FINAL FILM BEAT: Horrible Bosses 2

Before I begin, I will not be continuing the Friday Film Beat into 2015. Tonight's post will be one final review before we say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. Also, the Bellend of the Month feature will be moved from the last of the month to the first of the following month. This month's Bellend of the Month will be revealed tomorrow. Now onto the film review: Horrible Bosses 2 was much better than the first one. You really need to see it if you haven't done so. Need I say more?

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: That it has to end

But don't despair, people. There's still tomorrow (speaking of which, if you haven't seen Annie yet, please do so) before 2014 has to end. And 2015 will hopefully be better, because we've got a whole new CSI (it's called CSI: Cyber, and yes, they will be using a song by The Who as the theme), the end of Two and a Half Men (which came twelve seasons too late), Robin Williams' final film (which is called Absolutely Anything and will have the distinction of being his first and only British film), this blog's 2000th post, and many more great things to come.

LVG turnaround continues slowly but surely

Manchester United made it nine games without defeat this morning after rounding off the 2014 calendar year with a goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. With both sides playing open, attacking football, the best chances fell to Louis van Gaal's team but some rare lapses in finishing and an excellent display by the hosts' goalkeeper Hugo Lloris led to the game ending in stalemate. Van Gaal named an unchanged side to the one that defeated Newcastle United 3-1 at home on Boxing Day, making it the first time since November 2012 that the Reds' line-up remained the same in consecutive matches, only this time there were six yellow cards all up. A draw is not good enough if Man United want the Premiership back. Man City and Chelsea are still ahead on the table by 7 and 10 points respectively, and one point isn't going to narrow the gap as much as all three points will.

United outclass United in true Reds fashion

Wayne Rooney inspired Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Newcastle yesterday morning by scoring twice and setting up another for Robin van Persie, even if Papiss Cisse's late penalty took some of the gloss off a fine day at Old Trafford. The victory means the Reds are now unbeaten in eight Barclays Premier League matches and have recorded 11 straight wins on Boxing Day. Well done, boys, even if three players did get booked on the day.

Tablet Wars

A not-so-long time ago in a land far, far away, some people had labeled Apple as barking mad for dreaming up the idea of a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Interestingly however, it appears Sony was not and is not part of such a group. Word on the grapevine this Boxing Day morn is that Apple’s Japanese rival-in-tech has been assembling its own answer to the so-called iPad Air Plus behind the scenes ahead of an intended Q1 launch. Just like the Cupertino company’s slate, Sony’s titanic tablet will apparently boast a 12.9-inch touchscreen and considerably more power than anything we’ve seen from the Xperia lineup to date. As far as the initial round of leaks have so far laid bare, Sony’s as-yet unnamed power-tab will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU and an impossibly sharp 3,840 by 2,400 pixel touchscreen – aka 4K Ultra HD. Sources have also tipped a thickness of just 8.6mm and a similar keyboard docking-station or cover to that of Microsoft’s Surface Pro. Seriously, people, just stick with Apple's product. They're the only ones you can trust to make a product that's actually of any use to anyone with any sense. If it's not an Apple, it's crapple no matter how "advanced" it is.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Big Hero 6

There were plenty of good points about this film - the 3D effects, the animation, and the clever mash-up of San Francisco and Tokyo being used as the film's setting to name a few. Critics reception is good too, so go see it if you haven't already.

And next year, it could be three

In each of the years from 2007 to 2012, we've only seen one new iPhone model (iPhone, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, and 5 respectively). Last year, it was two - the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. This year, it was two again - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. But next year, Apple might be prepping a third iPhone; one that will be welcome to anyone who finds the iPhone 6 too big - let alone the iPhone 6 Plus. Once again, the claim is that Apple is preparing a 4-inch iPhone 6S. The word comes from Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri in a note obtained by Apple Insider, but the report suggests this is more than just guesswork. Arcuri quoted his own sources, who have indicated that the 4-inch iPhone could be similar to the iPhone 5S but possibly with "curved screen edges" like the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Arcuri's track record with Apple has been hit and miss, but this isn't the first we've heard about a possible 4-inch iPhone. The last rumour pointed to a launch in the second half of 2015, suggesting that we'll see it during the usual September event. And if you want one in your stocking next Christmas, you better be on your best behaviour between now and then otherwise it may well be an iPhone box with a lump of coal in it.

