New photos!

 Just added 3 rolls worth of film to flickr! 

The Faculty (1998) - Robert Rodriguez Interview

Episodes I love of shows that I love: Absolutely Fabulous - Poor (1994)

At the tail end of the second season of Ab Fab, "Poor" is one of (in my opinion) the strongest entries in the shows 39 episode run. It's a showcase of everything that is hilarious and ridiculous about the series. The performances of the whole cast are great (they're never anything less than that though) with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumely giving one of their strongest performances in the series. Edina (Jennifer Saunders) goes erratically from subdued to completely insane in a moments notice and it is HILARIOUS.

The dialogue throughout the episode is fantastic, with the court rant by Edina at the end being a particular standout moment. It's a prime example of the sense of comedic timing combined with dramatic-ism that Jennifer Saunders has. 

Journey to the Past

Aaliyah on the Oscars Red Carpet & performing "Journey to the Past" from Anastasia.

Episodes I love of shows that I love: Friends - The One Where Rachel Finds Out (1995)

A month or so ago, I finally decided to splurge and buy the complete box set of "Friends" (the "extended, exclusive & unseen" edition to be exact) after years and years of contemplating buying it. It's not like Friends is inaccessible or anything to me, as I still own a tonne of VHS tapes from the original home video releases, a couple of seasons on the super old DVD releases and Friends still enjoys morning and night coverage on Comedy Central here in the UK. But the promise of unseen extras and extended episodes proved too tempting for me. 

So, over the last few weeks I've been flying through the episodes at hyper-speed and it's been a real blast fro the past in some cases. As a previously mentioned, Friends still runs in the UK every single day on Comedy Central & before that E4 (and before that it was on it's original run on Channel 4!) but due to the fact that the episodes are often shown in a "best of" format, it can be kinda hard to follow plot lines and as a result of this, there are a handful of episodes I haven't seen for a seriously long time. 

An episode that has really stood out to me during my marathon of the series is the season one finale, "The One Where Rachel Finds Out". I've watched season 1 more times than I can remember and this episode has always been one of my favourites but this time around it really hit me how well executed this episode is and how solid a performance the cast gives (Jennifer Aniston in particular) in conveying the emotional roller-coaster that is the season finale. For me, this episode is a testament to how well the series could mix in more dramatic elements to the comedy of the show and pull it off. The humor is still very much there but it doesn't take away from how genuinely emotional the ending of the episode is. 

The final scene where Rachel is stood in the airport waiting for Ross while we see this paralleled with footage of his plane landing & then getting off the plane with Julie while Madonna - Take a Bow plays in the background seriously gets to me EVERY SINGLE TIME. WHAT THE HELL ROSS. 

Despite airing almost 20 years ago, this episode still seems fresh and is pretty much a blueprint of "how to do a sitcom season finale really really well."

The cast of "Friends" on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Malcolm in the Middle - A retrospective

What with it being just over 8 years since the finale (INSANE, I know) that aired May 2006, it seems as good a time as any to talk about one of my favourite shows of all time. I started watching Malcolm in the Middle pretty much as soon as it started airing in the UK. The show aired on both Sky1 & BBC2. I have been a massive Simpsons fan since forever and by this time I was already obsessed with Buffy, both of which aired on these channels, so it was only a matter of time until I stumbled across Malcolm in the Middle.

Needless to say, it was love at first watch. MITM is one of those shows that has multiple levels, meaning that as I grew up watching it, the more of it I understood. The content is accessible to the vast range of audiences (not dissimilar to the way The Simpsons is) and has allowed for years of happy re-watching. One thing that strikes me, especially today, is that MITM is so incredibly different to other comedies on TV both then and now. The humor often boarders on serious levels of darkness all the while maintaining a consistently entertaining piece of television. 

It kind of goes without saying how insanely good the casting was too. Everybody loves Bryan Cranston now for Breaking Bad, but lets not forget the comedic gold he produced in his role as Hal. His portrayal flawlessly bridges the gap between the child orientated and more adult orientated aspects of the show. Then there is Jane Kaczmarek as Lois, who in my opinion is revolutionary in her rejection of stereotypical female tropes in comedies and brings something completely new to the table. Lois is the unequivocal leader of the household and dispels the idea of patriarchy. Frankie Muniz, Christopher Masterson, Justin Berfield & Eric Per Sullivan make up the remainder of the household (even though Francis hardly lives there during the entirety of the series) for the majority of the show until the addition of Jamie in season 5. The cast has a fantastic chemistry that just naturally flows, they were perfectly selected & the way they were written was and remains to be brilliant. The show also features numerous superb guest stars too vast in numbers to list, although I'd like to mention Christopher Lloyd (one of my favourite actors) as Hals father as a particular highlight for me. 

"Malcolm" is a multi-faceted anomaly in terms of trying to pigeon hole it into a box regarding it's themes. It is so many things. An in depth look at family and relationships. A look at the American working class. A look at growing up. It is neither one nor the other, and that is what makes it so great. It doesn't really follow conventional sitcom ideals from the time.Unlike a lot of family sitcoms (both then and now), both children/teenagers and adults are on a level. "Malcolm" is much more honest in the way it represents family and human relationships generally. 

Jason Voorhees on the Arsenio Hall Show promoting Friday the 13th Part 8.

