Oscar Night Not for Me

I will not be watching the Oscars tonight.  It has been many years since I have watched them.   I used to be addicted to watching every bit of the activity having grown up with Bob Hope, who was the best Oscar emcee ever IMHO (ok, not so humble).  I even went to Oscar Parties - big shindigs here in Detroit as evidenced by this photo:

They were wonderful affairs with lots of food and a live telecast.  We even got authentic Oscar programs.

But little by little I got tired of the show and was disappointed with the movies and people who won. I could write volumes about movies I hated ('The English Patient' comes to mind) and actors I can't tolerate (Meryl Streep, I know, I know, don't say it).  And then there were movies I loved that didn't even get nominated ('Dreamgirls').

A few years ago I stopped going to the theatre to see movies.  I got tired of the patrons talking and texting and it extended across all age ranges.  Now I just wait for the DVD.

So, tonight I will watch a Downton Abbey special.  I received an email from a local PBS saying that the finale was postponed a week because of the Oscars.  In a choice between Oscar drivel and Downton there is no question which I prefer.

I still have my Oscar gowns stashed away so maybe I will get one out and wear if for the Downton finale next week.  I'd throw a party as I did for the Seinfeld finale, but the show starts a little too late for that.  If we started partying at seven, us old-timers might not make it to 10:30, lol.

I previously posted about Oscars here.

It's Oscar Night

Oscar Night.  I have not watched the Oscar telecast (or any award show for that matter) for the last several years.  When I was growing up, and even into young adulthood, I was glued to the set.  I loved the movies.

As a youngster, my parents would take us to the Bel-Air drive-in.  I still remember seeing the movie 'Them'. Maybe that is why I hate seeing ants.

As I got older, parents in the neighborhood would take turns driving us kids to a theater on the east side called the Eastwood.  Sometimes we went on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons to see a double feature, previews, and a cartoon for a quarter.  Those were the good-old days for sure.

Later on, when I was in college, they built a theater within walking distance, but for some reason I have no idea what it was called.  I do remember there was an Arlan's Department store in the same plaza.  All of it was built on the site of the old Motor-City Speedway.  (The author of this article is right about hearing the noise.  You could watch midget racing on TV and listen to the sound in stereo if you kept your windows open.)

My love for the movies never ended.  Before I dropped my Netflix subscription I had reviewed over 1500 titles.

Several years ago they started having Oscar parties in downtown Detroit.  They are quite gala affairs with a dinner preceding the show and then a viewing of the Oscars on big screen TVs.

The one held at the Roostertail on the Detroit River (2000) was my favorite, with a red carpet for the arriving guests.  I still remember walking up in this red velvet dress.

I still have that dress, along with another one I wore to one of the other parties in another year.  It is a Carmen Marc Valvo with a slit all the way up the leg and gorgeous trapunto stitching.  I know I could not fit in it today, but I just cannot part with it.

I wore it to my 1994 class reunion.  With any luck, I can get into it later this year for my 50th reunion.  Though I'm not sure about wearing something with that slit up to you know where.  Definitely not a dress for sitting down.

So, this evening, I will be watching Gravity.  Last night I watched Captain Phillips.  Even knowing the outcome, I was biting my nails and grinding my teeth.

I made one attempt to get to the local theater and see American Hustle, but the projector was broken and after waiting for half an hour I got a free pass and decided to come home.

I find that my tastes do not always coincide with the tastes of Academy members.  I've seen a lot of movies that won awards that I am sorry I wasted my money on.

Perhaps I should dress up and have a great meal while I watch the movie in the comfort of my home.  But then, when it comes to comfort, you can't beat your jammies.

It's just what my parents had us wear when we went to the drive-in.

The Morning after 'Oscar'

No, I did not watch the Oscar's last night.  I have reached the point in my life where I just want to know the facts, not all the 'hoopla' preceding the facts.  Besides, with the wonderful Internet, I can catch whatever I missed online, like the James Bond tribute.

I can say that I have seen each and every Bond film ever made.  I find it hard to believe that they have been making them for 50 years.  When 'Skyfall' came out, Richard Hammond of BBC's 'Top Gear' did a tribute to the '50 Years of Bond Cars'.  Wasn't it great to see that classic Aston Martin re-appear in 'Skyfall'?

Last night's montage of Bond clips was nice to see.  And how great was Shirley Bassey?  I actually have the soundtrack album from 'Goldfinger'.  One of these days I will either have my turntable fixed or just buy a new one so I can listen to all of my vinyl albums.

 

 

I am very happy that 'Argo' won for Best Picture.  But, I am very disappointed the Ben Affleck did not even get nominated for directing it.  Hey, Academy!  A picture does not make itself!!!!  If not for Ben's directing skills, 'Argo' would more likely resemble one of our dysfunctional Township Board meetings.

 

I have previously posted about the movie 'Lincoln', so I will not recap.  But here is a link to a commentary by Professor Walter Williams of George Mason University on Lincoln and his positions on slavery.  The good professor also has not seen the movie.  I can honestly say that Williams is one of the few editorial commentators I usually can agree with.  Check him out for yourself.

 

And speaking of Oscars, one of the websites had a list of the 10 worst films that ever won Oscars for Best Picture.  In somebody's opinion, anyway.  While I could agree that other nominated films may have been better, those that won were not 'bad' films, IMO.  I did go through the list of past winners and came up with my least favorite winners, two of which I had named in another post about movies.  There are only four of them that I really disliked, my 'ugh, why did I waste my money?' films.  They are:

 

1994 - Forrest Gump  (Shawshank Redemption should have won IMHO)

1996 - The English Patient

2007 - No Country for Old Men

2011 - The Artist (Midnight in Paris, no question!)

 

I've tried to see all of the past winners of Best Picture, though I must admit that at this point in time some of them are hard to remember.

 

Anyway, I am off to yoga, sunglasses in hand.  We are expecting more snow tomorrow so I had better make the best of today.  If I get snowed in, I can watch movies.