Predictable but deserving was the general consensus in the aftermath of the 84th annual Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles last night.

As the overwhelming majority had predicted, the black-and-white, silent tribute to a Hollywood era gone by, The Artist, walked away with the coveted Best Picture award, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, as well as statues for Best Score and Costume Design, giving it 5 wins in total.

We reported earlier this year that a debut spec script entitled The Counsellor, penned by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country For Old Men) had been bought in a preemptive deal, and information on the project has since come in thick and fast. Following up on the news that Ridley Scott will direct the thriller, we have confirmation that he has landed one of Hollywood's current most sought-after talents - Michael Fassbender - to star.

The Artist continues to dominate this year's awards season, winning in seven of its twelve nominated categories at tonight's BAFTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

The much-praised black and white tribute to Hollywood's silent era beat The Descendants, Drive, The Help and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for the top honour of the night. Its star Jean Dujardin won over George Clooney, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender for Best Actor, and its director, Michel Hazanavicius, triumphed over Nicholas Winding Refn, Tomas Alfredson, Martin Scorsese and Lynn Ramsay. He also topped Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard) and Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady) for the Original Screenplay title. The remainder of its wins came for Original Music, Costume Design and Cinematography.

I know that I'm quite prone to hyperbole. When describing a movie I've used the terms "best", "worst", and "favorite" more than any man should. I've tried to curb that desire over the last couple of years and I now think long and hard before I jump off the hyperbolic ledge. So when I say that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the most frustrating movie I have EVER seen, please know that I do so after a serious amount of consideration.

When the grunge rock movement began in Seattle in the early ‘90s, filmmaker Cameron Crowe was living in the area and spent a good deal of time covering the music scene. At the forefront of the movement, which spread like wildfire across the globe, there were two bands: Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Yes, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and a number of other bands made significant marks but it was the aforementioned duo that made grunge the all-encompassing phenomenon that it was. If you’ve ever seen a Crowe film, you know he has a connection with Pearl Jam; I’m pretty sure at least one PJ song can be found in each of his films, including We Bought a Zoo, an addition that made no sense but was nonetheless awesome. Pearl Jam 20 serves as Crowe’s ode to his favorite band as he traces their origins back to the pre-Eddie Vedder days and follows them up through their most recent album, interspersing concert footage with intimate interviews and some home videos to create a portrait of what could be America’s last great rock band.

Winter's Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene star John Hawkes and rapper-turned-actor Mos Def (Be Kind Rewind) are set to star in an upcoming prequel to Quentin Tarantino's cult hit Jackie Brown.