Oscars

[Spunkie]

No oscar topic? Nice!

[ShogunRua]

No oscar topic? Nice!

I agree. It's a good sign that we ignore that bullshit.

[ribcage]

i had no idea they had aired until somebody at work today asked me if i had watched them. and i also used the word "bullshit" in replying to them

[CMonster]

Bullshit is right. How did Boyhood not make a clean sweep? DId they not hear it took 12 years to make?

[Bojangles]

I half watched the ceremony, it sucked. They need to to have a stand up comedian host next year, like most years. No more song and dance men. No dramatic actors. The whole show feels like a waste of time when the host isn't hilarious.

But let's do a thread like last year. Your own personal awards. You pick the categories, nominees, and winners, based on whatever you saw this year.

edit: http://www.criticker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4844

[Stewball]

Bullshit is right. How did Boyhood not make a clean sweep? DId they not hear it took 12 years to make?

Yes.

I recorded the Academy Awards and then zipped through about 90% of it.

Best actor/actress categories show that roles portraying mental "challenges" still play big in Hollywood.

Sean Penn (wtf was he doing presenting best pic in the first place), prior to his backhanded "Green Card" complement/faux pas, uttered the dumbest statement (and backhanded American Sniper slam) in Oscar history, "It doesn't matter how much they made at the box office". Bwahahahahahahahah.

My 3 favorite pictures of the year were, Nightcrawler, American Sniper & Birdman. If I had to pick one I'd probably choose Nightcrawler, but I'm happy that Birdman won and glad that at least American Sniper was recognized with a nomination......and a blockbuster box office. Birdman's real strength, in spite of it's excellent cinematography and so-so plot, was the outstanding acting and dialogue.

The most re-watchable movie, in a weak year for me what with none having a heavy reliance on music, was Lucy, with honorable mention to Draft Day.

Jake Gyllenhaal best actor for Nightcrawler hands down and in a strong field.

Best animated films, in another weak field, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Lego Movie & Nut Job--none of which were nominated, and with a total dud, Big Hero 6, winning.

Music? What music? Hollywood, the last reliable source for musical creativity in the US (world?) has been shut down. And Broadway is on life support AND suicide watch what with nothing but revivals, anthologies and sing-song pablum keeping it "alive". The 50 year tribute to The Sound of Music (not nearly one of my favs at all but still better than teeny-pop and Broadway today) felt like it was inserted so they'd at least have something. Pop queen Lady Gaga (now there's irony for you), did have a good voice, but her tats were distracting as hell, she's putting on weight, and she's no Julie Andrews in that role.

[Stewball]

No oscar topic? Nice!

Really? Here we are in the belly of the elephant in the room.

[VinegarBob]

I don't have a problem with awards in general, even though the notion of picking one film or performance over another in such a subjective medium is kind of silly. So I don't really have a problem with the Oscars per se, and I certainly don't have any problem at all with people here wanting to talk about them, contrary to the OP. But there are a few things that bother me about them:

1. Oscar winners don't necessarily represent the best of the year. It would be nice if the Academy Awards made it clear that it's an American awards show that's only concerned with rewarding American (or at least English speaking) talent. It's the fact that Hollywood seems to view their Oscars as the pinnacle of cinematic achievements worldwide that loses it most of its credibility.

2. Any remaining credibility is lost by how embarrassingly outdated and cheesy it is. They really need to radically change their format to be anywhere close to relevant these days. It's the same routine every year, and has been for decades: High-profile celebrity spews over-rehearsed inanities throughout the evening, and has some sort of running joke that they flog to death during the course of the show. Glitzy couples preface every award by each reading half of the same old spiel. Cringe-worthy and over-rehearsed song and dance routines accost us in between the category awards. If I were to sum up the Oscar ceremony in one word it would have to be 'lame'.

3. Everyone involved is so uptight because so much is on the line for them. I wish it were a bit more casual, and free-form. Again I think the problem is that they can't step back and see the big picture. They're a bunch of entertainers in their own little part of the world, patting each other on the back for a job well done, nothing more. I'd enjoy the whole thing a lot more if everyone would just chill the fuck out.

4. It would be nice if every member of the Academy would just tick the box of what they thought was the best in each category... regardless of their age, race, skin-colour, politics or which gifts they'd been given.

Having said all that, and disregarding the debacle that is the actual ceremony I can't complain too much about the winners this year from what was nominated. I think Patricia Arquette was lucky to win and only did so because the Best Supporting Actress category was really weak this year, and I'm glad Boyhood came away otherwise empty handed as I think it's mediocre at best. I think Michael Keaton should have won over Eddie Redmayne but I'm happy that Birdman won for best film. Of all the American films I saw this year - and I saw all the notable ones - I think it deserved it, all things considered. I would have liked A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice and Nightcrawler to have been given more more recognition (I'd have nominated Gyllenhaal over Cooper for Best Actor, and Russo over any of the other nominees for Best Supporting Actress for example). I'm happy Alexandre Desplat won for his brilliant score for The Grand Budapest Hotel, and I'm glad American Sniper came away with just a sound award because I can't see much that's good about that film, and quite a bit that's bad. Overall, I don't have a problem with the eventual winners in each category.

So there's a ton of things I'd change about the Oscars, but as deeply flawed as it is I'm sure I'll still be drawn to it next year, like a moth to a flame

[mattorama12]

I half watched the ceremony, it sucked. They need to to have a stand up comedian host next year, like most years. No more song and dance men. No dramatic actors. The whole show feels like a waste of time when the host isn't hilarious.

I thought this was the worst ceremony I can remember (though I have missed a few years), even worse than Franco and Hathaway. NPH was painfully unfunny and his jokes pointing out how unfunny he was only made things worse. Most of the musical numbers were, even by Oscars standards, pretty boring. It's a shame, since I think the field of Oscar-type movies was relatively strong this year.

I'm not much of a twitter guy, but I actually turned to twitter to see if it would spice up the telecast for me and my friends. If you enjoy a good dick joke or two, I heartily recommend checking out Ben Hoffman's live tweeting of the show @thebenshow

[Bojangles]

yea Norm live tweets some years, but I guess he only felt like making a few jokes this year.

I don't want to jump on the @PattyArquette bandwagon, but did you know men are paid 3 times as much as wolfmen?#Payequalityforwolfmen