Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The 2010 Oscars

Back from a two-day trip with my daughter and looking at the Oscar winners announced Sunday night. I can't help thinking about an exchange years ago between Siskel and Ebert. Siskel accused Ebert of being "intimidated by special effects", after he had lavished praise on some movie because of its special effects. With the advances in technology recently, it seemed "Avator" was a shoo-in for best picture, but "The Hurt Locker" won instead. Kudos to the Academy for not being "intimidated by special effects".

Mery Streep also seemed a shoo-in for best actress, and nobody would have conplained had she won. (Her portrayal of Julia Childs was spot-on.) However, the wonderful Sandra Bullcok won instead. She is a total delight, and certainly deserves an award after being ignored by the Academy up till now.

Kudos to the Academy for not presenting all the songs as has been the case in the past. The way everybody has treated the "best song" category as an importnat one on a par with the other main categories (picture, dirctor, best and supporting actor and actress) has always mystified me. Howver, boo to the Academy for having an initial production number, which I thought they had gotten away from.

Again, boo to the Academy for shutting off the microphone of someone trying to get a word in edgewise after his co-winner had hogged the mic for most of the allotted 45 seconds. I for one would like to hear what the winners have to say. If someone goes on and on without any reason to do so, then sure, turn off the mic. But in the normal case, let a person have his or her say.

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