yendi | Quick Oscar thoughts

So, was I the only person who actually enjoyed the ceremony? From a quick scan of the blogosphere, I see tons of bile, but not much appreciation. Me, even though I'm still missed about the nominations themselves, I enjoyed the actual event. Jackman was damned funny in his opening number, and delivered some witty lines throughout the night. I loved the shots that he (as well as Smith) took at the Academy for dissing Dark Knight.

The second musical number might not have been needed, but it was still well-done, and fun. And the musical montage of the three best-song nominees worked quite well.

Will Smith, Ben Stiller, and Jack Black were all funny during their segments, too. The Judd Apatow short film wasn't bad, but was unnecessary.

The individual presentations of acting nominations helped the show run a half hour overtime, of course, but they added a wonderful touch. That said, anyone know why they played the theme to The Magnificent Seven when the Best Actor nominators came out? Mind you, it's one of the best movie themes of all time, but I didn't see how it connected to them.

Queen Latifah's singing during the memorial segment was touching.

The speeches -- the one thing out of the hands of the folks putting the show together -- were also great. Sean Penn nailed it with his line about the shame those who voted for Prop 8 should feel (although he also gets the Hilary Swank award for failing to thank his wife). Kate Winslet somehow managed to seem genuinely surprised that she won, and was clearly touched (and I loved her shout-out to her dad). And seeing Ledger's family there to pick up the award was sweet. Pretty much every speech was filled with a sense of genuine and gratitude.

My only complaints (off the top of my head):

1. Letting Patrick McGoohan join Brad Renfro and Adrienne Shelley in the "dead, but not important for us to honor" category.

2. Letting a drunken cameraman film the memorial segment in the first place, thus not even showing close-ups of some of the people (making the names unreadable). At least, I'm assuming that's what happened.

3. Was Jessica Biel as boring when she hosted the Technical Awards Dinner as she was when she talked about it? Couldn't they have found someone who with a little more personality (like her boyfriend? Or a rock?)?

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On your last comment about Biel, I find that there seem to be two kinds of actor... the ones who are so full of life and personality that even in character, their character shines out and catches you and those that are empty vessels, they fill up with the character they are playing, become it, but once filming stops and their job is over, not much is really in there.

*nod* Very true.

I disagree about the second musical number. It lacked oomph and energy. I think it would have worked better if they'd kept the low budget feel of the opening number.

For me, the highlight of the night was Anne Hathaway as Nixon.

I liked the seecond number, mainly because I'm a sucker for medleys and for a number of the songs used. But I do agree that it wasn't up there with the first one.

Hathaway was amazing. Just incredible.

I also didn't see Don LaFontaine in the memorial segment. WTF; Academy?

*nod* I never can figure out what criteria they use.

Overall, it was a good Oscar ceremony. I loved Hugh Jackman as the emcee. None of the speeches irked me. What I didn't like was the acting award presentations...I did not like the ego-stroking bullshit of it. I much prefer the clips they used to show of each performance. *sighs* But overall I enjoyed the show.

I enjoyed that, actually. It lengthened things, but it really allowed them to honor each nominee. Maybe it was because it never seemed insincere to me.

[Penn] also gets the Hilary Swank award for failing to thank his wife

Hard call. He'd just won an award for playing a gay man; thanking his wife might well have been interpreted as, "But I'm not! Not that there's anything wrong with that!".

Patrick McGoohan: Fine actor, but I think of him for his television roles, not his movie roles. Feel free to rub a counter-example in my face.

My biggest gripe was Benjamin Button picking up both the technical effects and make-up awards for making Brad Pitt look old, thus snubbing the action flicks which should have gotten them.

I understand your feelings about the tech and make-up awards, but my feeling is the Academy voted as they did to reward the seamless integration of those aspects into the movie. Action flicks celebrate and shamelessly promote their effects, which may be impressive, but it's not necessarily artistic.

I agree.

Benjamin Button was 90% digital effects and 10% makeup, as opposed to Hellboy II, which was 100% makeup. And should have won. B.Butt shouldn't even have been a qualifier in that category.

Edited 2009-02-23 16:01 (UTC)

Ice Station Zebra
Dr. Syn/Scarecrow of Romney Marsh
Silver Streak
And of course Braveheart

If Oscar can work Tupac Shakur into the memorial reel, they can find room for McGoohan...

Thank you! *smacks own head*

I loved the show. Honestly, thought it was the best one I've seen in an incredibly long time, and really hope they invite Hugh Jackman back as host.

I also complained loudly about the drunken cameraman for the memorial segment.

*nod* The ratings were up, so I do hope they bring him back (although I'd also understand the urge to avoid a Billy Crystal situation).

I thought the ceremony (especially Jackman)was great. However, I HATED the acting award presentations. They were boring, went on way too long, and told me nothing about the actual performance being honored. Had they done it with clips, like they always have, I would have been happy.

I loved the way they did the writing awards.

Ditto on the memorial segment (many cries of "What's that say? Who's that?" during it).

I would have greatly preferred if they just did full performances of the best song nominees.

Yeah, people seem to be very split on the acting awards. I enjoyed them, although I also see your point in that they contained praise, but no actual information. We're definitely on the same page for the writing awards.

Normally, I want the songs performed separately, but the three songs this year meshed nicely.

Actually, normally, I prefer that the songs don't get performed, but this year the songs didn't suck.

I loved the shots that he (as well as Smith) took at the Academy for dissing Dark Knight.

"The next award is for Best Film Not Featuring a Batman (http://hijinksensue.com/2009/02/23/im-the-best-there-is-at-what-i-do/)."

Ha!

Man, you nailed it about the memorial segment. I was yelling at the director "Just take the tape and quit making me seasick."

I wasn't sure about the way they were presenting the acting nominees but, when it was all said and done, I liked it.

...and I have to say, I think Anne Hathaway is one of the most talented and down-to-earth people in Hollywood today.

*nod* Hathaway impresses me as both a person and as an actress.

he may be in next year's telecast. as i remember when don knotts died, he wasnt in the memorial at the awards right after he died. knotts was the next year, as he died in like january or early february. did mcgoohan die this year or last year? cause check back next year, he might be in it then.

he died on Jan 13. But Heath Ledger died in late January two years ago, and definitely was shown in the same year.

hmm. ill chalk it up to the academy being a bunch of dicks. they also excluded don lafontaine too, i think.

feel free to include some portion of the ledger thing being that he was a rising star in acting, blah blah blah, while knotts, lafontaine, and mcgoohan werent.

which is a nice way of saying political bull crap. screw the academy.

Quick Oscar thoughts

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