Best Picture – The Hurt Locker

Avatar was never really a serious contender. Let’s face it, no matter how good it was, a Sci-fi blockbuster isn’t the sort of film that wins best picture Oscar. The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow set two records – one for being the first woman to pick up best director award and the other for being responsible for the lowest grossing best picture in history.

However, Avatar didn’t leave empty handed, picking up three Oscars for visual effects, cinematography and art direction.

Best Actor – Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

Best Actress – Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side

Best Supporting Actor – Cristophe Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique for Precious

So how did we do at Sparkle with our predictions?

With only Sandra Bullock confounding us, we got a respectable 4 out of 5 gongs spot on.

On the 7^th of January the Royal Mail issued ten stamps which celebrate British album artwork.

Among the stamps are Mike Oldfield´s Tubular Bells, David Bowie´s glam masterpiece Ziggy Stardust and Coldplay´s a Rush of Blood to the Head.

I would love to receive any letters with these stamps attached. I´m a little surprised that Pink Floyds The Division Bell was issued instead of The Dark Side of the Moon but overall great choices.

The full list is,

The Clash, London Calling,

Led Zeppelin, IV

Primal Scream, Screamadelica

Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells

Coldplay, A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Blur, Parklife

The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed

Pink Floyd, The Division Bell

New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies

David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust

I also would have loved to have seen The Sex Pistols God Save the Queen as a stamp. How cool would this have been…?

What album or single artwork would you like to see on a postage stamp?

First of all let me just tell you that I’m a HUGE fan of Marian Keyes.  I have read all her books, read every* interview, I make sure I see any telly programme she appears on and I subscribe to her monthly blog.  Have I convinced you yet?  If not, then you should also know that I always buy her books in hardback as soon as they’re released, because I’m just not willing to wait until the paperback lands in the supermarket for 3 quid (Your local book shop needs YOU).

Keyes’ new book The Brightest Star in the Sky is beautifully presented, all spangle and sparkle with its shiny gold and pink cover, girly in the extreme.  But be warned, it doesn’t exactly ‘do what it says on the tin.’  If you’ve read any of her books before you’ll know that this standard form and that each book has dark depths within its pages.  You would also agree to go on a protest march (in the style of Father Ted and Dougal, bearing signs with the words: DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING, plastered across them) against the view that this is “just chick-lit”. Yes it is “lit” and it her books certainly do contain “chicks”.  However, this cap just does not fit or if this is chick-lit, then everything else I’ve read in that genre is seriously sub-standard.  She says her books are “a comedy about something serious”.  So I’m sticking with that.

Rachel’s Holiday takes us into the world of drug and alcohol addiction, the trauma of going through rehab and how this affects the sufferer’s family. This Charming Man tackles domestic abuse and its presence in all walks of life.  Anybody Out There? is about coping with the heartbreaking death of a much loved partner, the grief, the guilt and the anger at being the one left behind.

You’d think all of these books would be miserable and as hard as hell to read – here is where the magic of Marian Keyes comes in.   All of her work is hilarious, I’m talking laugh out loud, and possibly do a little wee, funny.  When tackling the dark bits no punches are pulled, they’re hard hitting and sometimes disturbing.

“Okay, so this doesn’t exactly sound like a laugh a minute, but in my experience the best comedy is rooted in darkness. All ten of my books are different but share a common theme of people who are In The Bad Place, and who achieve some form of redemption. I’ve been In The Bad Place myself many’s the time, which wasn’t very pleasant while it was happening but has since come in very handy for writing about it.” – Marian Keyes

Her ‘heroes’ and ‘heroines’ are lovable and realistic characters, portrayed in such a way that you feel as though you’re walking along side them during the story.  The ‘villains’ are suitably heinous and just as in life it is not always immediately obvious who is the baddie.  As Marian Keyes casts her magical story telling spell the pages really do turn themselves.

The main focus of her books tends to be strong females who manage to triumph over some of the worst circumstances that life can hurl at you.  Yet, I’ve a very strong feeling that this is not why people look to her as an inspirational woman – nor is it the fact the she is a best-selling millionaire with an adoring husband.  I think it has more to do with the fact that she is so open about her severe clinical depression and her daily struggle with alcoholism.  These conditions are rife in our society yet we’re not entirely comfortable with the possibility of being both a ‘super-achiever’ and a ‘struggler’.

