Mary Poppins the movie has just celebrated its 50^th anniversary. This movie has a special place in the heart of so many people. It’s as loved today as when it first premiered. That is quite an achievement considering there are not many movies that stand up after 50 years.

I remember watching the Mary Poppins DVD when I was little and wishing that I could have a magical nanny. The special effects for the time were ground breaking, even now you can still believe that Mary, Bert and the children really did jump into a chalk drawing. As a kid all that magic that Mary Poppins could do seemed totally plausible, everyone wanted to have adventures like Jane and Michael Banks. The movie was fun and full of quirky and memorable songs. Watching the movie again as an adult you can then appreciate the other underlying themes that are present, Mrs Banks protesting for women’s rights and Mr Banks being unhappy and trapped in a stuffy job. It makes us all remember that it’s okay to have fun and be a little adventurous and that family is always more important.

Last year the Disney film Saving Mr Banks gave us an insight into the author PL Travers who wrote the Mary Poppins books. This film revealed even greater meaning into the themes of the Mary Poppins movie and how it came to be made. Walt Disney managed to bring to life Mary Poppins with the delightful Julie Andrews, she seemed made for this role, and joined by the talented Dick Van Dyke was an instant success.   You really can’t go wrong with catchy songs and dancing penguins. This movie has become such an integral part of so many childhoods, everyone knows that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down (probably not the strongest message in favour of childhood dental care – but the concept was sound). And of course Mary Poppins has taught us all the most valuable lesson of all; that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a real word and can be used in any situation!!

The 66^th Emmy Awards were on today in the US and finished a few minutes ago. It all started on the red carpet with the consensus being that the beautiful Julia Roberts was best dressed in what looked like she fell into a barrel of marbles.

Seth Myers was this year’s host. He’s from Saturday Night Live and a few movies most didn’t see but he did a fairly solid job. Not sure he’ll be back. There was a hilarious bit of him taking questions from the audience, Phil Donahue style. If you missed it, watch it on tonight’s replay on TV.

Game Of Thrones season 4 was nominated for 19 Emmys including best drama which meant it was the most supported show prior to the show starting. Whilst it’s the most popular show of all time, it didn’t win the big ones.

Ty Burrell won the first award for best supporting Actor in a comedy for the incredibly funny Modern Family. A writing award was then given to Louie. Allison Janney, who you may remember from the West Wing then won best supporting actress in a comedy for Mom.

Modern Family picked up another Emmy for comedy directing by Gail Mancuso. Then the Lead Actor in a comedy award was handed out to Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory which was anything but a surprise. In his acceptance speech it sounded like that Sheldon nerd. Lead Actress in a comedy series went to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the 3^rd time for Veep. It’s rare to have such success in 3 sitcoms as Julia has with Seinfeld, The New Adventures Of Old Christine and now Veep. All hugely funny shows.

The award this year for best Reality Show went to The Amazing Race for the 10^th time, really 10 times, why wasn’t Survivor nominated but the US Voice was? Go figure.

The best mini series went to Fargo. Not sure what that was doing in the mini series category but if Orange Is The New Black is in the comedy category I guess anything goes.

Aaron Paul won best supporting actor in a drama series for Breaking Bad. And it appears the stage is set for a Breaking Bad-a-thon Emmys.

There was then a moving tribute to Robin Williams by his friend Billy Crystal. After the MTV VMA awards yesterday provided a terrible almost offensive 15 second tribute to Robin, all eyes were on Crystal’s tribute. It was a beautiful moment and not a dry eye in the place. Even some of the botox faces showed some emotion.

True Detective won for best drama Director. Breaking Bad picked up another couple of Emmys for best supporting actress in Anna Gunn and also for writing.

Julianna Margulies and Bryan Cranston won best actors in a drama for their work on The Good Wife and Breaking Bad. These were expected wins. Did I mention the full on pash between Bryan Cranston and Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the audience floor? Seriously, it happened.

Modern Family continues it’s unstoppable run winning the Emmy for best Comedy and no surprise at all with the final season of Breaking Bad picked up the best drama award. All in all, a fairly good Emmys, it was the first Emmys on a Monday night (US time) since the 1970s so it suffered a little because of that, but well worth watching the reply tonight if you get a chance.

This week we have lost two of Hollywood’s greats. Both Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall have passed away. For two people that could not have been more different, they will both be very much missed.

Robin Williams was a diverse, complex, exhausting and hilarious actor. He brought to the screen, both on TV and in film, a frenetic comedic energy that was pure genius. From his beginnings on the Mork and Mindy TV show which is still available on DVD, to Good Morning Vietnam, to the Angriest Man In Brooklyn he has delighted audiences. When you were watching Robin doing comedic roles you always got the feeling that he was making it up as he went along and that his co-stars were always on the verge of laughing out loud when something unexpected happened. That was one of the greatest qualities about Robin Williams, he made you feel like you were watching pure spontaneity and that you were part of the fun.

