The OscarsWhat else?Truth be told, I didn't get to watch a whole lot of them because I had to work tonight. But I strategically took my break at 7:30 so I could catch the opening. I think NPH's number started strong but kind of lost its luster as it went on. But at the end of the day, NPH goodness is like cocaine -- even a little is enough to send you to the moon. So glad I got to see Christoph get his Oscar. I threw my hands up in the air and said, "That's a bingo!" much to the confusion of the old-asses in the break room. I was a little bummed that when they showed his highlight reel they didn't emphasize that the man spoke four different languages to perfection. I got home a good ten minutes before they started doing Best Leading Actor. And I've gotta say, I'm severely disappointed that John Goodman didn't do Jeff Bridges' blurb. How epic would that have been? But from what I did get to see, my favorite moment was undoubtedly Tim Robbins' blurb for Morgan Freeman. I laughed, I cried, I puked. It gave me the warm fuzzies normally reserved for black and white movies or old cartoons. So there's been a lot of Sandra Bullock hate after her win, which I don't understand. Helen Mirren won last year, the last thing Meryl Streep needs is another Oscar (and her nominated role was BARELY a leading one), Gabooshamie Sidliilbe (sp?), and nobody even saw that other girl's movie. For some reason I think there's an unspoken hatred for the fact that she cashed in on romantic comedies for the majority of her career and the same haters probably think the feel-good football-ey movie had more to do with the favor she got than anything. To which I would say, what's wrong with that? Personally, I'm not a big fan of her work, but I like her as a person. Haven't seen the Blindside but I'm sure she did great, enough so to get the win in what I perceive to be a pretty weak category this year. So looking back at the results I missed, I think it speak volumes that Avatar won a ton of the visual awards but not much else. Coincidence? Style over substance? It's a tired argument by now, but let me say that it was a decent story with above average directing and performances. But clearly if it weren't for the new approach to 3D, it would be just another Sci-fi flick. Lucky for us, it's not. It's a pretty damn epic experience and I'm glad it got rewarded for it. I feel like I'm one of the only people I know of that's seen the Hurt Locker. And I thought it was an exceptional piece of work. But make no mistake about it -- the fact that it was about soldiers during wartime and directed by a woman played a big part in swaying voters to its side in a lot of the categories it won in. Sound editing? Sound mixing? Really? I feel like most voters consider those throwaway categories and just went with what they were picking for Best Picture. It could very well just be the diehard Tarantino fan in me, but I thought Inglourious Basterds was a shoo-in to take Best Original Screenplay. Because from where I'm standing, the Hurt Locker's greatness lies much much more in the execution rather than the material. It could be just me, but the word 'Original' in the award title makes me think the winner should be pushing boundaries, breaking new ground, trying things that haven't been done. It makes me wonder if QT had allowed Hitler to survive whether things would've turned out differently; maybe he wouldn't have scared as many voters off with his surprise alternate history. But that means QT would've given up his vision in exchange for an Oscar. And that just wouldn't be right. Besides, he's already got one. So suck it. So at the end of it all, I'm left wondering, what's next for QT? Inglourious Basterds was brilliance that was years in the making; he'd talked about making it for the better part of a decade. So now what? Kill Bill 3 with the two daughters? Another Grindhouse-style flick? Alternate 'Pulp Fiction' reality for a Vega Brothers movie? I don't know. What I do know is I can't wait. .... no seriously, I can't. I gotta hone my craft so I can figure out how to get my ass up on that stage. Really. Thanks for reading, lovelies. |
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