His 'n' Hers by Mike Gayle

A light romp through a couple’s life – today as divorcees and looking back to the 80s to when they met and fell in love.   Written with wry wit and humour, the story is an enlightening read into a man’s mind (if you’re a woman!) and no doubt into a woman’s mind should you be a man!

Jim and Allison meet at University –their first encounter is less than promising – and the first few years the relationship doesn’t progress far at all.  With the end of Uni and changes to those around them though, their relationship moves quickly and soon they share a flat, a cat and their lives.   Life often sends us curveballs though, and Jim & Allison are no exception as they find their relationship shattered and their lives head in different directions.

A few years later with their new lives, they meet and as they remember their former relationship they try and work out where it went wrong and ultimately, is it too late for them.

A good holiday read and worthwhile for the insights into how our other halves think.

Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore

As I’m currently in love with all things Italian (I'll blame the lovely Carla Coulson for encouraging this addiction!), but tending to read heavily in the memoir department, I decided to take a sidewards step when I saw this book recommended on a blog and instead read a novel set in Italy. 

 

Although the story didn’t grab me in the first chapter or so, it didn’t take long to get its hooks into me and I really didn’t want to put it down.  

Written in two time periods – the end of WWII and the swinging sixties/seventies the story takes place in England and Italy.   Starting with an assassination it sets the scene immediately that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

Alba, an extremely attractive young woman in her twenties, who lives for the moment, uses men for sexual companionship and odd-jobs but doesn’t let herself get involved emotionally with any of them, and manages to live on her allowance rather than work.   She lives on her father’s houseboat in London (called the Valentina) and grew up in a comfortably well off family in rural England with her father, Thomas, her stepmother  Margo (“the Buffalo”) and step siblings.   

Apart from knowing her mother  Valentina was Italian and that she died shortly after her birth at the end of WWII, Valentina is a mystery to Alba as she is not a topic of conversation and indeed is never referred to by the family.  In a rather spoilt-brat style, she tries to get her father to impart details about Valentina and squarely lays the blame on her step mother for wiping out her mother’s memory.

In an effort to find out more, her novelist neighbour suggests the use of her literary agent, Fitz, as a pretend boyfriend (who is already in love with her from a distance) as he is the sort of ‘suitable’ young man her family would approve of and her father may indulge more information to another man about the mysterious Valentina.

The information is enough to set Alba to discover more about her mother in Italy – specifically the small village of Incantellaria, on the Amalfi Coast.   In the process of discovering her mother’s story in which she sees some uncomfortable similarities between them both, she learns the value of community, the love of family and we see Alba finally grow up.

The story could have happily ended a number of times in the latter quarter of the book, with a satisfactory “happy” ending, but the author drew it out more and personally I was a little unsettled with the actual ending, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the story overall.

The descriptions of Italy appear very accurate, and you can feel the heat, the dryness and the light of the Amalfi Coast in summer as you read.  The characters were also brought to life with descriptive writing.   I was surprised to learn that the author, Santa Montefiore isn’t Italian, but Argentinian/English and this was her first published novel that was set in Italy.

Overall, an enjoyable romance with enough action, suspense and tragedy to keep the story rolling along.     

69th Annual Golden Globes Awards (2012)

The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, were held at the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, 15 January 2012:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
WINNER : The Descendants (2011)

Other Nominees: The Help (2011); Hugo (2011/II); The Ides of March (2011); Moneyball (2011); War Horse (2011)


Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
WINNER: The Artist (2011)

Other Nominees: Bridesmaids (2011); 50/50 (2011); Midnight in Paris (2011); My Week with Marilyn (2011)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
WINNER: George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Other Nominees:Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (2011); Michael Fassbender for Shame (2011); Ryan Gosling for The Ides of March (2011); Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
WINNER : Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Other Nominees:Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011); Viola Davis for The Help (2011); Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011); Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
WINNER : Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Other Nominees: Brendan Gleeson for The Guard (2011); Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50 (2011); Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011); Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris (2011)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
WINNER : Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Other Nominees: Jodie Foster for Carnage (2011); Charlize Theron for Young Adult (2011); Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids (2011); Kate Winslet for Carnage (2011)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WINNER : Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Other Nominees: Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011); Albert Brooks for Drive (2011); Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011); Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method (2011)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WINNER : Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Other Nominees: Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011); Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011) ; Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011); Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (2011)


