Watching the 84th Academy Awards

22:43 HAS IT REALLY BEEN ANOTHER YEAR? Jeez! Well, Oscar night is here again and I'm ready to face the botox and the disappointments. Haha. I've been sick all week (my week off, naturally), and I'm still not completely at my best state of staying up all night long. I will definitely needs some doping here. My sinuses hurt. Haha. Really! Also, I'm watching the Oscars alone this year, because all of my potential companions are unavailable. This is why I decided to blog my way through the night. This should be interesting. And even though I'm watching alone, I have food for at least two people. Got a little excited there...

This year I'll be looking at both the front and the insides of Kodak theatre extra carefully. (I heard Kodak declared bankruptcy just recently, so the home of the Oscars is not actually called Kodak theatre anymore; it's the Hollywood and Highlands Center. Whatever. It's still Kodak theatre for me.) I actually took a tour inside the theatre when visiting LA last fall. It was awesome! It'll also be awesome to watch the gala and keep an eye for seat fillers, while George Clooney sneaks out to the bar every ten minutes. He does that. It's a fact! I've got reliable sources! Meaning our tour guide. Haha.

An hour before the broadcast begins. Better go prepare the pizza, and get some caffeine and medicine in my system. This could be a looooong night...

Some post-Oscar sentiments 2011

Voilá, a more or less brief summary of the thoughts than ran through my mind in the Oscar Night.

(It turned out to be 'less brief'. So, if you're still dying to get inside my head, proceed by clicking below.)

The King's Speech (2010) - your ma-majesty has a pr-problem

directed by Tom Hooper / starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce

Whenever I see a British film, I for some reason automatically keep an eye on Harry Potter actors. It's fun, because half of British actors have been in a Harry Potter movie. If you count more than one, it's worth mentioning. If they have any scenes together, it's extra fun. Then you can compare them to their Potter characters and see if it's odd that they're interacting. In The King's Speech, Bellatrix and Pettigrew were definitely on the same side again, but Dumbledore was a bit of a douche.

...Oh, what do you know, I'm being a dork again! Let us now discuss the film in a civilized manner.

The King's Speech tells the story of King George VI. And his speech. As one might conclude. The title of the film is, of course, quite clever, as it refers to the King's speech, as in an ability to talk, as well as to his speech that he is to give as a king. There are some severe problems with him giving speeches, because the poor man's speech is not one of a charismatic leader. In other words, he stammers, a lot. His wonderful, lovely wife keeps taking him from a speech terapist to another, but his condition remains seemingly uncured until they find Lionel Logue, whose approach to the problem seems somewhat different. For one, he calls the King (well, the Duke, at first) Bernie.

The cast was what I liked the most about The King's Speech. They didn't get that SAG award for nothing! The utterly lovely Colin Firth may have his Oscar, as far as I'm concerned. I would happily allow him to have it (even though I'm still secretly holding my thumbs up for Jesse Eisenberg, and I'd also like James Franco to get some awards, judging by the latest trailer of 127 Hours (the actual movie on Friday, hooray! The awards season is getting expensive for me)), just for being such a sweetheart. And because it actually hurt a bit to watch him try and force all those words out of his mouth. You wanted him to succeed as much as he did himself.

I love Helena Bonham Carter, whatever she does (especially when she wears odd pair of heels in award ceremonies). She is wonderful as the wife who always stands by her husband. I loved the little scene with her and Lionel's wife. Geoffrey Rush rocks, too. And Guy Pearce, he plays a douche very well ("I've been busy... kinging!")! The girl who played Princess Margaret bothered me by looking so familiar, but I just couldn't place her. (Turns out she's in a little TV show called Outnumbered, of which I've seen a few random episodes, and it seems so hilarious. Those kids, they kill me... I need to try and catch more episodes. I think they show it on one of the YLE channels...)

