Good News

Here is a great little video spreading across the web celebrating the year in film. 2009 was a tough year for filmmakers, with the rise in online piracy and the pain of the recession, funding was profits in the movie industry has been getting smaller and smaller. But for us, the public, that was not necessarily a bad thing.

As with the recent struggle in the music industry to make money, it has simply forced filmmakers to up their game. This has lead to perhaps the best year for film of the decade. Of course there were still some stinkers. Here are my top 5 movies of 09:

1. District 9
2. The Hangover
3. 500 Days of Summer
4. Hurt Locker
5. Zombieland

It’s now easier than ever to watch movies. iTunes now does movie rentals too, which means you can watch the latest movie releases from the comfort of your own sofas without leaving you house. You got 5 greats to choose from above, get watching.

If you are reading this today then you forgot to book the day off work, or forgot to call in sick. Yes the long wait is over and the sequel to the best first person shooter of all time has finally hit the shops. Modern Warfare was a near perfect game with an excellent gaming engine that gave one of the most realistic infantry simulations of any medium. In steps Modern Warfare 2.

Modern Warfare 2 is set to be a milestone in the history of computer games. Self proclaimed as the most anticipated game of the decade (and rightfully so) Modern Warfare 2 is likely to break every record in the book and take the crown of best first person shooter of all time. All reviews claim the game meets or even surpasses the massive hype surrounding its release, which is a rarity. The games is available everywhere from today for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Hot tip to save cash is that Sainsbury’s are selling it for only £26 for today and today only.

For the past few years, charity Oxfam have tried to reach out to a younger audience by hosting a unique music festival. Threw out the month of October, Oxfam plays host to Oxjam, a month long festival where you make the music, events and raise money for charity.

It’s unique in that anyone can participate. You can get involved by anything from entire event production to performing at your  own show, to marketing events. You choose the venue, you pick the acts, you raise money for charity. This year Oxjam is bigger than ever, with bands ranging from chart toppers Fat boy Slim to your local garage band, hundreds of gigs have been going on around the country. It’s not too late to get involved. To check out what gigs are happening near you, head on over to the Oxjam site.

Here is the Oxjam Leicester team in action:

Lets not forget the important life changing help that charity provides around the world. The recession has seen a decline in charity donations, when demand for the help of charities such as Oxfam is higher than ever. Why give your money to the government when they are going to give it to rich bankers, when you could make a real difference to people’s lives.