The Southern Lights

So, uh, if anybody still cares about the Oscars (which I watched while I should have been studying for my insane Crim Theory midterm yesterday), I went 11 for 24, so a slight improvement over last year.  And I guess I really ought to see Life of Pi (though I still want to read the book first).

I don't guess there's really much to be said about Seth MacFarlane that hasn't already been said.  I was hopeful at the beginning -- Shatner helped, of course, but the opening bit was fairly funny.  I didn't even mind the "We Saw Your Boobs" song at the time, because I saw it as him lampooning his own stupid, offensive-for-its-own-sake sense of humor.  But then he just kept on with the stupid, offensive-for-its-own-sake  sense of humor, which I suppose I should have seen coming.  He even had a few genuinely funny bits (the Christopher Plummer introduction and the Meryl Streep non-introduction), but it's like he just can't stop himself from aiming for the lowest common denominator.  And it was pointed out to me that at least four of the examples in the "Boobs" song were from rape scenes.  Were there any actual headlines that said "Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever"?  Because that would have been appropriate, even if it meant Kirk-ex-machina had failed in his mission.

Anyway, if you haven't seen/heard "We Saw Your Junk" (lyrics NSFW, but if you've got headphones, you're fine), that makes it a little better.

I really hope they weren't joking about getting Tina and Amy to host next year.  I get that hosting the Oscars is a pretty thankless job, but surely there are ways to do it that don't cause viewers to cramp because they're cringing so hard.

It’s that time of year – my Oscar picks that no one asked for!  Last year I went an unimpressive 11 for 24 (45.8%), but I was 15 for 24 (62.5%) the year before that.  Still, I wouldn’t put any money on this.

( Wild guesses! )

( Unsolicited Opinions! )

Looking forward to Billy Crystal hosting -- yeah, he's kind of a safe standby, but he'll doubtless get some solidly funny moments in, and he can actually ad-lib.  Though we won't get to play Is James Franco Stoned? No, Really, Did He Show Up to This Thing Completely Blasted? Or Is He Just Like That All the Time?  I believe it was the conversation piece of the year.

Okay, here's what I know you all have been waiting for: my Oscar predictions!  In 2008, I picked 11 of 24 (45.8%) correctly.  In 2009, I got 16 right (66.6%).  So, y'know, not great, but random chance would yield a 20-33% success rate, so I'm doing quite a bit better than that.  Anyway, on to the picks...

( Not a lot of surprises here )

As you can see, I'm betting that the Academy will think all the technical awards are "enough" for Avatar and give Best Picture/Director to The Hurt Locker.  However, if some of the (non-Visual Effects) tech awards start going to other films, then Avatar might win.  Or the people that voted might have gotten absolutely sick of hearing about both films and given it to Inglorious Basterds, so who knows.

I've only seen 5 of the 10 Best Picture nominees (Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, and Up) and of those, I actually think District 9 and Up are the best, though they're not really in the running to win.  The Hurt Locker was good, but not phenomenal.  And Avatar... well, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but it's still a glorified video game.  Maybe I've spent too long in grad school (read: I have spent too long in grad school), but I was uncomfortable with the whole "noble savage" thing.  My feelings on it aren't anything that hasn't been said many, many times already (it's like Dances With Wolves threw up all over Fern Gully, etc.) so I'll stop there.

Wow, this is starting to sound like I take the Oscars really seriously.  I don't.  I just figure if sports fans can jizz their pants in delight over playoffs/tournaments/cage matches, I can have a little fun with the movies.  Plus, I've actually watched the Oscars while abroad (Australia in 2004 and Canada in 2007) with people of many different nationalities, and I've really found it touching how people from all over the world can come together on that one night and all say to each other: "What the fuck is Uma Thurman wearing?  Kleenex?"