Are you depressed? Suicidal? Then don't go to the flicks!

Zombieland painted a desolate canvas for the future of humanity when it wasn't being hilariously funny. The world's elite were saved in a few man-made arks at the end of 2012 leaving the rest of the world to drown. Human civilisation is all but vanquished by vampires in Daybreakers. A scant few humans remain in The Road - including the ones who now live to eat babies and bugger each other. Alas, movies like Star Trek to offset misery are so few and far between; it's no wonder that people are falling into depression after seeing Avatar and realising their real world is not a cool as the one Cameron crafted.

I was going to give The Book Of Eli a review, but I've decided against it. I will just say it's a 4-Star movie with excellent action sequences involving automatic weapons and explosives and brawls involving edged weapons with superb dismemberment, if not enough blood. It's beautifully judged and shot by The Hughes Brothers and features a striking, almost Vangelis-like score from Attacus Ross. These elements coupled with superb acting as always from Denzel Washington, a wonderfully crafted character from Gary Oldman and the obligatory bit of fluff in the delectable form of Mila Kunis has destined the Blu-Ray to become one with my shelf. It's just the fact that it's hard to justify some of it's story elements in a coherent fashion to you is what it preventing me from writing about it.

Let's just say Holy-Joes will be well pleased, just not with the same stuff that got me excited...

J.J. adds to his harem of lovely ladies!

Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner, Evangeline Lilly and Anna Torv have one thing in common - they were nobodies until J.J. Abrams cast them in Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe respectively. I think I'll add Zoe Saldana to that list as she was known to see but her name wasn't before Abrams put her in Star Trek ahead of her involvement with the groundbreaking Avatar.

It's not only because Abrams is one of the most original, prolific and revolutionary entertainment creators of the modern age that these ladies become so popular. Individually they're not only beautiful but capable of delivering outstanding dramatic performances which has collectively earned them dozens of awards and nominations. Now the time has come to add a new young lady to that auspicious list...

As you may know Abrams is in the process of creating Undercovers, a TV show that seems like a cross between The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Abrams will bring his Alias and Mission Impossible experience to the fore in crafting a new entry in the high tech spy genre as his new series will follow spouses Samantha and Steven Bloom, as they work together as spies.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw [remember where you read that name first people] has been cast to play Samantha in the Undercovers pilot. The English actress might be familiar to Doctor Who fans, for her role as Tish, Martha Jones' sister. She's also appeared on the series Spooks so she's not stranger to the genre. Boris Surrogates Kodjoe has also been cast as Steven as has Gerald Major Dad McRaney as their CIA boss who recruited the couple and serves as the agency's liaison with them.

Abrams co-wrote the Undercovers pilot with Josh Reims and will be directing it as well – his first time directing a TV pilot since Lost. Bizarrely NBC are funding it after they shit-canned their own high tech spy show My Own Worst Enemy starring Christian Slater in 2008. I'm sure glad it'll be J.J. Abrams filling their primetime void after their recent monumental fuck-up.

Source: EW.com / Coming Soon.net

3D Star Wars on the way?

While the results of filming in the modern 3D technology have earned James Cameron 2 Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Picture last Sunday and Avatar has raked in considerably more then a billion dollars in ticket sales thus far; the results of attempting to convert a standard movie to 3D have yet to be measured.

Enter God:
"We've been looking for years and years and years of trying to take Star Wars and put it in 3D. But technology hasn't been there. We've been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen," said the great George Lucas to Total Film.

God also said that he could appreciate what Cameron went through to create Avatar and he's delighted that it's so successful and worked so well in 3D. God hasn't been a big fan of the format, "but that movie definitely improves in 3D," he said.

Avatar seems to have changed his mind thanks to Cameron's technological strides to create one of the greatest cinema, nay, entertainment experiences known to mankind.

Personally, I'd prefer to see something else in 2D converted to 3D before I'd thoroughly embrace yet another religious tweak from the almighty Lucas. Hell I'd even prefer the deity work on outputting a HD edition of all 6 episodes on Blu-Ray first and spend time concentrating on the live-action TV show. Folk will still embrace the saga in 3D once those more important projects are complete.

Watch this space..

