Why I Was Disappointed by the Oscars

My Oscar night consisted of some wine,
Eleni's Oscar cupcakes and school work.

If we look back at 2010 and see the movies nominated for best film, it’s hard to find any movies that really stood out and made movie history. Yes, there were good movies nominated last year, but let’s be honest, competition was slim.

Over this past year, I feel as if the movie industry had a one-eighty; most of the ten nominated films were actually very strong movies, regardless of their political standing towards the academy. With such a strong year for movies, I can only say that the culminating moment of Hollywood missed a great opportunity to celebrate such a strong year. Let’s look at Oscar nights step by step.

The Red Carpet

Photos via IMDB and Getty Images

ABC has been home to the Academy Awards ever since I can remember (and they’ve just announced their new agreement until 2020) yet their red carpet reporters lacked personality, charm and interest. The whole transmission was scarcely saved by Tim Gunn’s excitement on the runway. Now, let’s be honest, we all watch the red carpet for the fashion. This was not a year of fashion (the highlights are extremely brief). Natalie Portman should have taken a cue from Catherine Zeta Jones’ 2003 dress – she knows hot to show off a pregnancy on the red carpet. Overall the women’s fashion was nothing new, daring or exciting. No worst dressed, no great dresses, just extremely bland for most of the night. And where were all those celebrities we actually care about? Yes, many of the strong A-List crowd had nothing to do there, but their presence at the Oscars is what makes us watch this event. Publicist, next year, make your clients dress up and walk down the carpet.

The Ceremony

Photos via IMDB and Getty Images

So yes, this year’s ceremony was not anywhere as good as other years. First of all, the overall production was disappointing. The past two years the Academy used David Rockwell’s exquisite refined set. This year’s montage of Hollywood history was borderline tacky. The potpourri mismatch of sets did not align with the elegance of what the award show is (from everything from the color palette to the closing set of The Wizard of Oz’s Emerald City).

The choice of hosts never worried me, or well, Anne Hathaway never worried me. I feel her charming personality, talent and youthful nature were a good fit for a host. She may not be a comedienne, but with the right lines, she could have been just wonderful. James Franco, on the other hand, is a bizarre creature, even for Hollywood standards. Hathaway worked as best as she could, I feel, while Franco seemed bored, uninterested, and well, high. The writing for the overall show was quite disappointing. Why didn’t they give Hathaway a strong musical number? We all know she could do it? Why didn’t Franco show his humor seen in his movies like Pineapple Express? There was no engagement with the audience, making the ceremony lack any emotion.

Some of the strong highlights where the original song presentations, and the acceptance speeches of people like Aaron Sorkin, Melissa Leo and Colin Firth and Celine Dion's Smile. Helen Mirren and Russell Brand’s introduction to best foreign film was quite entertaining and Hathaway’s monologue on Hugh Jackman’s lack of participation during the ceremony was also enjoyable. The auto tuned musical sequence was entertaining yet somewhat out of place. A strong musical number, with true Hollywood glamour and magic would have been ideal. The closing number by the PS 22 choir was beautifully done, but having seen their other songs on YouTube, I have to say, it was just a sweet song and lacked power.

The Winners

Photos via IMDB and Getty Images

By the time the Oscars roll around, the winners are no surprise. The King’s Speech was the picture of the year with Colin Firth taking the best actor nod as well as Tom Hooper for his directing. Both Melissa Leo and Christian Bale took the awards for supporting acting in The Fighter. Naturally, the music and adapted screenplay went to The Social Network, and if Toy Story 3 wouldn’t have won for best animated feature, this may have been the last time I watch this award ceremony.

Now there’s many who are disappointed on The Social Network’s loss, but I am one of those who stood behind The King’s Speech since the day I saw it. Yes, it’s easy to say that the movie won because it’s a period piece, with delicate, beautiful costumes and addresses royalty. Yes, the Academy loves that. But there is more to The King’s Speech than just that.

All this season we’ve heard how The Social Network is the movie that defines this generation. But what does it really define: the greed our young generation seeks to achieve, the inability to establish true inter-personal relationships, the digital era we live in? Yes, this movie is extremely relevant, but is relevancy the definition of the best picture? Through out the movie, it’s hard to like most of the characters, or to relate to them. It’s an intriguing movie but in the end, could the viewers relate to it?

The King’s Speech on the other hand is a movie where the audience can relate. Colin Firth’s King George VI has a problem to overcome, a problem that allows us to relate in our own personal way. We can all relate to that challenge, a challenge we are fearful of and we can get through it by true perseverance and the support of those closest to us. Today, in this economy, in this state of world affairs, we also look up to our leaders, and we want to be able to stand behind them. So in the end, I feel that this move can be just as relevant as The Social Network and the time period it is set in, is not what defines the movie. Yes, the Academy loves a good period piece, and so do I, but honestly, The King Speech is more than just another period piece.

