Here are my random thoughts on last night's telecast:
I am VERY pleased that NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN took the best picture trophy and not JUNO. JUNO is a cute enough movie but hardly best picture material (the fact that it was nominated over ZODIAC, JESSE JAMES, and INTO THE WILD still irks me).
What a pleasure it was to see the Coens finally get their best director trophies.
I was very excited for Marion Cotillard as she delivered a tour de force performance in LA VIE EN ROSE; I had Christie down on my ballot, and she was certainly amazing in AWAY FROM HER, but good for Cotillard. Can't wait to see her in Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES with Depp and Bale.
Hearing Glen and Marketa sing their song from ONCE was great; however, the moment of the night, came when Marketa was allowed back up to the podium to give her speech after she was played off the stage by the orchestra. I read online that it was Colin Farrell who told the producers of the mishap and suggested to them that she go back up on stage; more reason for me to love Farrell. Great actor, cool dude. He took his mother to the awards; the guy is awesome.
I think it's fucking disgraceful that TRANSFORMERS lost the visual effects Oscar to THE GOLDEN COMPASS; the clip from COMPASS that was showed was terrible and clearly demonstrated how the effects in that film weren't even close to what Bay and the technicians at ILM created in the giant fighting robot epic. Say what you want about Bay and his filmmaking style and TRANSFORMERS as a movie overall, but those effects are THE BEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE MEDIUM. Anyone who disagrees is either high on crack or is just an idiot. Sorry. It's true.
The best cinematography category was one of the toughest (and best) categories ever. I was very upset that Roger Deakins lost for THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, which is probably one of the most exquisitely shot films of ALL TIME. However, the work that Robert Elswit did in THERE WILL BE BLOOD was nothing short of stunning so it's not the end of the world. It's just that Deakins has now been nominated seven times with no win. He is one of the true masters of cinematography; check out these credits: JESSE JAMES, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, JARHEAD, FARGO, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, KUNDUN, THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, THE VILLAGE, 13 DAYS, DEAD MAN WALKING, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, and BARTON FINK. This guy is beyond due for an Academy Award.
Kudos to the Academy for recognizing Chris Rouse's brilliant editing of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. A great pick.
Diablo Cody dressed (surprise surprise) like a stripper and did nothing to suggest to me that she is Oscar material. Show some class next time you're at the biggest movie event in the entire world.
Marion Cotillard however...well....she radiates class, beauty, and integrity. You just get that sense while watching her.
Julie Christie is still beautiful; ditto Helen Mirren. Jennifer Garner looked the best she's probably ever looked.
The various clip-packages, for the most part, sucked; they need to hire some new people to produce this show.
It was unforgivable to allow Amy Adams to go onstage with no visual context to her song from ENCHANTED. She looked so lonely up there and while she has a great voice, the entire thing just fell flat. They should have had the CGI-animated animals from the film that accompanied her during that song.
John Stewart, as always, was funny and sarcastic, though I wish that Billy Crystal or Steve Martin would go back to hosting the Oscars.
Very pleased to see Tilda Swinton win best supporting actress; she's a distinct, unique actress who brings an edgy quality to every film she appears in.
I think it's pretty disgraceful that THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY (a.k.a. the best film of 2007) was completely shut out of the awards. It should have gotten something.
George Clooney is the coolest mo-fo in Hollywood; his girlfriend is pretty cute too.
So...that's about it from me...it was the second year in a row that I loved the best director/best picture winners so I can't really complain about much.
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