Satellite Winners

The 2009 14th Annual SATELLITE AWARDS™ (it was The Golden Satellites previously) has named winners...

Nominations: http://moviewritings.blogspot.com/2009/11/golden-satellite-noms.html

Motion Picture, Drama:
The Hurt Locker

Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical:
Nine

Director:
Kathryn Bigelow — The Hurt Locker

Actress In A Motion Picture, Drama:
Shohreh Aghdashloo — The Stoning of Soraya M.

Actor In A Motion Picture, Drama:
Jeremy Renner — The Hurt Locker

Actress In A Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical:
Meryl Streep — Julie & Julia

Actor In A Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical:
Michael Stuhlbarg — A Serious Man

Actress In A Supporting Role:
Mo’nique — Precious

Actor In A Supporting Role:
Christoph Waltz — Inglourious Basterds

And GLEE sweeps the TV categories...

Full list of winners: http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2009.shtml

Screen Actors Guild

FILM

Ensemble
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious


TELEVISION

Best Actor (Drama)
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Brian Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
John Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

Best Actress (Drama)
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order SVU
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Ensemble (Drama)
The Closer
Dexter
The Good Wife
Man Men
True Blood

Actress (Comedy)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis Dreyfuss, The New Adventures of Old Christine

Best Actor (Comedy)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Tony Shaloub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Ensemble (Comedy)
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

Full List of Nominees:
http://www.sag.org/press-releases/december-17-2009/nominations-announced-16th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards%C2%AE

16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremonies will be held on Jan. 23.

RIP: Brittany Murphy

I am saddened by this news... so early in the morning... I loved her in Clueless and Don't Say A Word... and her song with Paul Oakenfold, Faster Kill Pussycat... full cardiac arrest is being reported although investigations have begun to fully determine what happened...

Full News: http://omg.yahoo.com/news/brittany-murphy-dead-at-32/32963?nc

& http://omg.yahoo.com/news/brittany-murphy-dies-family-releases-statement/32960;_ylt=AnOfLjL0stuC927ooatsQAh7pxx.;_ylv=3

New Movies

According to GSC, new movies released today (17/12):

AVATAR
Running Time: 2 hours 43 minutes
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang.

"Avatar" is an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. The story tells of a wounded ex-marine, who thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, and eventually crosses over to lead an indigenous race in a battle for survival. Thus, combining the elements of massive spectacle and intimate character that made James Cameron's "Titanic" the highest grossing film of all time.

PULAU ASMARA
Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes
Director: Uttam Kumar Thangiah
Cast: Abby Azis, Faizal Ramliy AF4, Sheikh Bolkhiah, Shasha Arsheela, Nadia Kesumawati, Leez Rosli AF4, Dato’ Aziz Singah, Azie Shah, Latif Ibrahim.

Synopsis: Three friends Taufik, Jeffri and Sam go to beautiful and mystic Pulau Langkawi for a break from their IT jobs in the big city. Each of the youths has his own notion of Love and women.

Sober and sweet-mannered Taufik does not believe in romance and says that he will marry the girl of his parents’ choice when the time comes. For ladies’ man Jeffri, there are many fishes in the sea and thinks that love and marriage are only forms of captivity. Comic and naïve Sam believes in love-at-first-sight, and hopes to meet the love of his life on the island.

Fate however, brings three young women into the lives of the youths. Sam chances upon pretty and chirpy village lass, Sofia seated at the window of a kampung house and decides that she is the love of his life. Sam pursues his love but is shocked when he finds out that Sofia is physically handicapped. Unable to accept her imperfection, Sam flees from Sofia. Sofia’s fisherman father Anwar is heart-broken when he sees his darling daughter in tears.

Jeffri saves little Daniel from a danger and at once becomes attached to the cute boy. However, Daniel’s young and attractive mother Amy warns Jeffri to stay away from her son. Jeffri’s every encounter with Amy ends in a fiery and bitter quarrel. Amy breaks into tears when Jeffri calls her a frustrated woman who probably does not get enough love from her husband. Jeffri later learns that Amy is widowed, and regrets his harsh and cruel words. Jeffri realizes that he needs the love of a family, and proposes to Amy. Amy, though regretting her earlier misconception of Jeffri, turns him down.