In other news it appears Lucas' comments concerning how great Avatar 3D is has led to China's government pulling Avatar 2D from movie theaters!

Source: Total Film / IMDB

Sherlock Holmes: A Victorian Buddy-Cop movie!

When I discovered that Guy Richie, the British bloke responsible for the modern English gangster movies instead of Neil Dog Soldiers Marshall, was making a Sherlock Holmes movie I was intrigued but also worried. While it's fair to say that Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch were great movies in '98 and '00 respectively, Richie's involvement with Kabbalah and an ill-fated marriage to Madonna from 2000 to 2008 seemed to have a disastrous effect on his work. During that time he directed Revolver and RocknRolla both of which were complete and utter shit. I guess I was afraid he'd set the movie in 2009 where Holmes would carry a "Desert Eagle Point Five-O" or some such nonsense.

I fretted needlessly, I'm pleased to say that Richie has emerged from his dark decade with Kabbalah and Madonna behind him and he was able to resurrect his floundering career where he left in 2000 to bring us his unique vision of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective introducing the character to a new generation.

Richie has actually done the unthinkable - while somewhat stylised artistically and treated more as a tongue-in-cheek action comedy than I'm sure Conan Doyle would have intended; this is still actually the most authentic representation of Sherlock Holmes ever on screen. In this movie, Holmes is an irresponsible, miserable drunkard who passes out nightly on his floor, subjects his dog to frightful life-threatening experiments, endlessly mocks and insults Dr. Watson, partakes in bare-knuckle fistfights and seems equally comfortable with wearing rags as he does fine suits and thankfully sweet Lucas he never dons a Deerstalker [that silly flapped cap he's often erroneously depicted wearing].

As much as Richie was responsible for this, most credit must be directed towards the wonderful Robert Downey Jr. for adding his own personal flair to Holmes' more devilish side. I think when one reads Holmes and they see his endless struggle with cocaine addiction and eccentric personality, there are a few actors who come to mind, but none more so than Downey Jr. who is known for a trip or two but is enjoying the fruits of an incredible second chance in Hollywood. His often hilarious and indeed a more physical action-oriented performance than ever before [Iron Man included] earned him a well deserved Golden Globe on Sunday night.

Downey Jr. himself is supported by Jude Law who appears in more shit [Skycaptain, A.I. and All the Kings Men] than he does worthy films, but next to Enemy at The Gates, this is by far Law's best role and I cannot fault his representation of Dr. John Watson. Babylon A.D.'s Mark Strong is simply splendid as the villain of the piece, Lord Blackwood whose evil black-magical scheme threatens all of England. Rachel McAdams sadly did not play to her strengths and was a bit wasted - Oh and her lingerie scene featured in the teaser trailer was cut from the final film which I was none to pleased about either let me tell you.

Hans Zimmer's quirky score fits the movie extremely well and is somewhat different to his previous efforts for this kind of movie, drawing more from his experience scoring An Everlasting Piece than anything. Sherlock Holmes also benefits from some extraordinarily choreographed fight scenes which contain the interesting element of having them completely described and subsequently shown in slow motion before they actually happen in real-time on screen. The action in the reminder of the movie is also top-notch featuring a climactic brawl on the Tower Bridge in London which is only under construction and elsewhere, multiple almost Micheal Bay-like explosions in a slaughterhouse.

Final Verdict: Richie's Sherlock Holmes features far more action than one would traditionally associate with the character and setting. You can safely erase Michael Caine's poorly misjudged attempt from 20 years ago and for those of you who may have grown up embracing Basil Rathbone or Peter Cushing's representations or even in my case - Jeremy Brett's; and you're expecting the same level of clinical detective work - well you'll be sorely disappointed. This movie is an action comedy, albeit a somewhat more clever action comedy then your average Victorian buddy cop movie. What a great way to start the year.

Colonel Creedon Rating: ****1/2

Official Site / IMDB / Wikipedia

How awesome is Jimmy Kimmel?

With Conan O'Brien taking pot shots at Jay Leno later on his own network and David Letterman striking at him from CBS; Leno went looking somewhere, anywhere, for an ally this week. With FOX having no such person of note [all their comedy is through animation], he turned to ABC where Jimmy Kimmel reigns supreme.

