My Oscar Wish List vs. Who Will Actually Win

I will admit to having not seen too many of the nominated films this year between school and a general lack of interest in most of them, but the ones I did see, I enjoyed. I am voting against Avatar because every year I’m anti-whatever-gets-the-most-nominations-and-I-haven’t-seen

Commentary:
- Watching Neil Patrick Harris opening and I must say WIN!!!!

-       Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick are adorable! I love that the Academy decided to do a John Hughes tribute! Hughes was brilliant at getting people and making life funny. He is missed.(“SAVE FERRIS!” ” It’s really human of you to listen to all my bullshit.”) Pardon me while I tear up a bit.
-       The chick who played Uhura looks like she’s pooping purple froth or something.
-   Oh, Ben Stiller. Was the Avatar dress-up game really necessary? Yes, we know you’re funny (not really), but did you really need to be blue?
-       Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner look bored and sound rather unintelligent and flat (Kristen Stewart more so than Taylor Lautner). It’s appropriate that they introduced the horror segment. Was it really necessary to have them present anything? On the other hand, it could be the only way they will ever make it on the stage at the Oscars, if they’re current projects are any indications of acting caliber. (Same goes for Zac Efron)
-    James Taylor for the In Memoriam segment is classic! Always the saddest part of the show 
-       Points for innovation on the Original Score presentation, but overall it just didn’t quite work. Most of the music was not hip-hop, break dancing/tumbling worthy. Ballet might have worked a bit better. It’s hard to reconcile the style of dance with the music. Up kinda worked, but not really. Avatar worked, mainly because it was the only piece with distinctive drum beats.
-       Almodovar and Tarantino: it would utterly terrifying to spend even one minute inside their heads. Seriously weird, but smart dudes.
-       What is with all of these actors and the totally unattractive facial hair? Why Colin Farrell? Why???
-       The costars introducing the nominees for best actor is soooo sweet! I love it!
-   I want to be as classy and elegant as Kate Winslet when I grow up!
-       Were four presenters from the Twilight Saga really necessary? Ok, Michael Sheen was appropriate and Anna Kendrick had to be there. The other two soo didn’t.
-       MEMORIES! AT THE CORNERS OF MY MIND! (That was for you, Mom). Barbra looked quite classy tonight. Yay for aging gracefully!
- Overall, a rather tame show this year, especially compared to the Hugh Jackman extravaganza last year. Funny and fairly on time, but tame.
- And predictable. I guessed every single one of the winners. That NEVER happens. That's how predictable this year was. Hopefully next year will be better. Music was quite good!

Best Picture: SECOND CHOICE WON!

Like: Up (second choice Hurt Locker)

Will: Avatar
Yay Hurt Locker! You came from behind to beat the technology giant! Socially relevant movie: check! 

Best Actor: CORRECT

Like: George Clooney or Colin Firth

Will: Jeff Bridges

Hmm…edgy, angsty character: check! Colin Firth should have won for his sheer adorability and George Clooney should have won for putting up with being teased all night. Still, very nice acceptance overall. He said man too many times though. What's wrong with dude :)? 

Best Actress: CORRECT

Like: Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren

Will: Sandra Bullock

I’m still skeptical about the movie itself and have not seen it, but I can’t help but be happy to see Sandra Bullock get an Oscar. She’s been one of my favorite actresses for a long time. She’s quite hilarious and brilliant. To console myself, I’ll think of this as a career Oscar.

Supporting Actor: CORRECT

Like: Stanley Tucci or Christopher Plummer (Go Captain Von Trapp!)

Will: Christoph Waltz

Was anyone else totally and completely confused by his acceptance speech??? It felt like I was watching a mini Tarantino movie: it kind of made sense until it just didn’t. 

Supporting Actress: CORRECT

Like: Penelope Cruz

Will: Mo’nique

Sigh. This award season was rather predictable. Edgy movie with virtual unknowns aka underdog? Win! Kudos for the Hattie McDaniel shout-out. 

Director: LIKE WON!

Like: Kathryn Bigelow

Will: James Cameron

My little inner-feminist is doing an extreme happy dance! YAY! First female director to win an Oscar!!!!!!!!! It’s about damn time!

Original Screenplay: Correct

Like: Up

Will: Hurt Locker

Let’s face it. Hurt Locker is just the kind of film the Academy likes. Anything edgy and dealing with controversial current events is an instant favorite with them.

Screenplay previously published:

Don’t really care, didn’t see any of the movies

Art Direction: CORRECT

Like: Anyone but Avatar (loved all the other movies)

Will: Avatar

Oh, Avatar. Yes, you were pretty and everything, but must you hog ALL the awards!

Make-up: LIKE WON!

Like: Star Trek or Young Victoria

Will: Young Victoria

Yay, Star Trek! You at least got to win something! Really fun movies very rarely get any recognition at the Oscars.

Costume Design: CORRECT!

Like: Nine or the Young Victoria

Will: The Young Victoria

How could she not win for mid-19^th century costumes for a movie about a “dead monarch”? And she even looks like a costume designer! Corsets always mean a win for the Oscars!

Original Score: LIKE WON!

Like: Up

Will: Avatar

Take that Avatar! Yay for the little animated film that could! Very pretty, sweet, appropriate music! Good speech too!

Original Song: CORRECT

Like: Either Princess and the Frog song or Nine song

Will: Crazy Heart song

It wins points because it was performed by Colin Farrell, but it’s so predictable for the edgy-angsty song to win. Nine’s edgy-angsty song was so good! Why couldn’t it have won?

P.S. That was so early for that award to be presented! I guess after last year’s horrible amalgam, they just opted to make it a normal award instead of a show-long process. Sigh

I miss the show-long process, it gave the audience a chance to actually experience the songs and maybe develop an attachment to them.

Animated Feature: CORRECT!

Like: Up

Will: Up

I’m sorry, but Up was just too adorable not to win! Pixar did an amazing job putting it together. I know,  I know, it was kinda depressing, but it was so sweet and heart-warming! Why can’t all movies be that good?

What were your predictions? What did you think?

Un-Sung Heroes of my Childhood

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about books I read as a child. Barnes and Nobles new “rating system” has made me realize how many books that I loved as a child have fallen out of favor with the current generation. There does not seem to be nearly as much a sense of nostalgia among teachers today. My teachers in elementary school always made it a point to read to us. Usually the books they chose weren’t whatever was new and hip; they chose books they considered to be classics. By the same token, whenever I asked my school librarian for recommendations, she would immediately steer me to similarly classic books. These books helped shape who I am today (a creative Victorian with a strong sense of feminism). They provided me with good, solid outlines of characters to immulate. I'm not fully versed in current elementary-level literature, but most of what I've seen appears to be geared more toward action, adventure and fantasy or superficial fluff about very materialistic characters. While that's all well and good, not all of these books provide the same ground work for a love of reading that my friends and I were privileged enough to have.

 So, in a fit of nostalgia, I’ve made a list of some of the favorites among my friends and me, and reviewed some of my top favorites.

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott- Most girls are told they should read Little Women at some point, but very few move past that and read this book. While I adore LW, I actually love LM more. This tells the story of Jo and her husband and the school they run for boys and girls in her aunt’s old mansion. It is a quite old-fashioned book, but I love the simplicity of what is expected of the children. They are good because they want to be and if they misbehave, their misdeeds are used to teach them how to do better instead of as reasons for harsh punishment. The capers that the kids get up to are amusing and refreshing. I always wanted to grow up to be like Jo March Bhaer and run a school full of lively children while being a successful writer. Jo was my idol- she was smart, witty, patient, and creative- and I’m still working to be as much like her as I can. I think this is a great book to remind kids of the simple joys of childhood that are missing from today’s society.

Mr. Tucket Series by Gary Paulsen- If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned adventure tale, this series is great. Really, this author is great for adventure. Gary Paulsen writes these tales of boys out in the wilderness surviving on their own. In the Mr. Tucket series, Francis Tucket is separated from his family on the Oregon Trail and survives being a prisoner in an Indian camp, as well as learning to make his own way as a young man of the west, all the while searching for his family.

Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn- This World War 2 story was always fascinating to me. I not only loved the characters, but I also loved the complexity of the problems they ran into. Life in WW2 mid-western America was highly patriotic with nearly every family having someone off at war, but these two girls had to confront how to react to a deserter. Should they help him because they know he’s a good person? Or should they turn him in because he wouldn’t make the sacrifice their brothers willingly were making? While I enjoyed the rest of the series as well, this book packs an emotional punch that shouldn’t be missed.

Dear America/Royal Diaries series- While American Girl books were my gateway drug to historical fiction, the Dear America and Royal Diaries series were my brand of choice for most of my elementary school years. The groundwork for everything I know about history, I gleaned from these books. They made the people and places real for me. They also provided strong female role models who provided examples of perseverance, courage, and strength. The stories of these young women and their places in history became vivid and alive and I wanted to know more. I found myself spending hours researching the events that I read about. They helped to foster I life-long love of history, as well as of reading. 

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary- This was one of the first chapter books I remember reading. I love reading about the mischievous Ramona and her practical sister Beezus. It was just a fun, enjoyable book. Reading books like this made me want to read more. (Side note: I am greatly disappointed in the casting choices for the upcoming Ramona and Beezus movie)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine- I can’t resist a good Cinderella retelling and this book went above and beyond. Characters that in the children story were flat and rather uninteresting became quirky and complex and alive. Ella had to save herself from herself, as well as taking on her evil step-sisters and a misguided fairy. She didn’t wait around for the prince (who was decidedly charming and funny) to save her. She took care of herself and still got her happily ever after.

Some others that were popular back in the day:

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Orphan Train Adventures by Joan Lowery Nixon

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan

Babysitters’ Club by Ann M. Martin

Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler and Jared Lee

Chicka chicka Boom Boom! By Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert

Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

Boxcar Children series by Gerture Chandler Warner

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon

Superfudge by Judy Blume

Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Ryland

BFG by Roald Dahl

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

What was your favorite book in elementary school and why?