The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held the 84th Academy Awards ceremony nine days ago. By now, the dust has settled, I should think, and it’s time for me to chime in with my two kopecks worth.
Between Hugo and The Artist, they took up a good bit of the time of the ceremony. This is not a bad thing, as I see it… Between Marty Scorsese and Michel Orthographically-Difficult, these were, in my opinion, the two strongest choices for Best Director and Best Picture. The fact that The Artist won is not a slur on Scorsese, in my opinion. In any other year, he’d have walked home with all the marbles.
Jean Dujardin for Best Actor? I can see it. The clips show someone who combines the looks of a Rudolph Valentino with the grace and charisma of a Douglas Fairbanks; nobody outdid him, I’d say.
Meryl’s got another one, Christopher Plummer’s finally got one, and Octavia Spencer broke us up (or down, if you prefer) with her speech.
Rob Legato winning for Visual FX is wonderful, especially since (as related in Creative Cow Magazine) he did a lot of those effects “old school”.
And finally, Billy… He’s back, and I, for one, hope he doesn’t go away again. Franco/Hathaway last year, and some of the other ones (except for Whoopi) were just excruciating.
(Eddie Murphy? Don’t make me laugh… not that he’s shown any inclination to, recently.)
Oh, well… back to it for next year, guys!
It Mostly Doesn't Suck... 