Why I love Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers

"Halloween" (1978) is one of the first horror films I ever saw, and certainly the first slasher film. "Halloween" is notable as being largely successful both critically and commercially and influenced many slasher horrors and the horror genre in general (the Friday the 13th series was created entirely on the strength of Halloween and it's box office returns) while the film itself was influenced by "Psycho".

As previously mentioned, "Halloween" was a box office success. Regardless of the critical impact of the film, financial success inevitably lead to sequels. The Micheal Myers story is kind of  a gift that keeps on giving, so you can see why film makers have continued to run with it. The ambiguity of the first film and it's characters provides a wealth of material for sequels, and the fact that Micheal Myers is seemingly invincible only adds further to the sequel potential. "Halloween II" followed in 1981, with a production budget of $2,500,000 (towering over the budget of the first film with it's tiny $325,000 budget), "Halloween II" went on to make over 25 million at the box office worldwide, significantly lower than the 70 million gross of "Halloween" but still a significant success. "Halloween II" sought to bring closure to the Michael Myers/Laurie Strode saga. The ending of the film hints heavily at the demise of Michael & almost sort of ties up the ends of the narrative. Sort of. 

Following the success of both "Halloween" and "Halloween II", Debra Hill & John Carpenter decided to take the franchise in an entirely new direction. What they intended to do with the third "Halloween" film was to create a new story, thus creating a pattern in which a new self contained story would begin after each sequel. The intention was to make "Halloween" into an anthology series, but that was not to be. "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was released in 1982 to lukewarm critical reception and a significant drop in box office gross. Many critics expressed their distaste for the new direction for the series and criticizing the film as simply a method of cashing in off the back of the popular Michael Myers saga. 

The critical beating of Season of the Witch kind of killed off the series for a while. It took six years (which is basically about a hundred years in the land of horror movie sequels) in order for the series to be resurrected. Adopted by a new studio and a new set of writers and producers, "Halloween" was once again reintroduced to cinema audiences in the guise of "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" in 1988.  If Debra Hill and John Carpenter had their way and the series was allowed to carry on as an anthology, Halloween 4 would have allegedly been some kind of ghost story, which sounds kinda weird but I am oddly fascinated by that idea. Too bad it'll never see the light of day hah.  Anyway, back to Micheal Myers killing people! "Revenge" sought not only to revisit the character, but also to broaden the origin story of Myers, giving his story more depth. 

So obviously, it transpires that Myers didn't die in "Halloween II" (SPOILERZ) and that Laurie Strode died in a car accident in between II and 4. Laurie is succeeded by her daughter, Jamie Lloyd who is as a result, the niece of Micheal. Micheal pursues her and anyone who has anything to do with her. Jamie Lloyd is a fairly key element in both "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" and "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" (1989) and she also plays a small part in the plot of the final part of the "new" trilogy "Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995). This trilogy follows on from "Halloween II" (obviously ignoring III as it has nothing to do with Michael Myers)  but the story-line established in 4,5 & 6 would later be ignored in both Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002), both of which reintroduce the character of Laurie Strode, thus splitting the narrative into two separate realities, one in which Laurie was never killed & Jamie Lloyd was never born, thus negating the events that transpired in 4, 5 & 6. Crazy.

And for me, it's kind of sad that this is what happened. Contrary to the critical reception of the trilogy (often referred to as the "thorn trilogy" or the "curse of thorn trilogy") I think this set of films is pretty great. But in particular, a little gem called "Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers". But first, some 4, 5 & 6 back story. The trilogy finds it's basis in a couple of key elements, most notably the "man in black" (Terence Wynn) who appears in the "Halloween" as an administrator at Smith Grove Sanitarium from which Michael Escapes. The trilogy is referred to as the "thorn trilogy" due to the prominence of something called "the curse of thorn". The Halloween wikia refers to the "curse of thorn" as being - 

 

"The Curse of Thorn is a constellation that could appear during Halloween. To prevent mass death among the tribes, one family was chosen to bear the curse. This curse would require the bearer to sacrificially murder his or her entire family, which in turn would spare their community from events such as plague and drought. The curse also appears to give the cursed inhuman strength and immunity from death.
The curse was greatly explored in the Producer's Cut of Halloween 6, with more importance given to Dr. Wynn and his Cult. At the end of that cut, a dying Wynn passes the curse to Dr. Loomis, which is the real reason Loomis screams at the end of the film."

Basically, Dr Wynn is a member of the cult and Micheal Myers is the one that was cursed, thus the murder of his sister way back in "Halloween". It also explains the fact that Michael is so freakishly strong and bloody unstoppable, so that's nice. People afflicted with the curse are marked with this symbol - 

Which can be seen on Loomis (Donald Pleasense) at the end of the film. Sadly, Halloween 6 was the last role by Donald before his death in February 1995, meaning that the film was released in the September posthumously. Also, due to the retcon of the series by H20: 20 Years Later, the curse of thorn saga was basically wiped from the slate. Sad. 

With that little bit of back story out the way, let me continue to ramble on about why I love The Curse of Michael Myers (and why everybody should). It's hard for me to put my finger on what it is exactly, but there's an ambiance about this film that is just completely different to the others in the series. It really successfully captures an Octoberish/Halloween-esque atmosphere. Part of me wants to believe that it's my deep love for anything Paul Rudd related that makes me love this film (he does have magical powers that make me love anything he's in) but that's not it. Despite being only 6 years older than Halloween 5, it feels so much fresher. 

