Oscar Results

This year, I got 19 out of 24 categories right, only missing Foreign Language film, Live Action Short, Documentary Short, and both Screenplay categories. Possibly my best year, I can't recall ever doing better.

Thrilled to see Bigelow get Best Director and Hurt Locker win Best Picture, though it turns out that I didn't program my DVR to capture past the time it was supposed to end, so I missed all four of the major categories. Whoops. Well, it's the result and not the speeches that thrill me, anyway.

Decided during the show that I definitely need to see An Education, pronto. Who's in?

Oscar Predictions 2010

I meant to do a full Oscar preview this week, but I got sick and spent all the free time I could in bed, sleeping. Never managed to summon the energy. Anyway, the show starts in 25 minutes, so here are my picks:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

If this film beats Avatar, that will be the biggest win of the night for me. You might remember this piece, when it still seemed like Avatar was a runaway winner and I pleaded for Oscar voters to reconsider.

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Most of you already know this, since this piece of information has been everywhere, but Bigelow is only the fourth woman to be nominated for an Oscar in directing, a group that no woman has ever won. She's the first woman to ever really have a chance at it, too, so I'm pulling for her. That said, a victory for her here doesn't actually open any doors for women, it probably just puts a band-aid on the fact that it's tough - much too tough - for a woman to grab a directing gig in Hollywood. And James Cameron blew me away as a director on Avatar, so... I'm hopeful Bigelow, but not devastated if she doesn't land the prize.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Didn't see it, but he's the favorite.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Easy choice - the clear frontrunner and a stunningly good turn in Basterds.

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

In five years, this'll become, "hey, do you remember when Sandra Bullock won Best Actress?" "Nope."

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious

Didn't see it, but she's the clear winner here.

Best Documentary Feature: The Cove

It's that or Food, Inc., though to be fair, it's often a surprise who wins this category. That said, The Cove was the buzziest documentary of the year by a long shot.

Documentary Short: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

I'm gonna pick economic depression over all other topics as the this year's cause-winner.

Animated Feature: Up

People are pushing Fantastic Mr. Fox as a possible upset here - and it's a very deserving pick - but Up was a Best Picture nom and it's going to win this running away.

Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon, Germany

Sure, this is a tough category because so few voters see all five foreign language films, but The White Ribbon had Oscar buzz, and none of the other films did. Possible upset: Un prophète, the French film about... something or other. Possibly something about a prophet. It is French film, so there's no guarantee.

Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds

Look for strong pushes from the Coen Brothers and maybe Mark Boal for Hurt Locker, but I think Basterds was so strong that people will want to honor Tarantino in a year where he's certainly not going to win anything else.

Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up In The Air

I think this one's a clear selection, none of the other screenplays jump out.

Cinematography: Avatar

The consolation prize.

Art Direction: Avatar

Has to be Avatar, that movie was, if nothing else, a triumph of art direction.

Animated Short Film: Logorama

I dunno. It sounds fun.

Live Action Short Film: Kavi

Sure.

Visual Effects: Avatar

Duh.

Costume Design: The Young Victoria

Because, I dunno, history.

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

You have to win this category to win Best Picture, plus that thing was edited razor-sharp.

Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker

Someone is winning both, and it's probably Avatar or this. Wouldn't it be fun if Transformers won, though, the same day as winning a Razzie? That'd be fantastic.

Original Score: Up

Maybe? I love Michael Giacchino, so I'm going with this. I have no confidence here.

Original Song: "The Weary Kind," Ryan Bingham

Really, the only possible winner here.

Makeup: Star Trek

Finally wins something, mostly for making Rachel Nichols green.

 

Alright, I'll check my win total at the end of the night. Here's my list of who I'd like to win

Best Picture: Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Actor: Jeremy Renner

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan

Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick

Best Documentary Feature: The Cove

Best Documentary Short: Ditch the category

Animated Feature: Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox tie

Foreign Language Film: Take your films back, foreigners!

Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds

Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up In The Air

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker

Art Direction: Avatar

Animated Short Film: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Live Action Short: Why is this even a thing?

Visual Effects: Star Trek

Costume Design: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker

Original Score: Michael Giacchino, Up

Original Song: Throw out all of the current contestants except for Ryan Bingham, then start over. Then, just give the award to Bingham anyway.

Makeup: Star Trek

 

 

The 28 Best Movies I Saw In Theaters In 2009

I did a final list of the best movies (that I saw) in 2009. The Oscars are coming up, and my predictions will be forthcoming, but for now, this is the final list of where I saw each film. Of course, my opinion certainly doesn't count, which is why you'll see (500) Days Of Summer as a top 5 film of the year, despite being snubbed entirely at Oscar time.

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up
3. Up In The Air
4. (500) Days Of Summer
5. Inglorious Basterds
6. Star Trek
7. Avatar
8. Zombieland  
9. Away We Go
10. Adventureland 
11. Where The Wild Things Are
12. District 9
13. The Hangover
14. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
15. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
16. I Love You, Man
17. Sherlock Holmes
18. Pirate Radio
19. State Of Play
20. The Invention Of Lying
21. Whip It
22. Watchmen
23. Taking Woodstock
24. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
25. The Informant!
26. Funny People
27. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
28. Taken



In Defense Of Sarah Palin

I don't often jump to Sarah Palin's aid, as I generally feel that the holes she falls in are the ones she's dug, but the current controversy is so unfair that I couldn't ignore it any longer.

