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I will stay awake. I will stay awake.
I don't handle late nights well over extended periods of time. And I, like an idiot, have been staying up late a lot lately. Gonna have to do right by sleep tonight, tomorrow night and Wednesday night. Especially as ( TMI moment )
Went and saw The Quiet American on Friday night, and I must say,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dameange, you really need to see this movie. It solidified what works about Brendan Fraser in my mind. Whether he's playing doofy or serious, he's an actor who is the everyman. He blends in very well, which works for most roles. He's not overly showy (unless it's a doofy role, but he himself has said he goes for those roles because he wants to make things for children, a sentiment I respect), and he doesn't try to get all of the emphasis on him.
He plays the quiet American in the movie, and he captured beautifully the arrogance and naivete of the American government in connection with Vietnam. Plus at points he's wearing the ugliest pair of tortoise shell glasses that make you scream "Clark Kent!"
Also from this weekend: the Oscars. For the most part they bored me. I had only seen The Quiet American, so I had no real basis for a favorite. Granted, I was sort of hoping in the back of my mind that a major upset would occur and that Salma Hayek would win best actress, but no go on that front.
The things I did like though:
1. Steve Martin's opening monologue, especially the bit about actors: "Tall or short. Thin or skinny. Democrat or...(long pause) skinny." Thank you for pointing out the obvious in so funny a manner Steve.
2. Adrien Brody's win: I was sort of rooting for him as everyone else already had an Oscar, but I was sure he was not going to win. After all, there was the fanatic Jack contingent of voters, and the Daniel Day-Lewis bandwagon that everyone seemed to be on. But since I was hoping against hope, his was the face I was concentrating on, and I was delighted when he won. I haven't seen The Pianist (although I was desperately trying to convince them to see it instead of TQA on Friday), but I'm definitely seeing it soon. And yay Adrien for that kiss! *g* Although poor Halle, she looked a bit stunned. Plus kudos to Adrien for a thoughtful, elegant, smart speech. *That* is an acceptance speech that combines class and effusive joy, political/social commentary without lecturing (like the viewers are dummies or we need speaking for).
3. Steve Martin's Polanski joke: While pointing out who all was there, "There's Roman Polanski...get him!" (While most likely Polanski deserved to win the Oscar, and hey, it's completely separate from anything he's done in the past, I still abhor the notion that he's idolized even though he pleaded guilty to a crime and then ran. Dude, you do the crime, you do the time, then you move on because you repaid your debt to society. Besides, if your claim is that you're innocent and were forced into a plea agreement - which hell, I don't know if that's the story, I'm just saying - then get a lawyer to appeal it. Don't run and then have everyone clamor for you to be forgiven for your sins just because you're famous. You fucked up. Get over it. Either never come back or come home and face the jail time.)
4. Catherine Zeta-Jones' win: She was practically crowing. It's nice to actually see someone *happy* to win and not quite so humble. Folks, you've all got big egos. We all know this. Let the ego show just a bit for the fun of it. We don't mind. Fake humility is so...fake. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Nicole. Your mom and daughter are proud. You can cry and be happy. Get excited. It's a lot more genuine than that performance.)
5. The Michael Moore crack by Steve Martin: The teamsters helping Moore into the trunk of his limo. Hee. That cracked me up.
6. The short documentary thank you list: a boring category for which we all expected a boring acceptance speech and then...what the fuck? Did they just thank Maury Povich?
7. The best song winner: I have to say, right after everyone had performed their songs, I was sitting there (because I hadn't heard three of the songs before last night) and realized what was going to happen. Weirdness dictates that the most controversial nominee win since he wasn't there. But what was with the guy who went up there? His hair. Dude, the hair. Krusty the Clown lives!
8. Pete O'Toole: I so love that man. He was funny and smart and witty and just damn entertaining.
What I hated:
1. The boringness. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen most of the movies, but man. That was yawn worthy.
2. Michael Moore. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I hate about actors and their political leanings. Everyone has a right to their political view and to voice those views. But people who are already in the spotlight using that time to spout off about what they view and trying to pass it off as the sum total views of everyone else...that chafes. I say bite my ass Michael Moore, you don't speak for me. I don't care if I had agreed with everything you said, you can bite me.
