Oscars 2013

[jvcarroll]

Maybe he was too safe. The best bit was the lambasting of Flight as sock puppets. I agree he second guessed things and was a little too nervous, but when he's being that safe and people still call him tasteless... you know something's off. I give him a lot of credit for the opening skit. Especially for not doing the dreadfully tired "insert host into clips of movies from that year" joke. I mean, yeah... we get it. You can digitally insert someone into film with technological crap that was revolutionary in the 90's. Getting Shatner to play Kirk alone was a feat that was far more impressive. But that momentum. He just couldn't keep it up. Somehow after the Chris Brown joke bombed, he played it too safe the rest of the night.

But then again, last year had a great host, but the rest of the ceremony was flat and robotic. I HATE how apologetic the Oscars has become. This whole "we need to be low key and fast and almost ashamed of out big spectacular" bit that followed them around last decade... it's UNbecoming. As "unfunny" as Seth was, at least we got musical performances back. There was something nostalgic and bold about this ceremony.

However, there was one thing dreadfully missing. The presenters weren't that good. Except the Avengers, Streep, and the first lady that is. No Jack Black, No Will Ferrel, no Robin Williams. The only comedians were Rudd and McCarthy and they were a million times less funny than Seth was. And where was the Lifetime Achievement award? No one got it this year?



That's my thought too. The film should have had an extra year in gestation, and something tells me the outtakes made the movie better than it was. Still, I'm not too upset about it. Remember, Happy Feet won in 2006. And Shark Tale was nominated period. I liked Ratatouille, but there's no way it deserved it over Persepolis. And Surfs Up didn't even deserve to be in the running. They always have one WTHeck nominee in that category. Lord knows why. They do indeed need a better team for picking the Oscar for Animated film. Brave shouldn't be the catalyst for that complaint. Not a single Satashi Kon film ever got the nod. THAT is injustice.

Nothing about MacFarlane's performance was really funny. The sock puppets were okay. The we-saw-your-boobs song just didn't work. It's not funny without the cartoon characters to pull it off. I also have some political problems with how actresses are still treated. Their either sexpots or old ladies. There's very little in-between. Seth should have poked fun at the men instead. There's a wealth of politically incorrect things he could have done there. None of it was funny. How could he not have known?

Happy Feet was a travesty. That film and its sequel are garbage. I respect Persepolis very much. I saw it once and enjoyed it, but Ratatouille is a feast in every sense of the word. Brad Bird gets me every time. He deserved his Oscar. Like Brave, it was also a film that was rescued from an inadequate director. However, this time both directors failed the movie. I'm certain the behind the scenes story is more interesting than the film was.

I think people are finally noticing how irrelevant the Oscars really are. That makes me sad.

 

[Drtooth]

I think people are finally noticing how irrelevant the Oscars really are. That makes me sad.

Tell you the truth, I haven't respected them much for some time. I keep hearing about how Seth's performance was self indulgent. Oh yes, by all means, a ceremony that's Hollywood basically patting itself on the back for pretending to care about the holy moley good pathos fests they make so everyone forgets they keep greenlighting sequels of remakes of sequels to remakes. That's the LAST place we'd want to see self indulgence. The Oscars basically gives the film to the weepiest or most self indulgent arty fartsy film there is. If you make a film about a war torn nation, you're guaranteed an Oscar. And you double that if said war torn country is the side that's on the side of the bad guys but caught in the middle.

Sometimes a fun little quirky indie film gets a nod, but we have to completely eschew any fun or comedic movies. Seth and Hugh Jackman BOTH pointed that out when they hosted. If there's one thing I liked, it was that Seth continuously pointed out that, while Avengers was a popular movie that got great reviews and made a fortune, it didn't get any respect from the Bakadamy. The only Award it got nominated for it lost to a freaking CGI tiger. And Fish! That's bold to call them out on that.

