The 84th Annual Academy Awards

I've written before about my bizarre love for award shows. I can't describe why I love them really, I generally just enjoy everything about them. I think it's partly because I aspire to be there... not this time. I didn't enjoy the show in the slightest. I might be being a bit patriotic here, but the BAFTAs were so much better! There wasn't as much messing around, the clothes the stars wore were nicer (no offence), there was more awards presenting, and the presenter was a hell of a lot funnier!

Also, the results of the Oscars were far too predictable. It would have been nice if the academy had surprised us and picked high quality performances, as opposed to a popular, mainstream performances that promote the films more. Now I haven't seen "The Artist" so I might be being a little bit harsh here, and I'm sure the actors did a good job and I'm sure the film is a lot better than I'm giving it credit for- I might change my mind completely after I see it tomorrow- but it seems like a gimicky film made purely to make money (a bit like 3D) that everyone has jumped on the bandwagon for.

So yeah, The Artist was a big winner at the Oscars. It pulled in:

• Best picture- up against "The Descendants"; "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"; "The Help"; "Hugo"; "Midnight in Paris"; "Moneyball"; "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse". I've only seen War Horse of this selection, and I didn't think it was the most well deserving film of an Oscar, but some of the films- in my opinion- look better than The Artist! For instance The Help, Moneyball and The Tree of life. 
• Best Actor in a leading role- Jean Dujardin. Up against: Demián Bichir (A Better Life); George Clooney (The Descendants); Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); Brad Pitt (Moneyball). Again, I haven't seen The Artist so I'm in no position to comment on the actors performance, but Gary Oldman deserved this Oscar more than anyone. His performance, was so believable, and heartfelt and just fantastic. I'm devastated he got overlooked!
• Costume design- up against "Anonymous"; "Hugo"; "Jane Eyre" and "W.E". From what I've seen of the costumes, this was deserved.
• Best director- Michel Hazanavicious. Up against Alexander Payne (The Descendants); Martin Scorsese (Hugo); Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) and Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life). I haven't seen any of these films, but I thought The Descendants looked like a wannabe Nicholas Sparks film, Hugo didn't look too bad, Midnight in Paris looked far too clichéd for today's film industry, and I liked the look of The Tree of Life.
• Music (Original Score). Up against: "The Adventures of TinTin"; "Hugo"; "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"; "War Horse". I would have been pleased with either Tinker Tailor or War Horse winning this category. They both had fantastic music that enhanced my opinion of the film and made me feel emotions I wouldn't have felt otherwise.

Other big wins were Meryl Streep for her portrayal of Maggie Thatcher in "The Iron Lady". I was not surprised by this, nor did I begrudge Ms Streep the award as she is a phenomenal actress, adaptable into almost any role, and massively hated woman can not be an easy role to portray. I didn't see the performance, I felt the film a bit too sympathetic towards Thatcher for my liking, but I from the clips I have seen I think Streep shows great depth and quality and an understanding of the character (a massively important quality in a performance), and I think it would be very hard to understand this particular character so I commend her for it. Octavia Spencer won Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and though I have not seen the film I would have loved Melissa McArthy to have won this award for her character in "Bridesmaids", as I felt she stole the show. I had seen none of the films in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role, so I don't feel qualified to comment on it, but I commend Mr Plummer as he has always been a good actor, and deserves the title of the oldest actor ever to win an Oscar.