She finds life hard going, yet she is here – alive if not always kicking, but when she does kick it’s with both boots!  Her strengths are there for all to see, she’s funny, clever, sexy, successful and yet she’s breaking ‘celebrity’ form by being honest about her not-so-great-side.  In a recent interview in The Independent she says, “I write for me and I need to feel hopeful about the human condition”, a message that shines through all her books loud and clear.

If you fancy a giggle, follow this link to the ‘Life According to Marian Keyes’ videos.  Here you’ll hear her comical observations on several subjects such as plastic surgery, losing your passport and saying goodbye after a dinner party. I really like the one called ‘The Credit Crunch’ – save money on therapy, get it free by “manufacturing a spurious fight with your mother about…gravy or slippers…anything and just have a good auld mad, auld ranty, auld shout…that’ll get rid of loads of frustration…and the thing is, she’ll have to forgive because she’s your mother.”  Hmmm, I don’t think I’ll be trying this one anytime soon though.

Pop back in few of days to read my book review of The Brightest Star in the Sky.

* Disclaimer:  As Marian Keyes books are published in 37 languages it’s only fair to tell you that I haven’t read “every” interview, I’m using this word with poetic license – my grasp of the German and Vietnamese languages is not what it was in my previous lives

Marina & the Diamonds, Family Jewels 2010
Listening to this album is an absolute joy; it´s pop with an edge.
Remember when you first heard Parallel Lines by Blondie or Dare by The Human League? This album has given me the same feeling.
It contains fantastic songs with many vocal inflections such as the underrated Lene Lovich, Hazel O´Connor and Kate Bush
Highlights from the album include Mowglii´s Road with its frantic beat, Girls “ look like a girl but I think like a guy” on both tracks Marina sounds Like Lene Lovich.

Hermit the Frog’s a fun tune where she sings “Did you find your bitch in me?” it also has an interesting arrangement. The single I Am Not A Robot is a lovely song and Guilty is another fabulous, darker song.
There are so many potential singles here you are spoilt for choice. The only down side is the track Hollywood – which is now a single which is just so damn catchy and which I have a love/hate relationship with.
I love this album, pure pop but with something more mysterious within.
Sparkle Rating, 8 out of 10

Lonelady Nerve Up 2010
It´s refreshing to hear a new girl singer not jumping on the electro 80´s band wagon and delivering a darker lo-fi sound to her music.
Lonelady-aka Julie Campbell- has an album which wears her influences on her sleeve with `post punk bands Gang of Four, Magazine and Johnny Lydon’s PIL but with a commercial pop feel.
Album highlights are If Not Now which is quietly infectious and Intuition which verges on indie disco with its structure not unlike Devo.
Marble is just a brilliant song which, if released as a single, could break this album into the mainstream with its simple electronic touches.
A very good debut album which just grows and grows.
Sparkle Rating 8 out of 10

Massive Attack, Heligoland 2010
This is their fifth album and has taken seven years to follow the disappointing 100th Window.
As usual there are many guest vocalists on the album. These include Martina Topley -Bird, Damon Albarn, Hope Scandle, Tunde Adehimne and Gus Garvey.
The album starts with the wonderful Pray for Time which is a real slow burner, along the way we have Psyche which is their most commercial song for years, and the two collaborations with Blur´s Damon Albarn, the best being Saturday Come Slow – a real treat.
The standout track from the album has a haunting vocal from Elbow´s Gus Garvey “I´m not good in a crowd, I´ve got skills I can’t speak of” and then he later sings “things I´ve seen will chase me to the grave” making Flat Of Brave an altogether unnerving track.
Other songs that deserve a mention are Atlas Air with its almost glam beat giving a much needed lift to the album and Paradise Circus with Hope Sandoval on vocals.
Many have copied Massive Attack over the years; listening to this album makes you realize why. At times here they show they can still be ahead of their game.