Best Director - Motion Picture
WINNER : Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

Other Nominees: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011); George Clooney for The Ides of March (2011); Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011) ; Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)


Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
WINNER : Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius ; The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash ; The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon ; Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
WINNER : W.E. (2011): Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry("Masterpiece")

Other Nominees: Albert Nobbs (2011): Brian Byrne, Glenn Close("Lay Your Head Down"); Gnomeo & Juliet (2011): Elton John, Bernie Taupin("Hello Hello"); The Help (2011): Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas("The Living Proof"); Machine Gun Preacher (2011): Chris Cornell("The Keeper")


Best Original Score - Motion Picture
WINNER : The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

Other Nominees: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross; Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore; War Horse (2011): John Williams; W.E. (2011): Abel Korzeniowski


Best Animated Film
WINNER : The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Other Nominees: Arthur Christmas (2011) ; Cars 2 (2011) ; Puss in Boots (2011) ; Rango (2011)


Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER : A Separation (2011)(Iran)

Other Nominees:The Flowers of War (2011)(China) ; In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)(USA) ; The Kid with a Bike (2011)(Belgium); The Skin I Live In (2011)(Spain)


Best Television Series - Drama
WINNER : "Homeland" (2011)

Other Nominees: "American Horror Story" (2011) ; "Boardwalk Empire" (2010) ; "Boss" (2011); "Game of Thrones" (2011)


Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
WINNER : "Modern Family" (2009)

Other Nominees: "Enlightened" (2011) ; "Episodes" (2011) ; "Glee" (2009) ; "New Girl" (2011)


Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER : "Downton Abbey" (2010)

Other Nominees: Cinema Verite (2011) (TV) ; "The Hour" (2011) ; "Mildred Pierce" (2011); Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
WINNER : Kelsey Grammer for "Boss" (2011)

Other Nominees: Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010) ; Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008); Jeremy Irons for "The Borgias" (2011) ; Damian Lewis for "Homeland" (2011)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
WINNER : Claire Danes for "Homeland" (2011)

Other Nominees: Mireille Enos for "The Killing" (2011) ; Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife" (2009)' Madeleine Stowe for "Revenge" (2011) ; Callie Thorne for "Necessary Roughness" (2011)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
WINNER : Matt LeBlanc for "Episodes" (2011)

Other Nominees: Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006); David Duchovny for Californication" (2007); Johnny Galecki for "The Big Bang Theory" (2007); Thomas Jane for "Hung" (2009)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
WINNER : Laura Dern for "Enlightened" (2011)

Other Nominees: Zooey Deschanel for "New Girl" (2011) ; Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006); Laura Linney for "The Big C" (2010) ; Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation" (2009)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER : Idris Elba for "Luther" (2010)

Other Nominees: Hugh Bonneville for "Downton Abbey" (2010) ; William Hurt for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV); Bill Nighy for Page Eight (2011) (TV) ; Dominic West for "The Hour" (2011)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER : Kate Winslet for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Other Nominees: Romola Garai for "The Hour" (2011) ; Diane Lane for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV); Elizabeth McGovern for "Downton Abbey" (2010) ; Emily Watson for "Appropriate Adult" (2011)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER : Peter Dinklage for "Game of Thrones" (2011)

Other Nominees: Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV); Guy Pearce for "Mildred Pierce" (2011); Tim Robbins for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV) ; Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family" (2009)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER : Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story" (2011)

Other Nominees: Kelly Macdonald for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010); Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey" (2010) ; Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family" (2009); Evan Rachel Wood for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Critics Choice Awards 2012

The results of the Critics Choice Awards for 2012 was announced earlier today. These awards are bestowed by the 250 members of the Broadcast Film Critics' Association and recipients often do well in the Academy Awards.

