Oscars Wrap-Up: What Went Wrong

As much as I've raved about James Franco as an actor, artist and all-around fascinating figure, the Oscars telecast last night did not live up to my expectations. Although, to be honest I don't know what we were expecting - neither James Franco nor Anne Hathaway are comedians and they obviously didn't write their own material. So many times last night, I wished Ricky Gervais would magically appear to save the show. Or maybe that Billy Crystal would just take over - his was pretty much the only part of the show that ended up laugh-worthy.

Anne Hathaway is annoying on her own and even more so when she's trying to be funny. The two didn't have even a little bit of chemistry although I never find her to have much chemistry with any of her co-stars. And today, the media is buzzing that James Franco was on something (perhaps some weed?) but I honestly think he just got progressively bored and tired - at times he could hardly keep his eyes open. The crazy over-achiever is already simultaneously enrolled in three grad programs right now and I read he doesn't get much sleep. But I mean, when you know you're going to host the Oscars...maybe you should stock up on the Visine and take a nap beforehand.

James did give his Twitter followers a backstage pass to the event, which was exciting for social media buffs like me. He even filmed his first appearance on-stage and posted it to Twitter right away so we could see what he saw, and get kind-of the same experience he had on-stage. That really is social media at its finest – rewarding your followers with exclusive material they won't find anywhere else.

Forget the terrible production and the bad hosting, the worst part of last night was Melissa Leo. I have a huge problem with winners acting all surprised when they were in fact the favourite to win. And Melissa Leo, who won Best Supporting Actress last night, basically should've had her award taken away for the terrible acting during her acceptance speech. I get that winning an Oscar is the Nobel Prize of acting, and that after a life-long career, it's a celebration, blah-blah-blah, but really?! She's pretty much won every Supporting Actress award this awards season so why was she SO shocked to win, and why did she have an emotional breakdown on-stage, complete with an F-bomb? Her 'surprised and overcome-with-emotions' act was just that - an act. It was so terribly fake, it made me completely forget how much I loved her performance in The Fighter. As it is, I'm annoyed with her after those 'Consider Me' ads she took out herself, to promote her Oscar nomination to the Academy voters. Not that she didn't deserve it but she basically pimped herself out to win an Oscar.



I had made my own Oscar predictions, and here's how I did – not very well, as it turns out!

2011 Oscar Predictions

With the elusive and always-fascinating James Franco hosting this year (oh yeah, and that Anne Hathaway girl from Princess Diaries too), I couldn't be more excited for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. This year's films really pushed the envelope, emotionally and physically (although I probably say that every year). The Fighter and The King's Speech inspired us, reminding us about determination and going against all odds, The Social Network really spoke to the Facebook-obsessed society we have become, and Toy Story 3, well, it kind of just made me cry and want to be a kid again.

Just like every year, I do have some issues with the nominations - I'm still a bit pissed that Blue Valentine didn't get nods for Best Picture and Best Actor (Ryan Gosling). And I really did think The Town deserved a Best Picture nod too, but I don't know, maybe that's just because I have a thing for films about Baaahston.

Now that we're only nine days away, I've officially put down my personal Oscar predictions this year, to see how accurate I am come the morning after.

Get your own official Oscar Ballot and see how well you do.

Oh, and being a huge James Franco fan, I have to mention that he just joined Twitter! As if a 140-character limit would ever be enough for this overachiever; for his first tweet, he made a video. Love it.

Review: The King's Speech - Colin Firth Finds his Voice

I've mentioned time and time again that in my eyes, Colin Firth has always and will always be dreamy Mr. Darcy. So when I watch a film that makes me completely forget that part of his resume, it's pretty impressive. With the most Oscar nominations this year (at 12), The King's Speech is a royal engagement you should definitely watch before the Academy Awards on February 27th. Garnering nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor AND Supporting Actress, to name but a few, The King's Speech is based on the true tale of stammering King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's Dad).

Colin Firth played this role marvelously, consumed with an air of arrogance, but a reluctant vulnerability, fighting off demons from his traumatizing childhood. When an actor takes on an accent or a specific speech impediment, there's always the risk it could turn out too mechanical or over-the-top. In Colin's case, the stammer was not forced at all. I found myself completely captivated with his story, cheering him on from the sidelines.

But it wasn't him alone, Colin's supporting cast was equally amazing! As his wife (the Queen Mother), Helena Bonham Carter had the supportive wife bit down, with the perfect mix of helpless sympathy and compassion, the way she took on her husband's failures and successes as her own. And as King George's speech therapist, Geoffrey Rush was the only one who seemed to be able to speak to a King with such guts and gusto, with pompous confidence in his own abilities that definitely paid off. The dynamic between these three actors was phenomenal, casting couldn't have been better.

As much as this role didn't make me think of Mr. Darcy, cast members from Pride and Prejudice (BBC) were popping up throughout the film to make sure I didn't quite forget why I love Colin Firth. Don't think I didn't see you, Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle), and Mr. Collins. By the way, did anyone else get a slight tinge of lingering attraction when Colin's character met  Jennifer Ehle's. Wishful thinking? Swoon.

83rd Oscars get Social Media Savvy

This year, the 83rd Academy Award nominations will be announced live and online, via Livestream, which is pretty exciting for movie-addicted, social media enthusiasts (like me). Those of you who'll be at work can watch right along with the press and find out which of this year's memorable film performances got a coveted spot on the list.

Not to be outdown by the upcoming Grammy's, the Oscars are going all out in terms of social media interaction with fans, planning 'Oscar Tweets', and daily online programming to get people hyped up. This year you can not only be on the periphery of the most prestigious, star-studded Hollywood awards show of the year, but you'll get the chance to be engaged in what's happening backstage, behind the scenes.

You can watch the nominees announced live at 8:30 am EST right here. Oscar night is on February 27th so you have just over a month to watch all the nominated films.

Watch live streaming video from academyawards at livestream.com