Often one of the best indicators of upcoming Oscar success for films, The Golden Globes also cover television.

There were a few notable moments from this year’s Golden Globes award ceremony. One was former US president Bill Clinton taking to the stage to introduce a clip from ‘Lincoln’. Although the appearance took the audience by surprise, Clinton and the film’s Director Steven Spielberg have been close pals for a long time.

In terms of acceptance speeches there are a few that stand out. Clare Danes accepting the award for Best Actress in a TV Drama certainly made a splash, as did Adele while picking up the award for the Skyfall song – overwhelmed doesn’t even get close.

Here are the winners in full:

Best Motion Picture- Drama

Argo

Best Performance by an Actress in a motion picture

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a motion picture

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

Best Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical

Les Miserables

Best Performance by an Actress in a motion picture - Comedy or Musical

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actor in a motion picture - Comedy or Musical

Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables

Best Animated Feature Film

Brave

Best Foreign Language Film

Amour

Best Performance by by an Actress in a supporting role in a motion picture

Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

Best Performance by by an Actor in a supporting role in a motion picture

Cristopher Waltz – Django Unchained

Best Director – motion picture

Ben Affleck – Argo

Best Screenplay – motion picture

Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

Best Original Score – motion picture

Mychael Danna – Life of Pi

Best Original Song – motion picture

“Skyfall” – Adele

Best TV Series- Drama

Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series – Drama

Claire Danes – Homeland

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV series – Drama

Damian Lewis – Homeland

Best TV Series- Comedy or Musical

Girls

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series – Comedy or Musical

Lena Dunham

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV series – Comedy or Musical

Don Cheadle

Best Mini-Series or Motion picture made for TV

Game Change

Best Performance by an Actress in Mini Series or Motion Picture made for TV

Julianne Moore – Game Change

Best Performance by an Actor in Mini Series or Motion Picture made for TV

Kevin Costner – Hatfields and McCoys

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini Series or Motion Picture made for TV

Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini Series or Motion Picture made for TV

Ed Harris – Game Change

What do you think of these winners? Who would you like to have picked up an award? What body part would you rather slam in a fridge door rather than Les Mis? The comment section awaits your input.

Image screen grabbed from official trailer at bottom of post

It’s a far cry from the tidal wave of critical acclaim that accompanied Jackson’s first three Tolkien movies. I can’t say I’m terribly surprised though. When I first heard that The Hobbit (one book which was shorter than each of the three LOTR books) was being split into three movies of epic scale, I started to worry it would feel slow and tedious. Then I realised that it was going to be a trilogy of prequels to one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, and the spectre of The Phantom Menace reared its ugly head in my brain. I nearly puked.

Anyway on to the reviews:

Robbie Collin – The Telegraph – 2 stars

It seems that as a big Tolkien fan, Robbie was not a happy chappy:

“This film is so stuffed with extraneous faff and flummery that it often barely feels like Tolkien at all – more a dire, fan-written internet tribute.”

He also was not impressed with the pacing of the movie:

“…half an hour per chapter, or one minute and 20 seconds per page. The work of the sombre Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr, whose grinding tale of apocalyptic poverty The Turin Horse ran to a mere 155 minutes, feels nippy by comparison.”

Geoffrey MacNab – The Independent – 3 stars

While not as aggrieved as Robbie Collin, Geoffrey MacNab didn’t seem entirely convinced. His main gripe seemed to be the story failing to move along quickly enough, and he’s certainly in the camp that feels that making 3 epic movies is taking things too far:

“There is a sense of sledgehammers being used to crack nuts in the first part of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkein’s short 1937 novel, a prequel to The Lord Of The Rings, has been turned into an enormous Wagnerian epic by Jackson and his collaborators.”

On a more positive note he wrote:

“Thankfully, Jackson’s flair for action sequences and bold and complex production design hasn’t deserted him. Huge, snarling dogs and a chase sequence involving a wizard played by Sylvester McCoy being pulled by a sledge of super-nimble rabbits add some bite to the storytelling.”

Matthew Leyland – Total Film – 5 stars

Leyland was a hell of a lot more positive about the movie. He enjoyed the experience of seeing the movie in the new 48fps format. Leyland also disagreed with the others regarding the pacing:

“In terms of key incidents, AUJ doesn’t burrow too far into Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings-predating novel. Yet it rarely feels like Jackson has had the rolling pin out, overstretching the material.

Nudging three hours, it moves at an even clip – and that’s with the plot delayed by two prologues.”

He even ended up waxing lyrical in his summation:

“Charming, spectacular, technically audacious… in short, everything you expect from a Peter Jackson movie. A feeling of familiarity does take hold in places, but this is an epically entertaining first course.”

I for one will definitely be heading along to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in all its 48fps glory. I might not be happy about the book being split into three parts, but there’s no way I’ll be missing out on seeing such a cinematic spectacle.

