OSCAR Predictions 2015 — Page 6

1. Terrence Howard was drunk
2. The highlight of the telecast was the newly curvaceous Zoe Saldana with that hourglass figure
3. I can live with all the awards handed out but still feel that The Grand Budapest Hotel was the best of the lot
4. Gaga slayed!!!
5. John Legend and Common's performance with the choir was very moving
6. Yippee...Julianne Moore bagged some hardware and looked like a million bucks in the process
7. The political statements were tolerable

ETA: Glad that Idina got her shine on

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Updated On: 2/23/15 at 12:20 AM

Julianne Moore won an Oscar at long last. That's all that I care about right now.

I figured there were a few socks missing from the drawer.

Oh, snap, turns out Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the opening number. Man, when they disappoint, they sure know how to disappoint.

I thought NPH was alright, but not the best. Big congrats to all the winners and especially to Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore who the trolls thought would lose the Oscars due to their performances in JUPITER ASCENDING and THE SEVENTH SON respectfully. Boy are they WRONG tonight!

BTW: I really liked Redmayne's performance in JUPITER ASCENDING, so there.

Watching BOYHOOD again Saturday night I more than once thought to myself that there was just no way this was going to win an Oscar, it completely lacks the in-your-face self-congratulation that marks the true Oscar winner.

Oscar or not, to me, the film was lacking in interesting plot, dialogue and setting. Outside the gimmick, there was only Arquette's performance to add any color to a bland generic film. I really don't understand what people saw in it that seemed so special.

I think the only awards given that I found surprising or disappointing were Animated Feature and Adapted Screenplay. Big Hero 6 was okay, but I thought How to Train Your Dragon 2 was much more impressive. And I'm happy for the kid who wrote The Imitation Game, but I thought it was weird that a film with such a foggy timeline and narrative would pull out the award.

As for NPH, he really seemed off but we've seen far worse. It was like he was tentative at the beginning and by the time he could settle in, it was too late and they just weren't with him. I guess Nicholson didn't show up because we thankfully didn't get his obligatory shout-out reminding us we're all simply invited to his party.

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"Outside the gimmick, there was only Arquette's performance to add any color to a bland generic film."

Sorry, not seeing any gimmick in BOYHOOD. The whole twelve-year production process seems to me to be an anti-gimmick, a rigorous rejection of the conventional gimmickry artifice of conventional cinema -- there's just an unblinking honesty that extends even to the actors, who aren't allowed to take refuge in BENJAMIN BUTTON-esque age make-up or phony quavering voices. Time marches on, and it marches right across their faces and bodies.

Sure there's a story. There's the story of a boy coming of age, of his parents relationship with each other and their new partners, of his gradual acquisition of an outlook on life, all brought to the screen with not a moment's phoniness or artficiality, and a general refusal to indulge in big fat in-your-face explanations of BIG MESSAGES. Well, mainly, this is Linklater after all...

Life. It happens. And BOYHOOD shows it happening. It ain't everybody's cup of tea, clearly and of course. But I'm not seeing any gimmicks going on, certainly not in comparison with the ever-so-meta "look ma, it's all one take!" BIRDMAN and that Wes Anderson creature's entire phony contrived ever-so-cutely twee career output.

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Updated On: 2/23/15 at 09:52 AM

Was it me but did the red carpet seem as long as the telecast itself?

It was sort of like getting knocked out before you have a medical procedure. It numbed the pain of watching the show.

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^ What's the insight? The joke writing was terrible, and he got more nervous as he realized he was bombing? I think we already figured that out.

For me the low point was the audience bit with Steve Carell. You never start a bit like that without knowing where you want to take it and how you want to end it and NPH had no idea. They were both looking at each other with eyes that said "I hope you got something funny to say cause I got nothing".

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 12:53 PM

The Oscar ratings usually have to do with what films are nominated, not the host. And while the nominees this year were good, none were great. There really wasn't a film to root for. When a film as dull as Birdman wins, then you know the choices weren't that impressive.

I would've liked Selma, The Theory of Everything or The Imitation Game to win.

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That's a very humble message.

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