Oscars 2011: Tears, Triumph and an accidental F-Bomb

Well, the Oscars have come and gone for another year, and in a timely manner, clocking in at just over 3 hours. And, much to my relief, it was an interesting show this year, with many of my favorites taking home the gold, some funny moments, some emotional ones, gorgeous set pieces, and an off-kilter moment or two. Let's go over some highlights...

I'll get the big one out of the way first. Melissa Leo won a much deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Fighter and in her excitement dropped, if I'm not mistaken, the first F-Bomb on the Oscar stage, right on live television. I'm sure a lot of people are going to make a big deal out of it over the next few days, but I found it quite charming, and it was a rare truly unscripted moment during an award show. Winning an Oscar is often a once in a lifetime thing; you can't fault someone for reacting to it strongly.

As I said, many of my favorites walked away with statues, which hasn't happened for a while in award shows I've watched recently (the last Emmys being an example). There were many times during the night I cheered. Some of those favorites include Toy Story 3 for best Animated Picture, Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor, Natalie Portman for Best Actress and Colin Firth for Best Actor, all of them well deserving and having done exceptional work in The Fighter, Black Swan and The Kings Speech respectively (plus all of them gave wonderful speeches, especially a choked up Firth). Alice in Wonderland managed to grab a couple of awards as well. But in the biggest race of all, it looked like it would be a tight race between The Social Network and The Kings Speech. But, much to my relief, The Kings Speech pulled out ahead, taking the Best Picture statue and my heart.

The Oscar broadcast ran smoothly and promptly this year. I didn't notice any major fashion disasters, though I'm sure the fashion critics will disagree with me. We had some wonderful off-the-cuff moments from the unbeatable Kirk Douglas and other presenters and winners (loved Robert Downey Jr. and Jude law presenting together; can't wait for the next Sherlock Holmes movie). Auto-tune made a surprise appearance. The set and visual effects for the show were just gorgeous, conjuring up the first televised Oscar broadcast (with a hologram of Bob Hope at the hosts podium on stage) and Mann's Chinese Theatre.

And then there were the two hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I have to admit in that regard, I thought Hathaway did the better job. She was charming, beautiful in her many outfit changes, had some great ad-libbed lines and seemed to be loving every minute of being on stage. Plus she was genuinely funny, especially in her musical dis of Hugh Jackman. Franco, on the other hand, I found a bit flat through most of the broadcast, leaving me to wonder a few times if he was on something while doing this. Perhaps he was a little distracted, being the first host who was also up for an award, but what the hell? The only signs of life from him was during the opening Inception spoof, when he was in a Munroe dress and right at the end. Bah.

Overall, I was very happy. It truly was a great year for movies, and watching them get their proper due is always satisfying and only fuels my love of motion pictures in general. And makes me hope that, one day, I may be on that stage myself, maybe for writing, possibly for directing. One can dream, can't they?

Oh yeah...the Emmy's were on.

Geez, I was so busy with everything else it almost didn't clue in that the Emmy's were on this past Sunday. By that point my brain was so fried with Fan Expo it almost didn't register. Yeesh!

So just a quck word or two. Jimmy Fallon did fine as a host. Loved the opening Glee number (though could've done without Kate Gosslin). Cheered for Jim Parsons and Jane Lynch winning acting awards, as well as Neil Patrick Harris for his role on Glee and Betty White for SNL. Still annoyed that Hugh Laurie keeps getting shut out by Bryan Cranston. Surprised by Modern Family's win and disappointed by Glee's loss.

There we go, short and sweet. See you next year, and hopefully I'll have the energy to give the ceremony it's due.

82nd Academy Awards: Glitz, Glamour...Looove It!

So the Oscars came and went last night, and I gotta say, it was a great show. It ran along smoothly, but there were lots of surprises and highlights to fill in the three and a half hours that can really drag on if not done properly. Here are some of my standout moments, hopefully in chronological order.

Neil Patrick Harris' opening number. Funny, toe-tapping, and made even better with his opening line. "I'm Neil Patrick Harris. I know; What am I doing here?"

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as hosts. Very humorous, with some great one-liners. Case in point: "When working with Meryl Streep, people can't help but think two things. What a great actress she is, and what's with all the Nazi memorabilia?" I'm still wondering about the menacing staring between Baldwin and George Clooney. Who would ever have a beef with Clooney? Anybody know?

