My Oscar Monday

Well, I can pretend that I was out partying until all hours of the night at various star-studded affairs and say that is the reason for this fashionably late post, or I can tell you the sad truth; my sinus infection and NyQuil kicked my butt hard last night. I didn't wake up until 12:30 pm!!

Either way, I had already decided I was putting book love on a break for this week to give you my own reflections on last night 84th Annual Academy Awards. So, here's to hoping that late is truly better than never!

Billy Crystal as Host

While I was really looking forward to Eddie Murphy's hosting debut this year, you'd never hear me complain about the return of Billy Crystal to the event's stage. He was, as always, brilliant!

When Colin Firth came out to present the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, I turned to my husband and said, "Oh no! It's almost over!" He astutely pointed out to me that the fact that I did not feel like I was waiting forever and ever for the end to approach was a sure sign this was a good show.

We both credited Billy Crystal, of course, but I think he was just one piece of the puzzle for me. From the moment the show started with Billy Crystal's parody of the opening of the scene in The Artist, I was ready for Hollywood to recognize those who I loved and admired this year.

My Favorite Book to Movie

You may expect me to say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2  was my favorite book movie of the year, but it was not. Unequivocally, it was my most anticipated book movie of the year and it did deliver on much of the excitement that had built up for so long, but it was not the best of the Harry Potter films and, in turn, not my favorite book to movie of the year. There was another. There was The Help.

I found out The Help was being made into a movie in the midst of me reading it. I thought that was a very good move, but I did not think Academy Awards at the time. When I saw the movie I was pleasantly surprised that the entirety of the book seemed to be captured. My husband, who had not read the book, got to know the stories and the characters as I had known them. The women who portrayed the women in the book seemed to come right off the page and on to the screen. Even then, after seeing the movie I didn't hink of Oscar.

Last night, when Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Help I was extremely happy for her (as well as for all of the recognition The Help got throughout the award ceremony), however I was still unsure. My comment to my husband was, "It is so hard for me to tell if she deserved the Oscar, or if her character was just so well-written. I mean, does everyone just love her character?" In other words, does the Academy want to give the award to Octavia Jackson or to Minny Jackson? But in that question lies my answer, doesn't it? If the two are so intertwined, then Ms. Spencer did an award-winning job! (I think this sinus infection is affecting my comprehension of normal things!).

The Happiest Movie of the Year

I go to the movies for all types of reasons - entertainment, laughter, maybe to learn something, but every once in awhile there comes a film that in the midst of all of its other purposes all serves up a big giant serving of happiness. I'm not even sure this can happen every single year, but 2011 was one year that will go down in the books for me because this year was the year of The Muppets (which is coming on DVD on March 20th YAAAAY!!!). Let me say this as calmly as possible: if The Muppets did not win the Academy Award for best song this year, I am not sure I would have been able to watch the Academy Awards EVER again. In all honesty, there are a number of sings on that soundtrack that should have been nominated, so I thought they had it hands down, but this is the Academy so you never know...

I am happy to say that The Muppets won all of the Oscars it was nominated for this year!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

How many, you ask? Well... um... do numbers really matter? The movie is awesome and if you haven't seen it yet, you need to go buy is next month.

They won one Oscar. It was for this magnificent song, Man or Muppet:



I think I am a Muppet of a person, so this song really speaks to me personally.

THE Movie of The Year

I've written about this before. Now I feel a bit validated. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of Best Motion Picture of the Year according to the Academy Awards and Nicole Rivera is The Artist. I was incredibly nervous about this one. While I believed that the film was beyond deserving of every nomination it received, I can't say that I have I huge amount of trust in the Academy's choices over the years. And when the night started with the Hugo love-affair, I thought, for sure my movie love of this year was doomed for sure.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Although it seems impossible for a Scorscese film to be conquered on all fronts (Hollywood loves Marty!), The Artist pulled through with some pretty incredible wins for the night.

ORIGINAL SCORE

“The Artist” Ludovic Bource

COSTUME DESIGN

“The Artist,” Mark Bridges

BEST ACTOR

Jean Dujardin

BEST PICTURE

The Artist

In my eyes, this truly was one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. 

The Glitz and the Glamor 

I'm not normally one to ogle at the red carpet or to buy up magazines looking for the fabulous fashion from the big night, but there were two women last night that caught my eye whose looks I simply can't stop thinking about!