3. The tributes. Boooooorrrrinnggg.
I don't handle late nights well over extended periods of time. And I, like an idiot, have been staying up late a lot lately. Gonna have to do right by sleep tonight, tomorrow night and Wednesday night. Especially as ( TMI moment )
Went and saw The Quiet American on Friday night, and I must say,
dameange, you really need to see this movie. It solidified what works about Brendan Fraser in my mind. Whether he's playing doofy or serious, he's an actor who is the everyman. He blends in very well, which works for most roles. He's not overly showy (unless it's a doofy role, but he himself has said he goes for those roles because he wants to make things for children, a sentiment I respect), and he doesn't try to get all of the emphasis on him. He plays the quiet American in the movie, and he captured beautifully the arrogance and naivete of the American government in connection with Vietnam. Plus at points he's wearing the ugliest pair of tortoise shell glasses that make you scream "Clark Kent!"
Also from this weekend: the Oscars. For the most part they bored me. I had only seen The Quiet American, so I had no real basis for a favorite. Granted, I was sort of hoping in the back of my mind that a major upset would occur and that Salma Hayek would win best actress, but no go on that front.
The things I did like though:
1. Steve Martin's opening monologue, especially the bit about actors: "Tall or short. Thin or skinny. Democrat or...(long pause) skinny." Thank you for pointing out the obvious in so funny a manner Steve.
2. Adrien Brody's win: I was sort of rooting for him as everyone else already had an Oscar, but I was sure he was not going to win. After all, there was the fanatic Jack contingent of voters, and the Daniel Day-Lewis bandwagon that everyone seemed to be on. But since I was hoping against hope, his was the face I was concentrating on, and I was delighted when he won. I haven't seen The Pianist (although I was desperately trying to convince them to see it instead of TQA on Friday), but I'm definitely seeing it soon. And yay Adrien for that kiss! *g* Although poor Halle, she looked a bit stunned. Plus kudos to Adrien for a thoughtful, elegant, smart speech. *That* is an acceptance speech that combines class and effusive joy, political/social commentary without lecturing (like the viewers are dummies or we need speaking for).
3. Steve Martin's Polanski joke: While pointing out who all was there, "There's Roman Polanski...get him!" (While most likely Polanski deserved to win the Oscar, and hey, it's completely separate from anything he's done in the past, I still abhor the notion that he's idolized even though he pleaded guilty to a crime and then ran. Dude, you do the crime, you do the time, then you move on because you repaid your debt to society. Besides, if your claim is that you're innocent and were forced into a plea agreement - which hell, I don't know if that's the story, I'm just saying - then get a lawyer to appeal it. Don't run and then have everyone clamor for you to be forgiven for your sins just because you're famous. You fucked up. Get over it. Either never come back or come home and face the jail time.)
4. Catherine Zeta-Jones' win: She was practically crowing. It's nice to actually see someone *happy* to win and not quite so humble. Folks, you've all got big egos. We all know this. Let the ego show just a bit for the fun of it. We don't mind. Fake humility is so...fake. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Nicole. Your mom and daughter are proud. You can cry and be happy. Get excited. It's a lot more genuine than that performance.)
5. The Michael Moore crack by Steve Martin: The teamsters helping Moore into the trunk of his limo. Hee. That cracked me up.
6. The short documentary thank you list: a boring category for which we all expected a boring acceptance speech and then...what the fuck? Did they just thank Maury Povich?
7. The best song winner: I have to say, right after everyone had performed their songs, I was sitting there (because I hadn't heard three of the songs before last night) and realized what was going to happen. Weirdness dictates that the most controversial nominee win since he wasn't there. But what was with the guy who went up there? His hair. Dude, the hair. Krusty the Clown lives!
8. Pete O'Toole: I so love that man. He was funny and smart and witty and just damn entertaining.
What I hated:
1. The boringness. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen most of the movies, but man. That was yawn worthy.
2. Michael Moore. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I hate about actors and their political leanings. Everyone has a right to their political view and to voice those views. But people who are already in the spotlight using that time to spout off about what they view and trying to pass it off as the sum total views of everyone else...that chafes. I say bite my ass Michael Moore, you don't speak for me. I don't care if I had agreed with everything you said, you can bite me.
3. The tributes. Boooooorrrrinnggg.
