82nd Academy Awards- Finally!!!!!

Well, this wasn’t my best showing at picking the winners but I didn’t do too badly either- 16 out of 24! I have to say, I think this was one of the best years show wise we’ve seen in a while. So many highlights! So much genuine laughter! Great speeches! I took note of it all and texted back and forth with several friend’s the whole time. I’m including the best messages I received where applicable below. Enjoy!

The whole thing starts on the red carpet and wardrobe watching. This year’s carpet was a cluster fuck (pardon the language) with people coming and going in all directions. No one seemed to know where they were going or who they were supposed to talk to. I will say Ryan Seacrest did a good job on E! but what the heck was happening on ABC? Why were Sherri Shepherd and Kathy Ireland there? {text: “Listening to her is painful. She needs to go work on her Kmart designs”} Why was Ireland standing like a cracked out Barbie doll? Shepherd did have the best line from the red carpet. While interviewing George Clooney she said, “Get the ones that don’t understand English!” in response to his girlfriend not understanding a question. Burn! It was so awkward! Now for what’s really important- Fashion!
[side note: Ladies, please stand up straight. I’m looking at you Miley Cyrus and Zoe Saldana! Come on, if Maggie Gyllenhall can learn to do you so can you.]

Best Dressed (Wow! Kristen Stewart actually bathed!) {text: “SJP looks like she has a hot cross bun on her head”}

Worst Dressed {text: “It’s canoe with his face mold!” That’s Keanu for the uninitiated}

On the Fence {text: “That dress bored me to tears” on Kate Winslet}

• What an opening! Neil Patrick Harris. Dancers. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin descending from Glenda the Good Witch’s bubble. Jokes that were actually funny. Thank god! Can we hire Adam Shankman for next year’s show now? Best line: Martin: “Oh look! Damn Helen Mirren” Baldwin: “That’s DAME Helen Mirren”. Runner up: “…plays a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christophe!”

• When the nominations for supporting actor began I loved how this year they showed a montage of clips from the film and not just one small bit. I thought it really helped showcase the nominee’s talent and give more depth to why they were nominated.

• John Hughe’s special memoriam. I’d heard about this a few days ago and thought it was lovely, especially the shots of all the actor’s who had been in his films. Very classy and sweet.

• On a negative note, I’m tired of the way the “In Memoriam” segment is directed. I don’t give a frak about James Taylor. All I want to see is who died. Instead, we miss a few names staring at Taylor’s bald head and in wide shot of the stage. Every year! This is the one area I don’t want you to be artistic. Just show up the pictures. And, where was Farrah Fawcett? Was she one of the ones we missed while in close up of Taylor or was she simply forgotten? {text: “He is so cheesy. Wait, that’s insulting to cheese”- in reference to James Taylor}

• Maybe not a negative but certainly a “what the hell” moment: Acceptance speech for Documentary Short. Who was that wack-a-doo and why did she feel the need to shove her co-producer? {text: “She will never work in this town again! What is that guy wearing?”}

• I loved the banter between Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. while introducing the screenwriting award. I think that got a laugh from everyone in the audience (mostly for his real truth than it simply being funny).

• Another good quote, this one from Robin Williams: “The Governor’s Ball. Just one of the many balls being held all over Hollywood tonight”.

• I loved Sandy Powell’s dress! It’s so refreshing to see a Best Costume winner who looks like she has an idea what fashion is. They are usually such a disaster!

• TRIBUTE TO HORROR!!! I am officially submitting my petition for a Best Horror Movie category. They never get any love (not since “The Exorcist”!) However, couldn’t they have included a clip from one of Eli Roth’s movies? I mean, he was in the audience for pete’s sake and had a lot to do with revitalizing the genre.

• Another great speech: Michael Giacchino for Best Score. You are “not a waste of time”! Here here! PS- what am amazing dance performance! I heart you League of Extraordinary Dancers!

• I also loved that the Best Actor categories where presented like last year with past co-stars sharing thoughts and anecdotes about the nominees. Michele Pfeiffer’s was one of the highlights as was Peter Sarsgaard.

