Well this years Oscars being the 87th Annual one was okay funny with one liners and jokes with song and dance from first time host Neil Patrick Harris, as it was cute little Lego awards were passed out! And true the show this year ran a little long as it made me tired still it was nice to see some veterans win like J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette who both thanked parents, people and women in their speeches. And Julianne Moore finally on her 5th try won an Oscar as her performance in "Still Alice" was a long beautiful farewell. However the big surprises were Michael Keaton a long overdue veteran losing best actor to Eddie Redmayne why did the academy members vote for the new kid on the block over the veteran? And however "Birdman" would gather it's wings back and fly over "Boyhood" in an upset for best picture. Well just when you think you know how the awards will go year in and out finally some upsets! Plus it was a fun treat to see John Travolta flirt with Idina Menzel, overall a good awards show with surprise drama with the best actor and best picture upsets!
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oscaralbert23 February 2015. . . and all the starters were born in Mexico. As soon as SELMA hit the Big Screen, pundits were showering it with Oscars in such categories as Best Picture, Best Director (the first Black woman to win), and, of course, Best Actor in a Leading Role for David Oyelowo's portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, when push came to shove, the infamous "booby prize" Oscar (Best Original Song, captured in the past 25 years by such unforgettable films as ONCE, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, THE MOTORCYLE DIARIES, and DICK TRACY) was the ONLY Bling heaped upon SELMA. Ever since Hattie McDaniel won the statue for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as GONE WITH THE WIND's "Mammy" in 1939, each subsequent crop of awards has been critiqued in Black & White terms. However, when the 2015 late night major awards were passed out, you'd be excused if you thought that you'd just "butt dialed" the Telemundo Channel on your TV remote. Obviously, Black & White have had their day, and we'll soon need to be watching subtitles to comprehend Oscar telecasts. Political Correctness aside, who could argue against the widespread sense that Best Picture contender WHIPLASH was robbed?
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lee_eisenberg23 February 2015We expect the Academy Awards ceremony to feature a string of jokes, and "The 87th Annual Academy Awards" were no different. But the most important productions to get awarded at any ceremony are the documentaries. Laura Poitras's "Citizenfour" was the winner this year, and so Poitras - accompanied by Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills - warned everyone about the dangers of an out of control surveillance state. I wasn't sure if Neil Patrick Harris said "Edward Snowden couldn't be here for some treason" as a joke or was actually implying that it was treason.
Other people who said what needed to get said were Patricia Arquette (who noted the wage gap), John Legend (who noted that the US leads the world in incarceration), Graham Moore (who noted the large number of suicide attempts among gay teens) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (who reminded everyone that the US is a nation of immigrants, and proclaimed that Mexico deserves a better government than it has).
As for the wins. Out of all the nominees in all categories, I've seen only "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (which deserved its wins), "Citizenfour" (which deserved its win), "Into the Woods", "Boyhood" (which deserved its win) and "Gone Girl". I hope to see the rest of the nominees, although I've heard bad things about "American Sniper".
Overall, I enjoyed the ceremony. Julianne Moore has deserved an Oscar for a long time. Idina Menzel needs to REALLY stick it to John Travolta next time. -
ajneeago961 May 2021I just wish Interstellar, one of my favorite films of all time, got some more love. At least it won Best Special Effects. I will admit though, Birdman deserved every award it got. Such a masterpiece.
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wolfm7223 February 2015Better than any sedative.I was really fighting with myself: To watch or not to watch? Unfortunately I thought that with Niel Patrick Harris host wise it would be an interesting show. I was proofed dead wrong. Lame jokes, sometimes with very bad timing, a watered down performance, but I'm sure he will host next years event as well, because he didn't cause any ripples in the boring and quiet surface of this years Academy Awards. So thanks for being such a good boy, because if Mr. Harris will indeed host next years event, then the choice of watching or not watching is much easier to make. The next problem were the nominations (not the people, who stood behind each category): In every category there were nearly always all the same five movies. A trend that developed over the last few years. So there were really no surprises at all on that front. The only good thing that evening were: best actor in a leading role. After his stellar performance as Stephen Hawking NO ONE had the right to take the golden boy home except Eddie Redmayne. And the Oscar for Citizenfour (bad joke and very inappropriate). This was the only moment were someone showed balls (and not the one's on a dress)this evening. And of course the touching performance of the song Glory. So having only 3 highlights during a nearly 4 hour show is not my kind of an exciting evening (or night). So thanks academy for a very boring night (because I'm from Austria, and I spent half the night in front of the TV for nothing)and next year I'll rather stay in bed than getting up in the middle of the night for another tedious 4 hours in front of the TV.
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Overly long and quite boring Oscar show. From the first line, I did not appreciate Neil Patrick Harris attempting to make a joke by saying the academy honoring the whitest, a direct crack that there were only Caucasian acting nominees. Excuse me, didn't 12 Years A Slave Win last year? I didn't hear other ethnic, religious or other racial groups complaining about this.
Harris in underwear was a complete joke and his idea of a locked box with his predictions was ridiculous at best.
The highlight of the evening was Lady Gaga's excellent singing of the various songs of the classic The Sound of Music. Hard to believe that this Oscar winner came out 50 years ago. Wonderful to have scene the graceful Julie Andrews come out and kiss Gaga after her singing.
Sorry to see that the name of Lizabeth Scott, a wonderful film noir actress of the 1940s, was omitted from the in memoriam segment of the show. -
misterjiggy22 February 2015I did not think that an MC could be more boring than Anne Hathway and her sidekick but Neil Patrick Harris has managed... His jokes are dull and mistimed. The winners take their sweet time in getting to the Microphone and then they go on and on and on...typical American demeanour...The British need to win all the awards as they keep their speeches to a self deprecating style and they are humorous. The American winners are so self aggrandizing that it is uncomfortable to watch. There were far too many moments in this show where it was cringe-worthy. NPH coming out in his underwear is just desperate. When the camera panned the audience, you could see stars like Oprah, Clint Eastwood, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy who just had a deadpan look: it said it all-boring!
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duraflex23 February 2015Regarding Oscars 2015, VARIETY reported: "Oscar Ratings Down 16%, Lowest in Six Years". I am only surprised it wasn't lower.
It is almost unimaginable that anyone would sit through 3 1/2 hours of this snoozefest after a 1 1/2 hour pre-show on the red carpet.
And Neil Patrick Harris hosting an awards show - again? Really? And coming out in his tighty-whiteys - yuck! glad we missed that. With all the talent in the country, surely the Academy can find someone better. Although Harris can read his prompters, hit his marks and dance, he's not a very good singer and when he tries to be clever or make a joke, it comes off flat.
With very few exceptions, movies are not what they used to be - even what they were as recently as 10 or 15 years ago. With 20 minutes of trailers and commercials shown in theaters today before the feature begins, we rarely go out to see a movie anymore and generally wait for it to hit DVD or cable.
Whatever appeal the Oscars show one had evaporated years ago when movie actors had looks, charisma and exceptional talent and more films were worth watching and buying a ticket to see. -
harrypaulson-1113 March 2015It should be a celebration of film. I don't care how long it takes but the movies should be right left and center. Why do you think that the brief appearance of Julie Andrews and Shirley MacLaine gave the proceedings a bit of luster? This was all TV and Broadway. The Rock was a presenter and many TV names. I really miss the Special Oscars. From Chaplin to Elia Kazan. Those were moments. Now is the Governors Awards who have all my interest. Maureen O'Hara, Jean Luc Goddard, Angela Lansbury... Neil Patrick Harris is likable but, too light weight, uncertain, forced. It needs someone with real swagger and charm. I know it's very easy to come out with comments from within the comfort of my own living room but I'm one of those die hard fans of the Oscars and I lament this morphing into a a third rate variety show. Names please. Representative names of the industry, and the industry didn't start yesterday. Let's look deep into our past so we can plan better our future.
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Here we have the 2015 edition of the Oscars (Academy Awards) and the host was Neil Patrick Harris. Usually I am not too fond of him, but I thought he did an okay job and was one of the better (not best) aspects of the show. And what show it was at almost three hours runtime. Lets start with what I liked. I enjoyed the love for Whiplash as it is probably close to being my favorite film of the year. Maybe the best thing about the night because other than Simmons' win, it really wasn't expected. I also liked the love for Birdman somehow, even if it was a bit shocking how it destroyed Boyhood given what happened at the Golden Globes. I don't mind Julianne Moore's win, even if I could have wished for the film to not go under the radar. For example a Kristen Stewart nomination would have been good too. But hey at least Marion Cotillard got in and actually she deserved the win. I am okay with Desplat winning finally, even if I am not a huge fan of his film. Eddie Redmayne makes a nice winner too, even if I am not sure if I preferred him over Keaton. The two short film winners (with focus on phones) were fine too. And the documentary winner is a good one too as it finally tells some truth about the disastrous presidency of Mr. Obama. Travolta and Menzel reuniting was a highlight too. Arquette (who was a lock for the win as well) deserved the win and it's nice that Boyhood won something at least, even if I am not a huge fan of her either generally-speaking and her speech was really painful to listen to, especially at the very end. Also glad about Interstellar getting a win.
Still, sadly the negative was more frequent in terms of winners and performances. Hudson was weak and forgettable and the deceased deserved better. Lady Gaga was ultimately nothing more than try-hard and over-the-top, even if Julie Anndrews tried to convince us otherwise. Same for the Best Song winner performance. I would have preferred the "Begin Again" song to win it, even if that performance was also a failure mostly. Such an amazing song, but such a weak rendition. The Grand Budapest Hotel is not a bad film by any means, but the love was just too much. Then again, at least it did not win Best Screenplay too. "The Imitation Game" is a bearable movie, but the weak competition in its screenplay category made it a ridiculous winner there. Plus the writer's speech and how he has to share his suicide attempt (disguised as an uplifting message) with billions of viewers was downright cringeworthy. Ida was probably the least deserving winner in its category of the new millennium. Good for Poland they finally got one, but it's ridiculous honestly which one takes the prize.
Overall, a ceremony with performances and winners that honestly could have been much much better. Luckily, the big prize goes to a film that somehow deserves it and I have a feeling that Birdman will age fairly well. I personally think I would have preferred Boyhood, but it is okay. By the way Lubezki won his third in a row the year after. It's still a bit heartbreaking to see Deakins lose every time, but oh well, maybe his time will come at some point in the next 10 years. Actually, I'd have been pretty fine with him winning for Sicario, but there was just no way I guess. And then there is the diversity issue that was very prominent that year and shamed the SAG for example in basically honoring every single black nominee, including surprising wins for (non-Oscar nominee) Idris Elba, who I quite love, so I don't mind it. So yeah, I guess with that background, there was just no way Selma would Best Song. Anyway, the people announcing the nominees were really random this time. So many people honestly, who had zero business being there in my opinion because they have zero history with the Academy and yes I am talking about the Chris Pines, Jennifer Anistons, David Oyelewos, Josh Hutchersons, Kevin Harts and Kerry Washingtons. And what was up with Terrence Howard starting to cry over Whiplash? This one certainly deserved a much better presentation. At least Chloe Moretz and Dakota Johnson were nice to look at. Also Benedict Cumberbatch had no business being there that night because his nomination is perhaps the worst of a night. I see no acting talent in him and he is completely incapable of giving quiet subtle performances that leave an impression. Sean Penn looked a bit wasted at the end, but it is okay. He is a great actor, still should have lost to Murray. That's my thoughts. Feel free to agree or disagree with them and post your own review on this (for whatever reason) Emmy-winning event. -
I do not care who wins anymore, selections are preselected anyways. I do not care who the presenters are, for the most part they do not interest me. The bloviating, self-aggrandizing, the sycophancy and the hyped up disappointment should be expected by everyone by now...it certainly is by me. For reasons previously stated, I can only stomach watching a few minutes of this show annually. There is nothing keeping me on-station...no laughs, no likable presenters and no real pace. Additionally, these latest Academy Awards lack all sense of maturity and seem to be targeting the feeble-minded. How insulting. Over the years, 'The Oscar' presentations have transformed from being a recognition of quality into political sounding-boards or just plain old program inhibitors. A once classy persona has metamorphosed into some kind of annual glitzy game-show - sad - but "come on down!" The long winded speeches need to stop. Some are OK, but most are horrible. On that same note, impassioned proclamations by clueless elites are tiresome. If one's elevated status blinds them from reality long enough, how can one truly speak on subjects affecting the human condition. Often blinded by excessive hubris this bunch loyally delivers their 'impassioned proclamations' or timely political face-farts to an already exhausted and somewhat angry audience - please stop. Again, I do not care what some socially shielded snob has to whine about. Get your award and go away. Return to your ivory towers, and gloat. I doubt I will ever seriously watch the academy awards again, but I truly think the way to improve this suffering animal is to vastly shorten its public exposure; definitely mussel the stars or just put it to sleep. You know, they can email notifications to the winners, I do like technology.