Oscars Talk

[GtrPlyr]

That was probably the most boring Oscar telecast I've seen in ages. Anne was okay, though far from stellar, and James seemed stiff and somewhat out of it. Good hosts bring some unscripted spontaneity to the show, these two aren't comedians so they probably don't have that gene. On the plus side I won my oscar pool getting 20 out of 24 right (there wasn't any real surprises so it wasn't really hard to pull that off.)

[jff]

The Franco in drag thing bombed horribly...and deservedly.

[embiggen]

I've seen True Grit and Inception. I have to say that I was completely lost during all of Inception and I thought it sucked. should I bother to watch it again?

[Guest Speed Racer]

Hopefully next year Kent and Vyxsyn from The Amazing Race will host the Oscars.

 

But only if Ron was on hand to provide a running critique.

 

I always want to defend Anne Hathaway's superior acting skills, until I realize I couldn't name a film I've seen with her in it if you put a gun to my head. What's that about?

 

I strongly dislike applause-dominated situations, so I don't think I've watched an awards show in about a decade.

[LouieB]

James Franco needs to be immediately signed to do the biopic of the Tim/Jeff Buckley story....

 

LouieB

[embiggen]

 

WTF is wrong with this woman?

[jff]

But only if Ron was on hand to provide a running critique.

 

I couldn't stand Ron at first, but he's become an entertaining character. I could see him up in the balcony like those two old guys on the Muppet Show, heckling throughout the ceremony.

[u2roolz]

Anne Hathaway did fine, although her cheerleading bit(s) seemed like an attempt to mask her nerves. And her constant "hip young Oscars" comments seemed like a rib at the whole idea.

 

It felt like they sat around a table and said her name because she did a duet with Hugh Jackman (who I still think was the best host of the last 5 or so years).

 

James Franco - Seriously, I haven't seen heavy eye lids like that since watching Garfield. A: 127 Hours Q: The amount of time that Franco was stoned all week. (taken from my FB page)

Maybe bright lights make him squint, but I highly doubt it. He seemed to be not there and then at times he just smiled. I really have no idea why they picked him. Was it because the running joke is that he's everywhere these days? It kind of reminded me of January Jones' train wreck when she hosted SNL a couple of years ago. She drunkenly giggled her way through every skit and they've never replayed it again. I can completely understand people being nervous, but why sign up for something that would frighten you? Exposure. Ok. I get it.

 

It should be noted that The King's Speech and Inception tied for the most awards won with 4 apiece. True Grit went 0 for 10. And The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone also went home empty handed. But we can now delightfully call that dreadful piece of cinema The Wolfman an Oscar winner.

 

Lastly, I had real problems with the older films chosen to be "showcased". They didn't seem to make any sense in terms of 5 year anniversary etc. And I thought that it was really rude to leave up art from Shrek or Lord Of The Rings, while the current Oscar winner was giving their speech.

 

And where the hell were Mo'Nique and Christoph Walz? They should have been there to present the Supporting categories for their opposing gender.

 

Finally, I thought that it was really odd and strange that Kathryn Bigelow ended up giving the award to her ex-husband's (James Cameron) doppelganger Tom Hooper. Seriously, cloning is alive and well in Hollywood. And I still think that Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand are the same person.

 

Edit: Next year they should totally go with Kirk Douglas and Dick Clark just to piss everyone off.

[bleedorange]

The award is for Best Makeup. Not "Best Movie That Had Some Good Makeup In It." Not sure why that bothers you so much.

[Sir Stewart]

Anne Hathaway did fine, although her cheerleading bit(s) seemed like an attempt to mask her nerves. And her constant "hip young Oscars" comments seemed like a rib at the whole idea.

 

It felt like they sat around a table and said her name because she did a duet with Hugh Jackman (who I still think was the best host of the last 5 or so years).

