It kind of warms my heart that people are still bitching about the dismal mess that was the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Not only did they snub (my polite word for this) Lauren Bacall by not putting her fabulous career on the big screen during the show, they completely forgot to include Ricardo Montalban in the memoriam. Montalban was not only Khan in the famous Star Trek movies, but made over 30 other movies in his long and distinguished career. I hope Hispanics take up this cause, and help boycott the Oscar BS next year. Several other actors and actresses who died were ignored; Farrah Fawcett and Bea Arthur, to name two, and only a glimpse of Patrick Swayze, as I recall. Yet, they found time for that horrible horror-clip montage, which made no sense.
Here comes my biggest complaint. In the 21st Century, this fuddy-duddy institution refuses to reward the most revolutionary science fiction epic of all time. The Academy may think that indie flick Hurt Locker which earned only a fraction of the $2 BILLION that Avatar brought in was the best movie, but those who vote with their wallets (the "pimply faced", as NY critic snob addle-brained Edlestein claims) think differently. And, now out comes Green Zone, with essentially the same plot as Hurt Locker -- so perhaps it too will walk with Oscar next year when I'm no longer watching or caring.
Don't get me wrong, I was all for Bigelow becoming Best Director and taking her place as the first female Director to achieve that award. But Best Picture, NO!
The Academy has a history of disdain for anything SF. Think of this: Annie Hall received the Oscar in 1977, not Star Wars. Did 2001: A Space Odyessey, perhaps the most significant movie of it's era, win? No, Oliver! won in 1968. Need I say more? Yes, one more thing: Tom Hanks, Governor of the Academy, you should feel ashamed. It was bad before, but now you are in charge of the "Worst Award Show in the World..."
(said long and drawn out the way Keith Oberman would.)
I'm done. I was done Sunday night, but now I am FINI. The End.
1 comment:
Speaking of the Oscars, I finally watched "A Serious Man" on DVD. this is what I emailed some friends:
I have decided that I simply "don't get" the Cohen bros any more than my fav "gag me" film maker Woody Allen. I can't believe how depressing and morose "A Serious Man" was. Oscar material? It can only be for one reason: as Steve Martin astutely pointed out, "the motherlode" of Jews are in the Academy. I'm no "mench" apparently. Did you guys like this? I will say three positive things about it: the Rashi quote was fab "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you" (I should learn, said with Yiddish inflection);
2) Grace Slick singing "somebody to love"; and 3) just looking at Adam Arkin were the highlights for me. Arkin makes me laugh even if he was reading the phone book. Honestly, it's the Jewish thing, I'm sure. I truly don't get that humor. I read a review just now where some critic thought "Serious Man" was funnier than "Burn After Reading." huh? That actually was funny (another Cohen flick.) So to state the obvious, perspective is everything!! But, what do I know, I liked "Up" better than "Up in the Air."
BTW, Gracie is 70 now and looks just like a Jewish mench ;)
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