2017 Academy Awards

[PaloAltoCougar]

All this oscar chaos is great. Overhyped, self-congratulatory, boring nonsense.

Thinking back on last night, I thought it was a great show overall, certainly the best in many years and, coupled with fast forwarding through commercials and a few acceptance speeches, was very far from boring. Kimmel turned out to be a great host, walking a fine line by avoiding boredom without being too offensive or edgy. Among the highlights for me:

--the Justin Timberlake production number was outstanding, a great way to start off the show
--the political shots were relatively few and more funny than preachy; they did an especially good job with acknowledging the "very overrated Meryl Streep"
--the bit with the tourist bus visitors (for those who didn't watch, Kimmel had arranged for one of those open air Hollywood tourist buses to make a stop at what they were told was a museum that had gowns and costumes of favorite stars, but in fact they were led into the back of the Dolby Theater and then into the front of the auditorium during the show. The tourists were apparently very surprised by this, but they got into it quickly and Kimmel and the stars sitting into the front row handled it superbly) could have been major flub but it was very entertaining. I loved it when one of the tourists was asked her favorite actor, looked surprised and pointed to Denzel Washington, "He's right there!" Denzel got up and gave her and her fiancé a hug and pronounced them man and wife, which Kimmel said made it legal "because he's Denzel." Hilariously, Wired this morning is saying the tourist bus bit underscored the deep divide in our country. I thought it did just the opposite, with many major stars getting up and hugging the visitors, posing for selfies, and having great time together.
--the "Mean Oscar Tweets" in which stars read tweets from the public, (e.g., Whoopi Goldberg reading something that went like "I lifted up my arm, exposing armpit a little and my dad said it looked like I had Whoopi Goldberg in a headlock."
--though not a big fan of Sara Bareilles, her rendition of "Clouds" during the touching memorial montage was very good
--the ongoing Kimmel/Matt Damon feud was pretty funny, including when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came out to present an award, and as soon as Damon started talking the orchestra started playing. "You're playing me off???", asked an apparently miffed and confused Damon. Then the camera flashed to the pit where Kimmel was waving the baton
--it was perversely funny and great television that amidst all the glam and glitter, the one major (indeed, historic) error was committed by a couple of CPAs. But even that produced some very funny comments as well as some nice touches. I thought the way both production teams (for La La Land and Moonlight) handled it superbly; it's a pity winners and losers in other elections can't display such grace.

I guess it's due mainly to age, but I really enjoyed last night.

[jay santos]

I liked the bit with the tourists.

Did it seem like Denzel Washington was pissed off the entire night. The bit with the tourists, he was not amused. Every time they showed him when he or his film was up for anything, he looked pissed off.

[Walter Sobchak]

I liked the bit with the tourists.

Did it seem like Denzel Washington was pissed off the entire night. The bit with the tourists, he was not amused. Every time they showed him when he or his film was up for anything, he looked pissed off.

Denzel got screwed. Any reasonable person that has seen both Manchester and Fences would agree. Affleck got his Oscar for sulking through an entire movie. BFD.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I liked the bit with the tourists.

Did it seem like Denzel Washington was pissed off the entire night. The bit with the tourists, he was not amused. Every time they showed him when he or his film was up for anything, he looked pissed off.

He warmed up bit with the tourists, including the selfie and marriage pronouncement, but yeah, he seemed dour other than when his co-star Viola Davis won her Oscar. He looked pretty upset when Casey Affleck won. He was very good in Fences, but Affleck was a deserving winner. Maybe Denzel had a dish of bad clams before the show; he looked dyspeptic.

