Ok, everyone. We’re going to bump our weekly discussion up a day in order to talk about the big show, the 85th Annual Academy Awards… better known as The Oscars.
What did you think? Did you watch? What was your favorite part? Your least favorite part? What did you think of Seth MacFarlane?
Even if you didn’t watch, I’m sure by now you’ve checked out the list of winners. What do you think there? Any surprises? Sure, the mortal locks came through, like Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day-Lewis, but we also saw Ang Lee upsetting Steven Spielberg and Christoph Waltz winning his second Oscar for a Quentin Tarantino movie!
There’s tons to talk about, it was a crazy show. From Captain Kirk to sock puppets to Ted, the entertainment portion was all over the place, and the awards portion rewarded some very well deserving people!
What did YOU think?
Fogs' Movie Reviews 
I thought it was alright, if kinda long. My wife’s not familiar with Seth McFarlane, but I knew she and he have the same musical tastes. So I told her, “Honey, I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy the musical numbers.” And she did. She was totally blown away that Barbara Streisand was there.
For me, I was totally flummoxed when Shirley Bassey showed up to do the Bond tribute. The film clip was kinda rushed looking, but Bassey doing Goldfinger again? This is the image of me being transfixed. The Adele portion was kinda ruined by some terrible sound issues, though.
Of course, Jennifer Hudson just tore the house down with that Dreamgirls song. My God, she is so good.
And speaking of Jennifers… Jennifer Lawrence was adorable all evening long. From her red carpet interviews to her thumbs up during the boob song to her fall and her snarky comment during her acceptance speech, she never came off as anything but 100% genuine. I think I’m in love with her. I should probably add, “Don’t tell my wife,” but for some reason I think she’d be totally understanding of the sentiment. (She’s a Hunger Games fan herself, so she was ecstatic when Ms. Lawrence won.)
Yeah, it was pretty awesome that Streisand paid tribute to Hamlish that way, no doubt. I wish Adele didnt have the sound issues you point out, it would have been a pretty great line up of singers.
Although, there might have been too many for my taste, with the Chicago thing and Jennifer Hudson, etc etc. Hudson’s great, but why is she there now, again? Some tribute to movie musicals? O….k….
I think everyone is happy for Lawrence, and she was indeed super charming. I think she was as genuinely humbled and excited as you could want a star to be. It made for great television, and I’m happy that she’s assured herself a long career. 😀
I honestly don’t care about the Oscars. I like to know who won on years where I’ve seen a contender or two… but for the most part, I’m in total agreement with Brik. Their idea of “Best” is always far too hoity toity for me. I enjoy all types of movies, including the hoity toity… but The English Patient is not a better, more enjoyable movie than Fargo… Hell, I enjoyed Twister, Sleepers, Star Trek First Contact, Dragon Heart and Independence Day more than The English Patient…
I know that was the year I stopped giving two shits about the Oscars… because the year before I agreed with so many decisions (Braveheart, Dead Man Walking, Usual Suspects, and was just really starting to get into the idea of them. They just aren’t for me.
I remember arguing with people in ’92 that Terminator 2 should have had a nom for best picture, and deserved the title infinitely more than Silence of the Lambs.
But then… I hate Silence of the Lambs… so there’s that.
I did tune in after The Walking Dead last night, though… because you were tearing shit up on Twitter, and I was starting to think I was missing out on something.
Wow, there’s so many things we’re not seeing eye to eye on today.
I have Silence of the Lambs above T2, but they’re both great movies. “I hate Silence of the Lambs” just comes across irrational to me. That’s one of the greatest movies ever.
The English Patient is a good movie, but I can understand why people have such a backlash against it. For me the movie that takes that role for me is Chariots of Fire…
Heh. I was tearing it up on Twitter 😀 That was the funniest thing about the show for me, too. Ragging on things on Twitter LOL
I love William Shatner……..but having said that, I do feel that his segment was way too long. Seth was very good as the MC (his first time, i believe).
Bassey slayed ’em and me!
Hathaway’s acceptance speech was just as beautiful as she is.
Day-Lewis’ acceptance speech was very humble and he was actually quite funny (OMG he’s human after all) and he thoroughly deserved it too, might I add.
Christoph Waltz is just amazing……….absolutely enthralling in Django Unchained and his acceptance of his award was just thrilling.
The Les Miserables bit was astonishing………(Hugh Jackman is GOD)!
