Back to the Movies After the Awards

Well the Big Hype is over. Time to go back to the blah movies. Here's some reflections on last night's program:

A Ratings Bomb: According to overnight results this year's show was 14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever. Nielsen said Monday that overnight ratings are also 21 percent lower than last year, when "The Departed" was named best picture. I read somewhere that the BIG audiences come when the BIG blockbuster movies are in contention. Like Titanic and Lord of the Rings. So it is no surprise that this year was down.

Not to mention, we all knew it would be dull. My daughter says I say that every year. Well, it is dull. I'm not sure I would have watched if I hadn't seen all those films that were nominated.

Only One Surprise: Tilda Swinton. Speaking of surprises, there weren't any. Except Tilda Swinton winning supporting actress for Michael Clayton. Actually I don't think this was a surprise. She was excellent.

Four European winners: All the acting awards- a Spaniard (Bardem), a French woman (Cotillard), and two Brits (Day-Lewis and Swinton). Come on American actors, let's start getting those great parts.

Hooray for the Coen Brothers: Indie goes mainstream as these eclectic and out-in-left-field filmmakers get their much deserved mainstream recognition. They have been off-beat favorites for years but they have now shown that they do compete with the best. Even if they still are off-beat.

A REAL Song won: The Disney Music Machine overdid it this year. And they weren't that good either. Thank goodness for Once, the mini-budget movie that could. It got great press, although small, and now won the song award. I am looking forward to seeing it on DVD. As I listened to the three (yes, three) songs from Enchanted I wondered if anyone had actually heard them before they voted?

Jon Stewart: Relaxed, non-anxious-presence. What a refreshing host.

And an aside: Yes I know I said Atonement was my best picture of the year on Saturday. It still is. But as I said then, No Country is a masterpiece, a class almost of its own. There was no way, none, zip, zilch, that any other movie could have won. The same is true for both Bardem and Day-Lewis for their two roles. What a set of performances!

And one more aside: I just finished reading the book No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. It was worth reading after seeing the movie because I put some great faces to the roles. Surprisingly it is a relatively short book because of its style. I found nothing of consequence was left out, except long monologues by the sheriff on the passing of time and the change going on. There seemed to be a couple liberties taken but nothing that changed the message. But I think the movie was, overall, more powerful.