The casting is stellar, with Rudd as Tommy Doyle (the boy Laurie was babysitting in the first film remember?! REMEMBER) and Marianne Hagan as Kara Strode (relatives of Laurie) who live across the street from him. Jamie Lloyd features, this time played by J. C Brandy who is seen as being pregnant at the beginning of the film, giving birth on the 30th of October, 1995.

The film is famous for the "Producers Cut", a cut of the film featuring 40 odd minutes of scenes removed from the theatrical cut, making the film and the trilogy as a whole more cohesive (dare I say it, the entire series up to this point). It significantly boosts the films run time from its original 88 minutes and creates what I would argue to be one of the most interesting entries to the series. This cut will be receiving it's first official release this September in the Halloween Complete Blu-Ray collection (finally!) and will hopefully be well remastered to blend the cut footage with the theatrical footage. Currently, the film exists as a number of bootleg releases that can be found round the internet and in hard copy on eBay.

To summarize, I believe "Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers" to be an underrated gem and in the modern day horror landscape of endless Paranormal Activity clones, it is nice to go back to this film as it feels like a breath of fresh air. The editing is pacy, like that of a music video (it was 1995, after all) and the tone is perhaps the darkest of the series. It's got evil druid cults, Michael Myers and Paul Rudd in it, what more do you want. Nothing. Nothing at all. 

Recent photography

(Click through for Flickr)

22 Jump Street

In the way way back of 2012 (2012 isn't really that long ago, but it kind of feels like it is), 21 Jump Street was released. Beyond the appeal of the casting decisions, I decided to watch the film on the strength of the handful of episodes I'd watched from the original 1980's 21 Jump Street series starring Johnny Depp. The film was a pleasant surprise and exceeded my expectations. Released in March (a time of year plagued by terrible comedies/films in general attempting to capitalize on the Easter/early Summer market) I was skeptical as to how the film would turn out. The film was well thought out and structured, with notable references to the original series. I also enjoyed how the film clearly wasn't just a Channing Tatum/Jonah Hill vehicle in that they really fit well with their roles and made them 3 dimensional.

So, I was happy to see that the film would be getting a sequel when it was announced in the June of 2013. And this optimism was not unjustified. I'm going to go right off the bat and say that I think that 22 Jump Street is the strongest of the two films. The comedy was even more self aware than the previous film (mocking the idea of sequels in a way that reminded me of similar material used in Scream 2) and even better chemistry between the cast members. Where 21 Jump Street was more slowly paced, 22 throws the audience in at the deep end (assuming that they have seen the first film, and saving a serious amount of time) and allows for further expansion of the characters and their individual plot lines than was possible in 21.

An element of the film I particularly enjoyed was the further mockery of the concept of film sequels during the closing credits of the film. Kind of a shame hardly anyone who was in the cinema actually stayed to watch the credits (I swear the woman two rows down from me literally dived out of her seat at the exact second that the film ended in order to get out first, people are weird) cause they another meta-layer to the films already  well constructed self aware reality. The ending credits feature Tatum & Hill going through a series jobs set by Jump Street during their police work. The jobs are showcased as being further sequels to the film (23 Jump Street, 24 Jump Street etc.) My personal favourite was "27 Jump Street" Culinary School in which Hill and Tatum play across from Bill Hader as some kind of evil chef. Amazing. 

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (2005 - Present)

As mentioned in a previous post, I recently reactivated my Netflix account and have since become some kind of hermit stereotype, spending every moment where I'm not out or at work watching TV shows and films in a never ending cycle. Netflix goes to play the next episode and I don't stop it. "Are you still watching The Office?" it will say, every couple of episodes, to which I will reply "WELL OBVIOUSLY" and then rapidly thrash about trying to find the PlayStation controller.

At the minute there's a couple of things on there that I have found myself especially drawn to. But at the forefront is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (2005 - Present). Always Sunny is actually a show I began watching quite a few years ago. I watched the occasional episode and really enjoyed it & then withdrew from it, telling myself that I should watch it from the beginning to enjoy it to the full effect and to fully understand plot-lines and character development. Literal years passed until I stumbled upon the series on Netflix. I was really happy to see that not only did Netflix have the series, they had ALL of it. Always Sunny DVD's are not readily available in the UK and even though I have a region 1 player, the cost of springing for the entire series on DVD when it's in it's 9th season is just crazy talk. 

ANYWAY, I've been obsessed ever since I pressed play on season 1 episode 1 and it took me a matter of weeks to get to season 9 episode 10. In short, I am in love with this show. And the thought of waiting until January for season 10 is both distressing and exciting. 

As I previously mentioned, I had previously watched the show a number of years ago and watched quite a few episodes. But the episodes seem to get stronger and stronger as seasons go by. In comparison to many sitcoms, where quality declines as time goes by, Always Sunny just goes from strength to strength. 

One of my personal favourite things about the series is Charlie Day and his performance as Charlie Kelly. He puts absolutely everything into every scene and it shows. This scene from "Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack" (season 4, episode 10) is something I can just watch over and over - 

Been massively neglecting my blog as of late due to holidays/uni/work and I just kind fell out of the cycle of posting stuff and have repeatedly told myself to post something and kept failing to do so. I've finished uni now for the summer so I'll have plenty of time to post again (and watch stuff to post about!). I have recently reactivated my Netflix account and have found myself watching entire shows in the space of about a week. Literally ever spare moment that I have had over the last month or so has been consumed by Netflix, so I think I'll be keeping it for a while this time! (I usually bail after the free month is up)

So I should have plenty of interesting material to write about in the coming days and weeks. Tonight, I'm off to watch 22 Jump Street.