Christoph Waltz wins Best Supporting Actor. Like I had any doubt after seeing Inglourious Basterds.

The stars of the nominated Best Animated Films got to introduce themselves and say a few words about being nominated. Ahh, the magic of cinema.

The tribute to John Hughes. Molly Ringwald and Mathew Broderick came out on stage to pay tribute to a great director. A montage of film clips further highlighted his work. Then more actors, like John Cryer, Judd Nelson and Macauly Caulkin came out to say a few more words. Tasteful and touching.

Having a modern and hip hop dance troop performing to the Best Cinematic Score nominees. I would've never thought of that, and it worked surprisingly well. Way to think outside the box.

The tribute to Horror films, which was way overdue at the Oscars. Though some of the films shown in the montage are ones I would not classify as horror. Edward Scissorhands? Really? But, Evil Dead was thrown in there, so all is forgiven.

Fellow actors and actresses paying tribute to this year's Best Actor and Actress nominees. Very heartwarming, and some of the stories were really interesting. Oprah was even there!

The surprise Best Actress win for Sandra Bullock. Good for her, but whaaa? She just won a Razzie for heaven's sake! At least Halle Berry won her Oscar first and then spread it out a little.

Kathryn Bigelow (pictured above with presenter Barbara Streisand) is the first woman to ever win Best Director. You go girl!

Hurt Locker winning Best Picture over Avatar. I have not seen either film but I do get a smug sense of satisfaction seeing an independent movie winning out over an over-blown, over SFX'd big budget picture. Just because more people have seen it, that does not make it the better movie.

All in all, an excellent evening, and I felt my weeks of waiting were rewarded handsomely. Most of the acceptance speeches were short and eloquent, but the producers were willing to let some of the winners speak, even if it means going long. And I think it's important to keep a balance there, because winners should have their moment and some of the most memorable occurrences can happen during an acceptance speech. Also, there were no major fashion faux pas, or at least none that I noticed. What moments did you find most memorable?

Oh, one last thing. What was with that red-headed lady pulling a Kanye West and cutting off the winning director's speech for Best Documentary Short? What the heck was that about?

Oscar Nominess and the Big 10

The nominations are out! Yay! Oscar Season, one of my favorite times of the year, people!

You know what I've realized, though? I really have not watched enough movies this year.

The 2010 Academy Award nominees have been announced, including ten picks for Best Picture, which has not been done since 1943. And as I glance over the selected films, I realize that I have not seen many of the nominees. That can't be good. In fact, the only Best Picture nominee I have seen is Up (which, by the way, is only the second animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture). I do like that two, count 'em, two sci fi films are also in that category. The Academy has a major bias towards sci fi. But, as I've said, I have seen neither.

Overall though, I'm not sure how to feel about having 10 in the Best Picture category. Sure, it allows for more audience-friendly fare, but it kind of cuts back on the prestige of the nomination. Plus, it'll make it that much harder to try to catch up in my movie watching over the next few weeks. But there are some BP noms that I will not watch. Precious being one (the subject matter is too brutal). The Blind Side and The Hurt Locker are others (not interested). I'm also still holding out on Avatar. Like Titanic, I may end up being one of the few people who has not seen it, and that's okay with me, because I'm just not keen on it. Some of you probably think I'm nuts, but I did not get where I am today by being a slave to what's popular, thank you very much.

But I like the Best Animated Film selections, some fine individuals have been nominated in general, and with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting it should be a good show. What do you think? Any nominees surprise you, delight you or outrage you? Check them out here and let me know.

Now, I need a theatre and stat!

Golden Globes keep on turning

So the Golden Globes have come and gone, officially kicking off this year's Award Season. And with them came all the typical glitz and glamour one tends to expect from a big Hollywood ceremony.

You see, I'm more of an Oscar girl myself. But I do have a soft spot for the Globes. It's the only big awards show that combines film and television into one three-hour event.

In that regard, I was rather disappointed with this year's ceremony. I mean, the show itself was fine. Ricky Gervais was a good host, though some of his comments were clearly meant for shock value. Martin Scorsese was given the Cecil B. Demille award in a touching tribute. And there were plenty of fashion choices to ponder or admire, and touching speeches.

No, the disappointing part came when none of my favorites were winning. Hugh Laurie lost to Michael C. Hall. Mad Men beat out House and True Blood. The nominated cast members of Glee lost. Avatar won best dramatic movie. It just was not going my way.