Will you be going to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? Let us know why/why not in the comments box below.

The announcement came via one of Smith’s latest podcasts with lifelong co-star Jason Mewes, Jay & Silent Bob Get Old, when the Clerks director was explaining exactly what was happening with the two-film hockey movie epic since he first announced it around three years ago.

Smith explained that after he had Pirates of the Caribbean producer and fellow hockey fanatic Jerry Bruckheimer read over the script for the first Hit Somebody movie, he realised how hard it would be to get one film based around the popular sport funded, let alone two. It was at this stage that the filmmaker began to “reign it in” and started cutting the script down, much to his dismay.

Smith describes the Hit Somebody story as “massive” and notes that the script “plays like a novel, but if I condensed it down to what it was supposed to be, it was never going to be anything.” It was at this point that actor Jason Mewes suggested the bright idea of turning it into a mini-series.

Retelling a conversation Smith had with Mewes about his frustration with getting the script down to a workable level, Mewes suggested that Kevin “stop hacking it down — why don’t you make it a mini-series?” After a dramatic pause and cheering from the crowd, Smith notes that he has “started restructuring Hit Somebody thusly,” and “it looks like we’ll be going into production next year.”

The filmmaker has been working away at the restructure for the past 6-8 months and has found a home for Hit Somebody on a network, which he currently isn’t revealing. With his good relationship with AMC, who produce his other TV show, Comic Book Men, we wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement from them soon.

Star Trek Into Darkness will be released on May 17, 2013

More on that later, but first let’s start with:

Silver Linings Playbook

Bradley Cooper stars with Jennifer Lawrence in this quirky romantic comedy. Just released from a state institution, Pat (Cooper) is trying to get his life back on track. Along the way, he meets young widow Tiffany (Lawrence) and the pair drag each other back to some form of normality.

The film is really enjoyable, and brought to life by an excellent cast. Lawrence in particular gives a charming performance.

Gambit

I personally think this looks really good. I mean, it’s written by the Coen Brothers, and since when could they do any wrong?!

Well, apparently they can and they have. The cast for the most part lack chemistry, and the plot doesn’t even come close to the ever popular 60′s original.

It’s a shame really, because the trailer actually looks quite promising (if you choose to ignore Diaz’s painful Texan accent, of course).

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2

As someone who lost interest in the Twilight franchise about 20 minutes into New Moon, I must admit I am not exactly going nuts over this final installment.

But hey, I am just a lowly entertainment blogger and there are thousands, if not millions, of prepubescent teenage girls who would disagree with me. They are the ones with the money (or at least, their parents are) so the film studio is giving them what they want.

Worth going to see if you want to find out how it all ends.

What are you going to see this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

Lucasfilm moves to Disney with Star Wars Episode VII coming 2015

Yes, that is a big headline but you know sometimes a story deserves it. Did anyone see this coming? Anybody at all? It seemed to most that the Star Wars saga was over. Disney clearly sees the creative possibilities/megabucks and has bought the company for $4.05 billion in cash and shares.

Currently, there are six live action feature films and following the prequel trilogy, which apparently ruined a number of childhoods, and it seemed the franchise was creatively bankrupt. It was never financially bankrupt; they are counting all the dollars with all the merchandising and expanded universe.

So it makes it a little strange that many fan boys and girls think that this acquisition might be bad news. Star Wars is a pretty rich universe and although it continues in The Clone Wars TV show, it has many cinematic possibilities. The problem with the last set of films was not the idea but really the execution. Star Wars without George Lucas could be the best thing ever.

The rumour was always that Lucas was set to produce a trilogy of trilogies. It seemed after the beating his baby took with episodes 1 through 3 that he wouldn’t let anyone else play with his toys. Well now that’s all set to change with a new movie within three years and more to follow.

It’s amazing the power a new creative team can have on a project. Just look at JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek movie. Not everyone loved it but for the very first time Star Trek had full-on mainstream appeal.

There is little Disney can do to this franchise to make it more commercial. What they can do is produce some great movies. Their stewardship of Pixar and more recently, Marvel has created some highly entertaining films with the creative types left to make the decisions, which in turn leads to audience appreciation.

If Star Wars: Epsiode VII is success then perhaps we can get that Howard the Duck sequel that everyone has been clamouring for.

Joss Whedon made the best possible Avengers movie under Disney, imagine what he could do with Star Wars. And on that Avengers note…

SHIELD Agents confirmed for Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Cap was always the most likely to feature SHIELD heavily given his out of time place in the world and after all, he is The First Avenger.  Now it is confirmed that franchise wraparound dude Samuel L Jackson will return as Director Nick Fury as will Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and, most surprisingly, Scarlett Johansson will feature as Black Widow.

It is also confirmed that original star Sebastian Stan will return as Bucky Barnes. Given that he ended up slightly less than alive in the last film, could this be a flashback? A clone? Well don’t go reading The Winter Soldier comics if you want to avoid spoilers.

