36th London Critics Circle Film Awards Announced; "Mad Max: Fury Road" Named Best Film

The London Critics’ Circle Film Section is part of a larger organization, The Critics’ Circle, which makes an annual award for Services to the Arts.  This circle is comprised of the five sections:  dance, drama, film, music, and visual arts.

The London Critics’ Circle Film Section announced nominations for its 36th annual film awards on December 15, 2015.  The winners were announced Sunday, January 17, 2016 at The May Fair Hotel.  Kenneth Branagh received the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

2016 / 36th London Critics' Circle Film Awards – winners (for the year in film 2015):

FILM OF THE YEAR: Mad Max: Fury Road

BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR: 45 Years

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR: The Look of Silence (Denmark)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR: Amy

ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Courtenay — 45 Years

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Charlotte Rampling — 45 Years

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Mark Rylance — Bridge of Spies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Kate Winslet — Steve Jobs

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: George Miller — Mad Max: Fury Road

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy — Spotlight

BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Hardy — Legend, London Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant

BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Saoirse Ronan — Brooklyn, Lost River

YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Maisie Williams — The Falling

PHILIP FRENCH AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER: John Maclean — Slow West

BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR: Stutterer — Benjamin Cleary

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ed Lachman, cinematography — Caro

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Kenneth Branagh

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2016 Critics Choice Awards Announced; "Spotlight" Named Best Picture of 2015

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada.  It represents almost 300 television, radio and online critics. For additional information about the BFCA and their memberships, visit www.criticschoice.com.

The winners for the 21st Critics’ Choice Awards were announced Sunday, January 17, 2016.

The 2016 / 21st Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards – winners (for the year in film, 2015):

BEST PICTURE: Spotlight

BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson – Room

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone – Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay – Room

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: Spotlight

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson

BEST EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out

BEST ACTION MOVIE: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST COMEDY: The Big Short

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale – The Big Short

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer – Trainwreck

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Ex Machina

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul (Hungary)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy

BEST SONG: Furious 7 – “See You Again”

BEST SCORE: The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone

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Review: "Furious 7" is Furious and Bittersweet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review first appeared on Patreon.]

Furious 7 (2015)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hour, 17 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: James Wan
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, and Michael Fottrell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon and Marc Spicer
EDITORS: Christian Wagner, Leigh Folsom Boyd, Dylan Highsmith, and Kirk Morri
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, Lucas Black, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Brotherton, Tony Jaa, Ali Fazal, Ronda Rousey, Iggy Azalea, Sarah Sohn, Noel Gugliemi, T-Pain, Luke Evans, and Sung Kang

Furious 7 is a 2015 action movie from director James Wan and released by Universal Pictures.  It is the seventh installment in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise.  Furious 7 is set after the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but follows the events of Fast & Furious 6.  In Furious 7, a new enemy seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family.

Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), and their friends are trying to live a normal life, but that is a bit more complicated than they imagined.  Dom is troubled that his longtime girlfriend and ride-or-die chick, Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), is having trouble regaining her memories.  Brian struggles with domestic life as a husband to Mia (Jordana Brewster), who is also Dom's sister, and as a father to their small son, Jack.

Meanwhile, trouble is brewing overseas.  Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the older brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), swears revenge against Dom and his racers who defeated Owen (in Fast & Furious 6), leaving him in a coma.  Deckard infiltrates the DSS (Diplomatic Security Service) office in Los Angeles to get information on Dom and company.  In the process, Deckard severely injures Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who brought Dom and his race team into his hunt for Owen Shaw.

After Deckard launches a series of attacks on his friends and family, Dom reunites Brian, Letty, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), to find Deckard.  They get help from Frank Petty (Kurt Russell) a.k.a. “Mr Nobody,” the leader of a covert ops team.  However, Deckard finds an ally in Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou), a mercenary and terrorist who leads a private military company.  Now, all parties are chasing Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), a computer hacktivist and her creation, God's Eye.

One cannot talk about Furious 7 without making note of the death of actor Paul Walker in November of 2013.  Walker and Vin Diesel were the face of The Fast and the Furious franchise.  Walker was only half-finished with the scenes he needed to film for Furious 7 when he died.  Stand-ins for Paul, including his brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, and the judicious application of computer-generated imagery were used to finish the rest of Walker's scenes.

Other than for a few scenes and some dialogue/audio, I could not tell the difference between Paul and the Paul stand-ins.  Besides, Furious 7 is so full of over-the-top, eye-popping, and breath-taking action scenes and sequences that my focus was on taking it all in and not on detecting real-Paul vs. faux-Paul.  Yes, Paul's death hangs over Furious 7, but not in a morbid way.  This film is a celebration of the work for which Walker is best known and for which he will be best remembered.

