I'm Counting On You, Anne!!

Well, the Academy Awards telecast is going to be starting in just a little while. Frankly, I'm just watching it as I have the last few years, out of habit more than genuine interest. It wasn't always this way. I used to look forward with excitement to the presentation of the Oscars each year, when I actually used to really love the movies. That's going back to when I started watching the annual telecast back in the 70's and continuing through the 80's. But in the last couple decades my interest has been steadily waning, as with each passing year Hollywood convinces me that they aren't really interested in making the kind of movies that I find genuinely entertaining.

I think the last Academy Awards show that I actually enjoyed was the year that the musical, Chicago swept many of the major awards. I was hoping that last year director Rob Marshall would have a similar success with his film, Nine, as it was my favourite movie by far released in 2009. Alas, neither audiences nor film critics shared my enthusiasm, and Nine was pretty much shut out even at the nomination stage. Instead, last year was a battle between the technological marvel, Avatar, and the gritty war pic, The Hurt Locker, neither of which I much cared for. Actually, I didn't even get around to seeing Avatar until its later reissue, and The Hurt Locker (which won) I'd rented just the day before the awards and really hated it!

Yeah, I know I'm completely out of step with contemporary moviegoing tastes, believe me I'm painfully aware of that. As such, I really haven't had a horse in the race for many years now and I don't even enjoy many of the films getting nominated in the major categories. I've seen several of the Best Picture nominees this year, including True Grit, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, The King's Speech, and (as of yesterday) The Social Network. They're all good films, but quite honestly, none of them can hold a candle to the type of Oscar winning films that came out of Hollywood in its glory years in terms of outright entertainment. Films like My Fair Lady, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Godfather, as diverse as they are, remain for me completely memorable and entertaining in their respective ways. In contrast, none of the films nominated this year I would make a point of watching again. Sadly, it's been like that for me for many years now.

I guess if there's a single reason I'm interested in tonight's Academy Awards, it's because of the choice of Anne Hathaway as one of the two co-hosts. She's not only beautiful but has great charisma to boot. I love watching her on screen and in interviews, as she just sparkles with personality. I thought she was terrific when host Hugh Jackman carried her up on stage from the audience to join him in his song tribute at the beginning of the telecast a couple years back. I'm hoping she'll sing and dance for us tonight too! As for the awards themselves....meh.

Emily Blunt

This week's Caricaturama Showdown challenge was provided by last week's winner, Paul Moyse, who selected his fellow Brit, actress Emily Blunt. She's definitely a star on the rise, having played Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria, and costarring in such diverse fare as The Wolfman and Sunshine Cleaners. (I also recall she was singer, Michael Bublé's main squeeze for a while!) Alas, I have only seen her in one film, alongside Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, but it was a standout performance. Here then is my interpretation of her character, appropriately named Emily, the snarkily nasty assistant to Meryl Streep's dictatorial fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly.

Addendum: My entry actually won this week's round, so that gives me bragging rights and getting to choose the next subject for the Caricaturama Showdown challenge......Brigitte Bardot!

Oh Yes...The Oscars

The day after the night of the Academy Awards is often a bit of a blur to me. So many awards handed out over several hours with montages and performances wedged in between...Anyway, let's see what I can recall:

First off, I remember seeing the cute and adorable Anne Hathaway coming onstage to present an award for Best Animated Feature with some comic actor by her side. As I recall, the award went to some film about a cooking rat. That is, rather, a rat that cooks. Sorry, I didn't mean to traumatize anyone with that awkward description...


Soon thereafter, we were treated to the first of the Best Song nominees from Disney's "Enchanted", as performed by the star of that film, the cute and adorable Amy Adams, with her big blue eyes and red hair. I think Amy Adams has now supplanted my previous favourite cute and adorable actress, Meg Ryan. Hey, I was loyal to Meg for the last 20 years or so, since seeing her in "When Harry Met Sally". I think it's time to trade up. (Sorry Meg.) Actually, I think Amy Adams should have been nominated herself for her role of "Giselle", the cartoon fairy tale princess who ends up in live-action form in contemporary New York. She played the part to the hilt, giving a note perfect interpretation of what a Disney princess should be. Anyway, here's cute and adorable Amy singing "The Happy Working Song":



Sometime later, the second of the nominated songs from "Enchanted" was performed, this time by Broadway star, the cute and adorable Kristin Chenoweth. If anyone was going to sing "That's How You Know" instead of Amy Adams, I couldn't ask for a better substitute than Kristin, who, as you can tell, is just as cute and adorable as a southern baked cherry pie! I saw Kristen on Jimmy Kimmel's show not long ago. Not only is she cute and adorable, but she's TINY too. She looked like a little girl with her legs dangling over the seat without touching the floor. Anyway, here she is performing a real showstopper from last night's show:



Later on in the telecast, they handed out the award for Best Actress. In what proved to be a real surprise, the award went to French actress, the cute and adorable Marion Cotillard. The role she won for was that of legendary chanteuse, Edith Piaf, in the film, "La Vie en Rose". This was one of my favourite films last year and I was so happy for Marion, who seemed to be as shocked by her win as anyone when she delivered an emotional acceptance speech in her cute and adorable French accented, broken English. Prior to seeing her on the Academy Awards last night, I had not actually seen what Marion Cotillard really looked like, as she is practically unrecognizable as the poor wretched "Little Sparrow", Edith Piaf, who, despite her massive talent, was frankly not exactly that cute and adorable herself. (No wonder the film's makeup artist also won an Oscar last night.) Anyway, here is Marion Cotillard's acceptance speech. And yes, she's not merely cute and adorable - she's GORGEOUS!!



And that's all I seem to recall of last night's Academy Awards.....

Addendum: It appears that all three of those videos have now been pulled. I wonder if it was AMPAS or Disney's decision?