Bryan Singer returns to helm X-Men First Class Sequel

In news that is of no shock to anyone, Bryan Singer is returning to the X-chise to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past. Singer created the template for the modern superhero movie directing the first two X-Men films before leaving deep into the production of the third to direct the poorly recieved Superman Returns. Without him Brett Ratner directed the third X-Men film and although it proved profitable, was also a complete mess.

Singer returned for Matthew Vaughn directed and sixties set prequel X Men: First Class as executive producer and now he is set to complete the work he started. The plot of Days of Future Past will see some time travel shenanigans and the return of many familiar faces from the original X-Men trilogy. Expect this to completely change the continuity so X-Men 3 never happened.

We’ve been spending some time making some minimalist posters of some of our favourite  thriller movies. All these films have one thing in common – can you tell what it is?

I am Legend

Rosemary's Baby

Black Swan

Gremlins 2

Friday the 13th Part 8

Have you figured it out? If you don’t know, check out our Posterous blog for the answer.

Are the any movie posters that you would like to see get the minimalist treatment? Tell us in the comments!

It’s the brand new trailer for Iron Man 3. Following the excess and wisecracks of The Avengers, it seems like Marvel and director Shane Black are taking a different approach with the third Iron Man movie and going for something altogether darker. If terrorists can break into Tony Stark’s pad then what hope is there for the rest of us?

Iron Man 3 will be released in April 2013.

Are you excited about the next instalment in The Avengers franchise? Tell us in a comment below.

Paranormal Activity 4

For those who adore supernatural suspense, this one is a must-see. True, parts 2 and 3 didn’t capture the imagination in quite so powerful a way as did the original’s shocking final scene, but the franchise is sufficiently intriguing and the films laced with enough genuinely shivery moments to keep part 4 firmly on our list. Plus, Paramount has already announced that Paranormal Activity 5 will be haunting our screens next October, so we need to keep up to speed with the latest developments.

Sinister

Sinister was actually released at the start of the month, but if you haven’t caught this eerie thriller yet it’ll definitely fit the mood this Halloween. Reviews have been generally positive for this tale of a struggling writer (Ethan Hawke) who moves into an old house with his young family, only to discover footage of a gruesome murder that took place in the property shortly before strange things start to happen. The film may not forge any new ground, but it’s a solid and enjoyable effort nonetheless and should satisfy your cravings for something creepy.

Hotel Transylvania

On a lighter note, here’s one that’ll appeal to junior audiences far more than their parents. The premise here is that Dracula (voiced by a rather strangely cast Adam Sandler) decides to open his castle as a holiday resort for all kinds of supernatural creatures – no humans allowed. However, a hapless human backpacker (Andy Samberg) pitches up at the castle looking for a room, and soon falls for the count’s plucky daughter (Selena Gomez), much to Dracula’s dismay. While reviews haven’t been overly enthusiastic for the rather unambitious story, it certainly has enough seasonal appeal to entertain your little spooks for a spell.

Frankenweenie

No one captures the twin streams of scariness and fun associated with Halloween quite the way Tim Burton does, and his newest film offering seems set to take its place alongside such classics as The Nightmare Before Christmas (although there’s still considerable debate over whether that’s actually a Halloween or Christmas film – but I digress…). Frankenweenie is a feature-length, stop-motion, black-and-white reworking of a short film Burton directed for Disney at the very beginning of his career. It recounts the charming and cutely ghoulish story of young Victor Frankenstein, who seeks to reanimate his beloved pet dog when it dies. All is well until the other children at his school find out what he’s done, and want their very own undead pets… If you’ve made it through Hotel Transylvania with your kids, definitely reward yourself with Frankenweenie – it’s a Halloween film that will appeal to the entire family.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

To be honest, I wrestled a bit with the decision to include this film on the list. The original Silent Hill film was not widely lauded or particularly memorable, although some felt that it was one of the more effective video game adaptations out there. Still, its release in the UK (26th October) is perfectly timed for the Halloween crowd, and there does seem to be some buzz over it – possibly due to the fact it’s been filmed in 3D. It may be worth a watch for that reason alone, if it manages to make good use of the medium to up the scare factor.

ParaNorman

Again, this film actually came out last month, but if somehow you’ve missed it with your kids (or just haven’t seen it yourself), it’s definitely worth catching this Halloween. This stop-motion animated delight traces the story of young Norman (voice of Kodi Smit-McPhee), who can see dead people – much to his parents’ dismay. Then Norman gets drafted in to using his skills to save his town from an evil curse, with results that are both hilarious and terrifying in equal measure. This is another spooky film offering that will please the old and young alike in the audience, and is surely destined to be a Halloween classic.

Which film are you most looking forward to seeing this Halloween? Are you going to check out one of these new releases, or stick to the Halloween classics?

The Lone Ranger will be available in cinemas June 2013.