lirazel | I care about this far more than I should

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I care about this far more than I should

THINGS have been happening in my life lately. I'll probably post a rambly entry later about this. But first!

I shouldn't watch the Oscars. I never watch the Emmys because I care about TV so much and the right people never win, and it's better for me to avoid impotent rage, which is all TV awards shows stir in me.

I don't get quite so worked up about the Oscars, but still: I always end up yelling at the screen. Always. Usually with lots of people around, though I don't know if the party my friends and I had planned tonight will fall through (long story). Regardless of where I am, though, I'll be glued to the television, even though I shouldn't.

And I'm getting this party started already.

Things that have pissed me off already:
1. One nomination for Bright Star. And it's in costume design. And it won't win (though it probably should).
2. Inglourious Basterds has no chance at winning best picture. If it loses to The Hurt Locker, I will be okay with this. If it loses to Avatar (which is my spoiler pick--I think HL is going to win, but if anything else does, it'll be Avatar), I'm going to be PISSED.
3. Sandra Bullock is probably going to win for The Blind Side, and if she doesn't it'll be Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia. The former annoys me because there's no way her performance was really the best performance by a female actress this year. The second annoys me because I am sick and tired of the Academy giving away any acting award to someone who can do a reasonable imitation of another famous person. It's getting ooooooold. Besides, I've never been that taken with Meryl Streep. I find her technically perfect but emotionally uninvolving. I always feel at a distance from her, like I'm watching MERYL STREEP. I realize that I'm the only one who feels this way, but it's still true.
4. I haven't seen any of the foreign films this year. I don't know anything about any of them. *sob*
5. Does anybody think the main actors category nominations this year are weak? I mean, I love Morgan Freeman, but Invictus is not his best work (again: imitation!), and what is it with Hollywood's hard-on for George Clooney? He's so smarmy! He always plays himself! Firth and Renner probably deserve it (haven't seen their films yet), but both Streep and Bullock seem like like they only got onto the ticket based on their names, and possibly even Mirren, too. The supporting actor categories are always more interesting, but seriously? Penelope Cruz for Nine? Riiiight. Matt Damon is wonderful in general (not to mention attractive) but he definitely didn't deserve a nomination. At least Waltz and Mo'Nique will win their categories.

Things that are actually good:
1. Kathryn Bigelow will probably win best director. This is epic news. I haven't seen Hurt Locker yet, but I do not even care. A woman. Winning best director. For an action film. WIN.
2. Christoph Waltz is totally going to win best supporting actor. YAY!
3. Up! will win best animated picture. Which it deserves based on this alone:

Okay, I totally just cried again.

Anyway! Does anyone else have feelings about the whole Oscar thing? Am I the only one who gets way too into this?

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Things? Do tell.

I've seen exactly two of the nominated films. I thought Up was pleasant (and their married life at the beginning charms me to no end) but the worldbuilding was... Jossian. It all felt fairly incoherent. I mean: semi-sapient giant birds? AND talking dogs? AND flying houses? AND dirigibles? It was a bit much.

And Avatar was not nearly as much fun as it should have been, considering. No way does it deserve best picture - and I say this not even having seen hardly any movies last year - and it really, really doesn't deserve best original score. I specifically noticed while watching it how totally lackluster and uninspired the score was.

(Oh, and I saw HP6 last year - was it nommed for anything? This keeping in mind that I hadn't seen the other five movies, or finished any of the books...)

*uses brand-new icon loaded for just such topics as this*

Ugh. Mostly they involve my grandmother's Alzheimer's getting really, really bad all of a sudden and this leading to lots of decisions my family's going to have to make. Plus, me deciding that I absolutely have to start looking for another job or something, and me meeting with one of my former professors and starting to brainstorm about life. I'll go into greater detail later (and if I don't, I'll email you).

I totally agree about the world building. Totally. But Pixar films, in my opinion, have such heart, such warmth, and such affection for their characters and their audience. I rarely see that in movies. So that, plus the absolute perfection of that montage scene (if Inglourious Basterds hadn't come out this year, I would say it was the most sustained, perfect scene this year), makes me smile.

No way does it deserve best picture - and I say this not even having seen hardly any movies last year I know this is true.

I specifically noticed while watching it how totally lackluster and uninspired the score was. I think Up! will probably win for score. We'll see if I'm right.

HP never gets nominated for anything in America. So...nope. No noms.

Awesomely appropriate icon!