I do find Furious 7 to be a little too long, but there is no point in talking about the art of filmmaking when it comes to Furious 7.  Yes, it is well acted, surprisingly so.  James Wan seems superfluous as director; any of the three directors who have helmed previous installments of this franchise could have directed this film.  The script is half well-written, in terms of drama, and half-ridiculous, as the screenplay for a movie like Furious 7 must be.

When talking about Furious 7, we must talk about the action.  I loved the Predator drone; the multi-million dollar sports car driven through three skyscrapers; the Caucasus Mountains sequence that begins with five vehicles dropped from an airplane; the Tony Jaa-Paul Walker fights; and the awesome Dwayne Johnson-Jason Statham fisticuffs, to name a few.  This is not a great film, but it is fast and furious.  So why let Furious 7 be the last one?  Keep 'em coming.

6 of 10
B

Friday, October 30, 2015


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Central Ohio Film Critics Name "Spotlight" Best Film of 2015

The Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA) was founded in 2002 and is made up of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio, and the surrounding areas.  Its membership currently consists of more than 21 print, radio, television, and new media critics.  Each January, COFCA votes on a number of awards, recognizing excellence in the film industry.

The 14th Annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 2015, were announced on January 7, 2016.

2015 / 14th Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards – winners:

Best Film
   1. Spotlight
   2. Inside Out
   3. Room
   4. Mad Max: Fury Road
   5. Ex Machina
   6. Sicario
   7. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
   8. The Revenant
   9. The Big Short
  10. The Martian

Best Director
  • Tom McCarthy - (Spotlight)
  • Runner-Up: George Miller - (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor
  • Leonardo DiCaprio - (The Revenant)
  • Runner-Up: Michael Fassbender - (Steve Jobs)

Best Actress
  • Brie Larson - (Room)
  • Runner-Up (tie): Saoirse Ronan - (Brooklyn)
  • Runner-Up (tie): Alicia Vikander - (The Danish Girl)

Best Supporting Actor
  • Benicio Del Toro - (Sicario)
  • Runner-Up: Oscar Isaac - (Ex Machina)

Best Supporting Actress
  • Alicia Vikander - (Ex Machina)
  • Runner-Up: Jennifer Jason Leigh - (The Hateful Eight)

Best Ensemble
  • Spotlight
  • Runner-Up: The Hateful Eight

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
  • Alicia Vikander - (Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Seventh Son, and Testament of Youth)
  • Runner-Up: Domhnall Gleeson - (Brooklyn, Ex Machina, The Revenant, and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens)

Breakthrough Film Artist
  • Alicia Vikander - (Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Seventh Son, and Testament of Youth) - (for acting)
  • Runner-Up: Sean Baker - (Tangerine) - (for producing, directing, screenwriting, film editing, cinematography, camera op)

Best Cinematography
  • Emmanuel Lubezki - (The Revenant)
  • Runner-Up: John Seale - (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Film Editing
  • Margaret Sixel - (Mad Max: Fury Road)
  • Runner-Up: Joe Walker - (Sicario)

Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Charles Randolph and Adam McKay - (The Big Short)
  • Runner-Up: Emma Donoghue - (Room)

Best Original Screenplay
  • Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy - (Spotlight)
  • Runner-Up: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley - (Inside Out)

Best Score
  • Ennio Morricone - (The Hateful Eight)
  • Runner-Up: Junkie XL - (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Documentary
  • The Look of Silence
  • Runner-Up: Amy

Best Foreign Language Film
  • Phoenix
  • Runner-Up: Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes)

Best Animated Film
  • Inside Out
  • Runner-Up: Anomalisa

Best Overlooked Film
  • The Tribe (Plemya)
  • Runner-Up: The Gift

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Dark Horse Comics Announces "House of Penance"

TOMASI & BERTRAM INVITE YOU TO THE "HOUSE OF PENANCE"

A story about guilt, ghosts, and guns

MILWAUKIE, OR—This spring, Dark Horse Comics is set to publish a historical tale of horror from New York Times best-selling author Peter Tomasi (Batman and Robin, Green Lantern) and artist Ian Bertram (Bowery Boys).

House of Penance is a horrific take on the true story of the Winchester haunted house and one woman’s mission to wash away the blood curse of the Winchester rifle that threatens to claim her own life and soul.

