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Apperson wrote:The Shape of Water is extremely My Shit so I'm very happy that it won, even if I think Dunkirk and Lady Bird are better films.

I feel that sentiment. Shape of Water made me cry a lot of ugly tears. It definitely wasn’t my favorite film of the year, but I’m okay with it winning. I have such a soft spot for Del Toro’s childlike enthusiasm and gusto for life and filmmaking.

Something tells me its standing at #2 or #3 or #4 on so many ballots is how it wound up winning, it was probably a very close year. That's what I was hoping for with Phantom Thread, but PTA has truly taken up the mantle of being today's Stanley Kubrick in every way imaginable

Well this year was one big sigh and shrug for me. I just wish there had been a couple of enjoyable surprises. The only thing that came close was when a credit card ad suddenly interrupted Gary Oldman's speech out of nowhere on the abc.com live stream—and since I can't find anyone else talking about that online, it looks like that was just for me?

mfunk9786 wrote:Kobe Bryant's Oscar Win Reminds Us That Time Is Not Up For Everyone

That’s the most disgraceful win of the night. Not just because of Bryant, the film itself is basically a glorified commercial.

domino harvey wrote:Helen Mirren is always a good sport

I have only watched a couple of Oscar clips available on YouTube but I wanted to second this. It is probably just me but Mirren being wheeled on atop that jetski at the end felt eerily reminiscent of when her character was helming the orgy ship in Caligula!

Brian C wrote:Overall it was a year with a lot of films that I liked but not much that I really loved

Agreed.

Honestly, I'm just happy to put this dismal year to bed.

The show began with Jimmy Kimmel taking the audience to task for going overlong in their speeches, but then wasted ten whole minutes with that stupid stunt at the multiplex across the street.

If Hollywood wants to "Honor The Audiences" I suggest they make films that don't insult our intelligence, rather than by invading a screening and throwing hot dogs at us.

mfunk9786 wrote:Kobe Bryant's Oscar Win Reminds Us That Time Is Not Up For Everyone

Gary Oldman's hardly an angel either.

thirtyframesasecond wrote:

mfunk9786 wrote:Kobe Bryant's Oscar Win Reminds Us That Time Is Not Up For Everyone

Gary Oldman's hardly an angel either.

Exactly. He's had many accusations of spousal abuse, and he's a bigot.

Roscoe wrote:The show began with Jimmy Kimmel taking the audience to task for going overlong in their speeches, but then wasted ten whole minutes with that stupid stunt at the multiplex across the street.

If Hollywood wants to "Honor The Audiences" I suggest they make films that don't insult our intelligence, rather than by invading a screening and throwing hot dogs at us.

They really need to change hosts next year. Kimmel was enjoyable enough last year but this year was one of the worst, least funny telecasts I can remember. I've been to more amusing funerals. I'm not sure what viewers or more importantly, the audience at the ceremony, are getting out of the whole "normal people are dumb rubes" gag, either. If it was something that worked for....... literally anyone....... I guess I would understand its inclusion. But it was just crickets.

Exactly, and his opening monologue was so banal, its jokes were hardly even jokes. They should have Dave Chappelle next year, if he'll take the gig.

I doubt he'd play ball, I was surprised he presented last night. He's been an outspoken critic (and borderline conspiracy theorist) of Hollywood in general, so they probably wouldn't want him either.

It's pretty outside the box, but I wonder if someone like Marc Maron is a big enough name at this point for that job. Probably not, but he's been interviewing bigger and bigger stars, has a lot of experience on a stage, and everyone in that industry seems to like him a great deal.

Or nobody ever seems to know what to do with Maya Rudolph on television, as about a dozen discarded variety shows have indicated over the years, and she was the best part of last night's show - give her the job.

soundchaser wrote:Wait, this song is the highlight of a film that got its own sing-along version? Bizzare. It's terrible.

