Dan Hudak's Reviews, Rants And Other Things Hollywood
Here’s what I learned at this year’s Academy Awards:
1) Steve Martin doesn’t need a co-host; 2) Kristen Stewart is awkward no matter where she goes; and 3) and you don’t need a huge box office take to win Best Picture – “The Hurt Locker” has only made $14.7 million in the U.S., and $21.3 million worldwide, which is by far the least for any Best Picture winner.
Below is my reaction to this year’s roughly 3 ½ hour show, which was almost entirely without surprises.
All times Eastern.
8:30 – Well this is a different beginning. As if we don’t know who these people are already. Carey Mulligan’s short hair does her no favors—she looks like a teenage boy. Was there a purpose to this?
8:32 – Love the Neil Patrick Harris opening. Great surprise. And listen to the lyrics—good writing too. He’s so talented—would like to see him stretch in a feature movie role. Why isn’t he hosting tonight?
8:36 – So far so good with opening monologue. Their banter is charming and amusing. And true—Streep has lost 13 times. I guess you can’t have all the good records.
8:38 – Martin — “Born a poor black child” — a reference to his film “The Jerk,” which is hilarious.
8:39 – Martin and Baldwin do look a bit awkward up there together, but the material is funny. Is Jack Nicholson not there to poke fun at? He usually is, front and center.
8:40 – Could’ve done more with “Avatar” FX.
8:45 – Why are the clips from the movies so long? Get in, get out, and move on with the show. I thought the show was supposed to be shorter this year?
8:48 – Clips for supporting actor nominees just ended. Are you kidding me? It took four minutes to tell us who’s nominated!
8:48 – No surprise here. Even Matt Damon said on Letterman on Friday that he “doesn’t have a chance in hell” to win. This is the Best Supporting Actor coronation for Christoph Waltz, who absolutely deserved to win for “Inglourious Basterds.” He spoke four languages, and made us like a hateful Nazi. And he should’ve won three minutes ago.
8:50 – Ryan Reynolds appears. Women everywhere swoon. I must admit, he is handsome. Problem: He had nothing to do with “The Blind Side.” Odd.
8:56 – What’s all the background noise behind Carell and Diaz? And was the script really originally meant for Jude Law? I like the way they’re doing the animated nominees – very original. And how can you not love Dug the Dog?
8:58 – Why bother with the repeat mention of the Best Animated Film nominees?
8:59 – “Up” wins, no surprise. Pixar continues to rule the animated world. Dug the Dog will be eternally happy.
9:00 – Martin is very funny. Perhaps he would’ve been better off on his own?
9:01 – Thank goodness we’re being spared performances of the original songs. It grinds the show to a halt every year. And is it me, or does every Randy Newman song sound the same?
9:04 – No surprise with “The Weary Kind” winning. It’s a running joke that Newman doesn’t win but always gets nominated. Wish my name was T-Bone.
9:05 – Just looked it up. Newman has one win (for “Monster’s Inc.”) in 19 nominations. Even Streep’s track record isn’t that bad.
9:06 – Seeing Chris Pine reminds me “Star Trek” should’ve been a Best Picture nominee.
9:16 – Great banter with Downey Jr. and Fey. Mark Boal’s win for his “Hurt Locker” script shows how much the Academy likes the movie, and makes it more likely to win Best Picture. And doesn’t Boal look like Jason Reitman?
Why didn’t Tarantino win? He already has a screenplay Oscar for “Pulp Fiction,” and let’s be honest: Clever as it is, characters do ramble at times.
9:17 – Molly Ringwald is still alive? Wow, bad joke as they’re doing a John Hughes tribute.
9:21 – Did you recognize Downey Jr. and Alec Baldwin in the Hughes tribute?
9:22 – The Brat Pack and then some on stage. They all sadly look old, which makes us feel old. Wish some of them still had a career.
