In-Game Oscars Thread

[ugadevil]

Who's watching the Oscars right now? Post your comments about the winners/decisions here. I doubt I've seen many/any of these movies but I'm required to watch the commercials for an advertising class.

[YmoBeThere]

No, say it ain't so...

[ugadevil]

No, say it ain't so...

You on strike from watching?

[YmoBeThere]

You on strike from watching?
Yes...but then I have been on strike most of my life. Curious to know who won, but not willing to sit and watch.

[TillyGalore]

I have NASCAR on. :D

[YmoBeThere]

Either is better than what I have happening here...

[ugadevil]

And the winner for Best Art Direction is....Sweeney Todd

[ugadevil]

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

I would have picked Hofman in Charlie Wilson's War.

[ugadevil]

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Ymo...Are you following this thread because otherwise I'm just PWing.

[YmoBeThere]

Yeah, I am but haven't seen most of the movies either

[throatybeard]

Seems like both the actress awards were mild upsets.

They had that montage with every best picture...I had forgotten how many mediocre films had won best picture, especially in the 1950s.

[ugadevil]

Sorry for the lack of updates..couldn't use my computer for a while.
Best Documentary: Taxi to the Dark Side. It beat out Sicko.

[dukegirlinsc]

I'm catching up on big brother via DVR. :cool:

However, there have been interesting winners so far.

[dukie8]

gotta love it when a stripper wins an oscar!

[ugadevil]

gotta love it when a stripper wins an oscar!

Are you referring to Diablo, who just won for screen play? My girlfriend said she looks like Bam-Bam from the Flintstones.

[dukie8]

Are you referring to Diablo, who just won for screen play? My girlfriend said she looks like Bam-Bam from the Flintstones.

yep. she was previously employed as a pole dancer.

[JBDuke]

I know there are some proponents around here, but I thought "Once" was the most overhyped indie of the year. The story of its success is cool, because those two musicians are so likeable, but I found their Oscar to be one of the most unworthy, as I felt the song was an uninteresting melody at best. I was really pulling for "That's How You'll Know" from "Enchanted", which I thought was a brilliant bit of songwriting, and perfectly captured the essence of its film.

[billybreen]

I know there are some proponents around here, but I thought "Once" was the most overhyped indie of the year. The story of its success is cool, because those two musicians are so likeable, but I found their Oscar to be one of the most unworthy, as I felt the song was an uninteresting melody at best. I was really pulling for "That's How You'll Know" from "Enchanted", which I thought was a brilliant bit of songwriting, and perfectly captured the essence of its film.

Have to disagree with you there. I thought "That's How You'll Know" was easily the worst song of the bunch.

[Bostondevil]

I loved Once and I thought those two musicians' Oscar win was one of the best moments I've ever witnessed at the Academy Awards and I like that song best, by far. Everything else seemed to be composed with a nomination in mind. Thank goodness it went to something more original. You think some mediocre pictures have won Oscars, take a look at the songs.

I picked 3 of the 4 acting awards correctly plus Best Picture and Best Director, plus a few others but I was wrong on costume, make-up, and set direction which I often get. (I was right on sound editing and sound mixing because I thought they'd give Bourne something but the Editing award surprised me.) If I counted correctly, No Country for Old Men took home 4 Oscars and The Bourne Ultimatum took home 3, wow. There Will Be Blood took 2. Did anything else get more than 1? Oh wait, La Vie En Rose actress and make-up. Make-Up? They usually get that one right but not this year. How did making someone look like Edith Piaf beat out Sweeney Todd?

[JBDuke]

I loved Once and I thought those two musicians' Oscar win was one of the best moments I've ever witnessed at the Academy Awards and I like that song best, by far. Everything else seemed to be composed with a nomination in mind. Thank goodness it went to something more original. You think some mediocre pictures have won Oscars, take a look at the songs.

I picked 3 of the 4 acting awards correctly plus Best Picture and Best Director, plus a few others but I was wrong on costume, make-up, and set direction which I often get. (I was right on sound editing and sound mixing because I thought they'd give Bourne something but the Editing award surprised me.) If I counted correctly, No Country for Old Men took home 4 Oscars and The Bourne Ultimatum took home 3, wow. There Will Be Blood took 2. Did anything else get more than 1? Oh wait, La Vie En Rose actress and make-up. Make-Up? They usually get that one right but not this year. How did making someone look like Edith Piaf beat out Sweeney Todd?

