Oscar Wrap-Up

The 82nd Academy Awards proved to be a big night for the little movie that could. "The Hurt Locker," a gritty movie about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq, was nominated for nine Oscars and took home six, including Best Picture. The film's director, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to ever win an Oscar. If you were like me and supported this little film, it was a good night for the awards themselves. Mostly.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are talented actors, but their shtick grew tiresome in a hurry. Even their opening was trite and dull. I'm not sure how to solve this problem of who hosts the Oscars, but after last night I know for sure having two hosts just makes it worse. Maybe next year it should be hosted by Ben Stiller. He was the best presenter of the evening and seemed to be one of the few people having a good time.

And another thing: enough already with the interpretive dance numbers! Look, I respect dancers as athletes and the dancers last night themselves were fine. However, the dance numbers at the Oscars never make any sense. Really, when you saw "The Hurt Locker" were you thinking "gee, that's music I can really dance to?"

The "in memoriam" segment was curiously missing Farrah Fawcett. James Taylor's performance during the segment was decent, but something about that segment is always a little off to me.

While much of the scripted parts were dull and the telecast went on way too long, there were a few bright spots. Mo'Nique's acceptance speech for best supporting actress in "Precious" was honest and heartfelt. The same can be said of Jeff Bridges. The veteran actor and five-time Oscar nominee won for his performance in "Crazy Heart." He took time to thank his parents for getting him into such a "groovy profession." This statement should comes as no surprise. After all, he was "the Dude." As someone noted on The Huffington Post: "and the Dude abides."

For me the other highlight was Bigelow and all the wins for "The Hurt Locker" which proved you don't have to spend a ton of money to be a great film. All you need is a gripping story, great acting, and a camera. How ironic that it beat out the biggest box office hit of all time and against it's director's ex-husband no less. I actually was at the point Sunday where I would have been emotionally anguished had Bigelow not won. Thankfully she did.

I should also say this: I don't understand all the hate for "Avatar" as of late. Yes, the story has been done before, most notably in "Dances With Wolves." It was predictable yes, but it was very well done stylistically. Credit James Cameron for being a technological pioneer once again. And it should also be noted that even if you have all the technology in the world, it's a waste if no one is acting to go with the visual splendor/technology. Sam Worthing and Sigourney Weaver in particular deserve kudos.

Finally, it's not an Oscar ceremony without a fashion critique. Well, I'm no fashionista, but most of the dresses were dreadful, especially Zoe Saldana's. The only people that new how to dress were Meryly Streep, Kathryn Bigelow, and Mo'Nique. I don't break-down the men because they all wear basically the same thing. Bottom line: future attendees should go to the few actresses I mentioned, especially Streep who looked stunning in classic white.

That's it for my Oscar recap. Here's hoping more people will go out and rent "The Hurt Locker" and that next year's telecast is more lively.