Taufik who thought that no woman can affect his life meets sad, mysterious and attractive Lina. Taufik helps Lina’s father Osman when the elderly man slips and falls in the waves. Osman and wife Halimah are immediately drawn to Taufik’s good manners and soft nature. Taufik is shocked when at a later meeting Osman reveals that Lina is terminally ill with cancer. He feels deeply sorry for the old couple but at the same becomes totally disturbed by the news. After a fight with Sam who accuses him of running away from love, Taufik realizes that he wants to marry Lina. Taufik meets Lina’s parents to seek her hand in marriage but Lina insults him and turns him away.

The three youths find that their holiday on the island has brought only misery, and decide to return home. Taufik makes a last minute decision to join a yacht cruise when he sees Lina and her parents amongst the cruisers. The three friends join the cruise in a tensed mood.The climax is a misadventure at sea. Lina and Taufik go missing in the waters. What happens to them? What becomes of Amy and Sofia? Does the love island turn into a tragedy island?

BODYGUARDS & ASSASSINS
Running Time: 2 hours 19 minutes
Director: Teddy Chen
Cast: Donnie Yen, Wang Xue Qi, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Nicholas Tse, Hu Jun, Eric Tsang, Li Yu Chun, Simon Yam, Fan Bin Bin, Zhou Yun, Wang Po Chieh, Leon Lai.

Synopsis: 1905, City of Victoria (British Colony of Hong Kong). Before Dr. Sun Yat-Sen can become the Father of Modern China by instigating the revolution of 1911 that overturns the Qing Dynasty, his life is almost cut short when he arrives at Hong Kong for a secret meeting to establish a united anti-Qing revolutionary front.In the distance of thirteen blocks, the one man Dr. Sun Yat-Sen who holds a nation’s fate must survive relentless attempts on his life with only five bodyguards, a group of ordinary men and women who actually possess extraordinary fighting skills. Against hundreds of assassins, these men must put their courage to the test in order to protect the hope of millions even if it means fighting to the death...

VETTAIKARAN
Running Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Director: Babu Sivan
Cast: Vijay, Anushka Shetty.

Synopsis: "Vettaikaran" is an action film starring Vijay and Anushka. The film is said to have the usual commercial elements of any Vijay film and similar to his previous hit "Thirupachi". Vijay plays the role of an Auto driver and Anushka plays a medical student as his love interest.

Golden Globes Nomination

Movie Category:

Motion Picture, Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical
500 Days of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

Actress, Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabby Sidibe, Precious

Actor, Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Actor Comedy/Musical
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joe Gordon Levitt, 500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Actress, Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated

Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

TV Category:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
BIG LOVE
DEXTER
HOUSE
MAD MEN
TRUE BLOOD

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
GLENN CLOSE, DAMAGES
JANUARY JONES, MAD MEN
JULIANNA MARGULIES, THE GOOD WIFE
ANNA PAQUIN, TRUE BLOOD
KYRA SEDGWICK, THE CLOSER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
SIMON BAKER, THE MENTALIST
MICHAEL C. HALL, DEXTER
JON HAMM, MAD MEN
HUGH LAURIE, HOUSE
BILL PAXTON, BIG LOVE

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 ROCK
ENTOURAGE
GLEE
MODERN FAMILY
THE OFFICE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
TONI COLLETTE, UNITED STATES OF TARA
COURTENEY COX, COUGAR TOWN
EDIE FALCO, NURSE JACKIE
TINA FEY, 30 ROCK
LEA MICHELE, GLEE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
ALEC BALDWIN, 30 ROCK
STEVE CARELL, THE OFFICE
DAVID DUCHOVNY, CALIFORNICATION
THOMAS JANE, HUNG
MATTHEW MORRISON, GLEE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
JANE ADAMS, HUNG
ROSE BYRNE, DAMAGES
JANE LYNCH, GLEE
JANET McTEER, INTO THE STORM
CHLOË SEVIGNY, BIG LOVE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
MICHAEL EMERSON, LOST
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
WILLIAM HURT, DAMAGES
JOHN LITHGOW, DEXTER
JEREMY PIVEN, ENTOURAGE

Full list: http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=16590#more-16590

Watching Movies

Last Friday, me and my colleague went to Pavilion to catch The Storm Warriors...

