For me, the BAFTAs are better than the Oscars. Why?
The reasons, in no particular order are
- the show is in London ( although I am not at the Covent Gardem Royal Opera, I'm still technically within an 50 mile radius from the stars )
- everything involving this particular ceremony is stylish, with a lot of class and elegance and gratitude. People don't show up for the glamour or the gossip, they are trully honouring the work- well, most of them anyway
- the BAFTAs usually get it right when it comes to nominations, and the winners are much more appreciated and agreed upon than the Oscars in most cases- LATER EDIT: no, they don't, this year they drooled at the feet of Artist!
- The ceremony is short and very well timed (short speeches, no breaks?)
- I simply love the British accent and 99% of the people, plus the British actors are not only immensly talented, but also very attractive.
LATER EDIT: I maybe be wrong! But it's still one spot ahead of the Oscars in my book, just for sentimental value! :)
Of course the Oscars have their charm, but it's not 26th of February yet, so let's focus on tonight, shall we?
WINNERS:
Special Visual Effects – Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows II Well deserved and a nice way to pay tribute to one of the best and most loved films&franchise out there
Short Film – Pitch Black Heist It apparently features Michael Fassbender, so I guess I am happy?!
Short Animation – A Morning Stroll No idea what so ever here, sorry!
Original Music – The Artist (Ludovic Bource) No surprise here!
Sound – Hugo
Editing – Senna (Gregers Sall, Chris King) Some say it is a surprise, but maybe it's because they haven't seen Senna! If they had, they would have known it is deserving of its award.
Cinematography – The Artist (Guillaume Schiffman) A little bit dissapointed, there were better options there, but still a good choice!
Costume Design – The Artist (Mark Bridges) why would you give an award to a Black&White movie set in the 1920s, an era from which you can easily get costumes in every thrift store? I would have given this to superhero movies, or Harry Potter or period movies, someone who created and innovated, not to the Artist!
Make Up & Hair – The Iron Lady (Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland, Marese Langan) Again, seriously? for putting on make up on one woman? what about the other nominees, surely we can find better? They are starting to piss me off!
Film Not in the English Language – The Skin I Live In And with that, my faith is restored! I know it's a snub for A Separation and most will be shocked, but I am pleasantly surprised!
Outstanding Debut – Tyrannosaur Very happy with this one, as well, the movie is fantastic and it features the best performances I have seen in a while! See it if you have a chance!
Production Design – Hugo (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo) Another rightful winner, Hugo was visually beautiful
Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer (Beginners) That was, probably, the most predictable award of the night, and I am glad he won, although I haven't seen the film! He is such a charming, elegant, nice man!
Outstanding British Film – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Good choice- I would liked to see Shame get something, but TTSS is a fantastic movie, with great performances, so I approve! :)
Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer (The Help) I would have loved a surprise here, but no, still Octavia Spencer!
Original Screenplay – The Artist Are you fucking kidding me? Best Original Screenplay? For a classic romantic comedy, but set in the 1920s, without words or serious plot or character development???? seriously? This is just crazy, I cannot understand it! Yes, The Artist is original in music, or production design, or for the fact it is black and white and silent, but for screenplay? Come on!
Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema- John Hurt Congratulations Mister Hunt and thank you for everything!
Orange Rising Star – Adam Deacon Ok,so I have never seen Adam Deacon act, so maybe I am wrong and he is brilliant, but how dare you snub Loki, the wonderful Tom Hiddleston? Aghh...this is getting frustrating! Who is this guy and how many fans can he possibly have?
Documentary – Senna This ceremony is going up and down, I feel worn out! Now it's up for Senna and special mention to Paul Bettany presenting!
Adapted Screenplay – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Interesting choice, but I have to agree!
Animated Film – Rango
Director – Michel Hazanavicius Tom Hooper all over again! His directing wasn't nearly as exciting as Hugo or Shame or Drive, but hey, it's The Artist!
Leading Actress – Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) Love the Cinderella moment, and she is always was funny and sweet!
Leading Actor – Jean Dujardin (The Artist) Wow, I really thought a Brit will get this! I'm so sorry for Fassbender and Oldman! That kinda means he is getting the Oscar, which I am not happy about!
Best Film – The Artist That was a shocker...not! AM I THE ONLY ONE SICK OF THE ARTIST?
