Oscars were handed out on Sunday February 22, 2009 and for the most part there were not surprises. The show itself was done well. I think it was one of the best Oscar shows in the last few years. Hugh Jackman was a great host and showed his range as a song and dance man. I thought the show had a nice flow to it.
Best Supporting Actress went to Penelope Cruz. I cannot disagree with this choice. Although I hated Vicki Christy Barcelona, Cruz was amazing in the film. She dedicated her award to director Pedro Almodovar. Her character in the film was very much like one of the unbalanced characters in any number of Almodovar's films.
Best Supporting Actor went to Heath Ledger. I think Heath Ledger would have gotten this award alive or dead. It was a great performance. It took at he comic book character of the Joker and made a Hannibal Lector type villain.
Best Actress went to Kate Winslet. I don't think she deserved the award for The Reader but she was over due for an Oscar. I liked her melodramatic loud performance in Revolutionary Road better then her quiet stanch German woman in The Reader. Did she double her chances to win too because she had the support of The Reader people as well as the Revolutionary Road people? I still think that Messila Leo in Frozen River gave the best female performance of the year. I would have loved to see her name read on Oscar night.
Best Actor went to Sean Penn. Sean Penn deserved his Oscar for Milk.
Best Director went to Danny Boyle. He deserved it. Hands down. Slumdog also won Editing and Cinematography. I think it went hand and hand with the director. It deserved them.
Best Picture went to Slumdog Millionaire. I cannot argue with this choice but I think deep down I was also routing for Milk to win. I think without Slumdog in the mix Milk would have won hands down.
It was not a surprise that The Duchess won Costume or that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won Art Direction, Make-up or Visual Effects. Wall-E winning best animated feature was expected as well. As was the Screenplay awards for Milk and Slumdog Millionaire.
On a final note, the speeches were not rushed by music to get them off stage. It made the night less awkward for everyone and I thought added to the flow of the show. Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn took note from their film's subject Harvey Milk and gave speeches that would make him proud.
Lance Black give one of the best speeches of the night saying: "But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, or by the government, or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."
And Penn said: "For those of you who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban on gay marriage to reflect on their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes.
Coming soon: I will post my Top 10 list for 2007.
Sean Marshall
Best Supporting Actress went to Penelope Cruz. I cannot disagree with this choice. Although I hated Vicki Christy Barcelona, Cruz was amazing in the film. She dedicated her award to director Pedro Almodovar. Her character in the film was very much like one of the unbalanced characters in any number of Almodovar's films.
Best Supporting Actor went to Heath Ledger. I think Heath Ledger would have gotten this award alive or dead. It was a great performance. It took at he comic book character of the Joker and made a Hannibal Lector type villain.
Best Actress went to Kate Winslet. I don't think she deserved the award for The Reader but she was over due for an Oscar. I liked her melodramatic loud performance in Revolutionary Road better then her quiet stanch German woman in The Reader. Did she double her chances to win too because she had the support of The Reader people as well as the Revolutionary Road people? I still think that Messila Leo in Frozen River gave the best female performance of the year. I would have loved to see her name read on Oscar night.
Best Actor went to Sean Penn. Sean Penn deserved his Oscar for Milk.
Best Director went to Danny Boyle. He deserved it. Hands down. Slumdog also won Editing and Cinematography. I think it went hand and hand with the director. It deserved them.
Best Picture went to Slumdog Millionaire. I cannot argue with this choice but I think deep down I was also routing for Milk to win. I think without Slumdog in the mix Milk would have won hands down.
It was not a surprise that The Duchess won Costume or that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won Art Direction, Make-up or Visual Effects. Wall-E winning best animated feature was expected as well. As was the Screenplay awards for Milk and Slumdog Millionaire.
On a final note, the speeches were not rushed by music to get them off stage. It made the night less awkward for everyone and I thought added to the flow of the show. Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn took note from their film's subject Harvey Milk and gave speeches that would make him proud.
Lance Black give one of the best speeches of the night saying: "But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, or by the government, or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."
And Penn said: "For those of you who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban on gay marriage to reflect on their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes.
Coming soon: I will post my Top 10 list for 2007.
Sean Marshall
No comments:
Post a Comment