Kimmel's Thursday night appearance on The Jay Leno Show was announced in advance lending most speculators that despite often doing Jay Leno impressions' on his own Jimmy Kimmel Live show on ABC, he'd be appearing as a voice in support of Leno.

The speculators were wrong. During the Jay Leno Show's 10@10 segment where Leno asks a celebrity via satellite link 10 questions - Kimmel's answers were quite scathing against the moon-faced talk show host.

The first few questions Kimmel answered sincerely until Leno asked what the best prank he ever pulled was. Kimmel replied, "I told a guy that five years from now, 'I'm gonna give you my show,' and then when the five years came, I gave it to him and then I took it back almost instantly.

Leno kind of laughed thinking Kimmel just had to get a little joke in there before asking "Ever ordered anything off the TV?" "Like NBC ordered your show off the TV?" Kimmel replied.

He was stuck in it now, Leno had to continue asking his questions and inquired as to Kimmel's biggest fear; "I fear the network will move my show to 10 o'clock," Kimmel answered.

It was obvious Leno then tried to cut Kimmel off as quickly as he could but not before Kimmel imparted one final plea on the large chinned one; "Listen Jay, Conan and I have children, all you have to take care of is cars. I mean, we have lives to lead here, you've got $800 million. For God's sake, leave our shows alone."

At which point Leno dismissed him.

Read about it on collider.com

The Jay Leno Downfall rant

One of the many, many redubs of Hitler's rant from the excellent Downfall movie. This is one of the better ones now redubbed for the Leno vs. Conan war.

"Now I'd rather see an open-mike with Stalin"

The A-Team is coming!

Conan vs Leno: Is it over?

If you've been following the antics behind the scenes in NBC of late you'll know that NBC in their infinite wisdom have realised their colossal mistake with giving Jay Leno a variety show on prime time. As this move caused them to lose money hand-over-fist [and NBC isn't exactly making too much these days] and in an effort to fix this, they want to shift the huge-chinned one up to 23.35 after the News and then keeping Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show, but after Leno's new half-hour slot and beginning at 00:05.

Today Conan O'Brien released a statement in which he appears to say "Screw You" [in a controlled diplomatic way] to NBC and will not be doing this show if forced into a 00:05 timeslot.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over "The Tonight Show" in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my "Tonight Show" in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the "Tonight Show" to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the "Tonight Show" has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the "Tonight Show" into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. "The Tonight Show" at 12:05 simply isn't the "Tonight Show." Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the "Late Night" show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of "The Tonight Show." But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the "Tonight Show," I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

It's not Leno's fault his show is shit and he's past his peak, but for NBC to treat Conan like they have speaks volumes about the muppets who are running that outfit. They intended to make their scheduling change in February but there was little talk about what would be replacing Leno's hour at 10 in prime time? I have it on good authority that they're working on reboot of The Rockford Files, [yes the show with James Garner... ] and a show about a man preventing a conspiracy or a disaster happening in the future or something? [but admittedly that was news from a crazy man on the other end of a phone].

I'm glad Conan has the balls to call the dimwitted morons of NBC out, he was approached by FOX at one time to do a show for them, so maybe Peter Rice should pick up the phone and call the cool-haired-one again!

FOX News nabs Palin!

I'll admit I could probably have chosen a couple of names I'd rather have had on John McCain's presidential ticket, but if you asked me who [other then myself upon retirement] would make a great political commentator for the greatest source of real news in the world - FOX News, then it'd have been quite simple: Former Gov. Sarah Palin.

It was announced earlier today that the former Alaska governor, whose book, Going Rogue: An American Life, became a bestseller weeks before it was released and remains No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, has signed a multi-year deal to offer her political commentary and analysis across all Fox News platforms, including Fox Business Channel, FoxNews.com and Fox News Radio. She will also participate in special event political programming for Fox Broadcasting.

Palin will also host episodes of Real American Stories, a FOX News series exploring inspirational real-life tales of overcoming adversity throughout the American landscape that will debut this year.

"I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News. It's wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news," Palin said in a written release.

As if there weren't enough reasons to watch FOX News already :)

Source: FOX News

Put on a few pounds at Christmas...?

Endorsed by UNETIDA

Lucas was ready for Stewart!

