Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Thoughts on Oscars 2016

First of all, the winner of our annual Oscar Game is....

Nicole K.

I believe that this is the 3rd or 4th time in a row she has won.  She had a commanding win with 25 points.  I came in second with 10.  So congratulations to Nicole who will win a prize (contact me and we will arrange it).

And now, on to my thoughts.


1.  Low Ratings.
I said on my blog a few weeks ago: Here are the top 10 money-makers of 2015:  Star Wars, Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Inside Out, Furious 7, Minions, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, The Martian, Cinderella, Spectre.  Only 2 of them are nominated for Best Picture.  This means that this will be a low-rated Oscars because there are very few films to root for.
It turns out that I was correct.  This was one of the lowest rated Oscars in years.  I am convinced the reason wasn't the ceremony itself, but the fact that few of the big money-makers (especially Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens), were not nominated.  So the night was a lot of "who cares?"

 2.  Not Timeless
A question that should be asked about the categories, especially Best Picture, is "Will people remember this decades from now?"  I mean, what are the timeless movies?  I have not seen Spotlight, but I can guarantee people will have trouble remember that this movie won Best Picture in 5 years.  People would remember Mad Max or The Martian winning.

 3.  L.A. Lecutres
What is it about winning an award for make-believe that makes people think that we really need their lectures on how to live?  Maybe I've missed it, but I can't remember a Super Bowl winner looking at the camera and saying, "I'm so grateful we won and stop using non-rechargable batteries!"  At the Oscars we were told who not to vote for, told that sex changes are "gender CONFIRMATION surgery," we are ruining the planet with climate change, and that Pope Francis needs to fix the Church so that it reaches Hollywood's impecable moral standards.

 4.  Actresses and Age
Brie Larson is a fantastic actress.  I did not see Room, but I heard she was excellent in it and so she won at age 26.  But this got me thinking.
I tried to compile a list of the 25 Best Actresses of All Time, but I kept coming to a roadblock for a lot of actresses in that they had very few notable performances.  Not only that, most of them were from their youth.  As they get older, they tend to work less and less (Meryl Streep is a notable exception).  
So I went and looked something up.  In the last 30 years, 10 actresses in their 20's have won Best Actress Oscars (Marlee Matlin, Jodie Foster (counted twice for her 2 wins), Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Hillary Swank, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence, and Brie Larson)
In the entire history of the Oscars, only one man has ever won a Best Actor Oscar in his 20's (Adrian Brody).
I'm not sure what this means, if anything.  It's just an observation.

5.  Mad for Max
I was very happy that Mad Max won as many awards as it did.  But I find it so strange that a movie that won so many awards for such a rich visual experience should not give the award for directing to the main architect of that experience.  Of the nominees, Mad Max was clearly the Best Picture.  But we have our Hollywood tastemakers to guide us.  Then again, maybe I should think about it this way: Mad Max got beaten by a movie with Batman, the Hulk, Sabertooth, and Dr. Manhattan.

Those are my initial thoughts?

What are yours?

Below are my tweets of the evening.  (start at the bottom and go up for chronological order)

  2.  Feb 28
    CS Lewis: "Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date." I can't help thinking of this quote after watching




  3.  Feb 28
    I have not seen Spotlight so I cannot comment on its quality. But I doubt most people will remember it winning 5 years from now




  4.  Feb 28
    Spotlight's total box office is less than Batman made in 3 days... In 1989 (and that's not adjusted for inflation)








  7.  Feb 28
    Nothing like ending a tedious evening with Hollywood lecturing Holy Mother Church about the exploitation of children
    1 retweet2 likes






  10.  Feb 28
    "Mad Max is such a visually amazing film it deserves so many awards" "What about Best Director?" "... I don't understand the question."





