Academy Awards
Christoph Waltz was great in Basterds. I'm all for that.
Another win for Pixar, but it was to be expected. You all should find a copy of Secret of Kells, though. It's amazing.
"The Weary Kind" wins best original song. I'm okay with this. Crazy Heart had a fantastic soundtrack, with songs sung by Colin Farrell and Jeff Bridges among others. It's nice to see a song that you could hear on the radio winning best song.
The Hurt Locker picks up best original screenplay. Didn't see it. It's being sued right now, a soldier said the story was his. Anyways, I expect Hurt Locker and all its relevance to secure Best Picture. Just you watch.
John Hughes tribute was really touching. You get to see the influence he had on a lot of people.
Best animated short film, Nick Park's always a shoe-in. Academy loves him...but oh! No, Logorama wins. Haven't seen that one yet. Have to Youtube it. Documentary short, I don't know anything about whatsoever. Never been much of a documentary fan...it's definitely a blind spot in my film knowledge. Same with the live action shorts. Man, I should hunt them down.
Oh God, Ben Stiller as a Na'vi. Fuckin' hilarious. And Star Trek wins for best makeup. I guess people dig the prosthetics and the pointy ears. I'm still focused on Stiller's creepy yellow eyes. This is a win for nerds, though! I don't think any Star Trek films have an Academy Award.
Adapted screenplay...and Precious wins. I figured that one. It's become a real darling and there's been a lot of focus on the book it came from. Strong story, strong screenplay from what I've heard.
Governor's awards...hey, Roger Corman. He deserves the accolades. I mean, hell, look whose careers he's started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Corman#Proteges
Best supporting actress! Mo'nique is my call, though I've heard the Up in the Air nominees are incredibly strong. Man, I haven't seen enough movies this past year. And yeah, Mo'nique takes it. It's not hard to predict how the Academy's going to vote, sometimes. "It's about the performance, not the politics." I like that thought, Mo'nique. I like that a lot.
And here's where I expect Avatar to start taking awards. Art Direction was a shoe in. The world is certainly beautiful. I had some hope for Sherlock Holmes, though, and the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, both had a real striking aesthetic. To me, at least. But what do I know about art direction?
Same thing with costume design, I guess. Man, the academy loves period pieces, don't they? Young Victoria takes it. I really couldn't care. Outside my sphere of interest.
Tribute to horror films was boring. Even more so because of the Twilight cast. I'm liking Baldwin and Martin, however. They've been funny. I do wish they'd stop with these "behind the scenes" mini-documentaries. Just show us the award winners. I hate to say it, but 9/10 people watching don't care about the magic of sound editing. Hurt Locker takes sound editing. Explosions! Sound mixing goes to Hurt Locker as well.
Sci-Tech awards...no one cares! Next! (Man, they always get shafted. It's sad, but...oh well.)
Avatar wins cinematography...no opinion on that, really. I've no interest in the film, but isn't it so pretty?
Ah, now the Tribute Reel. James Taylor still sounds as good as he ever did. Real subdued crowd...almost no applause during the tribute. They've been quiet all night. And what the hell's up with Clooney? Anyone know why he's got a stick up his ass?
Man, I'm not digging the interpretive dancers for the Film Score. I mean, they're incredibly talented but it's slowing the show down. Oh, hey! Up one again. Michael Giacchino wins for Up. Great score on that one and he's incredibly talented. I do approve, though I had some hopes for Zimmer's Sherlock Holmes score.
Visual effects goes to Avatar. Duh. No surprise there.
Oooh. The Cove takes Documentary. I underestimated the "cute animals in peril" draw of Japan secretly slaughtering dolphin. My pic was Food Inc. for being immediately relevant.
Tyler Perry joking he might never be on the Oscars again. Ha! Guess he would know a thing or two about film editing, even if his films are terrible. Hurt Locker takes another one, good for them! They're really set up to take the big awards this year.
Wow, don't know anything about any of the Foreign Films. That's kinda sad, isn't it? At least I know who Pedro Almodovar is. There, I can continue to feel superior to all you people who didn't go to film school.
Looks like they're repeating the format from last year, where they get co-workers to talk about the Best Actor and Actrees nominees. It's interesting, certainly, but it seems to go on forever. And I start to get the feeling like we're supposed to equate who wins with who got the best speech about them. I'm holding out for Jeff Bridges who seemed to turn in the role of his life in Crazy Heart...and I'm right! Awesome. He deserves it, been nominated five times, and he's a hell of an actor.
...I think Jeff Bridges is high as a kite. Oh well! The Dude abides.
Best actress is coming up. Another interminable round of introductions...
SANDRA BULLOCK? Sandra FUCKING Bullock? For that white-washed piece of crap Blind Side? Hey, everyone! Look! It takes a white family to save a poor black child. They took a complicated, multi-layered story and just neutered it, reduced it to stereotypes. Ugh. Sorry. I just don't really like Miss Bullock.
History is made once more at the Oscars and Catherine Bigelow wins for Directing the Hurt Locker. I almost pegged Cameron to win this one, just because of the difficulty in directing Avatar, but I'm happy to see a woman finally take home the statue for directing.
And...she wins for Best Picture too. Congrats, Hurt Locker! Gonna have to see this one, now.