What's Playing in the Media Room - February 29th - Happy Leap Day!

The Middle - 8:00 One Hour - ABC/CityTV - Season 3 Episode 18
Episode Title: Leap Year
Sue anticipates a big birthday celebration since it's leap year and she'll get to celebrate on her actual birth date. Meanwhile, Frankie discovers Mike cares for a stray cat at work; and Axl becomes obsessed with vacuuming.


Survivor: One World - 8:00 - CBS/Global - Season 24 Episode 3
Episode Title: One World Is Out the Window
A harsh rainstorm brings some castaways to the breaking point. At tribal council, poor communication leads to a frustration-filled discussion.


Whitney - 8:00 - NBC - Season 1 Episode 18
Episode Title: Homeland Security
Whitney encounters a mugger. Meanwhile, Lily deals with a game-changing development by spending time with Roxanne; and Mark lends a helping hand to Neal.


American Idol - 8:00 Two Hours - FOX/CTV - Season 11 Episode 15
Episode Title: Semifinalist Girls Perform
The female semifinalists perform.


One Tree Hill - 8:00 - The CW - Season 9 Episode 8
Episode Title: A Rush of Blood to the Head
Dan revisits his ugly past in the course of his search for Nathan. Meanwhile, Clay finds success while undergoing treatment; Brooke and Julian face Xavier; and Chase's concern for Chuck mounts.


Suburgatory - 8:30 - ABC/CityTV - Season 1 Episode 18
Episode Title: Poetic Injustice
Tessa's efforts to impress the new poetry teacher are inexplicably derailed by Dalia; Fred has an odd request for George when he thinks Sheila is lusting after him.


Are You There, Chelsea? - 8:30/9:00 - NBC/Global - Season 1 Episode 8
Episode Title: Those Damn Yankees
A love story meets a glove story when Chelsea falls for a minor-league baseball player. Chelsea, a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, is then thrown a nasty curve when her new beau is traded to the rival Yankees. Elsewhere, Rick continues to bond with Nikki.


Modern Family - 9:00 - ABC/CityTV - Season 3 Episode 17
Episode Title: Leap Day
The pressure is on Mitchell to get Cameron's birthday celebration just right, since he was born on Leap Day and it only comes once every four years. Meanwhile, Jay undergoes a masculinity crisis; and Phil's Leap Day plans hit a snag.


Criminal Minds - 9:00 - CBS - Season 7 Episode 16
Episode Title: A Family Affair
The team investigates when prostitutes are murdered in Atlanta. The probe reveals the killer isn't working alone.


America's Next Top Model: British Invasion - 9:00 - The CW - Season 18 Episode 1
Episode Title: Kelly Osbourne
The 18th season begins with seven American models competing against seven British hopefuls who were previously featured on "Britain's Next Top Model." At the first photo shoot, the ladies pose as famous British and American public figures. Kelly Osbourne is a guest judge.


Happy Endings - 9:30 - ABC/CityTV - Season 2 Episode 16
Episode Title: Cocktails & Dreams
Dave's food truck becomes the trendy hot spot in town thanks to its new liquor license, but Dave's upset because his friends have stopped coming around. He thinks it's because they're jealous of his newfound fame, but the real reason is that his new signature drink is leaving them with erotic dreams in which he's the star. Colin Hanks costars as himself.


Revenge - 10:00 - ABC/CityTV - Season 1 Episode 16
Episode Title: Scandal
In the wake of the murder at the party, Emily gets nervous while the Graysons band together. Meanwhile, Ashley supports her employers; and Amanda's disappearance causes much speculation.


CSI - 10:00 - CBS/CTV - Season 12 Episode 16
Episode Title: CSI Unplugged
A blackout cripples the city and forces the CSIs to revert to old-school methods to solve the case of a missing child.


Law and Order:SVU - 10:00 - NBC - Season 13 Episode 16
Episode Title: Child's Welfare
Benson asks Bayard Ellis to defend her estranged half brother in a child-custody case, but unexpected complications arise. Elsewhere, an abandoned newborn is discovered by a homeless couple.


