91ST (Annual) Academy Awards Celebrated the Brightest and Best in Hollywood.
The 91st Academy Awards Ceremony was held last night and did not disappoint. We had some genuine surprises and yet each and every winner seemed to deserve their prize, with charm, joy and genuine talent / craft /graft, being celebrated.
And to think: People had written off the ceremony as outdated! Just imagine, the ratings had fallen. Can you believe that a few pundits were mad at Oscar for a few last minute schedule tweaks? This year: the Awards themselves were the true winners. Proving they CAN be conducted with class, refinement, fun and minimise the politics of guilt or faux celebrity friendship photo bombing excruciation.
Highlights?
- GREEN BOOK surprising EVERYONE with its Best Picture win. But this was a pleasant surprise. It’s nice to see that sometimes a universal expectation of one movie having to win can be upset (ROMA was a surefire winner; they settled for Best Director: so everyone ‘won’).
- Alfonso Cuarón was rewarded for Roma with his best Director prize. I still think his truly best work was Children of Men: a movie that just gets better and better with each watch. Roma will not age so gracefully imho.
- Olivia Colman won Best Actress for THE FAVOURITE. Her acceptance speech reminded one of why she is such a star. Genuinely thrilled to just BE there! Surprised by her own talent and victory. Adorable, funny and great to see her win the first of what might well end up being many awards as her career advances. Next up for Olivia is Netflix series 3 of THE CROWN. Middle era Elizabeth II. Can’t wait! I still love Sophie from Peep Show, best of all, though. 😉
- Rami Malek scored the Best Actor award for his turn as Freddie Mercury. I had anticipated Christian Bale winning, for VICE, given Bale’s physical transformation, as well as the movie’s political message and the Golden Globe win. But Malek is no surprise, either. He, too: had to transform, physically, aesthetically and inhabit the Freddie Mercury persona, whilst mastering musical moves. Bale already has an award or two and Malek is playing catch up on a career that seems to be just hitting its stride. Rami is an hard working, charming and talented chap. There are rumours of easy Bond villainy being his next gig; I say why not have him in the running for the next 007?
- Spike Lee won Best Screenplay for BLACK KLANSMAN. Is it too little, too late? No. An Oscar is an Oscar is an Oscar. I hope he appreciates that? But it’s fair to say that watching Green Book win as it did played a tad to Spike’s own notions of how Hollywood is happy to award movies that promote African American talent, provided that those are safe and feel good friendship trope vehicles, devoid of controversy. cf: Driving Miss Daisy. And Black Klansman, was, certainly, my favourite movie of 2018. But there you have it.
- I still think Mission:Impossible-Fallout should have grabbed a few technical gongs. And oh for a proper stuntwork award. Surely it’s time?
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS! FULL LIST HERE.