 

James Franco - Seriously, I haven't seen heavy eye lids like that since watching Garfield. A: 127 Hours Q: The amount of time that Franco was stoned all week. (taken from my FB page)

Maybe bright lights make him squint, but I highly doubt it. He seemed to be not there and then at times he just smiled. I really have no idea why they picked him. Was it because the running joke is that he's everywhere these days? It kind of reminded me of January Jones' train wreck when she hosted SNL a couple of years ago. She drunkenly giggled her way through every skit and they've never replayed it again. I can completely understand people being nervous, but why sign up for something that would frighten you? Exposure. Ok. I get it.

 

It should be noted that The King's Speech and Inception tied for the most awards won with 4 apiece. True Grit went 0 for 10. And The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone also went home empty handed. But we can now delightfully call that dreadful piece of cinema The Wolfman an Oscar winner.

 

Lastly, I had real problems with the older films chosen to be "showcased". They didn't seem to make any sense in terms of 5 year anniversary etc. And I thought that it was really rude to leave up art from Shrek or Lord Of The Rings, while the current Oscar winner was giving their speech.

 

And where the hell were Mo'Nique and Christoph Walz? They should have been there to present the Supporting categories for their opposing gender.

 

Finally, I thought that it was really odd and strange that Kathryn Bigelow ended up giving the award to her ex-husband's (James Cameron) doppelganger Tom Hooper. Seriously, cloning is alive and well in Hollywood. And I still think that Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand are the same person.

 

Edit: Next year they should totally go with Kirk Douglas and Dick Clark just to piss everyone off.

 

Seriously, I don't mean to pour it on man, but you gotta try to cure your diarrhea of the keyboard!

[Guest Speed Racer]

I can completely understand people being nervous, but why sign up for something that would frighten you? Exposure. Ok. I get it.

 

Yes, because no one should ever have to do anything in a professional capacity that makes them nervous or uncomfortable.

[u2roolz]

The award is for Best Makeup. Not "Best Movie That Had Some Good Makeup In It." Not sure why that bothers you so much.

 

Cheese Louise! It's just a joke referring to other films that you don't necessarily think of as Academy Award winners (The Golden Compass, The Bourne Ultimatum, Pirates Of The Caribbean).

 

And thanks to Sir Stewart for being VC's house orchestra band playing me off stage. You don't have to read it all, but I'm not here to say things like "i didn't like the show" and not explain why.

 

Speaking of censorship ( ), here's Colin Firth talking about the recent recutting of The King's Speech.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

James Franco was either stoned out of his gourd or giving a fantastic acting job of someone who is. I can't recall a worse host for anything.

 

somebody should have reminded of the Letterman's Oscar fiasco and incumbent fallout

[welch79]

I have to say that I was completely lost during all of Inception and I thought it sucked. should I bother to watch it again?

nope. unless you want to waste two more hours. i agree with what someone else said: ultimately disposable.

 

someone mentioned the king's speech being predictable...it's more or less a biopic, so it's going to be a bit "predictable" (it's history after all). the acting by colin firth really made that movie what it was, in my opinion. his acting coupled with the chemistry he shared with geoffrey rush. plus, hell, it's just a great story, right? a man with a debilitating stutter overcomes it to be the king of england in a turbulent time in which they needed some leadership.

 

i also enjoyed hooper's acceptance speech.

 

127 hours was brilliant as well. boyle made an hour and a half pass briefly (but memorably) with primarily one actor on stage.

 

social network was the same way: riveting.

 

overall, a strong year for film...not so strong awards show, but okay to have on in the background while doing some work on the computer.

[u2roolz]

Yes, because no one should ever have to do anything in a professional capacity that makes them nervous or uncomfortable.

 

Well, you should have seen Joel McHale host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday night. He had such poise and confidence and his deliveries were spot on for every joke. I guess that "outsider" mentality really works for these Hollywood award shows (see: Ricky Gervais).

 

Here's his opening monologue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVYJqkZ7jnk A bit NSFW towards the end.

[welch79]

Well, you should have seen Joel McHale host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday night. He had such poise and confidence and his deliveries were spot on for every joke. I guess that "outsider" mentality really works for these Hollywood award shows (see: Ricky Gervais).

joel mchale is a class act.

 

gervais was obnoxious for the globes.

[Moss]

 

gervais was obnoxious for the globes.

