress up to infiltrate into the summit. Once there, they learn the bomb is attached inside Krueger's cell phone, which he has left at the metal detector entranceway by security request. Sam decides that she'll find the cellphone and asks Steven and Leo to go after Krueger. Sam finds the place where all the cellphones are taken into custody, but the problem is, which one is it?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Steven and Leo chase Krueger and fight against him, Sam finds the cellphone, takes it into a rather safer place and tries to deactivate the bomb with Hoyt's help. Moment of tension: which wire should Sam cut? Two red wires, which one of the two? One of the red wires doesn't deactivate the bomb, oh, wait, there's a black wire, let's cut it! Deactivation completed! Well done, Mrs. Bloom!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mission completed! Everybody is safe at the Summit and Krueger is not longer a menace. Shaw appreciates Leo's input to the mission and announces to the Blooms that he's going to be joining them in future missions as his expertise is a lot more proficient than theirs together. Leo keeps flirting with Sam and Steven gets upset. These three together in further missions could lead into... trouble in paradise? At home, Steven - after he fixes the coffee machine and serves a cappuccino to Sam - voices his concern about Leo to her because he has the feeling she still feels something for him. At that, Sam tells him that her relationship with Leo was something from the past, and what happened in the past, remains in the past. If you ask me, I really don't find this explanation very convincing. We gotta stay tuned!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So what did you think of the episode? Did you like this one more than the pilot? What do you think it's going to happen with this triangle?</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-11297710903494551162010-09-29T11:57:00.000+02:002010-09-29T11:57:45.697+02:00"House" Season 7 premieres<div style="text-align: justify;">Little interview I gave to Brooke Shafranek about House Season 7</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Season 7 of FOX's hit drama series House M.D. premiered last night to anxious audiences, as the last season ended with a closing-scene shocker: long-time love interest Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) finally opened up into a relationship with Gregory House (Hugh Laurie).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Audiences have been waiting for the pairing since the end of season 4. However, the belated couple is getting mixed reviews from long-time fans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Freshman international politics major Amber Jones is rooting for the couple. "It's about time that they got together!" Jones said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Olga Parera, webmistress of the Hugh Laurie Fan website, has a more complicated analysis of the relationship.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">"I believe House is capable of a relationship," Parera said. "I've always thought that House is a big romantic and passionate person under a strong and cold façade."</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Parera also offered an explanation as to what makes House tick romantically.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">"House is a person who's suffered a big heartbreak," Parera said. "He gave himself to a person and that person betrayed him and left him alone in the worst moment of his life. He has trust issues, that is why we've only seen him involved in one night stands."</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">"He truly understands the word love and all its consequences," Parera continued, "and because of that he is so diligent in giving a go to a serious relationship. I think his stay at Mayfield made him take a different perspective about this subject and give a second chance to love."</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">However, Parera understands the trepidation over the relationship. "Well, I can say that there are fans that are on the verge of stop watching the show because they feel that House has turned into a soap opera rather than the show it was presented in season 1."</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Sophomore electrical and computer engineering major Olesandr Boyko said that House and Cuddy are "going to break up eventually."</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"House will use the relationship for his benefit because Cuddy is higher-up than him [being his boss]," Boyko said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Season 7 could be a make-it or break-it year for the television show depending on how the relationship progresses and how audiences perceive said relationship. House airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on FOX.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.technicianonline.com/features/house-season-7-premieres-1.2337849">Technician Online</a></div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-25149930250484882112010-09-29T11:54:00.000+02:002010-09-29T11:54:28.940+02:00Music Review: Robbie Williams - In And Out Of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits (1990 - 2010)"Article first published as Music Review: Robbie Williams - In And Out Of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits (1990 - 2010) on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-robbie-williams-in-and/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWgv3KZeGIWfpwOz4FYe4ZIh3FlM4hJGrxZAu-T1gizcRIpQSlqebXcTnHjzCxSAqCtA2uBgjjkSOsNhSbf1TYWHuCv_4qKNZe8-EekW7JLTLum4WsjYjWK1B9WJYSJbu_yyeBpuKKGMy/s1600/robbie-williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWgv3KZeGIWfpwOz4FYe4ZIh3FlM4hJGrxZAu-T1gizcRIpQSlqebXcTnHjzCxSAqCtA2uBgjjkSOsNhSbf1TYWHuCv_4qKNZe8-EekW7JLTLum4WsjYjWK1B9WJYSJbu_yyeBpuKKGMy/s200/robbie-williams.jpg" width="198" /></a>Robbie Williams returns to the spotlight on October 12th with his CD, <em>In And Out Of Consciousness – The Greatest Hits 1990 - 2010</em>, which compiles all the best of his 20 years in the world of music. Though he is versatile, creative, and extravagant, it has always struck me as odd that Williams hasn't been able to fully succeed outside Europe and become a hit in the US.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">From present to past, Williams opens this album with two new songs: "Heart and I" and "Shame," a feel good ballad duet with Gary Barlow that is Williams's first collaboration with Barlow after leaving Take That in 1995. From his latest studio album, <em>Reality Killed The Video Star</em>, we can listen to "Morning Sun" and "You Know Me," a classic Robbie Williams ballad with lovely backing vocals that makes us go back in time a little bit, and "Bodies," the lead single of the album which is meant to be Williams' great comeback.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Three songs summarise <em>Rudebox </em>(released in 2006): "She's Madonna," a love song to the pop star that was made in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys; "Lovelight," a cover from Lewis Taylor's 2003's original song and Williams' approach to dance electro pop, and "Rudebox" where the singer moves away of his style by trying a hip-hop song, taking as basis a sample from "Boops (Here I Go)" by Sly & Robbie.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From <em>Intensive Care</em> (2005), Williams has taken out "Sin, Sin, Sin," "Advertising Space," an elegy to a superstar's tragic fall, "Make Me Pure," and "Tripping," a very catchy song where Williams plays with different changes of voice and some reggae and Arabic sounds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2004, Williams released his first <em>Greatest Hits</em> and the chosen songs are "Misunderstood," featured in the soundtrack of the movie <em>Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason</em> and the powerful "Radio." In my opinion, one of Williams's best albums is <em>Escapology</em> (2003), and it's so nice to see that the beautiful "Sexed Up" has been added to this compilation next to the soulful "Something Beautiful," the controversial "Come Undone," and the hit "Feel," another trademark song with beautiful and deep lyrics. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J8E548-xVGb9ebHL8QITTyWA_OAgT0QDt8et1i5447JDikJRbkUNDggNBZxeL1NTAJCN6bPVcuh9hQkE314bfRr3pGCi-GTxmPXY4KesuClW6Ha_XbfgFfwLtQwprTxiQjllRMevU9vu/s1600/robbiewilliams-narrowweb--300x393,0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J8E548-xVGb9ebHL8QITTyWA_OAgT0QDt8et1i5447JDikJRbkUNDggNBZxeL1NTAJCN6bPVcuh9hQkE314bfRr3pGCi-GTxmPXY4KesuClW6Ha_XbfgFfwLtQwprTxiQjllRMevU9vu/s200/robbiewilliams-narrowweb--300x393,0.jpg" width="152" /></a>With <em>Swing When You're Winning</em> (2001), an homage to his idol Frank Sinatra, Williams proves that he's also a great crooner: "I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen" and his covers of "Mr. Bojangles" and "Something Stupid," where Nicole Kidman puts her delicate voice to Nancy Sinatra's part are examples of the singer's softest side. <em>Sing When You're Winning</em> (2000) offers to this compilation "The Road To Mandalay," a touching song written in France while on holidays; "Eternity," a sequel to the previous song and a tribute to Williams's close friendship with former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell with Queen's Brian May on lead guitar; "Let Love Be Your Energy," "Supreme," which takes Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" melody and gets mixed up with some intelligent lyrics giving as a result a supreme song; the sexy "Kids," where Williams duets with Aussie Kylie Minogue, an indisputably sweet and spicy chemistry that led to one of the best duets ever, and "Rock DJ," another important song for the singer's career featuring a very controversial video where he literally strips off to his bones.