THE UP SCORE IS BEAUTIFUL. MICHAEL GIACCHINO CAN DO NO WRONG.

WOOOOORD.

Ugh. I'm so sorry about your grandmother, and I wish you the best with the life planning.

I think it's not so much that Up was a bad movie, but that I found it a subpar Pixar movie. Generally, Pixar movies have one central conceit that the whole world builds from, and this one just didn't. So the heart was all still there in spades, but the surroundings were less thrilling than usual.

Thanks. I think things will work out, but I've sort of resigned myself to the idea that the next few years are going to be the suckiest ones in my life. I make up for this by thinking that after the bad part is over that I'm going to have an absolutely awesome life. I just have to get there.

I actually totally agree with your thoughts there. 100%.

It was really pretty, though!

Awww, that scene got me all teary eyed. In the beginning I was like, "Awwwww, this is so sweet" and then I was like, "Awwwww, that is so sad. I WANT THEM TO GO ON THAT TRIP TOGETHER"

I still need to watch this movie. Like now.

It made me sob. And then I sobbed towards the end. I sobbed multiple times.

Watch and weep at perfection!

NO I AM TOTALLY EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED IN THIS TOO AND, AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, I WILL CUT A BITCH IF AVATAR SWEEPS THIS.

Also oh my god I finally saw Up the other week, I think Carl/Ellie might be my OTP forever.

YOU AND ME BOTH, SISTER. We'll plan a plan! Like a heist movie, only it's us taking revenge! Like Munich, only sans Eric Bana! We'll be like, "I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR THE ACADEMY." AND BLOW UP THE THEATER THEY'RE SITTING IN. LIKE SHOSANNA.

They are so my OTP forever. That scene makes me sob like a baby!

PERHAPS A LITTLE EXTREME BUT I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT. Also, oh my god, The Hurt Locker is so good. I mean, bloody intense but ridiculously good.

I WANTED TO CRY SO BAD AND YET SOMEHOW REMAIN THE HEARTLESS WENCH I AM WHEN IT COMES TO MOVIES. IT WAS SO SAD AND ADORABLE AND I LOVE THEMMMMMMMM.

I'M FEELING A LITTLE EXTREME TODAY! I'LL PROBABLY BE OVER IT TOMORROW.

I have it on hold at the library; I'll probably have to wait three or four weeks more to see it. I will let you know what I think.

I UNDERSTAND. I didn't cry much in Bright Star, though it tore my heart out.

IT'S WHAT THE OSCARS DO TO US, THEY PUSH US TO EXTREMES.

I watched it on the plane home from India so I definitely need a rewatch but the direction at the very least is outstanding.

I...still haven't seen Bright Star and I feel bad about it because god I love Ben Whishaw. But I have it! And I will get around to it!

TRUFAX.

Yeah, I imagine that isn't the best environment to watch it in.

It's so lovely! And he's so lovely! And Keatsian! I think you will enjoy it a lot!

Yeah a tiny screen on a cramped plane is not ideal but it was still fantastic.

I trust your recommendations as always, gah, just to find the time.

I'll be watching as much of the Oscars as I can stay awake for. They start at 1am over here, but I'll try my hardest to watch the whole thing! :)

I adore Up! And it makes me cry every time I watch it.

Wow! I admire your dedication! I don't think I could do that!

I cry so hard!

Ha, so am I. I think sometimes? I love the Oscars too much.

Yeah, it's rich, mostly out-of-touch people being all self-congratulatory. Why is it so mesmerizing? I do not know.

I blame the dresses and adorable actresses. No really. This is almost always the reason for me.

I think you're getting to the bottom of it. Though it's also all about the montages for me, too. And the In Memorium section when someone fabulous from a Golden Age Hollywood movie has died and I tear up.

If Avatar wins at anything, but especially best picture or James Cameron for best director, I will take this as proof that THERE IS NO JUSTICE in the universe.

Inglourious Basterds, aiiiigh. I don't know how I went from "oh, that looks good, maybe I'll see it" over the summer to "ASDJKLJ;L;;;;;;;;" upon seeing it months later via DVD.

Besides, I've never been that taken with Meryl Streep. I find her technically perfect but emotionally uninvolving. I always feel at a distance from her, like I'm watching MERYL STREEP. I realize that I'm the only one who feels this way, but it's still true.
I feel this way about a lot of A-list actors. I'm all, "Okay, it's not that I think their acting is bad; it's actually kind of awesome. I just CAN'T STOP SEEING THE FAMOUS PERSON INSTEAD OF THE CHARACTER."

