Thank God – we can never understand what’s going on in the Middle East until she explains it.

Who’ll be feeling like a King, and who’ll be feeling like they’ve cut their own arm off with a blunt knife?

Marketed during its Edinburgh Film Festival run as “the Afghanistan war film that renders all others unnecessary”, Restrepo is the work of two war correspondents who’ve seen more action than most. An artfully documented account of 15 months embedded in Afghanistan’s deadly Korangal valley, this film captures the highs and lows of warfare from the viewpoint of the men who were there. An intimate account of friendship and firefights in one of the world’s most dangerous environments.

Everybody loves a freebie. Just ask Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross. And whilst I wouldn’t say that ALL of the best things in life are free, The Scoop is offering something truly great. Outside film screenings. And I’ve got the windswept hair to prove it. So forget about the rubbish giveaways; like flyers through your letterbox, a dress ten sizes too small that your pal gave you because she lost weight, or the free drink that ain’t alcohol (yeah thanks) because this is GOOD stuff!!

After four years running the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Hannah McGill is stepping down as its artistic director.

God bless nail-biting competition. This year Oscar viewing figures have been the best in 5 years, with almost 41 million people in the US tuning in. This, of course, was mainly down to the battle of the titans that was Avatar vs The Hurt Locker, and the story was made all the juicer by the fact that the two directors used to be married. Of course, in the end Avatar walked away with just 3 awards, and The Hurt Locker stole the evening by winning Best Picture and Best Director

Well, what a night, eh? It was glorious to have a real nail-biter of a ceremony, with the David and Goliath battle that was Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker. But, in the end, Katheryn Bigelow’s budget Iraq epic took home the gold, in a night that was revolutionary, though rather predictable.

Crimety, people are getting banned from the cinematic event of the year left, right and centre. First a Hurt Locker producer is dis-invited for vote-mongering, and now it seems like Sacha Baron Cohen has been given his marching orders too. At least they have each other.

Things are just getting worse and worse for the team behind The Hurt Locker. The Oscar front-runner is being bashed from all sides, with a war veteran today announcing that he plans to sue the team for using his life-story in their film. This comes just one day after one of their producers was banned from the Oscar ceremony for trying to sway Academy votes. Oh dear oh dear.

Naughty naughty. Nicolas Chartier, one of the producers on this year’s Oscar front runner The Hurt Locker, has been banned from coming to the Oscars after urging the Academy panel not to vote for Avatar.