First, there is the dress that actually made me say, "Whoa!" Not only because of how beautifully it was worn, but because I felt like it has been ripped out of my own daydreams! It was worn by the beautifully adorable and hilarious Elie Kemper:

Are you kidding me right now?! THIS is how I imaged the fabric of Katniss Everdeen's interview dress in the Hunger Games would look. Did Elie Kemper find Cinna to be her stylist?! I am not even sure this still photo can do it justice. When I first saw the dress Kemper was being interviewed on the red carpet and she was moving in the sunlight - the changing colors as she moved were mesmerizing. I love, love, love this dress. Go Elie! You rock once again!

The second lady to catch my eye was another comedienne. What is it with these funny ladies? They are just masters at manipulating me - they make me laugh, they make me think, and now they make me WOW! Although my hair is short and spiky now, I spent many, many years with long luxurious locks desiring feminine yet fabulous up-dos. Tina Fey's up-do for last nights Academy Awards is exactly what I've been looking for:

 

The hair is completely out of the way without being tightly pulled or slicked down. I don't want to think about how much hair spray and stick stuff there might actually be up there, but the fact is, it doesn't look like there is any. The style looks natural, elegant and interesting (there's definitely something cool happening around the gathering of the bun). 

My Question to the Academy

My one disappointment was a long shot by far, but I still stand by my opinion that the Academy should have awarded Transformers for their sound and/or visual effects. That was, hands down, the most charged up, exciting movie of the summer for me and when I saw it was nominated I was so excited the Academy noticed. However, I lay claim that perhaps I don't know enough about sound editing or mixing to recognize that it was not clear winner. Here's what I do know: the team of film makers behind Transformers created sounds for actions that don't necessarily exist in my world and made them sound real, seamless and exciting to me. While this was not the first Transformers film, in terms of sound and visual effects I feel it upped the ante quite a bit. I saw Hugo, too and while I liked the movie, I can't say it moved me in such ways or caused me to wonder about the magnificence of the sound editing and mixing going on, so I am left wondering what exactly qualifies as the best sound and visual effects in a film and how do we determine that.

The Grand Finale

I don't have a grand finale, but, you know, neither do the Oscars. Well, at least not for those of us viewing at home - the attendees have the biggest party night of the year to top it all off - for us it's just Billy Crystal wishing us a good night and letting the credits roll. I suppose that's enough. For me, this year, it was. I can't remember the last time I jumped, cheered and high-fived so much during an awards show. I hope you enjoyed it too!

Did you watch the show last night? What did you think?

What were your best moments of the show last night?

Did you have any disappointments, any surprises?

My July in Review: Movies

This July was a HUGE movie month for me. It seemed to carry the bulk of the summer blockbuster films and, thanks to my discounted tickets from CostCo and membership in the Regal Crown club, I was lucky enough to see my movies without breaking the bank! I got so used to the fast pace of new, exciting movie releases that I think I am about to go through some withdrawal! Without any further adieu, I present you with my July movies, and my brief thoughts about them:

Transformers Dark of the Moon

I am a sucker for what my husband and I call the "summer blockbuster movie" - you know the one with lots of promos, lots of action, and, usually, a huge budget. I also am a huge fan of re-imaginations of the pop culture from my childhood. It is for this reason that the Transformers movie was high on my list of 'must-sees" for the summer. I had loved the first two Transformers films, so I entered the movie with high expectations of having a good time. A couple of days before going to the movie my husband and I had both (separately) found out that this movie was one of the few where 3D would actually be worth while, so we also decided to forgo the extra finds to see it that way. With the added cost, Transformers had just a little more to prove to me now.

As the movie began, in a scene in space, I was overjoyed that we had gone for the 3D version - it was beautiful! I really did love this movie. I thought rewriting the international race to the moon from the 1960s was a fun move. The effects and action throughout the movie were exhilarating - delivering what I was used to from the first two movies, and then going even further. The final battle scene in Chicago was amazing and, again, I do think the 3D was worthwhile. As it stands, right now this may be my favorite movie of this summer, competing only with the next movie I saw this month.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Oh! How I love my Harry! Not only had I been anticipating this movie since the last was made, I have been anticipating this movie sine the weekend of July 21, 2007, when I finished the book. My midnight ticket was purchased a month in advance and my t-shirt(s) and earrings were ready! I have already written two different posts about my experience going to see this movie and my reaction as a readers seeing the movie. I think, in the end, reading both of those, one might come away with the perspective that I did not like the movie. I was so stuck on the point of expressing my disappointment as a reader dealing with the holes in a movie interpretation, that I don't think I added enough about how much I enjoyed the movie.