Satirical newsman Jon Stewart had the honour of interviewing one George Lucas on Tuesday's The Daily Show this week.

Stewart is well known for speaking his mind and I've seen politicians, civil servants, actors, novelists and other personalities freeze or buckle under the weight of some of his questions and try to laugh their way out of his interrogative grip. I knew Lucas wasn't going to be treated much differently. The Star Wars franchise is beloved by Stewart and his Daily Show staff as evidenced by the fact that not a week goes by without some Star Wars reference stuck in somewhere, but I knew Lucas was going to be fair game for some hard questions.

But I needn't have worried. I cursed my own lack of devotion which caused me to be apprehensive initially. You see Lucas can't actually be caught off guard and he'll never be stumped for words. He's gone up against every prominent journalist in the world, some of them would make Stewart look like a rank-amateur, so Lucas was never in any real danger.

There also existed another problem - I really like Jon Stewart, because of what he does and he speaks his mind as freely as I'm internationally renowned for too - so what would have happened if Lucas ate him for breakfast on his own show? That wouldn't have been good either. But a loss of Stewart's professional credibility to George himself would probably be as preferred as getting knocked down in the street by a Ferrari as opposed to a Lada - I mean if you have to loose to someone it may as well be a god right?

Either way, their exchange was most interesting - one doesn't see a lot of Lucas on TV these days and I am still hoping he grows his beard a bit longer like Zeus or this dude on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but there's time yet, at least he has the hair right. Lucas was in town to promote his new book Blockbusting but as with many such Daily Show interviews Stewart cuts to more important matters. Lucas did raise an eyebrow at some of Stewart's hypermanic ranting about the fact that the Sith Lords didn't sense the presence or the abilities of Luke and Leia [or Obi-Wan] in the interim years between Episodes 3 and 4; but for every question Stewart asked Lucas had a fresh and more often then not, hilarious answer - one time Stewart had to get off his chair before he physically fell off it with laughter, yes I mean award winning comedian Jon Stewart was doubled over by George Lucas - I guess he's a god of comedy too.

See for yourselves.

George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success

Available from January 10th at Amazon.com for $17.99 or from Amazon.co.uk as of January 15th at £9.99.

"This is a fascinating and carefully documented examination of the art and business of American moviemaking and its evolution over time - how our most popular pictures were made and received, how the landscape of film has shifted through the years. An invaluable historical tool." --Martin Scorsese

Stallone not Expendable

It was shockingly revealed yesterday that 63 year old muscle-bound actor Sylvester Stallone, both the star and director of The Expendables, slated to be the top action movie of 2010, broke his neck while shooting an intense fight scene.

Sly said a fight scene with wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin became so "vicious" that he needed surgery for an injury he incurred. "I haven't told anyone this, but I had to have a very serious operation." The star said he had to have a metal plate inserted into his neck. "Man, it was seven guys, kicking each other's ass, one guy tougher than the next," he said. "No joke, our stunt guys were begging for mercy."

It wouldn't be the first serious movie related injury for Stallone. During the filming of Rocky IV, Dolph Lundgren punched Stallone's rib cage into his chest, compressing his heart.

The Expendables is slated for an August release.

Source: BBC News / Barry Kelleher

Avatar: $1 billion dollars says - "ya don't really need a plot"

It took director James Cameron’s Titanic 44 days to reach $300 million in the U.S. domestic box-office. Twelve years later, Avatar has reached that same milestone nearly three times faster, in just 15 days. As the movie has now shattered the vaunted $1 billion mark and speculation is mounting that the self proclaimed "King Of The World" will eclipse his own phenomenal record and beat Titanic's box office revenue of $1.84 billion.

Does this mean Cameron has crafted the most astounding, nuanced drama that makes movies like Raimi's Spider-Man, Nolan's Dark Knight, and Bay's Transformers look weak by comparison? Hell no, he was simply a man who convinced Fox to part with some $300m [not including an assumed $200m in advertising] to make the first mainstream modern 3D blockbuster. This is by no means the greatest story Cameron has crafted, look to his Terminators for that; nor is it his best movie in terms of balls-to-the-wall action, that's Aliens. No, this is more like just what he did 20 years ago with The Abyss - he has pioneered the next evolution of computer generated imagery - only this time he gone a colossal step further and he has melded it with the latest 3D technology previously reserved for children's animated movies.

