Movie Reviews from the Dark

(3-8-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  Yes, I watched every moment of last night’s Academy Awards presentation.  Mostly because that’s what I do every year at this time.  However, this year, there was a bit of anticipation as we had been led to believe that this year’s show would be something unique – a break from the past!

So imagine my surprise when the show opened with a musical number from Neil Patrick Harris!  Not taking anything away from Mr. Harris, but this felt oddly familiar to the opening from past years.  Then the co-hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, came out for their duo-logue.  Together, they “worked the room” poking and prodding the key nominees.  Some of it worked and some of it didn’t.  The two best jokes came from Mr. Martin.  He linked Precious to his first movie The Jerk, stating they both got their start as poor black kids.  Even better was his exchange with Christoph Waltz who played a Jew hunter in Inglorious Basterds.  Martin congratulated Waltz for the mother lode as he encouraged him to look around the room.  Pretty funny.

There were some terrific moments and some very odd ones … plus a couple of just painful ones.  Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director, and she received it from Barbra Streisand, who always felt she had been slighted for direction of Yentl.  But did they really need to accompany Ms. Bigelow with Helen Reddy‘s “I am Woman”?  The John Hughes tribute was very well done, but it begged the question of why now and why him?  So many Hollywood legends have passed away and they have traditionally been recognized with only a photo or two during a montage on the show.  Personally, I like this idea very much, but question why Mr. Hughes is worthy, while so many others have not been.  The standing ovation for Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman seemed to underscore my point.  Hollywood types long to acknowledge the greats among themselves.  Too bad they weren’t allowed onstage.

The Horror Film clips were most welcome, but again it seemed odd, as the Academy historically ignores this genre (Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist are two exceptions).  Speaking of horror, how about the “Kanye West-type” moment during the Documentary Short presentation?  The producer jumped on stage and interrupted the director’s thank you speech with a wild, raucous, rambling mess of words.  My guess is there is more to this story.

I did find it funny that during Mo’Nique‘s acceptance speech, a quick cut to Samuel L. Jackson in the audience perfectly captured his rolling of the eyes.  Much less funny was the less-than-entertaining interpretative dance number for the Original Score nominations.  Not sure I am smart enough to connect the 1980’s robot dance moves with the musical score of Up. Maybe I was alone in this disconnect?  Can’t let it go without making sure everyone knows Sandra Bullock won her first Oscar the day after she was awarded the Razzie for her work in All About Steve.  She becomes the first to win Best and Worst in the same year.

My Oscar predictions were very solid (especially in the key categories), but not perfect.

Correct predictions: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Animated Film, Score and Song.

Incorrect predictions: Foreign Language Film (this was a shocker), Cinematographer, Costume, both Shorts

So, another year in the books.  Don’t worry, next year’s show will be much different from this years.  If you believe that, you will also believe that James Cameron is really upset for not winning one of the top two awards for Avatar. My guess is that he is quite satisfied in knowing that it is approaching $3 BILLION in worldwide box office.  Wow!

(3-2-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  As the great writer Stephen King said, people who “love” movies tend to “like” watching the Academy Awards presentations; and people who love watching the Oscars, tend to like watching movies.  Well, as usual, I am a bit different.  Of course, I LOVE movies … but watching the Oscars is an annual tradition for me – one that I can’t imagine skipping. 

My attraction to the event goes back to my childhood when this gathering of Hollywood’s elite presented a rare glimpse into the world of glamour and celebrity.   These days we know WAY TOO MUCH about most actors and the industry of celebrity has somehow eclipsed the art of moviemaking.  Even though much of the TV presentation is now committed to the ridiculous red carpet interviews centering around fashion, there remains something magical about watching the actors as real people (or as close as they get).

Below, I have recapped the main categories and offered up my predictions as well as my preferences.  I have resisted the urge to comment if my true preference did not even receive a nomination!  In reality, I expect very few surprises in the main categories, but then again …

BEST PICTURE – While I am not a fan of going back to the days of TEN nominations, I do understand the reasoning.

PREDICTION: The Hurt Locker – not many of us saw this during its theatrical, but it is an incredibly intense viewing experience.

PREFERENCE: An Education– no chance of a win, but it was my favorite film of 2009

BEST DIRECTOR

PREDICTION: Kathryn Bigelow – the former Mrs. James Cameron seems to be a shoe-in after winning the Director’s Guild Award for The Hurt Locker

PREFERENCE: James Cameron – Realizing Avatar didn’t require traditional directing, this industry changing film should bring a reward to its creative force (in my opinion)

BEST ACTOR

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) – great performance by a great actor who, unbelievably, has never walked away with an Oscar.  This will be his first.

BEST ACTRESS

PREDICTION: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side).  Sometimes an actor steps outside of the type of role they are best known for and the industry overreacts.  Try and imagine Ms. Bullock playing ANY role that Meryl Streep has ever played.

PREFERENCE:  Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).  I am not a huge fan of this film, but Ms. Streep’s performance was so much deeper than an impersonation of Julia Child.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Christoph Waltz.  This may be the only recognition that Inglourious Basterds gets all evening, though I hope it takes a writing award as well.  Mr. Waltz was tremendous and is very deserving.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Mo’Nique.  Her performance in Precious terrified me.  This is the one sure bet for the evening.

ANIMATED FEATURE

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Up.  One of the rare animated features that deserved (and received) a Best Picture nomination.  There is some sentiment for Fantastic Mr. Fox, but Up has a tremendous story and terrific presentation.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: The White Ribbon.  Unfortunately, I did not get to see a couple of this year’s nominations, but this German entry would be deserving most years.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (my favorite category)

PREDICTION: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)

PREFERENCE: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds).  Not just deserving, but watching him give a speech always livens up any event!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

PREDICTION: Geoffrey Flethcher (Precious).

PREFERENCE: Nick Hornby (An Education)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

PREDICTION: Avatar

PREFERENCE: The Hurt Locker

COSTUME DESIGN

PREDICTION: Nine

PREFERENCE: The Young Victoria

ANIMATED SHORT FILM (see my comments on the blog)

PREDICTION: A Matter of Loaf and Death

PREFERENCE: Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM (see my comments on the blog)

PREDICTION: The Door

PREFERENCE: Instead of Abracadabra

ORIGINAL SCORE

PREDICTION: Avatar

PREFERENCE: Up

ORIGINAL SONG

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: “The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart).  Gotta love T Bone Burnett!