My Thoughts on the 76th Academy Awards
Here are my thoughts on last night's Oscars:
I'll be glad when Lord of the Rings' movies are no longer in the runnings for Oscars. I about went crazy because everytime it was nominated, it won. It drove me bonkers. I was really hoping to see Pirates of the Carribean get at least one award! GRRRR Now LOTR ties with Titanic and Ben-Hur.
Anyway, in case you didn't watch the show, here are the nominations and the winners:
76th Academy Awards
I thought Charlize Theron went a little "overboard" in her thank-you speech. She was too theatrical! Sheesh.... Charlize's Speech
There was a really sweet song performed last night for A Mighty Wind called: "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." I swear I know the woman that sang along, I just can't remember from where.
Well, I have only strengthened my belief that Billy Crystal is an even bigger idiot than usual. (I can't stand him!) Anyway, he introduced Jamie Lee Curtis as the "scream queen from Friday the 13th." I wanted to jump the man and strangle him. HELLO?? BILLY??? It's freaking HALLOWEEN, not Friday the 13th! Jeez.... He always gets on my nerves and sometimes watching the Oscars is difficult because of him.
You know, as great as the Lord of the Rings films were (and they deserved to win), many of the people who won last night were winning for the second or third time. Move over, and let someone else share the spotlight!!! Plus, I was so disappointed last night by the complete predictability of the winners. I would have loved to have seen Bill Murray or Johnny Depp onstage, or seen Sophia Coppola pull a best director upset. Just something to break up the announcement of exactly who everyone knew would win. Only one word describes the ceremony: boring, boring boring.
It's a shame that "Lost in Translation" came out in the year that it did, when the Academy owed a major debt to the LOTR series, and when "Mystic River" sported so many Academy-friendly performances. A film brilliantly acted, written, and directed, but it never stood a chance...
The woman playing Mickey (singer of "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow") was Catharine O'Hara. She was the mother in Home Alone, she was in Best in Show, has appeared on Whose Line is it Anyway...maybe you know her from there.
I am thrilled that Return of the King got what it deserved. On the other hand, I would have loved to see Johnny Depp win, and anyone but Renee.
The song nominees were so good this year. Definitely the highlights of the night.
A-ha! Home Alone it is! Thank you for helping to solve this mystery.
Ugh, I would disagree with that. I thought three of the five song nominees were so sappy - the kind of songs that the Academy would gush over. Annie Lennox is at least a good singer, but Allison Krauss (sp?) got on my nerves.
It was cool to see Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara in character, and "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" ain't half-bad, but if there were any justice in the world, "Belleville Rendezvous" would clearly have won best song, IMHO.
I agree with you on the acting winners though. Sean Penn gave a great performance, but he was such a conventional choice for the Academy. It would've been great if Murray had won, and though I haven't seen "Pirates of the Carribean", I've heard nothing but good things about Johnny Depp. Oh, and I haven't seen "Cold Mountain", but I still resented it when Renee won. Marcia Gay Harden was great, but I'd also have been happy with Patricia Clarkson or Holly Hunter or Shohreh Iwonteventrytospellhernameright.
AJ, I may be remembering incorrectly, but didn't you get the "Pirates of the Carribean" DVD for your birthday? Three months ago? How is it possible that you've not watched it yet?
You are remembering incorrectly. It was my brother who got the DVD for Chanukah. I haven't really been in the mood to watch it, nor have I had the time to watch it lately.
Oh, and BTW, I have a good number of DVDs that I have gotten as gifts or even seen in a store and bought, but haven't watched yet. Sometimes my hands are bigger than my eyes, or my wallet is bigger than my schedule, or something like that.
Catherine has had a great film and television career since at least the mid-seventies. She is one hell of a comedian. The male singer was Eugene Levy which if you ask most people only came into being due to the American Pie movie trio...when in fact he and Catherine were big players in Second City. Humor at its finest core always has the Canadian wand in its hand.
I am pleased to see that you have acknowledged Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy as being from Second City, as opposed to being the actors in "Beetlejuice" and "American Pie." Both of these people are true talents whose past goes way beyond where most people know. SCTV was one of my favorite shows on TV back in the day, even if it did come on at 12:30 AM on Friday nights. Here are other alumni from that show: John Candy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Joe Flarhety, Rick Moranis. Not bad company to be in, to say the least.