[cougjunkie]

Thinking back on last night, I thought it was a great show overall, certainly the best in many years and, coupled with fast forwarding through commercials and a few acceptance speeches, was very far from boring. Kimmel turned out to be a great host, walking a fine line by avoiding boredom without being too offensive or edgy. Among the highlights for me:

--the Justin Timberlake production number was outstanding, a great way to start off the show
--the political shots were relatively few and more funny than preachy; they did an especially good job with acknowledging the "very overrated Meryl Streep"
--the bit with the tourist bus visitors (for those who didn't watch, Kimmel had arranged for one of those open air Hollywood tourist buses to make a stop at what they were told was a museum that had gowns and costumes of favorite stars, but in fact they were led into the back of the Dolby Theater and then into the front of the auditorium during the show. The tourists were apparently very surprised by this, but they got into it quickly and Kimmel and the stars sitting into the front row handled it superbly) could have been major flub but it was very entertaining. I loved it when one of the tourists was asked her favorite actor, looked surprised and pointed to Denzel Washington, "He's right there!" Denzel got up and gave her and her fiancé a hug and pronounced them man and wife, which Kimmel said made it legal "because he's Denzel." Hilariously, Wired this morning is saying the tourist bus bit underscored the deep divide in our country. I thought it did just the opposite, with many major stars getting up and hugging the visitors, posing for selfies, and having great time together.
--the "Mean Oscar Tweets" in which stars read tweets from the public, (e.g., Whoopi Goldberg reading something that went like "I lifted up my arm, exposing armpit a little and my dad said it looked like I had Whoopi Goldberg in a headlock."
--though not a big fan of Sara Bareilles, her rendition of "Clouds" during the touching memorial montage was very good
--the ongoing Kimmel/Matt Damon feud was pretty funny, including when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came out to present an award, and as soon as Damon started talking the orchestra started playing. "You're playing me off???", asked an apparently miffed and confused Damon. Then the camera flashed to the pit where Kimmel was waving the baton
--it was perversely funny and great television that amidst all the glam and glitter, the one major (indeed, historic) error was committed by a couple of CPAs. But even that produced some very funny comments as well as some nice touches. I thought the way both production teams (for La La Land and Moonlight) handled it superbly; it's a pity winners and losers in other elections can't display such grace.

I guess it's due mainly to age, but I really enjoyed last night.

My kids loved the Moana girl singing, I loved watching her get hit in the face with the flag. That made me laugh.

[creekster]

Denzel got screwed. Any reasonable person that has seen both Manchester and Fences would agree. Affleck got his Oscar for sulking through an entire movie. BFD.

I liked fences a lot but, tbh, I thought it was not a great acting performance. There was never a time when Denzel was on screen that I wasn't aware that he was acting. it was never just his character, it was always Denzel being the character. Still powerful, but I do not think he got screwed at all.

[creekster]

He warmed up bit with the tourists, including the selfie and marriage pronouncement, but yeah, he seemed dour other than when his co-star Viola Davis won her Oscar. He looked pretty upset when Casey Affleck won. He was very good in Fences, but Affleck was a deserving winner. Maybe Denzel had a dish of bad clams before the show; he looked dyspeptic.

He's always grouchy.

[PaloAltoCougar]

My kids loved the Moana girl singing, I loved watching her get hit in the face with the flag. That made me laugh.

Yeah, that was pretty funny but she did a very good job, showing a lot of poise for a teenager. She's got a nice career ahead of her.

Denzel got screwed. Any reasonable person that has seen both Manchester and Fences would agree. Affleck got his Oscar for sulking through an entire movie. BFD.

An interesting take. I thought Affleck's character was fun-loving (much to his wife's chagrin) prior to the life-changing event half-way through. But yes, after that he sulked pretty much the rest of the movie.

This climactic scene gets me every time (don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie, not so much because it's a spoiler, but because without knowing what happened earlier the impact just isn't there).

[youtube]KEZ7zJvkR3I[/youtube]

[cougjunkie]

Yeah, that was pretty funny but she did a very good job, showing a lot of poise for a teenager. She's got a nice career ahead of her.




An interesting take. I thought Affleck's character was fun-loving (much to his wife's chagrin) prior to the life-changing event half-way through. But yes, after that he sulked pretty much the rest of the movie.

