The 84th Academy Awards put on a... well, let's face it, the show was serviceable. At best. Billy Crystal had his moments, the presenters ranged from delightful (Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr.) to... average (just about everyone else). The speeches ranged from emotional and fun (Octavia Spencer, Jean Dujardin) to flat (just about all the foreigners... and most Americans too).
But let's face it, the show is really just to make what's really important seem more interesting... and what's really important is the winners, so let's talk about who won what at the Oscars.
Best Picture- The Artist
This was initially my pick for best picture, but after seeing Hugo the day before the Oscars, I changed my mind. Still, I liked The Artist better than Hugo, and I can see why it won. A lot of people think it was predictable that The Artist won, but a silent film hasn't won an Oscar since sound was introduced to film, so this is really a huge accomplishment.
Everything about this film was masterful. The acting, the direction, the editing, the sound, the music... and best of all, it never took itself to seriously. It seems every year this award is won by a gravely serious film, or at least one that doesn't have much room for fun. But The Artist doesn't follow that trend. It's a drama, but has plenty of comedy and leaves the viewer feeling great after viewing. I'm very happy to see Langmann take home the award for this one.
Best Director- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
The directing in The Artist was fantastic, but I thought Hugo was much more imaginative in its direction, and Scorcese should have taken home the award.
While The Artist was well directed, it had the benefit of a very unrestricted area of shooting. The characters had what seemed like an entire city to interact with, and tons of characters in a robust time period to interact with.
Hugo, on the other hand, took place in pretty much two locations: the train station, or Papa George's house. On top of that, it was entirely driven around the performance of all the key characters, not just the two stars. Scorsese had to worry than more than just the look of his film, he had to work with the actors to deliver their performances perfectly.
Best Actor- Jean Dujardin for The Artist
I'm in total agreement on this one. He delivered a phenomenal performance, and did it with only two words of dialogue. Every other actor nominated was obviously very good, but none quite reached the level of greatness that Jean Dujardin did.
Best Actress- Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady
I really can't comment on this section as I didn't see any of the movies in this section. Seriously, not a single one. I'd like to see The Help and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but the other three movies are pretty unappealing. I'm not surprised Streep won; she's a great actress, and quite frankly, none of these performances really seemed to have anyone buzzing.
Best Supporting Actor- Christopher Plummer for Beginners
The Academy made a TERRIFIC pick here, as Plummer was probably a sleeper compared to the likes of Jonah Hill and Nick Nolte for their roles in Moneyball and Warrior respectively.
For those of you that haven't seen Beginners, Plummer plays an 80 year old father that recently came out of the closet to his son. The performance he delivers is heart warming and engrossing, and there is a huge difference between the gay senior citizen and the macho roles Plummer is known for playing.
Best Supporting Actress- Octavia Spencer for The Help
Once again, I didn't see The Help, but this was another category that was lacking huge performances. Spencer and Chastin didn't really blow up after The Help, Melissa McCarthy, while good in her role, certainly didn't put on an acting clinic, and I didn't hear a word about Janet McTeer. I thought Berenice Bejo should have won for her work as Peppy Miller in The Artist. In my opinion, she gave an even stronger performance than Dujardin, and came across as a confident woman with tons of spunk.
Best Writing for an Original Screenplay- Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
The right man won here. All of these were fantastic, and while there's something to be said for The Artist, I think Midnight in Paris was just such an original, unique story that it deserved the win. Woody Allen knows how to write himself perfectly, and this time he wrote himself into conversations with Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The result was hilarious, insightful, and touching. It was a fantastic film, and if it was going to win in any category, I think this was the right one.
Best Writing for an Adapted Screenplay- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash for The Descendents
Not sure how I feel about this one. Don't get me wrong, I liked The Descendents, but I wasn't blown away by it like so many others were. Truthfully, I thought that the movie was only slightly above average punctuated by a few great performances and hindered by a bunch of crappy ones.
It was well written, and the dialogue and actions really did set the tone of a man torn between grief and rage, but it seemed very "slice of life" to me, and in the end I felt like everyone just sorta moved on without learning much. Maybe I need to watch it again.
I thought Hugo should have won. It was just so ridiculously imaginative, and the way they worked in George Melies to the film was brilliant, and gave a film buff like myself something to squeal over. I realize that Melies was also in the book, but the way they introduced him and teased him in the film was nothing short of breathtaking.