The second part of the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows movie put a perfect end to the Potter film legacy. The characters have all grown up, become more independent and chosen their sides in a battle for their world. The effects, the creatures, the setting and even, at times, the music allow me to forget that this world doesn't exist and sweeps me away on a fantastic ride of adventure, horror and heroism. Of all of the movies I have seen this summer, I know this is the one which I will re-watch more than any of the others.

Captain America The First Avenger

Being married to a fully certified "comic book guy," it kind of went without saying that we would be at the opening night for this one. As we have been seeing each Avenger-associated movie so far with little to no disappointments it is safe to say our expectations were pretty high. I, personally, knew only of generalities of the Captain America story, so I went into this movie to learn about his origin as well as being entertained. My husband, on the other hand, was looking for entertainment, without too many insults to the original story.
We both came out of this movie very happy. This was a really good movie! When we first emerged from the theater we had mumblings of, "Yes, yes, I enjoyed it," and, "It was good." As we drove home, and talked in more depth about various story points and the technique used to incorporate the costume, the nemesis, and the character of Steve Rogers we discovered that Captain America The First Avenger was, in fact, a very good movie. We began to discuss how our expectations are getting completely blown out of the water with extravagant movies and TV shows and how, if we are not careful, we do not give credit to some truly deserving films!

Horrible Bosses

I think I was sold on this movie after seeing one preview. I have been lucky enough in life never to have had a horrible boss, but I knew, after seeing the all-star cast that this movie was going to be a laugh-riot! In a sea of special effects, 3D and elaborate tales of magic, aliens, and war, here was a plain-old movie about people. No effects needed - just great writing, timing and a ridiculous scenario where three average guys simply can't take it anymore.

It was really refreshing to go see a "normal" movie in the middle of all of the summer mayhem. I kept missing them this summer (I somehow completely missed Tom Hanks' movie!!) and forgot how much fun it is to see a genuinely good  movie in the theater. Due to the cost of movies these days we often make the decision  on what we should spend our money on by which of these "needs" a big screen - therefore given high-effects and 3D films a distinct advantage - forgetting that going to the theater is  not just about seeing  the movie, but experiencing it in the theater (who doesn't love a comedy with a crowd to laugh along with?!).

Cowboys & Aliens

Jon Favreau. That's it. That is the singular reason I went to see this movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig is not that bad either, but it was Jon Favreau, alone, that drew me into this film. You see, when I first saw Swingers and realized this guy had to do with some of the behind the scenes action (he wrote it), I was instantly curious. Then there was Elf, Zathura and Iron Man, all movies he directed that I loved. Next on his list? Some movie called Cowboys & Aliens. OK, I'll be there.

Then I went to the movie. It was OK. It wasn't horrible... it wasn't great, and it was missing something for me. It took me a little while to pin it down, but, ultimately I did. This was an OK alien movie - you know the kind: aliens are on Earth they want us, or the Earth; they've been attacking us without anyone realizing it; now that we've figured them out, we have to fight back... somehow. This movie was one of those movies, set in the Old West. When I initially heard the title "Cowboys & Aliens" I was intrigued because there is such a dichotomy between those two groups - cowboys are low tech, they live off the land and fight their battles face to face, in the dirt while aliens are typically high tech, living in space and usually fight their battles from a far away ship that shoots lasers or something else in very clean, sparse, sterile environments. I was expecting the polar opposites of these two groups to be explored. I was expecting to answer the question of "Who would win in a battle: cowboys or aliens?" But neither hope could be realized as one cowboy had the unfair advantage of some alien-tech attached to him arm. It never really was cowboys versus aliens, it was, instead, guy with alien-tech and his cowboy buddies versus aliens. With all of this said, I imagine this worked/works really well as a comic book, with tons of issues and time to explore both the cowboys and the aliens, but, as a one-shot movie, I felt it needed more.



There were so many movies released this July that even with seeing all of these, I still missed a whole bunch I wanted to see. I don't know if I'll see them all in the theater, but I'll keep trying. Looking forward to August releases, along it is not quite as jam-packed as July was, there are still lots of movies to keep me entertained!

What was your favorite July movie?

What movie did I miss that you need to tell me about?

What movie(s) are you looking forward to next?

Related Post:

• My June in Review: Movies