Guess who's back, back again? The Interview's back, tell a friend!

Despite threats from hackers, Sony Pictures is making the controversial Seth Rogen comedy available at a limited number of theaters starting on Christmas, with the movie studio's CEO, Michael Lynton, saying that "while we hope this is only the first step of the film's release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech." By last night, slightly more than 200 independently-owned theaters had agreed to show the film. More might still get on board: one Sony source said the studio is "still counting" the total number, and that it could end up "around 300." None of the big theater chains, like AMC or Regal, have said they'll support the Christmas release yet, but they should because it's bound to be a great movie. Even though I might have to wait a bit longer for it to be released in New Zealand (release date not announced yet), I'm looking forward to it even more as a result of what could've been just a publicity stunt.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: That it wasn't Justin Bieber

Robin Williams. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Joan Rivers. Oscar de la Renta. The Hurricane. Just a few of the many good people who died this year. It's a wonder Justin Bieber hasn't joined that list. But a just-as-bad musician has left us. Joe Cocker, the gravelly British singer who became one of pop’s most recognizable interpreters in the late 1960s and ’70s with passionate, idiosyncratic takes on songs like the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends,” has died at the age of 70 at his home in Colorado. Seriously, why can't Justin Bieber be next? His music is a lot worse than anything else could ever be, so would be perfect for use at Guantanamo as a substitute for waterboarding.

When she thinks about torture, she touches herself

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter was caught masturbating to the Senate’s CIA Torture Report in an Amtrak bathroom as she traveled from Washington DC to New York City via the Silver Service line yesterday. Amy Walker, the Amtrak employee who discovered Coulter, thought the restroom was vacant. When she opened the door, she witnessed Coulter with her legs spread apart and the political pundit playing with her private parts. Coulter, unphased, then told Walker, “Do you mind?” which is when Walker shut the door and patiently waited outside the washroom. “I waited about 45 minutes until she came out and told me ‘Now you can use the bathroom’ and that’s when I noticed she was holding the Senate’s CIA Torture Report,” said Walker. A line had formed outside the bathroom with a dozen witnesses confirming Coulter left the restroom with the torture report in hand and a glowing smile on her face. Multiple passengers waiting in line said, “We were just in DC; everyone was reading that Torture Report and that was definitely what she was holding.” The bathroom wait time continued as Walker said, “It took me another 30 minutes to clean up the wet, smelly mess left inside in the bathroom. I’ve seen some crazy stuff on this D.C. to New York train but this was the grossest. It’s not every ride a solo porn video is being conducted in your bathroom.” Amtrak, however, is unamused by her actions. Spokesman Thomas Cooper has told reporters, “This isn’t Europe. We don’t condone this type of behavior on our trains. We will be looking into the matter and will publish a report when all the findings are assembled and dissected. After our investigation, we will determine if banning Ann Coulter from all Amtrak trains will be necessary. Our apologies to those affected by the bathroom wait time. We want a family friendly environment here at Amtrak. This isn’t a trucker pit-stop off Interstate 80.” Even if it were a trucker pit-stop, I would've waited until I got home before jacking off to the report instead of inconveniencing all the other passengers. And besides, it's more fun to do it in a plane than on a train.

