Oscars 2012

Steve West | February 27, 2012
Now that I can make no further changes to my picks, I'd be interested to know which categories people struggled with most. I had the hardest time with Costume, Documentary, and even Adapted Screenplay. Good luck everyone!

Chris Lemler | February 27, 2012
I struggle with the best actor good luck everyone

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2012
I was out for the evening, but I'm home now and tabulating scores during the second half of the show.

Original Screenplay was the hard one for me. Midnight in Paris is very popular. But Woody Allen almost never wins. He's the Meryl Streep of screenwriting Oscars. I think The Artist will take it instead, but I predicted Allen for statistical reasons (trying to win the contest). I guess we'll find out in a few minutes.

Steve West | February 27, 2012
Thanks for updating everything. This is a big part of the evening for me.

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2012
I'm not watching the broadcast. How's Billy Crystal?

Steve West | February 27, 2012
Kinda subdued compared to years past but it's pretty obvious that he's still in love with himself. Altogether not too bad compared to recent hosts.

Steve West | February 27, 2012
Cirque du Soleil had a lengthy sketch in which people were flying around and being flipped by feet and such that made me wonder what the hell does this have to do with making films. Some of it was pretty cool, though.

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2012
Woody Allen AND Meryl Streep? What a year.

Steve West | February 27, 2012
And Christopher Plummer and a silent movie - although those were not shockers like the earlier combination but they were a little unusual in and of themselves.

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2012
Nice final tally on points there, Steve. Mike also had a great year. But Josh has triumphed again. He is really good at this. :-)

Erik Bates | February 27, 2012
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Samir Mehta | February 27, 2012
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Erik Bates | February 27, 2012
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Steve Dunn | February 27, 2012
I did not love Midnight in Paris, but I thought it was OK.

I loved Match Point. Come to think of it, I'd like to see that again...

Samir Mehta | February 27, 2012
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Scott Hardie | February 29, 2012
As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about a specific time period, the meaning of Midnight in Paris hits home for me. I haven't seen it yet, but knowing what it's about doesn't deter me from wanting to see it soon.

Match Point was great.

Matthew Preston | March 4, 2012
My wife and I watched Midnight in Paris last night, and had mixed reviews (MINOR SPOILERS).

I was completely entranced by it. Loved the premise and related to the romance of the idea of throwing caution to the wind and following your heart. I also loved the journey Gil takes as he discovers himself and realizes he isn't alone in his passions of times past. This deserves the Oscar for original screenplay, because Woody Allen actually made me care about Owen Wilson. To do so however, it took the creation of 4+ other (pardon the crude expression, but it's what I thought at the time) thunder-cunts of supporting characters.

Liz didn't dislike it, but she also didn't enjoy it. She was extremely annoyed by Owen Wilson's mannerisms and constant inane chatter. The character of Gil Pender could have just as easily been Val Waxman from Hollywood Ending. Owen Wilson does a pretty darn good Woody Allen impression throughout the film, but brings his own panache. The first 15 or so minutes are hard to sit through, mostly because of the slow pace and extreme negativity. But by the end of the film, I felt good and sat and reflected on what I had just taken in.

Scott Hardie | March 7, 2012
Was Midnight in Paris a comedy? I thought it was more of a drama, from the descriptions that I read online. As Erik and Samir know already from reading the AV Club, Midnight in Paris was nominated for comedy awards today. But then, so was The Artist, so maybe their definition of comedy is a tad liberal.

Samir Mehta | March 7, 2012
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Scott Hardie | March 11, 2012
Albert Brooks has made some great comedies too.