It's the sequel to The Storm Riders, which was shown years ago. It is based on a comic (which has been translated into Malay - Pedang Setiawan)...


This time around, evil Lord Godless has taken over China. Cloud (Aaron Kwok) and Wind (Ekin Cheng) are not strong enough to fight him. So they went to seek more power. One decided to go evil for a power upgrade while the other did it the hard way, with the help of a martial arts master.

Of course the heroes would defeat the bad guy... but then, who's gonna stop the good-guy-turned-evil? Looks like it's gonna be a battle to the death between the two heroes...

I enjoyed watching The Storm Riders. Technically, The Storm Warriors is the better film. It obviously has a bigger budget because the film looks fantastic. The effects are great and there are even sequences that are reminiscent of 300. For a minute, I thought I was in Sparta, not China... very stylized...

But that's all there is to it I guess. I did enjoy watching the movie but something's missing. Maybe it's the fact that the main villain is disposed of half way through the movie? Maybe it's because the heroes' upgrades are too easy? Maybe it's because the female characters are not substantial enough? Anyway, now I know why Cloud's sword has a hole near the hilt... :)


On Saturday, I went to see Jump at Pavilion. It's a Chinese movie directed by Stephen Fung (Gen-X Cops) and is backed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer).

It stars Kitty Zhang as a village girl going to the city to follow her dreams of becoming a dancer. She and her friends got a chance to go to the city to work in a factory, while she moonlights as a cleaning lady in a dance studio. But of course, it's not that easy for her because the city folk all look down on her because she's a cleaning lady and from the village...

The movie's nice enough but there's something wrong with the dubbing. It doesn't seem to tally throughout the movie. It appears that the actors are not actually speaking the lines properly...

And, just for your info, Leon Jay Williams came in to replace Edison Chen in this movie. All of Edison's scenes had to be reshot and edited out. Yup, because of his erotic photos scandal.

Leon Jay Williams

Stephen Fung, Kitty Zhang, Edison Chen

And then, on Sunday, I went to Pavilion with a friend to catch The Princess and the Frog, a Disney traditional animation film.

It's nice to see Disney going back to its r oots. Iremember the day when Disney movies were all that and a bag of chips. Remember Aladdin? The Lion King? Beauty and the Beast?

Those were the days... TPATF is a throwback to those times when characters would break into song and dance around and stuff.

TPATF takes place in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1920s during the jazz age. The princess (Anika Noni Rose of The Dreamgirls fame) kisses the frog but instead of him becoming a prince like in the fairy tale, she becomes a frog! To get changed back they have to go through bayou country to find Mama Odie, a good voodoo priestess. They are, of course, guided by a firefly and an alligator who plays jazz.

This movie is a lot of fun. Nice enough to take the kids, although there are some creepy parts in it... but still, pretty entertaining... :)

AFI

The American Film Institute has chosen its Top Ten Movies of 2009... in alphabetical order...

CORALINE

THE HANGOVER

THE HURT LOCKER

THE MESSENGER

PRECIOUS

A SERIOUS MAN

A SINGLE MAN

SUGAR

UP

UP IN THE AIR

And also the Top Ten TV Shows of 2009:

THE BIG BANG THEORY
BIG LOVE
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
MAD MEN
MODERN FAMILY
THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY
NURSE JACKIE
PARTY DOWN

and the show I am currently following (besides The Vampire Diaries and Eastwick)...

Glee

http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=16448#more-16448