7-List: More surprises at the Oscars
By Marcus Whalbring, Entertainment Editor
Daniel Day Lewis won best actor, “Once” got best original song and “Juno” took home best original screenplay. When the Oscars finally premier near the end of February, there are a few moments, like these, that make us say, “Well duh!” But every year they manage to shock use somehow. Whether they give a lot of attention to one particular film, don’t give credit where credit is due or we just learn something new about them, the academy still manages to make us trip over our teeth when our chins drop to the floor.
7. Miley Cyrus. As if it wasn’t enough that they invited her to the Oscars. They actually let her present one of the nominees for best original song. She’s a pretty talented girl for her age, and she is clearly gaining popularity with kids around the world, but I’m not sure she belonged in this venue. Other than a three-dimensional film debut based on her television show, she has nothing to do with movies. So what was she doing there?
6. “Ratatouille.” A lot of people have told me how much they liked “Persepolis,” and it was getting really good reviews, not to mention Oscar buzz. So I was surprised to see that “Ratatouille” won for best animated full-length. I liked “Ratatouille” a lot, and it deserves all the recognition it gets. I just didn’t think it was going to take home the statue.
5. Michael Bay is a member? Even though the writers are back, the awards show had a small, boring segment about how the nominees and winners are chosen. It even featured some commentary by a few members of the Academy. I was appalled to see that Michael Bay was among those few. If I ever want to talk to someone about how to make a good film, I’m not talking to Bay. He knows how to make a successful film at the box office, but I’m not sure he knows a lot beyond visual effects. Even “South Park” said so.
4. “The Golden Compass.” As I said, Michael Bay knows about visual effects. So I figured “Transformers” would take the category. However, the Academy gave it to “The Golden Compass,” a film that did little more than stir up controversy among the Christian audience. “Transformers” kept me from blinking for two hours while I was in the theater, and I have no idea how they made so many little parts come together to make the giant robots. On the other hand, I may have a biased opinion. I am a member of the generation that was raised on the cartoon.
3. “The Bourne Ultimatum.” I haven’t seen this film yet, but I have seen the other two, and they were both awesome. I’m sure this one is too, but the other two films didn’t get any recognition for sound effects, sound mixing or film editing, and this one did. I would say the sound and editing seem to be about the same as the other two, so why is Jason Bourne getting recognition this year? By the way, that’s three Oscars for “Ultimatum.” That’s two more than “Atonement,” but more on that later.
2. Cate Blanchett loses in the supporting actress category. I really expected her take this one home. It’s not often that a girl plays a man with such believability. And she captured Bob Dylan in a way that was just beyond incredible. And she lost to Tilda Swinton for “Michael Clayton.” I did not see that one coming at all.
1. “Atonement” gets robbed. It got best original score, and that’s all—just one Oscar. People were saying it was the best film of the year, but it lost to “No Country for Old Men,” a great film. But was it really better? The Academy really seems to have a thing for movies that feature people getting their brains blown out. I guess they’re trying to “atone” for the fact that they gave 11 Oscars to a bad film over 10 years ago. Well, guess what. We’ve forgiven you, okay? You can go back to liking romances again.