Best Picture

WINNER : The Artist (2011)

Other Nominees: The Descendants (2011); Drive (2011); Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011); The Help (2011); Hugo (2011/II) ; Midnight in Paris (2011); Moneyball (2011); The Tree of Life (2011); War Horse (2011)


Best Actor

WINNER: George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Other Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (2011); Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011) ; Michael Fassbender for Shame (2011) ; Ryan Gosling for Drive (2011); Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)


Best Actress

WINNER: Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Other Nominees: Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011); Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011); Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011); Charlize Theron for Young Adult (2011); Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)


Best Supporting Actor

WINNER: Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Other Nominees: Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011); Albert Brooks for Drive (2011); Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011); Patton Oswalt for Young Adult (2011); Andy Serkis for Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)


Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Other Nominees: Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011); Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011);Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011); Carey Mulligan for Shame (2011); Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (2011)


Best Acting Ensemble

WINNER: The Help (2011)

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011); Bridesmaids (2011); The Descendants (2011); The Ides of March (2011)


Best Director

WINNER: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)

Other Nominees: Stephen Daldry for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011); Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011); Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive (2011); Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II); Steven Spielberg for War Horse (2011)


Best Original Screenplay

WINNER: Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius; 50/50 (2011): Will Reiser ; Win Win (2011): Thomas McCarthy, Joe Tiboni ; Young Adult (2011): Diablo Cody


Best Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Other Nominees: The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011): Eric Roth ; The Help (2011): Tate Taylor; Hugo (2011/II): John Logan


Best Animated Feature

WINNER: Rango (2011)

Other Nominees: The Adventures of Tintin (2011); Arthur Christmas (2011); Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011); Puss in Boots (2011)


Best Young Actor/Actress

WINNER: Thomas Horn for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

Other Nominees: Asa Butterfield for Hugo (2011/II); Elle Fanning for Super 8 (2011); Ezra Miller for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011); Saoirse Ronan for Hanna (2011); Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (2011)


Best Action Movie

WINNER: Drive (2011)

Other Nominees: Fast & Furious 5 (2011); Hanna (2011); Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011); Super 8 (2011)


Best Comedy Movie

WINNER: Bridesmaids (2011)

Other Nominees: Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011); Horrible Bosses (2011); Midnight in Paris (2011); The Muppets (2011)


Best Foreign Language Film

WINNER: A Separation (2011)

Other Nominees: In Darkness (2011); Le Havre (2011); The Skin I Live In (2011); Where Do We Go Now? (2011)


Best Documentary Feature

WINNER: George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)

Other Nominees:Buck (2011); Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010); Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011); Project Nim (2011); Undefeated (2011)


Best Song

WINNER: The Muppets (2011): Bret McKenzie("Life's a Happy Song")

Other Nominees: Gnomeo & Juliet (2011): Elton John, Bernie Taupin("Hello Hello"); The Help (2011): Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.("The Living Proof"); The Muppets (2011): Bret McKenzie("Man or Muppet"); The Muppets (2011): Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, Chen Neeman("Pictures in My Head")


Best Score

WINNER: The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

Other Nominees: Drive (2011): Cliff Martinez; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross ; Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore ; War Horse (2011): John Williams


Best Cinematography

WINNERS: The Tree of Life (2011): Emmanuel Lubezki; War Horse (2011): Janusz Kaminski

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011): Guillaume Schiffman; Drive (2011): Newton Thomas Sigel; Hugo (2011/II): Robert Richardson


Best Art Direction

WINNER: Hugo (2011/II): Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011): Laurence Bennett, Gregory S. Hooper ; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan ; The Tree of Life (2011): Jack Fisk, David Crank ; War Horse (2011): Rick Carter, Lee Sandales


Best Editing

WINNER: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

Other Nominees: The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius, Anne-Sophie Bion; Drive (2011): Matthew Newman ; Hugo (2011/II): Thelma Schoonmaker ; War Horse (2011): Michael Kahn


Best Costume Design

WINNER: The Artist (2011): Mark Bridges

Other Nominees: The Help (2011): Sharen Davis ; Hugo (2011/II): Sandy Powell ; Jane Eyre (2011): Michael O'Connor ; My Week with Marilyn (2011): Jill Taylor


Best Makeup

WINNER: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Other Nominees: ; Albert Nobbs (2011); The Iron Lady (2011); J. Edgar (2011); My Week with Marilyn (2011)


Best Visual Effects

WINNER: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Other Nominees: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011); Hugo (2011/II); Super 8 (2011); The Tree of Life (2011)


Best Sound

WINNER: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Other Nominees: Hugo (2011/II); Super 8 (2011); The Tree of Life (2011); War Horse (2011)