The Big Night...

 
In less than an hour I will be at my parents, sitting on a love-seat, eating Domnio's pizza and awaiting the start of the 84th Academy Awards.

As I have mentioned in past posts, it's not a terribly exciting year for films. It happens. I didn't manage to get out to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or War Horse. I kept dragging my feet and when I tried to fit them in yesterday and today found they were playing at inconvenient times.

Here are my thoughts on the other nominees:

Moneyball - I liked this one, although I will admit I was a little thrown by the unconventional structure (despite my constant criticism of the cliched formula). It's one I need to rent and watch again. The idea is a great one - a unlikely hero follows his instincts, employs an unlikelier sidekick and changes the way the baseball business is conducted. Future filmmakers could do well to pay attention.

The Descendants - Saw this on Thanksgiving night. After the credits rolled, I wasn't sure what I felt about the show, but found I could not shake it the whole week. Clooney is so very good in this. Despite his otherwise intimidating handsomeness, he manages to pull off the "regular guy with a conscious". Beau Bridges, in a tiny part as Clooney's aging hippie cousin, adds a nice complexity. I would actually love to see this one take home the big prize.

That being said, I will have to say the Midnight in Paris was probably my favorite, pure movie-going experience. I feel about this film I think the way others feel about the Artist (which I did care for at all, see yesterday's post...) Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's best since Annie Hall. Owen Wilson manages to pull off the Allen "character" in a charming way, a major feat as far as I'm concerned. Adrian Brody's ten minutes as Salvador Dali alone is worth the price of admission (and this acting among a crowd of equally fine actors playing Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein). I just found the whole thing to be a delight. If it had even half a chance I'd root for it, but it will remain in my heart.

But, as has been proved in the past few years of media saturated coverage, the bald guy is likely to go to the favorite - this year being the Artist.

But I'm not above some hope....