The Oscars and I

This is the first year I watched the whole Oscars.  I didn’t watch it as a child because I was uninformed and uninterested.  Though I enjoyed it two years ago, I didn’t really care for it last year.  I had forgotten about it until near the end, and waited anxiously for it to be over.  I was busy, and people didn’t seem to be as excited either.  I just didn’t like many movies last year, and had only watched because I thought it was a rule or norm to do so.

I didn’t expect Lord of the Rings to win all 11 of its nominations.  This is good news, but there were categories I didn’t think it qualified for, especially Best Adapted Screenplay.  They deviated too much from the books to add violence and love scenes, exaggerate negative aspects, diminish positive ones, insult characters, and probably show off their creativity.  Too many important events were left out, and they didn’t do a good job with introductions or elapsed time.  Many people who didn’t read the books were confused.  However, I didn’t read the other books in the category so I can’t judge which movie deserved it.  Many modern movie producers just want to emphasize on violence, sex, and other improper things.

I was singing along with some of the singers.  I liked all the songs in the Best Original Song category, except for Belleville Rendez-vous in The Triplets of Belleville, which was too bangy.  I prefer the soft and smooth music, which are rare today.

It’s about time the Oscars accepted fantasy movies.  They have probably always wrongly regarded fantasy as “childish nonsense,” but finally changed their minds this year.  I feared them rewarding more on Lost in Translation and Mystic River, which were R-rated, with a lot of improper content.  I hate these two movies, and don’t think they deserve awards, but the Oscars seem to favor those kinds of movies.  For example, I hated Chicago last year and Moulin Rouge two years ago, and did not think they deserved their awards.  I found Mystic River scary: I don’t like movies involving murder.  Seabiscuit and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World kind of bored me, but I’m not into history or war though I agree that these two movies deserved awards and nominations.

I think Big Fish and The Last Samurai should have received more nominations and awards.  Cold Mountain won Best Supporting Actress, but I think it deserved more than that.  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl should also have won something, especially Johnny Depp as Best Actor in a Leading Role.  Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai should have been nominated for that category and been given the chance to compete with Depp.  Sean Astin in ROTK deserves to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.  The Last Samurai and Cold Mountain should have replaced Mystic River and Lost in Translation for Best Picture.  Both movies were rejected for being anti-war messages.  Well, anti-war is good, and they could be improved if the producers left out some of the graphic, violent, and love scenes.

I think they should have rewards… no, punishments… for the following categories: Nastiest, Most Improper, Worst Influence on Society, Most Off-Point, and Most Time-Wasting.  We have too many movies qualified for them, and it’s not worth our time and money.  Winners of these categories should be fined.