Overall, the film was... Well, I liked it, yes, I think it was quite charming and presented a kind of male bonding in a very nice way. It had genuinely funny moments (the cursing... the best part of the film. And when during Bernie's big speech Lionel is mouthing him the F word, hahaha...) and the parallels to historical events gave it more depth. A very good film it is. But I don't wish February 27th to be its day. There are other films that have striked me as more memorable and deserving and, well, striking. Let dear Colin take home his golden statue, but I don't think The King's Speech should be remembered as the best film of 2010. (It WOULD deserve an award for the best usage of curse words, though...)

"Long pauses are good. They add solemnity to great occasions."

"Then I must the solemnest king who ever lived."

Mamma Mia! (2008) - thank you for the music, indeed

directed by Phyllinda Lloyd / starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried

Today wasn't my day. I sat in front of a blank page with a blank mind, and after some desperate pondering (that went nowhere) I closed the document, left the computer, picked a DVD from my shelf and put Mamma Mia! on. Because sometimes there are days, when that's all you can do - forget about deadlines and enjoy one and a half hours of pure joy.

In the movie version of a hugely popular stage musical hit, Sophie invites three men to her wedding, wishing to find her real father. She bases her hopes to her mum's, named Donna, old diary entries. Figuring out which one of the three candidates shares her DNA turns out to be quite a ride... So Mamma Mia, here we go again.

It's really quite amazing how all those ABBA songs seem to fit so well in the story, without hardly any changes in the lyrics. Donna is having Money Money Money problems. Donna best friends Rosie and Tanya want Donna to let out her inner Dancing Queen again. The father candidates Sam, Bill and Harry reminisce Our Last Summer, when they all met Donna. Sophie's soon-to-be-husband Sky urges Sophie to Lay All Your Love On Me. Sophie wants to know What's The Name Of The Game. Pierce Brosnan gets a duet and it's only approapriate that the song is called SOS. Donna is afraid that time is Slipping Through My Fingers. And When All I Said And Done we can only Thank You For The Music.

ABBA music is just awesome. For the hundredth time I have to humbly swallow my pride and admit that the damn Swedes did it once again. What ever song they are merciful enough to play on Saturday nights, you can bet I'm on the dance floor within that second and once again happily making a fool out of myself. I just can't resist those tunes.

 Meryl Streep is a wonder woman and I adore her and I want to be her! In Mamma Mia! she is again phenomenal, bubbling with great energy and presence. She might be in her 60s, but damn girl, senility isn't something you have to worry about just yet. And if anything else, her Winner Takes It All performance proves that she can sing the crap out of everyone if she wants to!

The actors all do their own singing, obviously. They might not all be qualified for stage (which gives me a good excuse to mention the stage musical. Which was so much fun. There's nothing like that final Waterloo singalong...), but I appreciate them for sticking their necks out and not taking themselves too seriously. Of course there's Amanda Seyfried (with that gorgeous hair I have to mention every time I talk about her), who sings just beautifully, but then on the other hand there's my dear Mr Firth and most of all Mr Bond, James Bond. Seriously, when Prosnan sings, even he himself looks like he's in pain. Oh well. I'm not the one to judge, really, haha. Of the rest of the cast, I want to mention the jättehärligt Stellan Skarsgård, the super hot Dominic Cooper with that super hot accent and Julie Walters, whom I love even when she's overacting.

The movie is silly, alright. There's a lot of screaming and jumping up and down and running around almost to the extent of being annoying. And yet it's just wonderful. It's an exlploding package of joy, fun, music and dance. The exlamation point is in the title for a reason! Mamma Mia! is a stimulant that never fails you. I've watched the movie on numerous rainy days - both literally and figuratively rainy - and every times it manages to light up the skies, bring a smile to my face and make my feet restless.

There's no guilt in this pleasure.

"I grew up."

"Well then grow back down again!"

It's walks along the Seine & morning croissants for me!

Well, folks, I'm off to Paris! I'll be back next week, on one piece I hope, and my bank account still above zero. A little, at least.

