Decent Year for Oscars
I haven’t watched the Academy Awards in five years but I still pay attention to who wins. The event itself is just way over the top and the self-glorification that Hollywood engages in every year is too much for me. There’s also the threat of some actor or actress going on an incoherent rant about something they know nothing about. From what I hear, none of that happened this year thankfully. Other than its excessive length, I heard it went very well.
The Oscar for Best Picture went to Argo, the story of six Americans who managed to escape the US embassy in Tehran as it was being taken over by radicals. Directed by Ben Affleck, it was filled with suspense, keeping you on edge the whole time. It was a very good movie but I’m not sure it deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture. My two favorites for that award were Lincoln and Life of Pi.
Best Actor went to Daniel Day-Lewis who did a brilliant job as Abraham Lincoln. He was my pick for this one. Best Actress went to Jennifer Lawrence for the Sliver Linings Playbook. I didn’t see the movie but heard very good things. I’ve been a fan of Lawrence’s since X-Men: First Class.
Best Supporting Actress went to Anne Hathaway for her portrayal of Fantine in Les Miserables. I didn’t see this one either. Once you’ve seen one Les Miserables movie, you don’t have much desire to see another with a new cast and some new take on the Victor Hugo classic. I’m sure it was great. I’m a fan of Hathaway as well so I was happy to see her win. Best Supporting Actor went to Christopher Waltz in Django Unchained. I’m pretty burnt out on Quentin Tarantino so I didn’t see this one (noticing a pattern yet? I don’t go to the movies often).
Tarantino’s been on this campaign to kill off history’s bad guys. Here it was slave owners, before it was Nazis (Inglourious Basterds), and racist border radicals (Machete). Inglourious Basterds was a big disappointment despite a brilliant performance by Christopher Waltz. Machete was just awful.
In my opinion, the last great movie Tarantino made was Pulp Fiction, which is one of my favorites of all time. Reservoir Dogs is another classic. Kill Bill was okay but not great.
Zero Dark Thirty was a good one. It was brutally honest and I appreciate that the director made it as apolitical as possible. The people who get the most credit aren’t politicians or political appointees, its the CIA operatives and the SEAL Team.
James Bond got a big tribute for being 50 years old. It’s really cool that it comes the same year as arguably the best film in the franchise, Skyfall.
I heard the show went over 3 hours long, which is unfortunate. Actors, directors, and producers already celebrate themselves enough as it is. You got the Oscars, Golden Globes, Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, and the BAFTA Awards every year. There’s also the constant coverage of celebrities on TV shows, magazines, and websites which treat them like a bizarre version of royalty.
None of this is really the actors or actresses fault. Its part of their profession. I doubt they have much say in how many awards are given out or how the paparazzi behaves. Regular Americans are probably most to blame for consuming all the tabloid stuff and being so fascinated with celebrities day in and day out. Sometimes there’s a celebrity who is deserving of such attention. Not only are they great entertainers, they are compassionate, thoughtful, and have some measure of humility.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on that.
Jacob
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