Well, the Oscars came and went last week with hardly a bang, but not quite a whimper either! This year, in an effort to draw a younger audience (the Oscar telecast put up its worst numbers ever), the Academy enlisted the help of the always stunning Anne Hathaway and the often funny (when he is playing a stoner) James Franco. While Hathaway had some pretty good moments, Franco often seemed to be perpetually buzzed and often looked like he was ready to drift off to sleep. The best bit of the evening was the opening montage starring Alec Baldwin who snidely commented: “Who are these people?” to Morgan Freeman who replied: “I have no idea!”. Once the telecast started rolling, Hathaway and Franco struggled to keep the attention of not only the actual audience in the theater, but the audience out in TV Land, whom I am sure were wishing they had their 3 ½ hours back!
As for me and the Outguess Bob Oscar Contest – I didn’t do so well! While I only got two wrong, I like to pride myself on perfect scores! This year, the dark horse took two categories that I felt sure the Academy would let slip. Oh well! That does mean we do have one hands down winner for the top spot though! So, in case you didn’t watch, or you are just crawling out of a coma or bomb shelter, here are the winners with some commentary:
Best Actor: Colin Firth in ‘The Kings Speech’; Firth was my choice from the moment I watched his portrayal of the soon to be King. I thought he deserved the nod last year as well.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in ‘The Fighter’; no surprise here either; Bale was amazing and totally immersed himself in the role. So far, I am 2 for 2!
Best Actress: Natalie Portman in ‘Black Swan’; another no surprise moment; Portman was stunning in one of the most memorable performances I have witnessed in some time.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo in ‘The Fighter’; as the Oscars got closer, I was a little nervous that Hailee Steinfeld from ‘True Grit’ would overtake Leo, thankfully she did not. Leo was amazing as was her acceptance speech where she excitedly dropped the ‘F’ bomb! So far, I am 4 for 4!
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler for ‘The King’s Speech’; this was a surprise for me (and for others as well), I really felt that Christopher Nolan, who was so rudely snubbed for Best Director, would get the nod for ‘Inception’ – a trippy script that was filled with incredible twists and turns. Shoot! I am now 4 for 5!
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for ‘The Social Network’; no surprise here either! Sorkin’s script was tight and exciting, full of rapid fire dialogue; this was an award winning effort! I am now 5 for 6! Yay!
Best Director: Tobe Hooper for ‘The King’s Speech’; this was a bit of a surprise as well. I had even money on David Fincher for ‘The Social Network’ and the Coen Brothers as the dark horse for ‘True Grit’. However, I felt that Hooper’s direction in ‘The King’s Speech’ was fairly pedestrian and worthy perhaps of a Lifetime movie; it was the acting that bought this film to life. Shoot – I am now 5 for 7 at this point!
Best Picture: ‘The King’s Speech’; no surprise here! This was a film among films – filled with emotion and inspiring power! Truly a Best Picture worthy of the title! I am now 6 for 8!
And the tie breaker (if needed) Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3; was the ever a doubt? Pixar is an animation juggernaut!
It was a very good year for movies; all of the Best Picture nominations deserved the nomination! And all of the Best Picture nominees were widely seen as well. So here are the winners of the 2nd Annual Outguess Bob contest:
1st Place with 100% correct: Brian Bedard of Brockton, MA, the winner of 2 Movie Passes!
2nd Place with 1 incorrect: Kathy Massel of Chicago, IL (Kathy was our 1st Place winner last year!), the winner of a DVD set!
3rd Place with 1 incorrect: Alex G. of New Lenox, IL, the winner of a DVD!
Congratulations to everyone and thank you all for participating! The response was fantastic! I am looking forward to next year!
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