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Five songs have been extracted from his second album <em>I've Been Expecting You</em> (1998): "It's Only Us," the theme song for the Sony Playstation Fifa 2000 football game; "She's The One," "Strong," "No Regrets," an autobiographical song about his past experiences with the great collaboration in the backing vocals of Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. When the new millennium was approaching, Williams honored that event with "Millennium," inspired by John Barry's Bond music. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">His first solo album <em>Life Thru a Lens</em> (1999) has also a remarkable spot in this compilation: the anthem "Let Me Entertain You," a clear homage to The Rolling Stones as their movie Rock "n" Roll served as inspiration. This song contains a piano riff similar to the Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil," and it's the perfect reflection of Williams's devotion to entertain all of us. Energetic and powerful, it serves as the opening of most of his concerts. "Angels," a song that saved the singer's solo career and is included in most of his concerts as the grand finale; "South of the Border" and "Lazy Days," which were minor hits outside the UK and "Old Before I Die," the first original solo success of Williams after leaving Take That. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, the album closes with a cover of George Michael's "Freedom" and "Everything Changes," a song from his latest collaboration with Take That before leaving the band.</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-74547233045372822552010-09-10T11:14:00.001+02:002010-09-10T11:14:39.208+02:00TIFF 2010: Toronto Taken By The Power of A Spectacular Film FestivalArticle first published as "TIFF 2010: Toronto Taken By The Power of A Spectacular Film Festival" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tiff-2010-toronto-taken-by-the/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the Venice Film Festival still taking place in Europe, the Toronto International Film Festival opens its 35th edition with a broad offering of movies that promise to enlight us this upcoming fall/winter season. This festival is known for its non-competitive nature compared to Cannes, Berlin or Venice but it is considered the launching pad for the studios to start the so-called "Oscar buzz."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Oscar buzz is clearly seen when you take a look at the lineup and observe that there are many movies which have been going from one festival to another such as Darren Aronofsky's <em>Black Swan</em>, François Ozon's <em>Potiche</em>, or Ben Affleck's <em>The Town</em>, all of which were screened in Venice, or Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu's <em>Biutiful </em>which earned the Best Actor Award to Javier Bardem in Cannes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HMDp00Sv6gdEyvMVH3Iwwbncbg52S8ZFzoqY31IEpGG6B5hTfefWQaIZ5Ixo8aO-8O2-WQaHfO5xjD0VdLiqX_Rh5kEpsuuYRTIcKKxpxADIvmSu62xvxOOYH2jknU3EpCieZALqxYdV/s1600/2010rabbitholetiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HMDp00Sv6gdEyvMVH3Iwwbncbg52S8ZFzoqY31IEpGG6B5hTfefWQaIZ5Ixo8aO-8O2-WQaHfO5xjD0VdLiqX_Rh5kEpsuuYRTIcKKxpxADIvmSu62xvxOOYH2jknU3EpCieZALqxYdV/s200/2010rabbitholetiff.jpg" width="200" /></a>Of course, there are plenty of other movies which look for the maximum media exposure during these 10 days of cinema in Toronto. Robert Redford gets behind the camera again in <em>The Conspirator</em>, a story of a Union war hero who must defend a mother accused of helping her son in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, starring James McAvoy and Tom Wilkinson. I'm specially intrigued by <em>Rabbit Hole</em>, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire. The French essence comes from Guillaume Canet who directs his partner, Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, in <em>Little White Lies</em>, and the British one comes thanks to Helen Mirren (<em>The Debt</em>), Rosamund Pike (<em>Barney's Version</em>), and Colin Firth (<em>The King's Speech</em>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Special Presentations, we'll be able to check out the new films of Vera Farmiga (<em>Henry's Crime</em>), Keira Knightley (<em>Never Let Me Go</em>), Ewan McGregor (<em>Beginners</em>), Hillary Swank (<em>Conviction</em>), and Robert De Niro (<em>Stone</em>). Clint Eastwood presents <em>Hereafter</em>, a story of three people haunted by mortality in different ways starring Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard, and Danny Boyle, after the success of <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>, presents <em>127 Hours</em>, starring James Franco.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBbeVOUjSG3tGhwd4HDu833Q8C231FiLlxoGUqR91bE9Z-gynO7JqtPLds_q2FCIoOyk_kHG_8P0rH9jQbY6HQhI-6Xe5o2D2WDb_34no2ErzwGBGZROKArLg47B56-RsX0emB4cHaFdO/s1600/let_me_in_660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBbeVOUjSG3tGhwd4HDu833Q8C231FiLlxoGUqR91bE9Z-gynO7JqtPLds_q2FCIoOyk_kHG_8P0rH9jQbY6HQhI-6Xe5o2D2WDb_34no2ErzwGBGZROKArLg47B56-RsX0emB4cHaFdO/s200/let_me_in_660.jpg" width="200" /></a>In recent years, vampires have been so trendy on TV and in the movies and that couldn't be forgotten in Toronto. Darkness will come with <em>Let Me In</em>, the American remake of the Swedish film <em>Let The Right One In</em>, starring Chloe Moretz and Richard Jenkins. Now, most of us know David Schwimmer for his role of Ross in <em>Friends</em>, but he doesn't travel to Toronto as an actor but as a director with <em>Trust</em>. Seeing Schwimmer outside of his comfort zone is reason enough for me to take a look at this movie starring the always outstanding Catherine Keener and Clive Owen. And how about Ryan Reynolds presenting <em>Buried</em> in his native Canada? It's impossible not to think about Tarantino when we see Reynolds buried alive but the movie hides something else — at least that's what Sundance and the great reviews said.</div><br />
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Finally, Toronto also indulges in some Midnight Madness with Brad Anderson's <em>Vanishing on 7th Street</em> and John Carpenter's <em>The Ward</em>.<br />
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What do you think of the movies that are going to hit the TIFF? Which one are you most interested in?Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-43735344030555786072010-09-03T15:49:00.000+02:002010-09-03T15:49:38.161+02:00Ciao, Venezia! La Mostra Film Festival Features Films by Aronofsky, Coppola, and More<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "Ciao, Venezia! La Mostra Film Festival Features Films by Aronofsky, Coppola, and More" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/ciao-venezia-la-mostra-film-festival/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">La Mostra Internationale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia is one of the most elegant, popular, and interesting film festivals in the world: 11 days of new cinema that will delight movie lovers. The festival has five different sections: <em>Venezia 67, Orizzonti, Controcampo Italiano, Luigi de Laurentiis, </em>and<em> Persol 3-D</em>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most important section is <em>Venezia 67,</em> which offers the films competing for the Golden Lion and the actors competing for the Copa Volpi. Now, having Quentin Tarantino as president of the jury is reason enough to draw people's attention. We all know how the director is: he likes different and attractive and that's exactly what we'll be able to see during this festival.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRwKhxU3qkOdmxExI_w2gXmujYGEaEYh1c5JQxkQEYfY_-Hid3oSnMzrzfP6KExr5ei8sBHX68UZIQFrwS8MFi_9-PyrejA6qb1nOfY4zcC3nWqVxuLf5TrzOhvPOKuoVsEyrYvFdwY2T/s1600/natalie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRwKhxU3qkOdmxExI_w2gXmujYGEaEYh1c5JQxkQEYfY_-Hid3oSnMzrzfP6KExr5ei8sBHX68UZIQFrwS8MFi_9-PyrejA6qb1nOfY4zcC3nWqVxuLf5TrzOhvPOKuoVsEyrYvFdwY2T/s200/natalie.jpg" width="200" /></a>Some examples are Darren Aronofsky's long-awaited (and possible festival winner) <em>Black Swan</em>, which opened the festival yesterday evening; it stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel. In the trailer, we can see that Aronofsky returns to his origins — to the style of <em>Pi </em>and <em>Requiem For A Dream</em> that made him one of the directors to watch. <em>Black Swan</em> is a psychological thriller that revolves around the world of ballet and tells the story of Nina (Portman), a perfection-obsessed ballerina who fights against Lily (Kunis) for a spot in a new production. This is not a musical but an exploration of the mind, of how perfection and ambition can obsess and push a person into a deep crisis.