Oops, getting this in just under the wire. This time it is the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
The SAG awards is quite an interesting one as it is voted by those in the guild i.e. actors vote for them themselves. It is also entirely about the actors with no awards given for technical film-making skill.

Well, let's get on with it. As usual I don't pretend to actually know what I'm talking about. This is all in the name of a bit of fun.

I'll be using a key to indicate my choices:

• Green for Most Likeliest Winner
• Purple for My Personal Choice
• Orange for Both

Last night was the first big award show of the season, the Golden Globes. Now it is time for me to see if I was even within a country mile of getting any of my predictions right.


Wow! I did much better than I expected!

Well, I do enjoy the Golden Globes. It seems a bit more irreverent than the Oscars and some of the other award shows, while still maintaining its prestige as an achievement for those who win.

So how did you do with your predictions? The next one will be... the BAFTAs I think. A particular favourite if only because I can watch it at a reasonable time, rather than in the middle of the night!

It's that time of year again: Award Season! As I did last year, I'll be predicting, using very scientific prediction algorithms obviously, the outcome of some of the biggest award shows.

This is just an exercise in fun to involve myself in the razzamatazz of these big parties as I'm a bit of a film fan. I hope you will indulge me in this.

First up is the 71st Golden Globe Awards which will be awarded this Sunday (12/1/14).


I'll be using a key to indicate my choices:

• Green for Most Likeliest Winner
• Purple for My Personal Choice
• Orange for Both

I can't believe it but it's come around again. Christmas is just around the corner, as is 2014. So it is about time for a run down of the year.

Before I run through the books I've read this year, I think I'll just recap the highlights of my year.

• In April, I got offered a job at the school that I'd been volunteering in. At the end of that school year, that job was extended/increased for this school year.
• May/June. Amazing holiday to Florida, which took in the Harry Potter world at Universal, and some diving in Key West.
• New baby cousin, Imogen, was born in June. I was also asked to be the Godmother.
• July. Quit my job waitressing. Can't say I miss the job. Though I made some good friends there.
   
• August saw my sister and I attending two conferences in quick succession: LeakyCon London and Summer in the City. Both were awesome experiences that I will never forget. Here's hoping to attending those events again at some point.
• October. Another new cousin (this time, once-removed), Libby was born. 
• Finally got my certificate saying I'd passed my Level 1 in British Sign Language. Finished Level 2, waiting for the results...
• Also my parents have managed to sell our house. Just in the process of finalising everything. So we could be moving house at any moment!

This year's 'Read' books

Synopsis: Sutter Keely. He’s the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

Pages: 294

Rating: 7/10

Overall: A really good insight into the teenage boy's mind, and also a look at alcholism and self-destruction/sabotage that leaves you frustrated and sad for Sutter. His denial in the face of his feelings for Aimee keeps you hopeful that he might see the light, right until the last page.

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This week, due to the high number of films out at the moment that I want to see, I went to three films at the cinema. I know, bit excessive but needs must and all that jazz.

So I though I would do three mini reviews for them, for a bit of a change. Probably spoiler free, no promises though.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Francis Lawrence (dir.)

Certificate: 12A (PG-13)

Rating: 9/10

So, as you probably know, Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games, and to all intents and purposes is almost a scene for scene rehash of the first. Obviously some of the plot points are different, but Katniss (and Peeta) is chosen again as Tribute in the Hunger Games. Except this time the stakes are even higher. Not only does Katniss have to try and survive the games, she has to convince President Snow that she loves Peeta. And he's not exactly buying it...

I loved this film. I've read the books and could remember the main points, but didn't remember everything but I feel like they nailed it. The action and tension is non-stop. Donald Sutherland's President Snow really makes you know that he will stop at nothing to prevent a rebellion. There's a bit of Umbridge about him. Jennifer Lawrence, in my eyes, can do no wrong and Josh Hutcherson makes me fall for Peeta again and again. Perhaps my favourite new character was Johanna Mason who is so completely badass, you can't not love her boldness.

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor

Cast: Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, Billie Piper

Rating: 8/10

Yep, I went to see this at the cinema when it was simulcast on telly. Definitely worth seeing it in the cinema. The atmosphere was buzzing as we waited, and everyone laughed or gasped at all the right points.

I would try to summarise the plot, but being Doctor Who, I'm not sure I can. But suffice to say, there was plenty of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, and things that went ding. It was definitely a fitting tribute to 50 years of the Doctor, and I loved how they managed to include all the Doctors, even if it was just a small way. The banter between Ten and Eleven was perfect. I think I could sit and listen to them chatter away for hours. John Hurt only had this episode to establish his Doctor - Eight Point Five - and did it admirably ("Oh! For God's sake!").

I still a bit bemused about what happened with the Zygons. Did they sort themselves out? Also, I'm slightly disappointed that I didn't cry, but I imagine the Christmas special will make up for that.

Fingers crossed for more future multi-Doctor outings, because they are always fun!

Gravity

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Alfonso Cuoron (dir.)

Certificate: 15

Rating: 10/10

I don't think I've ever felt so tense watching a film as I did watching Gravity. Holy crap. Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Commander Kalowsky (Clooney) are on a space walk when disaster strikes and they are set adrift in space, with no communication with Earth. The story follows them as they desperately try to find a way home in an impossible situation.

Gravity is a visually stunning film. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Earth makes a phenomenal and peaceful backdrop to the action happening miles about its surface. The cinematography, however they managed to do it, is also brilliant. The shot from looking at Dr. Ryan Stone to looking out from her helmet was seamless. I should note that I didn't see it in 3D, but apparently it is every more stunning with that extra dimension. Let me know if you think so!

As the cast is literally made up of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, they have to carry the film, and they do so very well. In particular, Bullock's reluctant Ryan has you rooting for her so hard. I almost wanted to cheer for her at many points.

The way the story manages to seem strangely plausible is amazing. Each solution to a problem seems to cause another, which keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first minute to the last. The very idea of being adrift in space is utterly terrifying but it makes a cracking film. I will be extremely surprised if Gravity does not win any Oscars this year.

There we have it. My week of cinema overload. I'd love to know your own opinions about any of these three, so drop me a comment below. Until next time!

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