The premium price of 3D coupled with the natural curiosity of the average Joe to see what the fuss is about is what I'm sure is responsible for some Avatar's commercial coup, but the fact it's simply an amazing theatrical experience is the true key. I've never been disappointed by any of Cameron's dramatic efforts that I've seen since The Terminator [I've never seen Titanic] and I have them all in my DVD collection; Avatar is no exception. It's easy to see why this has taken so long to make; the care and attention to each and every detail, creature, character and environment is abundantly clear. Cameron is undoubtedly mentally unhinged in some fashion, sure he carries a gun, screams at autograph seeking fans and created The Terminator from one of his recurring nightmares - but his imagination is practically limitless in human terms. Sadly there's only so much of it he can show at once.

Graphically, Avatar is a masterpiece. A triumph of three dimensional projection technology that pushes the boundaries of cinema as we know it. For the first time since the dawn of CGI we finally have believably moving characters with fluid natural motion, not robotic mimicry. Sheer madness aside, Cameron must be heralded as a true genius of creativity for crafting such a detailed film, if it can even be called a “film” anymore as it so audacious and revolutionary in its example of entertainment berhaps a new word should be invented for this as it keeps you glued to discover the next outstanding effect.

There's not much I'm going to say about the plot here. You'll hear words like "predictable", "simplistic" and "infantile" in so many reviews, but when it boils down to it is just basically insulting. My main issue is it's advocacy of nature versus technology, industrialisation and progress. It's bizarrely hypocritical of a man who spent hundreds of millions on technology, to have a problem with progress and even worse to go off on an Al Gore style tangent with money he got from FOX of all people. It's easy to see he has a little issue with the U.S. going into a country to secure oil by subduing local wogs? I wonder where he thinks the fuel for his personal helicopter comes from? Texas? For someone who carries a gun tucked into his belt - I wished he be more "right" minded in his writing; a superior story - even a propaganda piece to teach underdeveloped nations not to challenge the superior might of the the U.S. may have been a way to provide a more stable influence to world peace and security and even certainly would have been better than the conservation crap presented here, considering the movies popularity.

Cameron's cast of characters are sadly as predictable as the plot, but nonetheless superbly realised and acted within the limits of the story. Former Australian bricklayer Sam Worthington who proved himself more worthy of admiration than Christian Bale in last years Terminator: Salvation and who will again grace our screens this year in Clash Of The Titans, plays Jake Scully a U.S. Marine rendered a paraplegic during a conflict on Earth who regains the use of his limbs when his mind is transferred into a cloned alien body. It's mainly from Scully's perspective that we view the movie and it's through his training and indoctrination into the Avatar program that we receive our much required exposition to this new and exciting universe. Sigourney Weaver is Dr. Grace Augustine, a xenobotanist who holds the rights of Pandora's population in high regard as she does the conservation of the alien world. This naturally puts her at odds with the military, embodied by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Steven Lang) who despite being the main antagonist of Avatar and the Chief of Security of the human base - Hell's Gate on Pandora, is obviously the character I can most identify with. You'll see what I mean when you see it, this is why Marine Colonels get tarred with the same brush! Zoe Saldana is someone we never see but in her Na'vi form as she portrays Neytiri, one of the indigenous population of Pandora and love-interest of Scully. Through a somewhat over-long section of the movie, Neytiri trains Scully to become a Na'vi warrior who must gain the respect of the clan in order to save them.

Final Verdict: Despite having a mediocre, if not infantile plot, Avatar is no exception to the director's stellar repertoire. The poor story will sadly keep it off the list of true sci-fi classics like Blade Runner and The Matrix but Cameron's vision of an entire populated alien world realised in the impressive, reality-immersing medium of 3-Dimensional graphics will easily become one of the, if not the most entertaining and enthralling cinematic experiences of your life. It will deserve, nay demand the best picture at this years Academy Awards.

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****

Official Site / IMDB / Wikipedia

2009! - The Year In Review

We bid a farewell to that which was 2009, a year affected by a dwindling economy and affected by hefty budgets and NAMA but we will remain strong in Europe due to the passing of the Lisbon Treaty, that is if we survive the current torrential flooding and sub-zero temperatures.

