Juno

I am sure that the inspiration for the film Juno (2007) was the wisecracking older- than -her -years teenager Darleen from tv's Roseanne;but on reflection I think everyone in Jason Reitman's sweet natured comedy about the trials and tribulations surrounding a teenage pregnancy is smart mouthed and insightful.Of course this gives the film a slightly unreal quality in a similar vein and feel the 1980's sitcom possessed, but the whole production; the writing and the performances, are filled with so much clever charm,the audience forgives its slim connection with the real world.
Juno turns the angst teenage pregnancy story on its head with intelligent comments on relationships,the difficulties of being an adult and parenthood, but it does this with sharpness and clarity that isn't over shadowed by gloom and cynicism. Ellen Page brings a luminescence to the heroine Juno and the rest of the cast have their moments to shine in key,often very moving scenes. Most notable of these is Michael Cera as Juno's loyal, nerdy boyfriend and a wonderfully underplayed turn by Jennifer Garner, as an uptight adoptive mother.
I gave the film a good 9/10

Trelawnyd 2008

Front room of the cottage.Chris is on the left.........

7.15am Oscar Results

I am up at the crack of dawn to give Chris a lift to the station! The tide was out in Prestatyn so the dogs had a dawn run and now I am having the first coffee of the day! The eggs have been turned in the incubator, I have just made sprout soup! and the birds all fed and watered, so I can sit down with a cup of coffee and review the oscar results!

No real surprises! I was very happy to see Cotillard win,( a rarity for a non English speaking actress to romp it) and Tilda Swinton was an interesting choice for best supporting actress. Cotillard won over the audience and America with her wide eyed acceptance speech and I thought she was quite,quite charming! I also suspect as all the actor honours went to non American actors this year, then next year every one will be won by home grown American pie performers! (If Linney is nominated next year I bet she will win!)

Off to Sheffield on Friday for a long overdue meet with friend Jonney, which I am looking forward to! Will meet with Mike too (which is overdue also). Working Wednesday and Sunday and hope to fit in Juno at the cinema if the weather turns!

Oscars

I cut and pasted the main Academy awards nominees from the BBC website and have guessed the winners of the main prizes! The Academy is notoriously fickle and always biased towards home grown talent but for once many of the chosen few are well deserving!
I would love Laura Linney ( nominated a ton of times) to win something but I guess that will be too much to hope for. My guesses for winners are in italics!

Best picture

Atonement

Juno

Michael Clayton

No Country for Old Men *I think will win but Juno may be a sleeper here!

There Will Be Blood

Best director

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly may just nip in and win!

Jason Reitman, Juno

Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men * best film should go with best director!

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best actor

George Clooney, Michael Clayton*I want Clooney to beat mr Hoop Earings! Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd

Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah

Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Julie Christie, Away from Her

Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose* although I love Linney Cotillard should romp it

Laura Linney, The Savages

Ellen Page, Juno

Best supporting actress

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There

Ruby Dee, American Gangster *I bet she wins! a tiny role but boy was she memorable!

Saoirse Ronan, Atonement

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best supporting actor

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James...

Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men* I hope he wins but I have a feeling Holbrook will

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War

Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best foreign language film *No idea here

Beaufort, Israel

The Counterfeiters, Austria

Katyn, Poland

Mongol, Kazakhstan

12, Russia
Best

Living in a 1950's world

It has been a busy couple of days! Last night we went to the Bistro with Aunt Judy and had a lovely meal. Nice Crayfish salad,tender beef and a great chardoney was leaps ahead of the bloody awful Chinese I had to suffer on Friday night. It was a real treat and a very relaxed and confortable evening was had by all.

Today I was up at 7am repositioning the chicken runs, then later in the morning we drove to Rhos-on-sea to have coffee and lunch at Forte's cafe on the sea front.

Re-vamped in the 1980's the cafe has an old fashioned feel to it and Chris especiallly enjoys its "Miss Marple" type ambiance.(the tomatos and radish in the salads are fashioned into miniture flowers...and the staff all have neat uniforms with pad and pencils to take your orders- if you get my drift?)

Chris actually believes that the world we saw in the likes of Brief Encounter (1945),Gosford Park (2001) and "Cranford" can exist in 2008. In fact he believes that this sort of chocolate box reality actually existed in 1930-1950's Britain!, and I guess it is a nice fantasy to have ! even though it can leave you wide open for disappointment when the harshness of real life encroaches on St Mary Mead!

Duffy - Mercy -

I love this record. Sounds a bit like a healthy and clean Amy Winehouse don't you think? Duffy is a local girl and her concert in Wrexham is sold out!(Hazel tried to get tickets)

You get what you pay for

Last night I went on another ward night out to a Chinese in Rhyl, and I can honestly say that It is a long time since I have been somewhere so bad. The service was......shall we say....somewhat eclectic (The waitress sorted out coffee by pointing at each of the diners saying sharply "do YOU want coffee???"), the food was synthetic and the decor was lack lustre to say the least (a non smoking sign was selotaped at the wrong angle to the wall behind my head) I can't believe that I or anyone else would put up with this slap dash approach

I found myself thinking, what the hell did I go for? The bill was 14£ a head, which is cheap by anyone's standards but I guess I am getting too old for bad services! Tonight Judy is treating us to a meal in Prestatyn's Bistro, which is light years away from anything Rhyl could provide...message to self.....no more nights out in Rhyl.

Today I have set up Nell, Maude, Walter and Harold in their own pen(pic) and have hoed the vegetable plots ready for planting next week! Chris is enjoying time away from Pippa, and has gone to relax and shop!

Friday after nights

The duck enclosure has arrived and is now erected on the top of the field. The infra red bulb for the chicks, feeders and electric transducer came too, so I have only got to erect the new small hen house as soon as it is delivered and we are up and running. The incubator looks very retro in the kitchen,(pic) and the paperwork from the estate agents FINALLY arrived so the field is now totally mine...well at least for a year!
Feel very spaced today as all I managed to sleep is 30 minutes after night shift. Going on a chinese meal in Rhyl of all places with work later.