Because they made her look so exactly like Edith Piaf, a real historical figure, versus inventing a look for a fictional character.

[pfrduke]

I loved Once and I thought those two musicians' Oscar win was one of the best moments I've ever witnessed at the Academy Awards and I like that song best, by far. Everything else seemed to be composed with a nomination in mind. Thank goodness it went to something more original. You think some mediocre pictures have won Oscars, take a look at the songs.

I agree - I unabashedly love "Falling Slowly" (in all its versions - it's on the Once soundtrack, the CD done by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and also on the most recent Frames CD - actually, the version tonight sounded most like the Frames version). I also thought that bringing Marketa Irglova back to speak was both classy and touching, and enjoyed what she had to say.

[JBDuke]

Have to disagree with you there. I thought "That's How You'll Know" was easily the worst song of the bunch.

Like I said above, I'm not a huge fan of "Once" or "Falling Slowly". I'd probably rank it 4th of the songs nominated - "So Close" was pretty mediocre, IMO.

I don't know if you saw "Enchanted" or not, but I really enjoyed it. I'm also a big fan of musicals, and so maybe that style just appeals to me. The tune for "That's How You'll Know" is so catchy - I still find myself humming it frequently.

I also like "Happy Working Song" because it's just such a great parody of Disney's animated classics and Amy Adams is just perfect in her delivery of it.

"Best Song" seems to be one of those categories where it's really just a matter of personal preference. Not surprising, really.

[YmoBeThere]

Sorry for the lack of updates..couldn't use my computer for a while.
Best Documentary: Taxi to the Dark Side. It beat out Sicko.

I watched the last half hour or so...not shocked the screenplay winner was a former entertainer. Just goes to show you that background is not a disqualifier for many things.

[BlueDiablo]

I know there are some proponents around here, but I thought "Once" was the most overhyped indie of the year. The story of its success is cool, because those two musicians are so likeable, but I found their Oscar to be one of the most unworthy, as I felt the song was an uninteresting melody at best. I was really pulling for "That's How You'll Know" from "Enchanted", which I thought was a brilliant bit of songwriting, and perfectly captured the essence of its film.

I beg to differ with you in the strongest possible terms. Each of the songs from "Enchanted" fell flat for me. They were pretty by-the-numbers Disney musical songs and not even clever as satire. I think Kristin Chenowith is immensely talented, but that song bored me. "Falling Slowly," on the other hand, is one of the best songs I've ever heard in a movie. (Then again, check out my avatar.) I was one of those who thought "Once" deserved a couple more nominations. It was a beautifully understated movie. It's hard to say it was overhyped when it had almost no marketing and never made it out of limited release.

[YmoBeThere]

I watched the last half hour or so...not shocked the screenplay winner was a former entertainer. Just goes to show you that background is not a disqualifier for many things.

And I meant that in a good way...

[wiscodevil]

"Falling Slowly," on the other hand, is one of the best songs I've ever heard in a movie. (Then again, check out my avatar.) I was one of those who thought "Once" deserved a couple more nominations. It was a beautifully understated movie. It's hard to say it was overhyped when it had almost no marketing and never made it out of limited release.

great movie, great acting, great song and great soundtrack. easily one of the 5 best movies i saw last year.

[Duvall]

I was really pulling for "That's How You'll Know" from "Enchanted", which I thought was a brilliant bit of songwriting, and perfectly captured the essence of its film.

Really? I haven't seen Enchanted, but the performances of its nominated songs last night were just dreadful. Just way too bland.

That's not a fair way to assess them, but they just didn't work for me.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

Really? I haven't seen Enchanted, but the performances of its nominated songs last night were just dreadful. Just way too bland.

That's not a fair way to assess them, but they just didn't work for me.

I saw Enchanted and enjoyed it very much, but agree that last night's performances were pretty atrocious. Chenowith in particular really gave a performance that was way too lyrical. If you haven't seen the film it's hard to get a sense of the wonderful blend of playful satire and affection the songs had for Diznee-musicals past. The movie and the songs were really fun and clever, but the staged performances didn't capture that at all.

