My Sick Mind

Sometimes, contests aren't really contests. Sometimes, people who are winners are already winners. Sometimes, losers aren't losers. Such is the case with the Academy Awards - and other awards shows. That's why they say "and the Oscar goes to" instead of "and the winner is." Somebody realized that they were already winners, and God forbid we hurt the feelings of a multi-millionaire who has the world on a string by inferring that he is a loser by declaring someone else a winner. We're big on awards. We give out Grammy's, Emmy's and other awards to people in the entertainment industry who earn more money than ten people together. We get wrapped up in who wins and loses - er...wins and doesn't win ... to the extent that we have 4-hour television shows that encourage people on the east coast to stay up until after midnight to find out which rich bastard won a Best Director Oscar or which film that already took in $400 million of your money...

I don't know why we (people) get so worked up over awards shows. The Grammy 's, the Emmy 's and the Academy Awards get a lot of attention while most of us have to get up and go to work tomorrow. Maybe it's because we like to see that a movie or song that we like gets an award for being a movie or song that a lot of people like? We like to think that our tastes reflect what society thinks. Some of us (me) don't give a crap what society thinks, and as a matter of fact, if I like something that society likes I start to wonder why I like it, because the masses of people are clueless. They will give out the Oscars tonight, and the biggest change (other than saying "the Oscar goes to" instead of "the winner is") is that there are now 10 films nominated instead of the customary five. It's the Little League version of award shows, but mostly it is so that the nominated films can reap the profits from being nominated. It's always about money. ...

So they gave out those Academy Awards on Sunday night. I'd be all twisted up, but the only two movies I saw were "The Dark Knight" and "The Visitor" (best actor nominee). From what I hear, I'm one of twelve people who saw "The Visitor." I recommend it, by the way. I can't speak for the other eleven. There's kind of a homophobic thing going on with that "Milk" movie. It's hard to explain, but if you mention it to some people and tell them you liked it, they look at you funnily (queerly, so to speak) and tell you how horrible it was that it was even nominated, so imagine my glee to see Spicoli win the Oscar. I'd be happier if it actually had anything to do with my life. I don't get worked up over awards shows like I used to. Age and maturity have given me a more healthy perspective and generally, their winning or losing doesn't affect my life, so why should I care? I do get a kick out of the self-importance of th...

Since most of you are snowed-in or forced to deal with the Super Bowl, I'll offer up a few capsule movie reviews and recommendations. My taste in entertainment is a bit obscure, so maybe some of these films will be new to you: North Country - Charlize Theron plays Tomboy as Josey Aimes, one of the only women working the iron mines in Minnesota in the 1970s. She leads a group of similarly abused women in standing up against the oppression of their bosses. Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson put in yeoman's work. Recommended. The Man Who Wasn't There - A Coen Brothers film noir starring Billy Bob Thornton as the almost comatose co-owner of a barbershop who gets caught up in a ponsey scheme to open up, of all things, a chain of dry cleaners. He tries to blackmail his wife's lover, but the scheme has unwanted consequences for all concerned. Frances McDormand again is stellar. Recommended, but don't watch it if you're sleepy. Burn After Reading - Another...

"He has no genitalia and he's holding a sword." - Dustin Hoffman, 52nd Academy Awards, 1980 Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast went off without a hitch, and other than Tilda Swinton 's Supporting Actress award for her work in "Michael Clayton", there weren't a lot of surprises. Tilda seemed a little surprised herself, and millions of casual movie-goers now know who Tilda Swinton is. Speaking of millions of casual movie-goers, the same thought crosses my mind every year while I'm watching the Oscars. Why do they show us those Short Subject and Foreign Film awards at the beginning of the show? I haven't seen an animated short subject in a movie theater since I was five years old, and in most parts of the country, foreign film is the stuff that gets stuck to your teeth after drinking milk. But we persevere through the awards like Art Direction, Make-up and Animated Short Subject so that we can get to the Tilda Swinton Awards - acting, direc...

The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday night, and unlike previous years, this year I've actually seen some of the nominated films. Regardless, it doesn't stop me from having an opinion, because I'm an American, and I don't have to see something to know what I think of it. To wit, here are my predictions: Performance by an actor in a leading role George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" If anyone besides Daniel Day-Lewis wins this award, there should be a federal investigation. I haven't seen a performance like his that I can remember, and when one recalls great acting performances, it should be about actors who gave us something memorable. His work is far too deep and emotional to ignore. Performance by an actor in a ...