I'll catch you up on it, if you need it - this last Sunday, "Family Guy" premiered an episode called 'Extra-Large Medium,' the storyline of which was that one of the main characters, Chris, went on a date with a character with Down Syndrome.  I thought, in and of itself, it wasn't that bad an episode, but the Down Syndrome parts of it threw me. "Family Guy" clearly knew they were on thin ice and pulled all their punches - a few off-hand jokes during a song Stewie sang called "Down Syndrome Girl", and that was it - so the parts featuring the character were generally laugh-free in every aspect. I remember watching the episode and at the beginning saying "why do this?" and at the end saying "why do it this way? If you're going to do it, go for it and try to make people laugh, or don't do it at all. Why do it halfway?"  Apparently, the answer is: do it halfway so that you can end up being defended by the media and come out looking rosy on the other side.

There's a joke in the show where Chris asks the girl what her parents do, and she answers that her mother is "the former governor of Alaska." And there are ways that's not an offensive joke. If the joke is "Sarah Palin is stupid," then that's acceptable - Palin has that reputation and that's fair game for jokes. But that's not the joke. The joke is that Sarah Palin has a baby with Down Syndrome, which is probably caused by the fact that Sarah Palin is stupid. And that's truly offensive.

Despite what the media outlets reporting the story seem to think, Palin is well within her rights to defend herself about this. This isn't simply being thin-skinned - having a child with Down Syndrome is a tremendous struggle for a family, and regardless of whether or not Palin is a public figure, comments like this should always be off-limits. The reason people haven't gathered in her corner over this is because she's Sarah Palin, and somehow doesn't qualify for our outrage. The "Family Guy" characters aren't the only ones perceived as cartoon characters here.

Put it this way: if a more respected politician had a child with Down Syndrome - President Obama, for example - and there was a TV show that made a crack at that kid in even the vaguest way, can you even imagine what sort of holy hell would be unleashed upon them? People would be lining the streets in protest, and if Obama then spoke out against that show and denounced its insensitivity, the internet would flood with articles praising him as a brave father defending his children and the rights of children with Down Syndrome everywhere.

Instead, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane went on "Real Time With Bill Maher" last night and laughed off Palin's comments, while Maher referred to Palin as "The Queen of Fake Outrage", referencing her calling out Letterman for making a joke about her fourteen-year-old daughter probably being pregnant by a thirty-year-old man (and how dare she make a stink about that?). Both seemed to feel that since the actress who played the character had Down Syndrome and was fine with the show, and seemed to be living a happy, contented life, Palin's arguments hold no water. Which, of course, misses the point entirely. What does the quality of life of the actress playing the character have to do with a harsh joke against a member of a politician's family, regardless of the fact that they have the same condition? It's terrible journalism to make that piece the focus of the story when the real issue is the joke, not the character.

Of course, if we're going to talk about bad journalism, we have to mention the fact that when the news broke that the actress who played the character, Andrea Fay Friedman, had called Palin out for having no sense of humor, it wasn't mentioned that the actress had the same condition as her character. Once that was uncovered, the stories started scripting the controversy as a Sarah Palin vs. Actress With Down Syndrome, as if that was really what's going on here. Most news stories are now running a picture of Palin and Friedman side-by-side, to give the impression that this is some sort of showdown between them. Naturally, the stories exempted anything that could sway perception in Palin's favor, such as:

a. Friedman seems to deeply dislike Palin, and almost every news outlet cut off the quote before her denouncement of the politician later in the letter, where she says "my mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes." Friedman is certainly entitled to her opinion here, especially on this issue, but of course that quote would never be reported since it means that Friedman couldn't be portrayed as a victim anymore. For all the posturing that "Family Guy" treated Friedman and her character like any other human being, news outlets haven't shown the same disgression.

b. Even if Friedman says "I was making fun of Sarah Palin, not her son," that doesn't take the show off the hook. She didn't write those lines, the show's writers did, and to put the actress' face on them in the press is disingenuous. It doesn't matter what her intent was, it matters what the show's intent was. Yet I have yet to read a single article that's addressed this in any way.  Apparently, once the actress spoke the lines, the show was absolved of all blame.

Not to mention that most articles have used this story to reference older Palin stories to discredit her - particularly her calling out Rahm Emmanuel for using the word "retard" but giving a pass to Rush Limbaugh - as if that had anything to do with anything. The throughline being "just in case you were going to side with Sarah Palin on this issue, here's a list of reasons she can't be trusted." And these are news stories. It's the equivalent of newspapers and news outlets covering the State of the Union by saying "President Obama, who once said he thought there were 57 states in the union and has consistently mixed up what exactly U.S. foreign policy has historically been in interviews, addressed Congress tonight to explain his plan for our government in the coming year." Evidently, we only notice a lack of journalistic integrity when it deals with politicians we like.

Two years ago, I though the Republican party was in complete disarray and didn't see any way that it could resurrect itself anytime soon. I now understand that the party doesn't have to do a thing: news outlets will just keep picking at it incessantly without justification until more than 50% of the country says "y'know, none of these arguments seem to hold any water. I think I'm gonna side with the other guys."