The Winchester house is famous for its original owner’s bizarre compulsion to incorporate in it a multitude of architectural curiosities. But as the bereaved Sarah Winchester’s workers toil on stairways to nothing and doors to nowhere, a mysterious stranger arrives . . . and he could make Sarah’s demons all too real.

"The journey that Sarah makes while building the house is intense and scary, and all the horrible things that put her there are going to be revealed during the course of the six issues along with the story of Peck, the gunfighter who goes looking for absolution under the strangest roof he could ever stumble upon," said Peter Tomasi in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly.

In this House of Leaves meets Blood Meridian tale of how fortune brings misfortune, a grim and determined woman oversees the construction of a house twenty-four hours a day for twenty years with a simple motto: “keep busy building or get busy dying.”

House of Penance #1 (of 6) is in stores April 13, 2016,

Praise for Peter Tomasi’s House of Penance:

“Tomasi and Bertram have crafted something truly special with this book.”—Scott Snyder (Wytches)

“House of Penance is hypnotic, disturbing and mysterious in all the right ways.”—Jeff Lemire (Descender)

“House of Penance by Tomasi and Bertram is a terrifying delight. It’s like eating the world’s most delicious peach and finding a live tarantula inside. One of the best new books I’ve read in years.”—Gail Simone (Leaving Megalopolis)

“Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram make you want to sleep with the lights on after reading this tale of horror and dread that wraps you around the throat and doesn’t let go.”—Geoff Johns (Justice League)

“Tomasi and Bertram have built something compelling and unsettling in House of Penance—it’s a nasty piece of work that gets me excited.”—Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets)

“Tomasi and Bertram. I couldn’t put it down!”—Mark Waid (Kingdom Come)


About Peter Tomasi
Peter Tomasi, formerly a group editor at DC Comics helped usher in new eras for Batman with Grant Morrison and Green Lantern with Geoff Johns, he also initiated incredibly successful special projects like Kingdom Come and JSA All-Stars with Michael Chabon.  Many of Tomasi’s books appeared on the New York Times best-seller lists, such as Nightwing, Black Adam, Emerald Warriors, The Outsiders, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, and critically acclaimed creator-owned projects Light Brigade and The Mighty.

About Ian Bertram
A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, artist Ian Bertram was chosen as the Best New Talent of 2011 by Comicbookjesus.com, and selected to the Society of Illustrators 2012 Student Scholarship Competition. His work has appeared in the anthology magazine INK, the Detective Comics #27 anniversary special, and Batman Eternal from DC Comics. He has been a featured artist at the Greenpoint Gallery and the 30 Rooms art gathering. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

About Dark Horse Comics
Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers.

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Amazon Offers "Mozart in the Junge" Free This Weekend

In Celebration of Golden Globe Wins, Amazon is Making All Episodes from Seasons One and Two of Mozart in the Jungle Free to Watch – No Membership Required

Starting Friday January 15, at 9:00 p.m. PT and concluding at 11:59 p.m. local time, Sunday January 17, everyone can watch Mozart in the Jungle for free via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/mozartinthejungle

Amazon will also offer Amazon Prime for just $73 starting this Friday at 9:00 p.m. PT in celebration of its wins at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon announced that in celebration of its two Golden Globe wins, it will make seasons one and two of the Amazon Original Series, Mozart in the Jungle available for free for everyone this weekend. Anyone can watch the first and second season of Mozart in the Jungle at no cost starting Friday January 15, 2016, at 9:00 p.m. PT and concluding at 11:59 p.m. local time, Sunday January 17, 2016, using the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/mozartinthejungle. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream. Also starting Friday January 15, at 9:00 p.m. PT and concluding at 11:59 p.m. local time, Sunday January 17, and in celebration of Mozart in the Jungle’s multiple wins at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Amazon Prime will be available for just $73. New members can sign-up for this limited-time Prime offer at www.amazon.com/MozartPrime.

    “What an incredible honor to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press two years in a row”

Mozart in the Jungle took home the 2016 Golden Globe award for Best Musical or Comedy Series, while its lead star, Gael García Bernal, earned the coveted title of Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series. This year’s win marks four total Golden Globe awards for Amazon, following last year’s double win for Transparent in the same categories, and also makes Amazon the first network in a decade to win Best Musical or Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series in back-to-back years for different shows.

“What an incredible honor to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press two years in a row,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “We are incredibly proud of Gael, Jason, Roman, Paul and everyone involved in the making of Mozart in the Jungle – it’s gratifying and exciting to see the success of this series.”