Sparkle Rating 7 out of 10

Four Tet, There is Love in You 2010
There Is Love is much more accessible than their previous efforts and is one of those albums which you could so easily lose yourself in.
The album opens with the hypnotic sounds of electronic bleeps and blips with an angelic voice repeatedly singing -there is love in you –exquisite.
Other songs of note are This Unfolds in which on repeated listens you can follow its contrasting layered sounds, and Love Cry which builds into an almost trance like track with an under belly synth sound which I love.
She Just Loves to Fight is a lovely come down instrumental that closes the album perfectly giving way to the feeling of calm and serenity from this accessible electronic experimental album.
Sparkle Rating 7 out of 10

Hurts, Wonderful Life EP.2010
Not a full blown album, but as I have been championing this band for some time now I´d like to review this EP.
Hopefully you will be familiar with the excellent Wonderful Life which is such a gorgeous synth-pop tune that deserves to be a massive hit. The EP also has a great Arthur Baker remix of the single and you really should catch the excellent video which accompanies the song.
Other tracks included are Blood, Tears & Gold which is an atmospheric big ballad pure angst pop, and Silver Lining which has a harder industrial edge.

The final two tracks include the luxuriously produced Unspoken which is an engaging tune which would make a fine single and Illuminated which is a grandiose/dramatic song –just marvelous.
Sparkle Rating 8 out of 10

Here are Sparkle’s movie recommendations for mad March hares.

Beautifully Bizarre – Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp work their trippy magic on Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Nobody plays nutty characters with as much relish as Johnny Depp and with Helena Bonham Carter and her oversized head and Alan Rickman supporting, this promises to be a truly gorgeous wonderland…all in 3D.

Love in a Bottle – Crazy Heart
Jeff Bridges is Oscar winning outstanding as a world weary country and western singer who may just find love and redemption if he can swim his way out of a whisky bottle towards single mum reporter Maggie Gyllenhaal. A simple tale beautifully told and acted, with great music courtesy of T Bone Burnett.

What the Hell’s Going on? – Shutter Island
Just like Martin Scorcese’s leading man and favourite actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, you’ll need to keep your wits about you to keep up with the mysterious happenings on Shutter Island. Two U.S. Marshals head to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a murderess…and then everything goes all Hitchcock on them. Things might not be quite as they seem.

Isn’t Love Funny? – I Love You Philip Morris
If you like your comedy like espresso coffee – dark and sharp, Jim Carrey’s gay conman in love with Ewan McGregor just might be one of the funniest films you’ll see this year. Jim Carrey does what he does best, but is also surprisingly touching as well; however, don’t expect Brokeback Mountain with gay cons instead of gay cowboys.

Jason Bourne is Back – Green Zone
He isn’t really, but Matt Damon’s soldier searching for proof of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is damn close. Especially when, after he asks one too many awkward questions, he finds himself under attack from all sides. And it’s directed by The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum’s Paul Greengrass. An adrenalin charged ride perfect for sating the appetite of those of us missing our Bourne hit.

The Luck of the Irish – Ondine
The luck in this particular case is with Colin Farrell’s sailor who nets a mysterious and beautiful half-naked girl who may or may not be a selkie (a sort of Irish mermaid). It might not be as deep as the waters where Colin Farrell casts his nets, but it is full of loveable Irish charm.

Other hot flicks to look out for are the life on the indie circuit tale 1234; the ‘leave the lights on after this one’ shocker, The House of the Devil; Sandra Bullock’s true-life inspired The Blindside and the wonderfully titled Swedish mystery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Another to look out for is Legion starring Paul Bettany as an angel trying to help humankind survive a God ordered apocalypse…this time the reason to look out for it is so that you can give it a serious body swerve. Truly shocking in the worst sense, God probably would declare war on Earth if he was forced to sit through this.

I remember my first trip to a Third World country as if it was yesterday; it was to Sri Lanka in 1990. From the moment I stepped outside the aircraft to see hundreds of Sri Lankans perched in the branches of the trees that surrounded the military compound of the airport, to the moment I stepped back onto the aircraft steps, virtually nothing was familiar to me.
To begin with I found the experience disconcerting, but a good sleep and a perfect pot of Broken Orange Pekoe tea later I was exhilarated and ready to explore.

