Ten-ish bests film of 2010... in my humble opinion.

Ten-ish bests film of 2010... in my humble opinion. To be further edited when I have proper Internet access - not shitty 3G.
There have been some truly excellent films in 2010 and no doubt there will be more contenders by the end of the year. 'Blue Valentine' and 'The Kings Speech' are tipped for BAFTA's and films that I desperately want to see. For now here are the ten-ish films that have made me laugh, cry, ponder and want to be a movie star.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs The World/ Youth in Revolt





Both star Michael Cera, both feature Michael Cera at his best - portraying an awkward teenage geek. To see Mr Cera as a more 'active' geek, watch Scott Pilgrim (he actually did some martial arts training for this) and to see him show his awesome cigarette smoking, aviator wearing alter ego Francois then Youth in Revolt is a must.

9. The Runaways




I'd heard of Joan Jett thanks to 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' (I heard Britney's version before the original - shame on me) but had no real idea who Cherie Currie or The Runaways were. This edgy biopic looks at the rise and fall of The Runaways with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning playing their roles of Joan and Cherie brilliantly, their relationship on screen is excellent, helped by a great soundtrack and kick ass costumes. Props to K Stew for actually cutting her hair into a mullet - a braver girl than I.


8. Harry Brown




Michael Caine plays badass vigilante Harry Brown, living alone in a high rise council flat he gets sick and tired of the yobbish youth culture surrounding his estate and decides to take out the trash. This was a great role for Mr Caine who was superb as a gun wielding, pissed off pensioner and the script and storyline really did reflect some of the worst culture Britain has adopted in the 21st century. Also adding a brilliant cameo is Plan B, the boy can sign, rap, wear a suit and act as a hoodlum damn well.


7. Kick Ass



The script was sharp, edgy and hilarious and was co written by Jane Goldman (Mrs. Jonathan Ross). The film screamed COOL and it certainly was. Another vigilante movie set in the heart of NYC, where average, unnoticed teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) with a penchant for comic books and masturbating decides to become a superhero despite having no skills or training. Screen stealers were the father/daughter combo of Big Daddy - Nicolas Cage and Hit Girl - Chloe Moretz. The best action/comedy movie of the year.


6. Shutter Island



Martin Scorsese is one of my favourite directors and this film is just another jewel in his crown. Scorsese picks Leonardo Di Caprio to be his leading man time and time again and this film showcases all of LDC's best qualities. Paranoia is order of the day as LDC plays Teddy Daniels a US Marshall investigating the disappearance of a murderous inmate in the mysterious Shutter Island hospital for the criminally insane. His world descends into lies, corruption, conspiracy, paranoia and confusion - a perfect psychological thriller, beautifully shot.


5. Crazy Heart/ Four Lions






Crazy Heart follows the story of washed up country musician Bad Blake who is forced to evaluate his sad life.  Jeff Bridges deservedly won an Oscar for this role and plays Bad's character so well, whether it be as a drunken mess or a tender lover to new beau Jean played brilliantly by Maggie Gyllenhall. The relationship between them, although doomed from the start, inspires Bad to start writing and recording new material. Emotive and moving performances from the lead actors and a passable performance from Colin Farrell.


I'll hand over to Sundance Films for the synopsis: Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots. 


Director of Four Lions, Chris Morris, wrote Brass Eye, keeping that in mind you can imagine what this film his - hilarious and satirical.So terrorism by idiots can be funny.....


4. Worlds Greatest Dad





3. The Blindside/ Inception








2. Bad Lieutenant





1. A Single Man

New lady crush: Rihanna

The list grows....

I have an admiration for strong, talented and creative ladies and so my 'lady crush' list contains Lady GaGa, Ellie Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds and Grace Coddington (American Vogue Creative Director). These women are incredibly beautiful, fearless and have an abundance of (IMO) genius. So after watching Rihanna perform on the X Factor Final I just thought WOW.

The duet between her and Matt Cardle (glad he lost the hat) was brilliant, the best out of the four by far and probably cemented Matt as the winner. Rihanna sounded great (bit nasal, but I'm embracing it) and looked phenomenal.... at first I thought the dress was boring until you see the split - Wowzers! No wonder Matt had to bite his fingers.

It's taken me a while to warm to RiRi, when she first came out with 'Pon de Replay' I wasn't exactly overwhelmed but she's been clever over the years to reinvent herself and she seems more comfortable in her own skin than ever before.

Musically, is she breaking new ground? Um, not really, but her songs are extremely relevant, catchy and she clearly loves performing them. 'Russian Roulette' was a bold move for her, but I think she had to do that to get where she is today, change direction, work with new producers, try out a new image and it's worked in RiRi's favour. 