Based on the critically acclaimed memoir Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs & Classical Music by Blair Tindall, the multi-award winning Amazon Original Series, Mozart in the Jungle draws back the curtain at the New York Symphony, where artistic dedication and creativity collide with mind games, politicking and survival instincts. The series is executive produced by Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom), Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited) and Paul Weitz (About a Boy) and stars Gael Garcia Bernal (Rosewater), Saffron Burrows (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Hannah Dunne (Frances Ha), Lola Kirke (Gone Girl), Malcolm McDowell (The Mentalist), Peter Vack (I Just Want My Pants Back) and Bernadette Peters (Smash).

In addition to SD and HD, the series is also available in 4K Ultra HD on Amazon Fire TV and compatible Samsung, LG and Sony smart TVs and in High Dynamic Range (HDR) on compatible Samsung and LG smart TVs. Prime members can also download the series for offline viewing on iOS, Android, and Fire devices at no additional cost.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video offers customers unlimited access to tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, through Amazon Prime; monthly subscriptions to SHOWTIME, STARZ, and more; and hundreds of thousands of titles including new-release movies and current TV shows for rent or purchase.

The entire range of selection can be instantly accessed through the Amazon Video app on TVs, streaming media players, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online at Amazon.com/amazonvideo. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.

Prime Video, included in Amazon Prime, enables Prime members to enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as the multi-Golden Globe winning series from Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, Mozart in the Jungle, the multi-Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated series Transparent, the breakout hit The Man in the High Castle, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, the hour-long drama Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, and the comedy created by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Girls, and popular primetime series including 24, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, and Under the Dome. Prime members also have access to an exclusive collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series’ Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues. Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/primevideo.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 10th to 16th, 2016 - Update #64

Support Leroy on Patreon.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Disney is interested in the story of TCU quarterback, Bram Kohlhausen, and his heroics at the recent Alamo Bowl.

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TV - From RollingStone:  Tracy Morgan will return to television in a series written by Jordan Peele of "Key & Peele."

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OSCARS:  From EW:  Will Packer, one of the producers of "Straight Outta Compton," calls this year's Oscar nominations embarrassing.

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OBIT - From YahooTV:  The actor, Dan Haggerty, has died (Friday, January 15, 2016).  Haggerty was best known for his starring role on the television series, "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams."

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CULTURE - From BET:  Kendrick Lamar met President Barack Obama.

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TRAILER - From YouTube:  Debut trailer of "10 Cloverfield Lane."

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TV - From  MyPinkFriday:  James Corden and Adele in car - rapping Nicki Minaj.

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TV - From TheWrap:  USA picks up Gale Anne Hurd's "Falling Waters."

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TV - From YahooTV:   Adam Lambert added to FOX's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" remake, set to debut Fall 2016.

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POLITICS - From RSN:  Bitter, losing judge strikes back at winning attorney via payment.

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OBIT:  From TheGuardian:  The actor, Alan Rickman, died Thursday, January 14, 2016, at the age of 69.  He was a giant of the British stage and screen.  He was best known for his roles in Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and in the Harry Potter films ("Professor Snape").  I offer my condolences to his family.  R.I.P. Alan.  I love you, man.

From IMDb:  An Alan Rickman photo gallery.

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OSCARS - From YahooTV:  2016 Oscar nominations - full list

From Deadline:  Nominees respond to receiving 2016 Oscar nods; my favorite is Ennio Morricone who received a nomination for score for "The Hateful Eight."

From YahooMovies:  Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs is frustrated.

From WaPo:  8 great choices... if Oscars-were-so-white.

From YahooMovies:  Ice Cube says he is OK with it (lack of noms for "Straight Outta Compton").

From YahooMovies:  2016 Oscar snubs and surprises.

From EW:  Jennifer Jason Leigh reflects on first Oscar nominations.

From YahooMovies:  Another Oscar record for Jennifer Lawrence.

From Deadline:  More on 2016 Oscar snubs.

From InContention:  Variety's "In Contention" announces its final Oscar nomination predictions.  The nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, Thursday, Jan. 14th.

From GoldDerby:  Their Oscar predictions, both nominations AND wins.

From ThePlaylist:  They offer their Oscar nominations predictions.

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MOVIES:  From ThePlaylist:  "The Chronicles of Narnia" film franchise will be restarted or rebooted.  I look forward to it.  I really like "Prince Caspian" and "Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

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CULTURE - From Deadspin:  Behind the photo that changed the Boston Marathon forever.

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FILMS - From DGA:  2016 Directors Guild Award nominations have been announced.

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COMICS -  From DenofGeek:  Ryan Coogler confirmed by Marvel as helmsman of their "Black Panther" film, scheduled for 2018.

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COMICS -  From ThePlaylist:  67 characters confirmed to appear in the "Avengers: Infinity War" films.

