Oscarbation: It's a Wrap

the royals win...the zietgeist goes down down for the count. the critics and pundits are in a bitter snit. they say the academy embarrassed itself. they say 20 years from now the history of oscar will see the taint of their selection. i say 20 years from now the film will be remembered well and the current critics and pundits will not be remembered. i say the right choice was made with 'the king's speech' coming out on top. i think now it was not a true race. i believe the pundits tried to create a race. 'the social network' is a 2010-2011 film...a zietgeist. the king will reign for years to come.

colin was a lock. sandra had the key and opened the lock and charmingly awarded mr. firth his oscar after using her charm and personality to give each nominee his due as only she could. her 3-4 minutes on the stage were the best minutes of the night. she showed all the charm ms. hathaway could not throughout the proceedings. ms. hathaway has all the charm of a meat clever. what was all her bowing and kowtowing about? why was she kissing ms. bullocks buttocks? she will never be a sandra bullock. she is crass with a smile.

james franco got lousy reviews as host. he's james franco what did they expect? he is an independent spirit. he was himself. i say good for him. he kowtowed to no one. he doesn't have too. he's an amazing talent.

i hope melissa leo is aware that her phony and crass acceptance speech will show forever on you tube? i did not think it possible but her oscar acceptance was more over the top than her 'the fighter' performance. she won i get it. now just make her go away. helena and/or amy you were robbed. 

otherwise all was good. 'inception' was rewarded in the tech categories it deserved.  'social network' won editing which was deserved and score which it did not. 

the natalie portman and christian bale wins were expected and worthy. between them and colin the acting awards were 3/4 right on. 

it's now in the history books and before we know it it all begins again.

here's to the films of 2011. may you be as good as 2010 which in fact was a remarkable film year.

And The Oscars Go To...

Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Editing: Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Make-Up: The Wolfman
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Song: We Belong Together, Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More
Best Live Action Short: God of Love
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing
Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World, Denmark
Best Documentary: Inside Job

to be continued

Spirit Award Winners in Independent Film

Best Feature: “Black Swan”
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Best Actor: James Franco, “127 Hours”
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Screenplay: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, “The Kids Are All Right”
Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Foreign Film: “The King’s Speech”
Best First Feature: “Get Low”
John Cassavetes Award: “Daddy Longlegs”
Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
Robert Altman Award: The director, casting director and ensemble of “Please Give”
Piaget Producers Award: Anish Savjani, “Meek’s Cutoff”
Someone to Watch Award: Mike Ott, “Littlerock”
Truer Than Fiction Award: Jeff Malmberg, “Marwencol”

SAG 2010

to follow upon last night's late posting on the 2010 sag awards i present the winners

in film

the critics are pissed. the critical darling 'the social network' lost best ensemble to the most deserving 'the king's speech'. for those who may not be aware the best ensemble is the sags equivalent to best picture. i applaud the actors who looked at great acting as opposed to the stylistic presentation of despicable characters in 'the social network'. i can only hope the academy voters follow suit. deep in my heart i believe the king will reign supreme on february 27.

colin and natalie seem poised to win top acting honors at the oscars now more than ever. they should and will win

in tv

ensemble went to 'modern family' for comedy and 'boardwalk empire' for drama.

i was particularly happy and giddy that julianna margulies (the good wife) won best actress in a drama and betty white (hot in cleveland) won for best in comedy.

'The King's Speech' Takes Top SAG Award

'the king's speech' is on a roll and now heads toward oscar night as the front runner. just weeks ago 'the social network' seemed unstoppable. but since the pga, the dga and now the sag has gone royal everything is in turnaround. a lot of pundits thought 'the fighter' might take ensemble cast award tonight. they were wrong. i was right. the king, his therapist and their supporting cast ruled. so now we move on to the last stretch toward the oscars. it's a race for sure but the royals are now ahead by a pretty long nose. but the sag's sometimes get ahead of themselves. remember just three years ago when christie and cotillard upset the betting odds.

i've been on the firth and portman bandwagon for weeks now and tonight they prevailed.

the winners of the 2010 sag awards are

for film

Best Ensemble: “The King’s Speech”
Best Actor: Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
Best Stunt Ensemble: “Inception” (presented on the red carpet)

and in television

Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Claire Danes, “Temple Grandin”
Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Al Pacino, “You Don’t Know Jack”
Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series: “Modern Family”
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty White, “Hot in Cleveland”
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Best Ensemble in a Drama Series: “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, “City Island”
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Stunt Ensemble: “True Blood”

'Black Swan': ****stars

first let me state that i've never been a fan of natalie portman. then i shall say that every once in awhile an actor gets a role of a lifetime like charlize theron in 'monster' and adrien brody in 'the pianist'. this is natalie's role of a lifetime. she is nothing less than extraordinary as a ballerina rehearsing the role of the swan queen in 'swan lake'. as she tries to enhance the role of the evil twin, the black swan, her descent into madness is slow but asured as she becomes more the black queen than the white queen twin. yes ms. portman is extraordinary and gives one of the greatest performances on screen ever.

'black swan' is in and of itself an extraordinary film. as it is one of the best of 2010 it will indeed be one of the best of this young decade. brilliantly directed by darren aronofsky it is so much more than a dance film. it is a 'horror' film in the best sense that madness is horrific.  if this film does not send shivers down your spine you may be dead.

the supporting cast truly supports the lead and unselfishly enhances her portrayal especially mila kunis and vincent cassell. barbara hershey shines as the mommie dearest of ballerina nina sayers.

run to see this film. i was shocked at how damn good it is. more shocked that natalie portman won me over. she's going to be hard to beat come oscar time.