I don't respect the Oscars because they're too stodgy and pretentious, and even though the love to say that everyone gets a billion dollar gift basket, they have to be all green and respectful and it gave us some of the most boring Oscars we've ever seen. If I'm a little defensive about Seth, his author appeal of musicals, forcing them to be put back in place into the ceremony kept me awake through the whole thing. Funny or unfunny, if you diss the musical numbers, you might as well have Galleger host the entire thing.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

They probably barely watch the movies. I don't think the panel of judges even watched the Avengers! Knowing the judges, they never award stuff like that! They probably awarded it becuase they like Life of Pi, and didn't even bother to actually award it on the category that they're giving out.

Again, I don't know if they even watched any of the nominated animated films, becuase I see no reason why they would enjoy BRAVE the most over all of the other fantastic movies that were nominated.
I really would've like it if anything else won that award, anything but BRAVE!
I really wanted Frankenweenie to have that award! It would've been perfect recognition to the movie and it would've got a lot more people to see it, ever since it lost to Hotel Transylvania. Frankenweenie should've won, and I'll be fighting this forever.

Grrrr.....

 

[Drtooth]

I really liked Frankenweenie, but it didn't get the usual Tim Burton fan following because it wasn't yet another Johnny Depp emo-fest, even though they did try to merchandise the movie to the emo types that ate up Alice in Wonderland. Heck, Frankenweenie was almost Tim Burton Classic. Paranorman was the most visually stunning of the films, and that animation was so smooth that you could scarcely tell it wasn't CGI. Of course, A Liar's Biography was also supposedly animated. That wasn't even nominated. But still, Happy Feet won an award, Satoshi Kon kept getting snubbed, Brave isn't the worst thing to get it.

Actually, I'm liking this Oscar Telecast more and more. We got musical numbers that didn't feature shadow acrobats or Cirque de So Lame. That's a winner in my book.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I really liked Frankenweenie, but it didn't get the usual Tim Burton fan following because it wasn't yet another Johnny Depp emo-fest, even though they did try to merchandise the movie to the emo types that ate up Alice in Wonderland.

I'm surprised. I would have thought that is being a Tim Burton movie alone would have gotten its fans...then again, maybe people only like him FOR Depp...Alice in Wonderland was marketed towards the fact he was in it, and yet his character really wasn't THAT big of a deal in the movie. I was expecting it to be like...The Mad Hatter story honestly. I was glad I was wrong with that I would think another problem with Frankenweenie was it was in black and white. What's more appealing to kids? Bright colors, or dull grayscale?

 

[jvcarroll]

I'm surprised. I would have thought that is being a Tim Burton movie alone would have gotten its fans...then again, maybe people only like him FOR Depp...Alice in Wonderland was marketed towards the fact he was in it, and yet his character really wasn't THAT big of a deal in the movie. I was expecting it to be like...The Mad Hatter story honestly. I was glad I was wrong with that I would think another problem with Frankenweenie was it was in black and white. What's more appealing to kids? Bright colors, or dull grayscale?

All the ads for Frankenweenie used green to break the monotony. Maybe a strategically-placed pop color here and there would have made it more appealing to kids. It was already in gimmicky 3D anyway. Still, the black and white didn't bother me. The fact that they really didn't develop the story for a full length movie did. As with all modern Burton fare, minimal story elements are only employed in order to set up a visual gag. I'm just not impressed with him anymore. I feel he's an artist with little left to say. He chooses to retrace old steps rather than claim new territory. And I will never forgive him for the notorious breakdancing Mad Hatter sequence! Never!

 

[Sgt Floyd]

All the ads for Frankenweenie used green to break the monotony. Maybe a strategically-placed pop color here and there would have made it more appealing to kids. It was already in gimmicky 3D anyway. Still, the black and white didn't bother me. The fact that they really didn't develop the story for a full length movie did.

I haven't seen it yet, so I can't comment on the story other than I find it hard to believe they could have expanded on it more than the 30 minute short...the Black and white doesn't bother me either, but from a kid's perspective, the black and white might not have been the best choice of color scheme.

As with all modern Burton fare, minimal story elements are only employed in order to set up a visual gag. I'm just not impressed with him anymore. I feel he's an artist with little left to say. He chooses to retrace old steps rather than claim new territory. And I will never forgive him for the notorious breakdancing Mad Hatter sequence! Never!