But it wasn't a total loss. I was surprised when The Hangover won for best movie, comedy or musical. I haven't seen it yet but from what I hear it's the kind of film that doesn't win awards, so I was pleased to see a flick like that get recognition.

What made me happiest, however, were two big moments. Glee won best TV series, comedy or musical. Damn right. And Robert Downey Jr. won a Globe for his portrayal as Sherlock Holmes. Yay! I especially liked his statement as he got on stage "If you try to play me off I will tear this place apart!"

So, ups and downs, but still enjoyable. But for God's sake, let's bring on the Oscars!

"Where's my Emmy man? You got my Emmy? Huh?"

The 61st Annual Prime Time Emmy's were on tonight, and thanks in large part to host Neil Patrick Harris' charm and the decision to group the awards together by genre, it was quite the event.

I would usually classify the Emmy's as my second favorite awards show (tied with the Golden Globes, with the Oscars being number one...though the Tony's are catching up to that second place spot quite nicely), but like most awards shows television's biggest night tends to be a fairly inconsistent form of entertainment, with some broadcasts being better than others, and even the better ones having their off-balance moments. But in this particular case, the good far outweighed the bad. Let me break it down for you...

The Good:

1. DR. HORRIBLE HIJACKS THE BROADCAST! Well...not really. But the devious attempt by the titular super-villain to, rather ineffectively, tout the wonders of the internet over television was spot-on funny. Plus the whole Dr. Horrible cast was reunited, there was a little singing, and it was just the right length. Perfect. And on that note...

2. Neil Patrick Harris as Host - With a great opening musical number, nice zingers all through the night, obscure career references for each presenter, and being so put-out after loosing the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award to John Cryer, Harris was just about as perfect an award show host as anyone could be. Even Jon Stewart had to admit he was awesome. Plus the white tux was very sleek.

3. John Hodgeman as the Commentator - The perfect gravy to Harris' hosting, The Daily Show's resident expert offered some hysterical, and almost all fictional, comments on each winner as they approached the stage, livening up a part of the show that's often very dull.

4. Dividing the awards by genres - By keeping like-minded awards together, and still saving the two big series awards for last, the whole evening felt much more cohesive.

5. Family Guy getting in on the fun - A special Emmy version of Stewie beating up Brian (shouting "Where's my Oscar?" instead of "Where's my money?") acknowledged FG's unprecedented Best Comedy Series nomination and added a little irreverence to the festivities.

6. Tearjerker 'In Memoriam' - Sarah McLachlan singing "I Will Remember You" over the images of the people the television industry lost over the last year = not a dry eye anywhere.

7. The little things - Jimmy Fallon actually funny? Pokes at Kanye? A moving set that didn't look cheesy? Kristen Chenouweth's teary acceptance speech? We actually ended on time? Like I said, little things.

But no awards show is without it's flaws. Here's The Bad...

1. Those stupid "coming up in __ minutes" bullets under some of the acceptance speeches - What? The person speaking is so boring you have to remind the people watching that something else is coming up shortly? Come on, how rude is that?

2. Ricky Gervais is still awkward - Normally I love Gervais and everything he does (including that foray into pop music in the 80s, as I talked about in a previous post), but I've noticed the last couple of times he's been on the Emmy's I've been squirming due to jokes that fall flat and that whole thing between him and Steve Carrell. Maybe that's what they're going for, but still.

3. Repeat Offenders - Let me just preface this by saying I am very hypocritical in this sentiment when it comes to my favorite shows. The Daily Show should get every Emmy it can possibly get, and it got another one last night. But I hate it when shows I don't watch get Emmy after Emmy over shows I do watch. I just hate it! The ceremony really should scrap the Best Reality Show category if The Amazing Race is going to be the only show that wins it. And 30 Rock getting another gold statue when shows like Family Guy and Flight of the Conchords are waiting in the wings? But the real kicker for me was Brian Cranston getting his second Emmy in a row when Hugh Laurie, in that same category, hasn't won a single time for House even though he's been nominated again and again. Laurie does everything the other nominees do, and he does it while covering his accent and walking with a limp and a cane! Come on! Something's not right here!

Still, in spite of a few bumps, a good show overall. What do you think? Do you agree with my assessment or do you think I'm completely off base?