Oscars 2012

OK! Fifth of Seagram's Seven: check. Half-rack of Red Hook ESB (cold): check. Salad bar from Central Market (best in the city): check. Large sausage and onion from A-Pizza Mart: hot and fresh (just made it back). 

Best Picture - ARGO

Best Director - Steven Spielberg

Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis 

Best Actress:  Jennifer Lawrence

Best Supporting Actor - Robert DeNiro

Best Supporting Actress - Sally Field 

The man-cave is manned--let the bachelornalia begin.  I won't be blogging live, but will post everything once it's all over--

5:02pm  Apparently, the ceremony starts at 5:30pm this year.  Fine by me, but I was ready for a 5:00pm kick-off.

5:26pm  I absolutely revile the red carpet.  The anticipation of the ceremony itself is bad enough, but having to listen to all this drivel and pandering—looks like I have to go through purgatory to get to paradise—

5:52pm  Christ, Seth McFarlane can be both classy and puerile in the same moment.  The intro with William Shatner kept skirting the line between offensive and self-indulgent and some kind of tribute to filmmaking and Hollywood notables.  He strikes me as egocentric, despite being self-deprecating.

But Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting?!  I was pulling for DeNiro, but I’m perfectly happy for Waltz.  That’s two-for-two, Waltz nominations and win for being in a Tarantino movie.  Also, his acceptance speech had a few cool in-jokes.

6:10pm  Best Animated Short Subject to PAPERBOY, and Best Animated Feature to BRAVE.  Didn’t see either.

Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects to LIFE OF PI?  Fucking excellent!  Both very well-deserved.  Also, my first (two) correct predictions for the evening.

6:25pm  Best Costume to ANNA KARENINA?  Didn’t see that coming—but then again, didn’t see it.  Would’ve thought it’d go to LES MISERABLES, given the production value.  So no surprise that it picked up Best Makeup.

The James Bond tribute is less than thrilling.

6:36pm  Best Live Action Short Film to CURFEW, Best Documentary Short goes to goes to INOCENTE.  Then Best Documentary to SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN.  Didn’t see any of them.  But:  what’s up with the orchestra, when they want to play someone off, they use the theme from JAWS?  They’ve done that twice now.  (Though, the speech for Best Visual Effects guy certainly deserved to be played off.)

6:52pm  Michael Haneke wins Best Foreign Language Film for AMOUR.  No surprise there.

6:58pm  A tribute to the musicals of the last decade?!  Celebrating CHICAGO, DREAMGIRLS, and LES MISERABLES?  I have to say, this is turning out to be a year of non-events.  This in addition to Seth McFarlane’s hit-and-miss hosting.

Though, I’ll admit, the LES MISERABLES number really worked.  I still don’t think it’ll fare much better throughout the night. 

7:17pm  A tie for Best Sound Editing?!  That’s unprecedented, or so I believe.  So ZERO DARK THIRTY picks up its first award of the night.  And SKYFALL?  I know nothing about.

Best Sound Mixing to LES MISERABLES?  I can see that.

7:24pm  Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress for LES MISERABLES?  I guess I can see that, too.

7:34pm  Best Editing for ARGO.  Yes, absolutely.  Hadn’t realized that the same guy, William Goldenberg, was also up for ZERO DARK THIRTY in the same category, and I would’ve applauded that as a win, too.

8:02pm  A moving In Memoriam tribute.  Raise my glass to Charles Durning, Ernest Borgnine, and Marvin Hamlisch.  Excellent rendition of “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand.

8:17pm  Adele wins Best Original Song for SKYFALL.  Don’t know what to make of that—other than the fact that the Bond tribute earlier was totally not worth it.

8:29pm  Best Adapted Screenplay for ARGO!  Wonderful!  Tarantino for Best Original Screenplay!!  Yes!!  My favorite win of the night!!

8:38pm  Jesus Christ!!  Best Director goes to Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI!!  I don’t think this much changes the odds for Best Picture going to ARGO, but I would’ve thought it’d go to LINCOLN, so this certainly changes the outlook.

9:03pm  Best Actress to Jennifer Lawrence, and Best Actor to Daniel Day-Lewis?
Well, yes, I predicted it, but still a great moment.

9:05pm Best Picture to ARGO!!  Sure, that wasn’t a hard one to call, but it’s still great to see that one win.

Well there you are, a fairly good shakeout for the year, and a could’ve-been-worse Oscar ceremony.  Still say Seth McFarlane was a decent choice to host, and he did the job justice, but there were a lot of low points.  Still better than some previous hosts I could name--