Other Shows Worth Mentioning:
9:00 - Ghost Hunters - SyFy
9:00 - IRT Deadliest Roads - History Channel Canada
9:00 - Rock Centre with Brian Williams - NBC
10:00 - Top Chef - Bravo USA
10:00 - Around the World in 80 Ways - History Channel Canada
10:00 - 1000 Ways to Die - Spike
10:00 - Face Off - Syfy/Space Canada
10:00 - The Challenge - MTV
10:00 - The Soup - E!
10:00 - Hot in Cleveland - TvLand
10:00 - Psych - USA


Tonight on the CBC:
8:00 - Dragons' Den
9:00 - Republic of Doyle


Tonight on TLC:
9:00 - Untold Stories of the ER
10:00 - Breathless Bride:Dying to Love


Movies Worth Mentioning:
8:00 - What Women Want - CHCH
8:00 - Se7en - Spike

A Look at Late Night:
Late Show: Actor Neil Patrick Harris; actor Taylor Kitsch; Robert Glasper Experiment, Lupe Fiasco and Bilal perform.
Late Late Show: Actor Tom Lennon; astronomer Phil Plait.
Kimmel: Actor Ed Helms; actress Leslie Bibb; Wallpaper performs.
Tonight Show: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.); actress Elizabeth Olsen; Romeo Santos performs.
Late Night: Actor Danny DeVito; comic Larry the Cable Guy.
Conan: Actress Khloe Kardashian; actor Matt Knudsen; Jeb Corliss.


Whats Playing in My Media Room:
8:00 - American Idol, Dragons' Den, Survivor
8:30 -
9:00 - Modern Family, Criminal Minds
9:30 - Happy Endings
10:00 - Revenge, CSI,

What's Playing in the Media Room - February 27th

The Bachelor - 8:00 Two Hours - ABC - Season 16 Episode 9
Episode Title: Episode 1609
Romantic adventures await Ben and the final three women – Courtney, Lindzi and Nicki – as they travel to spectacular Switzerland. From an exhilarating helicopter ride over the Swiss landscape to a heart-stopping rappel down a 300-foot ravine to a scenic train ride to the enchanting town of Wengen, the dates are filled with passion and excitement, as Ben continues to explore what his future would be like with each of these potential mates. At the end of each evening, Ben will present the bachelorette with an invitation to spend an intimate night together in a “fantasy suite,” with the hope that she will accept. But will she? The week finishes with a stunning surprise when one of the devastated bachelorettes returns to look for answers from Ben about why he let her go. It’s a wild, romantic ride with each of the women – until this emotional reunion makes Ben’s mind and heart go into overdrive, and he makes his most painful decision yet.


How I Met Your Mother - 8:00 - CBS/CityTV - Season 7 Episode 18
Episode Title: Karma
Despite the bare facts being revealed about Quinn's exotic profession, Barney realizes he has feelings for the young lady and sets out to win her over. Meanwhile, Lily and Marshall welcome Robin to the suburbs and Ted wonders what to do about Robin's empty room.


The Voice - 8:00 Two Hours - NBC/CTV - Season 2 Episode 5
Episode Title: The Blind Auditions, Part 5
Carson Daly hosts week five of the vocal competition series, featuring an exciting array of talented vocalists as they compete to be selected by one of the coaches and fight for a chance to win the title of being named “The Voice.” Coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton continue building their teams.


House - 8:00 - FOX/Global - Season 8 Episode 14
Episode Title: Love Is Blind
A young blind man is struck by a mysterious illness just before he was going to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Meanwhile, House's mother turns up with news about a new man in her life.


Gossip Girl - 8:00/9:00 - The CW/Much Music - Season 5 Episode 17
Episode Title: The Princess Dowry
Blair believes there's a possible loophole in her prenup. Meanwhile, Chuck conspires with Georgina on a scheme; and William returns to support his family in a crisis.


