Wow - in the five years I've been predicting the winners I've never done this poorly, getting only 12 correct. I guess that's the price one must pay to get an unpredictable Oscar ceremony. So two years in a row a movie wins Best Picture that sounds nothing like a Best Picture. Hopefully this is the sign of a changing Academy, perhaps trying to make up for the almost unanimously awful choices made in the 90's. While
No Country for Old Men may not be my favorite film of the bunch, it is the only one that feels right in my mind as BP, so it was ultimately satisfying to see it win, especially over such films as
Juno and
Michael Clayton. And the Coens winning is a wonderful thing.
- Once winning Best Song was the highlight. They gave a great performance, and to see Jon Stewart bring Marketa back on stage to finish her speech was truly classy. The crowd clearly loved Once (or at least, Laura Linney did), as evidenced by the cheering every time the film was mentioned.
- Speaking of Stewart, he did as good of a job hosting as he did last time. To some that is a good thing, to others a bad thing. Personally I think he is the best host the Academy has come across in years, and while some jokes fell flat early on, he hit a stride and really entertained.
- The Transformers shutout and Bourne Ultimatum sweep were both pretty surprising. Especially when The Golden Compass won Visual Effects. Huh? I think it's clear voters are ready to embrace Paul Greengrass in a big way, all he has to do is make another Oscar friendly film.
- Had No Country not won so many precursors, it would have been impossible to gauge momentum leading up to the final two categories. No films felt like they were really gaining momentum, and No Country won its first awards early on, so it felt like the film had been forgotten two hors later.
- Yet again, the Best Picture doesn't win more than 4 awards, a trend now 4 years old. I like to see the wealth spread out a bit, but surely we can get a film worthy of 6 or 7 wins in 2008, right?
After last year's surprise filled ceremony with some truly wonderful wins, this year felt a little down - probably because my favorite film didn't win this year, unlike the last two years (yes, I'm the guy who liked
Crash more than
Brokeback). And I suppose I can take solace in the fact that this was probably the last time I'm going to see Diablo Cody on a stage getting an award. Goodbye 2007, here's to the films of 2008!
Wow - in the five years I've been predicting the winners I've never done this poorly, getting only 12 correct. I guess that's the price one must pay to get an unpredictable Oscar ceremony. So two years in a row a movie wins Best Picture that sounds nothing like a Best Picture. Hopefully this is the sign of a changing Academy, perhaps trying to make up for the almost unanimously awful choices made in the 90's. While No Country for Old Men may not be my favorite film of the bunch, it is the only one that feels right in my mind as BP, so it was ultimately satisfying to see it win, especially over such films as Juno and Michael Clayton. And the Coens winning is a wonderful thing.