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another attraction in Venice is Sofia Coppola's first film since <em>Marie Antoinette. Somewhere</em>, starring Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, and Benicio del Toro, explores the relationship between a father — a hard-living Hollywood actor played by Dorff — and his daughter (Fanning) after the latter visits him by surprise. It's inevitable not to think about the personal connotations of this movie for Coppola (she's daughter of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola) and the recurring concern of the director about creating stories revolving around fame.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYz_DXW_egRVGNo-slV_F1FwpEX1ZWtkXF_SgLhv_T29E8jj0RdHJ6p3jgxkXckT9C5df4o3LCloMayCGXcNV1PycfhtA4ADKM0T9V62ZdZW8UMxXUDavtq3wlbwAIFKNmUDd-MCKzaqI/s1600/schnable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYz_DXW_egRVGNo-slV_F1FwpEX1ZWtkXF_SgLhv_T29E8jj0RdHJ6p3jgxkXckT9C5df4o3LCloMayCGXcNV1PycfhtA4ADKM0T9V62ZdZW8UMxXUDavtq3wlbwAIFKNmUDd-MCKzaqI/s200/schnable.jpg" width="200" /></a>Julian Schnabel presents a dramatic vision of a Palestinian girl growing up in the first Arab-Israeli War in <em>Miral</em>. The director offers the audience a political drama and reinforces it with Freida Pinto, Willem Dafoe, and Vanessa Redgrave. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer wants to repeat the success that the fantastic<em> Run, Lola, Run</em> had in 1998 with <em>Drei.</em> Finally, François Ozon returns to Venice to present<em> Potiche</em>. Once more, Ozon counts on his muse, Catherine Deneuve, in this comedy based on a 1970s hit comic play of the same name. Completing the cast are Gerard Depardieu and Judith Godreche, seen next with Leonardo Di Caprio in <em>The Man In The Iron Mask</em>. Other titles in <em>Venezia 67</em> are <em>Balada Triste de Trompeta</em> by Spaniard Alex de la Iglesia and Vincent Gallo's <em>Promises Written In Water</em>, and <em>La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi</em> starring Isabella Rossellini.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In the section <em>Orizzonti</em> (chaired by Shirin Neshat) it is important to point out <em>El Pozo</em> by Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, <em>Stardust</em> by Nicolas Provost, the second part of a trilogy which investigates the limitations between fiction and reality and that includes collaborations with Dennis Hopper, Jon Voight, and Jack Nicholson. The prolific Manoel de Oliveira presents <em>Panéis de Sao Vicente de Fora, Visao Poetica</em>. <em>Controcampo Italiano</em> (chaired by Valerio Mastandrea) is exclusively centered on the new trends in Italian cinema; <em>Luigi de Laurentiis</em> (chaired by Fatih Akin) is centered on the debuting directors, and <em>Persol 3-D</em> (chaired by Shimizi Takashi) is focused on creative 3D films.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">These five sections will comprise the official award categories of La Mostra, but it's also nice to mention the section <em>Italian Comedy</em>, a special retrospective on Italian comedy from 1910 through 1988 and all the movies out of competition. And what's interesting to see in this last section?</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_YdcNTw53XlvZKTbF53iEkuucUJO4kQtkq-pMrpQUcBuR52ZvIbtEoM8HuM892iaQI3yznZ58NHN2uCu0x5V83zz4t6A67rf1q8FEJNT3ZvE4Z96mQe3rC7VkFHdseGxvmq7zoe4qJ0b/s1600/im-still-here-20100817-090648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_YdcNTw53XlvZKTbF53iEkuucUJO4kQtkq-pMrpQUcBuR52ZvIbtEoM8HuM892iaQI3yznZ58NHN2uCu0x5V83zz4t6A67rf1q8FEJNT3ZvE4Z96mQe3rC7VkFHdseGxvmq7zoe4qJ0b/s200/im-still-here-20100817-090648.jpg" width="135" /></a>Well, first off, let's go back in time a little. Do you remember the erratic behaviour of Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman's show during the promotion of <em>Two Lovers</em>? What was going on? Some said he had lost his mind; others said he was acting. The answer is he was working under the orders of Casey Affleck for the documentary<em> I'm Still Here</em>, a portrait of an artist who decides to reinvent himself and a vision of how public life affects him. Casey's brother Ben also travels to Venice to present <em>The Town</em>, starring Jon Hamm, Affleck himself, and Rebecca Hall. Another pair of brothers, Oxide and Danny Pang, present <em>The Child's Eye 3D</em>. Robert Rodriguez presents <em>Machete</em>, starring Jessica Alba, Martin Scorsese presents <em>A Letter to Elia</em>, a documentary dedicated to the life of Elia Kazan, and on the closing night we'll see Helen Mirren taking the role of Prospera, not Prospero, in Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's <em>The Tempest</em>.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, John Woo, director of films such as <em>Broken Arrow, Face/Off</em>, and <em>Mission: Impossible II</em>, will be presented the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, a well deserved homage indeed!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who do you think will be the winners at Venice? Which movies are you most interested in?</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-72338202967253704742010-08-29T12:40:00.002+02:002010-08-29T12:54:49.304+02:00What to expect at the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards?<div align="justify">"Article first published as "What to expect at the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards?" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/what-to-expect-at-the-20101/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's that time of the year! It's the last award show of the season until we start again with the Golden Globes in January. The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards! The "Academy Awards" of television that will award the very best of the small screen.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL7wCiXHP8SFIFH9qoVBfWR-HtwBBuLx58x1SbDOCiLCtp5fLEUqRFd7Ed727FHkjbKmzKKz9q1_jjZ72tCXszSIm4oMk7Xk91ruMN4vXPR5wx3ePYfdYYkBiZOiBH7PgitQuCBeDT9wO/s1600/gal-jimmy-fallon-july-20100001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL7wCiXHP8SFIFH9qoVBfWR-HtwBBuLx58x1SbDOCiLCtp5fLEUqRFd7Ed727FHkjbKmzKKz9q1_jjZ72tCXszSIm4oMk7Xk91ruMN4vXPR5wx3ePYfdYYkBiZOiBH7PgitQuCBeDT9wO/s200/gal-jimmy-fallon-july-20100001.jpg" width="170" /></a>Neil Patrick Harris hands over his hosting duties to Jimmy Fallon, who is hosting the Emmys for the first time but has quite an experience in hosting award shows - he's been the host of the MTV Movie Awards twice and the MTV Video Music Awards. Next to Fallon, a long list of presenters such as Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, the newlyweds Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, Jon Hamm, Sofia Vergara, Eva Longoria Parker, Betty White and music performances of the Glee cast and Jewel, who will be in charge of the In Memoriam segment.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This year and for the first time ever, winners will have the chance to express their emotions or thank people they have forgotten during their speeches in "Thank You, Camera", a part of a backstage event, which will also show how presenters, nominees and performers get ready to take the stage, that NBC.com and Emmys.com will stream live worldwide. As part of the Emmy experience, viewers will also be able to send red carpet questions which will be asked by Access Hollywood.com’s popular "Dish Of Salt” correspondent Laura Saltman. If you want to submit some questions, you can either do it via the NBC.com Emmy website or via Twitter at #emmys10</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now, we have seen how things headed at the Golden Globes (awards voted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (awards voted by all the members of the Screen Actors Guild), so, in some way, we have a hint of whom will be awarded or not. I have the feeling that sometimes the Academy rewards what's trendy/popular rather than what's fair related to quality and effort. There are times I feel some fantastic actors are snubbed at the nominations and others aren't rewarded with the precious Emmy after years and years of flawless performances. And what about full year shows versus summer season shows? Should they be considered in the same way when voting or not? Should the Academy split the nominations between full year and summer shows instead of putting them all together? What's your opinion about these points?