2 Broke Girls - 8:30 - CBS/CityTV - season 1 Episode 18
Episode Title: And the One-Night Stands
Caroline takes Max with her to visit her father in prison.


Two and a Half Men - 9:00 - CBS/CTV - Season 9 Episode 18
Episode Title: The War Against Gingivitis
Walden is taken aback when he gets a surprise visit from his bitter former business partner, who's looking to mend their differences.


Alcatraz - 9:00 - FOX/CityTV - Season 1 Episode 8
Episode Title: Clarence Montgomery
An innocent man from Alcatraz resurfaces to commit crimes.


Heart of Dixie - 9:00/8:00 - The CW/CHCH - Season 1 Episode 16
Episode Title: Tributes & Triangles
George is named the town's Man of the Year, and Zoe volunteers to help Lavon host a party for him. The party doesn't go off without a hitch, however: Magnolia pleads with Wade to compose a song for the event, and Zoe delivers a dreadful unplanned speech.


Being Human - 9:00/10:00 - SyFY/Space - Season 2 Episode 7
Episode Title: The Ties That Blind
Josh reaches out to Nora; Sally finds out who has been haunting her; Aidan is targeted by the werewolf twins.


Mike and Molly - 9:30 - CBS/CTV - Season 2 Episode 17
Episode Title: Mike Likes Lasagna
When Molly suggests that she and Mike write their own wedding vows, he finds it hard to swallow, until Carl provides him with some food for thought and tells him to just pretend he's describing his favorite meal—lasagna.


Castle - 10:00 - ABC/CTV - Season 4 Episode 17
Episode Title: Once Upon a Crime
When a woman dressed as Red Riding Hood is found dead in the woods with claw marks covering her body, and soon after a murdered Snow White is discovered with a poison apple in her hand, Castle & Beckett find themselves on a Grimm hunt to catch a fairytale killer before he kills again. But nothing is as it seems in a case filled with deceit, betrayal, secrets and murder.


Hawaii Five-0 - 10:00 - CBS/Global - Season 2 Episode 18
Episode Title: Lekio (Radio)
A famous talk-radio DJ is murdered, and the investigation brings Five-0 in contact with a retired NYPD bomb expert (James Caan) with ties to the victim who is now a private investigator on Oahu.


Smash - 10:00 - NBC/CTV - Season 1 Episode 4
Episode Title: The Cost of Art
Derek hosts a party for a popular young star, reminding Karen she must propel her career. Meanwhile, Eileen tests a crafty way to secure funds; and Tom dates someone new.


Justified - 10:00 - SuperChannel1 Canada - Season 3 Episode 5
Episode Title: Thick as Mud
Raylan races to save Dewey Crowe from a gang of organ harvesters; Boyd faces off with a new adversary.


Repeat Rundown:
8:00 - Hoarders - AandE
9:00 - Luck - HBO
10:00 - Real Time With Ball Maher - HBO


Other Shows Worth Mentioning:
8:00 - Antiques Roadshow - PBS
8:00 - Pretty Little Liars - ABC Family/Much Music
9:00 - Hoarders - AandE
9:00 - The Lying Game - ABC Family
9:00 - Dirty Jobs - Discovery Channel Canada
9:00 - Bethenny Ever After - Bravo USA
10:00 - Canada's Greatest Know-It-All - Discovery Canada
10:00 - Intervention - AandE
10:00 - It's a Brad Brad World - Bravo USA
10:00 - Lost Girl - SyFy


Movies Worth Mentioning:
9:00 - Orange County - CHCH
9:00 - The Hours - MovieTime
10:00 - Payback - Spike


Tonight on the CBC:
9:00 - Redemption Inc.