And the three-point streak ends with a draw

Radamel Falcao rescued a point for Manchester United at Villa Park this morning with a brilliant second-half header as the Reds were held 1-1 by ten-man Aston Villa. The Barclays Premier League’s lowest scorers took the lead against the run of play on 18 minutes through Christian Benteke’s fine finish, before Falcao struck early in the second period to earn a draw for United, who remain third in the table. Louis van Gaal stuck with the same system which helped United overcome Liverpool, but he made two changes to the first XI, with Darren Fletcher coming in for the ill Marouane Fellaini and Falcao's first start since Everton at home at the start of October. No yellow cards were shown, but United’s cause was given a boost on 65 minutes when the hosts went down to ten men as Gabby Agbonlahor was sent off for a late tackle. The Reds should've done something with that opening. Drawing isn't good enough when it comes to improving their position on the table. Just one point at a time isn't going to put the silverware back in Old Trafford's trophy cabinet. LVG needs to shape up or ship out.

Obama leads charge against Sony hackers

President Barack Obama has vowed a US response after North Korea's alleged cyber-attack on Sony Pictures. The US leader also said the studio "made a mistake" in cancelling the Christmas release of The Interview, a satire depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Sony said it still planned to release the film "on a different platform". US authorities have linked North Korea to the hack, which saw sensitive studio information publicly released. Sony said it cancelled the planned Christmas release of the film after a majority of cinemas refused to show it following anonymous threats. "We will respond," Obama told reporters. "We will respond proportionately and in a space, time, and manner that we choose. We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship in the United States." I agree with him, and if I was in charge of the release, I would be moving ahead instead of caving in to terrorist threats because not only do the terrorists not get what they want, if even one public showing of any movie takes place in Los Angeles County, California before the end of the year, then it can be nominated for an Oscar. And if my family and I are taken to North Korea and imprisoned for three generations (that is actually a thing over there) over the film's release, then so be it.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Paddington

I would've done this week's one about The Hobbit but Paddington was funnier, especially at the bit where he messed up the bathroom and cleaned his ears with the Browns' toothbrushes. Paddington received "very positive" reviews from British critics, according to The Straits Times. Indiewire said critics were "pleasantly surprised" and that the film was "hailed for its warm-heartedness and playful sense of humor and [Ben] Whishaw's charming performance". Rotten Tomatoes sampled 36 reviews and judged 97% of them to be positive. The site's consensus reads "Paddington brings a beloved children's character into the 21st century without sacrificing his essential charm, delivering a family-friendly adventure as irresistibly cuddly as its star." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". With reviews like that, I suggest you go see this.

Will another Elizabeth Gallagher please stand up?

And it looks like one has, for Toronto man who made headlines last month by offering a free round-the-world air ticket to a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend has found Ms. Right. Jordan Axani and his then girlfriend, named Elizabeth Gallagher, booked heavily discounted round-the-world air tickets in May, but their relationship ended and he didn't want her ticket to go to waste. The ticket had a strict no-transfer policy, but since passport information was not required when booking, it can be used by any Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher. Axani posted his offer last month on the popular Reddit social media website, and received thousands of emails, including 18 from actual Elizabeth Gallaghers with Canadian passports. He's now chosen his travel mate, Elizabeth Quinn Gallagher, a 23-year-old student and part-time office administrator from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. "It's strictly a platonic trip. It's going to be great," Axani said. At first the new Elizabeth Gallagher thought a trip with a stranger whose ex-girlfriend's name is the same as hers was "crazy" but she hit it off with Axani after talking on the phone with him for hours. She already has a boyfriend though, and she acknowledged her boyfriend isn't thrilled. "He understands that I've always wanted to travel so while he's not happy I'm taking off for nearly a month at Christmas with a random guy he's smiling through it," she said. The trip is scheduled to start Dec. 21 in New York City and continue on to Milan, Prague, Paris, Bangkok, and New Delhi before ending in Toronto on Jan. 12. Axani said that after the breakup he deferred all other planning for the trip, such as making hotel reservations. But since the story became public, Marriott International offered to put him and the new Elizabeth Gallagher up, in separate rooms, during their trip. Axani said the trip will be documented and shared online, and will be a sight to behold once we find out where he's posting it all.