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gq6TAHH4r6xvD4xKyqRyg0ZtHnQz0ctTvOC6fhyphenhyphenNu9v7k4Ogkznva1x7WfIaa3fjXB00GxHqxV8pPVdHmE-PZ7aj__4_Bppp-buECl5YIthzxTpVqn9aaPrTF_taBQLf_HgjhFYSOAcg/s1600/emmy10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gq6TAHH4r6xvD4xKyqRyg0ZtHnQz0ctTvOC6fhyphenhyphenNu9v7k4Ogkznva1x7WfIaa3fjXB00GxHqxV8pPVdHmE-PZ7aj__4_Bppp-buECl5YIthzxTpVqn9aaPrTF_taBQLf_HgjhFYSOAcg/s200/emmy10.jpg" width="133" /></a>One thing we know is one actor is gonna get his award for sure, so no need to feel nervous about winning or about ab-libbing a nice speech, ok, Mr. Clooney? You can relax, enjoy the show and have your speech ready before hitting the red carpet. George Clooney will receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his efforts in setting up the TV special Hope For Haiti and raising funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina and awareness about genocide in Darfur, This award was established in 2002 and Clooney will be the 4th person to receive it after Oprah Winfrey (2002), Bill Cosby (2003) and Danny Thomas (2004). Congrats, Mr. Clooney! It's definitely very well deserved!</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But what about the nominees? As every year, the newbies mingle with the veterans. Superb performances and shows that give us a hard time when making our bets. Will this be the year that the Academy gives an ex-aequo award? Will overdue nominees get their reward? Which dark horse will surprise us?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Joining me in placing the Emmy predictions in the main categories, the two Blogcritics TV editors, Josh Lasser and Barbara Barnett and two talented and great Blogcritics (fellow TV) writers: Mindy Peterman and Gerry Weaver.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>My predictions:</em></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Comedy Series</strong>: <em>Modern Family</em>. I think it is the big revelation of the season. A very interesting peek to the everyday life of three types of family we can find anywhere these days. The dialogue is fresh, smart and hilarious and its documentary format is really attractive for the viewer.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Drama Series:</strong> <em>Lost</em>. The Academy tends to be very generous with concluded shows. The last season was very intense, nerve-wracking and featured great performances by all the actors. I think it's fair to reward the show that has caused so much debate and theories in the last six months. Still, Mad Men is there looking menacing. Alternative: Mad Men</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Edie Falco - <em>Nurse Jackie</em>. Versatile, funny and strong. These are the three adjectives to describe Falco's performance but be careful because Toni Collette could repeat last year's win.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jim Parsons - <em>The Big Bang Theory</em>. He's the frontrunner in this category. Alec Baldwin is his strong opponent but it seems 30 Rock doesn't generate as much attention as it used to.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Julianna Margulies - <em>The Good Wife</em>. Just like the category of outstanding actor in a drama series, this category is full of talented and strong performances. Margulies has some very important awards behind thanks to her solid portrayal of Alicia Florrick and that is reason enough to say that she's the favourite. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWfOLQfejIgvvD-0XHK2ujVzzKdYD0Sm5SwvzqBied08WJ_itJcMJZHvW5-o88YEmxDJuQ4fs_YfnN6BLodYxV1ix7eyzK9RjEIt9ySp0tCDK42YdlfQ0L3OVJRP3WZmPWmFbQi5iuiVh/s1600/laurie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWfOLQfejIgvvD-0XHK2ujVzzKdYD0Sm5SwvzqBied08WJ_itJcMJZHvW5-o88YEmxDJuQ4fs_YfnN6BLodYxV1ix7eyzK9RjEIt9ySp0tCDK42YdlfQ0L3OVJRP3WZmPWmFbQi5iuiVh/s320/laurie.jpg" /></a><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Hugh Laurie - <em>House</em>. Six seasons, two Golden Globes, two Screen Actor Guild Awards and two Television Critics Awards later, Hugh Laurie, the eternal nominee, has zero Emmys. How is that possible?! I really hope this year justice is done for him. His submission for the award "Broken" shows us Gregory House in all his best. A two-hour episode in which we see a sweet, hurt, broken, tender, funny, playful, suffering House, a flawless performance by Laurie, period!</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jane Lynch - <em>Glee</em>. She definitely steals the scene every time she appears on screen and in her submitting episode, her revival of Madonna's Vogue is precious and memorable.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Eric Stonestreet - <em>Modern Family</em>. His portrayal of friendly and devoted dad Cameron is fresh, hilarious and full of emotions. His Meryl Streep reference in one of the episodes is reason enough to reward this wonderful actor.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Elisabeth Moss - <em>Mad Men</em>. This one is going to be a mano-a-mano between Moss and Christina Hendricks but I bet on Moss because her character has grown up and along with her performance.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Terry O'Quinn - <em>Lost</em>. This category is about two Losties: O'Quinn and Michael Emerson. I won't mind that Emerson wins instead because Ben Linus has always been one of my favourite characters of the show but I think O'Quinn is going to get this one because John Locke has been crucial this final season and his intense performance has been really enjoyable to watch. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>Josh Lasser's predictions:</em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Comedy Series:</strong> <em>Modern Family</em>. I should be going with Glee here and will go with Glee a lot on the Emmys this year but Modern Family is just excellent. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Drama Series:</strong> <em>Mad Men.</em> It's just so good. Lost could be a sentimental favorite due to it finishing its final season, but I think there were too many missteps in that season – really, did we need all those episodes in the temple?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Lea Michele - <em>Glee.</em> It's a tough category with a lot of deserving people, but people love their Glee. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmzq4diYDRlW538N2UCIuCNaLqs-LIz7PgNyVCenkbiI4n6Qvvcl3t-HBhVYBEiSpNlVKG3ssusRZv1x4xjaqxCmXMiO2izqT4Us53cRSxQsMsJpJenczK5Sf_vosqAokxf6WAyRrfnCo/s1600/matthew_morrison_glee_photoa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmzq4diYDRlW538N2UCIuCNaLqs-LIz7PgNyVCenkbiI4n6Qvvcl3t-HBhVYBEiSpNlVKG3ssusRZv1x4xjaqxCmXMiO2izqT4Us53cRSxQsMsJpJenczK5Sf_vosqAokxf6WAyRrfnCo/s200/matthew_morrison_glee_photoa.jpg" width="169" /></a><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Matthew Morrison - <em>Glee.</em> Because, hey, Glee could win just about everything, right?</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Julianna Margulies - <em>The Good Wife.</em> Margulies in her return to television after ER in another show which both critics and fans like seems like a good choice.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series</strong>: Jon Hamm - <em>Mad Men</em>. I may like Kyle Chandler better right now, but I think that Mad Men has more momentum.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series</strong>: Neil Patrick Harris -<em> How I Met Your Mother.</em> He is so deserving in his role as Barney Stinson and has earned this award for several years even if he hasn't gotten it. Modern Family may be a favorite but with three nominees I think they'll split the vote.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jane Lynch -<em> Glee</em>. Say it with me now in that high-pitched, stick your finger and your thumb up way – Glee! Lynch as Sue Sylvester is such a great villain and completely deserving of the award.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Christina Hendricks - <em>Mad Men</em>. I think Mad Men is going to do very well tonight and I'm not sure whether this award should go to Hendricks or Moss, but Hendricks just strikes me more as the potential winner. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Terry O'Quinn - <em>Lost</em>. O'Quinn was forced to do a lot of heavy-lifting in the final season of Lost and did a great job. Someone else may get the award, but I think it should go to O'Quinn.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>Mindy Peterman's predictions</em>:</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Comedy Series:</strong> <em>Modern Family</em>. A show that succeeds in covering all the bases: showing a gay, bi-racial, and "normal" family living in "harmony" under the same matriarch, and doing it with masterful ease. The show is often hilarious and occasionally heartbreaking. The documentary style has never been used to been put to better use.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAtXti3Cmla5vEJWdfXEx4K37Y06nFpKSnUzrOacaoCPayRbH6KLcdZm4ocG6QFSGsP7IOIgrk6js9bZPvizbG3xidsdYUNvOn2u8RJGcBpHEOWC8AE86GBfpewrR2P4pkwQemYzHeFFj/s1600/modern-family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAtXti3Cmla5vEJWdfXEx4K37Y06nFpKSnUzrOacaoCPayRbH6KLcdZm4ocG6QFSGsP7IOIgrk6js9bZPvizbG3xidsdYUNvOn2u8RJGcBpHEOWC8AE86GBfpewrR2P4pkwQemYzHeFFj/s320/modern-family.jpg" /></a></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Drama Series</strong>: <em>Lost.</em> The last chance the show has to take the award and it certainly is deserving. The scope and magnitude of this project is in itself worthy of accolades. Its heartbreaking yet uplifting conclusion will be discussed and argued about for years to come.