Oscar Night

[bradygirl_12]

It is supreme irony that an industry that exists to entertain can't make their showcase awards show diverting. I guess it's the nature of the beast. Awful riffing by actors who can't improvise without a script to save their lives (once in awhile you get an exception), tedious 'comedy' sketches, song-and-dance numbers thrown in...you get the picture. And speeches thanking everyone in the universe isn't too exciting, though this year they tried to speed it up by a crawl screen giving us the particulars for each speech so that the recipient could be quicker. Even with all that, the darned thing ended at 12:05 A.M. EST. Yeesh!

Here's a thought: give us the categories we want (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Actress). Throw in Best Director and Original/Adapted Screenplay and Best Costume Design. The rest? Have them join that separate Oscar night. I really don't care about Sound Mixing and whatever. And cut the songs and the painfully unfunny bits. I know, dreaming, right? An awards show that's under two hours? Blasphemy!

I was pleased to catch glimpses of Christian Bale since he was up for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, though I didn't think he'd win. The heavy favorite was Sly Stallone for Creed, so it was a pleasant surprise when Mark Rylance won for his role in Bridge Of Spies. I wanted BoS to get recognition, and they snagged a major prize. Rylance was exceptional as Rudolf Abel, captured Soviet spy. He and Tom Hanks had great chemistry together. :)

Weird that Mad Max was even nominated for Best Picture. SF movies generally are not. They cleaned up in the technical categories, though. A shame that Cinderella didn't win for Best Costume Design or Bridge Of Spies for Best Set Design. Cinderella's ball gown alone was worth the price of admission! :) And that Berlin Wall set was pretty fantastic in BoS.

I think Chris Rock would have been better served to confine his #OscarsSoWhite comments to his opening monologue. Sometimes less is more.

Spotlight won for Best Picture. Even though it happened in my backyard, I haven't seen it yet. I'll probably catch it when it gets to TV.

Cute to see the kid actor trying to get a better look at the Star Wars droids on-stage. Sometimes even a kid actor is just a kid! :)

Christian isn't doing too badly for himself: three Oscar nominations and one win. Some Hollywood greats got neither!

Some great gowns, Christian looked great, and a few surprises. I drifted in and out of sleep for the latter two hours but saw the highlights. Another Oscars in the books. *yawn*

Comments

[phoenixnz.livejournal.com]

I think we're lucky in that respect as the Oscars aren't televised here (not on free-to-air anyway). The only categories I was interested in this year were Best Picture and Best Actor. Pleased to see Leo finally won, although I doubt I'll actually see the movie he was nominated for. I do think he's a good actor though.

I thoroughly recommend Spotlight. It's a good movie. I'm just not sure it was Oscar material, then again, my judgement is based on Oscars of the past and the quality of movies that have been nominated before. The Oscars now I just don't know.

[bradygirl_12]

I don't ever plan to see Leo's movie. Just not my cuppa tea!

You can never tell with the Oscars. The thing is, it's not just about merit. Politicking plays a big part, too.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I quite watching the Oscars years ago, the year Titanic won for Best Picture. That year was one of the few where I'd actually seen all the movies up for Best Picture. Titanic would have been my last choice. Anyway, they give each other so many awards, they've lost any real significance.

[bradygirl_12]

Very true about the proliferation of awards, though the Oscars might be the last 'genuine' award coveted by Hollywood.

It's all about the politicking, though.