Jack Black cracks me up. His presence and facial expressions are laugh-inducing. I also really liked Steve Martin last night.
Ben Stiller did not. I was annoyed by him, and if I were a cinematographer nominated for an award I would've been offended by his weird act.
Hugh Jackman was a little rocky at first, but the opening number was good and he did a nice job overall.
Sophia Loren. Hmmm.
Queen Latifah is one of my favorite entertainers of all time (going all the way back to my hard core rap stage in Jr. High). All hail the queen.
Even though we knew Heath Ledger had to win, it was an amazing moment to see his family on stage honoring his work and his memory.
I really liked the production of the show last night. Very cool, artsy, techy ideas for showcasing movies and walking us through the process of how a movie is made.
I was also a big fan of having past Oscar winners speak personally to each nominated Actor/Actress and Supportings. Particularly special were some of the older actors talking to the younger stars.
I think Angelina Jolie is as pretty as the next guy, and I know they were both nominated, but at some point (about the 113th shot of her and Brad) it did get old.
There were a few odd absences that I always expect to see: Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Paul Reubens. Oh, and I guess there was some controversy about Peter Gabriel that I'd never heard about. All I know is that he didn't show up to sing his nominated song. I'd expect such from Eminem when he did it, but Peter Gabriel??
The Slumdog Millionaire musical performance was my highlight of the night. Incredible.
My favorite speech quote (from the Slumdog guy who won all the music awards):
"I've had the chance in my life to choose to love or to hate. I've chosen to love, and now I am here."
We have a winner.
6 comments:
I did about the same, just posted a review today rather than blog as the show went along (Erick just would NOT stop talking! Okay, not really, it's just not as blog-worthy to me as live musical performances).
Nice pick on Quote of the Night. Turns out that dude is one of the biggest selling artists of all time. We Americans are so myopic, aren't we?
With Ben Stiller, it did cross my mind near the end of his schtick that if you were nominated for this award you might be annoyed that Ben was distracting from the presentation.
Overall a decent show, better than most Oscar shows.
I thought Ben was HYSTERICAL!!!!! and I'm wondering if you were not aware of the fact that he was doing a Joaquin Phoenix impersonation. Google Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman. You'll find a video of it.
Ah...I never saw the Joaquin Phoenix interview. I've not been up on current events lately. It still seemed a little tacky to me, but after watching the Letterman clip I get it.
I thought Steve Martin, even at Sixty-whatever, was the funniest comedian on stage last night.
I would typically defend Tina Fey and reclaim her right as the funniest anything anywhere. However, I agree, Brian. Steve Martin was funnier, but maybe that's because Tina is the best "straight guy" in the biz.
Good rundown on the Oscars.
One thing I loved is how they took us through the movie making process. I thought it was a creative way to hand out Oscars and actually helped me appreciate some of the lesser well known categories. Also, it was nice that the presenters would stay up there for two or three awards cutting down on the dead air time of watching people go off and on stage. All in all the best Oscar production I have seen.
I was aware of the Joaquin Phoenix impression from Ben, but at some point it distracted from the nominees. Even Tina and Steve stopped the shtick when it came time for names. Minor criticism, however. Overall a good program.
Now if only half of them would put half of their money and talent where their mouth is, I would see an awards show giving that much personal attention and honor to those making a difference in global poverty and disease. I won't hold my breath.
Post a Comment