OSCAR RECAP!
Ah, the Academy Awards- the glitz, the glamour, the misguided attempts at humor. The 83rd Oscars were certainly interesting, if not necessarily for the right reasons. There were no real upsets or surprises, but for this viewer, some major disappointments.
First of all, there were some hosting issues. James Franco and Anne Hathaway might sound like an engaging duo on paper, but unfortunately, film presence does not equate to stage presence. The stoned Franco and overcompensating Hathaway were obviously there to appeal to a younger demographic, which even they acknowledged. However, being the tender age of 19, I found myself wishing for a more established, respected, and most importantly, ENTERTAINING presence. The five minutes that Billy Crystal took the stage was a breath of fresh air, in which everyone collectively remembered what good hosting is like.
As for the actual awards, I couldn't help but be disappointed that "Exit Through the Gift Shop" didn't win for documentary. To be fair, I didn't see any of the other nominees, but at the same time, I'm almost sure that it was a conspiracy to prevent Banksy from being seen by the public eye (maybe even an Inside Job?). Also, it's a sad day for cinema when garbage like "Alice in Wonderland" can win Academy Awards for Art Direction and Costume Design. Make no mistake, I'm no costume person, but even I knew that that entire movie looked like dump, costumes and all. Since when is throwing as much weird and bizarre crap on to the screen being creative?
Melissa Leo easily wins the "most obnoxious" award, dropping perhaps the most un-spontaneous f-bomb I've ever heard. Hailee Steinfeld was the clear winner for me in the supporting actress category, and I almost had to leave the room during Leo's cringe-inducing, self-gratifying speech; a speech so uniquely bad, it made you yearn for the confused Kirk Douglas to wander back on to the screen.
All the big awards went to who was predicted to win. The only slight surprise for me was Tom Hooper winning director over David Fincher. Personally, I thought it was Fincher's time. Who's Tom Hooper, anyway? Then again, you can't say that either of them didn't deserve it. I was personally pulling for "The Social Network" to win picture, but at the same time, was quietly thinking: How awesome would it be if "Toy Story 3" wins right now? One can dream...
The presenters were pretty unmemorable, with the exception of a hilarious Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. Also, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law weren't bad. I kept waiting for Ben Stiller to come out, decked out in a "Black Swan" outfit or with his arm chopped off, but he never came. Ah well, there's always next year.
Despite the hang-ups, I still had a great time watching the Academy Awards, as I always do. The highlights of the night for me was the "Tiny Ball of Light" Harry Potter auto-tune (hilarious), the acceptance speech of the guy from "God of Love", and that video during the red carpet featuring the moms of the nominees.
Other notes:
-Christian Bale's beard is wonderful. And I always forget that he's not American until I here him talk.
-The "In Memoriam" was nice, as usual. RIP Pete Postlethwaite, Leslie Nielsen, and all the others.
-Boring Oscar speeches this year; there somehow seemed to be even more name rattling than usual.
-The team of joke writers for Franco and Hathaway need to be fired, and then fired again. I guarantee I could have written better jokes for them.
-Javier Bardem looked awesome in that clip from "Biutiful". Now I want to see that movie all of a sudden.
-Why wasn't "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" nominated for best foreign film?
-Gone With the Wind, Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz- What do these movies have in common? They were all highlighted and focused on at the Oscars this year for no apparent reason.
-Jennifer Lawrence is a fox. A stone, cold, fox.
-Why did Jennifer Hudson sound so strange when presenting the Original Songs? It honestly sounded like she had a foreign accent.
-Don't they do any run-throughs of the Oscars, or at least plan them? The whole affair felt sloppier than usual this year.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI too was disappointed that Social Network lost Best Picture, though I wasn't surprised. I was surprised about Fincher losing though.
I had the exact same thought about Toy Story 3 coming out of nowhere to take it all. I smiled and wished, but alas.
I thought Anne Hathaway was great, but Franco was definitely stoned. I seriously don't think he gave the tiniest shit about being a host. I think this forced Anne to overcompensate sometimes, but I thought she was pretty good overall. And for the love of GOD will someone cast her in a damn movie musical already? WTF!?!
Also you forgot the random nod to Shrek and Titanic. lol. (Although those nods did make me wanna watch LOTR and Titanic again)
One other note, I really liked Speilberg's intro for Best Picture, saying whatever wins will join (insert BP winners here), whatever doesn't win will join Citizen Kane, Goodfellas, etc. "You're all in good company either way" Really showed that great films will still be remembered and stand the test of time, regardless of who gets the trophy.
Maybe we'll get lucky and Kirk Douglas will host next. He was my favorite part of the whole thing; (it did seem sloppier than usual) though Anne Hathaway was attractive enough to hold my attention for the most part.
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