Tarantino should host next year’s awards…….now wouldn’t THAT be something!
I love Shatner, but yeah, that opening was almost as long as a sitcom episode. LOL Cant have that.
Bassey slayed me too. Glad she made up for the lackluster film montage they put together.
LOL. Tarantino would be a poor host… I think he’s a little too manic and all over the place. LOL There’s just no way.
That said, if we could find some way to get him an Oscar next year and have him do a speech, that would be great. 😀
I thought it was odd having Shatner there too, though I generally think he’s a hoot. Oscars felt like a combination of the Emmy’s and the Tony’s come to think of it.
Really enjoyed the great music and wonderful singers (Streisand/Adele etc.), but found Mc Farlane embarassing. I vote for Tina/ Amy next year. I picked the top 3 winners of best actor/actress/movie.
Congrats. Hope you won something!
The songs were great, I think there might have been a touch too many of them though, I’d rather see the show give people time to speak!
MacFarlane certainly was occasionally embarrassing, too, no doubt.
I didn’t really start watching the Oscars until a couple years ago, but I will say that this year was by far more entertaining than the last two combined. Even though Seth MacFarlane was hit-and-miss, I thought he did a pretty decent job as host. The awards themselves could have used more surprises, but it was cool to see Waltz get an unexpected second win.
Yeah, Im torn on the Awards needing more surprises. Surprises tend to be BAD things. LOL. People get unhappy. I mean, surprise me with Quvenzhane Wallis winning? I’m happy. Emanuelle Riva, I dont think people are thrilled (even though she may have put forth the best perfromance, I havent seen it). Lack of surprise pretty much means the awards are going to who they should go to, no?
I dunno, I haven’t seen Amour but I would have been very happy if Riva won it. 🙂 Lawrence and Chastain will have many more opportunities, whereas this was likely Riva’s only shot.
I get what you’re saying though. Crash was a surprise, and a total embarrassment at the same time.
A little late to the party, but here’s my 2 cents. (and thanks for asking this question this week, Fogs.)
1. MacFarlane did well and accomplished what the Academy hoped for: getting the younger demographic to pay attention.
2. Appreciated the tribute to musicals, but WAY too many performances. (not the Grammys) didn’t need Norah Jones, Chicago, Jennifer Hudson, etc…as much as I like them respectively.
3. Adele’s Skyfall was better in the movie than on stage live.
4. Dame Shirley Bassey was phenomenal. bar-none. BUT, was that it for the 50yr tribute to 007? Seriously? Boo to that.
5. Loved the speeches of several of the winners. Christoph Waltz, Daniel Day Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Anne Hathaway, etc.
6. Overall, I liked the ceremony. a bit long, not really surprised or upset about any of the winners. Felt Brave wasn’t deserving though (Frankenweenie was).
1) I guess… I think the overall impression has been “meh”, but I havent heard any of the numbers. If ratings were up, he’s a lot more defensible.
2) Agreed
3) She had some significant audio mixing issues. That’s not really on her 😦
4) Yeah, screw them….
5) They were all great. I wish the academy would shave off some of the entertainment junk and give them longer to talk, we might even get better speeches!
6) I agree, but Id have gone with Wreck-It Ralph!
Update: Per CNN
“The Oscars was watched by an average of 40.3 million on Sunday, with a higher percentage of those tuning in being in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic.
According to the network, it saw an 11 percent increase in that demo, and a 3 percent increase in viewership overall. All told, the 2013 Oscars was the second most-watched edition since 2005.”
So I guess you were right T!
🙂
it makes sense really. but I hope that future Oscars find a way to rediscover its origins.
For everyone (myself included) who was disapointed by the 50 years of Bond montage, here’s how it should have been:
They realeased this pre-Skyfall, right? I think I saw it then…
Thanks for reminding me though, I still have to circle back to that “Honest Trailer” LOL
They claimed the editor put it together after seeing the Oscars. lol. I have my doubts about that. It’s a lot of work in there.
Kudoz Gelfman; that’s defintely the Bond montage we were wanted.
MacFarlane was visibly nervous. I found a lot of his stuff fell flat.
Quite a few surprising awards, I must say. Ang Lee probably being the biggest.
I dont know how nervous he was or wasnt, but his jokes DID fall flat, no doubt.
Lee surprised me too, but I think he deserved it. He did a great job with Pi, for sure.
Also, too much singing.