I Give The Godfather 1 out of 10

Being the movie nerd that I am, I spend a huge amount of time on imdb.com. Naturally I turn my attention to the message boards. Unfortunately, this is often a rather unpleasant experience. There is always someone who goes into a message board starts a thread with an ingenious name such as "This film is so rubbish" and then never returns. They give no justification for their comments, why? Because they probably have none. They're too simple minded to realise that they are watching a cinematic masterpiece (yes you imperfectpete from the Pan's Labyrinth Boards) .

A great thing you can do with imdb is look at the distribution of the ratings given by the users. 15533 people have rated The Godfather 1 out of 10. 1 out of 10? The Godfather? I am most certainly not the hugest fan of The Godfather but I can appreciate that it is a masterpiece. Few films are a 1 out of 10 except maybe Trees 2: The Root of All Evil (I'll get back to that).

I have the great honour of being a female under the age of of 18. This demographic seems to give out the most ridiculous ratings conceivable. The average rating of Rashômon for females under 18 is 2.7. Rashômon is a masterpiece and it is shocking that they cannot realise this. Many see subtitles and think "Oh no, it's foreign". Fools I tells ya!

Now, for your reading pleasure the plot synopsis for Trees 2: The Root of All Evil:
As Christmas approaches, Ranger Cody prepares to do battle with an army of carnivorous trees that may be from a special branch of the ominous National Forest Service.

Good Times

The Neurotic Intorvert

Tsk Tsk Tsk, shame on me, not writing for a few days. I would try to write a huge amount to make up for it but I probably wouldn't succeed.

Onto the subject matter. I recently recied a rather interesting and strange piece of homework. I was given a test, the Eysenck Personality Test. It tests for introversion, Extroversion, Neuroticism and Stabiliy.

The score is determined by converting scores from a series of questions into numbers on the above scale. According to my test I am a Neurotic Introvert. To me, it sounds like the most unpleasant score to get. Apparently, I am moody, anxious, rigid, sober, pessimistic, reserved, unsociable and quiet-not pleasant at all.

There seems to be a rather common misconception as to what introversion is. It doesn't mean that you're shy and can't be around people. It means that your internal level of arousal is so high that you do not need to seek much external arousal. The Free Dictionary defines Neurotism as

A psychological state characterized by excessive anxiety or insecurity without
evidence of neurologic or other organic disease, sometimes accompanied by
defensive or immature behaviors. This term is no longer used in psychiatric
diagnosis.

Great.

Little Gold Men

The Golden Globes have just gone by so naturally the peak of the awards season is coming our way. That’s right, the army of little gold men symbolising the most prestigious film awards, the Oscars. We are still unaware as to whether the ceremony will take place. The writers strike resulted in a press conference but could this be the same for the Oscars, they are by far more glamorous than the Golden Globes. So have suggest that cancelling the ceremony could cause the writers to lose the sympathy of their supporters. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

A we may have guessed, No Country for Old Men has been nominated for an immense number of awards. The Coen Brother’s new masterpiece has been nominated for an impressive 8 awards; Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Javier Barden), Achievement in Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Achievement in Directing (Joel and Ethan Coen), Achievement in Film Editing (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Motion Picture of the Year, Achievement in Sound Editing (Craig Berkey), Achievement in Sound Mixing and Adapted Screenplay.

Representing great British Cinema, Atonement has been nominated for a still impressive seven awards including Best Picture. Unfortunate for some, Keira Knightley has not been nominated for best actress.

The rest of the nominations are as follows.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Ratatouille (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
Surf's Up (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
American Gangster (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
Atonement (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Golden Compass (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
Atonement (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
Across the Universe (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
Atonement (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
Juno (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
No End in Sight (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
Sicko (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
Taxi to the Dark Side (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
War/Dance (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
Freeheld A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
La Corona (The Crown) A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
Salim Baba A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
Sari's Mother (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley

Achievement in film editing
The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal): Christopher Rouse
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
Beaufort Israel
The Counterfeiters Austria
Katyn Poland
Mongol Kazakhstan
12 Russia

Achievement in makeup
La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
Norbit (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Atonement (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
Falling Slowly from Once (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
Happy Working Song from Enchanted (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Raise It Up from August Rush (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
So Close from Enchanted (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
That's How You Know from Enchanted (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
Atonement (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
Juno (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
I Met the Walrus A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
Madame Tutli-Putli (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski "Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)" (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
My Love (Moya Lyubov) (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
Peter & the Wolf (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
At Night A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
Il Supplente (The Substitute) (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets) (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
Tanghi Argentini (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
The Tonto Woman A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
Ratatouille (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
Ratatouille (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
The Golden Compass (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
Atonement (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
Away from Her (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
Juno (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
The Savages (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

Turn That Frown Upsidedown

According to GMTV, it is the most depressing day of the year. It has been termed 'Blue Monday' by psychologists. Why is it the most depressing day of the year you ask? It was pretty dark when you woke up wasn't it? Remember the money you spent on Christmas? Remember that old habit you planned to give up on January 1st? Apparently, it is due to the financial problems caused by Christmas, breaking New Year's Resolutions, going back to work and awful weather that cause us to spend January 21st frowning.

