Oscars

I haven't put too much up regarding the recent Oscar ceremony...been trying to figure out my thoughts. I did NOT see all the Best Picture nominees but I did see a fair number and I couldn't agree more with the academy's choice of "The Hurt Locker" for this year's nod. AND also the respect paid to the troops by the winning team. Unusual in "Hollyweird" to see liberal types utter anything positive about our troops. Where was Susan Sarandon? Michael Moore? In Sarandon's case, her "cougar factor" has apparently waned; she and longtime activist/idiot/bf Tim Robbins split. (That being said, "Bull Durham" is still one of my all-time favorite movies!)

Congrats to the cast and crew of "The Hurt Locker" for showing our troops in a positive...if disarming bombs can be considered positive...light. Jeremy Renner did an amazing job with his character as well as Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty. You will remember Mackie from "We Are Marshall" where he solidified himself as an actor with the ability to pour himself into a character with ease. Geraghty was also in that movie but I remember him more from the film "Jarhead" where he did a great job as well. Rent and watch this movie...and then make sure to thank all teh men and women who wear the uniform around the world.

I just saw "Crazy Heart" and Jeff Bridges did a fine job as a broken musician who has lived each and every one of the country songs he ever wrote. Unfortunately, the old stereotype of country music folks being stupid, drunk, bumpkins continues in this movie but stereotypes are there for a reason...although it is changing. Being part of the country music industry for the last decade or so I would be very surprised if there are drunken binges the likes of which we saw on the screen in this movie. Maybe we saw a precursor of this character in his role as Jack Baker in "The Fabulous Baker Boys." Same sort of character, different music style. Either way he got the hot chick in both. I fell in love with Michelle Pfeiffer in that film; remember the red dress on the piano?

Always a fan of Collin Farrell too. His supporting role was very well done. Understated and exactly as big as it needed to be. The show stealer for me though was Maggie Gyllenhaal. Wow! Incredible performance equal to that of Jeff Bridges, imo. She is as smart an actress as I have seen and I expect to see her a lot more in the future. Not to mention she is smokin' hot too! BUT that is an afterthought. Watching her work emotionally through the film was shear pleasure.

The rest are trivial; Baldwin and Martin were fine although you could tell Baldwin was scared shitless; he had no idea what to do with his arms and they were always stiff. How/why are actors scared shitless on a stage? While many people watched this year, they don't watch to see who won "Fereign Language Film." They watch for the big 5 awards; Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. One could include Director in there but who really knows a director outside of Spielberg and Scorcese? So, make it an hour long televised event and make everyone in attendance sit through the BS categories from 7-9. Cut in live from 9-10 and get it over with already.