Since then, I have travelled much of the world, always setting out with a map and a guide book to explore the surroundings, taking local transport to nearby towns and villages and booking directly with locals as guides whenever possible.

But the odd thing is, in all my world travels, the place that felt most foreign to me was France!
And that was for one simple reason. Wherever I’ve been in the world, I have found that most people understand and will speak English; the Caribbean, the Far East, the US, much of Europe etc. But not France. In France they speak French and expect you to do the same. And why not? So they should. After all, how many of us when asked directions by a visitor from France, Italy or Spain would be able to respond in one of those native tongues? My money’s on “not many”.
My schoolgirl French was decidedly faltering on that trip but I managed to get by and my confidence grew as time went on and I was forced to dig deeper and deeper into my memory to dust off vocabulary and accents.

But nevertheless – there it is.

For me, the reason it felt so foreign was because I couldn’t communicate very well with those around me and therefore felt alien and stupid much of the time. Despite the familiarity of the landscapes, the food markets, the advertising billboards and the livestock, I was well and truly out of my comfort zone.

So that’s why I smiled at the report about Spain being sidestepped for not being “foreign enough”.
I wonder how many of those interviewed actually leave their resorts and explore independently or even choose to vacation away from the British enclaves of the Costas in the first place?
I can’t help thinking that if they did, and had to get by entirely in Spanish, they’d soon discover they were in a foreign land.

What do you think?

The British did well in the acting awards with Colin Firth winning the best actor gong for his moving portrayal as a college professor dealing with the loss of his partner in A Single Man, a relative newcomer Carey Mulligan winning best actress for her portrayal of a 1960s schoolie in An Education.

The Academy got it spot on for the best supporting roles by naming Christoph Waltz best supporting actor for Inglourious Basterds and M’onique, looking bigger than life, best supporting actress for her perfect performance in the harrowing Precious.

The best British film award went to Fish Tank and best animated film was Up – Yay.

Clearly the most popular people’s choice of the night was Twilight’s Robert Pattinson who had the fans in a frenzy when he walked up the red carpet. His Twilight co-star, Kristen Stewart was also a winner with the public as well, being voted by them as best rising star.

However, the most important ‘unofficial’ award for who looked the most stunning on the red carpet goes to Kate Winslet, looking like a goddess as always.

The show started with a glamorous performance by Lilly Allen which was in the vein of a big Hollywood musical production; although I don’t think she quiet carried off the glamour look she was looking for, but still a fantastic start to the show.
Along the way we had a so-so performance from JLS who amazingly won two awards, perhaps down to the back flips!  Two great collaborations one from Dizzy Rascal and Florence Welsh the other from Jay Z and Alicia Keys.

The awards themselves were a little predictable and among the stars presenting the awards we had Dame Shirley Bassey, Sam Fox-still failing as a presenter, Geri Halliwell and the oh so not funny Jonathan Ross.
Oasis won the best album of the last 30 years for “Whats The Story Morning Glory?”
Liam Gallagher made a surprise appearance and thanked everyone but his brother and then threw the award and microphone into the audience for which Peter Kay commented after, “what a k___ head.” Well said that man.

But the big winner of the night for me was Lady Gaga who performed a touching tribute to the late Alexander McQueen for the first part of her number, then in true Lady Gaga fashion she showed a singer at the top of her game with a deranged performance in a lace body suit – a pure pop star.
She went on to win International Album, International Breakthrough Act and International Female Artist.

The outstanding contribution to British Music award this year went to Mr. Robbie Williams who closed the show in a typical Robbie swagger, with annoying crowd participation to many of his hits.

And as for the Pet Shop Boys – priceless!
For a full list of winners see here

It got me thinking about the whole subject of some men and their attitude to strong women; an issue that I have pondered over many years.
The Sparkle women who are involved in this conversation are attractive, fun, smart, interesting and sexy and yet they’re currently single. I have several female friends who are equally beautiful, smart, sexy, fun…and single.
I can’t understand why men aren’t beating a path to their door. Or can I…

It strikes me that the thing all these women have in common is that they’re assertive, independent and strong.
Could it possibly be true that some men feel threatened by assertive women?