Love Field (1992)

Following the Oscar nominated performance in "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), two Golden Globe nominated turns in "The Russia House" (1990) and "Frankie and Johnny" (1991) and the iconic career defining role as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in "Batman Returns" (1992), "Love Field" all too often  slips under the radar in discussions regarding the film career of Michelle Pfeiffer. Which is sad, cause it's an incredibly strong performance and a very interesting piece of cinema. Sadly, like many Oscar nominees that don't claim the title (and even some winners) the film has largely been lost under the sands of time. Although it is worth noting that Michelle did win the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, so at least her performance wasn't completely unrewarded.

"Love Field" tells the story of Lurene Hallett, a Dallas housewife with a fanatical obsession with the first lady, Jackie O, going to the length of emulating her hairstyle and clothing. Rattled by the assassination of JFK, the second act of the film shows Lurene on a journey of self discovery (accompanied by a father and daughter she meets along the way) across the country, trying to get the the funeral for JFK in Washington. The story explores racism, women's rights in the 60s and the gigantic cultural effect of the JFK assassination. Supported by a superb cast including Dennis Haysbert and Stephanie McFadden, Michelle completely encapsulates the essence of the impact of the assassination. In a lot of ways, her performance as a Jackie O obsessed housewife is superior to that of dozens of other performances by people actually playing Jackie O.

The film still feels fresh to this day, the issues raised are still of relevance. It somehow successfully blends a serious social issue with romance, without being insensitive in doing so. The film is unafraid to show a different perspective on the Kennedy era, showing opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of political perception of the president. The pacing is well timed, varying between more subdued drama to fast paced chase scenes.

The way the film is shot has a kind of timeless feel to it. It certainly does not feel like a product of 1992. The costuming is excellent and feels completely seamless with the time period in which it belongs (there are few things more distracting than clothes looking like they could've been bought today when a film is set in an entirely different time period). 

In short, "Love Field" is a cinematic gem that is worth a look. One of the most interesting and overlooked films of Michelle's career, the film also serves as an interesting insight to the JFK assasination whilst capturing mid-sixties America in a way that is visually and emotionally stimulating.  

Happy Endings (2011 - 2013)

Severe lack of posts lately due to being inundated with university work but now I'm off for Easter so normal service (whatever that is) shall resume. 

ANYWAY, I've had this post waiting as a draft in my posts for a week or so now. I've recently started a re-watch of Happy Endings after catching an episode on E4 a couple of weeks ago and regaining the urge to watch it all over again. For those that don't know, Happy Endings was a single camera sitcom that ran on ABC (and Channel 4/E4 in the UK) from April 13, 2011 to May 3, 2013.

I got really behind on my TV watching last year and pretty much didn't watch the third season of Happy Endings, telling myself I would watch it when I wasn't so busy with uni work. Now i'm glad this happened, cause I can slowly pace myself through what is in fact the final season of the show. All the while telling myself that the cancellation of this show is one of the most ridiculous TV decisions ever made.

It's hard to pinpoint what exactly is so good about Happy Endings, mainly because there are so many things that are great about it. It has a classic sitcom feel to it (kind of a Cheers/Seinfeld/Frasier/Friends vibe) with elements of more contemporary comedies like 30 Rock and The Office. The casting is completely solid, and is reminiscent of the same dynamic applied to the casting of "Friends" way back in 1994. Happy Endings is one of the only shows (if not the ONLY) to successfully utilize the "Friends" formula.

Tina Fey summarized this idea really well in her 2011 autobiography, "Bossypants"  -

"For years the networks have tried to re-create the success of Friends by making pilot after pilot about beautiful twenty-somethings living together in New York. Beautiful twenty-somethings living in Los Angeles. Beautiful twenty-somethings investigating sexy child murders in Miami. This template never works, because executives refuse to realize that Friends was the exception, not the rule."

Perhaps the shows setting in Chicago rather than in NYC or LA was what allowed it to prosper. But there's a lot more to it than that. The casting is solid. Casey Wilson, Elisha Cuthbert, Eliza Coupe, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr. and Zachary Knighton are all relatively fresh talent, all capable of expressing the comedy material to full effect. The shows clever dialogue and unsurpassed use of pop culture references never seem forced on them, they make the characters so believable that they seem like real people, not weird two dimensional sock-puppets that are so often present in run-of-the-mill sitcoms that fill up the TV schedule every September. 

I particularly enjoy the way in which the screen time is distributed. As a general rule, throughout a season of Happy Endings, there has been an equal share of story-line for each of the 6 characters. There are six protagonists, not a couple of main characters and 4 other supporting cast members that only serve the purpose of filling the remaining screen-time. I'd also like to throw it out there whilst on the subject of the characters that Max Blum (played by Adam Pally) is one of the most significant representations of a gay man in television history. Seriously. As previously mentioned, the screen-time of this show is very well distributed, meaning that Max receives the same amount of story-line as his straight counterparts, something which is frustratingly still quite rare on mainstream prime-time television. 

In short, i'm still very much in mourning for this show. It is baffling to me how something that was so critically acclaimed with a regular viewership & avid fan-base could be disposed of, whilst dozens of lesser shows continue to be renewed season after season. I really hope that it gets some kind of revival, if not from another network then perhaps by Netflix or something. Here's hoping. 