Rouble trouble

Russia's embattled ruble extended a week of catastrophic losses by dropping 4% at the opening of trading in Moscow. The world's worst-performing currency along with the Ukrainian hryvnia, the ruble has lost more than 50% of its value this year. It traded at 70.7 per dollar this morning local time, or 4% lower than at closing yesterday. The ruble lost over 15% of its value this week despite a 6.5% interest rate hike by the Russian central bank. "This is a very dangerous situation, we are just a few away from a full-blown run on the banks," Russia's leading business daily Vedomosti said in an editorial today. "If one does not calm down the currency market right now, the banking system will need robust emergency care." The ruble has fallen sharply in recent weeks and is down more than 50% since January, due to sinking oil prices as well as the impact of Western sanctions imposed over Russia's involvement in Ukraine's crisis. If this is what Putin's doing to Russia, I'm not surprised. It's just proving my point that Russia hasn't really changed that much since its communist days. Even Justin Bieber would be a better president than Putin.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Extinction

A northern white rhino has died. There are now five left in the entire world. Angalifu was 44 when he died of old age on Sunday at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California. He was a northern white rhinoceros, a species on the brink of extinction. Following his death, there are just five northern white rhinos left worldwide, all in captivity. That's five northern white rhinos compared to over seven billion humans. The San Diego Zoo has one remaining northern white rhino, an elderly female named Nola. Despite the hopes of conservationists, Angalifu and Nola were unable to breed, and in addition to Nola, the world's only remaining northern white rhinos are:

• Sudan, a male living in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He's now the final remaining male of his species.
• Najin and Fatu, two females living in the Kenya preserve with Sudan.
• An elderly female at the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic. The zoo is responsible for the care of Sudan, Najin, and Fatu, and sent them to Kenya as part of a last-ditch breeding program.

Proud of yourselves, poachers? Thanks to your crap, that particular species has likely already lost its last chance for natural reproduction. In October, a male called Suni - the first of his kind ever born in captivity - died of unknown causes in Kenya, where he was part of the breeding program with Sudan, Najin, and Fatu.

Reds continue journey back to the top

Manchester United swept historic arch-rivals Liverpool aside with a fine 3-0 win to record the Reds’ sixth consecutive victory. Goals from Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata gave Louis van Gaal’s side the comfort of a two-goal lead before half-time, with Robin van Persie scoring number three after the break. But even though seven yellow cards were shown all up, United were once again indebted to goalkeeper David De Gea, who made the first of several crucial saves seconds before Rooney’s opener. A magnificent effort to touch a Mario Balotelli shot onto his bar at 2-0 kept the frustrated visitors at bay, and even after van Persie had sealed the game, De Gea was using his body and feet to prevent any kind of consolation goal for the Merseysiders, and he is an asset to the van Gaal-era Man United. If they keep this up, the silverware could be back in their cabinet going into next season.

Search for new search engine is over

Facebook has quietly removed Microsoft-owned Bing as its primary search engine, according to a new report. The social network pulled Bing search from its Graph Search platform in exchange for its own search tool that will allow users to find information related to friends' posts and comments. Facebook was using Bing to produce search results as its in-house search engine, allowing Facebook users to look for more information about their friends. Selecting Bing as a partner was also a way for Facebook to keep rival Google's search engine away from the social network. The move comes as Facebook strengthens its other search tools. Earlier this week, it updated the method to search for old Facebook posts. The social network also revamped its trending news section, which makes it easier to find news and read different perspectives on the day's most popular stories, and it added a Twitter-like live feed that includes user mentions. That's right, people. Facebook is still evolving after ten years, and it's anybody's guess what improvement will come next.