Tonight on TLC:
Repeat, Repeat and another Repeat


A Look at Late Night:
Late Show: Actor Ed Helms; sportscaster Dan Patrick; Lyle Lovett performs.
Late Late Show: Actor Eric Idle; actress Sarah Paulson.
Kimmel: Melanie Fiona performs.
Tonight Show: Actress Megan Fox; director Michel Hazanavicius; Mariachi El Bronx performs.
Late Night: Actress Julianna Margulies; actor Seann William Scott; Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band perform.
Conan: Actress Kathryn Hahn; actor Artie Lange; comic Nick DiPaolo; Chiddy Bang performs.


What's Playing in My Media Room Tonight:
8:00 - House, How I Met Your Mother
8:30 - 2 Broke Girls
9:00 - Alcatraz
9:30 -
10:00 - Castle, Hawaii Five-0, Smash, Justified
10:30 -

The Oscars - Live Blog - 10:00 PM Hour

10:04 - Seeing Zach there reminds me I haven't seen The Hangover in far too long.

10:10 - Time for the let's take ourselves very seriously for a moment.  Another going to the theatre moment.

10:11 - The musical part of the show.

10:12 - Let's welcome star of Vanillia Sky and star of Drillbit Taylor to bring the Best Score Award and it goes to The Artist.

10:16 - BEST Pairing of the night.  Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis here to present Best Original Song.  The Muppets takes the win.

10:24 - Former star of the hit film Hackers takes the stage to present Adapted Screenplay and it goes to the Descendants.  Do you think Angelina was saying, I work so hard so I look this good? Was that just me?  I wasn't blown away by The Descendants, it seems to be the movie that Hollywood loves.

10:28 - Double up night continues, Original Screenplay is up next.  The award goes to Woody Allen.

10:29 - Mental note, look up and see what Ed Norton is up to.  I feel like i haven't watched him in anything since The Hulk.

10:32 - That's very cool to see Pharrell playing drums at The Oscars.

10:36 - Why is William Shatner hosting the Junos?

10:37 - One of the stars of The Fifth Element shows us the awards that weren't exciting enough to make it to the telecast.

10:38 - The cast of Bridesmaids takes the stage and starts to rip it up and brings the first of their few awards.  Live Short film and it goes to The Shore.

10:41 - Next up Documentary Short Subject is the next and it goes to Saving Face.  Nice use of the Scorcese drinking game from the earlier Sag or Globe awards.

10:45 - Best Animated Short Film is up next and that one goes to Fantastic Flying Books.

10:50 - The star of Black Rain comes out to the stage and he's looking good and healthy.  Best Director is up next.  The Academy mixing things up this year and not doing Director and Film back to back.  The Oscar goes to The Artist.

10:55 -  The star of Kramer vs. Kramer takes the stage to show use The Governors Awards.

11:03 - Time to look at who we lost this year. 

11:13 - Former Child star of the movie The Professional Natalie Portman is here to bring the Best Actor Award.  The Oscar goes Jean Dujardin of The Artist.

11:24 - Colin Firth takes the stage to hand out the Best Actress Award.  The Oscar goes to Meryl Streep, a bit of an upset there.  Everyone was predicting that Viola Davis was going to take it.

11:33 - Star of Risky Business comes out for the final award of the night.  Watching a movie on the big screen and seeing them at the theatre, again gets a mention.  We get it.  Everyone, GET BACK TO THE MOVIE THEATRE. Let's get to the Best Picture Award, it goes to The Artist. 

Well, that's a night. I enjoyed the show, I hope you did as well.

The Oscars - Live Blog - The 9:00 PM Hour

9:00 - Stars talking about their love of the movies, again I can't help but think that they're really asking us to go to the theatres more.

9:05 - Sandra Bullock one of the stars of Speed takes the stage. Best Foreign Language film is the next award.  A Separation from Iran takes it.

9:09 - Star of Equilibrium Christian Bale takes the stages for the Best Supporting Actress award.  Come on Bridesmaids, The Academy takes itself way too seriously for that to happen.  Octavia Spencer wins the award like many predicted.

9:18 - I would love to be in a focus group. 

9:21 - That crew doesn't do enough movies together.

9:22 - One of the stars of SNL and another star of the tv series Alias.  They're presenting the award for editing.

