Tonight is the Night!

The Academy Awards are considered one of the most coveted award shows in the world. However every year, I am left with disappointment and heartbreak after watching the Oscars. I believe it all started in 1998, when I watched my parents fuming over the decision for the best picture to go to Shakespeare in Love instead of Saving Private Ryan. In all fairness, I was too young to see either film. But, being in a household of two history teachers, not recognizing Spielberg’s film as best picture was sacrilege. Monday mornings after the Academy Awards are always accompanied with a fuzzy head and a heavy heart. I believe the awards are too political. It’s all about who looks better as a winner than who actually deserves the award. 

In recent years the Academy has suffered from a decline of viewers. The show is not as flamboyant and colorful as its counterpart the Golden Globes. The Oscars are perceived as stiff and outdated. In an attempt to attract a younger audience the show brought on Anne Hathaway and James Franco as hosts- this was an epic fail. Anne Hathaway was too much and James Franco was unenthusiastic and possibly high? OK probably not high, I saw an interview with him about Pineapple Express in which he said he never smoked weed before in his life. But who would really admit to that anyways….

After all this negativity- will I watch the show? The answer is YES. Despite the almost definite heartbreak when my favorite movie won’t win best picture, I always look forward to tonight.  I get caught up in the glamour, the women in elegant gowns and the dashing Hollywood men. I also get excited to hear the acceptance speeches (even if they’re not from my nominee choice). So why do I put myself through this torture only to inevitably end with Monday morning depression? Hope- there is always the chance that the Academy makes the right decision. Nevertheless, I am sure come Monday I will post a rant about The Artisit not winning best picture- but, hey, you never know.

Oh yeah- another reason why I am excited about tonight- Billy Crystal is back!

Here is a link for the nominees.

Who do you want to win?

Man’s Best Friend

Earlier this week I finally saw the film The Artist. Let me first warn you that I will be using this film as the basis for several upcoming posts because this was definitely my favorite movie this year. It was refreshingly simple, magically uplifting and delightfully sincere. The two main actors, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, were charming! I think it is so courageous and daring that Michel Hazanavicius decided to make a silent movie in this day and age. While I was obsessed with the love story centered in the movie, this post is about an actor of a different kind- Uggie.

    

Actually, Uggie is the name of the real dog, in the movie his character doesn’t have a name they just refer to him as The Dog. Uggie was close to steal the movie and a couple times he definitely stole some scenes. Uggie was well trained, disciplined, smart and above all loyal. I think when applied correctly, a dog co-star can sometimes be the best element to a movie. Dogs can be that little extra something, like the whip cream on top of a pie, to make the movie just a bit sweeter. I am a dog-owner, and love pretty much all dogs so this is would explain my enthusiasm for dog sidekicks. Uggie is perfect in this movie because, like the actors, he cannot talk and Hazanavicius was smart to incorporate him. Oh yeah, and Uggie does save the day a couple times in the movie. 

I started to think about other films I have seen that starred a doggie sidekick. Some of my favorites are: Petey from Little Rascals, Toto from The Wizard of Oz, Bruiser from Legally Blonde, Beethoven from Beethoven, Chance and Shadow from Homeward Bound and finally one of my utmost favorite- Asta from The Thin Man Series.

Additionally- here is a link to Top 10 Dog Film Stars of All Time- that includes some other films/dogs I have not seen but obviously have heard of and I do believe need to be mentioned.

Dance, Dance, Dance

One night, last week I needed a comfort movie- for me that would involve a predictable, innocent love story from the old Hollywood and probably entail some singing and dancing. I wanted something delightful and light. I realized I had never seen a Fred Astaire movie all the way through and so it was settled. I watched Royal Wedding (1951) starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell. Astaire and Powell play brother sister with a dance act who moves their show to London during for the royal wedding. Obviously, they each meet a special someone and as reluctant as they are to settling down they change their ways.

My favorite part of the movie would be the famous scene when Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling. I thought it was great fun and quite a remarkable feat for cinema in the 1950s. I was extremely curious about how they constructed the set. Basically they had the room inside a wheel, the wheel would rotate rather quickly about 90 degrees just as Astaire was jumping onto the wall for example. The camera would be attached to the set so it really did look like he was upside down and dancing on the ceiling. It is a technique of creating zero gravity.

Click here for the video 

This technique has been used again in several other movies, like in Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film, Inception. The film Royal Wedding was an absolute treat and quenched my thirst for a classic romantic Hollywood film.