Urg...I was actually enjoying AiW somewhat (meaning I didn't want to jab needles in my eyes while watching it, if that says anything) but that part just....ugh is all I can say. My views on Tim Burton have changed A LOT. I used to think that I liked him. But looking back...the ONLY Tim Burton movie I ever liked was Sleepy Hollow, and even then it's more for the cheese factor and how Depp plays a completely inept moron.

Now, Henry Selick on the other hand is a MUCH better director. NBC, JatGP and Coraline were all great movies. Corpse Bride tried too hard to be NBC and failed at it. I can't tell you how many people I wanted to smack because they thought it was a sequel (and the only good thing about Corpse Bride was the Remains of the Day song...and Scraps was cute...)

 

[CensoredAlso]

Somehow after the Chris Brown joke bombed, he played it too safe the rest of the night.

I actually didn't mind that joke. It's better than keeping silent about Brown's behavior like many people in the media have.

 

[jvcarroll]

I haven't seen it yet, so I can't comment on the story other than I find it hard to believe they could have expanded on it more than the 30 minute short...the Black and white doesn't bother me either, but from a kid's perspective, the black and white might not have been the best choice of color scheme.



Urg...I was actually enjoying AiW somewhat (meaning I didn't want to jab needles in my eyes while watching it, if that says anything) but that part just....ugh is all I can say. My views on Tim Burton have changed A LOT. I used to think that I liked him. But looking back...the ONLY Tim Burton movie I ever liked was Sleepy Hollow, and even then it's more for the cheese factor and how Depp plays a completely inept moron.

Now, Henry Selick on the other hand is a MUCH better director. NBC, JatGP and Coraline were all great movies. Corpse Bride tried too hard to be NBC and failed at it. I can't tell you how many people I wanted to smack because they thought it was a sequel (and the only good thing about Corpse Bride was the Remains of the Day song...and Scraps was cute...)

I actually like a lot of the films Burton has directed. It’s rare for any director to have so many hits, but he has three times as many clunkers. Here’s my brief take on his directorial history… (ratings by smilies)

• Pee-wee's Big Adventure 1985 (Best Pee-Wee movie ever!)
• Beetlejuice 1988 (Burton at his imaginative best.)
• Batman 1989 (Loved it even though he didn’t follow the story as he should have.)
• Edward Scissorhands 1990 (Hands-down favorite Burton of all-time. Also quasi-autobiographical and I appreciate that. )
• Batman Returns 1992 (Still not quite comic book correct, but I liked the direction he took)
• Ed Wood 1994 (A gem in its own right!)
• Mars Attacks! 1996 (Some good moments, but the first example of thin storytelling and an ego run amok)
• Sleepy Hollow 1999 (Again, some good moments and it was enjoyable, but not his best work story-wise. It's hard to not enjoy its creepiness.)
• Planet of the Apes 2001 (We now know that a successful modern film can be done, but not Burton’s way. His lack of respect for source material is becoming clear.)
• Big Fish 2003 (An uneven but refreshing film that cleansed the palette of rotten apes.)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005 (He removed everything charming and lovable from the book and previous film and exaggerated the unsettling bits. Creative downward-spiral confirmed.)
• Corpse Bride 2005 (Beautiful, but with very little pulse. It was short enough to excuse most of that.)
• Sweeney Todd 2007 (Enjoyable and well made, but a bit overrated. Nonetheless, a perfect fit for Burton.)
• Alice in Wonderland 2010 (Beautiful sets and every one showed up to play except for Burton and his screenwriters. Fantastic visuals. Terrible adaptation.)
• Dark Shadows 2012 (An excellent set-up and an over-stuffed finale can’t make up for the 90 minutes of boredom in between. I love Depp, but he can only go so far when given nothing to do.)
• Frankenweenie 2012 (Should have remained a short subject or a half hour tv special. Very little was expanded from the source material. They had the ideas there, but never followed them.)

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Well, more power to you. I personally never understood the appeal of Edward Scissorhands. Beetlejuice, while I don't like it, I understand why people do. I will admit, I do like the songs in CatCF, and it's nice they were formed out of the original poems...that's a book that I've been meaning to read for a long time and just never got around to it.