Well, the 2015 Academy Awards (for 2014 films) are about a month old and the stench emanating from the self-congratulatory ceremony still permeates the film world like a pregnant skunk hit by a garbage truck. What follows is one not-so-humble man's overview of the results and his review of the winner for Best Picture...
First, let me state for the record that this was the first time in thirty years that I did not watch a single minute of the Oscars. Between the overt politicization of Hollywood and the ever-growing sense of disdain that the Left Coast propagates for the movie-going audience in general, I made a conscious effort to avoid the Academy Awards like the plague. No pun intended (well, maybe) but "The Walking Dead" was on right through the heart of the Academy Awards anyway so it wasn't really that hard of a choice...
Three people at this year's ceremony exemplified why I now hate the Oscars with a passion. First was the host, Neil Patrick Harris. Now, don't get me wrong...I think the former Dr. Doogie Howser is awesome. Hell, the man was in the "Harold & Kumar" flicks, for God's sake...how could I not acknowledge his awesomeness?!?! My issue with NPH (coupled with Ellen DeGeneres' recent pathetic hosting attempt) is that the oh-so-vocal gay minority in Tinseltown seems to have more sway than common sense when it comes to picking an emcee for the most important night in film. How about we stop bowing down to The Almighty Pagan Idol of Political Correctness and find the next Billy Crystal instead of making 5 percent of the populace happy?!?!
The other two misfits in question are Sean Penn and Patrica Arquette, who decided (in true neo-hippie fashion) to use their precious time at the podium to take potshots at how awful they think America is. Arquette (who is worth millions upon millions of dollars) pathetically turned her Best Supporting Actress speech into an awful bra-burning feminist diatribe about "equal pay for equal work"...hey Patty, check back with me when you, Julia Roberts & Meryl Streep are struggling to make mortgage payments, okay? And then there was the oh-so-tough Sean Penn, who scowls his way through life like the petulant spawn of Robert Mitchum and a wolverine. Spicoli couldn't resist taking a shot at anyone opposing Dictator Barack Obama's unilateral immigration policy actions while presenting the Best Picture award to "Birdman" and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Kudos to Robin Wright for getting the hell away from Penn and his toxic views years ago and becoming possibly the best actress out there right now with her work on "House of Cards"...
Speaking of "Birdman", I finally got a chance to sit down and watch the Oscar winner about a week after the trophies were handed out. While many have shot the flick down as pretentious and undecipherable, I actually enjoyed how it skewered the massive egos that dominate the acting community. Michael Keaton (in a role reeking of irony) plays a former film superhero who wants to re-establish his chops on Broadway in a "passion project" that drains every last dollar he has to his name. Edward Norton, Emma Stone & Naomi Watts are part of a stellar cast that never hams it up or pushes things too far. While Inarritu goes a little too far at times (especially with the "haunting" presence of Keaton's alter ego), he does a nice job of keeping things interesting visually. Definitely better than "Titanic" but not even close to achieving the heights of previous Best Picture winners "Forrest Gump" and "Unforgiven", "Birdman" gets a solid 3 Eddies for solid narrative content soaring above inconsistent execution...
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