9:23 – Samuel L. Jackson introduces “Up.” The other animated film to be nominated for Best Picture besides “Up”? “Beauty and the Beast” (1991)
9:30 – Short film background. Nobody cares. Most people haven’t heard of these directors, and nobody’s seen these films. Just give out the short film awards that the mass audience doesn’t care about and get on with it.
9:32 – Mild upset that Nick Park of “Wallace and Gromit” fame didn’t win Animated Short. If you’re in an Oscar Pool, you just lost points.
9:35 – Credit to the producers to get all the short film stuff done at once. Still: Yawn.
9:38 – Ben Stiller arrives as a Na’vi. He’s still not funny. Seriously, I don’t think he’s funny at all, and the movies of his that I like I don’t like because of him. They’re good in spite of him.
9:44 – Glad to see “Star Trek” win Best Makeup. At least it got something.
9:50 – Wow! I had no doubt Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner would win for “Up In The Air.” Sincere congratulations to Geoffrey Fletcher from “Precious” for winning Adapted Screenplay. He’s certainly worthy, as Gabby Sidibe and Mo’Nique had to have something good to say for their performances to be as good as they were. Why didn’t Reitman and Turner win? It seems the momentum for “Up In The Air” came and went in December, and has failed to regain steam. It was still a great script, and Reitman (after “Juno”) will get his eventually.
9:52 – Queen Latifah has lost weight – good for her!
9:55 – From the wife: “Lauren Bacall is now the age Humphrey Bogart was when he married her.”
9:56 – Supporting Actress nominees being announced. Clips are still too long.
9:59 – Mo’Nique wins Best Supporting Actress for “Precious,” and gets a standing ovation. A standing “O,” really? I mean, she was great, GREAT. Not sure if she warrants a standing “O,” though. Who’s Hattie McDaniel? The first African-American to win Best Supporting Actress, for “Gone With The Wind” in 1939. Liked her speech. Short and to the point.
10:07 – “Avatar” wins Best Production Design. Deservedly so, even if most of it was created inside a computer. There were some live sets, don’t forget. This is likely the first of many technical awards for the film.
10:09 – Appropriate to have fashion designer Tom Ford give out Costume Design award. Why is Sarah Jessica Parker’s hair so frizzy? It’s called Frizz-ease! “The Young Victoria” wins, as period pieces often do in this category.
10:18 – Nice hotel room “horror” a la “Paranormal Activity.” Funny bit.
10:20 – Good tribute to horror. Montage very nicely done, put to the tune of classic horror themes. Did you recognize Baldwin in the “Beetlejuice” clip, and Martin with black hair from “Little Shop of Horrors?”
10:23 – Glad Morgan Freeman is explaining the difference between sound editing and mixing. Easy for this to be confusing. “The Hurt Locker” wins Sound Editing & Sound Mixing, appropriately.
10:29 – Good to see John Travolta making an appearance. Haven’t seen much of him in public since his son died last year.
10:35 – Steve Martin gives hilarious introduction to Sandra Bullock. He really doesn’t need Alec Baldwin.
10: 36 – Mauro Fiore from “Avatar” wins Best Cinematography. Another technical award for the blue monster.
10:38 – “In Memoriam” is always depressing. But as usual, nicely done, except for the technical glitch in the beginning in not being able to see the first few people (though of course we could recognize Patrick Swayze).
10:46 – Why does Sam Worthington look terrible? Would it have killed him to shave? Cool stuff – different, creative and original – to have the dancers accompany the Original Score nominees. Very impressive.
10:50 – Just thought of this: You know what’s funny? The word “orifice.”
10:52 – “Up” wins Original Score. It now has a better shot at winning Best Picture than my choice for the big award, “Up In The Air.” Nice, inspiring speech from winner Michael Giacchino here.
10:55 – “Avatar” wins another technical award, for visual effects. And appropriately so, as it’s the most visually impressive movie I’ve ever seen in my life.
11:04 – “The Cove” wins Best Documentary. Polemic documentaries that strike an emotional cord are really tough to beat.
