As most of you movie fans did last night, I watched the Oscars telecast - and here are some of my observations.
Jimmy Kimmel did a super job as M.C. - he was low-key, relaxed and very funny - I loved the bit where he too some celebrity actors across the street to a screening of "A Wrinkle in Time", and of course, the audience went nuts. The only problem is, if they were such great cinema fans, why weren't they watching the Oscars?
I also loved his jet-ski prize for the shortest speech, it was hilarious. If I were a winner, I certainly would have given a very short speech - I love jet-skis!
I was hoping that Frances McDormand would win for "Three Billboards...", she totally deserved it. And I was amazed by her specch and shout-out to other female nominees - however, why couldn't she get a decent gown for the event?
Also I totally agree with Sam Rockwell's win for Best Supporting Actor for "Three Billboards" and Allison Janney's win for "I, Tonya". I thought "I, Tonya" and "Good Time" (starring Robert Pattinson) should have received much more attention. But of course, they were comedies and you know how the Academy prefers serious, issue-oriented films.
Regarding "The Shape of Water", it was my second favorite film, after the great "Three Billboards", and I love Guillermo del Toro (he should have directed "Ferdinand", the bull - get it?) and I'm very happy that he won Best Director, and that "The Shape of Water" won Best Picture. It's a great "genre" film.
As for the animation categories, "Coco" was a shoo-in, there was no real competition. But I was surprised about "Dear Basketball" - I believed that either "Lou" from Pixar (which I was not crazy about) or "Nursery Rhymes" would take home the Oscar. Plus, "Dear Basketball" was hand-drawn, not a technique that the Academy tends to favor.
Even though Glen Keane is a master and a legend of animation, I believe "Dear Basketball" could have been done better. Glen used rotoscoping, which I don't mind, except that the result was so realistic that it missed the whole exaggeration and stylization available for animation. If I had done it, the drawings would have been a lot more distorted and bent - it could have been so cool. Yet the combination of NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant and Disney All-Star Glen Keane was too powerful to lose.
On another note, the great animated feature "Mind Game", directed by Masaaki Yuasa and Koji Morimoto, is being released for the first time in the U.S. by GKids. Please run, don't walk, to a theater near you to see this brilliant film. In my opinion, it's the "Citizen Kane" of animation - you can thank me later.
--Bill
Sadly, no theaters near me are showing Mind Game. It's okay, though, I rented a rare copy of that movie from a video store during my stay in Austin, and was blown away by its surreal creativity. I now plan to get it when GKids releases it to DVD. I actually learned about Mind Game when you cited it as one of your favorite movies in the "Independently Animated" book. So, thanks for pointing me in the direction of a really awesome animated movie.
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