A pox on Angelina

Filmmaker and actress Angelina Jolie has said she has chicken pox and will not be able to attend events for World War Two drama "Unbroken," her second film as director. "I just want to be clear and honest why I will be missing the 'Unbroken' events in the next few days, which is that I found out last night that I have chicken pox," Jolie said in a video released by Universal Pictures on YouTube. "So I will be home, itching and missing everyone and I can't believe it because this film means so much to me. I just can't believe it, but such is life," said the 39-year-old mother of six and wife of Brad Pitt. At the end of the 39-second video, she throws up her hands and then waves goodbye. Speaking of goodbye, New Zealand is having to say goodbye to its only free sports channel, which has folded after 18 months on air and stopped broadcasting yesterday at midday (New Zealand Daylight Time). Sommet Sports says it had the vision of 'Free Sports for Kiwis' but said funding it thought would be available never materialised. A press statement from the company said it was subsequently forced to deliver a nationwide broadcast channel on one third of the finance. "I am totally gutted at not being able to sustain something that we have long held a fervent desire to deliver to New Zealanders. Sommet was born from a dream to deliver free sports to all kiwis. Sadly this dream is not to be." Sommet Sports director Andrew Reeves said in a statement, adding "being the new kids on the block, we also struggled to gain a strong foothold with most advertising agencies. This coupled with an acute funding shortage has left us with the sad reality of having to make the difficult call." Sommet Sports had rights to many events I personally don't care that much about anyway, including but not limited to the Bundesliga (German football league), Chelsea TV, UEFA Europa League (especially as Manchester United didn't even qualify for that no thanks to David Moyes), and MotoGP.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

There was nothing terrible, horrible, no good, or very bad about this one. In fact, this is possibly one of the funniest I've seen this year, especially at the bit where Dick van Dyke was reading a children's book with an unfortunate typo where the word jump was changed to dump. However, not all of the critics agree, but this is still one you need to see.

All's fair in love and football... or is it?

Obviously not, because a die-hard Houston Texans fan who posted a photo of airline tickets to an away game on Facebook had an extremely rude awakening about online security when a rival team's fan apparently used the information to cancel them. The tickets from Houston to Jacksonville were what Alice Rodriguez considered the ultimate birthday surprise from her boyfriend when in her excitement she shared a photo of the boarding passes on the Traveling Texans Facebook page. "I was like 'Oh my God! I'm going to Jacksonville for my birthday!'" she recalled her surprise to local TV station KHOU. It was while gearing up for the big weekend trip that her boyfriend Carlos received an unexpected email from Southwest Airlines, informing them that their tickets had been mysteriously canceled. The apparent villain behind the attack was meanwhile boasting of his success online. "So these people posted their flight info on the Texans going to Jax FB page so I canceled their tix," a complete bellend who went by the Twitter name "DuvalUndertaker" posted while including a screen grab of the cancellation confirmation. The post included a hashtag for a Jacksonville Jaguars supporters group. "We had no idea what was going on, on social media or anything," said Rodriguez, who immediately went about contacting the airline and making things right. People shouldn't be doing that. But at the same time, people shouldn't be posting their flight details online unless they remove the booking numbers and any other info that can be used by some douche to screw about with their booking.

Nuts about nuts

The final season of Mork and Mindy is finally out on DVD. Not only that, the third season of Hart to Hart, which also formed part of ABC's 1981-82 schedule, has also been released on DVD. But enough about that because a Korean Air executive has resigned from some of her duties after she ordered a flight from New York to be turned around to the gate and a flight attendant off the plane because she was served nuts in a bag instead of on a plate. Heather Cho, whose Korean name is Cho Hyun-ah, resigned from the airline's catering and in-flight sales business, and its cabin service and hotel business divisions, but she is keeping her title as a vice president of the national carrier. The incident occurred on Friday at New York's JFK airport on a flight due to take off for South Korea's Incheon International Airport, outside Seoul. Cho reportedly demanded that the plane go back to the gate so that a crew member who served her macadamia nuts out of a bag rather than on a plate in First Class could be kicked off the flight. Although her role put her in charge of in-flight service, she was only a passenger on this flight and was not flying in an official capacity, so backing up the plane to order an employee to deplane over something silly like bags of nuts was an excessive act, and as for the next steps, there is an investigation going on, so we will have to see.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Playing against a resurgent Manchester United