Naturally Internet user, you don't need to face this alone. One very nice person concocted a website to help us all get through the day (of course they did). They outline 10 things that you can do to beat Blue Monday.

Try something new
Be creative, or learn something new to get your brain active and start thinking of new things instead of dwelling on the old.

Get physical
By changing your physical state, from a simple shoulder-shake at your desk to a full work-out at the gym, you can change the way you feel.

Contact a friend or relative
Get in touch with someone you have not heard from in a while; thinking of someone else takes your mind off you.

Take a break
Go somewhere different, whether it’s a coffee bar you have never been into, or a faraway luxury holiday; by changing your physical location, you change your perspective on the world.

Be nice to a stranger
Do a random act of kindness; doing good for others is the best form of self-satisfaction.

Help the planet
Be a good ancestor in some way; the planet will be here long after you are gone.

Pamper yourself
From a small indulgence to a luxury you have been promising yourself.

Plan something newWhether it’s planning a holiday for later in the year or deciding what to do at the weekend, looking forward to something new or different can be uplifting and refreshing.

Go to the beach
By turning a bit of your home or office into a beach you can pretend your somewhere relaxing and help us create world’s biggest beach party!

Share you thoughts
A problem shared is a problem halved. Visit the Blue Monday blog to see what ideas people have come up with for dealing with life’s little problems.

They all seem to be pretty reasonable suggestions, unfortunately I can't really try then out as most of my day has gone. That last one, tsk tsk tsk, shameless self promotion. So tacky. Check out my other blogs which are visible on the right hand column.

Films I Await: Things we lost in the Fire

This is meant to be a general blog but I seem to find myself going back to films. They rule my life...with school.

Things we Lost in the Fire is Susan Bier's American debut. She impressed critics with her Dutch hits Open Hearts, Brothers and After the Wedding. Things We Lost in the Fire stars Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro and David Duchovny in a story about loss, reflection, addiction and hope. It was released in the US in October and since then it has received positive reviews. Unfortunately, it will not be released in the UK until February 1st.

Unlike other films I have awaited such as No Country for Old Men, my desire to watch Things we Lost in the Fire is not the result of the words and opinions of others. The trailer depicts a story that fails to succumb to the many cliches a story of it's nature could yield to. The film stars Halle berry who, over the years, has proved herself to be a more than capable actress. Benicio Del Toro is an actor who I have not seen a large number of performances from but who highly impressed me in 21 Grams. His performance couldsimply be described as believable. Such a partnership of great actor justifies the anticipation of Things we Lost in the Fire.

A Day of Procrasitination

I have a report on value-free research due on Tuesday so it makes sense that I'd do a considerable amount of it today. I've had no such luck. I've written one paragraph, 147 words, disgraceful. Somehow, I've managed to edit every one of my blogs, create a new blog, watch the same film twice and eat what could easy be described as two lunches. I have not done my objectives for the day: the report, laundry, tidy my room or any revision. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

I've attempted not to go into my office which isn't hard as it's freezing cold in there but I did want my iTunes library. I've made one of these online playlists (Finetune Player), I must admit, It's rather rubbish. You can't add more that three songs from one artist? What kind of madness is that. I'm sure there's a logical reason but as you may have guessed, I haven't been acting logically today. I should get some work done.

Films You Love but Daren't Say You Do: Part I

If you're familiar with my other blog (Amateur Critic Reviews) I generally focus on films that are generally considered to be impressive, or dare I say it ‘intellectual’. There are large number of films that many of us like to say we’ve see. These are your Citizen Kanes, Shawshank Redemptions and Godfathers. However, there are always those guilty pleasures. Films that aren’t regarded as particularly good films.

The first film, Rent. In 2005 Christopher Columbus of Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire fame, directed the musical, Rent, based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical. It details the lives of several Bohemian’s living in New York City’s East Village. Rent stars Anthony Rappp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Traci Thoms, Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Jesse L. Martin. The acting is rather impressive, as is the storyline in general. The greatest strength, as you may expect with a musical, is the songs. They are the kind of songs that make you feel better, and I am not one to turn down the opportunity to feel good.

Rent has one clear message: No Day But Today; living each day and embracing it as if it is your last. Good Times.