EXACTLY. NO JUSTICE WHATSOEVER.

Have I told you that I'm in love with that icon? Because I totally am!

I love that movie more the more I think about it. And I think that level of love is sustainable. Like, I think it'll be one of my favorites for a long, long time.

I'm all, "Okay, it's not that I think their acting is bad; it's actually kind of awesome. I just CAN'T STOP SEEING THE FAMOUS PERSON INSTEAD OF THE CHARACTER." Exactly. I have no clue if George Clooney is actually talented. All I know is, I'm always so ridiculously aware that I'm watching George Clooney.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES WAS TERRIBLE ENOUGH DO NOT TELL ME I HAVE TO RELIVE THAT FEELING OF HORROR AND RAGE AGAIN.

Thank you! I love yours quite a bit, too. Shosanna is just a very iconable girl that way.

This movie makes me crrrrazy with adoration. Like, I've decided my ultimate it'll-never-happen dream is a Tarantino&Whedon teamup for one gigantic movie of neverending awesome. There would be kickass girls and witty banter all over the place and fantastic doomed OTPs and I am pretty confident that Quentin would cancel out a lot of Joss' skanky race issues.

For me it's Angelina Jolie. I might think about seeing a movie of hers, and then I'll go "Why? I'll just be watching her do her thing the way she does and then the movie will be over and I'll immediately forget about it."

I DID NOT WATCH THEM. BECAUSE I KNEW I WOULD BE ANGRY.

She's very iconable!

Like, I've decided my ultimate it'll-never-happen dream is a Tarantino&Whedon teamup for one gigantic movie of neverending awesome. There would be kickass girls and witty banter all over the place and fantastic doomed OTPs and I am pretty confident that Quentin would cancel out a lot of Joss' skanky race issues.

I love you forever for this. I think Tarantino would definitely keep him more in line--he's a better world-builder, too. And he pays attention to continuity in ways Joss doesn't. I think this would be an epic idea.

YES. I totally agree about her. YES.

And you have a Connor icon! *is excited*

IT WAS VILE. Christoph Waltz got a supporting actor award, though, so that was a tiny piece of comfort. And later during a Q&A someone asked him if he felt his career would be suffer at all since he'd played such a diabolical villain that would undoubtedly cast some kind of shadow over his future roles, and his reply was basically "It would if that were true, but it isn't, so it won't." BLESS.

And he pays attention to continuity in ways Joss doesn't.
One of the things I love about Tarantino movies is how insanely LAYERED they are. Like they're not overtly "intellectual" or pretentious, but there are all these little things a viewer doesn't pick up on until later fridge brilliance. The first time I saw Death Proof I liked a couple of moments but overall felt it was pretty mediocre, and then I read this super awesome, detailed review of all the little things in the movie's structure and its characters that were totally brilliant, and I was all, "omg. Forgive me, Mr. Tarantino, for not seeing how unbelievably EXCELLENT this movie is." It's still not totally to my taste, but I appreciate it a whole lot more.

(...You know what happens when I try to keep my fangirling over movies I know people haven't seen yet + want to see spoiler-free? That. That kind of huge vague paragraph is what happens.)

And you have a Connor icon! *is excited*
I HAVE TWO. ♥

He is such a badass! I love him! I wish he'd pull a SMG and be sort of bitchy and say, "What, you think it would be bad to be associated with such an awesome role in such an awesome project?"

YES. He's all about the details and the payoff and you know he's doing it because he wants you to be delighted. And that's what makes me like him.

Hee! I love your vague paragraphs! When I get around to watching it, I'll want you to either point me toward that review or tell me what it said yourself.

Oooh! That one's cool! With Angel just barely in the background like that! Great cropping on someone's part.

Hee. It was just like he was saying to the person in the gentlest way possible, "Fiction. Reality. There is a difference, my boy."

Sometimes my head kind of spins at how he does that so seamlessly. Want a badass action/revenge movie? He can do that. Want a ridiculously deep, complex, metariffic art film? He can do that, too. IN THE SAME MOVIE.

Yes yes watch it and I will link away! And also you have to see Planet Terror. HAVE TO. I am pretty sure they're filed in rental stores as separate DVDs, instead of as one Grindhouse DVD the way they actually should be and would be in any sensible universe. (I may have strong feelings about this.)