He also proved to us that he could be dramatic, starring in some of the most powerful movies of our generation. Dead Poets Society was one of the most influential movies of the early 1990s, it changed the perspective of many a teenager and their view of the world. It also made the phrase Carpe Diem (seize the day) part of our everyday language.

Good Will Hunting earned Robin Williams his only Oscar, validating that his dramatic movie work was powerful and brilliant, as was his comedy.

Robin Williams was clearly a brilliant mind that was incredibly gifted. However, it seems that genius has come at a heavy price. He has given us a legacy of incredible comedy and powerful drama to continue to enjoy.

In other sad news, Lauren Bacall has passed away. She was a Hollywood icon and starred in some of the great films of the 20^th century.   Lauren Bacall was glamorous and seductive and was a joy to watch on the silver screen in her film noir roles. She starred alongside Humphrey Bogart in many films including The Big Sleep and Key Largo. They also married, despite him being 25 years her senior, and they were married for 11 years until his death in 1957.

Lauren Bacall’s career spanned 70 years during much change in the film industry and throughout she remained sophisticated and dignified. She was the perfect example of a true Hollywood legend.

Valar Morghulis.

If you don’t know what this means then it’s clear that you may be the last person left on earth that isn’t watching Game Of Thrones DVD. Otherwise you would know that Valar Morghulis is a High Valyrian greeting which means All Men Must Die, and is traditionally answered with Valar Dohaeris (All Men Must Serve). Well, maybe the intricacies of a made up language may well have slipped past most, but you have to admit that Game Of Thrones is like another language to anyone that hasn’t watched the show.

While watching Game Of Thrones you are drawn into a finely crafted world with complicated characters. Most TV shows follow a few main characters and we usually know who is ‘good’, who is ‘bad’ and there’s a certain predictability about plot lines. Game Of Thrones (or GOT, to those in the know), breaks this mould entirely. The story does not just centre on a few core characters but instead rival families with all their own internal politics.

The struggle for control of The Seven Kingdoms is between the Starks, Lannisters and Baratheons on Westeros, as well as Daenerys Targaryen in Essos. We find out pretty quickly in Game Of Thrones that our favourites are capable of doing terrible things and that our villains can also show great compassion and kindness. This is the element that is truly appealing about this show. While the families struggle for power of the Seven Kingdoms, the really powerful story is told by the characters struggling with themselves, their sense of family duty and the concept of right and wrong.

I love this show, I love that there are over 30 main characters and they all have brilliant scripts and complex stories. The show is shot in beautiful places and the special effects are amazing. The Dragons are also pretty cool.   This is not a TV show for the faint hearted, it’s complicated and you need to concentrate all the time. It’s shocking, funny and dramatic all at the same time. You never know what is going to happen next.

And please, if you have read the books, don’t tell me what happens in Season 4, nobody likes a spoiler.

Winter Is Coming.

The first 4 seasons of Game Of Thrones are now on our website.

We are right in the middle of the World Cup in Brazil. Football is the world game, unless you’re Australian, in defiance of the rest of the world we still call it soccer. We even call our team the Socceroos which may be a tactic to confuse the other competitors. Maybe it’s our way of saying that we do things differently here in Australia, like have players that aren’t paid millions of dollars, we do it for the love of the game and national pride.

We may not have been considered a huge threat in the World Cup in Brazil but like any good underdog we like to keep the big boys guessing. By having players that aren’t well known on the world stage no one knows what we are capable of. We gave the Netherlands a scare. Spain may have beaten us 3-0, but it clearly shows that winning the World Cup in 2010 didn’t help them in 2014.

Amongst all the hype and excitement of the World Cup and soccer DVDs is the constant controversy surrounding FIFA and money. Football is a game that is worth a lot not only regarding players’ salaries but the tourism opportunity that comes with hosting a World Cup. It is a game that always has high stakes and is a business as much as a sport. For an insight into this world of money and sport take a look at How Much Is Enough DVD.

If Rugby League is more your thing, then the 2014 State Of Origin Series has been a cracker. After 8 years of domination Queensland have lost the 2014 State Of Origin series to NSW. The final game at Suncorp is the Queenslanders playing for state pride. Whether you are a Blues or Maroons supporter, you have to admit that NSW needed the win to breathe new life into Rugby League’s greatest rivalry. Supporters had forgotten the old rivalry and the anticipation each year of which team was going to dominate. Game 2 of this series was a hard fought victory like the games of old. Tough footy where NSW earned their victory in an epic battle. It’s worth a look back at some of the old State Of Origin games to appreciate what makes Origin the game it is today.