Actors I love - Sandra Bullock

(Sandra with her Oscar for "The Blind Side" from the 2010 Academy Awards)

Obsessively pouring over the filmographies of my favourite actors is something I always seem to find myself doing. Even now when I should be making some headway with the essay that I have due for next Friday, I find myself instead clicking on the "filmography" tab on the Sandra Bullock IMDB page and happily browsing over the details of her films that I've seen a thousand times. Committing these regular trips down film memory lane to this blog only seemed right. 

Sandra has a pretty big filmography, so this post is probably going to be a little bit haphazard organisation-wise but I'm sure I'll somehow struggle through. The first film I saw her in (if my memory serves) was Practical Magic (1998). Now regarded as a Halloween favourite by many, "Practical Magic" stars Sandra opposite Nicole Kidman as two sisters, detailing their lives from childhood to adulthood and how it was effected by their magical abilities. A truly underrated film in my opinion (as most Halloween favorites seem to be! ie. Hocus Pocus) the film received mixed reviews, although many critics did draw attention to the performance given by Bullock as a highlight. 

"Speed" (1994) also springs to mind when I think of my first Bullock films. Obviously hugely successful and a fantastic film (with a decidedly less fantastic sequel that Sandra has basically disowned) "Speed" is one of the reasons I enjoy her so much as an actor. She began to show her versatility as an actor from the very beginning of her career, jumping from romantic comedies (Love Potion No. 9) to science fiction (Demolition Man) to thrillers (Speed) to drama (A Time To Kill) with ease. Unlike many actors who find themselves typecast for a long time before they begin to establish their independence in terms of choice in roles, Sandra showed capability in choosing projects that would be successful. Only a couple of years into her career she was able to establish herself as a title star (The Net in 1995 featured only Bullocks name on the poster & her picture), a feat that often takes many years of film roles for others. 

Flash forward to 2006 & another stand out for me is "The Lake House". Reunited with her "Speed" co-star Keanu Reeves, "The Lake House" tells the story of two people who live in the same house & fall in love via letter writing, despite being separated by two years (Reeves is in 2004, Bullock in 2006) & their attempts to meet each other. Straight off the bat, this film makes zero fucking sense but I love it. I've watched it countless times and the plot just does not hold up (they try to meet each other when their time zones "meet" but then they must wait another two years for this to happen again) and it baffles me every time. But I cannot help but love it, it's just kinda nice. I find the sheer non sensical nature of the film to be quite endearing & watching it is a definite escapist experience because I forget whatever else is on my mind in order to figure out what the bloody hell is going on.

Both of her Oscar nominated (with one winning) turns are obviously of note. "The Blind Side" is, again another showcase of her diversity as an actor.  During the casting for the film, she almost didn't take the role due to her concerns about playing a devout christian. But she did it. And it was great. She did this film for all the right reasons, and her Academy Award acceptance speech only proves that - 

"I have so many people to thank for my good fortune in this lifetime, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I know. To the family that allowed me to play them, the Tuohy family, I know they're in here and you'll probably hear her in a minute. Maybe not. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to... do something different. John Lee Hancock, Gil Netter, Alcon, Warner Brothers, the actors, everyone who's shown me kindness when it wasn't fashionable, I thank you. To everyone who was mean to me when it wasn't ... George Clooney threw me in a pool years ago. I'm still holding a grudge. But there's so many people to thank. I would like to thank what this film is about, for me, which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked. I, in particular, failed to thank one. So... if I can take this moment to thank Helga B. for not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18 because she was right. I would've done what she said I was gonna do. For making me practice every day when I got home. Piano, ballet, whatever it is I wanted to be. She said to be an artist, you had to practice every day, and for reminding her daughters that there's no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love. So, to that trailblazer, who allowed me to have that. And this. And this. I thank you so much for this opportunity that I share with these extraordinary women and my lover Meryl Streep. Thank you."

Alongside "The Blind Side" is "Gravity" which is to me, the central jewel in her acting crown. I've expressed my love for this film before on this blog, but it's just on another level. "Gravity" completely takes you in, and it's as much down to Sandra as it is to the score and the effects. Everything she feels, you feel. When she was claustrophobic, I was claustrophobic. It's such a visceral performance and I found myself literally sitting at the edge of my seat from pretty much the very beginning of the film.

To conclude, theres obviously a huge wealth of other great films in her filmography that I could go on about (how good is While You Were Sleeping?! and obviously Miss Congeniality) but this feels like the natural place to end this post. All hail Sandra.

Actresses Roundtable (The Hollywood Reporter)

Don't know why I have only just gotten around to posting this but better late than never! I always enjoy these round table interviews by The Hollywood Reporter and this years actresses edition is a particular stand-out for me. Legitimately so inspiring. 

Albert Hall, Manchester

Albert Hall, Manchester, a photo by alexetchells on Flickr.

Got the opportunity to shoot in Albert Hall a couple of weeks ago. Such a great space, especially when it's completely empty.

True Romance (1993)

"Amid the chaos of that day, when all I could hear was the thunder of gunshots, and all I could smell was the violence in the air, I look back and am amazed that my thoughts were so clear and true, that three words went through my mind endlessly, repeating themselves like a broken record: you're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool. And sometimes Clarence asks me what I would have done if he had died, if that bullet had been two inches more to the left. To this, I always smile, as if I'm not going to satisfy him with a response. But I always do. I tell him of how I would want to die, but that the anguish and the want of death would fade like the stars at dawn, and that things would be much as they are now. Perhaps. Except maybe I wouldn't have named our son Elvis."