Academy Fellowship- Martin Scorsese Deserved, indeed, very happy for him!
Best line of the night: "I would just like to thank the Artist for not being adapted from a book!"-Peter Straughan receiving the award for Best Adapted Screenplay---you and me, both, Peter!
Most overused, overappreciated, cocky bastard of the night: Michel Hazanavicius! These awards are getting to his head, I think I saw him on stage 4 or 5 times, if not more, and always with a slightly cocky attitude!
Overall, I am dissapointed in most of the winners, as Artist easily wins the big categories (I am already getting sick of it and all that involves or mentions the word Artist), so should I be even watching the Oscars? We all know what will happen!
It was a nice evening, rather boring, but interesting! Stephen Fry was very reserved and gratious, the opposite of Ricky Gervais, but I liked him!
What do you guys think of the winners?
I definetly agree about BAFTas being elegant. I love that Fry can be both hilarious and classy. I'm sad that the usual "hate for the BP winner" is starting - that is almost a curse even when the awards get something right then people hate the movie. I completely agree with them giving The artist best original screenplay - rich characters, the ability to engage audiance without dialogues or some big chase scenes, it looks simple but it is very challenging to write something like that. And although Fassbender's role is much mroe powerful than Dujardin, that win pretty muchs seals the deal. And I support anything which drives away Clooney's chance at winning for that silly little movie.
ReplyDeletei'm trying no to be influenced, you see I like the Artist, I'm all for it, but I think all the awards talk and fuss makes people sick of it, like Sati above said.
ReplyDeleteSome categories it shouldn't have won perhaps, yes. I'd like to see Woody Allen win Original Screenplay, definitely. Best director... I haven't seen Shame (so I can't say anything about Fass either) but I do think that Drive would've been a nice pick too.
And completely agree about Tom Hiddleston, idek who Deacon is. But overall I was satisfied with the wins.
I went to sleep and didn't watch it :( I still hate the BAFTAs for all the backstabbing towards Potter, so in this instance Oscars are better because they would have probably rewarded a film that their whole movie industry depended on for a decade.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind The Artist so much, even though everything is getting predictable now, but if it wins Best original Screenplay over Midnight in Paris, we shall have a riot in our hands people.
Dujardin is so cute he is forgiven from everything.
@Sati: I don't agree with the fact that the Artist has rich characters, because I don't see anything new or complex or interesting about them- if you think about it, like I said in my review, you have seen these types of characters in hundreds of movies before; they trick you by making you believe it's something else just because of the silent aspect and the 1920s. Anyway, I guess I am embarking in the "hate BP winner" for the simple reason that I don't like people/groups/movies etc that win almost everything, therefore making the show/contest etc predictable (it's not just for the movies, I don't like Barcelona or Federer or Schumacher because of the same principle). I don't hate it, to say so, I am just hoping for some surprises and a little originality. Getting BP is so much more than the quality of the movie, it's about the publicity, the producers, the press etc.
ReplyDelete@Maria Sofia: Hello, new commenter, nice to have you here; BTW, I love your name, if I will have a daughter, I will name her Sophia. I agree that all the awards talk make people sick of it, you get bored of the same name after a while, and yes, Original Screenplay should have gone to Midnight in Paris. Nice to see a Hiddleston fan, as well :) thanks for dropping by!
@Nikhat: Yeah, that was weird, giving HP only one award, and I guess I can forgive Dujardin, too, he does seem cute. Let's see what he does for the Oscars :) Oh, and I saw the SNL sketch, he was adorable
I wish I had watched now. Seeing as it is on at a reasonable time and I could have still got some sleep!!
ReplyDeleteBut I was busy doing other stuff
I agree with you though, BAFTAS for the win!!
The thing I am most glad about is Senna winning Best Editing and Documentary. It may sound weird, but that's going to be my highlight of the entire awards season!
ReplyDelete@Scott: You can still look up some categories online, like Best Actress, for Meryl Streep's Cinderella moment
ReplyDelete@Stevee: Definitely one of favorite moments, as well! I'm very happy for Senna and a little bit proud, one of the main people, I think the director, is an alumni of my university!
Nice to see Paddy win, that was very deserving. Glad to see Senna got recognized as well.
ReplyDeleteThe British Academy seem to know what they are doing. Next year I'm going to try and watch the ceremony.