In entertainment it appears that while the return of the Robots In Disguise holds tops in the U.S. box office, it seems that it may be overshadowed by Cameron's Avatar soon enough. On smaller screens we bid a tearful farewell to Battlestar Galactica and millions sign up for another interactive Call Of Duty.

Elsewhere, a pilot landed an airline in a river, Bush left office and Obama entered, Navy Seals hone sniper skills on Somali Pirates, H1N1 is declared a global pandemic, Bernie Madoff gets 150 years, Bill Clinton becomes a hero, and troops are decreased in Iraq but increased in Afghanistan.

But most importantly, The Colonel got his eagles back!


We will as usual take a moment to recall those we've lost in 2009...
Dave Arneson [Co-Creator Dungeons & Dragons, 61]
Bea Arthur [Actress (The Golden Girls), 86]
David Carradine [Actor (Kung Fu), 72]
Liam Clancy [Irish Folk Singer, 74]
Walter Cronkite [Anchorman, 92]
Dom DeLuise [Comedian, 75]
Shel Dorf [Founder, San Diego Comic-Con International, 76]
Farrah Fawcett [Actress (Charlie's Angels), 62]
Keith Floyd [Chef, 65]
Pat Hingle [Actor (Batman), 84]
John Hughes [Writer/Producer/Director (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), 59]
Maurice Jarre [Composer (Enemy Mine),84]
Danny La Rue [Comedy-Transvestite, 81]
Ciarán Mac Mathúna [Radio Presenter, 84]
Billy Mayes [Advertiser, 50]
Patrick McGoohan [Actor (The Prisoner), 80]
Karl Malden [Actor (Patton), 97]
Ricardo Montalban [Actor (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn), 88]
Duke Nukem [Video Game Hero (Presumed Dead), 18]
Brittany Murphy [Actress (Sin City), 32]
Dan O'Bannon [Writer (Total Recall), 63]
Les Paul [Musician (Inventor of Electric Guitar), 94]
Natasha Richardson [Actress (The Parent Trap), 45]
Joe Rosen [Comic Book Letterer (G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero), 88]
Ron Silver [Actor (Timecop), 62]
Patrick Swayze [Actor (Red Dawn), 57]
James Whitmore [Former U.S. Marine, Actor (Tora! Tora! Tora!), 87]
Joseph Wiseman [Actor (Dr. No), 91]
Edward Woodward [Actor (The Equalizer), 79]
We thank them for the entertainment they provided.

We also remember politicians:
Peter Callanan [Fianna Fáil, Irish Senator, 74]
Tony Gregory [Independent Irish Politician, 61]
Ted Kennedy [Democrat, U.S. Senator, 77]
Robert McNamera [U.S. SECDEF during Vietnam War, 93]
and servicemen:
Aircraft Mechanic Second Class Henry William Allingham [oldest ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces and the oldest surviving veteran of WWI. Last survivor of the Battle of Jutland, the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the last surviving founding member of the Royal Air Force, temporarily worlds oldest living man, 113]
Colonel Robert L. Howard [U.S. Army (MACV-SOG) & Medal Of Honor recipient, 70]
Lieutenant General Harry W.O. Kinnard [U.S. Paratrooper whom as a Lt.Col. suggested the response "Nuts!" to a surrender demand from the Germans during The Battle Of The Bulge, 93]
Colonel Lewis Lee Millett, Sr. [U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient, 88]
Private Harry Patch [“The Last Tommy”, last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of WWI, 111]
Lieutenant General Günther Rall [Luftwaffe (Wermacht / Bundeswehr) - third most successful fighter ace in history, 91]
Colonel Kenneth L. Reusser [USMC aviator, 89]
Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz [U.S. Army Medal Of Honor recipient, 86]
Their services to their countries will not be forgotten.

May all of the above rest in peace.

There will however, always be those we're glad to see the back of:
Susan Denise Atkins [Murderer (Manson Family Member), 61]
Jade Goody [Stupid Bint, 27]
Michael Jackson [Paedophile, 50]
Josias Kumpf [Nazi concentration camp guard, 84]
May they burn in eternal damnation.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!