Thoughts From the Oscars 2011

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

Tim Gunn sounds like everybody's "Gay Voice."

Opening was cool. The only thing that would have made it perfect is if they drove the Delorean on stage.

I figured out how to enjoy a Tim Burton Movie. Forget the source material. If you ignore the fact that it was supposed to be "Alice In Wonderland," It's a pretty cool movie. I think the X-rated version was closer to the source material.

James Franco is sooooo stoned!

There goes that whole time limit on the acceptance speech thing. First with the Kirk Douglas and the F-bomb, and the taking forever with Melissa Leo thing... the director has lost all control.

I want a hand drawn animated film to win... just once.

It's official. Everybody just needs to accept it. Aaron Sorkin IS god! NBC has, in its existence, fired Aaron Sorkin TWICE and Conan O'Brien. Way to go, NBC! Way to recognize quality.

Dude.... Chuck can SING! Tangled had a great score. It was my choice for Best Song. Trent Reznor's score for Social Network earned every inch of that Oscar! But as my friend Stephanie Schrader says: sure, give it to Randy Newman for the same song he wrote in the other 19 movies.

Once again... Tron is snubbed. But, hey! Academy Award Winner - The Wolfman!

The Auto-tuned Musicals Bit was funny. That's what Auto-tuning is to me. Funny. It's a joke. As in, "Hey, that guy's Auto-tuning! Isn't it hysterical how little talent he has!" (Or she... Sorry, Miley.)

On the serious, I heard Inside Job is an awesome Doc. It's about the economy crisis. It's the kind of film that makes you hate Republicans.

I don't feel bad for David Fincher. "Social Network" WAS amazing, and his direction was a part of that, but Sorkin's writing was a bit more a part of it. Fincher deserved it for Fight Club. Or Benjamin Button.


Did anyone see Winter's Bone? (Insert Dirty Joke Here!)
Jeff Bridges can't win for a performance where he's mumbling.

I really need to see "The King's Speech" for no better reason than it's about a vocal coach! Maybe I'll pick up a few tricks!

I'm ambivalent about P.S. 22. On the one hand... Yay, Choral music! On the other hand, it's silly Glee crap. On the other hand, the director is inspiring. On the other hand, is he really teaching anything? On the other hand, he gets to wear cut offs and jeans to work. On the other hand, your child is in a chorus led by a guy in cut offs and jeans. Besides, his piano is turned the wrong way. Just think kids, if you live in the inner city, and you listen to your teacher and embrace the beauty of pop music, maybe someday you too can lipsync at the Oscars!

and finally... Movies I thought about during the broadcast that are also awesome:
"Beyond the Sea" - Kevin Spacey's Musical Biopic about Bobby Darin. It's amazing. Darin's life was kind of like a musical, and this film brings that point home.
"Triplets of Belleville" - I never saw "The Illusionist," Nominated for best animated Feature (But I will), But I did see that filmmaker's first film. It's beautifully drawn, and a really engaging story. And... almost no dialogue.
"Newsies" - Christian Bale's classic movie about the Newsboy's Strike around the turn of the century. Great movie, bad singing and dancing by Bale. Still, awesome performance.
"Once" - An AMAZINGLY understated musical featuring the group now known as Swell Season. Answers the question... How do we infuse this movie plot with music and have it make sense. Plus... the Music is PHENOMENAL!
"Turk 182" - Robert Culp in the "In Memoriam" montage reminded me. Great cheesy bad movie.
"Twilight Zone" - "In Memoriam" again. Kevin McCarthy reminded me. He was Uncle Walt in the Anthony segment. Each of the four segments are masterpieces.
Every OTHER Aaron Sorkin Movie. All of which are outstandingly amazing!
"Malice," "A Few Good Men," "The American President," and "Charlie Wilson's War."
And... Every other movie that, like "Inception," was about going into dreams:
"Dreamscape," "Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Warriors," and "The Matrix."