Snap Judgement: Oscars 2010

So they've come and gone. Thank goodness that's over. The Oscars are done, at least for now. I got asked a lot today "What did I think?" "Was I happy with who won?" And my answer: Meh. I couldn't feel any more ambivalent towards last night's show. Overall I enjoyed it. I thought Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were hysterical during the opening monologue, especially the joke that for their film debut, both Steve Martin and Gabourey Sidibe from Precious were born as poor black children. CLASSIC. And the note that Meryl Streep collects Hitler memorabilia. Because I know she does.

The show movie along at a fairly brisk pace, thanks to quick acceptance speeches, a very quick Death Montage of Applause-o-Meter which left out the likes of Bea Arthur and Farrah Fawcett, but left in Michael Jackson? Mmmkay. I thought the dance piece set to the Best Score nominees was a good idea and concept, and looked cool, but felt out of place at the Oscars, and the montage dedicated to Horror films seemed liked a random way to include "Twilight" and a couple other not-so-scary movies. The entire ceremony also lacked the element of surprise, with whoever was the front-runner going into the ceremony, winning the award. Where's the fun in that? I was totally hoping Gabourey Sidibe would beat both Sandra and Meryl because she had the most impressive performance for a debut this year, and she freakin' rocks. She's so sassy, and she looked fierce. But, IMO, she won anyways when Oprah told her how much she loved her on the stage of the Oscars and she started crying. Adorably cute. Plus her mom was there, and she was so into Steve Martin.

I wasn't super successful in predicting who would win. 13/23 correct. But not that it even matters, after all, the awards go to the most deserving career-wise (see Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges) or to the movie that has the most momentum going into the broadcast (i.e. "The Hurt Locker") and not necessarily to whatever actor gave an amazing performance or to the movie that is the best all around film of the year. Though, I am OK with "The Hurt Locker" winning. It was a very good movie. I liked it. It was suspenseful, but it wasn't my favorite, nor was it my pick to win. Everybody has different ideas of what's good though, and in the end, the movie that wins the most Oscars doesn't make it the best.

So it's all done. I look forward to next year, where I'll try to see all the nominees again. Because even though the whole thing is a big spectacle and I tend to disagree with a lot of it, I get to see some awesome movies that I might not otherwise be able to see. Thanks Oscars. Now come the summer blockbusters.

Snap Judgement: Oscar Noms 2010

As exciting for me as finding out who's playing in the Superbowl, heck, more exciting to me than the actual Superbowl is hearing who the nominees are for this year's Academy Awards. I don't know why it means so much to me, it's just another award show, but I feel the other awards just lead up to this one and this is the granddaddy mother of all award shows, the one every other award show aspires to be.

This morning the 2010 nominees were released with the much discussed new 10 Best Picture contenders, which IMO allowed deserving pictures a chance, even though the ones who ended up getting in with the top 5 will never win, but in the case of "Up" especially, it's so nice to get nominated as the second animated movie EVER to do so. ("Beauty and the Beast" was the first and only up until this point. Hard to believe.)

Russell is so excited to be nominated! As am I.

And I'm better off with seeing all the nominees this year than I thought I would be. And despite me scoffing repeatedly at the joke that I knew as "The Blind Side," I guess I just might have to watch it now. It's still playing in theaters despite being released at Thanksgiving. For reals I never saw that one coming.

So here's some nominees in categories I care about with some thoughts:

Best Picture

• "Avatar"
• "The Hurt Locker"
• "Up in the Air"
• "Precious"
• "Inglourious Basterds"
• "An Education"
• "District 9"
• "Up"
• "The Blind Side"
• "A Serious Man"

I'm so excited for "District 9" and "Up" here, two movies I thought never stood a shot though I thought were very deserving. And I'm doing good as I've seen 5/5 here, with easy access to three I haven't seen (Basterds, Serious Man, and Hurt Locker are on DVD now.) And there's that stupid "Blind Side."

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side")
• Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia")
• Carey Mulligan ("An Education")
• Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious")
• Helen Mirren ("The Last Station")

Meryl Streep, please. I love me some good Sandra Bullock a la "The Proposal" or "Miss Congeniality" (as opposed to the too often bad Sandra Bullock) but Meryl Streep was delish as Julia Child. BON APPETIT THIS MERYL! MUAH.

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart")
• George Clooney ("Up in the Air")
• Colin Firth ("A Single Man")
• Morgan Freeman ("Invictus")
• Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker")

I've only seen Freeman and Clooney here so I'll hold off on judgement. "Crazy Heart" and "Single Man" open up soon here so I'll be seeing those easy and plan to see "Hurt Locker" ASAP too.

Best Supporting Actress

• Mo'Nique ("Precious")
• Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air")
• Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air")
• Penelope Cruz ("Nine")
• Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Crazy Heart")

Very excited for "Nine" to get a big nomination here, but this one goes to MoMo. Le duh.

Best Supporting Actor

• Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds")
• Woody Harrelson ("The Messenger")
• Stanley Tucci ("The Lovely Bones")
• Matt Damon ("Invictus")
• Christopher Plummer ("The Last Station")

I need to get me some Best Supporting Actors since I've only seen Damon and he doesn't stand a chance.

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker")
• James Cameron ("Avatar")
• Jason Reitman ("Up in the Air")
• Quentin Tarantino ("Inglourious Basterds")
• Lee Daniels ("Precious")

Either Cameron or Bigelow. I loved "Avatar" and really still love "Titanic" but James Cameron just irks me in general. Creeper? Yes.

Best Animated Feature Film

• "Coraline"
• "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
• "The Princess and the Frog"
• "The Secret of Kells"
• "Up"

This is "Up's" best chance to win, but I'm so excited for "Princess and the Frog." Just glad to see classic Disney is back AND good.

I promise I care about the rest, and will be back to comment later when I see more of them, but I wanted to give a rundown of the ones I care about the mostest. Hooray for Oscars! One month to do my best to see them all.