Okay, so I've hit a lazy patch and havent updated for a while, which is crazy since HELLO the Oscars happened so I should've been so excited that a post would appear immediately following the ceremony but there was honestly so much that I liked/wanted to mention that it kind of intimidated me. Anyway, better late than never!
So this years Academy Awards followed a dramatically different format than those previously and all in all I'm going to have to say upgrade. Despite dragging moments during technical "and the nominees are" I thought the new additions were definitely an aqquired taste, as I got more and more used to and fond of the changes as the show progressed. I'll try to keep it as short and sweet as possible, but here we go. Hugh Jackman who is a Broadway veteran definitely made it a thespian-friendly evening, so being a giant theatre nerd I enjoyed the musical touches he brought to the show (though I did find that whole the muscial is back number weird and random, and with one Vanessa Hudgens too many) and think he proved to be a very charming and capable host buuuut I still wish Billy Crystal would do every show.
The new format for acting catagories was strange, and I didn't buy into it until the second time around when Christopher Walken got on stage, but eventually I found its sappy, self-written vow thing completely precious and enjoyed the personal touches (except for Cuba's total throwaway to poor Robert Downey Jr.) but wish they would have shown clips from the films especially after my friend Katie who hadn't seen several nominated movies had nothing to base the decisions on. It wasn't really suited for those who hadn't seen the performances which is unfortunate. Technical catagories--TOO LONG! Sorry but your catagories are not what the people tune in to see and while I generally enjoy them if they are looking to boost ratings most people don't want to spend 40 minutes watching Will Smith and Sarah Jessica Parker explain why sound editing is important.
Highlights of the evening: Every acceptance speech given was pretty incredible. Not a ton of rambling, even the lesser catagories that have awkward nerdy men accepting managed to have the right amount of sentiment and comedy, so I was totally impressed. The acting winners we're eloquent, just sappy enough and for some of the first times generally seemed surprised and excited. I cried a lot so I got exactly what I wanted. Heath Leger's family did a great job of commemorating his work and making it about a celebration of his life and for those who continue to do what he loved. Beautiful. Hands down though the most incredible speech of the evening came from the ever-charismatic, wire-walking Phillippe Petit who put most simply and most beautifully everything that can be said about what is special about filmmaking.
Perfect. Awesome. I die. And I guess I should include this guy too because he made my dreams come true when he uttered the last four words of his speech.
I'm also gonna give a +1 to Anne Hathaway for her contributions to the opening number and her clear humility about the nomination and crying over being personally addressed and complimented by Shirley MacLaine. Other bests of the night came from the hilarious short with Pinapple Express stars Seth Rogen and James Franco (and of course cinematographer Janusz Kaminski), Ben Stiller's great impression of Joaquin Pheonix (did I see a little McCain in there too?) and the musical performances from the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire. Youtube them, you'll find yourself entertained.
Okay, this is already like three times longer than I intended so I'm just gonna go ahead and pat myself on the back for finally finishing this post and for what I'd call some pretty damn good predictions. Now, back to normal non-award show related posting, promise.
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