I saw only ten seconds of this performance, and it was possibly the ten worst seconds I've listed to in an awards show - the goopy, cheeseball arrangement wasn't enough to cover the horrid oversinging/wailing. Pretty much everything I currently hate about pop music. I pegged it to win but if I had to lose one category, I'm glad it was this one.

#-o

Two mods have outed themselves now as being a fan of the Pixelated Boat account and that's hysterial (I am too.)

mfunk9786 wrote:*Image Stricken from my sight.*

This is almost as bad as Hillary's "Wow Black Panther is so great" tweet.

Brian C wrote:Speaking of, I didn't see War for the Planet of the Apes, did the VFX really look as bad as in the clips they just showed?

I didn't see the clips, but it won the industry award for VFX - apparently it broke new ground in motion capture.

Thinking about it, the show was really not that great this year. It sure did seem to drag, even though it was "only" on four three hours and fifty-odd minutes with adverts. I hate to say it, but I think they need to cut the Best Original Song nominee performances out. Sure, the category gets little attention, otherwise, but then, neither do the scores, or for that matter, costumes, makeup, and so on. Cutting these portions of the show would certainly save at least twenty minutes, and probably more, considering they all end with ad breaks.

The highlight of the broadcast has to be Gal Gadot. She must have had her name pronounced five different ways last night, but that didn't stop her from saying to Kimmel "this is so much better than the Oscars!" twice, when they went out to "surprise" those people at the screening of A Wrinkle in Time. Unfortunately, it was also a sobering indicator of how even some of Hollywood's newly-anointed stars view "Hollywood's biggest night".

Also, I get that this was on ABC, and ABC is (as an ad reminded me) "proud to be part of the Disney family", or something to that effect, but I was quickly tired of the constant, sometimes sneaky references to Disney-owned films, like dressing up the Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira to evoke their characters from Black Panther, or having the bowling ball from the new Star Wars films again, or Kimmel making sure everyone knew Emily Blunt is the star of Mary Poppins 2: Poppins Harder, or the screening that just so happened to be A Wrinkle in Time

This stood in especially sharp contrast to the fact that Disney won almost nothing this year, other than the virtually annual Pixar Oscar(s), but more than that, I was pissed because other studios have made movies, too, and beyond the naming of the winners, which took up a very small part of the ceremony, that wasn't well-reflected. In a supposed time of diversity and inclusion, it would be nice if the Academy took steps to allow the rest of the major studios (and also more successful independent films), to show themselves off, too. One shot of Salma next to the merman from Fox's The Shape of Water, and a mini-bit/reference to Universal's Get Out weren't nearly enough, in my opinion.

hearthesilence wrote:

Brian C wrote:Speaking of, I didn't see War for the Planet of the Apes, did the VFX really look as bad as in the clips they just showed?

I didn't see the clips, but it won the industry award for VFX - apparently it broke new ground in motion capture.

They just showed some explosions. Coming after Kong: Skull Island's clip which featured apes fighting dinosaurs in (to my eye) a really stunning few moments, it was very unremarkable.

In all honesty I'm wondering if they'll ever honor performances given via motion capture. Andy Serkis has been doing this for how long now?

The thing that always gets me with that though - not only do they need to nominate that performance, but it has to be better than the other four nominees. Is Serkis mugging in a mo-cap suit as an ape ever going to best a "real" performance by a great actor?

Serkis strikes me as a totally classic will win a lifetime achievement Oscar but never be recognized pick, but he's not really at the age they'd do that. Maybe in a decade or so.

mfunk9786 wrote:The thing that always gets me with that though - not only do they need to nominate that performance, but it has to be better than the other four nominees. Is Serkis mugging in a mo-cap suit as an ape ever going to best a "real" performance by a great actor?

I should have specified that this would be a separate category. Obviously Serkis' debating with himself as Gollum isn't going to go head to head with live action.

Are there enough notable mo-cap performances each year to warrant that?