Monday, February 28, 2011

JER AND JOHNNY CHAZZ CHIME IN ON THE ACADEMY AWARDS

JER: I came into this year’s Academy Award presentation already disappointed. I knew that my choice for Best Picture: INCEPTION, didn’t have a chance due to the inside buzz from critics and experts alike. With that said, it still didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the ride!

Hosts: Franco and Portman
THE HOSTS: I honestly enjoyed the fresh angle of having two of Hollywood’s brightest stars host the show, that being Best Actor nominated James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Moving in a good and steady pace, the evening provided laughs, tears and one “F” bomb dropping (thank you, Melissa Leo!) but. Overall, the hosts didn’t provided or offer anything special or memorable to take away from it…I mean, neither of them ain’t no Billy Crystal or Johnny Carson!

The night’s presentation flowed well with beautiful set designs and lighting. A great number of the Awards’ history was wonderfully highlighted including The Roosevelt Hotel: location of the first ever Academy Awards presentation and Bob Hope: record held for most times hosting the Awards.

INCEPTION
 I was personally pleased to see INCEPTION win four Technical Awards throughout the presentation. It would seem as if the major films got recognitions they deserved and it was spread across evenly throughout the night.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Not my favorite film…at all,,, but, I have to admit it was visually pleasing and rightfully bestowed with both Art Direction and Costume Design wins.

THE WOLFMAN: I was very proud of Rick Baker’s MakeUp Award win for yet another ‘wolf’ film (He won the first ever MakeUp Award for 1981’s AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON)

THE FIGHTER: Best recognized for its powerful players, received kudos for its Supporting Cast: Melissa Leo and Christian Bale.

Portman: BLACK SWAN

BLACK SWAN: some will agree that Mila Kunis deserved a Supporting Role nomination, but Natalie Portman was crowned the swan of this lake by receiving Best Actress.

TOY STORY 3: Definitely a “hands down” win for Best Animated Film… period. It also pulled Original Song by Randy Newman.

SOCIAL NETWORK: It didn’t win the prestigious Best Picture award, but it did take Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing and Original Score.

THE KING’S SPEECH: Top honors would be given to his Royal Majesty, Colin Furth for Best Actor, Director: Tom Hooper, Original Screenplay and the winner of the evening’s crowning jewel: Best Picture!

To sum it up…the evening was fun and well done with honorable mentions for excellent staging and set designs. Some segments works, others failed. The hosts were great but not hilarious or memorable, but I was able to stomach the loss of my film and watch with delight and reflect as to why I love movies and films like I do…because of the surprises and wonders the industry has to offer. In a field of dry crops, there manages to exist some eatable items to last us until next year’s harvest! Devoir all you can!

JOHNNY CHAZZ: General impressions of tonight's show were marginal. I was quite pleased with two tributes in particular: The Roosevelt Hotel early on in the show and the tribute to jazz great and innovator Lena Horne.

The gowns worn this evening during the red carpet parade were well balanced according to this critic. The 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld looked marvelous choosing a ball gown by Marchesa that she helped design with designer Georgina Chapman.

Now, not a fan of Celine Dion, but wow she looked stunning in her gown.

Virginia Madsen looked absolutely ridiculous and reminded me of the Black and the White Swan at an all-u-can eat buffet on the Vegas Strip. Cate Blanchett looked like something from "Battlestar Galactica" however - what was with that circle thing in the middle of the yellow and blue dress??? Bizarre.

Firth wins for THE KING'S SPEECH
Well, the night belonged to "The King's Speech" in the end - and to no real surprise considering all the hype in the final weeks before the awards. Colin Firth was probably deserving of the Best Actor award and so was Natalie P. in the Actress category. As for the supporting roles, Christian Bale was a solid choice and his performance was deserving of the nod, but unfortunately Hailee Steinfeld was overlooked in the Supp. Actress category to my dismay.

“Inception" held its' own tonight in the Sound and Visual Effects categories and I was pleased to see that film take home at least 3 to 4 Oscars.

Newman's song to "Toy Story 3" only won due to the name of the composer (Newman of course) - yet the song really was quite sub-par and there were easily 2 or 3 others that were far superior this evening. This award was not deserving.

Alice in Wonderland" won a couple of awards tonight, but "The Social Network" only took home three - how is that even possible? "The Social Network" was completely ignored tonight and that was a true shame...

I am a little bitter about what I consider one of the most crucial categories at the Oscars - Original Screenplay. "King's Speech" took the award tonight, but "Inception" and "Winter's Bone" seemed to have stronger writing elements working in their favor.

"Black Swan" was also a tremendous piece of work in virtually all aspects of cinema and should have taken home at least 1 or 2 more awards this evening. When it gets to the point where Toy Story 3 wins more awards than "Black Swan", well.....we know we have arrived in a sad and desolate place.

Leo & Bale: THE FIGHTER

The "Social Network" faced some formidable competition from the likes of “The King’s Speech”, “True Grit”, and “Black Swan". Unfortunately, it came up short in most categories. This is precisely where I will wrap-up my afterthoughts on this year's Academy Awards. In retrospect, I can only think of 5 (maybe 6) films once again that deserved the nod for Best Picture ("Social Network", "King's Speech", "Black Swan", "Winter's Bone" and "Inception" - and possibly "True Grit".) So why are we continuing to nominate 10 films in the Best Film category? Toy Story had no business being nominated, nor did "127 Hours" or that 'Kids are All Right" disaster. We must return to the days of old - yes, the days of nominating the 5 top films.....keep it simple, and keep it real folks.

Until next year- Make sure to return back next Wednesday, when it’s my turn to pick a topic for discussion with Jer. Thanks for always checking in with us! SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY


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2 comments:

  1. J & J, The only thing I like this years Oscars was The End (Credits Rolling). The Two host looked like Ms. Hathaway was adutioning for a role, and the Dude looked he was stoned out of his mind. Like he didn't want to be there. As for Mellisa Leo dropped the F-bomb, I give her credit, her Life is Beautiful. Now that was real. Way ago Ms. Leo drop another F-bomb.

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  2. LOL...thanks for sharing...Ms. Leo's "F" bomb drop will go down in the pages of memorable moments in Academy Awards' history! I like the outtake on the hosts, too!

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