Saturday, 17 January 2015
Gossip column: Balotelli, Salah, Balotelli, Eto'o, Delph, Maloney
Roma have joined Italian rivals Inter Milan and Napoli, and Turkish side Besiktas, in pursuit of 22-year-old Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says he does not expect to make a big signing this month. (Manchester Evening News)
Everton forward Samuel Eto'o, 33, has agreed a deal to move back to Italy and sign for Sampdoria, with the prospect of a coaching role at the end of a two-and-a-half-year contract. (Daily Mail)
Fabian Delph has been linked with a move to Liverpool but Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert says the Midlands club are still hopeful of persuading the 25-year-old midfielder to sign a new deal. (Daily Star)
Striker Mario Balotelli, 24, has four months to save his Liverpool career or face being sent back to a club in his native Italy. (Daily Mirror)
Balotelli has told Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers that he wants to remain at Anfield.(Guardian)
Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney, 31, is close to a return to Celtic.(Sun - subscription required)
Arsenal and Everton are monitoring Almeria winger Edgar, 23, with the struggling Spanish club ready to sell for £2m. (Sun - subscription required)
Aston Villa are considering a surprise move for Lazio defender Michael Ciani, 30. (Times - subscription required)
OTHER GOSSIP
Australian Open: Kyle Edmund joins Andy Murray in main draw
Australian Open: Kyle Edmund joins Andy Murray in main draw
Britain's Kyle Edmund qualified for a Grand Slam for the first time in dramatic style with victory over Dane Propoggia at the Australian Open.
Edmund, 20, beat the Australian 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 9-7 to join Andy Murray and James Ward as the third British man in the main draw.
It is the first time since 2002 that Britain has had three men involved at the start of the singles in Melbourne.
Liam Broady could not make it four, losing 7-5 6-3 to Michael Russell.
Edmund's first-round opponent will be 25-year-old American Steve Johnson, a player ranked 39th in the world - 153 places above Edmund.
Murray, meanwhile, will face India's Yuki Bhambri after the 22-year-old world number 314 came through qualifying.
"Everyone's desperate to qualify so winning three matches against tough players definitely gives me confidence going into the main draw," Edmund told BBC Sport.
Asked about the partisan crowd, he added: "I dealt with it pretty well. You're obviously prepared for that when playing an Australian in Australia, you're going to get some banter from the crowd.
"It's no different from Wimbledon where they're going to support me."
Playing on adjacent courts, Broady and Edmund were watched by a growing crowd that included Ward, Jamie Murray, Davis Cup captain Leon Smith and LTA chief Bob Brett.
Both players began strongly but found it hard to break down similarly in-form opponents, and it was Broady who cracked first on court nine.
The 21-year-old from Stockport, who rose quickly up the rankings last year, found the durable Russell - 15 years his senior - just too consistent in windy conditions.
Russell, 36, is ranked 37 places higher than Broady at 156 and playing in his 10th Australian Open, and that experience told.
Broady had a chance with a break point at 4-4 but after that slipped by his form dipped, with the American breaking to lead 6-5 and doing likewise early in the second set.
"I just lost a bit of rhythm and he's a very smart, very experienced player, and it showed today," Broady told BBC Sport.
"When I play 8/10 at this level, it's good enough, but my 6/10 isn't good enough yet and that's what needs to improve.
"It's been a fantastic trip - it obviously exceed expectations of probably most people apart from my own little group."
Over on court six, the impressive Edmund turned around a match that could have easily gone against him, such was the form of world number 323 Propoggia.
The Australian, urged on by a vocal set of supporters, edged the first set in a tie-break and was within sight of victory as the second went with serve.
It took 90 minutes for Edmund to finally break serve but when he did so, it brought him the second set.
However, the Yorkshireman stumbled while serving for the match at 5-3, blasting a forehand long to hand Propoggia the break back and prompting some exuberant celebrations from the Australian.
With no tie-break in the final set, the games ticked by as both players looked remarkably solid, until Propoggia let his guard down from 40-0 at 8-7.
Edmund worked his way back to deuce, fired a brilliant backhand winner down the line to earn match point and watched as Propoggia dumped a volley in the net to end the contest.
"Serving for it at 5-3 but getting broken - it's always in the back of your mind that you had that chance," added Edmund.
"You've just got to reset and try and get that break again."
Australian Open: Kyle Edmund
Sonia Blanchette, accused of killing her 3 children, starves to death
She was set to appear in court in Drummondville, Que., today to set a date for murder trial
CBC News Posted: Jan 1
Sonia Blanchette was facing first-degree murder charges in the 2012 deaths of her three children. She died in a Quebec hospital on Friday. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)6, 2015 8:54 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 16, 2015 1:55 PM ET
The Quebec woman charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children has died after refusing to eat.
Sonia Blanchette had been at Montreal's Sacré Coeur hospital since Dec. 19 and her weight had dropped to 80 pounds, according to Radio-Canada.
Correctional Service Canada had transferred Blanchette from the Tanguay detention centre in Montreal to the hospital in an effort to get her to eat.
Blanchette was accused of killing:
- Laurélie, 5.
- Loïc, 4.
- Anaïs, 2.
The children were found at her residence in December 2012 in Drummondville, halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.
Deaths defied explanation, father says
A Quebec coroner said the two youngest children drowned, while the oldest child was killed by a combination of strangling and drowning.
Blanchette died at around 1:35 a.m. Friday, the same day she was scheduled to appear in court to set a trial date in the murder case. She had not been expected to appear in person due to her weak state.
René Verret, a spokesman for Quebec's Crown prosecutors, said the case would be closed as a result of her death.
