Monday, February 27, 2012

Oscar results

Right, so here are the Oscar results and how I did…

BEST PICTURE
The Artist

RIGHT


BEST DIRECTOR
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius

RIGHT


BEST ACTOR
Jean Dujardin - The Artist

RIGHT


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer - Beginners

RIGHT


BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis - The Help

WRONG – Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer - The Help

RIGHT


BEST ANIMATED FILM
Rango

RIGHT


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon &
Jim Rash

RIGHT


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius

WRONG – Midnight in Paris


ART DIRECTION
The Artist - Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould

WRONG – Hugo


CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman

WRONG - Hugo


COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist - Mark Bridges

RIGHT


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

No prediction made.


BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

No prediction made.


BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

WRONG – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

No prediction made.


BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and
Matthew W. Mungle

WRONG – The Iron Lady


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist - Ludovic Bource

RIGHT


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Man or Muppet - The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

RIGHT


BEST ANIMATED SHORT

No prediction made.


BEST LIVE FILM

No prediction made.


BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis

WRONG - Hugo


BEST SOUND MIXING
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley

WRONG - Hugo


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett

WRONG – Hugo

Total results:

11 / 19 or 58% correct

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Playstation Vita review


Vita review

Okay, I’ve had my Playstation Vita for a few days now, and I thought that I’d take the opportunity to write down a few thoughts (similar to what I did for the 3DS last year). Anyway, how I thought I’d approach this is by noting down both the good points and also the slight negatives.

Good points:

- It’s a current gen console in your hands, it really is. Uncharted plays just like Uncharted on the PS3. As a portable console, it packs a lot of punch.

- The OLED screen is big and beautiful. Again, it puts any other handheld to shame. The resolution, while not HD and not up to iphone retina standard, is a big jump from the DS, PSP and even the 3DS.

- In all the games that I have played, there is a greater sense of social connectivity with other SEN users. Scoreboards update with friends and other SEN users, ghost data is automatically added as you play and it keeps you updated with your friends progress, achievements and whether they have beaten you on certain sections of the games.

- Two analogue sticks. Yep, it’s an important addition for some games. Whilst not all games require the use of a second analogue stick, anything like a first or third person shooter struggles without this.

- I only owned a PSP for a relatively short while and as such, I missed out on a great many of the later games. Now with a Vita, I can download this missed games and play to my heart’s content.

Negatives:

- Just like you have to put up with loading screens on home consoles, now you have to put up with them on the Vita. Unfortunately, when you are not used to this (GB and DS have never had much of an issue with this) this can initially be annoying.

- I find that the “X” button is a little too close the second analogue stick for my liking. This could be because I have fat thumbs, but a little more room in this area would have been appreciated.

- So black, so shiny, so many fingerprints.

- The battery power is similar to that of the 3DS, which is still not ideal for a portable, but probably unavoidable with current battery technology.

As for the games, I got Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Wipeout 2048 on cart and have downloaded Motorstorm RC and Super Stardust Delta. Granted all of these are continuations of known franchises, but I will also likely be getting some original games (such as Escape Plan and Gravity Rush) in the near future. So far, I have been very impressed with both the selection and quality of the games.

I know that there are questions to be asked as to the relevance of a portable gaming console in light of the rise of smartphones and tablets, but signs seem to show that 3DS sales have picked up after initial concerns and I firmly believe that there is a place still for portable consoles. As an owner of an ipod touch, 3DS and now a Vita, I believe that for people with more than a passing interest in gaming, that solely a touch screen interface does not satisfy the gaming itch for me. It could also be argued that due to the size of the Vita, that it isn’t a true portable system, but for me, I tend to use it around the house whilst Roz or Elliot are using the TV, or during my lunch at work, or lazing in bed. In short, I believe that there is a place for portable consoles in my life and I’m sure that I cannot be alone.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Oscar predictions 2012

Okay then, after a long delay, here are my Oscar predictions for the year…

I must first say that I have found last year rather underwhelming film wise, and as such I do not think that the selection of films this years is that great. Also, there is not one particular film that has been nominated for any category, which I feel that passionate about.

That being said, here are my predictions.

BEST PICTURE

The Artist

In a time when films seem to be losing their place in the modern world, this film harks back to Hollywood of old, and ir rather clever to boot. As such, I really don’t see anything else winning.


BEST DIRECTOR
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius

BEST ACTOR
Jean Dujardin - The Artist

He gave a great performance, and I think that it is deserving (although would love to see Gary Oldman win)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Not necessarily for this film, but more due to age and previous performances.


BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis - The Help

This is between Viola Davis and Meryl Streep. It could go to Meryl Steep just because she has been nominated so many damn times, and only actually won a couple of time. Streeps film, however, has not been as well received and America loved the Help. As such, I’m going with Viola Davis.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer - The Help

Again, I predict another win for The Help with this one.


BEST ANIMATED FILM
Rango

I’d be disappointed if it was anything else!


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon &
Jim Rash

A tough one to call, but I’ll go with this.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius

Seems an odd choice since there is (almost) no written dialogue, but I still think it’ll win.


ART DIRECTION
The Artist - Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman

COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist - Mark Bridges

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

No prediction made.


BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

No prediction made.


BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

No prediction made.


BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and
Matthew W. Mungle

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist - Ludovic Bource

Another tough call, but as The artist needs to convey so much without dialogue, I think that this will win (although they did use some of Vertigo’s score)


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Man or Muppet - The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

IT’S THE MUPPETS!


BEST ANIMATED SHORT

No prediction made.


BEST LIVE FILM

No prediction made.


BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis

BEST SOUND MIXING
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley

Well, let’s see how I do!