Would just like to say...

I hope everyone has had a good 2008 and has a great new year...
In the mean time, watch out for Christmas Television specials such as Dr Who on BBC 1 (Xmas Day, 6pm), Wallace & Gromit on BBC1 (Xmas Day, 8.30pm) and The 39 Steps on BBC 1(28th Dec, 8pm).

I have decided to write my favourites of this year, some great stocking fillers :D

Top Albums-
1. Folie A Deux- Fall Out Boy
2. Day & Age- The Killers
3. Funhouse- Pink

Top Films-
1. Mamma Mia!
2. Burn After Reading
3. Cloverfield/27 Dresses/HSM 3/Wall-E
(Was I really going to pick just three films?)

Top Reading-
1. Just After Sunset- Stephen King
2. How To Lose Friends & Alienate People- Toby Young (I know this is old but rerelease in 2008)
3. The Hours- Michael Cunningham/The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold/Out- Natsuo Kirino/American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis

Top Television-
1. Gossip Girl Season 2
2. Desperate Housewives Season 5
3. Grey's Anatomy Season 5
4. Spooks Series 8

Favourite personalities of 2008-
1. Leona Lewis
2. Alan Carr
3. Annie Lennox

Golden Globes 2009

Here are the nominations (in bold, my predictions)-

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures

Frost/Nixon
Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal; Universal Pictures

The Reader
Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company

Revolutionary Road
An Evamere Entertainment BBC Films Neal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage

Slumdog Millionaire
Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie – Changeling

Meryl Streep – Doubt

Kristin Scott Thomas – I've Loved You So Long

Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road

Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn – Milk

Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Burn After Reading
Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal

Happy-Go-Lucky
Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films

In Bruges
Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features

Mamma Mia!
Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Mediapro; The Weinstein Company

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading

Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!

Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Colin Farrell – In Bruges

James Franco – Pineapple Express

Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges

Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams – Doubt

Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis – Doubt

Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder

Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Animated Feature Film

Bolt
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Kung Fu Panda
DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures

Wall-E
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Best Foreign Language Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Country of Germany
(DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX) Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC

Everlasting Moments (Sweden, Denmark)
The Country of Sweden and The Country of Denmark
(MARIA LARSSONS EVIGA ÖGONBLICK) Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films

Gomorrah (Italy)
The Country of Italy
(GOMORRA) Fandango; IFC Films

I've Loved You So Long (France)
The Country of France
(IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME) UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film; Sony Pictures Classics

Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
The Country of Israel
Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les Films D'Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony Pictures Classics

Best Director - Motion Picture

Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Stephen Daldry – The Reader

David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon

Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Written by Eric Roth

Doubt
Written by John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon
Written by Peter Morgan

The Reader
Written by David Hare

Slumdog Millionaire
Written by Simon Beaufoy

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Composed by Alexandre Desplat

Changeling
Composed by Clint Eastwood

Defiance
Composed by James Newton Howard

Slumdog Millionaire
Composed by A. R. Rahman

Frost/Nixon
Composed by Hans Zimmer

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Down To Earth" – Wall-E
Music By: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel

"Gran Torino" – Gran Torino
Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum

"I Thought I Lost You" – Bolt
Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele

"Once In A Lifetime" – Cadillac Records
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street

"The Wrestler" – The Wrestler
Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

Best Television Series - Drama

Dexter (SHOWTIME)

House (FOX)
Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Media Studios

In Treatment (HBO)
Sheleg, Closest To The Hole Productions and Leverage in association with HBO Entertainment

Mad Men (AMC)
Lionsgate

True Blood (HBO)
Your Face Goes Here Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order

January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)

Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment (HBO)

Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)

Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)

Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

30 Rock (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.

Californication (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, and Then…, Twilight Time Films

Entourage (HBO)
Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

The Office (NBC)
Deedle Dee Productions/Reveille/NBC Universal Television Studio; NBC

Weeds (SHOWTIME)
Showtime/Lionsgate Television/Tilted Productions, Inc.; SHOWTIME

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)

America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)

Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)

Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)

Kevin Connolly – Entourage (HBO)

David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)

Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television

A Raisin In The Sun (ABC)
Sony Pictures Television, Storyline Entertainment, and Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment

Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Trigger Street Independent Productions in association with Little Bird and Chicago Films and HBO Films

Cranford (PBS)
A Co-Production of BBC and WGBH Boston.

John Adams (HBO)
Playtone in association with HBO Films

Recount (HBO)
Spring Creek/Mirage Productions in association with Trigger Street Productions, Everyman Pictures and HBO Films

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Judi Dench – Cranford (PBS)

Catherine Keener – An American Crime

Laura Linney – John Adams (HBO)

Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel

Susan Sarandon – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Paul Giamatti – John Adams (HBO)

Kevin Spacey – Recount (HBO)

Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)

Tom Wilkinson – Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Eileen Atkins – Cranford (PBS)

Laura Dern – Recount (HBO)

Melissa George – In Treatment (HBO)

Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Dianne Wiest – In Treatment (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Denis Leary – Recount (HBO)

Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)

Blair Underwood – In Treatment (HBO)

Tom Wilkinson – John Adams (HBO)

We will just have to wait till January 11th to see the winners, good luck to them all, the start of the awards season is truly here!

THE GREAT CIRCUS STAND-OFF, TAKE THAT VS BRITNEY SPEARS

Head-to-head: Take That and Britney

Both artists have announced major tours for summer 2009

By Mark Savage Entertainment reporter, BBC News

It's either a huge mistake or a brilliantly contrived piece of PR, but Britney Spears and Take That are both releasing an album called Circus (or The Circus) on the same day.

There won't be a Blur vs Oasis-style chart battle - Take That's album has already broken pre-order records, ensuring that it will go to number one by the end of the week.

But, as any chart historian knows, securing the top spot is no guarantee of quality - just ask Elvis, whose Suspicious Minds was robbed of chart glory by Rolf Harris's Two Little Boys.

So, who has constructed a better big top - Take That or Britney Spears?

TAKE THAT The UK's most popular boy band present the second album since their hugely successful reunion.	BRITNEY SPEARS Britney's sixth studio record follows a tempestuous year for the former mouseketeer.
PREVIOUS FORM
Take That's last album, Beautiful World, sold 2.5 million in the UK.	Britney Spears' last album, Blackout, sold 250,000 in the UK.
HOW WILL I RECOGNISE THE NEW ALBUM IN A SHOP?
NUMBER OF WRITERS
Nine	37 (yes, 37)
BALLAD RATIO
Eight out of 13 tracks - 62%	Three out of 14 tracks - 21%
OPENING TRACK
The Garden: A typically rousing Take That ballad, set against the unlikely backdrop of a major ecological disaster ("the scent of burning oil was in the air")	Womanizer: Britney's latest hit single is a flawless piece of 21st Century robo-pop with a tongue-twister chorus. Also contains sirens.
DOES IT INCLUDE A SONG CALLED THE CIRCUS?
Yes. It's practically a Gary Barlow solo track, with a sparse piano-vocal arrangement. Lyrically, it's the tale of a lover spurned, with Gary cast as the circus clown for loving a lady who has abandoned him. A thousand hearts will break.	Yes. In it, Britney claims to be the "ringleader" (we think she means ringmaster) of a circus which may or may not be a metaphor for the music industry. Key lyric: "When I crack that whip, everybody's gonna trip, just like a circus"
DOES THE ARTIST PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF GENUINE CIRCUS SKILLS?
Yes	Yes
BEST SONG
Throwaway bonus track She Said is a delightful hula shuffle which promises to be a highlight of the group's sold out stadium tour.	Nothing quite matches the magnificent Womanizer, but the stuttering groove of Mannequin and the flirty Radar come close.
WORST SONG
Mark Owen's tale of domestic bliss, Hello. Set to a rolling music hall piano, it aims to match the towering grandeur of Shine, but ends up sounding a little bit like When I'm Cleaning Windows.	Every Britney album has a tedious song about getting naked or being a "freak" in the bedroom. Here it is the slap bass-powered Lace And Leather. Even Britney sounds bored.
BEST LYRIC
"I met this girl last night and she said 'why won't you marry me?' Well, I'm too young for that, too dumb for that, too broke for that, too tired for that... But would you like to come back to my flat?" (Up All Night) A brilliant moment of comic misdirection from Mark Owen.	"Can't remember what I did last night. Everything is still a blur. Can you calmly hand me all my things? I think I need an aspirin." (Blur) A woozy recollection of the morning after the night before, and the only allusion to Britney's "lost year" on the album.
WORST LYRIC
"Just the other day somebody said to me, 'hey maybe you're oh-so-slightly OCD'... I said, 'yes, that's partly true but it's just my way of compartmentalising all the things I see.'" (How Did It Come To This) Jason Orange lets us into his latest psychotherapy session.	"Say what you want about me, but all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to If You Seek Amy." (If You Seek Amy) It looks like nonsense, but in Britney's southern drawl those last four words sound incredibly smutty. A desperate attempt to shock.
LYRIC DISPLAYING MOST AWARENESS OF CURRENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLIMATE
"Looks like the cost of houses are falling, but I don't notice." (Hello)	"All we had is shattered like broken glass" (Shattered Glass)
DURATION (ACTUAL)
50mins 58secs	50mins 10secs
DURATION (PERCEIVED)
A cozy sixty minutes reading the Sunday papers beside a roaring fire with a stack of hot, buttered toast and a mug of cocoa.	Half-an-hour of wild abandon in a sweaty nightclub, followed by three days reflecting on your inexcusable behaviour.
STRANGEST ARTWORK MOMENT
Gary Barlow looks terribly uncomfortable swinging on a trapeze.	While dressed as Heidi, Britney is served a cake by a circus performer.
BEST THANK YOU OR INLAY CREDIT
"Take That performed all their own stunts throughout the making of The Circus."	"Thank you, Brett Miller AKA Snowflake - for getting my ass out of bed."
NUMBER OF INTERNET "FRIENDS"
Myspace: 56,947 Facebook: 58,228 Bebo: 34,456 Total: 149,631	Myspace: 462,732 Facebook: 356,956 Bebo: 2,117 Total: 824,544
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL EVENT
Fans have been invited to wave the group off as they catch the Eurostar to Paris on Monday. Four of them will win tickets to join them on the train. If they've remembered their passports.	MTV and Sky One will broadcast a warts-and-all documentary, Britney: For The Record, detailing the troubled last 12 months in the singer's life. Contains such insights as "I'm a smart person".
THE CRITICS SAY
"Gary Barlow can't spot a cliche like without stepping eagerly into it." The Independent "They bring a fallible human quality to an album which is all about gilding their strong bond with their original fans." Daily Mirror	"Spears, never the most emotive vocalist, frequently sounds disconnected, even a bit bored" The Guardian "She confronts issues of fame, broken relationships and motherhood against a masterfully engineered soundscape." The Sun
WE SAY
A confident, accomplished record that's precision-targeted at their fanbase. The lush orchestration gives a cinematic sweep to ballads like Greatest Day and The Garden, but it also disguises the occasional weak vocal.	There are some classic Britney tracks here but sonically and lyrically she is treading water. It's a shame that the Princess of Pop hasn't been able to channel the turmoil of the last 12 months into her music.
OUR MUM SAYS
"I like the single. It's very sing-along-ish. I'm looking forward to seeing them in June."	"She looks really well compared to what she looked like last year. Do you think that's her real hair?"
FINAL SCORES
7.5/10	6/10
Read the BBC Music album review	Read the BBC Music album review

Source: BBC NEWS