So what is an assertive woman?
It’s someone who is self-confident, has an opinion which she’s not afraid to share and is able to take control of her life. In my experience it usually also comes with a lively and fun personality and an interest in the world and those around her. In short, she’s probably a brilliant choice for a life partner as long as it’s a partner you’re looking for and not a wallflower, a mistress or a mother.

Men, have you ever wondered why it is that so many women of all ages and backgrounds get on so well with gay men?

Gay men have no sexual intent towards women inhibiting their ability to interact with them on an equal footing. Certainly there’s an element of having some shared interests – men for example – but mainly it’s because they can chat, laugh and share their thoughts and experiences without fear of rejection as a sexual partner.

Men who have women as their best friends are, in my social sphere, sought-after commodities. They don’t fear rejection as a sexual partner because that’s not the only basis on which the relationship is founded. But it’s certainly not because they don’t want a sexual relationship; these guys rarely find themselves short of a sexual partner. Their looks, status and occupation are irrelevant because their personality and conversation make them all extremely attractive and fun to be with, which means they inevitably have women around them. But there aren’t enough of them to go round.

So, consider the gauntlet thrown down.
Do some men feel threatened by assertive women…or are many of you just like Harry?

The great thing about meeting up with, we’ll call him, ‘Drake’ was getting a male perspective on things and I was able to give him a woman’s point of view.  Also Drake is a few years older than me, so had more stories and more fiascos to tell of.  We would inevitably end up howling with laughter at each other’s recent dating stories and it became a bit of a competition. 

Before we met up we’d chat on the phone, plan when we were meeting (it was always the same wine bar) and then give each other an indicator of how bad/good the latest gossip was.  The scale we used for this was to work out how many drinks we would need to get through the story.   These were our rather loose guidlines.

Plenty of time passed, as did lots of awful dates, and eventually Drake found someone who he decided he really liked.  She liked him and nothing awful or funny had happened.   Even though I missed his hilarious stories, I was really pleased for him.  Our chatty-teas ended up being more about where his new relationship was going and it was going really well.  They were going on romantic weekend breaks and family meals etc, all indicators that this was all going swimmingly for our Drake.

Soooo…you can imagine my surprise when I received a “CODE RED” call from him. 

I arrived early so that I could have the wine ready and waiting for the story.  It was just days after Valentine’s Day and this didn’t bode well.  I’d guessed it wasn’t going to be funny either…he’d sounded glum on the phone.  I couldn’t begin to imagine what had rocked their somewhat steady boat.

When Drake confessed the problem to me I was truly gobsmacked.

Gobsmacked at how pathetic he was being and at what a big deal he was making over such a tiny thing and here it is:
His girlfriend had bought him a book for Valentine’s Day – that’s it.  I was waiting for him to drop the bomb.  “A book”, I repeated waiting for something obvious to occur to me.  But there was no bomb.  He likes reading and it was by an author that he likes.   However, he was not at all happy – in fact he was well and truly miffed.

“Don’t be so vile…lovely thought…I think it’s nice…I would LOVE a book as a Valentine’s gift…” I was saying and then the penny dropped.  The girlfriend could have bought him a gold Rolex watch and it wouldn’t have mattered.  They weren’t right together and he knew it.   They split up not long after this.

The point of the story is that on Valentine’s Day it is truly not about what you receive or what you give.  It’s not even about where you are.  The only thing that matters is WHO you’re spending it with.  If you’re with the wrong person, then everything is wrong. 

So, if you are single on Valentine’s Day this year, why not celebrate the fact that you’re not spending it with Mr or Miss Wrong?  Get together with your single friends and laugh about dating disasters.  Start making plans together to make the most of those lovely long summer evenings that will upon us in a few months.  Make a toast to being happy and having good friends. 

You might be pleased to know that Drake is now all loved-up in a happy relationship and is even setting up a nest with his perfect little ‘Duck’.  I know that Duck could buy him a book this Sunday and he would adore it.  Ahhhhhh