11:08 – Best Film Editing goes to “The Hurt Locker,” deservedly so. That movie was so tense and suspenseful it literally had me on edge for two hours. Expertly, perfectly done.
11:15 – Why is Tarantino such a slob? Button your coat, tie your tie, comb your hair, and try not to make it seem like you’ve been drinking all night.
11:17 – “The Secret In Their Eyes” wins Best Foreign Language Film. I haven’t seen it, so I will not comment. For South Florida readers, director Juan Jose Campanella is expected to bring his Oscar to the Miami Int’l Film Festival when the film screens on Saturday, March 13.
11:24 – Interesting: Friends of the Best Actor nominees are introducing the leading men. Lengthy, but these are big stars, so it’s a smart move.
11:33 – No surprise to see Jeff Bridges win Best Actor for “Crazy Heart.” A long career, five nominations and a great performance. And he sings. Good for him. But this should be said: All five of these performances were great. Truly great. It was just Bridges’ time, and fair enough.
11:45 – Touching tribute from Oprah to Gabby Sidibe.
11:48 – I have no idea what Sean Penn just said. Happiness for Best Actress Sandra Bullock! It’s the role of her career, and she nailed it. I thought Streep had a good shot, but Bullock was too well liked to not pull through. Good for her, because she really did give a great performance. But did she forget to thank her husband?
11:55 – History is made! Kathryn Bigelow very deservedly wins Best Director for “The Hurt Locker.” It truly is a masterwork in editing, tension, pacing and perfection in the presentation of a cinematic story. Cameron didn’t win because the story of “Avatar” was painfully predictable, and there’s more to directing than visual marvel.
11:59 – “The Hurt Locker” wins its 6th award of the night with Best Picture. It’s a worthy winner – too bad so few people have seen it. Hopefully now it will get the audience it deserves. And if you think it’s a leftist-Hollywood political agenda movie, it’s not. There is no political point of view.
All times Eastern.
8:02 – Penelope Cruz once again bats it outta the park. Does this woman ever have a bad 
dress day? Vera Farmiga’s dress is AMAZING but she still looks waaay older than her mid-30’s.
8:03 – Lookin’ good Jake, lookin’ good. But Prince of Persia still sounds like total crap.
8:04 – George Clooney is officially old. But I still love him.
8:05 – I officially heart Sandra Bullock. Stunning – best I’ve ever seen her look.
Jay Leno returned to the "Tonight Show" Monday night, and it felt like he never left. But that's not exactly a compliment. The "Wizard of Oz" opening was funny, as was most of the monologue, but his search for a new desk was dumb and Jamie Foxx completely hammed it up. Nice to see Lindsey Vonn, though. And I thought bandleader Kevin Eubanks was leaving? He looked pretty comfortable, and did a nice job offering the same fake laughs he always has.
I've always thought David Letterman and Conan O'Brien were funnier, largely because their immature senses of humor so nicely coincide with mine. With all due respect to Leno's career, I still think the show rightfully belongs to Conan. Hopefully Conan will resurface this fall and be better than ever, though I daresay he should leave Andy Richter behind. Just bring back the Masturbating Bear and all will be right with the world.
Is it worth watching? Yes!
This year’s Academy Awards, which airs Sunday, March 7, at 8 p.m., is supposed to be shorter than in recent years, but will anyone be watching? In a word, yes. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are hosting, and box office titan “Avatar” has nine nominations, meaning fans of the $700 million-grossing film are likely to tune-in. But will it win the big prize? Read on to find out.
There’s no better place to start than Best Director. I did not see a more tense nor harrowing 
movie this year than “The Hurt Locker,” and a victory for Kathryn Bigelow would make her the first woman in history to win this award. Mind you, only four have ever been nominated. In Bigelow’s way is her ex-husband James Cameron, who previously won the award for “Titanic.” His “Avatar” is visually superior, but keep in mind there’s more to directing than visual splendor, and this will be where Cameron falls short. Also nominated is Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds,” Jason Reitman for “Up In The Air,” and Lee Daniels for “Precious.” Bigelow should win and will win.
