Too much filler! I was quite frustrated at the constant side notes and little presentations that they did every two or three awards. The best part was when they were way behind time, Tom Hanks walked out and said “Here's the winner for Best Picture, The Hurt Locker.” Done. Over with. Now that's how you present an award.
- To continue on the filler note, for a show that was more than a half-hour heavy for time, why the heck did they have to do the best actor/actress monologues? Those were so boring! (for the most part)
- Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin weren't the best hosts I've ever seen. There were some chuckles here and there, but for the most part it seemed like they were making low blows for cheap laughs.
- Too many references to Avatar! I know it's a big movie, millions of people saw it, but it seemed like everyone was constantly talking about it. Get off the bandwagon already.
- Too many movies in the Best Picture category. CBS' Sunday Morning Show explanation for this was that last year's award had only 5 nominees, and lots of people felt slighted that The Dark Knight, and a few other movies weren't included. So the solution was to inundate us with several movies that obviously weren't going to win regardless of quality.
*cough* Avatar, District 9, Up, Julie & Julia *cough*
- Micheal Jackson's inclusion into the memorial montage was unnecessary. Oh, what's that you say? He was in one terrible movie named The Wiz, as well as appeared as himself in Men in Black 2? Oh, you also say he was in that half-hour music video Ghost mistakenly billed as a movie? Big whoop.
I guess that means we'll have to include Bruce Willis in the Grammy's memorial montage when he dies too since he had that album 'The Return of Bruno' and he has that cameo in The Gorrilaz new music video.
The Dude (a.k.a. Jeff Bridges) wins Best Actor. I don't exactly disagree with this decision, because Jeff this has been a long time coming for him. It seemed to me to be more of a political move on the part of The Academy, than one of merit. I really liked him in Crazy Heart, but was he better than Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker? That's debatable. Nonetheless, The Dude abides.
- Sandy Powell wins Best Costume Design...again...for doing the exact same thing as always. Yes her designs are good, but how many awards can you give one person for designing Victorian era clothing time after time?
While we watch the dust settle after another awards season, I must say that 2009 was a phenomenal year for film. It was amazing movie after amazing movie, not that it went without a stinkers here and there. Congratulations to all the winners of last night's awards, especially The Hurt Locker, who cleaned up with a whopping six Oscars, each of which were well deserved.
If there's one Academy Award winning movie you should see if you haven't already, make it The Hurt Locker, and settle in for a wild ride.
5 comments:
I also saw the nominations list and wondered why the hell there were so many for Best Film. It detracts I think - especially during the ceremony, where less time is dedicated to reviewing each one. I was disappointed District 9 didn't get more recognition - in my opinion it was the most original and exciting film of last year.
the dark knight was slighted last year. That Avatar got nominated and not it is just harsh since TDK is better in countless ways. I always felt that since Avatar is mainly a special effects 3-D gimmick movie that it's akin to transformers 2 being nominated for best picture.
and also, it may be terribly cheesy and so bad it's good. and Bob couldn't figure out why so many of us liked it, but I quite enjoy Bruce Willis' album lol.
Batman was nominated, and won, the Oscar for best supporting actor last year because Heath Ledger had a truly outstanding performance.
But, one good actor does make a best picture. TDK night was good, but not Best picture good. Unfortunately, TDK is not filled with the stuff that The Academy likes to see. If you compare Forrest Gump to Benjamin Button, you can see what I mean. They're both share very similar elements, as do many movies that are nominated for Best Picture year after year.
Ten movies is too many, and I think it sort of cheapened the five that were up there. I don't think expectations were serious that Avatar would win. This was another political move for The Academy to prove that that they CAN nominate a blockbuster movie, something that normally doesn't happen, and something that they often catch flak for.
Also, it's not that Bruce's album was bad, but when you think of Willis you generally don't go "Oh yeah! He had that wicked 80s album." just like you don't say "Hey remember how influential MJ was to the world of film?"
Damn right The Dude Abides.
I missed the whole thing this year, and from what I've heard from you and others - I missed absolutely nothing.
Cheers!
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