Robin van Persie’s brace lifted Manchester United into third place in the Barclays Premier League with a 2-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s this morning. The Dutchman’s fifth and sixth goals in five starts against the Saints extended the Reds’ winning run to five successive matches and ensured Graziano Pelle’s first goal since October was nothing more than a consolation as Louis van Gaal’s men leapfrogged the hosts and also West Ham in the table. United were made to work hard for the win though, and could be thankful for a couple of second-half interventions made by David De Gea to prevent the hosts from increasing their goal tally on an evening when Southampton showed plenty of attacking intent. But today's post isn't just about Louis van Gaal going from being just another David Moyes to just another Alex Ferguson. The final season of Mork and Mindy is almost out on DVD, and the last of nine videos being posted in the buildup is Robin Williams & Pam Dawber being interviewed before the first airing of Mork & Mindy. The interview took place at Century City in July 1978:

Game over for Baer

Ralph H. Baer, who turned television sets into electronic fantasy lands by inventing and patenting the first home video game system, died on Saturday at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire at the age of 92. His death was confirmed by his family. Video games have become more than just a ubiquitous pastime and a gigantic market (by some estimates, total worldwide sales of console hardware and software and online, mobile and computer games exceeded $90 billion in 2013). They are also an engine that has driven scientists and engineers to multiply computer speed, memory, and visualization to today’s staggering capabilities. Flash back to the sultry late summer of 1966: Mr. Baer is sitting on a step outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan waiting for a colleague. By profession, he is an engineer overseeing 500 employees at a military contractor. Today, a vision has gripped him, and he begins scribbling furiously on a yellow legal pad with a No. 2 pencil. The result was a detailed four-page outline for a “game box” that would allow people to play board, action, sports, and other games on almost any American television set. An intrigued boss gave him $2,000 for research and $500 for materials and assigned two men to work with him. For all three, as they plowed through prototype after prototype in a secret workshop, the project became an obsession, and so began the long journey to today's Xbox One and PS4 machines. On the subject of long, it has been a long wait for the final season of Mork and Mindy to be released on DVD, and tonight's buildup video is the longest one so far. So clear your schedules as we present the Intimate Portrait special on Pam Dawber, which aired on Lifetime in 2002:

Director boldly quitting like nobody has quit before

In a bit of surprising news, it has been announced that Roberto Orci will no longer be directing Star Trek 3, which is due for a theatrical release in 2016. The news was confirmed today by Orci’s representatives. No reason was given for the departure, although the rumor mill claims that the script was the reason, with Paramount unhappy over some story elements. Orci will be staying on as producer for Star Trek 3. Edgar Wright is being mentioned as a potential director, as well as Joe Cornish, who was in contention for the director role before Orci was announced. They could try getting J.J. Abrams, who directed the last two, to direct if he wasn't so busy with Star Wars VII. Speaking of seven, today is the seventh day of our buildup to the DVD release of season 4. Tonight's video will be one where Robin Williams explains why he named his daughter Zelda:

Screen versus Screen

Three years ago, entrepreneur Vladislav Martynov got a call from a friend in Russia, suggesting that the two embark on a project to build a smartphone company. Martynov, then based in Canada and actively investing in startups after stints at Microsoft in Seattle and at a firm in Denmark, agreed — but knew they would have to create something truly different. “The innovation had stopped,” he says. Considering the baffling array of near-identical devices on the market today, there seemed little point in producing yet another black slab with a nice screen. What they came up with, first shown in public at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last year, was indeed different. The Yotaphone, a high-end Android device, came with a standard-issue, high-definition screen on the front and, on the back, an always-on E ink display. It wowed the crowd and won an award for the “hottest mobile device of 2013.” This week, Martynov is on the move, traveling between European capitals promoting the Yotaphone’s more sophisticated successor, Yotaphone 2. But why, you might ask, does a phone need two screens? The E ink screen remains on, allowing people to quickly glance at their phones to review new texts, emails, the time, or the weather, without having to turn the main screen on and off. It's also much more readable in bright sunlight, which is an important consideration in places like the Middle East and India (though it doesn’t have a slot for a second SIM, a standard feature in those places). That's all well and good, but it doesn't have a DVD player, therefore you will need a Plan B for watching the final season of Mork and Mindy when it comes out on DVD on Tuesday (date may vary depending on market). To mark the occasion, I have been posting YouTube videos alternating between the show's stars Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Tonight, we have Pam's appearance on The Late Late Show in April:

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Nightcrawler

Restless, visually sleek, and powered by a star performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler offers dark, thought-provoking thrills. It was overall a strong directorial debut from Dan Gilroy, and the critics agree - it has a "certified fresh" score of 95% on Rotten tomatoes based on 186 reviews with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10, and a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 45 critics indicating generally favourable reviews. To sum up, it was a great movie, but it didn't have Robin Williams in it (not that it would've worked). Not to worry, because we have some for you right now:

Ebola virus a no-show at malaria party

The initial test for Ebola on a patient admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital yesterday with suspected Ebola virus disease is negative. The patient has, however, tested positive for malaria, and whoever that patient is should be glad it's not Ebola. Western medicine can easily take care of malaria, but with Ebola, the prognosis is not so good. Those who have already died of it, or anything for that matter, will not be around when the final season of Mork and Mindy comes out on DVD, and in the case of the children, they won't grow up. Speaking of both, tonight's video, which is being posted here in the buildup, will be of Pam Dawber in character as Mindy singing "I Won't Grow Up" from the Broadway musical "Peter Pan". The clip is from season 2 episode "Looney Tunes and Morkie Melodies".

Four wins again, naturally

Manchester United recorded a fourth win in a row for the first time since December 2013 with a 2-1 triumph over Stoke City at a chilly Old Trafford this morning. Marouane Fellaini’s first-half header and Juan Mata’s free-kick - from which Marcos Rojo tried to claim a decisive touch - ensured the Reds collected another three points, although, not for the first time this season, an inspired moment from David De Gea was needed to safeguard the victory. Steven Nzonzi equalised for the Potters before the break and Mame Biram Diouf almost did the same, twice, in the dying seconds of the game but was thwarted by the Reds' no.1 and then an Ashley Young goal-line clearance. And with each victory, it gets closer to the DVD release of season 4 of Mork and Mindy. Speaking of which, tonight's video will be the first part of Robin Williams' appearance on Parkinson in 2002:

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Redoing the makeup on your friends' Barbie dolls

Bonus points if you borrow makeup and Magic Markers from your parents like Pam Dawber admitted to doing in this interview from 2010, which is being posted here in the buildup to season 4 of Mork and Mindy, and the box set of all four seasons, being released on DVD next week. (WARNING: Mild obscenity 1 minute 8 seconds in):

Reds working their way back to pre-Moyes form

Manchester United made it three wins on the spin for the first time in 2014 with a convincing 3-0 defeat of Hull City at a misty Old Trafford yesterday morning. Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney handed Louis van Gaal's men a commanding first-half lead and Robin van Persie answered some of his recent critics with an explosive third to clinch another welcome three points in a match where no yellow or red cards were dished out. But there is more to today's post than Loser van Gaal's recent failure to live up to the loser part of that nickname as the final season of Mork and Mindy will available on DVD in Region 1 on the 9th. Over the next week, I will be putting up YouTube videos of the main stars, alternating each day between Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Tonight's clip will be from when Robin Williams played that stupid Heads Up game on Ellen: