My Thoughts On The Oscars

So the 82nd Oscars have come and gone, and even though I didn't get a chance to post a blog with my predictions about the awards, I figured I'd take the time to offer my thoughts on the event itself and a few of the awards.

:) The Hosts: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin

These guys made for a really funny pair and awesome choices to host the Oscars. Martin is something of a veteran host. This is the third time he has hosted the Oscars and he has hosted SNL more times than anyone. This was Baldwin's first time hosting the Oscars, and ironically he is the second most frequent host of SNL. They were both very funny and charming guys and had a number of memorable moments. Some of my favorites are:

Their opening number, where they roasted most of the nominees:
- "Its that damn Helen Mirren." "That's Dame Helen Mirren Steve."
- "There are the Inglorious Basterds. And there is the crew that made the film."
- "Gabourey and I have something in common: In our first movies we were both born a poor black child."

I really got a kick out of their spoof of Paranormal Activity, with Alec and Steve sharing a bed in their haunted hotel room. Another memorable moment was when Steve Martin bug sprays the glowing Pandora bugs that show up on screen. Overall, Martin and Baldwin were very enjoyable, had fun with their role, and didn't upstage any of the nominees or presenters. Very good choices.

:) Ben Stiller Presenting The Best Make Up Award:

When Ben Stiller came out to present the award for Best Make Up, he did it dressed up as a Na'vi, with full make up and a tail held up by a string. His even started his speech in Na'vi dialect, and after switching to English, pointed out that how ironic it was that Avatar wasn't even nominated for best Make Up. One of the more amusing moments of the show... Very Nice!

The winner of the award was Star Trek, which also made me happy :)

:P The Best Costume Oscar

I actually had not seen any of the films that were nominated for Best Costume Design. Based on the clips they showed, all of the nominations looked quite impressive, but that's not what I'm commenting on. No, I was more interested in the winner, Sandy Powell's, acceptance speech. After walking on stage, the first words out of her mouth were:

"Wow, I already have two of these."

Ummm... can you say "bitch." She then went on to say how much she appreciates the costume designers that go unrecognized for contemporary designs or the low budge indie productions. That would have sounded almost decent if she didn't end with, "But I'm gonna take it home for the night." Being proud of your work is fine, theirs no reason not to accept such a prestigious award, and trying to ask someone in the film industry to show some humility will likely just get you laughed at. That being said... come on! Show a little modesty here or at least have the decency to thank the others who helped accomplish this.

:( No clips for editing, sound, or cinematography awards:

This really bugged me. I know they were trying to keep the show's run time to a minimum, but when you are presenting awards for such an achievement, a clip or two would be nice. I had actually seen most of the films nominated, but a little reminder can help put you in the right mindset. Academy, bring the clips back for next year's show!

:) The Best Director Award:

My prediction for best director was Kathryn Bigelow and I was right on the money. Her winning film was "The Hurt Locker." So Bigelow became the first woman to ever win the award for Best Director, and for a damn good film at that. I haven't written a full review for "The Hurt Locker" yet, but I did mention it in my top 10 movies of 2009 entry and placed it at #2. Its a really good movie that deserved the Oscars it won, I'll have to add that one to my collection soon.

The Best Picture Nominations:

I'm not going to offer my thoughts on every award in the event, but I would like to say somethings about the Best Picture nods.

- Avatar: I gave this movie 4 out of 5 stars when I wrote a review, and I still stand by this score. I, like most people, was in awe of the visuals but found the writing extremely bland. It deserved the awards for visual effects and cinematography, but I was glad that it didn't win for Best Picture.

- The Blind Side: Actually, I hadn't seen this one. I don't critique movies until I have actually sat and watched the whole thing. That being said, based on the clips I had seen and the reviews I had read, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm glad to see this one not win either. I mean, the movie looks good, and from what I've heard Sandra Bullock gives an awesome performance (hence why she won Best Actress). The storyline though seemed a bit generic and predictable though. Again, I won't judge it until I actually see it, maybe when I watch it the movie will be totally awesome and the trailers were totally misleading. I'll definitely be checking this one out sooner or later.

- District 9: I also mentioned this film on the list of my top 10 for 2009, placing it at #1. This movie totally blew me away, it was by far one of the best sci fi films I've seen in a long time and totally deserving of the nomination. Of course, I knew the academy has never been too crazy for science fiction movies except for the technical awards (VFX, Sound Editing, etc.). So to see this movie just get a nomination was awesome.

- An Education: Haven't seen this one either, nor do I know much about it. I know it got nominated for a few awards and that the critics gave it overall positive reviews. Unfortunately, it had a very limited release and finding a theatre that played it was tricky. I don't have much to say about it, I want to see it, and as soon as I can get my hands on a copy of it, I'll watch it and let you know what I thought.

- Inglorious Basterds: This was my #3 pick for 2009. I am a huge Tarantino fan, and I was glad to see another film of his get a ton of nominations. It was a really entertaining movie, with clever writing, great performances, creative editing, and nice camerawork. I would have been happy to see this one win Best Picture, but I'm not too disappointed that it didn't win either.

- Precious: Yes, I haven't seen this one either. Out of all the films nominated that I had not seen, this was the one I was most disappointed to miss. I've heard virtually nothing but praise for the movie, and the number of Oscars it won says a lot about how good it must be. I will definitely be seeing this movie when I can grab the DVD.

- A Serious Man: Didn't see this one either, it was another indie release that kind of snuck into theatres. Based on the clips I've seen, it looks really good. I'm actually very interested in seeing this one now, again I'll watch it as soon as I get a chance.

- Up: Another one I mentioned in my top 10 for 2009, I had it at the #9 spot. As the second animated movie to get nominated for Best Picture, that's quite an achievement. I thought it was a very good film, when I wrote a review for it on flixster, I gave it 4 out of 5. I loved the story, the animation, and the voice acting. The opening 30 minutes were fantastic, by far some of the best storytelling I've seen in an animated movie ever! The 2nd act however kind of left me a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad. The action was entertaining and many of the jokes and gags were funny, but a lot of them did get kind of repetitive. I found the ending a bit predictable as well. Its just when a film has such a strong opening, and fizzles out a bit, that can be a drag. A great film, but not Pixar's best (that would be Wall-E).

- Up in the Air: I didn't mention this one in my top of 2009 because I had not seen it at the time. I did get a chance to see this one in February. If I had seen this movie before I made my top 10 list, I would have definitely included it on there, probably around #5 or 6. Witty dialogue, a clever story, and very convincing performances made this one of the most entertaining comedy/dramas of the year. I've really become a big fan of writer/director Jason Reitman. His last three movies, "Thank You For Smoking," "Juno," and "Up In the Air" have been really entertaining. Not to mention his father, Ivan Reitman, has directed some classic comedies as well, including "Stripes," "Meatballs," and my personal favorite, "Ghostbusters." I look forward to seeing what Jason Reitman brings us next.

- The Hurt Locker: The winning film was definitely worthy of the nomination and the win. I'm not a huge fan of war movies, but this one took a very interesting direction with the concept. I'm glad to see it win not only Best Picture but a number of other awards as well. If you have not seen this movie yet, go check it out, I highly recommend it.

So, those are some of my thoughts on the Oscars this year. Overall, I was quite impressed with the ceremony. Funny hosts, most of the nominations were good choices, and I agreed with a majority of the wins as well. Looking forward to next year.