This is me saying au revoir with a little help from the oh-so-adorable Colin Firth, the damn-why-is-everyone-from-Sweden-so-cool Stellan Skarsgård, the please-give-me-your-hair Amanda Seyfried... and Pierce Brossnan.

Oh oui.

A Single Man

I actually had to go to school today, whoa, shocker! I had a lecture about North American culture and literature, and when we started talking about A Streetcar Named Desire, I even started listening. I saw the movie based on the play some years ago, and I remember not liking it. I thought it was boring and anti-climactic. Now, as the lecturer talked about the characters and the themes (with his British accent that almost makes me like the guy. Nah, kidding, he's alright) and so on, I felt like I should watch it again. Surely I have matured enough during these years to understand and appreciate this classic? Eh, wouldn't count on it, but it has young Marlon Brando in it, so I might as well give it another change.

Ok, here's something I'd been looking forward to.

A Single Man (2009)


Directed by Tom Ford. Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult.

Long story (very) short: George, who has recently lost his partner, attempts to get through another day of his life, which he doesn't really care about anymore.

First observation: fashion designers should make more movies. The look of the film is absolutely fantastic, and quite unique, I could've just watched the film without sound. Every shot and every frame was so carefully planned and arranged. Colours were very beautiful, the way they changed the mood of the scene (and vice versa). The colours made the most common-place settings look almost other-wordly and magical. And whoa, the cinematography, all those strange points of view and croppings. The film is just art!

And now I'm even more disapointed that Colin Firth didn't get his Oscar. Damn you Academy! Alright, I haven't seen Crazy Heart and of course the nomination is a great recognizion in itself. But Colin oh Colin, why have you wasted all these years doing stupid comedies, when you can actually do drama so freaking well?? (No, I take part of that back, my world would be a slightly darker place without him singing Our Last Summer and dancing around in that horrible outfit in Mamma Mia!) And doesn't he look just dashing?


I saw an interview some time ago... He said that when Tom Ford had told him how the film would begin - a shot of him lying naked on a bed - he had obviously been a bit horrified and Ford had added something like: "You know, you're a good-looking guy. But if you want to work out a bit, that would be good, just so that you feel more comfortable yourself." Hah. But obviously he did work out. It's easy to see that Tom Ford likes male bodies, he makes them look so beautiful in this film. Well, he makes everyone look beautiful. Speaking of which...

Mirror mirror on the wall, who in the land is fairest of all? Here's your answer.


Somewhere between About A Boy and A Single Man, something happened to Nicholas Hoult. Just to remind you what he looked like back when he was hanging around with Hugh Grant and singing Killing Me Softly... Behold the wonders of puberty.


Doesn't this give hope to all those poor little boys who are being bullied? Don't worry, love, one day you'll grow up to look like this.


Things are certainly looking good for Nicholas Hoult. I think he was quite compelling in this film, and it's not only because Tom Ford made him look like Adonis. Or at least I don't think so. In fact, I felt the only part of the film that dragged a bit was the scene with Julianne Moore, who wasn't bad, no. I was just waiting for that divine boy to appear again. And I used to watch Skins and think he's too pretty. Hmh.

A Single Man is quite astonishing, indeed. I can't remember seeing anything quite like it before. I haven't really said anything about the plot. Well, time to time I felt that the plot didn't really even matter, I enjoyed what I was watching anyway. But yes - the plot was good, too.

"It takes time in the morning for me to become George, time to adjust to what is expected of George and how he is to behave. By the time I have dressed and put the final layer of polish on the now slightly stiff but quite perfect George I know fully what part I'm suppose to play."

Now... I feel like a very lousy student for being sober this close to Vappu. I promise I'll do my best tomorrow. Maybe a day without movies would be only good for a change. Before I forget how to socialize and actually talk to people. Haha. Oh well. Hyvää vappua, anyways.