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series</strong>: Edie Falco - <em>Nurse Jackie.</em> No actress up for the award this year exhibits Falco's range. Getting us to sympathize with the drug addicted, philandering Jackie Peyton is a challenge but Falco wins us over every time.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jim Parsons - <em>The Big Bang Theory</em>. The only show I've watched more than once in this batch is "Monk". And I wouldn't vote for Shaloub. He's won every year and enough is enough. The little I've seen of Parsons tells me he does a bang-up job with what could be an unlikable character (such a geek!). Not a truly educated pick but it is one from the gut and the heart.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Not familiar enough with the nominees to cast a vote.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series</strong>: Hugh Laurie -<em> House.</em> An award that is long overdue for this actor who has proven himself time and time again. Submitting the magnificent two-hour episode "Broken" was a smart move, giving him an excellent chance to finally win. Hopefully this will be Laurie's year to take Emmy home.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Kristin Wiig - <em>Saturday Night Live.</em> I would love to see Wiig take this. Not since the early days of Saturday Night Live has a cast member created so many memorable and hilarious characters.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series</strong>: Eric Stonestreet - <em>Modern Family.</em> Stonestreet's portrayal of Cameron on Modern Family is frequently hilarious, sometimes poignant and always masterful.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Elisabeth Moss - <em>Mad Men</em>. As Mad Men's Peggy Olsen, Moss gives a stellar performance as the first woman to be respected for her smarts in a male dominated 1960's advertising agency.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series</strong>: Terry O'Quinn - <em>Lost</em> O'Quinn's bowled us over with his extraordinary portrayal of John Locke, the crippled hero who eventually becomes the embodiment of evil on the island. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>Gerry Weaver's predictions</em>:</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Comedy Series:</strong> <em>Modern Family</em>. Last year, Glee had all the buzz, but I think there's some perception this year it was over-hyped. I think new comedy Modern Family will win this year.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Drama Series:</strong> <em>Mad Men</em>. My personal favourite out of the nominees is True Blood, but I don't think it will take home the prize. Despite being hip, popular and run by Alan Ball, the genre works against it and it's had some uneven storylines. But look for Denis O'Hare for best guest actor in a drama next year! This year, Mad Men still seems to have the buzz, so I think it will be a repeat winner. Alternate: Lost</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Edie Falco - <em>Nurse Jackie</em>. She's the favourite and I think she's going to win.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Steve Carell - <em>The Office</em>. Though Alec Baldwin and Jim Parsons are strong contenders, I'm going with Steve Carell, as he's never won for The Office and this is his last year.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Julianna Margulies - <em>The Good Wife.</em> The series is a critical darling and Margulies already has a Golden Globe, a SAG and a TCA award this season. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Hugh Laurie - <em>House.</em> I hope Hugh Laurie finally gets his Emmy; it's long past due and with his powerhouse submission, "Broken," he has an excellent chance. However, he will have to fight it out with Michael C. Hall, who is on a roll with a Golden Globe and the SAG award. The actor is not only excellent on his series, he's just a won a battle with cancer—the combination has made him a favourite this year among a lot of voters. And really, in this category, every nominee deserves to win. But I'm sticking with my favourite, Hugh Laurie.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTBis1dvd_g41RV1J7IKDKZlFir3G9dz6i64VVPCRt94FLGsoc42A7ABj_ubVMR_rnT5J19niXq_v37qsAQXruDTYosuzooee8GhCnlIkk5n9g4iaivrIdZNBdz6tKYXnY_KWmfAlbl48/s1600/Sue_Sylvester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTBis1dvd_g41RV1J7IKDKZlFir3G9dz6i64VVPCRt94FLGsoc42A7ABj_ubVMR_rnT5J19niXq_v37qsAQXruDTYosuzooee8GhCnlIkk5n9g4iaivrIdZNBdz6tKYXnY_KWmfAlbl48/s200/Sue_Sylvester.jpg" width="120" /></a><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jane Lynch - <em>Glee</em>. Here's where I think Glee will be recognized. Jane Lynch steals all her scenes as Sue Sylvester and is the front runner in this race. </div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Eric Stonestreet - <em>Modern Family</em>. Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother is an audience favourite who is also well-liked by his peers. However, Stonestreet on Modern Family has the advantage of being on the new buzzed about comedy.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Christina Hendricks - <em>Mad Men</em>. Just going on the fact that I like her, I’m picking Hendricks. It never hurts to generate sparks with Jon Hamm. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series</strong>: Michael Emerson - <em>Lost.</em> I think Lost is going to get some love as it goes out with style. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>Barbara Barnett's predictions:</em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Comedy Series:</strong> <em>Glee.</em> It's sharp, sassy, and has captured the imagination of many television viewers.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Drama Series:</strong> <em>Mad Men</em>. Ah, to relive the '60s of my parents. Excellent acting and writing will make this the favorite.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Edie Falco - <em>Nurse Jackie</em>. Just a feeling.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnFMtQNlhbo_0-n5CJ5vpkvix_0EkqEInOSbJmC1TLjxNHGp5-0-cEadTtfZ6LMGNgUAtSbTSAohTfQwab_FAFvm8ROADHPoIggOzxhnbjeL5WtqWqHgs8HMMEZLaHz5w9Wx4FX-sTaW6/s1600/E_Online_The_Good_Wife_20247_300_margulies_goodwife_080309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnFMtQNlhbo_0-n5CJ5vpkvix_0EkqEInOSbJmC1TLjxNHGp5-0-cEadTtfZ6LMGNgUAtSbTSAohTfQwab_FAFvm8ROADHPoIggOzxhnbjeL5WtqWqHgs8HMMEZLaHz5w9Wx4FX-sTaW6/s200/E_Online_The_Good_Wife_20247_300_margulies_goodwife_080309.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series</strong>: Steve Carell - <em>The Office.</em> </div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series</strong>: Julianna Margulies - <em>The Good Wife</em>. Margulies should add another major award to her collection for this season.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Hugh Laurie - <em>House.</em> It's so long overdue, and he is amazing in the submitted episode "Broken"</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:</strong> Jane Lynch - <em>Glee</em>. She is just great and everyone loves Glee.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series:</strong> Neil Patrick Harris -<em> How I Met Your Mother</em></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:</strong> Sharon Gless - <em>Burn Notice.</em> </div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series:</strong> Andre Braugher - <em>Man Of A Certain Age</em>. Braugher is always great. I think the Academy will celebrate his return to series TV.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What do you think of our predictions? Are yours the same?</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Red Carpet Arrivals to be streamed live on NBC.com, Access Hollywood.com, Ustream.com and Emmys.com at 4 pm PT, 7 pm ET.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Primetime Emmy Awards airs coast-to-coast on NBC (5-8 pm PT, 8-11pm ET)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-17426971874227908142010-08-19T18:39:00.002+02:002010-08-19T18:41:56.363+02:00Music Review: Eli "Paperboy" Reed - Come and Get It"Article first published as "Music Review: Eli "Paperboy" Reed - Come and Get It" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-eli-paperboy-reed-come/page-2/">Blogcritics.org</a>." <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7CMxjNCtfWLNi6W3p9uQ1rcdoRw1TtSp6ZAX9FzZOv67mTeVvkYE9n01R63PStCFKQLSWgf_W8wy5IhBDEyOapzwu_cmpoVqQGt5TaHxrdBf7xcio-eDfoytrysN4v2z8wVMz_5tQVCq/s1600/Eli-Paperboy-Reed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7CMxjNCtfWLNi6W3p9uQ1rcdoRw1TtSp6ZAX9FzZOv67mTeVvkYE9n01R63PStCFKQLSWgf_W8wy5IhBDEyOapzwu_cmpoVqQGt5TaHxrdBf7xcio-eDfoytrysN4v2z8wVMz_5tQVCq/s320/Eli-Paperboy-Reed.jpg" /></a>Perseverance, thrill and talent are the three words I'd use to describe Eli "Paperboy" Reed. His name is becoming more and more popular with each passing day, but it must be said that Reed is definitely not a newcomer.