We Don't Need Two Metaphors

My final predictions for tonight's ceremony This year's awards race has been one of the most open and encompassing of recent years. You only have to look back at last year's race, when it was obvious from a very early stage that The Artist  was going to win, to see how uneventful the annual awards race can be. This year, most of the major films have had their ups and downs. Things have settled in the past few weeks but the unpredictability of past few months means that many awards aren't pinned down. So I shall be making my picks in each of the categories based on what I think will win, what I think might win, what I think should win and what I think should've been nominated. I'll only make picks for should win and should've been nominated where I've seen enough of the nominees. Best Film Will Win: Argo Could Win: Lincoln Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty Not even nominated: Skyfall Best Director Will Win: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) ...

Zero Dark Thirty has come under fire from journalists and politicians about its depiction of torture and its effectiveness. In this post, I am to examine exactly what Zero Dark Thirty claims happened in the 10 year hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Whilst I may touch upon the ethics and morality of torture, this is not a post arguing whether or not torture is justifiable. Nor is it a post about the repercussions (or lack of repercussions) from the Obama administration for those people who approved the use of torture. This post aims to clarify whether or not the film-makers behind Zero Dark Thirty are accountable for some of the claims made against them. WHAT DOES ZERO DARK THIRTY SHOW? The intense torture scenes at the start of the film produce no information about Bin Laden. The captive (named Ammar) is being tortured by Dan (Jason Clarke) because the CIA believe he holds information about an imminent terrorist attack. Afterwards, the CIA trick him into believing that he gave up informati...

Kathryn Bigelow's thrilling drama is a superlative piece of film making "What do you think of the girl?" "I think she's f***ing smart." "We're all smart, Jeremy." Fact or fiction? Documentary or drama? Zero Dark Thirty inhabits a strange void between these two strands of film making. The fact that it succeeds on pretty much every level whilst also walking this tightrope is an outstanding achievement. Kathryn Bigelow (Director) and Mark Boal (Writer) were working on a film about the failed and ongoing attempts to capture Osama Bin Laden, only for current events to force them to make a film about the successful hunt for Osama Bin Laden. For a story which is so covered in secrecy, Mark Boal has taken a lot of flak for the way he portrays the 10 year long hunt for Osama Bin Laden. To tell the 100% factually correct account would be impossible. There were too many people involved and too many dead end leads to produce the true life tale a...

A fantastic day of music ends with a somewhat unpopular result 6Music Greatest Hits poll serves as a reminder that popular things win popularity contests. Some might say that you should never take polls and award shows seriously. Whilst this may be the overall case, I like to think that serious discussion and thought comes about as a result of these such things. Particularly with this poll as anyone who listens to 6Music must have a strong interest in music. That's why I'm devoting not one, but two blog posts to the BBC 6Music Greatest Hits poll. I've already picked my favourite five songs from the list (see previous post) and now I'll take a look at the top 100 countdown which was announced throughout the day. First, let's see where my 5 picks (including the track I voted for) came in the poll. Foals - Spanish Sahara - No. 42 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor - No. 2 The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio - No. 4 Arcade Fir...