And the Oscar goes to...

Well, we made it through another Academy Awards show.
A roundup:
* Martin Scorcese didn't win, and really he should have won a Best Director Oscar by now. I mean, he didn't even win for Raging Bull. Then again, The Aviator is supposed to be lesser Scorcese, so maybe next year. Hopefully, he won't follow up his dreadful idea to do a sequel to Taxi Driver.
"You lookin' at me? Are you lookin' at me?! No, seriously I'm asking. I think I might be developing cataracts..."
* Jamie Foxx won, like everybody expected. It would have made Claire happier to see Johnny Depp win, but Fox's portrayal in Ray was apparently brilliant. I don't know; I didn't see it. Actually, I didn't see The Aviator or Million Dollar Baby either, but neither did most people. From what I hear, Hilary Swank and Jamie Foxx should have won, and they did. But, seriously, was there anything worth getting excited about this year? I think my favorite movie was Spiderman 2, to give an idea how boring movies were in 2004.
So, on to the show!
* Chris Rock was relatively boring, but had a few funny lines. I liked when he mocked the Academy's irritating attempts to speed the show up by suggesting they would eventually hand out awards in a drive-through line.
* Seriously, what was with the firing-squad lineup on stage of nominees for technical awards? Didn't the academy think that might look a bit disrespectful? Next year, they're just going to pitch the technical awards into the crowd.
* Cate Blanchett's dress was much derided for matching her hair, but I liked it. The belt was lame, but she still looked good.
* Morgan Freeman looked like a priest, or perhaps like Nelson Mandela. Is it just me, or does everyone else get a warm feeling whenever Morgan Freeman wins anything? He seems like a friendly grandfather. I imagine that, if I saw Morgan Freeman at McDonald's, and he got good service, I'd think, "Well, good! He deserves it!"
* Samuel L. Jackson wore the same suit as Morgan Freeman, and looks strangely like an older version of Todd Bridges.
* Natalie Portman's weird Greek goddess dress made her look like a little boy. A little skeletal boy. Don't they gain the freshman fifteen at Harvard?
* Kate Winslet's dress was stunning. If I was her, I'd go to every Academy Awards show after losing for Best Actress (for Titanic) in a cheap tee-shirt with "Helen fucking Hunt?!" printed on it, but that's just me.
* Spiderman 2 got Best Visual Effects, and that really does make sense. I, Robot looks really fake in the ads, and I can't imagine it gets better on screen. It's like Will Smith is fighting the older brother of those scrubbing bubbles. Eeek!
* Clint Eastwood reminds me of my grandfather as well. Claire's uncle, cinematographer Roger Vernon worked with him on Unforgiven and has claimed that he has the best visual instincts of any actor he's ever met. Eastwood apparently always knows where to put his head for every shot.
That's about it. I do have to wonder what they were thinking getting the generally unfunny Chris Rock as host. There must be some push to capture black viewers there; not only did Chris Rock host, but Beyonce sang just about every song and every other crowd shot was of Jay-Z. And what was with the bizarre connection they asserted between hispanic actresses and Sound Editing? Selma Hayeck and Penelope Cruz are certainly gorgeous, if indistinguishable, but what do they have to do with sound editing? And wouldn't it be quicker to get presentors who have a firm grasp on the English language? "There... are... many... aspects... to... sound....edit....ting..."
I mean, I'll always love the Academy Awards, but they really did have a hard time this year. The award winning movies were boring and nobody saw them. There was really no Graduate this time. Not even a Schindler's List really. Seriously, maybe we should chalk this one up as a write-off.