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">His involvement in the music world started as a member of his Boston high school band, then he moved to Mississippi where he was mentored by music veterans such as Terry "Big T" Williams, Sam Carr and Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson. Reed took part in the Sunday morning gigs at a tiny South Side Chicago church and played in the coolest clubs in Brooklyn with his band True Loves.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Now, at 26, Reed has the nickname "Paperboy" attached to his name - the singer used to wear his grandfather's paperboy hat and took the name after it - just like all the other musicians in Clarksdale. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">With Reed's two independently released albums (Sings Walkin' and Talkin' and Other Smash Hits and Roll With You) having been very well received in Boston, along with Rolling Stone magazine naming him a "Breaking Artist" and a nomination to the 2009 MOJO Awards for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Reed presents his major label debut, Come and Get It for Capitol Records. The album was produced by Mike Elizondo - whose credits include Eminem, Gwen Stefani and Fiona Apple.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKmPUtS0LTep_DAfF865IXbyOUNMXECBUSRS3dmx5G2lBXZbE6nZ9Dp4Akhak6dpNIm6O5FinCQsRtVbWjH8-fitUFOYjDaGxGZIaEkYCsyqx2mGNaztju3dsMsdESjNSdEJ-zXG7C8lC/s1600/reed2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKmPUtS0LTep_DAfF865IXbyOUNMXECBUSRS3dmx5G2lBXZbE6nZ9Dp4Akhak6dpNIm6O5FinCQsRtVbWjH8-fitUFOYjDaGxGZIaEkYCsyqx2mGNaztju3dsMsdESjNSdEJ-zXG7C8lC/s200/reed2.jpg" width="146" /></a>With the purpose of singing phrases that people would respond to, Reed presents us twelve songs that he wrote at home when he was messing around on the acoustic guitar. The singer exposes all the music influences (early rock & roll, country, blues) that he's absorbed since his early childhood and brings them to our present time.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Reed does not want to imitate soul artists like Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, although he's clearly influenced by them. He's a young 21st Century singer who shows great respect and fascination for soul and adds his own unique style to that sound. Very elegant background singers and the True Loves band match up well with Reed's passion, fervor and energy.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The rhythm doesn't decline in any of the songs. Highlights from the album include "Come and Get It", a vibrant dance song, followed by "Young Girl" which offers a tribute to Bostonian soul singer Frank Lynch. Reed's spectacular falsettos are on display with the tracks "Tell Me What I Wanna Hear" and the beautiful ballad "Pick Your Battles." The album ends on a high note with "Explosion," bringing a great close to an album that makes me look forward to hearing more from Reed really soon.</div></div><br />
<object height="285" width="440"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMDGKjCSnmo?fs=1&hl=es_ES"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMDGKjCSnmo?fs=1&hl=es_ES" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="440" height="285"></embed></object>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-29771978825310321172010-08-18T12:30:00.001+02:002010-08-18T12:30:34.603+02:00Book Review: Blind Landing by Tony Blackman<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "Book Review: Blind Landing by Tony Blackman on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-blind-landing-by-tony/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Blind Landing</em>, written by Tony Blackman, is an aviation mystery thriller that focuses on the investigation of an Al-Qaeda hijacked super jumbo aircraft that crashes at Heathrow Airport after a non-stop flight from Sydney to London.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Peter Talbert, a freelance airline safety expert working for insurance and airline companies, is in charge of investigating this intriguing accident where hijacking, pilot error, bad weather, or anomalies in the aircraft system could be the main cause of the fatal outcome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book gives us the chance to be the perfect travel companion for Talbert during his constant trips around the world, during his questionings of experts, pilots, and crash survivors, and allows us to participate in Talbert’s inner thoughts in order to discover the right pieces of the puzzle. The tension of the whole investigation is in a way relieved with more domestic episodes related to Talbert's personal life - his relationship with his girlfriend Mandy, the fear of taking a step further in his love story with Mandy because there is a person from the past who keeps haunting him, the influence of a girl, Liz, that he meets in one of his trips to Sydney...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is fiction, of course, but at the end of the book, Blackman adds a brief epilogue entitled "Analysis: Could It Ever Happen?" where the author discusses if a crash like the one in the novel can actually take place in real life and what could be done to avoid it. Once again, Blackman shows his expertise on aviation electronics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At first, it could seem that the book is for aviation connoisseurs only, due to the enormous amount of technical and aviation terminology, but Blackman is able not to scare his readers away with a nice and fluent storytelling pace. Although the investigation's goal is finding out what caused the aircraft crash, the reader does not need a complete understanding of the terms for enjoying the story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you enjoy this book, the first of the series featuring Peter Talbert, you can check out the rest of the titles of the franchise: <em>The Final Flight, The Right Choice</em>, <em>Flight to St. Antony</em>, and <em>Now You See it</em>.</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-50693420644894633222010-08-12T09:32:00.000+02:002010-08-12T09:32:18.465+02:00More Movies Like Inception ASAP!<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as "More Movies Like Inception ASAP!" on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/more-movies-like-inception-asap/">Blogcritics.org</a>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwEDeJ7j3KmnKcQ9JRwPHRNpYX_JFhmILHsq1ChqZonMem93YFRc1lrJj7_aUVI75xUfCDlaiVPUS8h_7djkXciY9Qa2iCbXzwb7MEKlT2u-niBg21qa8a9kWAQsLbDspdGJBx_KBQwIR/s1600/nolan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwEDeJ7j3KmnKcQ9JRwPHRNpYX_JFhmILHsq1ChqZonMem93YFRc1lrJj7_aUVI75xUfCDlaiVPUS8h_7djkXciY9Qa2iCbXzwb7MEKlT2u-niBg21qa8a9kWAQsLbDspdGJBx_KBQwIR/s200/nolan.jpg" width="149" /></a>A few weeks ago, I went to see Christopher Nolan's Inception for the first time and I left the cinema marveling at what I had just seen. Thus far this year, I can say that unless a real masterpiece gets released before the year finishes, Inception is the movie of 2010.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">We need more movies like Inception. Hollywood should bet on more original and intelligent scripts rather than wanting too many remakes or second, third or whatever the number installments. As a cinema lover, I also enjoy this kind of movie but a story just like the one Nolan has written is really refreshing and attractive to the audience. I really don't know if the studio would had given the okay to Nolan if he hadn't already done The Dark Knight, especially in the current recession we are in, where every single dollar must be spent wisely. Thanks to Nolan's rebirth of the Batman saga, the studio knew this was a high quality project that wouldn't lead to box office failure. Smart choice, indeed!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure there are lots of original, enigmatic, and brainy stories waiting to be told on the big screen but for some reason, they're kept closed in a drawer of a random studio office awaiting their lucky day. I know it is a bad time to take risks but I think Hollywood should give more opportunity to these kind of scripts, to young (or not), talented, but unknown scriptwriters with bright ideas that could lead to a restructuring of our present day cinema where franchises, comic adaptations, and remakes are our daily diet. This would be good news for people like me who enjoy easy entertainment but would also like to feel intellectually challenged.</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-23606105416080275122010-08-07T12:26:00.000+02:002010-08-07T12:26:16.965+02:00Emma Thompson Joins The Walk of Fame's Galaxy<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as Emma Thompson Joins The Walk of Fame's Galaxy on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/emma-thompson-joins-the-walk-of/">Blogcritics.org</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Talented, gracious, funny, witty, friendly, hard-worker, intelligent and the list of adjectives to describe Emma Thompson could go on and on. Two Academy Awards (one for her leading role in <em>Howard's End</em> and another for the screenplay based on Jane Austen's <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>), three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, an Emmy, and many film critics awards endorse her almost 30-year-old career in the show business.