I did alright in the Oscar pool this year. I actually read different sites and followed the trends of previous years. Sadly, seeing the movies is almost unimportant when doing a pool like this. I actually have no clue who the person is who won. I thought Jessica was going to win this, which would have been cool since she won Fantasy Football. I guess Jason got his revenge by finishing in second place. Ryan is the only person in the group who actually has his SAG card (I think that is what it is) and he finished in last. Obviously actors know nothing about movies.
I missed Original Screenplay (I picked American Hustle), Original Score (I chose Her), Best Documentary (my pick was Act of Killing), Live Action Short (The Voorman Problem), Best Animated Short (Get a Horse!), and Achievement in Costume Design (American Hustle).
I felt that American Hustle was a fantastic movie and as most people remarked, it was like watching the biggest stars play dress up. That was kind of my reasoning for going against Gatsby in best costume design. I also went with the Vegas favorites for animated short, live action short, and documentary (and the fact that Filmdrunk says it is the most important film of the past decade). My reasoning for original score was that they would need to give Her an award for something, but since it won for original screenplay then it did not matter. American Hustle getting shut out was pretty shocking.
Back when I saw Gravity, I thought for sure it would win Best Picture. It always seems weird to me when a film wins almost every award, but not best picture. I would have to say that only having one actor nominated kind of hurt the film. I feel that the best picture winner should at least have a nomination in most categories and not just the technical ones. Does that make sense? I may watch 12 Years a Slave tonight.
I watched Dallas Buyers Club the other night and was blown away with how good it was. Matthew McConaughey was definitely deserving of his award and he made it even better by doing the “alright alright alright” from Dazed and Confused. Also, I actually liked his speech, especially the part about your hero should be you ten years from now. You should never stop striving to be better.
I also thought Ellen Degeneres was very good as the host. Her jokes were not edgy, although some of them bordered. The joke about Jonah Hill’s penis was pretty funny. There was also the whole ordering pizza bit that actually worked better than it should have. She was able to get people to participate and that made it funnier. Especially getting them to shill out cash for a tip.
Naturally though, people will find something to get offended about.
“Hello to the best Liza Minnelli impersonator I’ve ever seen,” DeGeneres joked about the icon who has been a favorite subject for female impersonators and drag artists over the years. “Good job, sir.”
This is what people are upset about. Apparently she really offended the transgendered community. Then the article says that Minnelli is a favorite of impersonators and drag artists. I could see Minnelli being upset, but how does this make Ellen transphobic? I am actually hoping someone can explain it to me.
I enjoyed the Oscars and really wish I could see more of the movies each year. Maybe that will be my goal next year.
