The Intouchables (review)

There are 2 types of people in the world, those who haven't seen this movie and those who have. I'm the second type of person, and believe this is really a must see for everyone, for me the best french movie in years.
The Intouchables tells the true story of a wealthy, physically disabled risk taker, the picture of established French nobility, who lost his wife in an accident and whose world is turned upside down when he hires a young, good-humored, black Muslim ex-con as his caretaker. Their bond proves the power and omniscience that love and friendship can hold over all social and economic differences.
Driss (the caretaker) interpreted by Omar Sy conquers you right in the first scene of the movie, great role!
What really impresses is the bond this two create, one of the most unique and beautiful friendships ever committed to film.
One final world to the soundtrack, it's brilliant and keeps up with the great movie!
Check the trailer above:

Comment your own review and ratings please!

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Just a song

So close to getting to 100.000 views, I'll just share with you an acoustic version of "We are young" with the promise to make some reviews about random topics in short notice. For now just be with this lovely version:

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El Camino – The Black Keys (review)

The American band formed by Dan Auerbach, vocals and guitar, and Patrick Carney, on drums, was born in Akron, Ohio in the year of 2001. Lately, the Black Keys have given a lot to talk about, especially since the release of their last two albums.

Their debut album, The Big Come Up, was released on May of 2002 and the song "I'll Be Your Man" was the theme song for the series Hung and also appeared on Rescue Me. The next album came on April 2003 and it was called Thickfreakness. They won some mainstream success because the song “Set You Free" featured in the film School of Rock and, by this time, the band was already being compared to other great blues-rock bands, like The White Stripes. On September of 2004, appears Rubber Factory, with very popular songs among the tv and the cinema: "When the Lights Go Out" was used in the film Black Snake Moan, the song "10 AM Automatic" was featured in an American Express commercial, in the movie Live Free or Die, in the soundtrack for MLB '06: The Show and in the movie The Go-Getter (which also features the song "Keep Me"), "Grown So Ugly" was in the movie Cloverfield, the track "Girl Is on My Mind" was used for both Sony Ericsson and Victoria's Secret commercials and finally "Stack Shot Billy" was performed on Late Show with David Letterman. The next two albums, Magic Potion and Attack & Release came in 2006 and 2008, respectively. By now, The Black Keys were becoming more popular when they released the album Brothers, on May 2010, that gave them three Grammy Awards.

On December 6 of 2011 comes out their new album, El Camino, and it has been well received by the public and the critics. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and it draws influences from popular genres from the 50s, 60s and 70s like soul, rockabilly and rock and roll. Also there are more uptempo and riff-driven songs, in contrast to some of the slower and quieter tracks from the previous album.

The album has 11 songs and its cover and the full tracklist are presented below.

1. Lonely Boy
2. Dead and Gone 3. Gold on the Ceiling
4. Little Black Submarines
5. Money Maker
6. Run Right Back
7. Sister
8. Hell of a Season
9. Stop Stop
10. Nova Baby
11. Mind Eraser

For now, if you got curious, listen to the first two singles from this album: "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling".

So, if you didn’t know of the existence of this band and if you appreciate garage/blues/indie rock, go check the work of this American duo that you’ll surely love. Also, you can visit their website, here.

 Hope you like it,

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The Artist (review)

Finally filled up some courage and watched The Artist (the entire movie), and I must say that I was expecting a lot worst, even though the first 10/15 minutes are very boring and almost frustrating.
By this time we start to like George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) a very funny and talented mute actor for who everything was going great until the rising of the voice cinema in the late 20's. Then the rising star Peppy Miller(Bérénice Bejo) takes George's space leaving him with some bad moments. A word for an also very talented dog a Jack Russel called Uggie that is amazing.
If you can pass the first 15 minutes I believe you will enjoy the movie.
I'll just leave with the trailer and a funny scene from Uggie.

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Oscars 2012 (winners)

As you may know the Oscars weren't that surprising this year, my "prediction" has been confirmed, check out the 2012 winners:

Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, "Hugo"
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schavo, "Hugo"
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, "The Artist"
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, "The Iron Lady"
Best Foreign Language Film: "A Separation"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Best Sound Editing: Phillip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, "Hugo"
Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, "Hugo"
Best Documentary: "Undefeated"
Best Animated Feature: "Rango"
Best Visual Effects: "Hugo"
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, "The Artist"
Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, "Man or Muppet"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Best Live Action Short: "The Shore"
Best Documentary Short: "Saving Face"
Best Animated Short: "The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Best Picture: "The Artist"

Oscars 2012 (nominees)

I'll just leave you with the nominees for tomorrow's oscars show.  Give me your predictions in comment box. My bet: The Artist, Meryl Streep,Michel Hazanavicius,Jean Dujardin.

Who will win?

Here is the full nominees list:
Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

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

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

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

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

Best Documentary Short Subject
"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"

Best Achievement in Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

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

Best Live Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

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

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in 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"

Jack Russel Terrier

It may seems a little odd a dog post in my blog, but this one has an explanation. This Saturday I'm choosing a Jack Russel puppy. I've always loved such dogs, since the TV series Frasier, and the movie Mask, with Jim Carrey. Always heard about the intelligence and loyalty of this dogs, and I dreamed about one since then. Despite my mom's fear of his electric stamina I'm really thrilled. Here are some notes on Wikipedia about them:

"Originating in the early 19th century from dogs bred and used by Reverend John Russell, it has similar origins to the modern Fox terrier. The Jack Russell is an energetic breed which relies on a high level of exercise and stimulation, and is relatively free from serious health complaints. It has gone through several changes over the years, through different use and breed standards set by kennel clubs. Recognition for the breed by kennel clubs has been opposed by the breed's parent societies – which resulted in the breeding and recognition of the Parson Russell terrier. Jack Russells have appeared many times in film, television and print with several historical dogs of note."

For last I will just leave you with pictures from the dogs from Mask and Frasier, and a presentation video.

Frasier dog

Mask dog

Hope you enjoy it,

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