Time for a review of the 84th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony from last night and I can already say that all in all I was very satisfied with the show and the winners… But let’s break it down a little:
The Show:
I thought the show this year was very charming in the way it followed up on the trend of 2011’s best movies by paying homage to classic cinemas and the magic of not just the movies but cinemas. They made brilliant use of the newest technology to produce this tribute of a show and for that the return of Billy Crystal was a gift sent from the heaven of movie legends! His musical opening was as Oscar as it gets and shows why every Oscar show should start with a musical number (which is why Neil Patrick Harris would be a fitting man to try out as a host)!
I liked: The Cirque du Soleil act, the tasteful, subtle and beautiful “In Memorium” and the breathtaking yet fitting production design of the show. Of presenters: Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Bridesmaids and Christian Bale.
I disliked: The lack of a presentation of each of the nominated Best Picture films (for each year this category seems to be a bit more devaluated in the show), the joke that was “Best Song” category - why only two nominees? and why not let them be performed as always? Of presenters: Jennifer Lopez/Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie and Sandra Bullock (what a horribly bad joke about german being chinese!)
Best Picture:
I had seen all nominess with exception of Hugo, War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I was as satisfied as you can be with the fact that The Artist took home this award - in a time where movies get more and more “safe” money-making business, this movie had courage to tell a simple yet important story. Not for mankind perhaps, but for the movie industry. Well deserved! The only other winners I could’ve seen would have been The Descendants or The Tree of Life.
I am distraught by the fact that ‘Drive’ and ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ weren’t even nominated!
Best Actor/Actress:
I saw all male lead performances and they were all amazing and they had to be to let out the likes of Ryan Gosling (Drive/The Ides of March) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter). Probably Michael Fassbender (Shame) too. Of all the nominees only Brad Pitt would have left me a bit unsatisfied. Bichir did an impossible job of portraying a character, who is often devaluated by society, in such a sympathic way that he made the whole movie worthwhile. Gary Oldman lead the cast of the year and his performance cannot be described better than Natalie Portman did - “a masterclass in acting”. My two favourites Clooney and Dujardin delivered equally extraordinary performances, but in the end I did root for Dujardin and to see his true joy and passion for the film on stage accepting the award. Brilliant!
Of the female leads I’ve only seen Viola Davis’ brilliant performance in the otherwise to candy coated “The Help”. She and Octavia Spencer that movie into what it was.
There might be my view on further categories later today.