All four acting categories have clear favorites, but the two lead categories are 
closer than many think. The tightest race is Best Actress, as it pits Meryl Streep’s pinpoint interpretation of Julia Child in “Julie & Julia” against Sandra Bullock’s sassy southern dame in “The Blind Side.” Bullock’s performance in this simple, sweet story is the highlight of her career. But Streep, who’s now been nominated 16 times, hasn’t won an Oscar since 1982, and she’s due. Also nominated are Helen Mirren for “The Last Station,” Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious” and Carey Mulligan for “An Education.” Bullock should win, but Streep will win.
For Best Actor, Jeff Bridges earned his fifth nomination for “Crazy Heart,” in which he plays a burnt out country singer who starts a relationship with a young journalist. It always helps older actors when they do something distinctly different, as Bridges does here as a singer. His biggest competition is Jeremy Renner from “The Hurt Locker,” whose contained craziness was the perfect backbone to the drama. Other nominees are Colin Firth for “A Single Man,” George Clooney for “Up In The Air” and Morgan Freeman for “Invictus.” Bridges should win and he will win.
The Best Supporting Actor race comes down to Christoph Waltz from “Inglourious Basterds” and four also-rans. Waltz’s performance as a Nazi colonel nicknamed “the Jew hunter” is equally charming and frightening, particularly because he’s so nice about being so evil. The unofficial rankings behind Waltz, who both should win and will win, are: Woody Harrelson from “The Messenger” second, Stanley Tucci from “The Lovely Bones” third, Matt Damon from “Invictus” fourth and Christopher Plummer from “The Last Station” fifth.
Similarly, there’s little doubt Mo’Nique will win Best Supporting Actress for her demented turn as a welfare mother in “Precious.” She’s lazy, abusive and reckless, and yet evokes an element of sympathy. Also nominated are Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga from “Up In The Air,” Maggie Gyllenhaal from “Crazy Heart” and last year’s winner in this category, Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”), for “Nine.” Mo’Nique, who before this was best known as a comedian, should win and will win.
In other races of interest, “Up” will win Best Animated Feature, “The Cove” will win Best Documentary, and “Avatar” will be the runaway winner for Visual Effects. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner will win Best Adapted Screenplay for “Up In The Air,” while Quentin Tarantino, in a mild upset over “The Hurt Locker’s” Mark Boal, will take home the Original Screenplay Oscar for “Inglourious Basterds.”
Although there are ten Best Picture nominees this year – a wise move by the Academy to increase viewership and interest – the race still comes down to three: “The Hurt Locker” is a movie very few people have seen – it has less than $13 million in total box office – but it is expertly acted and directed. “Avatar” is a grand filmmaking accomplishment, but a weak script and predictable story will leave it a few votes short. “Up In The Air” was the early frontrunner but has recently faded. Still, there’s something very timely in a story about a jetsetter who fires people for a living coming to terms with his life, and the performances are top notch, as three acting nominations proves. Because of this, “Up In The Air” both should win and will win Best Picture.
Is it worth $10? No
With visual effects as advanced as they are today, making a cool werewolf movie is incredibly difficult. Simply put, we’ve seen all this before, and we’ve seen it with animals/monsters that are more badass and intimidating than a werewolf. And so the challenge is to bring originality and intrigue to the story, but there’s nothing interesting about “The Wolfman,” which is dark and gloomy and sad.
Read my full review here.
Is it worth $10? No
Huge cast. Huge expectations. Huge disappointment. “Valentine’s Day” is a Hallmark movie for a Hallmark holiday, made for the sole purpose of capitalizing on one weekend’s box office receipts. The star power is considerable, but this disappointing, sappy movie about a corporate-created holiday is as heartfelt as giving plastic flowers to a loved one.
Read my full review here.
