Mar 4, 2014

Ten on Tuesday - 10 Thoughts On This Year's Oscar Show

Do you love movies?  I do but I'm usually very picky about what I see. I read all the reviews and write ups and I try to pick good ones because when you're spending that much yo want it to count. Admittedly, I don't always pick winners. Some might even say that I have a knack for picking very odd movies. But during Oscar season none of that really matters because my movie going decision is simple - see all the Best Picture nominees. I've never accomplished it until this year. Sometimes having a little extra time on your hands is a good thing.

Having seen all of the nominated shows (and then some) made watching the Oscars this year even more fun. Possessing a semi-informed opinion, rather than I like actor X and hope he wins, is nice for a change. Overall I felt that most of the movies were pretty good. Philomena was probably my favorite followed closely by Dallas Buyers Club. They were both important and absorbing stories told very well, as was 12 Years a Slave. Her was an interesting story but there was something so soothing about it that I kept feeling myself drift off to sleep. Nebraska was just odd - the kind of movie that I usually pick because it got great reviews and was quirky.  Movies like that are the reason that I don't get to select what we see very often. To me, Gravity was your standard disaster movie but with amazing visuals. Captain Phillips was the last one I saw and the only one I didn't see in the theater and it was much better than I expected. The Wolf of Wall Street really needed a good editor to point out that it was not necessary to show every single over the top thing that Jordan Belfort did. Similarly American Hustle needed a little focus because it seemed like it was all over the place. All good movies and I'm glad I saw them. And then there was the Oscar Show...

  1. It was too long - Isn't the point of it to see who gets the awards?  If most people tune out or fall asleep before you get to most of the top awards then you've failed. Period.
  2. Ellen is a great host - This may seem at odds with #1 but I really did enjoy watching her. The pizza thing and the twitter thing were funny.  Just pick up the pace a little.
  3. The dresses were gorgeous - I adored the sculpted column dresses on Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence.
  4. Where were the crazy and the hideous dresses - every year there are outrageous head-scratchers. The more outlandish and ugly they are, the more fun it is.  Did everyone suddenly get classy?
  5. Pink was fab - I loved her during the Wizard of Oz tribute. She is awesome.
  6. John Travolta - Read much? I don't think it's possible for him to have botched Idina Menzel's name an more than he did. Phonetically speaking it's not really that difficult to read. Unusual - yes. Difficult - no.
  7. The men of Dallas Buyers Club - so happy that Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey won. They really were outstanding.
  8. Jennifer Lawrence - she just makes me smile.
  9. That epic selfie - It was so funny seeing all of those huge stars jamming together to try to get in the shot. It was just like something my kids would do. Or my siblings and I. Silliness is universal.
  10. Based on a true story - it's interesting to me that 2/3rds of this years Best Picture nominees were based on true stories. Are there really no new ideas? Is the truth really stranger than fiction? Maybe history is just and endless treasure chest. So much the better.

5 comments:

Carole said...

Everyone didn't get class. Everyone has hired a designer.

sprite said...

The only category I really care about is the animated one and I was disappointed that one of the films isn't yet available for release, in part because they decided to re-release it in English. That said, Frozen was not surprising in its win and was a perfectly fine choice. We also really liked The Wind Rises, a film about a Japanese aeronautic engineer in the early 20th century.

Linda said...

We just watched Nebraska last weekend and for some reason, I really liked it - or it grew on me or something. There were a couple moments when I actually teared up - and I laughed a lot!
I still need to see some of the other ones that were nominated.

Linda in VA

Donna said...

I very much agree about the Wolf of Wallstreet - way too long in my opinion. I am anxious to see Philomena since the general opinion is that it was such a great movie.

margene said...

The selfie was the best part of the Oscars, one of the best ever! I loved that it broke Twitter. lol