| Critics peek inside Oscar
If the past few years (or the past few decades) are any indication, trying to predict who will get a nod is like trying to predict Kevin Federline's musical career.So this year, Fresno Bee movie critics Donald Munro and Rick Bentley are taking a different approach. Their lists are the actors and films that they would honor if they were selecting those to get the Oscar nods. Here's how they would hand out the 2008 Academy Award nominations.Donald Munro's picksBest picture"Hairspray": The feel-good movie of the year, perfectly pitched and so giddy in its forward momentum and cheery social message that you'll be dancing out of the theater."No Country for Old Men": It captures the Wild West tinge of underlying violence that boosted the United States in its early days and to an extent still forms the framework of our society: a country of wide-open spaces, boundless opportunities and a chilling tendency toward taking what you can get."Once": A perfect little musical love story about a struggling Irish songwriter, this low-budget charmer has the best soundtrack of the year."Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": This pared-down version of the Broadway musical is so bloody economical that the film achieves an amazing double whammy: It gives you the chills and makes you sing at the same time."Into the Wild": Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer book about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who naively challenges the Alaska wilderness is a taut, superbly told and ferociously filmed adventure.Best actorJohnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd": He's a cut above, no doubt about it.Chris Cooper, "Breach": A clenched and compelling performance as a traitorous FBI officer who shrouds much of himself -- motivations, back story, moral center -- and yet keeps offering intimate glimpses.Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me": An endearing and moving performance from an actor who captures the charisma of a born entertainer.Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": Among the most chilling personifications of evil ever portrayed on the big screen.
Packers, Giants Fans Ready To Take On Cold
The hand warmers that many fans commented on are in high demand but thanks to a corporate donation, they won't be hard to find come game time. Mills Fleet Farm donated 30,000 hand warmers to the Green Bay Packers, and they will be distributed to fans as they enter the gate for Sunday's game. .
TEXT-Fitch release on Eni Spa
Fitch notes that the project is likely to benefit from a strengthening of relationships and the sharing of greater responsibilities with its host country. State intervention in the oil and gas sector has become more frequent in the current high oil price environment, especially in countries where economies rely heavily on royalties and /or taxes and dividends from oil and gas companies. Although the agreement may have a financial impact on the Kashagan project economics, it is difficult to assess the magnitude of it at this stage as the compensation payment structure is linked to oil prices at the start of commercial operations. Additionally, the project was originally conceived in a much lower oil price environment, so any adjustments to the project economics may well be compensated for by a higher price environment.
'Mario Galaxy' shoots for the stars; 'Assassin's Creed' falls a bit ...
Princess Peach wants to see Mario, only the dastardly Bowser comes along and kidnaps her. This time, however, he uses a UFO to pick up the entire castle. Mario, clinging to the edges, gets taken into space and given the boot.When he awakens, Mario is in the presence of Princess Roselina, the guardian of the gate to the heavens, who wants Mario to recover the stars that Bowser stole to pull off his Peach heist. She grants him some star powers of his own to do it.Personally, I think Mario would be better off with Roselina than Peach; at least she isn't constantly getting kidnapped.Anyway, what follows is a game so full of originality and fantastic level design that players will be hard-pressed to find a platformer that does it better.Each galaxy Mario visits is unique, and each planet within each galaxy is different than the one before it.By planet, I mean semi-large spheres.
COMPUTER’S MORE THAN JOEL CAN BEAR
US teams won the women's and senior events and lost in the Bermuda Bowl final. Today's deal caused consternation in the semifinals of every event. Two North-South pairs got to seven hearts, and East had a chance to be a hero by leading the jack of spades. But when East led a trump, South could take the ace and 10 and return to his hand with the king of spades to draw trumps. Three North-Souths reached seven spades, and West led a club: 10, jack, ace. Two declarers then cashed the A-Q of trumps. When East discarded, declarer tried the A-K of hearts, and West ended matters by ruffing. Could you make seven spades? In the Senior Bowl, a Brazilian declarer led a trump to the dummy's king at the second trick (guarding against J-10-7-4 with East) and ran all his trumps.
Hip-Hop Rumors: 50's Arm Ain't Broke! Royce & Fab End B...
There is nowhere to go but up when you start your acting career in a leading role opposite Denzel Washington. Ten films later, Derek Luke is sharing opening credits with legends Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and a man he calls ‘Bob'- director Robert Redford. The United Artist/MGM release Lions for Lambs opens in theatres nationwide tonight [November 9], and Luke plays another strong and driven character, Arian Finch. Consumed by his patriotic duty to put his money where his mouth is, Arian volunteers to go to war. The War on Terrorism is a relevant and especially touchy subject to tackle, yet nothing short of characteristic for Derek Luke's cinematic resumé to date. Derek exudes confidence as he speaks superstars and Jersey swagger. He also claims to be on assignment by his generation, on the rise and at the top, all at the same time.
Silent majority claim Old Trafford has been ‘turned into police ...
At a recent Manchester United home match there was a first-time Old Trafford visitor sitting a few rows in front of the press box. You could tell that he was a first-timer because he wore a look last seen on the face of Charlie Bucket on entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. As the clock ticked down towards kick-off, he joined in the songs being pumped out over the PA system and tried in vain to use his camera to take the perfect photograph against this famous backdrop. He looked as if he was in heaven. Then the match started and a hush fell over the so-called Theatre of Dreams. As he exhorted his fellow supporters to stand and join in his chants, the middle-aged man began to attract a combination of amusement, bemusement and disdain from those sitting around him. Some looked towards a nearby steward, as if to ask what he planned to do with this upstart.
Elling's Short Game
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Pardon the choice of words, but the imagery is of their own making. For Golfweek magazine, the noose tightened on Thursday. One day after the controversial cover artwork on Golfweek became the hottest topic in golf, a top PGA Tour official said that some of its advertising scheduled to run in the publication might be pulled. This week's cover image on the magazine is a hangman's noose, a provocative reference to the live comments uttered on the air Jan. 4 by Golf Channel broadcaster Kelly Tilghman, which caused a firestorm in golf circles. Already this week, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka have expressed either disappointment or outrage at the decision to feature such a controversial and racially sensitive image on one of the game's largest publications.
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