Academy Awards 2014

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity - WINNER

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Great Gatsby - WINNER

BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING:

Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):

Mr Hublot - WINNER

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

Frozen - WINNER

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):

Helium - WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

20 Feet from Stardom - WINNER

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

The Great Beauty (Italy) - WINNER

BEST SOUND MIXING:

Gravity - WINNER

BEST SOUND EDITING:

Gravity - WINNER

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

Gravity - WINNER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Gravity - WINNER

BEST FILM EDITING:

Gravity - WINNER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

The Great Gatsby - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

Gravity - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

Let It Go - Frozen - WINNER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Spike Jonze - Her - WINNER

No real surprises but a lot of well deserved wins (particularly for Spike Jonze for Her, a film which frankly deserved far more nominations than it received). Based on this years nominations though, it was never going to be a disaster like some years previous where an undeserving film swept the night (and by this I obviously mean that year that Braveheart won a load of Oscars, beating out seriously great films such as Dead Man Walking, Babe and Apollo 13 in various categories. SERIOUSLY?! BRAVEHEART?! MEL GIBSON?! WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY DOING IN 1996 TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN?!).

All in all a great Oscar ceremony, well presented by Ellen who did a great job at maintaining the energy of the show (The Oscars is a marathon, not a sprint. It isn't the brief two hours & done that the BAFTAs is!). Although I must say that the red carpet coverage on E! drives me up the bloody wall. I endured an hour this year before changing to the other coverage (that started an hour later) provided on Sky Movies itself.

Why Pretty Woman is kind of insanely dark (and exactly why I love it for that reason)

The film that made Julia Roberts into the Hollywood megastar that the world now knows her as. Pretty Woman is a staple in the romantic comedy drama, largely seen as a touch stone to the films of the same genre that followed it, and considered by many critics to be one of the most successful (both critically and financial) and important films of the genre. But to me, the film takes on an entirely different level of depth that is largely left untouched by other films of the rom-com persuasion. Pretty woman is crazy dark underneath the beautiful surroundings, the upbeat cross-over late 80's/early 90's soundtrack and the combination of the insane attractiveness of both Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. 

Incidentally, Pretty Woman was in fact originally intended to be a dark tale about prostitution (whilst still utilising the L.A setting of the finished film). The original script included the idea that Vivian would be addicted to drugs and that at one point she is confronted outside a club by a drug dealer, prompting Edward and Darryl to come to her rescue. It is also mentioned in the original screenplay that she needed money to "get to Disneyland" so her deal with Richard was that she would stay off drugs for a week in order to get the money. The film was intended to end with her and a prostitute friend on the bus to Disneyland. The character traits including drug addiction were moved from Robert's character onto "Kit", Vivian's friend.

Many actresses tried out for the leading role during the screenplays early stages, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Daryl Hannah, Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder, Molly Ringwald and Jennifer Connelly. Disney were not overly enthusiastic about the idea of Julia Roberts getting the role (which seems so ridiculous now looking back, considering after this film Julia basically ruled the box office for the 1990's, got an Oscar 10 years later & is still hugely successful to this day).

SO ANYWAY, down to what I actually wanted to say with this post. Pretty Woman kicks off, King of Wishful Thinking plays in the credits and all is well. We're introduced to Gere's character in a fairly lighthearted scene involving his ex wife. He borrows his associates car due to his limo being blocked in, and thus the chain of events that make up the rest of "Pretty Woman" begin to roll into motion.

It's not until we meet Vivian that (in my opinion) things start to get REALLY dark. Barely five minutes into the film and we see a landlord-evading Julia Roberts donning a blonde wig walking down Hollywood Boulevard at night. Her pace is slowed down by a scene involving police and onlookers. And what's the situation? Oh nothing, JUST A DEAD WOMAN. The body prostitute who worked the same street as Vivian is being removed from a dumpster whilst tourists from Orlando stand by taking pictures. The incidents in this scene are never mentioned again throughout the film, and are very likely remnants from the original "darker" screenplay that have been left in (I am intrigued to know what the original screenplay would have been like had it made it to the screen). If you look on the wikipedia page for the film, this entire segment of the opening scenes isn't even mentioned. This is the film that is a staple in Valentines day displays, grouped in with more light hearted fare such as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Love Actually & Sleepless in Seattle (which granted is another kinda dark film, but thats another blog post for another day) which is a testament to the level of denial that has been applied to the darker parts of Pretty Woman. 

We then see Kit, the friend that took Vivian in and introduced her to prostitution. We are introduced to Kit in a confrontational scene between her and Vivian, in which Vivian has found their rent money to be missing. It conspires that Kit has spent the money on drugs. The guy that provided her with the drugs informs Vivian that they intact owe him another $200 and that Vivian could possibly repay him with sexual favours (as I said, DARK AS FUCK). 

Kit and Vivian are seen as being so financially troubled that Kit relies on the fruit used to garnish drinks at the bar as her source of food.  Pretty shortly after this, Richard Gere shows up on his metaphorical white horse and gallops away with Vivian into the sunset. Sort of.

Vivian has a Cinderella-esque transformation and all her problems are solved forever right? WRONGO. Upon discovering that Vivian is in fact a prostitute, Philip (a lawyer who is seen working with Edward throughout the film) attempts to force himself on Vivian in a seriously twisted revenge fuelled attack. Of course Edward comes to her rescue, but it doesn't change the fact that this scene happened. 

