My Take on the Oscars

Chris and I host and Oscars Party every year, and due to great company, this year was as fun as always.

But Hollywood's biggest night turned out to be an odd combination of the academy trying to fuse “young and hip” hosts with a large mix of older characters for balance. While I applaud the concept, as we all saw, it didn't work out so well. Half of it felt like an Oscars history lesson for those of us under the age of 50 who are expected not to know any of it paired with odd musical numbers and mashups supposedly appealing to a younger generation. Though despite the odd combinations, one of the funniest parts of the night for our group was Kirk Douglas' presentation of best supporting actress. “Colin Firth isn't laughing...He's British.” And Anne Hathaway tried to hold up her end of the “young and hip” bargain and gave a valiant effort with a few funny jokes thrown in the mix. But man, James Franco – total fail.

We all fill out ballots predicting the winners and we play Oscar's bingo where we mark off squares for things happening during the show. I particularly enjoyed the set of bingo cards that I found this year as it was tailored to this particular show and a good portion of the squares did happen – Music cutting someone off, A Facebook joke attempt, Christopher Nolan looking bitter, Someone looking bored (most notably the Cohen brothers). Though noticeably missing were Angelina Jolie looking pissed and Jack Nicholson wearing sunglasses. And it may not have been on the bingo cards – but I was thankful that we didn't have Ben Stiller doing something stupid – as he usually does.

Most of the winners were pretty predictable, and well spread out among the movies. However, I have seen a good portion of the big movies nominated, including The Fighter, True Grit, The King's Speech, Black Swan, The Kids are All Right, Inception, The Social Network, Toy Story 3 and I have to say, it was unfortunate that out of 10 nominations True Grit got snubbed on all of them. It deserved more recognition. And as much as I love Colin Firth, if Jeff Bridges hadn't won for Crazy Heart last year, then he would've won for True Grit this year. Another surprise was on Best Score – Hans Zimmer's score for Inception should have definitely taken this category.

One thing that they did right this year – having each of the nominated songs actually performed on their own– Yay Randy Newman! I hated when they took that part away in previous years.

Overall – even with the oddities, still a fun night, friends old and new! Thanks to all who joined us. :-)

Golden Globes Recap

So, though the Golden Globes are not quite the affair party that the Academy Awards are at our house, it's still always fun to watch the awards and it also gives us a heads up for what/who is likely to show up next week as Oscar nominees. So take note friends who attend our annual Oscar's Party every year. Here are my thoughts/predictions:
Best Actress - Last night this went to Natalie Portman for Black Swan. I believe she will also easily take the Oscar for it. Though, she will probably be joined in nomination by Annette Benning from The Kids are All Right and Michelle Williams from Blue Valentine who also were excellent.


Best Actor - This one went to Colin Firth last night for King's Speech. Though he did a wonderful job in this movie as King George with a speech impediment, I also think Ryan Gosling was fantastic in Blue Valentine, and this may be a toss up at the Oscars. 


Best Supporting Actor - As I predicted, Christian Bale got this for his great performance as a crack addict in The Fighter. Geoffrey Rush was great in the King's Speech, but I really do believe Bale will also get the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo got this for her role as the mother in The Fighter. But I think Mila Kunis was equally fantastic in Black Swan, so this may also be a toss up at the Oscars.


Best Director - Oddly, Social Network swept Director, Screenplay, and best drama at the Globes. While I thought it was a good movie, I was suprised it took this many considering what it was up against. I believe it will be different at the Oscars. Most likely going to Black Swan or The Fighter.



Screenplay - I agree with my dad on this one, the writer of The King's Speech really should take this one for the Oscars. He had to wait SO many years to have this movie made because the King's Family did not want his story shared until after death.


Best Score/Song - I don't have a huge opinion on this one...but I think that Inception's score by Hans Zimmer was probably better than Social Network's. But I plan to watch Social Network again before the Oscars. Song, Diane Warren may take it again for Burlesque.



The Special Effects Catagories (Cinematography, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, Etc.) - I imagine a lot of these catagories will go to Inception.



Best Animated Film - Toy Story 3 was fantastic and should definitely get the Oscar as well. No matter your age, you have to see Toy Story 3!



Best Picture - This, I was very shocked again went to Social Network. Maybe it was because Fighter, King's Speech, and Black Swan were all based more on the acting roles than the movie/storyline as a whole? I think that Blue Valentine also should have entered this catagory. Maybe it will for the Oscars. It's a really tough call this year because there were so many excellent movies! Also, last year there were 10 best picture nominees I believe, so if they do this again, I'm sure we will see movies like The Town, The Kids are All Right and Blue Valentine on the list.



As far as TV shows went at the Oscars, I'm glad that Glee got several nods and that Laura Linney won for Big C.

Movies I Recommend You Should See Before The Oscars!

In Theaters:

Black Swan

King's Speech

The Fighter

Blue Valentine

To Rent:

Social Network

Inception

Toy Story 3

The Town

The Kids are All Right

Movies I haven't seen but would like to before the Oscars:

Another Year

Rabbit Hole

Casino Jack

127 Hours

Nominations are next Tuesday 1/25 Morning!

And the 83rd Annual Academy Awards air Sunday, February 27th!