The time to give out naked golden statues to writers, directors, and actors of the outstanding films of the past year has finally arrived. And much to everyone's surprise, Tom Hooper's The King's Speech bagged the award for Best Picture. It's quite unexpected but this particular film is as potent as it is passive. It might look boring to some eyes, but its strength greatly stands on brilliant acting. And what an ensemble to make up this film with the triumvirate of Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham-Carter.
The King's Speech is an autobiographical account of King George VII (who struggles with a speech disorder brought by trauma he acquired from childhood) and his relationship with his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. With the support of his wife, the king braves the paramount responsibility of leading his country that sits at the dawn of World War II. The King's Speech garnered a
95% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
I stayed up all night watching the Red Carpet coverage till the end of the main ceremony. It was too darn long, but watching an Oscar awards night has always been fun. It's my goal to watch all nominated films (I failed as usual) and it's thrilling to know who gets what. By the way, what are your thoughts about this years Oscars? Well for me, it's really entertaining in general except for the hosts maybe. I love James Franco's performance in 127 Hours but he sucks at hosting (the drag costume was pathetic), and Anne Hathaway didn't help either. If it weren't for the comical presenters (The old man with a cane was epic!), the night would've been dull.
The opening of the night was really entertaining as it featured a video clip presented mostly in an Inception parody. I was laughing my ass off watching this clip. Best Oscar opening ever!
The event also showcased auto-tuned scenes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Eclipse. My favorite was Tiny Ball of Light by Ron and Hermione, and He Doesn't Own A Shirt by Bella, Edward, and Jacob. :P
One aspect of the Oscars I always look forward to is the stage, and I am pretty impressed with what they've done this year. I'm not sure if they used tons of LCD screens but I think they opted to use 3D projectors like the ones in this year's Grammys. It's visually stimulating and elegant. I liked the way they included tribute to iconic movies in the presentation process. I got excited when I saw a significantly enlarged Heart of the Ocean gracefully sinking down the sea with the Titanic theme in the background. The Lord of the Rings tribute was simply arresting especially with Cate Blanchett presenting the award.
Here is the complete list winners.
THE KINGS SPEECH
Best Picture
Best Actor - Colin Firth. I was silently hoping that Jesse Eisenberg would win, but it's a long shot, especially if against a veteran and brilliant actor like Colin Firth.
Best Director - Tom Hooper. I was rooting for Darren Aronofsky. But what the hell! I love this film too.
Best Original Screenplay - David Seidler. Chris Nolan should've won this award. His story is the most original and way out of the box. No. Nolan doesn't have a box.
INCEPTION
Best Cinematography - Wally Pfister
Best Visual Effects - Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley & Peter Bebb
Best Sound Mixing - Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo & Ed Novick
Best Sound Editing - Richard King
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin
Best Original Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. What happened to Hans Zimmer people?!
Best Film Editing - Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter
THE FIGHTER
I am discouraged to watch this because of the boxing thing. But I think I should see this.
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale
TOY STORY 3
Best Animated Feature Film. Very well deserved. I was fighting off tears watching this. I think it's the most moving animated film I've seen. The melancholic aspect of this movie is reminiscent to that of Up (2009). Great job, Pixar!
Best Original Song - We Belong Together - Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman. This was a very surprising outcome. I was almost sure that 'I See The Light' from Tangled would win. Anyway, I was looking forward to see Chuck sing and he didn't disappoint. He's a really good singer but I'm not digging the hairstyle though. He looks weird without his curly hair. Actually, the hair reminded me of Simon! Another highlight of the event for me, was when Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, performed 'I Will Rise' from 127 Hours, instead of Dido. Her song 'Cosmic Love' made her a breakthrough artist and I just love her eccentric personality and haunting voice. She should hang out with Imogen Heap. :P
ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
I hate this movie. Helena Bonham-Cater is the main reason why I decided to watch this movie. Off with his head!!! Haha!
Best Art Direction - Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O'Hara (Set Decoration)
Best Costume Design - Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN
Best Actress - Natalie Portman. An obvious winner, but I am quite surprised that this film only won a single award.
THE WOLFMAN
Best Makeup - Rick Baker & Dave Elsey. Poor, Harry Potter. The end has come yet still no Oscar for you.
IN A BETTER WORLD (Denmark)
Best Foreign Language Film. I was rooting for Biutiful. But I'd like to see this one.
INSIDE JOB
Best Documentary Feature. Too bad Banksy didn't win. I was hoping that if he did, he would accept the award personally, sleeked-up with his mask and all. Hehe. I guess Inside Job is more controversial and impactful.
GOD OF LOVE.
I love shorts, because they're short. Downside is, they're very hard to find.
Best Short Film (Live Action) - Luke Matheny.
STRANGERS NO MORE
Best Documentary (Short Subject)
THE LOST THING
Best Short Film (Animated) - Shaun Tan & Andrew Ruhemann
Truly, it was another great year in film. I'm really hoping for better films this 2011 especially with Norwegian Wood, Restless, and Deathly Hallows, Part 2 in line :)