 

I liked his lack of ass-kissery. All hosts should have that.

[cryptique]

I thought Gervais was fantastic. Awards shows are stupid, and they deserve to have someone come in and lay waste to them from time to time.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I thought Gervais Cryptique was fantastic. Awards shows Internet message boards are stupid, and they deserve to have someone come in and lay waste to them from time to time.

 

Edited for time and place

[bleedorange]

Time to resurrect this thread. Any thoughts on Sunday's show? I've finally seen most of the nominated films, but I don't have my picks yet.

[Beltmann]

I've seen everything except for a handful in the Foreign, Documentary, and Shorts categories. I don't much care about predicting winners, but if I was a member of the Academy my ballot would include The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick, Jean Dujardin, Viola Davis, Jonah Hill, and Octavia Spencer in the major categories. For Screenplay, I'd likely pick The Artist and Moneyball.

 

Huh. I just realized that I wouldn't vote for The Descendants in any category, even though it was one of my three favorite films of the year. Weird how that plays out.

[bleedorange]

I've seen everything except for a handful in the Foreign, Documentary, and Shorts categories. I don't much care about predicting winners, but if I was a member of the Academy my ballot would include The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick, Jean Dujardin, Viola Davis, Jonah Hill, and Octavia Spencer in the major categories. For Screenplay, I'd likely pick The Artist and Moneyball.

 

Huh. I just realized that I wouldn't vote for The Descendants in any category, even though it was one of my three favorite films of the year. Weird how that plays out.

 

I loved The Descendants and The Tree of Life. I also really liked Hugo. I don't get the chance to see as many movies as I used to each year, so I try to stick to the nominated films. I'm rooting hardest for George Clooney. Thought he was fantastic.

 

I also really liked Midnight in Paris and Margin Call, making the Original Screenplay category a tough one. Can't really disagree with your other acting choices. I do wish Shailene Woodley was nominated, though.

[IRememberDBoon]

i watched J Edgar last night with much anticipation.

 

meh. what did you guys think?

[bleedorange]

i watched J Edgar last night with much anticipation.

 

meh. what did you guys think?

 

I actually haven't seen that. I was looking forward to it at one point, too, but it seemed to garner that type of reaction from a lot of people.

[Beltmann]

I loved The Descendants and The Tree of Life. I also really liked Hugo. I don't get the chance to see as many movies as I used to each year, so I try to stick to the nominated films. I'm rooting hardest for George Clooney. Thought he was fantastic.

 

I also really liked Midnight in Paris and Margin Call, making the Original Screenplay category a tough one. Can't really disagree with your other acting choices. I do wish Shailene Woodley was nominated, though.

The only reason I'd vote for Dujardin is because I can't think of any other actor who could play such an outsize, throwback role. The Artist works almost exclusively because of the unique presence of Dujardin. (Can you imagine someone else pulling it off?) There's absolutely nothing wrong with Clooney's performance--he's genuinely terrific--but The Descendants probably could work just as well with another well-cast actor at its center. That's not a knock on Clooney; it's merely an acknowledgment that Dujardin gave us a singular gift at the movies this year.

 

The argument has been beaten to death, but there's truth to the fact that it is nonsense to throw actors into unquantifiable competition like this. Art, unlike sports, doesn't really work that way. Clooney and Dujardin equally "deserve" an acting award as much as anyone ever deserves an acting award.

 

I loved Hugo, too, and tonight finished reading the book with my 7-year-old daughter. It was great fun showing her old Georges Melies and Harold Lloyd movies as we went along (the DVD collection got a workout!). A few nights ago the myth of Prometheus was mentioned in the pages. Tonight we were reading, and one of the characters referred back to Prometheus, and I asked Kael if she remembered the story. When I asked her what happens to Prometheus, she said, "I don't want to say! It's too awful!" Then this exchange happened:

Me: Sometimes I teach that story to the kids at school [i teach high school literature].

Kael: Do they think it's scary?

Me: No, they think it's pretty cool.

Kael: They think it's cool?? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!

 

J. Edgar was a huge disappointment. One of my least favorite movies of the year.