Nearly 100 people are dead in New Zealand after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake. Violence is rampant in Libya. Mayor Peter Carlisle is delivering his first State of the City address today. And yesterday a smiling Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed into law Senate Bill 232, which allows civil unions, making Hawaii the seventh state to acknowledge same-sex unions.
Lot of news going on around the world — and yet all I can think about is the 83rd annual Academy Awards on Sunday. (How shallow am I?)
And I don’t have any real reason why I’m excited — especially since I watch more movies via Netflix than in theaters and I haven’t seen most of the movies nominated for various awards.
So what’s the appeal?
It’s the same reason why I can watch the Super Bowl when my favorite team isn’t playing: I like the competition.
I like to predict who’s going to win, who’s going to get their acceptance speech cut off by orchestral music, who’s going to land on someone’s worst-dressed list.
It’s so much fun!
But let’s dish about the award we all wait for: the Best Picture Oscar.
Here are the nominees: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone.
Here’s my take: While “Inception” was undoubtedly clever and “The Social Network” was a media sensation, it’s going to be storylines and acting that will overwhelm the judges. It will come down to “Black Swan,” “True Grit” and “The King’s Speech,” in my opinion, with the latter — “The King’s Speech” — taking the top prize.
And as for Worst Performance on the Red Carpet, I’m going to pick Camille Grammar from Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” who was hired by CNN to work the pre-show. Oh, I can only imagine how badly that’s going to turn out.
You have a pick for Best Picture?
9 Comments
I am going to have to go with Cat as and informed and trusted source on this one. I didn’t see any of the films nominated this year. Not being plugged-into Hollywood, or Bollywood for that matter and being between trips on Sunday, I may just have to wait for Monday to find out who took home what awards.
I was never a big movie fan in the first place, but this year was a new low for me. I didn’t see any of the pics nominated for the big awards (I saw alice in wonderland on the plane).
anxiously awaiting fuud friday pics tomorrow.
@matti2d Not even “Toy Story 3”?? OK, so I don’t get that nomination. First off, it’s animated (not that that’s a bad thing, but you know…) and second, it’s a sequel! Not even a SEQUEL actually, it’s the THIRD movie! What gives?
@Cat not even TS3. all my movie watching was done on planes and most of it consisted of watching a few minutes and turning back to my book (Valentine’s Day).
can’t wait for Cars2, though. And I have a few movies on a memory card for my phone that I’ll watch someday, but none of them were nominated.
Wow, maybe the blog should have been how we don’t go to the movies anymore! Because I didn’t see a lot of ’em either. I think it has to do with a few things: 1) time (don’t seem to have it), 2) cost (movies at theaters are ridiculously expensive) and 3) convenience (meaning, going to a movie ISN’T when compared to Netflix. Plus, let’s face it, I’d rather be eating than watching a movie! 🙂
If I were an Oscar voter, I would vote “True Grit” best picture, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Geoffrey Rush and Hailee Steinfeld for the acting awards. But if “King’s Speech” wins, I’ll be happy, that was a terrific movie.
I grew up watching the Oscars with hosts Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal. Those were the golden years of the Oscar show.
IMO, around 1997, the shows got bloated and lost alot of the fun and real sense of competition.
This year, things should hopefully be better. New hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway are very charming people. Hopefully the producers will reduce, IMO, the unecessary elements of the show ( Sound, Sound Design, Best Short, Best Animated Short etc ) and if there really aren’t any good songs, eliminate the Song category altogether for that year. By doing this you allow the big awards more time for reflection and presentation. Cause every year, towards then end, they are always rushing, because they are running out of time. And all the last minute cuttting and rushing, to get the show in on time, really deflates the celebration of the nominees and the winners.
I loved “The King’s Speech,” maybe because Colin Firth is one of my favorite actors, so I hope that wins. But now, I have to catch “Black Swan.” I know it’s dark, but I think I’m going to like that one as well.
“King’s Speech” is the odds on favorite, but I’m hoping that “Inception” sneaks away with the prize. Clever storytelling and thought provoking plots are a rarity in Hollywood these days so when a movie like “Inception” comes around, it deserves to be recognized.
there is a lot going on in the world, and unfortunately, most of it is suffering. we are lucky to live lives that allow us to be entertained when we want. there’s no harm in that.