9:24 - The Oscar goes to Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

9:25 - Another double up, Sound Editing.  Hugo wins another. Lamest joke of the night.

9:27 - Wooooah, triple award give out.  Do they want this thing over by 11:00 or what? Sound Mixing is the next award.  Hugo wins yet another.

9:34 - The Muppets makes their big appearance, nice putting them in Waldorf and Statlers spot in the theatre.

9:36 - Another go to the movies bit.  I'm sensing a bit of theme here tonight. 

9:40 - The star of Se7en and Weird Science come to the stage to present Best Documentary Feature goes to Undefeated.

9:44 - Former host of The Oscars and cast member of SNL comes to the stage and talks about doing voice work.  The truth has been told.  Animated Feature is up and it goes to Rango.

9:52 - Why aren't you in a robe...LOL!! Line of the night.

9:53 - Star of Amazing Spider-Man and guest star of Kate and Allie bring us Visual Effects.  Hugo keeps its streak going.

9:58 - Star of tv mini series Midlred Pierce enters the stage to introduce Best Supporting Actor and it goes to Canadian Christopher Plummer.

The Oscars Live Blog - First 30 Minutes

So, it's 8:26 and we're all ready to go.  The snacks got picked up this morning, the glass has been filled.  Mrs Media Room and I have made our picks.  We've watched as many of the films as we had time to watch.  I even took a quick 3 hour nap this afternoon because chances are this bad boy isn't ending until almost midnight.

8:30 - Mr Narrator himself opens the show.  What's the deal with the one glove?

8:31 - Billy always has the best opening montages!  I find it so cool how they put those together.

8:36 - I'm reminded of Billy Crystal in Soap back in the 1970's for some reason, Billy has to be around 60 and is looking pretty good.  He's actually 63, had time to look it up during the singing bit.

8:42 - That guy from Bosom Buddies is the first presenter of the evening.  Hugo gets the first award for Cinematography.

8:44 - Double up the awards presentation for the star of the film The Burbs, Art Direction.  Hugo again. 

8:46 - Wow, those Bell commercials are awful and that Ashley Judd show looks ridiculous.

8:51 - A nice Anti-Piracy commercial reminding the criminals of the world just how much joy one could have by actually going to the theatre.

8:53 - Welcome the star of The Mask and a former Fly Girl from In Living Color bringing us Costume Design.  The night of The Artist begins.

8:56 - Double up awards again, flying right along.  Make Up is here and that goes to The Iron Lady.

The first 30 minutes is up.

What's Playing in the Media Room - February 26th

The Amazing Race - 8:00/7:00 - CBS/CTV - Season 20 Episode 2
Episode Title: You Know I'm Not as Smart as You (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
The race continues in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where teams are required to use their math skills at the world's largest cattle market.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Much like Survivor, I'm really hating a lot of this cast.


84th Academy Award - 8:30 - ABC/CTV
Billy Crystal makes his ninth appearance as host of the annual ceremonies, telecast from the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles. "Hugo" leads the nominees with 11, including Best Picture. The other nominees for Best Picture are "The Artist," "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse." Scheduled presenters include Halle Berry, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.


The Celebrity Apprentice - 9:00 Two Hours - NBC - Season 12 Episode 2
Episode Title: Getting Medieval
The teams produce and perform a medieval-theme show for an audience, yet an insubordinate contestant and a serious injury mar the task.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Ugh.


Luck - 9:00 - HBO - Season 1 Episode 5
Ace takes the reins when Escalante surprises Gus with his decision to race Pint of Plain with an inexperienced jockey in the horse's debut. Meanwhile, Marcus delves into the meaning of his friendship with Jerry; and Claire accompanies Ace to the track after accepting his very generous donation.


The Walking Dead - 9:00 - AMC - Season 2 Episode 10
Episode Title: 18 Miles Out
The appearance of an outsider puts Rick and Shane at odds; Hershel's youngest daughter faces a momentous decision and Andrea steps in to help.