Pretty Woman is a film with a much greater level of pragmatic darkness than it's "rom com" categorisation would lead anyone to expect. As I said before, I would have loved to have seen the original screenplay committed to film. Obviously with Julia & Richard still in the leading roles cause they are both very capable of such depth - Julia's done Steel Magnolias, Erin Brockovich, Oceans Eleven & most recently August: Osage County. While Richard incidentally starred in a decidedly dark escort based film of his own 9 years previous to Pretty Woman entitled "American Gigolo". Gere has also garnered critical praise for roles in Primal Fear,  Arbitrage & Days of Heaven. 

Michelle Pfeiffer in "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989)

One of the worst Oscar snubs of all time in my view. The best actress award at the 1990 Academy Awards really should have gone to her. Jessica Tandy does give a good performance in Driving Miss Daisy, but Michelle's performance is on an entirely different level. I think Roger Ebert said it best in his review of the film - 

"This is one of the movies they will use as a document, years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great star. I cannot claim that I spotted her unique screen presence in her first movie, which, I think, was "Grease II," but certainly by the time she made "Ladyhawke" and "Tequila Sunrise" and "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Married to the Mob," something was going on. This is the movie of her flowering - not just as a beautiful woman, but as an actress with the ability to make you care about her, to make you feel what she feels. All of those qualities are here in this movie, and so is the "Makin' Whoopee" number, which I can only praise by adding it to a short list: Whatever she's doing while she performs that song isn't merely singing; it's whatever Rita Hayworth did in "Gilda" and Marilyn Monroe did in "Some Like It Hot," and I didn't want her to stop."

BAFTAs 2014

Best film

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Outstanding British film
Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr Banks
The Selfish Giant

Actor

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Actress

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)

Supporting actor

Barkhad Adbi (Captain Phillips)
Daniel Bruhl (Rush)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

Supporting actress

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

Director

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
David O Russell (American Hustle)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Adapted screenplay

Philomena
12 Years a Slave
Behind the Candelabra
Captain Phillips
The Wolf of Wall Street

Original screenplay

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Animated film

Frozen
Despicable Me 2
Monsters University

Documentary
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim’s Vermeer
We Steal Secrets

Foreign film

The Great Beauty
The Act of Killing
Blue is the Warmest Colour
Metro Manila
Wadjda

Cinematography

Gravity
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Costume design

The Great Gatsby
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Invisible Woman
Saving Mr Banks

Editing

Rush

12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Wolf of Wall Street

Make-up and hair

American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Butler
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Music

Gravity
12 Years a Slave
The Book Thief
Captain Phillips
Saving Mr Banks

Production design

The Great Gatsby
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
Gravity

Sound
Gravity
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush

Visual effects

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness

Short animation

Sleeping with the Fishes
Everything I Can See From Here
I Am Tom Moody

Short film

Room 8
Island Queen
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Orbit Ever After
Sea View

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Kieran Evans (writer-director, Kelly + Victor)
Colin Carberry, Glenn Patterson (writers, Good Vibrations)
Scott Graham (writer-director, Shell)
Kelly Marcel (writer, Saving Mr Banks)
Paul Wright. Polly Stokes (writer-director and producer, For Those in Peril)

Rising Star award

Will Poulter
Dane DeHaan
George MacKay
Lupita Nyong’o
Lea Seydoux

Summerseat Methodist Church

Summerseat Methodist Church, a photo by alexetchells on Flickr.

This is a picture from my first roll of film on my Canon EOS 300. The guy I bought it off didn't tell me there was a roll of film already in the camera so I (stupidly) opened the back up without checking.Out of 36 exposures, 7 were already used. I continued to shoot with the film and hoped for the best. The results were varied and theres around 10 images that I'm happy with, all of them heavily distorted due to me exposing the film to light. But this image in particular is my favourite. Despite the image of the graveyard being taken in broad daylight, it is incredibly dark in comparison to the image of the window that was on the film before I owned the camera. Regardless, I really like this picture and it kinda makes me want to pick up loads of rolls of cheap film and have a go at doing this again.

Academy Award nominations - 2014

Actor in a Leading Role

Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Actress in a Leading Role

Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”

Animated Feature Film

“The Croods” Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

Cinematography

“The Grandmaster” Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” Roger A. Deakins

Costume Design

“American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” Patricia Norris

Directing

“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese

Documentary Feature

“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers

Documentary Short Subject

“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

Film Editing

“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

Foreign Language Film

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium
“The Great Beauty” Italy
“The Hunt” Denmark
“The Missing Picture” Cambodia
“Omar” Palestine

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Music (Original Score)

“The Book Thief” John Williams
“Gravity” Steven Price
“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

Music (Original Song)

“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

Best Picture

“American Hustle” Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers

Production Design

“American Hustle” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
“Her” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Short Film (Animated)

“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions” Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

Short Film (Live Action)

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

Sound Editing

“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge and Chris Ward
“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

Sound Mixing

“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Visual Effects

“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“Before Midnight” Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Screenplay by Terence Winter

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“American Hustle” Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” Written by Woody Allen
“Dallas Buyers Club” Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
“Her” Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” Written by Bob Nelson

Dead Man Walking (1995)

"A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families."

Another of my all time favourite films. A well deserved Oscar win for Susan Sarandon and if we're being totally honest, Sean Penn deserved to win too and I'm really surprised that he didn't. 