There's not much point on harping on about her past, yes she's suffered domestic abuse but she has bounced back and is looking strong, confident and empowered. I'm loving the softer, girlier image change too - less leather and studs, more flowers and knickers!

Rihanna, you've made the list.

Love, SGS xoxo.

TV round-up:The Morgana Show, Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights and Coppers

A look at the Good, Bad and Fugly TV this week


This week in TV land saw some debutants - good and bad. Here are my picks:


The Good - The Morgana Show





The Morgana Show began on Channel 4 this week and luckily pulled me out of my stupor after watching Frankie Boyle's gruesome attempt at a sketch show (see Fugly). Flighty comedienne Morgana Robinson delivers a sketch show with impersonations and new characters and it was genuinely funny. If you have a sort of love/hate relationship with Fearne Cotton (I'm in that group) then you will love Morgana's uncanny impersonation of her as she takes on death challenges and says "wicked" a fair few times. Also look out for her characters, Gilbert in particular was very funny.


Next episode: Channel 4 Tue 07 Dec, 10.35pM


Other good TV shows: Mad Men BBC 4, Eastbound and Down - FX, The Graham Norton Show - BBC1 and The Walking Dead - FX


The Bad - Coppers

Coppers is a Channel 4 documentary series that has been filmed across England, following the police in big cities and country beats aiming to reveal what the Police are up against every day of their working lives. The documentary itself wasn't bad at all, it was what the content revealed I thought was unpleasant. 

This particular episode followed Greater Manchester Police's Tactical Aid Unit (TAU) at a protest in Bolton using the controversial 'kettling' technique to separate the protesters (think the horrific scenes in London as students stormed the Tory HQ). The Guardian's TV Review page can explain this a whole lot better than I can,

"The riot squad is shown dealing both with the English Defence League (EDL) – described by senior officers as football hooligans linked to the far-right, including the BNP and Combat 18 – as well as a counter-protestorganised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF), whom one officer jokingly describes as "the type of people you would probably see at Glastonbury".

What I thought was particularly 'bad' about this programme were the attitudes and behaviour of  some of the officers.The TAU looked more like a cops and robbers fancy dress night out for bouncers as bulky officers made up the majority of the force. On the plus side the officers did take time to talk to protesters and worried onlookers but clearly cocked up by arresting more vocal protesters, who, other than crimes against fashion had done little wrong. One officer in particular lost his temper and was heard repeating "they're going to f****g have it". It did little to reinforce a positive view of the police in this country.

Last episode: Channel 4 Mon 29 Nov, 9pm. 


The Fugly - Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights

Yes, do not adjust your monitor, that is Frankie Boyle in a wig pretending to be The Hoff's character Michael in a Knight Rider sketch for his new show Tramadol Nights. The show is largely based on sketches and stand up from the acid tongued comic. After enduring a personal Frankie Boyle tirade in the front row of a theatre in Port Talbot my opinion of the man has changed. That was a traumatic experience to say the least, as was this show.

The one of the things that first attracted to me to Frankie's humour was the fact it was so dark, perverse and ultimately evil. His constant attack on Kerry Katona on 'Mock the Week' would make me belly laugh but his cruel jokes about mental illness often leave me uncomfortable. His ability to come up with one liners is his strength and sadly there was too much sketch and not enough chat. Most of the content was aimed at combining political and racial issues with mental illness, a TV turn off and I won't be tuning in again.

Next episode: Channel 4, Tue 07 Dec, 10pm

Love, SGS xoxo.

Emails that make me smile...

....anything Twilight Saga related

I get tons of crap emails everyday, I'm doing my best to remove the crap ones I don't want (anyone else the unsubscribe system is getting more complicated?) For example I got an email advertising the fact that Justin Bieber was going on tour......I almost threw my laptop across the room. Anyone who knows me or follows me on Twitter knows that I despise him, his hair, his voice and think he looks like a lesbian - what a turd.

Luckily I got a gem of an email yesterday from HMV, bringing me great tidings of joy. My Eclipse 2 disc DVD is on it's way, Hurrah!! I will revel in watching the extras, how I love the extras.

I am also getting a tad excited for Breaking Dawn, filming has already begun and these images made me want to do cartwheels around the flat!

Edward and Bella in Brazil en route to Isle Esme - Bella in a vintage dress and heels, Edward in blue shirt and shorter hair having a passionate kiss? PERFECT!

Not to mention an OFFICIAL photgraph from the Breaking Dawn production as tweeted by Bill Condon:

I literally almost puked when I saw this!!!!! The morning after THE night before..... Edward and Bella consumate their love... finally.... Dear God, I could pass out with excitement. Headboards ripped, pillows shredded, feathers EVERYWHERE! Vampire Sex!! Yesssssss!! (I'm not a perv, honest)

So amidst the crap in my inbox, I sometimes get a few gems... thank you HMV.

Love, SGS xoxo.