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzOcPolAKXkjGi8dKBrSnxyO2IphnpImEh2_7PIkKKe4n9WXkckx4ILM7Z5W_djQ7EBBTWdGn7wIE5tWvtidZQeYNQHdCOquvzDndarXl42HUqJ3IVznB_eq9TyIvWNUw9HmWBrTocuzT/s1600/emmathompson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzOcPolAKXkjGi8dKBrSnxyO2IphnpImEh2_7PIkKKe4n9WXkckx4ILM7Z5W_djQ7EBBTWdGn7wIE5tWvtidZQeYNQHdCOquvzDndarXl42HUqJ3IVznB_eq9TyIvWNUw9HmWBrTocuzT/s200/emmathompson.jpg" width="173" /></a>Thompson is one example of British actor who has been able to have a stable and remarkable career both in her native England and in Hollywood. She has worked with excellent directors such as James Ivory, Ang Lee, Richard Curtis, and marvellous castmates such as Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, and Kate Winslet. She has taken part in the famous iconic Harry Potter saga as Professor Sybil Trelawney alongside the elite of the British star system, and can proudly boast her ability to be convincing in both drama and comedy roles. And, let's not forget that Thompson's acting career started in comedy when she was in her 20s at Cambridge as part of the legendary <em>Cambridge Footlights</em> troupe with pals Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Thompson has also distinguished herself as a writer. In addition to her <em>Sense and Sensibility</em> screenplay, she has also adapted for the big screen Christianna Brand's book <em>Nurse Matilda</em>; she is now preparing a new remake of<em> My Fair Lady</em>. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Some people may think that a successful career full of awards and good reviews could make one complacent, but that is not the case with Ms. Thompson, who keeps challenging herself with every new project. When not working, she devotes herself to her family and her humanitarian work with the Refugee Council, Rebuilding Lives, and chairing the Helen Lamber Foundation.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Last year, she focused her attention on the subject of human trafficking, co-directing an art exhibit called <em>Journey</em>, which was shown all around the globe. In a few weeks, she'll return - this time as a producer - to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where in 1981 she and her Cambridge Footlights partners received the very first Perrier Comedy Award, to present the Fair Trade, a thought-provoking play inspired by the testimony of two survivors of the sex slave trade. As you can see, the British actress likes to go deep into subjects that most of us would not dare explore.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">August 6, 2010 will definitely be a date to remember for Emma Thompson. Coinciding with the upcoming release of the second installment of the Nanny McPhee franchise, <em>Nanny McPhee Returns</em>, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honoured the actress with the 2,416th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her motion picture career. It was placed next to a British pub (coincidence?).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guest speakers at the ceremony included her Nanny McPhee co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal and long-time friend Hugh Laurie. Who better than someone who has known and worked with Emma for so long than Laurie. Close friends and colleagues since their days at Cambridge in Footlights, Laurie started his acting career where she started, possessing the energy, passion, wit and talent that she has.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very well deserved! Congratulations, Ms. Thompson!</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-50735017115682106812010-07-30T18:07:00.000+02:002010-07-30T18:07:51.775+02:002010 Comic-Con Recap: What's Next On The Big Screen?<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as 2010 Comic-Con Recap: What's Next On The Big Screen? on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/2010-comic-con-recap-whats-next/">Blogcritics.org</a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The San Diego Comic-Con can only be described as super cool, a four-day convention in which professionals, exhibitors, and guests present their latest products to the media and audience. They present the very latest in comic books, science fiction and fantasy material, video games, toys, and a long "etcetera." I am going to focus on the best of the upcoming movies that have been presented during the convention.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Day 1, July 22</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHcdgowXmK_Hnhyphenhyphenq73BCACKmvo6gjRk_J2NtVfT1G_qGlBEnuMDEg6eG-GVVBI5vtv0ib9GhcalsP3mNmOtJwvJdJrmHuWcU3rDmzV5340tWrIiZG5LuF6bFx-6cpYzF9K6m9jlvDq9v3/s1600/angiesalt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHcdgowXmK_Hnhyphenhyphenq73BCACKmvo6gjRk_J2NtVfT1G_qGlBEnuMDEg6eG-GVVBI5vtv0ib9GhcalsP3mNmOtJwvJdJrmHuWcU3rDmzV5340tWrIiZG5LuF6bFx-6cpYzF9K6m9jlvDq9v3/s200/angiesalt.jpg" width="196" /></a>The first day of the event started big, really big. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (a.k.a Brangelina) had panels that day and as you can imagine everybody wanted to see the couple together once more (a few days prior to this event, Brad and Angelina attended together the premiere of Salt). Well, Brad Pitt (or more to the point, cardboard cut-out Brad Pitt) was sitting in between Tina Fey and Jonah Hill during the press conference for the animated movie Megamind, in which the aforementioned actors lend their voices to the main characters. The one and only who was flesh and blood in San Diego was Angelina Jolie, looking fierce and gorgeous in black leather, presenting her latest spy thriller/action movie, Salt. If you ask me, Angie is the best action actress, no doubt about it! She's always convincing as a spy.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The day continued with a panel that lots of people attended, Tron: Legacy. Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen, and Garrett Hedlund talked about the new version of 1982's Tron. Even though the new trailer was online a few hours before the panel, the official presentation of the trailer took place during the conference and now you can enjoy it:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
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We could also witness the return of Sylvester Stallone to the big screen since the latest Rambo installment in The Expendables (action granted, of course). Other movies coming down the line include Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with Michael Cera and Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick, and Red. Now Red really got my attention. First off, the title is a play on words: it's not the colour but an acronym for Retired Extremely Dangerous and the guys thus described are Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Mary-Louise Parker, and Dame Helen Mirren shooting a big gun. You need more incentives to check this one out?<br />
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<strong>Day 2, July 23</strong> <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvbc-Ud4jqm_QTS4ZCHJqUrvLEbblmm9O7w_1k8-cGlp0VWQdlluv5v_s2zFD_vHJ_mv-g5f5sV1GfJuYhfxo2C7lKh13vMu9rN7mCwEQuAOb3eW8Td6h0LtlEaqydYnL6HWY8umUUnZZ/s1600/nicage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvbc-Ud4jqm_QTS4ZCHJqUrvLEbblmm9O7w_1k8-cGlp0VWQdlluv5v_s2zFD_vHJ_mv-g5f5sV1GfJuYhfxo2C7lKh13vMu9rN7mCwEQuAOb3eW8Td6h0LtlEaqydYnL6HWY8umUUnZZ/s200/nicage.jpg" width="200" /></a>Nicolas Cage hit San Diego to present Drive Angry 3D, a movie where Cage's character chases the men who killed his daughter (haven't we seen that before?). Also in our future is the low-budget Skyline which alert us that aliens are coming again to invade us, and Super with Rainn Wilson, Liv Tyler, and Nathan Fillion.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Producer Guillermo del Toro, along with director Troy Nixey, presented Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, a remake of the 1970s TV film of the same title, starring Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes. The second day at Comic-Con climaxed with the presentation of another highly anticipated movie, The Green Hornet, directed by Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind's Michel Gondry and starring Seth Rogen (who also wrote the screenplay), Cameron Diaz, and Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz. Check out the trailer:</div><br />
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<strong>Day 3, July 24</strong><br />
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If day one was big, we could all expect a big finale for day three. Heroes, heroines, vampires, wizards, you betcha! Meet our heroes: Green Lantern, Thor, and Captain America — or Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Evans. The three movies will be released next year; the two first are in post-production, and Captain America is still filming. By the way, did you know that Kenneth Branagh is the director of Thor? I cannot wait to see this movie — I really miss Branagh behind the camera, his Shakespeare adaptations to the big screen are simply exquisite.<br />
