waltz with oscar

(reposting with a few very fabulous additions. so read on.)

hohum.

an oscar without meryl streep is like reading haruki murakami without the talking cat or the two moons. it's just plain boring. yawn!

don't get me wrong. i luv the oscars, especially the red carpet moment when hollywood stars, for once, feel so vulnerable showing off their best outfits for the night because some, if not, most of them end up being criticised, derided, laughed at, ridiculed even by non fashion experts like moi all over the world. of course, the fabulous ones are also the lucky ones because their gorgeous performance at the red carpet could translate into more endorsements and invitations to appear on the front rows of the most exclusive fashion events and in the case of some really lucky ones, the privilege to wear the most sought after and often pricey clothes even before or right after they appear on the runway.

%%%%%

but the absence of meryl streep as a best actress nominee is really a big disappointment. although she will appear to announce and hand out the trophy to this year's best actor winner after she won best actress last year in the margaret thatcher role (iron lady), she will be terribly missed.
i bet even the best actress winner would rather have won it with her royal highness meryl streep as one of the contenders. it will be a very sweet victory, a priceless moment, to receive the trophy knowing that you beat the one and only living great actress of all time. (yes, obviously i am a big meryl streep fan. i always feel depressed every time she loses that i end up horribly drunk. in fact, i think i even feel worse than meryl. hahaha!)

do you remember when gwyneth paltrow (i love her, but i was then rooting for cate blanchett who played queen elizabeth to win) when she won for shakespeare in love and briefly thanked meryl streep in her acceptance speech?  that became one of the hottest topics right after the show. here is the clip of that very precious moment. check out ms. streep's reaction at the mention of her name at 1:50, which was worthy of another academy nomination.

to refresh your slowly fading memory, meryl was nominated for her role as a dying cancer patient for one true thing alongside gwyneth, cate as the title role in elizabeth, spanish actress fernanda montenegro who was equally outstanding in central station and emily watson for hilary and jackie <i did not see this film. even until now>. in my book cate was the most deserving to win, followed by fernanda montenegro, then meryl streep and gwyneth paltrow. as i've said, i cannot judge emily watson's performance because i have not seen the movie in which she was nominated. but she was really good in her other movies notably in the heartbreaking, tear inducing angela's ashes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

even this year's best picture nominees look drab. steven spielberg, overrated in my book (i nearly committed suicide after watching his previous oscar nominated film war horse), is at it again. don't you just hate it that almost all of his "serious" movies are always begging for an oscar - the story, cinematography, musical score (especially), theme, actors, ridiculous!

a musical? i never like musicals, even on broadway. call me what  you want, a culture savant for one, but i prefer watching movies where actors talk, shout, cry and not burst into a song. so les miserables is not my cup of tea.

what about life of pi? ang lee's bold attempt to further expand his repertoire. it's outre in my book (i did not read the book either). i admire ang lee. i luv his previous obras - the wedding banquet (a huge favourite), eat, drink man, woman, the ice storm (about a crumbling family), crouching tiger, hidden dragon, sense and sensibility, brokeback mountain and the political thriller lust, caution. even his little seen taking woodstock. but life of pi? i would rather enjoy buko pie. chos.

then there's a romantic comedy (i repeat, a romantic comedy. why?!), a ben affleck film (i never like him as an actor (ham) and even as a director (boring), so...), a western by quintin tarantino (his movies are fun, but as an oscar contender. for f's sake), etc.

the only ones worth watching are amour and beasts of the southern wild. ok, i might try kathryn bigelow's (whose previous oscar win was a big bore. i can't even remember it's title. i walked out of the theatre after a few minutes due to boredom) zero dark thirty only because i simply adore jessica chastain. no, i luv her.

%%%%%%

for the top honours, i am rooting for the following:

best picture - beasts of the southern wild. or amour.

best actress - jessica chastain. or emmanuel riva.

best actor    - daniel day lewis.

best director - michael haneke. or behn zeitlin.

best supporting actress - anne hathaway. or sally field.

best supporting actor - alan arkin.

********

of course i will still watch the show, meryl streep or not. i always do.  i luv the riotous pageant that precedes the formal ceremonies or what's usually known as the red carpet. i hope michael cinco dresses up any of these goddesses: gwyneth paltrow, cate blanchett, jessica chastain and/or anne hathaway.

that's all!!