The Oscar Lowdown - 85th Annual Academy Awards.

The Academy Awards are among my favourite time of the year, the fashion, the red carpet, the backstage gossip & obviously, most importantly, the awards. The 85th Annual Academy Awards kept me thoroughly entertained throughout, albeit Seth MacFarlane's performance as host was mediocre.

I love Seth. I'm a huge fan of Family Guy & American Dad and him being host for the ceremony seemed like a great idea on paper, however when it came down it to it just wasn't all there. To me, it felt as though he was constantly constrained in what he was saying, and I know he probably was, but that's not Seth. He's honest, doesn't hold back and takes the risk with jokes others wouldn't. You could see moments when he would try and let this out i.e When talking about how young Quvenzhané Wallis (9) is he said, " Or in other words, it'll be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney ". Those are the moments he got a reaction from the audience. Laughter mixed with "Oh no he didn't!". Unfortunately, I just found him to be lackluster. There were some other great moments from him, but they were VT's or songs, such as 'We Saw Your Boobs' or his VT with Sally Field where he dressed up as a flying nun - literally. It was the actual script while presenting that was below par. I had high hopes, I thought he was going to be the Ricky Gervais of Oscar presenting but I'd be very surprised if he was asked back.

A new addition to the Oscars format was the Jaws cut-off music. When the winning speeches are going that little bit too long, the orchestra begins to play the famous 'Jaws' sequence which I think is genius & adds humor to the proceedings as opposed to just the winners being ushered of the stage, which can sometimes come across quite rudely. You can see the Jaws music in operation here. Sorry about the quality, YouTube's finest I could find.

50 Years of James Bond was celebrated last night with Halle Berry leading the tribute which was marvelous. The montage which was played looked back at all those who starred in that famous role from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan to the current Mr. Craig. The speculation was confirmed when a glistening Dame Shirley Bassey was revealed, who performed a stellar performance of her hit 'Goldfinger'. Giving the spring chickens a run for their money, Dame Shirley proved she's still got 'It' at 76. You can watch her performance in this link. Once again, YouTube's finest.

For the first time ever, The Academy Awards had a theme last night and this year it was 'Music in the Movies', so it was no surprise when the musicals came out in force to 'Give'em the old, razzle dazzle'.
Catherine Zeta-Jones kicked off the musical section with the Chicago hit 'All that Jazz'. Although she was entertaining and looks amazing for her age, I would have liked for her to have sang fully live throughout. I know there is no confirmation she didn't, just from what I saw, she started live and as soon as the dancing began is was straight to 'click play'. Jennifer Hudson was next. Always the star, JHud killed it with her rendition of 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going'. Flawless, emotional and most importantly, live. To no one's surprise the cast of Les Misérables finished off the proceedings. With a collection of songs from the musical including 'Suddenly' & 'One Day More' they showed everyone why they deserved their 8 nominations. You can catch the musical numbers here. Thank you Perez!

The much anticipated return of Adele didn't disappoint. Belting out her Oscar winning 'Best Original Song' Skyfall, she looked and sounded every inch the star that she is, much deserving of the standing ovation she received. I mean really, who doesn't like Adele?! Watch Skyfall.

The memorial part of the proceedings is always a tear-jerker and last night was no exception. Barbra Steisand came out to perform 'The Way We Were', music by the late, great, Marvin Henlisch who was remembered last night after dying last August. It was Barbra's first time back at The Oscars since 1977.

Then came the three big ones. The awards everyone was waiting for. Best Actor, Best Actress & Best Picture. Best Actor went to the ever-dashing, ever so humble, Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal as Lincoln in Steven Spielberg movie with the same title. Reports say Daniel is now planning a 5 year sabbatical to live out country life on his Wicklow farm and I don't think anyone is more deserving of the break than the 3 time Academy Award winner.
Jennifer Lawrence walked away with Best Actress but not before taking a fall on her way up to receive the award. Being the witty woman that she is, when she got to the mic, first thing she said was, 'You're all just standing 'cause you feel bad I fell'. With such a charm and way about her, Jennifer is going to go onto great things and I believe this is just the first of many Academy Awards for the star. You can see JLaw's fall here. Oh the magic of gif's.
Michelle Obama made a cameo to help Jack Nicholson present best picture. I hadn't heard anything about this so it came as a pleasant surprise. That Michelle just loves her some air time! She announced the winner in a link from the White House to to very deserving, Argo.
Ben Affleck was emotional beyond words but he still thanked those who he could. His wife, the lovely Jennifer Garner, looked on with love and there was such joy in her eyes for her husband. Ben ended with a phrase that I believe is one many people will be quoting for a long, long time to come, " And it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life because that's going to happen. All that matters is you gotta get back up ".
I don't think anyone could have ended the speech better themselves.