All that said, I have no problem with Falling Slowly winning.

[Mal]

Ditto what BlueDiablo said, and to each their own and all that, but I'll actually use stronger terms: The "Enchanted" songs were terrible. Overproduced, uninteresting, meandering, commercial, unmelodic. The second one, especially, was an atrociously sanitized cultural mash-up that just plain old didn't work. I'm trying to divorce my impressions of the music from the stage production, but if any songs should benefit from being sung on stage in a music hall with professional dancers and big showbiz production it should be them. "Falling Slowly" on the other hand, is a quiet song of yearning about repairing your broken heart and moving on with your life, not exactly well suited to an auditorium full of people in tuxes and $5,000 dresses. So I recognize the songs can suffer in the setting. But I forgot the "Enchanted" songs the moment they were over.

"Falling Slowly" isn't the greatest song of all time, but at least it's sincere, and the refrain has the potential to break your heart, especially in the context of the film. But it also holds up as a solid song outside that context. Having admittedly not seen "Enchanted" I don't know how those songs may enhance the movie, but outside of it they were dreadful to me.

I know this is a quirky Oscar category, but I can't believe it's so barren out there for original movie music that one film got 60% of the nominations for the second year in a row. Was there really nothing else interesting this year? Surely some of Eddie Vedder's stuff from "Into The Wild" was worthy. Can't they elevate one of three songs from one film and give some exposure to a few other deserving musicians?

On other notes, did Tilda Swinton remind you all more of a really tall Thom Yorke, or David Bowie?

[Clipsfan]

I watched the last half hour or so...not shocked the screenplay winner was a former entertainer. Just goes to show you that background is not a disqualifier for many things.

Juno is a great film, and a large reason was the dialogue/script (although Page did a great job delivering it). I'm glad that people didn't care what Cody had done before, although I don't know that Stewart had to call her out like he did.

[Bostondevil]

Hee, hee, most of the discussion here is about Best Song! Who knew it was such an controversial award?

Without seeing any of the performances, I think Julie Christie was robbed!

And I stand by my opinion that making one actress look like someone else isn't an Oscar worthy make-up performance. I'm all about having to create a look for an entire cast when I fill out my (pretend) ballot.

[billybreen]

Like I said above, I'm not a huge fan of "Once" or "Falling Slowly". I'd probably rank it 4th of the songs nominated - "So Close" was pretty mediocre, IMO.

I don't know if you saw "Enchanted" or not, but I really enjoyed it. I'm also a big fan of musicals, and so maybe that style just appeals to me. The tune for "That's How You'll Know" is so catchy - I still find myself humming it frequently.

I also like "Happy Working Song" because it's just such a great parody of Disney's animated classics and Amy Adams is just perfect in her delivery of it.

"Best Song" seems to be one of those categories where it's really just a matter of personal preference. Not surprising, really.

Oh, I _love_ musicals, and I love Kristin Chenoweth (though I guess I prefer it when she's covering TMBG (http://youtube.com/watch?v=TDe8gcXQwnA)). I haven't seen Enchanted, but if the Oscar entrants are indicative, I don't think it is for me.

"That's How You'll Know" just felt like Kristin singing a duet with Jar Jar Binks. Ugh.

[The Gordog]

Juno is a great film, and a large reason was the dialogue/script (although Page did a great job delivering it). I'm glad that people didn't care what Cody had done before, although I don't know that Stewart had to call her out like he did.
Stewart called her out? I must have dozed off for that, please explain.

BTW, I thought she just danced for a short time as sort of research for a book or script or something.

[billybreen]

Stewart called her out? I must have dozed off for that, please explain.

BTW, I thought she just danced for a short time as sort of research for a book or script or something.

I didn't think he called her out at all. That's definitely part of her story, and it's not something she runs from. He made a cute wink and nod joke that being a writer was a pay cut. I liked it, and I'm happy to see that his hosting performance is being widely lauded (in stark contrast to 2006).

[Clipsfan]

I didn't think he called her out at all. That's definitely part of her story, and it's not something she runs from. He made a cute wink and nod joke that being a writer was a pay cut. I liked it, and I'm happy to see that his hosting performance is being widely lauded (in stark contrast to 2006).