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POLITICS -  From NYT:  Barack Obama: "Guns are our shared responsibility."

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CULTURE - From NYDailyNews:  Teacher fired over her "Central Park Five" lesson plan.

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POLITICS - From EcoWatch:  Ever heard of "welfare ranching?" Seems it is related to the armed occupation at Malheur federal wildlife preserve in Oregon.

From RollingStone:  Matt Taibbi on the Malheur stand-off.

From Gizmodo:  Did you know that Oregon was founded as a white racist utopia?

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TRAILERS - From YouTube:  International trailer for "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  "Creed" sequel due November 2017.

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CULTURE - From RollingStone:  El Chapo Speaks by Sean Penn.

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MOVIES -  From Variety:  Darren Aronofsky - Jennifer Lawrence film lands at Paramount.

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MOVIES -  From Variety:  There is a shit list... I mean short list for the role of Han Solo in spin-off movie.

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MOVIES - From RSN:  A very bad idea in Oregon.

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POLITICS - From RSN:  Now, there is sympathy from Republicans for drug addicts.

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SPORTS - TheWashPost:   NCAA exploits unpaid labor of Black athletes.

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COMICS -  From CinemaBlend:  New "Batman vs. Superman" TV clip.

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SPORTS -  From NFL:  Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, believed to have a strained AC joint.

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OBIT - From TheWrap: Singer, songwriter, recording artist, actor, artist, and more - David Bowie died on Sunday, January 10, 2016.  He had apparently been battling cancer for 18 months.  I woke up this morning wondering why the network news readers were talking about his new album...  I send condolences to Bowie's family.  R.I.P. Thin White Duke

OBIT - From IMDb:  A David Bowie photo gallery.

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MOVIES -  From BET:  Black stars at the Golden Globes.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Denzel Washington speechless at receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

MOVIES: From YahooNews:  See Leo's reaction to his "brush" with Lady Gaga.

Golden Globe winners in select categories:

• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Kate Winslet for "Steve Jobs"
• Best Original Score - Motion Picture: "The Hateful Eight" - Ennio Morricone
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Matt Damon for "The Martian"
• Best Animated Film: "Inside Out"
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Sylvester Stallone for "Creed"
• Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: "Steve Jobs" - Aaron Sorkin
• Best Foreign Language Film: Saul fia ("Son of Saul") from Hungary
• Best Original Song - Motion Picture: "Writing's On The Wall" written by Sam Smith and James Napier from the movie "Spectre"
• Best Director - Motion Picture: Alejandro González Iñárritu for "The Revenant"
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama: Taraji P. Henson for "Empire"
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence for "Joy"
• Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: "The Martian"
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Brie Larson for "Room"
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Revenant"
• Best Motion Picture - Drama: "The Revenant"

MOVIES - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/8 to 1/10/2016 weekend box office is "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with an estimated take of $41.6 million.  "The Revenant" with Leonardo DiCaprio finished second with $38 million.

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From GoldDerby:  A Golden Globe categories and the presenters for each category.

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MOVIES - YahooTV:  Although he is nominated in two categories, Idris Elba has been ordered by his doctor not to attend tonight's Golden Globes.

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COMICS:  From Diamond:  Here are the books and merchandise scheduled to be in comic book shops on Wednesday, Jan. 13th, 2016.

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MOVIES: From Negromancer:  2016 Golden Globe nominations.

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MOVIES: From Variety:  The Revenant and "The Force Awakens" are locked in a battle to be the weekend's #1 film.

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POLITICS - From ThinkProgress:  Poor residents had to have sex with Baltimore public housing officials in order to get basic repairs.

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MOVIES - TheVillageVoice:  An article about IFC's retrospective on the films of Charlotte Rampling.

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POLITICS - TheVillageVoice:  Donald Trump's toy facism.

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BLM - From TheWashPost:  The police officer who arrested Sandra Bland has been indicted on a perjury charge and will be fire.

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POLITICS - From MichaelMoore:  Gov. Rick Snyder should be impeached at the very least.

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BLM:  From TheWashPost:  Cleveland school police officer or resource officer attack Tamir Rice's mother via his Facebook posts and is now the subject of an investigation.

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From TheVillageVoice:  Former Ohio prosecutor talks about her Tamir Rice rant.

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CULTURE - From YahooMusic:  More on the saga of Marie Holmes, the Powerball winner, who has spent millions to keep her drug-dealing baby daddy, Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow, out of jail.

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TRAILER - From YouTube:  First trailer for new film starring Matthew McConaughey, "Free State of Jones."