I went on an icon binge recently and I LOVE EVERYTHING. SO MUCH. Aaaack, little 100x100 squares, how do you do this to me.

Yeah, he's fabulous.

Sometimes my head kind of spins at how he does that so seamlessly. Want a badass action/revenge movie? He can do that. Want a ridiculously deep, complex, metariffic art film? He can do that, too. IN THE SAME MOVIE.

I KNOOOOOOOOW. It's mindblowing.

Okay, I have just ordered both movies at the library. And yes, they're separate, not together, which is stupid, because I was totally paying attention when they came out, and the ENTIRE POINT was that they went together. *sigh* But I guess they thought they could make more money if they made you buy two DVDs instead of one.

ICONS. I can never get enough of them! I have 109 out of 115 right now, and I try never to fill them all up, because I'm always discovering new fandoms. Like, I'm gonna need a whole bunch of Farscape ones soon, for instance. And I need space!

I JUST SAW CHRISTOPH WALTZ! I have the red carpet coverage on, and THERE HE WAS. WITH HIS BEARD. IT WAS FABULOUS.

Okay, I have just ordered both movies at the library. And yes, they're separate, not together, which is stupid, because I was totally paying attention when they came out, and the ENTIRE POINT was that they went together. *sigh* But I guess they thought they could make more money if they made you buy two DVDs instead of one.
This is the only reason I can think of! Also, I don't know, maybe they thought it would be too difficult to explain the deeply complicated concept of a double feature. /SARCASM

I am completely excited that you have ordered them, though. I DEMAND A REACTION POST ONCE YOU HAVE WATCHED ONE OR BOTH. (omg omg I cannot wait to fangirl over all the awesome girls in both these movies with you. Especially Cherry Darling. ♥)

I have this weird COMPULSION where I must have all my icon spaces filled at one time; otherwise I feel, I don't know, bereft of the solace of having a complete icon page? DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT MY CRAZY. Especially since it seems kind of masochistic when compared with the AGONY of figuring out what to delete for a new icon.

OH YAY \o/ I am not watching the Oscars because homework's gettin' me down, but I love Mr. Waltz and his beard, yes yes.

OKAY. REACTION POST WILL HAPPEN. AND THEN I'LL PROBABLY BEG FOR .GIFS. Hee!

See, for me, the AGONY of deleting trumps anything else. I HATE DELETING.

Boo! Homework! And now it's Diane Kruger! And I just saw Quentin and Eli Roth! *flails*

okay that clip made me cry again. so beautiful.

in other news: DANA SCULLY IS BEATING DEAN WINCHESTER :D :D :D

It's so, so lovely!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! THE WORLD IS OFFICIALLY AWESOME!

I've stopped letting myself refresh every few minutes. It's driving me crazy. I'm still in mourning over Tami. And Abed.

I never have any feelings about the Oscars because I've never seen any of the movies. I see about one movie a year in theaters (which usually has more to do with someone saying, "Let's go to the movies!" than the actual quality of whatever's playing), and then rent things at my leisure. Of the movies you listed, the only one I've seen is Julie and Julia. (And I do love Meryl Streep, but otherwise found it rather unremarkable.)

Oscars! I'm so watching them tonight. Yay!

So, um, do people ever do a comment thread for something and watch it together online? Like, I kinda want to have an Oscar party where people can talk about the show.

I can't say enough about that sequence in Up -- it is a masterpiece of animation. And it makes me cry every single time.

I also hope Avatar does not win Best Picture.

3. Up! will win best animated picture. Which it deserves based on this alone:

OMG, I cry like a complete and utter baby every time I watch that part. So very sad.

1. Oh my fuck. It's like last year when Happy Go-Lucky was totally dropped.\
2. Is it wrong of my to be totally sick of politically correct flims? Is it even more wrong to only want Inglorious Basterds to win because BJ didn't speak with an accent? *panic*
3. It's a lazy thing really. Let's nominated Meryl Streep again because she's fucking Meryl Streep. Don't get me wrong, now I love Meryl Streep but god. She's FUCKING Meryl Streep. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! *thud*
4. There were foregin films this year? *blinks*

3. Up was the firs tmovie to make me cry int he first twenty minutes. Disney movies have that magic to make you sob and cry and laugh and feel all warma nd tingly inside. I could have done without th edogs flying th eplanes though, but still. Warm and fuzzies.

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I care about this far more than I should

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