Eastbound and Down - 10:00 - HBO - Season 3 Episode 2
Episode Title: Chapter 15
Kenny tracks down Stevie, who's working at Ashley Schaeffer's car dealership, when he heads north with the baby to find April.


Spartacus:Vengeance - 10:00 - TMN - Season 3 Episode 5
Episode Title: Libertus
Spartacus tries to free Crixus from Roman captivity, but a gladiator from the House of Batiatus complicates it.


Comic Book Men - 10:00 - AMC - Season 1 Episode 3
Episode Title: Commercial
Walt thinks it's time for the Stash to shoot a commercial. Later, a customer brings in something really special.


Life's Too Short - 10:30 - HBO - Season 1 Episode 2
Episode Title: Episode 2
Warwick is thrilled when Johnny Depp calls for help with researching a role, but the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor's animosity toward Ricky Gervais could scuttle the opportunity. Meanwhile, Warwick agrees to appear at a "Star Wars"-themed wedding.


Other Shows Worth Mentioning:
7:00 - America's Funniest Home Video's - ABC/CITYTV
9:00 - The Real Housewives of Atlanta - Bravo USA


Repeat Rundown:
8:00 - The Celebrity Apprentice - NBC, The Simpsons - FOX
8:30 - Napolean Dynamite - FOX
9:00 - The Mentalist - CBS, Family Guy - FOX
9:30 - American Dad - FOX
10:00 - CSI: Miami


Movies Worth Mentioning:
8:00 - X2: Xmen United - CHCH
8:00 - Rundown - Spike
9:00 - An American Haunting - CityTV
10:00 - Se7en - Spike
10:00 - Shooter - Bravo Canada

Tonight on The CBC:
8:00 - John A.: Birth of a Country


Tonight on TLC:
Repeats


What`s Playing in My Media Room:
8:00 - Oscars Red Carpet, Amazing Race
8:30 - The Oscars
9:00 - Luck, The Walking Dead
10:00 - Comic Book Men, Eastbound and Down
10:30 - Life's Too Short

Tonight like most Award Shows, I'll be posting Live Blogs of The Oscars.

Happy Oscars Day - The Nominations

So this is it, all the marbles. Tonight's the night. The four hours we'll regret after it's all said and done. But we do it every year.

I don't know if you do the competition of picks in your house like we do here, but you can get a ballot from Movie Fone.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Thoughts from the Media Room: I truly think The Artist will win, but I pick what i liked the best. The Artist was a cool movie, unlike anything we've seen in a long time. It was a great story and greatly acted. But after watching Hugo, I was stunned and the movie truly took me to a whole other place when watching it.


Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Thoughts from the Media Room: A Director willing to put that together, should get the prize. A movie clearly not for everyone, something just for the craft of it all.


Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Thoughts from the Media Room: It amazed me that without actually speaking, how much emotion was in his face during the fall of his career and life. Great performance.


Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Thoughts from the Media Room: In my opinion this is the toughest category this year. Any of these great women could and should take the award this year. But I thought Meryl transformed herself into Maggie Thatcher to the point, you couldn't see Meryl in there anymore.


Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Thoughts from the Media Room: I'd like to see Jonah Hill get it here, just because really. No real reason.


Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Thoughts from the Media Room: I'd LOVE to see McCarthy get this award here. Just to see her get up there for this movie would be amazing. I'm also thinking her speech could be epic if she were to win.


Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Thoughts from the Media Room: I'd like to see Bridesmaids win here for the same reasons as above.


Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Thoughts from the Media Room: I can't say enough good stuff about Hugo.


Best Animated Film
A Cat in Paris
Chico and Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Thoughts from the Media Room: I'm thinking Rango here for some reason.


Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)

Thoughts from the Media Room: Always the tough call when making picks, but I'll go with Canada since that's where I'm from.


Best Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Thoughts from the Media Room: A stunning film just to sit there and watch.


Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
War Horse

Thoughts from the Media Room: Again, I got nothing.


Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Not going to lie, but when I first saw Anonymous I thought of the hacking groups that's been working overtime since last week. I got nothing else to add to this one.


Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated


Documentary Short
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom


Film Editing
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Thoughts from the Media Room: Dragon Tattoo should get it just for the brilliant first trailer. Do you remember that thing? Oh boy, it was a beaut eh.


Makeup
Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Thoughts from the Media Room: Looking at this again since the nominations first came out, tougher than I had originally thought. I'll still go with Potter.

Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Thoughts from the Media Room: Two for John Williams and one for Shore, yikes. Tough Category.


Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett

Thoughts from the Media Room: Just two original songs? Muppets every time.


Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life


Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic


Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Thoughts from the Media Room: Transformers gets a nom, gotta get my geek on and go with that.


Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Thoughts from the Media Room: Again, I'd like to see Transformers get it.


Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Thoughts from the Media Room: Did you watch Planet of the Apes? Wow, that was some crazy effects. The Apes looked fantastic. I have to give them an award for that.

So that's it, what were some of your favorites this year. Do you have some serious catch up to do to try and watch some of this years nominees?

Will you be tuning in tonight?

Music 365 - Day Five - Dogwhistle - The Life And Times Of An After Hours DJ

This should have been for yesterday, but some days are busier than others.

Back in the early 90's I used to listen to a lot of Techno Music, not electronica, Techno. This was back when it was impossible to find at the local cassette shop. You'd find The Prodigy in the Rock Section. Back before all electronica music sounded the same and became boring.

I can't seem to find this one on Amazon any more, I can only find it here.

Music 365 - Day Four - Howlin' Wolf - Moaning at the Moonlight

I first got into enjoying listening to the blues one Sunday night a few years back after watching the Adrien Brody film, Cadillac Records.

In the film you're introduced to a blues singer by the name of Howlin' Wolf. I had listened to a Blues track here and there, I never really looked to much further into. But in this movie, listening to the Howlin' Wolf songs, I thought to myself I have to read up on this guy. I'm loving his stuff. So after many visits to Amazon, Rate Your Music and Wikipedia I had to get listening to more.

I don't listen to the Blues that often, but when I do, I start here. I actually have a large Sketch Book in which I write down albums, bands and labels of stuff I need to check out further. I would like to get pick up this Chess Records compilation from Amazon.

So if you're looking to get into the Blues or if you just want to check it out, I highly recommend picking up this from Howlin' Wolf

Smokestack Lightnin'




Spoonful

Music 365 - Day Three - Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle

Day three of the project and I'm having a blast.

Sat down tonight in the computer room, opened up my weekly email from All Music and started to read about the weeks new release. Stumbled Upon Archers of Loaf, sounded interesting by the description. Thought I'd jump over to Rate Your Music and start reading about them, hmmm, to my surprise they were a band from the 90's. I don't know how I hadn't heard of them before tonight, seems like something I would have enjoyed back then. Looked at the album over at Amazon and read some reviews. A lot of reviewers said that Archers of Loaf had a real Pavement type of sound. Interesting, jumped over to You Tube to check out some tunes. First band that jumped out at me was Nirvana. Back in the 90's I was a huge fan of Nirvana, still am, I just don't listen to them as much I used to. Listened to my Nevermind tape so much that all the writing wore off and I don't know how it didn't just break apart from being listened to so many times. I listen to another few tracks tonight and I'm reminded of Sonic Youth.

Let me share these great tunes with you, maybe you've heard of them and they'll take you back to your youth. Maybe you hadn't heard of them, but they'll still take you back to those days when you rocked the long hair and enjoyed your plaid.

So here's a couple video's for you to check out and see for yourself.

Last Word:



Wrong:



This is the great thing about music discovery, this album is almost 20 years old and it still gives me as much joy as something new like yesterdays post. Takes me back to the days of walking to High School with Kurt screaming into my ears. Doesn't it just make you said when you hear Nirvana on a classic rock station. Ya, me too.