welcome. i'm marcio f silva aka frango, brazil. that's my spot at the web. here i share things that catch my attention and music i've been listening to. you're invited to share too. email me:
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First appearances can be deceptive. England, far from getting a virtual bye into the knockout stages, are in the fourth toughest group at the 2010 World Cup. And the dreaded Group of Death is the one that many experts considered the easiest for its seeded team.
That is, at least, according to the Fifa world rankings. It stands to reason (unless Fifa's system fails accurately to reflect the real world – and that cannot be the case, surely?) that the group with the lowest aggregate ranking of all four teams has to be the potential favourites' graveyard, with the highest total pointing to a seeded team's smooth passage into the second round from the Group of Life.
Adding England's Fifa ranking (9th) to that of the USA (14), Algeria (28) and Slovenia (33) gives Group C a total of just 84, comfortably lower than that of Group B (94), where Argentina face the tricky trio of Nigeria, South Korea and Greece, and even Group G (107), where the five-time winners Brazil face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, Didier Drogba's Ivory Coast and the unknown quantity that is North Korea.
Indeed, the Group of Death is not quite as obvious as many seem to think. Most observers have pointed to Group D, where Germany meet Australia, Ghana and Serbia, or the aforementioned battle of the big guns in Group G.
It was also widely assumed that Lady Luck was smiling on Spain in Friday's draw, with Vicente Del Bosque's side drawn alongside Switzerland, Honduras and Chile in Group H, but the reigning European champions are in the toughest group of all. Group H is the rankings' Group of Death.
Spain, ranked 1, Switzerland (18), Honduras (38) and Chile (17) combine to make a paltry 74, less than Germany and co in Group D (77) and Group E, the largely overlooked third-deadliest that contains Holland, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon (83).
Things change if the weakest team is removed from each group. Spain's task becomes the second-toughest, with Brazil's Group G, shorn of North Korea, coming out as the most lethal. England's task, however, appears easier. Group C has the second-highest tally once Slovenia are removed from the equation.
Either way, there is little doubt about the Group of Life. With Paraguay (30), Slovakia (34) and New Zealand (77) joining Italy (4) in Group F for a combined ranking total of 145. The same group also comes out on top once New Zealand are discounted. All good news, then, for Marcello Lippi's side.
But the daunting task facing Australia in Group D has not prevented Pim Verbeek and his side eyeing up a tie with the Three Lions in the second round. ” To have the advantage of playing England will probably be the extra 1% they need to go to the second round,” said the Australia coach.
A lot of hoopla has been generated over the last of the Golden Globe Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in movie history, that being 2008's Slumdog Millionaire, but I have my own top 5 list of movies winning this honor that have stood the test of time for me, but with a twist: they didn't go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. I want to share with you these particular top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in movie history, which span 1973-1989. These top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in movie history that didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture were made at a time when movies were generally a heck of a lot superior to what's mostly being made today. These films range from the very scary to the very tear-jerking!
Top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in Movie History Selection Number 1: The Exorcist (1973, but would lose out to The Sting for The Academy Award for Best Picture)
To me, The Exorcist isn't just about green goo or Linda Blair's rotating head. It's about different kinds of possession that humans have to deal with, including the possession of guilt that Father Damien Karras (masterfully played by Jason Miller) must deal with. The setting for this movie, Georgetown, is so perfect for this movie. It adds more eeriness to the film. I've been there, and I've even walked up those infamous “Exorcist stairs” which are extremely steep and hard to climb! As I looked at the house where Regan MacNeil was possessed at, a priest walked by me! This Golden Globe Award winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama selection also made my top 10 thriller movies list, which you can read about here at Associated Content.
Top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in Movie History Selection Number 2: Midnight Express (1978, but would lose out to The Deer Hunter for The Academy Award for Best Picture)
I think parents who advocate their teenaged or young adult children going on a trip abroad for the first time should be required to show them this movie because it will make those youngsters think twice before even thinking about trying to smuggle drugs out of a foreign country. Billy Hayes thought he could, but he was in for a very rude awakening after he was dramatically busted by authorities at the airport…then the Turkish justice and penal system got a hold of him for several years. This top 5 Golden Globe Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama selection is also one of my favorite movies of 1978, of which you can read more about here at Associated Content.
Top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in Movie History Selection Number 3: On Golden Pond (1981, but would lose out to Chariots of Fire for The Academy Award for Best Picture)
Self-serving lust amongst the young, shallow, self-absorbed, and twit-brained beautiful people is lauded via today's movie screens, yet On Golden Pond celebrates a genuine long-standing love between two senior citizens who are in the twilight of their lives Norman and Ethel Thayer (played by Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn). Their performances really touched my soul. The title suggests such pastoral serenity, but I remember seeing this movie for the first time as a teenager, and when the first melancholy note of the film score played, I was already on the verge of crying, not worrying about the network warning before the movie began about the salty language in the film. That fateful summer at their retreat would set the stage for not only the reinforcement of that long-standing love, but for reconciliation, too, between Norman and his daughter Chelsea (ironically played by Henry Fonda's real daughter Jane). It was an outrage that this personal top 5 Golden Globe Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama selection lost out to Chariots of Fire for the Oscar, a movie that is about as stimulating as watching paint dry.
Top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in Movie History Selection Number 4: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, but would lose out to Gandhi for The Academy Award for Best Picture)
Even I can't leave out that cute little space alien who likes those awful-tasting Reese's Pieces. If you were a movie watcher back in 1982, you, like me, won't forget just how it raked in the cash, and as of the present, it's made around 800 million dollars at the box office worldwide according to Wikipedia. I worked in a mom and pop video store when this Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama selection was released on VHS in 1988, and the interest was absolutely incredible! It kept me very busy because I had to help process the special orders for this movie by customers.
Top 5 Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in Movie History Selection Number 5: Born on the Fourth of July (1989, but would lose out to Driving Miss Daisy for The Academy Award for Best Picture)
When this movie first came out, I heard it called “Oliver Stone's Sermon on the Gun Mount”. This movie is so epic, bombastic, and colorful in presentation as it tells the story of Ron Kovic, a gung ho All-American teenager who would eventually become an anti-war activist after serving and being paralyzed in Vietnam. I think this is probably Tom Cruise's best performance. The film is one of my favorite biographical movies, too, which you can read more about that subject matter here at Associated Content. I was lucky enough to see this Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama selection on a gigantic movie screen (which this movie was definitely made for) during a discount movie house's double feature billing. The other movie I got to see was Glory. Two great movies for $1.50 if I remember right (in 1990: Holy cow!).
The Wikipedia links here about the Golden Globe Award Winners for Best Motion Picture in Drama in movie history and here for the Academy Award Winners for Best Picture in movie history helped me verify the dates of the wins.