For one last hurrah, Kristin Chenoweth joined host Seth MacFarlane for an 'Ode to the Losers' song which I found very tongue-in-cheek but was a nice ending to the show.

Before the awards I predicted who I thought was going to win what and you can find my predictions in my blog post here. I don't think 17/24 is that bad? The full list of winners are below.

Winners.

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Costume Design: Anna Keranina
Best Director: Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Inocente
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Les Misérables
Best Music - Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Music - Original Song: Adele - Skyfall
Best Production Design: Lincoln
Best Short Film - Animated: Paperman
Best Short Film - Live Action: Curfew
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall/Zero Dark Thirty
Best Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Writing - Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed watching as much as I did or at least you enjoyed reading my summary of events.

Adios!

Prediction Place - The 85th Annual Academy Awards

With the 85th annual Academy Awards on tonight I'm quickly gonna give MY predictions on who is gonna win what, then afterwards I'll post in more detail about the ceremony and winners. Some of the categories I am between two choices but to make it more fair & fun I'll just predict one for each. Hopefully I don't make a fool of myself and only get one or two correct.

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Costume Design: Les Misérables
Best Director: Steven Spielberg
Best Documentary Feature: The Gatekeepers
Best Documentary Short: Redemption
Best Film Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Les Misérables
Best Music - Original Score: Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Best Music - Original Song: Adele - Skyfall
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Short Film - Animated: Paperman
Best Short Film - Live Action: Curfew
Best Sound Editing: Argo
Best Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Writing - Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty

So with that compiled, there are my predictions for tonights proceedings, let's see if my predicting abilities are up to scratch. I would like to have gotten 14/24 correct to be somewhat satisfied. We shall just wait and see.

Adios!

And The BRIT Award Goes To...

The BRIT Awards have come around and gone again quicker then Kim Kardashian's 2nd marriage and they were.. alright. There were no real shock moments or anything media worthy but then again that's what they're like each year - Safe.

The Winners

British Breakthrough Act - Ben Howard
For Breakthrough Act I wasn't surprised Howard won. I had said it was between himself and Rita Ora for the award, but for some reason Ms. Ora seems to give the impression she's been around longer than she actually has. I don't know whether or not this is due to her style of music, the Pop/R n' B sound that is so commonplace right now that just doesn't scream 'Breakthrough'. 

British Female Solo Artist - Emeli Sandé
Let's all be honest, did anyone else have a chance in this category? Sandé has been on a non stop promotional/critically acclaimed rollercoaster the past year and for that reason there was no doubt in my mind she was going to walk home without the award

British Group - Mumford & Sons
As much as I LOVE One Direction, I'm a Directioner through and through, I'm delighted Mumford & Sons won. Their writing technique, musicality and performance makes them a stand out group from the rest right now. Sure, One Direction have world domination under their belt, however that's due to the millions of tweens supporting their every move, how long can it last? For their sakes, I hope forever, they're great but I was happy to see a worthy winner beat them this time.

Live Act - Coldplay
This, in my opinion, was a very tight race. I've never seen Coldplay live before so I'm going out on a whim here but everyone I know who has seen them can't fault them in anyway, shape or form. The closest thing to seeing them was on The X Factor 2012 final where they pulled out a stellar performance. I don't think anyone can knock them for winning.

British Male Solo Artist - Ben Howard
I was quite surprised Howard won. Personally I would've liked Olly Murs to have received the award. I always find him very underrated and forgotten about. I know he didn't win The X Factor his year but he's certainly achieved more than Joe McElderry and past winners alike. I was also surprised Ed Sheeran wasn't nominated for the award, having him present it kinda seemed like an awkward 'This will do you Edward'.

British Producer - Paul Epworth
Not much to say other than with Adele's success he was always going to win.

British Single - Adele, Skyfall
Once again, what is there to say? If being penned and performed by Adele wasn't enough it's also the official single from the UK's Highest - Grossing Film of 2012/Bond Film ever. Yeah. Sorry competition. Being nominated is nice though isn't it?

BRITs Global Success - One Direction
REALLY? ONE DIRECTION WON?! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL! Just kiddin' of course I did. With making themselves roughly £100 million in two years does it shock anyone? Albums, Dolls, Promotional tours, Music Tours, Merchandise these boys work hard for their money and they deserve every penny of it. Truly amazing of what they've accomplished in such a short period of time. What's next, One Direction Sex Toys? JLS had condoms so it really wouldn't surprise me. Move over the 'Rampant Rabbit' and hello 'Rampant Harry'.

Critics' Choice - Tom Odell
I don't really know anything about Tom Odell so I'm not gonna waffle. Winning the award he has a lot to live up to, following in the footsteps of the likes of Jessie J. Will be interesting to see what his debut album has in store which drops on April 15th.

International Female Solo Artist - Lana Del Rey
Once again I think it was a tough competition but I am surprised Rihanna or Taylor didn't bag the title. However, Lana did blow up in 2012 even despite her lackluster appearances on TV, such as SNL.

International Group - The Black Keys
Thought, or hoped, The Killers had this down. If not for them maybe FUN. As much as I should be supporting the Irish, I really don't think The Script had a chance. None the less good on The Black Keys.

International Male Solo Artist - Frank Ocean
Maybe I'm missing something, however I really don't see the hype surrounding Frank Ocean. That's not to say I don't like him, I just don't see what everyone else does. Perhaps I'm not listening to the right songs I don't know. In my opinion the nominees for this award were a random bunch altogether anyway.

Best Album - Emeli Sandé, Our Version Of Events
As I already said about Emeli winning Female Solo Artist, no one else really had a chance. If i had to have call a runner-up it would definitely be Babel. Both albums were truly brilliant.

Overall I feel as though the majority of the award winners were Alternative/Indie performers. Pop and R n' B performers didn't have much of a presence at all unlike past years. I think nowadays people have a wider appreciation for music so I believe we'll see more diverse musicians coming out of the woodwork in future, move over Gaga.

Congratulations to all winners and I look forward to what they have in store for the rest of 2013.

Adios!

Ru Paul's Slag Race

The latest season of Ru Paul's Drag Race is well & truly underway. Even though it's now on season 5, this is my first time following the competition & I'm actually loving it so far. Not so much the final 15/20 minutes of each episode where the partake in the runway but the absolute BITCHINESS that happens before. These 'Queens' are far from royal.

So far the biggest drama is the situation surrounding Alyssa Edwards & Coco Montrese who are ex-bff's and pretty much just just throw 'shade' at each other whenever the opportunity arises. In the latest episode, episode 4, they seem to be building bridges and all I can say is 'NO!!'. I do not want no bridges being built! I love the bickering and backstabbing. It makes great viewing and being frank without their dismal relationship there isn't much other scandal. The only two other contestants that people had issues with have already left the competition so we need this.

There are a lot of other big personalities; Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska, Detox to name but a few. My personal favourite so far is Ivy Winters. Love her as both a man & a woman, I think she rocks it. So far however I think Detox is the front-runner. She just has something special that reminds me of Veda Beaux Reeves from Dublin, in both terms of appearance and attitude.

The funniest part of the whole show has to be the 'Lip Sync For Your Life' at the end. There are no words, I'll just let you watch and see for yourselves.

Anyway, just thought I'd give my quick opinion on Logo TV's hit show.

Adios!

Something New

As my favourite hunz, Girls Aloud, sing in their comeback hit, 'All I Want Is Something New', and this is exactly what I want!

So I have thrown out the old and I'm starting with the new. My old blog, as dismal as it was, was about my life and writing personal day - to - day accounts, which to be honest was boring for me. So, I am now gonna write about current events, celebrities, events, reviews and still have personal posts thrown in but just not as detailed or as a polite way to put it, shit.
In short I will just post about whatever grabs my attention like Taylor Swift's 47th boyfriend of 2013 or the results of my most recent STI test, which were all clear thanks folks.

Until my next post I will leave you with what I started with, the amazing Girls Aloud's 'Something New'. Just admire their fierce poses and puff dresses that would look hideous on anyone else.

Gone to practise my strut, Adios!