This climactic scene gets me every time (don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie, not so much because it's a spoiler, but because without knowing what happened earlier the impact just isn't there).

[youtube]KEZ7zJvkR3I[/youtube]

Not sure if you saw the Golden Globes, but Casey mentioned that Matt Damon had turned down this role and recommended Casey to the director. Casey went on to say "I bet you never help me land another role".

And that was before the Oscars.

[jay santos]

I didn't see Fences, but I thought Casey Affleck's performance in Manchester was outstanding. That scene you link there PAC, he was great, but Williams kind of stole that scene, I thought she deserved a best supporting just for that scene alone. The scene where's at the precinct talking to the cops in the green shirt that shows up in list of suggested videos after watching the scene above. That was the one that just blew me away, as far as Affleck's performance. So moving...

[Walter Sobchak]

An interesting take. I thought Affleck's character was fun-loving (much to his wife's chagrin) prior to the life-changing event half-way through. But yes, after that he sulked pretty much the rest of the movie.

This climactic scene gets me every time (don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie, not so much because it's a spoiler, but because without knowing what happened earlier the impact just isn't there).

That scene, meh, didn't work for me. Maybe because of the chick, I don't know.

Affleck's best scene, IMHO, was in the police station. Other than that... meh. I can do a pretty convincing sulk too and it requires very little effort.

[PaloAltoCougar]

A final note on the Best Picture flub... The PWC partner who handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope did so right around the same time he Tweeted a pic of Emma Stone who had just walked off with the Best Actress award--the Tweet has since been deleted. Obviously, he was so distracted (nothing creepy about an aging accountant enthralled by a babe 40 years his junior) he wasn't paying attention to the one job he was there to perform.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/entert...ers/index.html

[falafel]

A final note on the Best Picture flub... The PWC partner who handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope did so right around the same time he Tweeted a pic of Emma Stone who had just walked off with the Best Actress award--the Tweet has since been deleted. Obviously, he was so distracted (nothing creepy about an aging accountant enthralled by a babe 40 years his junior) he wasn't paying attention to the one job he was there to perform.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/entert...ers/index.html

The CNN article mentions the last time a gaffe like this took place at the Oscars, when Sammy Davis Junior was handed the wrong envelope. He inadvertently announced the winner for best original score, instead of the winner for best musical score. He realized the mistake very quickly, and before anyone made it to the stage to accept the award. Sammy took full advantage of the moment and, after explaining that he had been handed the wrong envelope, he quipped: "Wait 'til the NAACP hears about this!"

[Topper]

The CNN article mentions the last time a gaffe like this took place at the Oscars, when Sammy Davis Junior was handed the wrong envelope. He inadvertently announced the winner for best original score, instead of the winner for best musical score. He realized the mistake very quickly, and before anyone made it to the stage to accept the award. Sammy took full advantage of the moment and, after explaining that he had been handed the wrong envelope, he quipped: "Wait 'til the NAACP hears about this!"

I haven't seen La La Land due to a negative review of it.

It described the film as self-congratulatory Hollywood art trying be something it is not, a psychological expose of the life of two lovers who pursue careers rather than each other. It also screwed the contrivance of how a well known director swoops down to feature the woman as a star. That review made it sound silly and contrived. Any truth to the description? It also said that neither character grows and handles any particular conflict well or interestingly.

[Donuthole]

I haven't seen La La Land due to a negative review of it.

It described the film as self-congratulatory Hollywood art trying be something it is not, a psychological expose of the life of two lovers who pursue careers rather than each other. It also screwed the contrivance of how a well known director swoops down to feature the woman as a star. That review made it sound silly and contrived. Any truth to the description? It also said that neither character grows and handles any particular conflict well or interestingly.

I haven't seen it, but it's a musical. Aren't most musicals silly and contrived to some extent? Indeed, the act of breaking into song to make a point or tell a story is artificial and deliberate--the very definition of contrived.

But let's all keep an eye out for musicals with dynamic characters with apt conflict resolution skills.