Oscar Observations and Ovations

I had a busy Sunday.

Took my Daniel to the airport for one more trip.

Went to church.

Knocked out a few packing items on my list.

Went back to church and bid farewell to my dear friends.

Raced home, arriving just in time for my show… the 82^nd Annual Academy Awards.

Grabbed some chips and salsa.

Surrounded by cardboard, bits and pieces of things yet to be packed, bare beige walls, and armed with the remote and my FB page, I settled in to wait with baited breath to find out who gets top honors in my favorite medium – film.

Here are some of my Observations:

After 22 minutes – one award given.

Noticed that they switched phraseology to say: the winner is… instead of the recent the Oscar goes to…

The John Hughes tribute was nice, especially watching as a child of the 80s.

I loved the short film montage/tutorial with directors Hackford, Frankel and Lasseter as they made a case for the importance of such an over-looked category.

Robin Williams presented best supporting actress usually presented by last year’s best supporting actor, but since that was Heath Ledger in 2008, they had to alter tradition.

Horror genre salute –So, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did they have a horror movie salute planned and just let Kristen and Taylor present, or did they need to fit Kristen and Taylor in the show some how and decided to have them salute horror films??? And SINCE WHEN is NEW MOON a horror film??? That’s a pretty far stretch! As my Daniel reminded me, Summit Entertainment probably shelled the money out for that one. It’s not all about talent, eh?

Now, the Ovations:

Best Supporting Actor Winner: Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds

Best Animation Winner: Up – (totally deserved)

Best Original Screenplay Winner: Hurt Locker!

Best Makeup Winner: Star Trek! (my fave movie of ’09!)

Best Adapted Screenplay Winner: Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

Best Supporting Actress Winner: Mo’Nique for Precious – good speech – “Sometimes, you have to forgo what’s popular to do what’s right.”

Best Set Decoration Winner: Avatar (sorry Sherlock Holmes and Young Victoria)

Best Costumes Winner: The Young Victoria (GREAT movie – glad to see it acknowledged!)

Best Sound Editing Winner: Hurt Locker!

Best Sound Mixing Winner: Hurt Locker!

Best Cinematographer Winner: Avatar

Best Original Score Winner: Up – speech included words supporting creativity in children. Good stuff.

Best Visual Effects Winner: Avatar – would have been criminal to lose this one, though – their technology is revolutionary.

Best Film Editing Winner: Hurt Locker!

Best Actor Winner: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart – must have been amazing performance – receives standing O! What deserves a standing O even more? 33 years of marriage to same woman! Wow. I can definitely applaud that.

Best Actress Winner: Sandra Bullock for Blind Side – touching speech – so glad she won.

Best Director Winner: Kathryn Bigelow for Hurt Locker –historical! First woman EVER to win in this category. Great speech honoring military and keeping it as non-political as possible. She looked like she was about to pass out though. She was so excited and stunned.

Best Picture Winner: Hurt Locker!!!!!!! (I was quite excited when they announced it.)

And then… my un-official Ovations:

Host Rating – My fave is still Hugh Jackman from last year, but he did not accept the re-invite. I didn’t expect much from Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, but I laughed several times. I give them 6.5 out of 10 and certainly better than I expected.

Best Dressed – Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Cameron Diaz and Demi Moore looked amazing, but Sandra Bullock takes first prize – she looked stunning.

Worst dressed - Although Charlize Theron looked like she had cinnamon rolls stitched on her dress directly over her breasts (sorry, but it’s true), the prize goes to…Babs? Really? WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?

Best Presenter – Tina Fey and Robert Downy, Jr. - writer vs. actor banter – priceless and appreciated!

Best Speech – although it sounded slightly rehearsed, Christoph Waltz gave an eloquent, poetic, visual speech about his voyage/experience under Quentin Tarantino’s direction. Well done and classy.

Best Special/Non-award – John Hughes tribute by his brat pack of actors. But poor Judd - I hope he is healthier than he looks.

So there you go. I appreciate you visiting Dry Ground today and indulging me as I gush about this particular obsession of mine. J I have warned before, though, that I’m truly a movie NERD!

Better wrap it up for today. Need some sleep. Got LOTS of packing to do.

Hope your week is BLESSED beyond your imagination! (Eph. 3:20)

(photos by photobucket.com)