"We were informed of the situation early this morning," Verret said.
Sonia Blanchette's three children were found dead in Drummondville, Que., in 2012. (CBC)
Blanchette lost custody of her children early in 2012, and had been awarded visiting rights once every two weeks, to be supervised by the children's maternal grandmother.
Shortly after their deaths, Patrick Désautels, the father of the children, issued a statement saying that what happened "defies explanation."
On Friday, after learning Blanchette had died, Désautels said, "I have no pity. It doesn't bother me that she died."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/sonia-blanchette-accused-of-killing-her-3-children-starves-to-death-1.2912343
Boyhood' is tops, Keaton takes a tumble at Critics' Choice
Michael Keaton was among those honored at the 2015 Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
CNN)Just after Thursday's Oscar nominations, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards moved the discussion forward on awards season Thursday night -- and the leader continues to be "Boyhood."
Richard Linklater's movie about growing up, shot over the course of 12 years, won best picture at the honors, which are given out by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
But the awards didn't leave "Boyhood's" main competition, "Birdman" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," bereft. "Birdman" earned trophies for best acting ensemble and star Michael Keaton, while "Budapest" took home the award for best comedy.
"Birdman" won seven awards overall.
Keaton had quite a night. Not only did he win, he apparently fell off stage after accepting his best actor award. The event wasn't captured on video, but a number of observers tweeted about it.
"I took the 'Birdman' flying thing way too far," he joked.
Other winners included "The Lego Movie" -- snubbed by the Oscars -- as best animated feature, "Guardians of the Galaxy" for best action movie and J.K. Simmons for best supporting actor.
The awards weren't without their controversy. Host Michael Strahan led off the ceremony by doing a little stripping -- he has a part in the "Magic Mike" sequel -- and Judd Apatow, who presented the best director award, brought up Bill Cosby. Apatow, who was apparently a late addition to the presenters' lineup, has been a noted Cosby critic.
"They knew I'd be home tweeting about Cosby," Apatow said. "I was available."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/16/entertainment/feat-critics-choice-awards/
Oscar nominations 2015: Complete list of nominees
"Boyhood" | Review
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" | Review
"The Imitation Game" | Review
"Selma" | Review
"The Theory of Everything" | Review
"Whiplash" | Review
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" | Review
"The Imitation Game" | Review
"Selma" | Review
"The Theory of Everything" | Review
"Whiplash" | Review
atch exclusive video interviews with the cast and crew of "Birdman,""Boyhood," "The Theory of Everything" and "Whiplash."
Lead actress
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Watch an exclusive interview with Felicity Jones.
Lead actor
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything"
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything"
Watch exclusive interviews with Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne
Director
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, "Wild"
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
Meryl Streep, "Into The Woods"
Laura Dern, "Wild"
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
Meryl Streep, "Into The Woods"
Documentary feature
“CitizenFour”
“Finding Vivian Maier”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Virunga”
“Finding Vivian Maier”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Virunga”
Documentary short subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
“Joanna”
“Our Curse”
“The Reaper (La Parka)”
“White Earth”
“Joanna”
“Our Curse”
“The Reaper (La Parka)”
“White Earth”
Foreign language film
“Ida” (Poland)
“Leviathan” (Russia)
“Tangerines” (Estonia)
“Timbuktu” (Mauritania)
“Wild Tales” (Argentina)
“Leviathan” (Russia)
“Tangerines” (Estonia)
“Timbuktu” (Mauritania)
“Wild Tales” (Argentina)
more INFO http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-oscars-2015-nominations-winners-list-story.html#page=2
Movie Review: 'The Wedding Ringer' Starring Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco
World News Videos | ABC World News
Starring Kevin Hart, Josh Gad and Kaley Cuoco
Rated R
Three-and-a-half out of five stars
The most bizarre, yet kind of funny, thing about "The Wedding Ringer" is it seems a bit of a rip-off of the 2005 comedy "Wedding Crashers." The reason that’s bizarre and kind of funny is "The Wedding Ringer" was written before "Wedding Crashers" was ever pitched. True story.
In "The Wedding Ringer," Kevin Hart is Jimmy Callahan, who performs “best man services,” meaning he’ll be your best man at your wedding, for a price. If you happen to die a few years after the wedding, he’ll even attend your funeral and give a speech about you. Enter Josh Gad as Doug, an overweight, socially awkward lawyer who’s less than two weeks away from marrying Gretchen, played by Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, who is, according to every person with functioning eyes, out of his league.
Doug also has no friends, but Gretchen doesn’t know that. Doug tells her his best friend is the fictional Bic Mitchum, a priest in the military who’s currently in El Salvador. Only the flamboyant wedding planner realizes Doug is friendless, and quietly suggests he meet Jimmy.
Doug doesn’t just ask Jimmy to perform best man services as Bic, he also asks him to provide seven groomsmen. That’s the “Golden Tux” package, Jimmy says, and it’s never been done before -- and since he has less than two weeks to pull it off, it’s going to cost Doug 50 grand. Doug is fine with that.
"The Wedding Ringer" is a funny movie. Brilliant? No. But funny, certainly, though if you’re easily offended, it’s definitely not for you. We’ve known about Kevin Hart for a while but the world is only now waking up to Gad, who really got Hollywood’s attention when he took Broadway by storm in "The Book of Mormon," and more recently as the voice of Olaf in "Frozen."
While I agree studios historically save January to release their not-so-entertaining movies, Hart and Gad make you laugh simply by showing up.
Add a moderately funny script, and "The Wedding Ringer" is a winner
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/movie-review-wedding-ringer-starring-kevin-hart-josh/story?id=28276229
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