It was definitely done as a joke (one I thought was funny), but I still felt like it made many people who didn't know of her history aware that she'd been an "exotic dancer". I have no problem with this, but feel that certain parts of the country might view her differently once they know this about her. That's why I described it as "calling her out".

[YmoBeThere]

It was definitely done as a joke (one I thought was funny), but I still felt like it made many people who didn't know of her history aware that she'd been an "exotic dancer". I have no problem with this, but feel that certain parts of the country might view her differently once they know this about her. That's why I described it as "calling her out".

Don't give in to Pat Robertson and his folks...

[ugadevil]

It was definitely done as a joke (one I thought was funny), but I still felt like it made many people who didn't know of her history aware that she'd been an "exotic dancer". I have no problem with this, but feel that certain parts of the country might view her differently once they know this about her. That's why I described it as "calling her out".

I'm in agreement with others that don't remember this happening. I remember her accepting the award and not liking the dress she had on, but I don't remember Stewart saying anything about her history. I'm not saying it didn't happen because I wasn't paying close attention. What did he say?

[billybreen]

It was definitely done as a joke (one I thought was funny), but I still felt like it made many people who didn't know of her history aware that she'd been an "exotic dancer". I have no problem with this, but feel that certain parts of the country might view her differently once they know this about her. That's why I described it as "calling her out".

Well, for any part of the country that uptight, her tats and dress would likely have done the same. ;)

Hear what you're saying, though.

[billybreen]

I'm in agreement with others that don't remember this happening. I remember her accepting the award and not liking the dress she had on, but I don't remember Stewart saying anything about her history. I'm not saying it didn't happen because I wasn't paying close attention. What did he say?

This:

Tonight is not just about the actors, it’s also about directors, writers. Diablo Cody. What an amazing story. She wrote Juno, what a great movie. Diablo Cody used to be an exotic dancer and now she’s an Oscar nominated screenwriter. I hope you’re enjoying the pay cut.

[pamtar]

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Ymo...Are you following this thread because otherwise I'm just PWing.

What is PWing?

[SlimSlowSlider]

Back to the song debate ... totally agree about the Enchanted songs. I liked the fifth song, however. (Can't remember the name - the one withe choir)

But I am a big fan of Once (and Hansard/Irglova, and the Frames), and like Falling Slowly a lot. However, the best song from the Movie, IMO, is Leave. I also liked When Your Minds Made Up (but possibly am swayed because it is such an uplifting scene from the movie)

[pfrduke]

Back to the song debate ... totally agree about the Enchanted songs. I liked the fifth song, however. (Can't remember the name - the one withe choir)

But I am a big fan of Once (and Hansard/Irglova, and the Frames), and like Falling Slowly a lot. However, the best song from the Movie, IMO, is Leave. I also liked When Your Minds Made Up (but possibly am swayed because it is such an uplifting scene from the movie)

I love the moment in the When Your Mind's Made Up scene when the sound mixer's attitude goes from "good lord, I'm wasting my weekend with these chumps" to "hey, this is really, really good." He does it perfectly.

[ugadevil]

What is PWing?

Not sure if this will be censored out or not. PWing is Post Whoring. Basically typing posts to up your number. For good examples see: Devildeac, BillyBreen, Lavabe, & Tilly.:D Just kidding guys and gal!

[billybreen]

I love the moment in the When Your Mind's Made Up scene when the sound mixer's attitude goes from "good lord, I'm wasting my weekend with these chumps" to "hey, this is really, really good." He does it perfectly.

I finally saw Once last night (thanks to iTunes Rentals, nice), so I'm dredging this up just so I can agree with your post (and all the others that extolled Once's virtues in this thread). That was just a great movie, and I'm even happier that 'Falling Slowly' won the Oscar now that I have the proper context. The sound mixer's reaction was perhaps my favorite part of the whole movie -- it's subtle, but it captures the moment perfectly.

Failing to see Once was the heartbeaking cinematic tale of 2007 for me. The wife and I got as far as sitting in an empty theater in Harvard Square, waiting for the film to start, before being told that the reel had broken and there was no replacement.