  13.  Feb 28
    Morriconne's score for the Mission is one of the most beautiful film scores ever and it didn't win
    1 like




  14.  Feb 28
    This is Morriconne's first Oscar? Are you kidding? John Williams should have won, but still this is cool
    1 like




  15.  Feb 28
    If they had done a song and performance like that when Roman Polanski won his Oscar...




  17.  Feb 28
    I don't think I'm going to make it to the end... Too... Bored...




  18.  Feb 28
    I can't believe we lost Spock, Saruman, Snape, and Robert Loggia in the same year.





  20.  Feb 28
    When they say "coming up, performances by..." It sounds more like a threat than anything else




  21.  Feb 28
    "This Oscar is going home in a Civic" line of the night






  24.  Feb 28
    Mark Rylance just beat out Judge Dredd, Batman, Bane, and the Hulk
    1 retweet




  25.  In reply to 
     Feb 28
    “: Some disgruntled animator got on Wikipedia really quickly ” so wrong, but so funny




  26.  Feb 28
    Does anyone else find this performance icky?




  27.  Feb 28
    Is anyone else thinking about the opening to Pitch Perfect 2 right now?




  28.  Feb 28
    Pete Doctor gets the award for best acceptance speech of the night (so far)
    1 retweet




  29.  Feb 28
    In my head, Joy just took control because Inside Out won
    1 retweet2 likes





  31.  Feb 28
    Okay, I admit it was cheesy, but I felt like a little kid seeing the droids on stage talking about John Williams
    1 retweet




  32.  Feb 28
    Psylocke is presenting
    1 retweet2 likes




  33.  Feb 28
    I know, I know I'm a fanboy saying this, but The Force Awakens should have won
    1 retweet




  34.  Feb 28
    They put a digital beard on Damon for The Martian?




  35.  Feb 28
    I know there is a difference between sound mixing and sound editing, but I'm too lazy to look it up







  37.  Feb 28
    Captain America presenting another award for Mad Max




  38.  Feb 28
    "Coming up, music from The Wknd and Lady Gaga" How is that an incentive to not switch channels for 30 min




  39.  Feb 28
    Sabertooth and the voice of Ms. Marvel gave Mad Max another award




  40.  Feb 28
    The Human Torch and someone from Doctor Strange are presenting







  42.  Feb 28
    The bear needs to win




  43.  Feb 28
    The Collector and Elektra are presenting




  44.  Feb 28
    Now the Mad Max winners for makeup are up in a skybox. The next winners will be coming from across the street




  45.   Retweeted
     Feb 28
    I watched Room, and felt cheated. Where was Tommy Wiseau
    36 retweets105 likes



  46.  Feb 28
    I hope this means Mad Max will win more awards besides the technical




  47.  Feb 28
    2 in a row for Mad Max. Why did they put them so far back in the audience?




  48.  Feb 28
    Mad Max won for best costumes. It looks like the designer for the costumes from her personal wardrobe




  49.  Feb 28
    I thought the screenplay for The Big Short was terrible but I knew it would win. It makes the voters feel smart
  51.  Feb 28
    I wish you knew which awards were up next so that you knew the times you could do a quick power nap





  53.  Feb 28
    Didn't see Danish Girl, but Vikander was great in Ex Machina. So if she doesn't win for that, I'm okay with this win




  54.  Feb 28
    "Gender reassignment surgery" is now "gender confirmation surgery?" When did that happen?




  55.  Feb 28
    The worst part about this performance isn't the singing. It's the realization I'm going to have to sit through all the nominees
    1 retweet1 like




  56.  Feb 28
    "People complain the Oscars are too long" "Let's add musical numbers!"




  57.  Feb 28
    Unless you follow Hollywood politics, most people would have no idea what the deal was with Stacy Dash




  58.  Feb 28
    Why did The Big Short win for writing? Because no one wanted to admit that they couldn't follow the confusing jargon




  59.  Feb 28
    That might be the funniest monologue I've heard in awhile. Chris Rock is a great host so far




  60.  Feb 28
    Funny and insightful joke about separating male female actors by Chris Rock




  61.  Feb 28
    Wow! Chris Rock is hitting hard against




  62.  Feb 28
    In the opening montage, should you show clips from movies that weren't nominated but are better than the nominees
at

2 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 3, 2016 at 6:27 PM

    Sorry about the absence. Connectivity issues are just a small part of me wanting to pack my bags for Fiji.

    Didn't catch the Oscars, but thanks to a hatefully misanthropic guess about Best Picture, I am thirty bucks to the good.

    Gotta love them smug halfwits.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 3, 2016 at 6:29 PM

    How did Fury Road do?

    ReplyDelete