Off Topic...but much more fun...

Although I am still not done with Bleak House—two hundred pages left, folks—this Sunday I will be taking a vacation from academia to observe one of my favorite nights of the year.

Sunday night brings us the overblown, oft irrelevant, but totally fascinating (at least for me) Oscar awards. This night is at once everything I love and hate about Hollywood—fashion, actors acting entitled (seriously, it is no one’s God given right to win an award), topical comedy, and arbitrary dance numbers (seriously, did anyone watch last year? They had dancing pimps.).

Once upon a time I saw every best picture and most of the other major category movies, sometimes before the nominations were even made. Now I live in Midland, where they will play Norbit on two screens, but have never even heard of Babel. However, one of my greatest (albeit totally useless) gifts is the ability to talk about movies in depth without having seen them. A few of them I have actually seen, others I have seen large portions of on the internet, and the rest I have read about. I also take into consideration awards show behavior up to the big night. That being said, here are my thoughts on some of the big categories.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls—This girl has won most every major award this season and has a fantastic “I was kicked off of idol” story to boost her. Her performance was vocally fantastic and she managed to snatch the movie from much bigger stars, some with the golden guy sitting at home already. Her big song definitely brings the house down, but I wish she better knew what to do with her body in the number. And she still isn’t Jennifer Holiday, who originated Effie on Broadway. But she’ll be so sweet on the podium.

Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine—Adorable, precocious, and not your typical child actor. Her triumphant scream following the fate changing answering machine message and her final dance number are fantastic and some of the most sincere moments in film this year. However, she is not Anna Paquin in The Piano and would need to be for a child performance to beat Hudson. Let’s hope for big things for her in the future.

Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal—I will start by saying I love Cate in anything, I think she was robbed by Gwenyth. And it is difficult for her to play a sympathetic character when she is essentially playing a pedophile. Kudos, but she won this award two years ago.

Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, Babel—I have not seen either of these ladies (although I will on Saturday), but in general movies with two nominations usually cancel each other out. I know Kikuchi plays a deaf teenager and it is impressive to give a strong performance with no words. Barraza, on the other hand, actually put her health in danger for her desert scenes. Now that’s commitment. But I think for both these ladies the nomination is honor enough.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls—Of the four acting categories, this is the one place there might be an upset. Murphy is definitely the frontrunner, having taken home the SAG and Globe awards. Prior to those awards I was pulling for Murphy because his turn as a James Brown-esq singer is really electric. However, during his acceptance speeches, he has an arrogance and act of entitlement that really puts me off. That coming from the man who made Pluto Nash is a little much. He will most likely win and I hope his speech makes me like him better than I do right now.

Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children—Playing another sympathetic pedophile, the former child star is the years big comeback story. And Oscar loves a comeback (Kim Basinger, LA Confidential), but not usually enough for the award (John Travolta, Pulp Fiction). Congrats on your nomination.

Mark Wahlberg, The Departed—As the only acting nomination in a film of fantastic performances, this is a big deal for the former Funky Bunch boy. That being said, his performance, while funny and crackling, is not the film’s best. Plus, all the Oscar love for this movie is going to two words: Martin Scorsese.

Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond—I thought this performance was good, but a little one note. Just not strong enough for me.

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine—I loved this performance. His drug abusing, stripper choreography generating, foul mouthed grandpa is just fantastic. The scene in the hotel where he tells his self-conscious granddaughter that he loves her not because she’s smart or talented, but because she is so beautiful is just wonderful. His character checks out early, which could count against him. But this could be a James Coburn, Jack Palance win—the award for a lifetime of amazing work. He is the most likely to upset and I hope he does.

BEST ACTOR:

Leonanrdo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond—Good performance in a so-so movie. He should have been nominated for The Departed. His work in that film is devastating and definitely the best of his career. Too bad. His year will come, but not this year.

Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland—He has won every award known to man for his role as the Uganda dictator. Sure, his role is more of a supporting role, but he is going to go the Anthony Hopkins route and win for playing a sociopath monster with limited screen time. He’s sweet in his speeches and humble, so congratulations to him.

Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson—His work as a junky inspirational teacher is good, but it’s just the beginning of his career. There are bigger and better things to come from him.

Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness—The most commercial work of the bunch and Smith’s least muggy performance to date. But it just doesn’t have the depth of Whitaker or the complexity of O’Tool.
Peter O’Tool, Venus—It is astounding to me that this member of the British All-Stars has never won an Oscar, despite seven nominations. His work in Venus is not the best in his career (I vote Lawrence of Arabia for that one), but he could upset Whitaker if the academy is feeling sentimental. Had he not won the honorary award a few years back, I think his chances would be stronger. Too bad—he gave a very charming speech.

BEST ACTRESS:

Kate Winslet, Little Children—Love her, love her work. But like DiCaprio, her year will come, just not this year.

Penelope Cruz, Volver—Didn’t see it, but generally I don’t think she’s that great of an actress. Perhaps she’s better in her own language. Doesn’t matter, it’s not her year.

Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal—Love her, love her work. It’s not her year.

Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada—She was verocious and delicious as Miranda Preistly, but comedies rarely win in this category (Diane Keaton is a rare exception), she has two already, and it’s just not her year.

These assessments may seem short, but there is a reason. Every other person in this category is superfluous. Because it is the year of ...
Helen Mirren, The Queen—There will be no upset, there will be no surprise. Mirren is a goddess and this movie is the best work of her life. She has won everything but the Kentucky Derby for her role as Elizabeth II and she will take home a much deserved Oscar. It is hard to play a real person, it is even harder to play a real person still living. She makes the dowdy Queen appealing, girlish and human and her speeches are charming. (She has actually used the phrase Ass over Tits!) Brava to her: this is her year.

BEST DIRECTOR:
I refuse to even name any of the other nominees because I refuse to accept anyone but the one, the only

MARTIN SCORSESE

The Departed is a fantastic film and he has been a bridesmaid too long. Rock on you NYU alum! Rock on.

BEST PICTURE:

This is actually one race that is up in the air. The Queen’s big win will be Mirren, so that is pretty much out. Letters from Iwo Jima has a few things against it: it’s in Japanese and Clint just won this category. Little Miss Sunshine might upset like it did at the SAG awards, but not likely. So the two big contenders:

BABEL—Won the Globe and a big cast with lots of messages. But some say it is too close to the director’s former work, 21 Grams. I am seeing this Saturday, so I will probably have a better idea then.

THE DEPARTED—Scrosese may get all the love for this picture, but I hope not. Babel would really have to rock me to surpass my feelings for this film. Great directing, amazing performances—this is my pick.

So those are my thoughts. I could be right, I could be very wrong. But one way or another, I’m going to be entertained.

The Bleak Trudge

It’s been a few weeks now and I have blanked out about updating this, mostly because of the work pile that came tumbling down my first weekend in Alpine. Emma and Joseph Andrews were discussed at length. I ended up talking too much because Dr. Hileman would ask questions only to be greeted with dead silence. At one point she had to say, “Will someone who is not Amber answer the question?” So I shut up.

I had my meeting with Dr. H about my prospectus and thesis. We decided on my thesis committee—Dr. Butler and Dr. Nelson in addition to Dr. H. Dr. Butler taught my creative writing class last spring and I have had Dr. Nelson twice before. I think they are both smart, good ladies who won’t totally trash me when it comes time for my defense. I was actually surprised to learn that for my actual thesis I don’t have to write a whole novel, only a portion of it. As for the actual prospectus, it won’t be too tough. About five pages of narrative, an outline, and a five to six page bibliography due by the middle of April. Not so much the butt-kicker as I expected.

For the next weekend, I have already finished Jane Eyre, which I really liked. I have some discussion questions that I am about a third of the way through. I’m also pushing my way through Dickens’ Bleak House. It has some funny sections, but, being Dickens there are about a million characters with interweaving storylines and two separate narrators. I have had to start writing down some of the characters because I just can’t keep track of all the lawyers and scribes and random folks wandering through the novel.

Aside from that I’m patching together a presentation on the Gothic novel. It is so great to be surprised when you study something you smugly thought you knew about. I keep losing my way in theory essays that go much deeper than is necessary. It reminds me how much I love learning and indicates that while it may be a while before I take up the mantle again, this masters won’t be the last stop on my educational journey.