That's all I really care to post about now, though there were a few other choices worth discussing. So what were your thoughts on the Oscars, and who do you think should have won the awards?
But let's face it, the show is really just to make what's really important seem more interesting... and what's really important is the winners, so let's talk about who won what at the Oscars.
Best Picture- The Artist
This was initially my pick for best picture, but after seeing Hugo the day before the Oscars, I changed my mind. Still, I liked The Artist better than Hugo, and I can see why it won. A lot of people think it was predictable that The Artist won, but a silent film hasn't won an Oscar since sound was introduced to film, so this is really a huge accomplishment.
Everything about this film was masterful. The acting, the direction, the editing, the sound, the music... and best of all, it never took itself to seriously. It seems every year this award is won by a gravely serious film, or at least one that doesn't have much room for fun. But The Artist doesn't follow that trend. It's a drama, but has plenty of comedy and leaves the viewer feeling great after viewing. I'm very happy to see Langmann take home the award for this one.
Best Director- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
The directing in The Artist was fantastic, but I thought Hugo was much more imaginative in its direction, and Scorcese should have taken home the award.
While The Artist was well directed, it had the benefit of a very unrestricted area of shooting. The characters had what seemed like an entire city to interact with, and tons of characters in a robust time period to interact with.
Hugo, on the other hand, took place in pretty much two locations: the train station, or Papa George's house. On top of that, it was entirely driven around the performance of all the key characters, not just the two stars. Scorsese had to worry than more than just the look of his film, he had to work with the actors to deliver their performances perfectly.
Best Actor- Jean Dujardin for The Artist
I'm in total agreement on this one. He delivered a phenomenal performance, and did it with only two words of dialogue. Every other actor nominated was obviously very good, but none quite reached the level of greatness that Jean Dujardin did.
Best Actress- Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady
I really can't comment on this section as I didn't see any of the movies in this section. Seriously, not a single one. I'd like to see The Help and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but the other three movies are pretty unappealing. I'm not surprised Streep won; she's a great actress, and quite frankly, none of these performances really seemed to have anyone buzzing.
Best Supporting Actor- Christopher Plummer for Beginners
The Academy made a TERRIFIC pick here, as Plummer was probably a sleeper compared to the likes of Jonah Hill and Nick Nolte for their roles in Moneyball and Warrior respectively.
For those of you that haven't seen Beginners, Plummer plays an 80 year old father that recently came out of the closet to his son. The performance he delivers is heart warming and engrossing, and there is a huge difference between the gay senior citizen and the macho roles Plummer is known for playing.
Best Supporting Actress- Octavia Spencer for The Help
Once again, I didn't see The Help, but this was another category that was lacking huge performances. Spencer and Chastin didn't really blow up after The Help, Melissa McCarthy, while good in her role, certainly didn't put on an acting clinic, and I didn't hear a word about Janet McTeer. I thought Berenice Bejo should have won for her work as Peppy Miller in The Artist. In my opinion, she gave an even stronger performance than Dujardin, and came across as a confident woman with tons of spunk.
Best Writing for an Original Screenplay- Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
The right man won here. All of these were fantastic, and while there's something to be said for The Artist, I think Midnight in Paris was just such an original, unique story that it deserved the win. Woody Allen knows how to write himself perfectly, and this time he wrote himself into conversations with Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The result was hilarious, insightful, and touching. It was a fantastic film, and if it was going to win in any category, I think this was the right one.
Best Writing for an Adapted Screenplay- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash for The Descendents
Not sure how I feel about this one. Don't get me wrong, I liked The Descendents, but I wasn't blown away by it like so many others were. Truthfully, I thought that the movie was only slightly above average punctuated by a few great performances and hindered by a bunch of crappy ones.
It was well written, and the dialogue and actions really did set the tone of a man torn between grief and rage, but it seemed very "slice of life" to me, and in the end I felt like everyone just sorta moved on without learning much. Maybe I need to watch it again.
I thought Hugo should have won. It was just so ridiculously imaginative, and the way they worked in George Melies to the film was brilliant, and gave a film buff like myself something to squeal over. I realize that Melies was also in the book, but the way they introduced him and teased him in the film was nothing short of breathtaking.
That's all I really care to post about now, though there were a few other choices worth discussing. So what were your thoughts on the Oscars, and who do you think should have won the awards?
. And "Star-Spangle Man" didn't get nominated was also a bit surprising for me.