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Meet our heroine, Alice. What's not to love about Alice? Fierce, powerful, always ready to bring down the plans of the Umbrella Corporation and wonderfully played by lovely Milla Jovovich (who made it in time to San Diego after her flight got canceled). The fourth installment of the Resident Evil franchise, this one is called Afterlife and promises us the undead, plenty of action, and the opportunity to watch it in IMAX 3D. Check out the cool trailer:<br />
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Vampires couldn't miss the opportunity to be presented at Comic-Con. No Cullens this time, but still vampires. Let Me In is the Hollywood remake of 2008's excellent Finnish film, Let the Right One In, and stars Kick Ass's Chloe Grace Moretz and Richard Jenkins. Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, and director Jon Favreau also visited Comic-Con in order to talk about Cowboys & Aliens, still in production. Harry Potter lovers also got the chance to see a sneak preview of the very last movie of the saga, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. As you know, the movie is going to be presented in two parts. The first half will be released this November and the second next summer. Be patient, it's almost here!<br />
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Day three came to an end with the official announcement of the impressive cast of The Avengers. Joss Wheldon will be helming the project and starring are Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton / Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0fm8Sebf1LCSYjDgcDg9_p85ETSOA3bgmzhmeoLRkI0-vnFf2goZI3KgetqHJ2ADYGH1VJcQN4-3Bgl54u51K1T1Hsrmn0cQzQmtICz5wdRv0kcRYc5xM4_RAa6BCRrEKT-83tK6W2NV/s1600/avengers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0fm8Sebf1LCSYjDgcDg9_p85ETSOA3bgmzhmeoLRkI0-vnFf2goZI3KgetqHJ2ADYGH1VJcQN4-3Bgl54u51K1T1Hsrmn0cQzQmtICz5wdRv0kcRYc5xM4_RAa6BCRrEKT-83tK6W2NV/s320/avengers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Comic-Con is a four-day event but the fourth day is dedicated to kids. The big panels take place in the first three days. Not bad considering the great quality and interest level of all the panels. 2010 Comic-Con, thank you for a wonderful preview of what the studios have in store for us in the next months. See you next year!<br />
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What do you think of this year's movie offerings? Which films are you really looking forward to seeing?</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-37735433569172713472010-07-30T17:31:00.000+02:002010-07-30T17:31:34.114+02:00November 5 Is Robert Downey Jr.'s Due Date<div style="text-align: justify;">Article first published as November 5 Is Robert Downey Jr.'s <em>Due Date</em> on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/november-5-is-robert-downey-jrs/">Blogcritics.org</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fans of Robert Downey Jr. (I’m included in this group) cannot complain at all. We get a double dose of Downey Jr. this year. First, we had him in the big blockbuster <em>Iron Man 2 </em>and next we'll have him in a totally different role in <em>Due Date</em>, which opens next November 5.</div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s so nice to see Downey Jr. in a comedy (a crazy comedy, better said) and it gets even more interesting when you know that the director helming this project is Todd Phillips, the same director who gave us one of the funniest movies of 2009, <em>The Hangover</em>. In this movie, Phillips reunites with <em>The Hangover </em>alum Zach Galifianakis and Downey reunites with his <em>Kiss Kiss Bang Bang</em> leading lady Michelle Monaghan and his <em>The Soloist </em>co-star Jamie Foxx. These big names are reason enough to watch the movie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The film is centered on Peter Highman (Downey Jr.), a man who is about to become a father but is far from home and his wife (Monaghan). On his way to catch a plane in order to get home in time for his child’s birth, he comes across Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis), an aspiring actor who makes Peter’s plans fall apart and forces him to set out on a crazy, cross-country road trip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Check out the trailer:</div><br />
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</div>Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736743603182941644.post-14286199667593000872010-07-30T17:25:00.002+02:002010-07-30T17:28:00.942+02:00TV Preview: USA's Covert Affairs To Premiere July 13<div style="text-align: justify;">"Article first published as TV Preview: USA's Covert Affairs To Premiere July 13 on <a href="http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-preview-usas-covert-affairs-to/">Blogcritics.org</a>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although, Covert Affairs hasn't been aired yet (it premieres Tuesday, July 13 at 10/9c), I've been really lucky to watch the pilot in advance and I can guarantee you that the USA Network's new spy series will definitely draw your attention this summer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leading the cast, we find actress Piper Perabo, who debuts as a leading lady after some guest starring spots in shows like Law & Order: Criminal Intent and House and a quite prolific career in cinema (who doesn't remember her in Coyote Ugly?), Christopher Gorham (forget him as Henry in Ugly Betty, here's a new version of him and I love it), Erik Lively, Kari Matchett, Eion Bailey, House's Anne Dudek, Heroes' Sendhil Ramamurthy (you won't see him in the pilot but he's definitely a part of the show), and Peter Gallagher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://sweetfilmmemories.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/covert-affairs-annie-poster-480x652.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-24" height="300" src="http://sweetfilmmemories.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/covert-affairs-annie-poster-480x652.jpg?w=220" title="covert-affairs-annie-poster-480x652" width="220" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Created and written by Chris Ord and Matt Corman and produced by the man behind the Bourne trilogy, Doug Liman, Covert Affairs is centered on Annie Walker (Perabo), a world-traveler and multilingual rookie CIA agent who is assigned to leave The Farm (a super secret facility where she's receiving her CIA training) for some hours and go to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia for an assignment. Under the orders of Joan Campbell (Matchett), Walker (and the audience) discovers in her first mission that the CIA is not as cool as she thought it'd be. Her inexperience might be the key that leads her to "fail" such a simple exchange of information with a Russian assassin but with the invaluable help of blind CIA tech Auggie (such a charmer!) Anderson (Gorham) and Walker's own resourcefulness and intelligence, she is able to finish her assignment successfully and get a taste of what it's like to be a CIA field agent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This pilot has a good pace in its storytelling; we get the presentation of Walker and the people surrounding her in the agency and at home. Not too much background on each of them but not too little either, just enough to make us look forward to more. Just one thing: the action sequences have to be polished, they need more energy and rhythm. Having a female spy in the leading part makes us think of Alias involuntarily but Covert Affairs is a whole new thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alice Walker is the girl next door who we would never think of as a spy; she is funny, fresh, friendly, and vulnerable but at the same time really competent. We sympathise with her from the first, especially when she's going through the difficulties of her first day at work in the CIA, because we all have been a bit clumsy and disoriented on our first day in a new job. We can also empathize when Annie's sister, Danielle (Dudek), sets up a dinner and forces Annie to meet a new guy she's invited so Annie can abandon her single status. At the end of the episode, we see that Walker has a great future as a CIA agent, she just needs some time to get familiar with how everything works in the agency but questions like has she really been promoted because of her skills or is there something else behind this premature promotion come to mind swiftly. We shall see, I'm sure of it! The show looks promising!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, check out a sneak peek of the show below, become a fan on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/CovertAffairs">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/CovertAffairs">Twitter</a>, and visit the <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/covertaffairs/" target="_blank">official website</a> where you'll find the latest info.</div><br />
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Don't forget to tune in Tuesday, July 13 at 10/9 c on USA Network for the series premiere! Are you going to watch it?Olga Parerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02159028737711674423noreply@blogger.com0