10 Movies to See Before You Die

Was it just me, or did they give them all more time? Were they slightly more respectful this year than any year that’s come before because they didn’t screw up their own broadcast with mindless montages? Or maybe they’ve just figured out that the speeches are actually what this particular night is about: Connecting people at home, just like you and me, who feel completely ordinary, to our heroes and being reminded that we’re not all that different?

Highlights for me:

- The Man on Wire speech/crew: Happy, happy people and the only Oscar speech to ever include the balancing of an Oscar on someone’s chin. Dood. That rocked.

- Heath’s Family: I wasn’t sure who was going to do this, but I was very glad to see that – again – the director of the show gave them the time they needed to say what they wanted to say and celebrate their son and brother one last time.

- Dustin Lance Black: So incredible it’s getting it’s own post.

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After the Academy tried to kill me slowly with boredom induced by montages last year, I didn’t have any expectations. As in none. My best friend and I sat with a perfectly good activity to do to distract us should to Academy attempt mass-murder again. And then we started watched E!’s Oscar pre-show. Every time they showed a chat with a director or a chat with Hugh, the picture of how the evening was shaping up got clearer. We moved to the couch.

Taking a note from old black and white movies – generally referred to as ‘Old Hollywood’ – they created an atmosphere of simple elegance, class and style. Headed by one of Hollywood’s best showmen (something you’d never know if you weren’t looking) I think I might have to say this was the Oscars I enjoyed the most. Yep. Ever.

Everything from the sets, to the order of the awards mirroring the process of making a movie, to the appropriate use of montages and music, I must say I was more than a little surprised and impressed.

And now for the big one: The way they presented the acting awards. Now that was really something, wasn’t it? If you want to make each and every nominee feel like a winner, this is really how you do it. The words, ‘It was an honour just to be nominated,’ have never been more true than when you have your friends, colleagues and heroes stand up on a stage and tell you why your performance in that film was important in that year. It’s something they can never do again without looking like they’re trying to capitalize, but it was beautiful and I’m so glad I got to see it live. Er, well, with a 7 second delay.

Such a moving night in which I got almost everything I wanted (except for The Class winning Best Foreign Film) I really think the Academy has redeemed themselves. Bravo people, bravo.

There were only a few things that diminished the overall beauty of last night’s show and they are:

- Alan Arkin screwing up Phillips Seymour Hoffman’s name. God that was embarrassing for BOTH of them, non? Kind of enough to make you crawl over the back of the couch.

- Ben Stiller in the Cinematography award. What was up with that? He really took away from watching what was actually happening on the screen… you know, the actual nominees? Oh, right. Them.

- Ryan Seacrest. I know that he technically wasn’t part of the Oscars, and rarely do I comment on people as themselves, rather than just their work, but really. Dood, WHAT is WRONG with Ryan Seacrest!?!?!

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(In your head you have to sing the title out like Billy Crystal…)

I know there’s been some hate here over the last little while for the Oscars, and I AM genuinely disappointed in the nominations this year. I also really, really don’t care about the movies involved, nor who wins (although if Ben Button wins, I think there might be a riot). That said, however, this is – without question – my favorite day of the year. I wake up buzzing and work on the plans I’ve made for the evening. Oscar night is the only night of the year on which I do not care what I eat. My husband, who hates award shows, is getting ready to hook the XBox up to the computer monitor so that he can avoid the inevitable screaming, jumping, hollering, cursing and crying that comes with this particular broadcast.

This evening my best friend will be coming into the city to enjoy Hollywood’s biggest night on my 46″ LCD. We will hold our little Oscar ballots close and make fun of people’s outfits. I’ll be pointing out my favorite little spots to eat/shop on Hollywood Boulevard and I’ll be squee-ing every time I can see the Chinese. I really, really love LA.

I can honestly say that I have no idea what my fascination is with Oscar. I think it must be, simply, that when you’re a kid and you love movies as much as I do it’s the biggest night of the year. As you get older you realize it’s not true but it does still remain an evening of great spectacle, charged with emotions so palpable that you can feel them through the screen.

Last year’s Oscars sucked large, so here’s hoping that they’ve revived themselves with this whole ‘secrecy’ thing and will not attempt to kill 10 millions viewers slowly with endless montages.

Check out the ‘Honest Movie Titles’ posters below. Don’t lie. You were thinkin’ it.

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