I think that in the end we can all acknowledge a great year in movies, and I wish that the academy had produced a ceremony that reflected this year’s achievements.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Oscar Night

The Oscars is my favorite non-official holiday! I'll be back with thoughts on the the ceremony later tonight!

Who's Your Cupid?

Sometimes I feel like doing this

Invisible Man, Jeff Wall, 1999-2000
Based on Ralph Waldo Ellison's Invisble Man

Sometimes I feel like just hibernating from the rest of the world, even if my greatest fear in life is complete loneliness. There's something about this image that attracts me to it. But I must say, if this ever become me, I'd keep my place much tidier. For real.

Since it is Valentine's Day and All

Since it is Valentine's Day and all, might as well listen to the most appropriate mash up of love songs ever.

Grammy's Night

As I watched the Grammys tonight (for the first time in my life) I had a lot to say. I tweeted some of it, I shared some of it with a friend on IM. He thought I was pretty funny, so I thought I'd share.

Movie Review: A Disappointing Swan

Natalie Portman in Darren Arnofsky's 2010 Black Swan.

So I’m a little delayed on this review, so here it goes.

A little over two weeks ago I went to see Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, and I must say, I was disappointed with the movie. Don’t get me wrong it was a very good movie, but somehow I expected a lot more from it.

The acting was overall well executed; Natalie Portman was stunning and executed the role of Nina beautifully. However, the script should have shown us more of the black swan. There was too much focus of the fearful timid Nina. The audience needed to see more of the transformation, more of the black swan. I mean, isn’t that what excites the audience? I wish the character of Vincent Cassel, the company’s director had more time and greater part in the story. His character, although strong, lacked depth, and I wanted to see more of him. He is an excellent actor who was not used to its full potential. If he would have seduced Nina, it would have fallen under a cliché, but I still wanted it, the writing should have played and developed this. I wanted to see how Nina reacted; I wanted to see her get caught in the moment turning into the black swan as the white swan fights back. The scenes with Mila Kunis were amongst the strongest and most interesting. She played a strong contrasting character in contrast to Portman’s white swan.

Overall, the movie barely pushed boundaries. The much heard word of mouth disappointed me. The weakness lies within the story. We saw too much of Nina’s white swan, and after some time, it’s just tiring. Why would the writers tell us the story of Swan Lake? Through out the movie, we can see how this is a contemporary version of the famous ballet. Why do I need someone to hold my hand and guide me through something that the movie is already showing me, it’s the writers doubting the audience’s ability to make the connection (wait, is the voice of my roommate?). I feel cheated by the writers.

One of my greatest problems with this movie was the music, especially at the beginning. From the beginning I was tense, fearful and stressed. But I couldn’t understand why? Why was I stressed over a young ballerina who lacked confidence? I should have felt curious, I should have wanted to cheer her on, but all I could feel was an inexplicable stress. As the movie progresses that feeling should have grown, there was a reason for it, but from the beginning it was unnecessary.

The cinematography was beautiful, perhaps the strongest element in the movie. It balanced elements of art movies, a psychological thriller and the Oscar favorite elements of drama. Lastly, the ballet was stunning. Benjamin Millepied’s chorography was exquisite through out the entire movie. I don’t know if it’s the innovative chorography that the company’s director kept promising to his contributors, but it is with out a doubt choreography that engaged me and exalted feelings one seeks in a ballet performance.

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A note on the MPAA: This fall there was quite the drama over Blue Valentine NC-17 rating for having a sex scene that went beyond an R rating. Surprisingly so, this kind of sex scene was also feature between two woman and more explicitly in Black Swan. But no one uttered a word regarding this scene. Is a balding Ryan Gossling trying to make love to his wife (played by Michelle Williams) far more explicit than two beautiful women in a passionate scene?

February is Library Lover's Month?

Seattle Public Library, Seattle
OMA + LMN

Biblioteca José Vasconcelos, Mexico City
Taller de Arquitectura X

Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, Rio de Janiero
Rafael de Silva e Castro

Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New Heaven, Connecticut
SOM

A friend of mine sent me a link. I'm studying architecture, she is studying library sciences. If we'd work together, we'd make babies like these. It's disappointing that out of these photos, the one photo I don't like is the library in Mexico city. It looks like one of those libraries we designed in our second year studio class: it looks great in a model, not so much once built and it's probably a librarian's nightmare. To me the collaboration between OMA + LMN in Seattle is perfection. Having studied this library a few years ago, I feel this project captures what society needs today. A library is not only a storage for books. It should interact with the community and promote education. The Bineke library to me is one of the best buildings ever designed by SOM. It's elegant, sober and simply beautiful. Yale is one lucky school. As for the 19th century library in Rio, well, if I'd have a castle, I'd want a library just like that. It's like the real version of the library Belle gets in Beauty and the Beast. Anyone who reads would dream of such library.

Speaking of reading, I need to do that more. I rarely give myself the time to do so. I just picked up a new book and hope to finish it by the end of the month. Review to come soon. Time calls it the "novel of the decade." We shall see.