• Can anyone explain to me what Sean Penn was talking about? Politics in nominees? Or politics in how to introduce nominees? Huh? Please, if you know please comment below. Now I didn’t pick Sandra Bullock, mostly because I haven’t seen that movie and it looked like one step from the Lifetime Movie Network. I guess now I’ll have to see it. However, she gave a great speech. Could this be the first time someone has made so many homosexual references in their speech for a movie not about homosexuality? “My lover Meryl Streep”- Loved it! I also loved her message about and to her mother. Schön!

• Finally, it’s happened. The barrier has been broken. A woman won best director. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. I always hoped this would happen in my lifetime and am so pleased it happened to Kathryn Bigelow, a director I’ve admired for years. If I’m being nitpicky, her speech could have been better. It was just so generic. You would never know how revolutionary her win was. Take a note from Halle Berry (hell, even Mo’nique) and make a statement, give a couple shout outs! Oh well, I really don’t care. Her startled expression when she also won Best Picture was priceless!

• I win the side pool on end time of the show with an 11:05 guess. Everyone owes me a dollar!

Golden Globes, You Crack Me Up, or What I Did Last Night

Last night was the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. You know how excited I've been getting and last night did not disappoint! I got together with a bunch of ladies, including shine and gofahne , to watch the show, stuff our faces, and drink ourselves silly. The spread was definitely cheese heavy (never a complaint mind you). I made two kinds of crostini- one with pepper goat cheese, tomato, and arugula; the other with regular goat cheese, Provencal turkey, arugula, and a honey balsamic vinaigrette. They were scrumptious if I may say so myself. I wish I could take soul credit for their creation, but that really goes here and here .

How did my predictions go? Ok, I'd say- 13 out of 25. My highlights:

* Ricky Gervais. Most of the blogs and entertainment sites slammed him, but we thought he was funny. I loved that he shilled his own DVD's, kept drinking beer from the podium (which lead to his best joke/introduction: "I enjoy a drink as much as the next guy... unless the next guy is Mel Gibson"), and shameless lambaste of any and every celebrity. That being said, did the Globes benefit from having a host this year? I don't think so.

* Robert Downey Jr's "all me" acceptance speech. I've always wanted someone to get up there, thank no one but themselves, and get off the stage. We got that, kinda, with Downey's funny speech. A definite YouTube moment.

* Mo'nique's speech. Not the god part (though someone did point out she was the only one who thanked god. Finally!), but the part at the end about speaking out about abuse and violence. "It's now time to tell, and it's okay". A lovely sentiment for anyone out there dealing with similar situations as in the movie "Precious".

* "The Hangover" wins best comedy. It never occurred to me to pick it- I thought there was no way in hell a raucous "frat-boy" movie would win. Wow! What a game changer. This opens the door for other "R" rated comedies to be recognized for the entertainment they provide.

* Can someone please shut James Cameron up? I'm still pissed he won Best Director (shouldn't he have just gotten a science & technology award? We're really praising the tech, the 3D, not his directing style. This should have gone to Tarrantino or Bigelow (it's about time a woman won, and if any were more poised to do so, it's her). Also, GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPIE! I know you've got the money to head to Supercuts. You look ridiculous.

* Outfits- i.e. The Horror. I was surprised at how few train wrecks there were this year. Little misses here and there (I'm not even going to talk about Cher and Christina Aguilara's "clothes").

* Martin Scorsese's Acceptance Speech. All the haters need to quiet down! I loved his speech. It's nice to hear a little reverence for the past, especially the man for which the award was named (Cecil B. DeMille). Surely there are hundred's of people out there for whom a history lesson is needed. I know several of the people I watched with learned something from the speech. For those in the know, what do you expect from him? He is film. This would be like asking Quentin Tarrantino to not reference movies when he speaks. Impossible!

* On the TV front, I couldn't believe "Glee" won, though I'm also not surprised. Best actor/actress drama was also a surprise. Julianna Margulies really deserved some recognition, who would have thought she'd get it with fellow nominees like Glenn Close, Anna Paquin, and Kyra Sedgwick? Michael C. Hall finally won for "Dexter"- it seemed like a lost cause and another surprise!

The best part, of course, was talking with friends about movies and TV- a dream come true for me! I'm not sure how it was suggested, but we are now starting a movie club- all the films you MUST see (the real classics, the ones that influenced filmmakers and entertainment of today, the ones most referenced, etc). I'm going to get started on my list. I anticipate it taking longer than expected. Suggestions?