Yet more graveyard pictures!

Currently assembling images of cemeteries for a uni project and narrowing the results down as I go...

(Hover over to browse the photos)

I also hope that I have yielded some successful images with my new film camera which I am currently having some images developed from. Gotta wait until next week to pick them up but hopefully they will be worth the wait! 

Canon EOS 300 35mm Film Camera

Probably my best eBay find ever. Canon EOS 300 35mm film camera, 6 filters, zoom lens, remote switch, batteries & a roll of black and white film for less than it usually costs to buy the camera body on its own.

So pleased with it! Upon closer inspection, the eBay seller had in fact left a brand new roll of film inside the camera itself which I have already used up and sent off to be developed. Exciting!

Screen Actors Guild Awards - 2014

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- 12 Years a Slave
- American Hustle
- August: Osage County
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
- Bruce Dern / Woody Grant – “Nebraska”
- Chiwetel Ejiofor / Solomon Northup – “12 Years a Slave”
- Tom Hanks / Capt. Richard Phillips – “Captain Phillips”
- Matthew McConaughey / Ron Woodroof – “Dallas Buyers Club”
- Forest Whitaker / Cecil Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”


Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
- Cate Blanchett / Jasmine – “Blue Jasmine”
- Sandra Bullock / Ryan Stone – “Gravity”
- Judi Dench / Philomena Lee – “Philomena”
- Meryl Streep / Violet Weston – “August: Osage County”
- Emma Thompson / P.L. Travers – “Saving Mr. Banks”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
- Barkhad Abdi / Muse – “Captain Phillips”
- Daniel Brühl / Niki Lauda – “Rush”
- Michael Fassbender / Edwin Epps – “12 Years a Slave”
- James Gandolfini / Albert – “Enough Said”
- Jared Leto / Rayon – “Dallas Buyers Club”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
- Jennifer Lawrence / Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “American Hustle”
- Lupita Nyong’o / Patsey – “12 Years a Slave”
- Julia Roberts / Barbara Weston – “August: Osage County”
- June Squibb / Kate Grant – “Nebraska”
- Oprah Winfrey / Gloria Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
- Matt Damon / Scott Thorson – “Behind the Candelabra”
- Michael Douglas / Liberace – “Behind the Candelabra”
- Jeremy Irons / King Henry IV – “The Hollow Crown”
- Rob Lowe / John F. Kennedy – “Killing Kennedy”
- Al Pacino / Phil Spector – “Phil Spector”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
- Angela Bassett / Coretta Scott King – “Betty & Coretta”
- Helena Bonham Carter / Elizabeth Taylor – “Burton and Taylor”
- Holly Hunter / G.J. – “Top of the Lake”
- Helen Mirren / Linda Kenney Baden – “Phil Spector”
- Elisabeth Moss / Robin Griffin – “Top of the Lake”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
- Steve Buscemi / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “Boardwalk Empire”
- Bryan Cranston / Walter White – “Breaking Bad”
- Jeff Daniels / Will McAvoy – “The Newsroom”
- Peter Dinklage / Tyrion Lannister – “Game of Thrones”
- Kevin Spacey / Francis Underwood – “House of Cards”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
- Claire Danes / Carrie Mathison – “Homeland”
- Anna Gunn / Skyler White – “Breaking Bad”
- Jessica Lange / Fiona Goode – “American Horror Story: Coven”
- Maggie Smith / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “Downton Abbey”
- Kerry Washington / Olivia Pope – “Scandal”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
- Boardwalk Empire
- Breaking Bad
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- Homeland

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
- Alec Baldwin / Jack Donaghy – “30 Rock”
- Jason Bateman / Michael Bluth – “Arrested Development”
- Ty Burrell / Phil Dunphy – “Modern Family”
- Don Cheadle / Martin “Marty” Kaan – “House of Lies”
- Jim Parsons / Sheldon Cooper – “The Big Bang Theory”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
- Mayim Bialik / Amy Farrah Fowler – “The Big Bang Theory”
- Julie Bowen / Claire Dunphy – “Modern Family”
- Edie Falco / Jackie Peyton – “Nurse Jackie”
- Tina Fey / Liz Lemon – “30 Rock”
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Vice President Selina Meyer – “Veep”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
- 30 Rock
- Arrested Development
- The Big Bang Theory
- Modern Family
- Veep

(All images courtesy of The Guardian)

As with the Golden Globes, an all round great set of winners and nominees. I'm really happy to see the Modern Family love is still going strong, particularly the win for Ty Burrell. 

As per usual, the SAG Awards are an (almost) mirror of the Golden Globes with a few minor changes (and the obvious difference in actual categories). The Globes are also usually a fairly good indication of how the Oscars are going to pan out. Usually. It's not totally unheard of for someone to say, win best actress at the Globes and then not win best actress at The Oscars (like Michelle Pfeiffer winning at the Globes for The Fabulous Baker Boys and then not winning the Oscar also, I MEAN SERIOUSLY). 

Latest film & TV purchases

Sandra Bullock collection - The Blind Side, Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice, The Lake House
Angels In America
Wit

Gia
Harsh Times
Goosebumps - seasons 3 & 4

Kalifornia
Malcolm in the Middle - season 3
Schindler's List

Stoker
Public Enemies
Curse of Chucky

Wet Hot American Summer
While You Were Sleeping
Futurama - Volume 8.