State Of Mind: "The 2012 Oscars"

State Of Mind: "The 2012 Oscars"

So, the Oscars were yesterday, and, considering my blog is at least partially film-based, I feel I should chime in. The ceremony as a whole was kind of bland. Billy Crystal wasn't bad, but he wasn't great either. I think after least year's disaster of Anne Hathaway and James Franco, they just wanted a bit of stability back. In terms of the awards and winners, I have a few qualms.

The first one is for a somewhat minor category. Why didn't "Tree of Life" win Best Cinematography? The film was almost completely cinematography and beautiful images! I just didn't get it.

The second is that I think "Bridesmaids" should have won for Best Screenplay. "Midnight in Paris" is good and all, but it's basically Woody Allen being Woody Allen. "Bridesmaids", on the other hand, is truly original. It takes standard romantic comedy tropes and subverts and deconstructs them. Every usual comedic situation makes sense in context and has real world implications. The relationship between Annie and Lilian is the core of the film, and their interactions are based in how people actually talk. The characters are all well-rounded and well-written. How does the script that served as a milestone in the discussion of women in comedy not win?

My next two gripes might just be interlocked. The first is that I think Berenice Bejo should have won for Best Supporting Actress. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely loved Octavia Spencer in "The Help". She was funny, moving, and provocative. However, I felt as though I really connected with Berenice. I became emotionally invested in her relationship with Jean Dujardin's character. When she cried, I felt like crying, and, when she laughed, it made me happy. I wanted them together in the end, and I was actually worried that they might not make it. That's a level of involvement that I just didn't feel with Octavia's character, which I think has more to do with the writing than her portrayal.

My biggest complaint is that Viola Davis did not win Best Actress. Again, I absolutely adore Meryl Streep. She is brilliant in pretty much every role she's ever been given, and she deserves every nomination she gets. However, therein lies the problem. She gets tons of nominations because she gets tons of opportunities to show her stuff. Viola Davis is a slightly older black woman. How many good and powerful leading roles are written for women like her? This was the academy's opportunity to give it to someone new, someone who may not get a chance like this again for a long time. It was bad enough that, not so long ago, they passed over Gabourey Sidibe's incredible debut in "Precious", a movie centered almost entirely around black people, to give the Oscar to Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side", the movie about a white family saving the black kid. Instead, they did exactly what they did this year: they nominated the two black female leads for the Supporting and Lead categories, gave it to the Supporting Actress, and then snubbed the Lead Actress. In fact, they would have made history by giving Viola the Oscar. She would have been only the second black woman ever, after Halle Berry, to win the Oscar for Best Leading Actress. Wasn't that reason enough to give her the Oscar? That's not even mentioning the performance itself. It did to me exactly what Berenice's performance did: it made me get invested in the fate of the character. She was flawless, and that final scene (which I won't spoil here) is one of the few movie moments to almost make me cry. Just to be clear, I've never cried at a movie before, so the movie and performances that bring me close to it ("Toy Story 3", "Up", Viola Davis in "The Help", Berenice Bejo in "The Artist") are very impressive to me.

I thought that this was definitely Viola's year. It was their chance to reward a brilliant actress for her amazing role in a very good movie. Instead, they chose the safe nominee. That's probably the best word that I can use to describe this year's Oscars: safe. From the host to the winners, everything was being played safe and simple. Some of the nominees were interesting (Jonah Hill, Melissa McCarthy, and "Bridesmaids"'s screenplay come to mind), but it just felt kind of dull overall. I am disappointed in you, Oscars. Viola will hopefully have her moment, it just wasn't last night.

Nostalgia Factor: "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!"

I've played this game so many times. I can literally blow through it in a day or two at this point, and I have pretty much memorized how to get 100% completion without even thinking about it. Either way, I will probably be playing this game again soon enough. You play as Spyro the Dragon, who has been pulled into a new dimension in order to help fight Ripto, a small and evil sorcerer who wants to take over the land of Avalar. The gameplay is intuitive and fun, the writing is sharp and funny, and the music will almost definitely get stuck in your head. That's all well and good, but the real fun in this game comes from the characters. Each world that Spyro enters through the gates scattered around Avalar contains differing types of beings, each with their own cultures and personalities. My personal favorites are the monks from Colossus. Their accents and chanting make them quite memorable, not to mention that they have some of the best lines in the game. Also of note are the water wizards from Mystic Marsh and the fauns from Fracture Hills. This game is very well put together. Even now, there are some points that can get difficult, but almost never frustrating. You always know that it was your own lack of skill or reflexes that led to your loss. It's almost never the fault of the game itself, which is a sign of good game design and programming. This game just never gets old for me.

Anime Corner: "Cardcaptor Sakura"

This show was the major reason that I started watching anime in the first place. It also sparked a soft spot in my heart for magical girl shows. I don't know why I loved it so much, but I did and still do. The show follows Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school girl who discovers that she has special powers and must save the world from magical cards that she accidentally released. Along the way, she is aided by her friends Tomoyo, Li, and Kero. I grew up watching "Cardcaptors", the dubbed version of the show. I apologize, but I didn't know any better at the time. After a few years passed, I watched the original. Having seen that and after rewatching an episode of the dub, I realize that the dub is terrible. They give everyone voices that don't fit their characters at all. The way that they attempt to Americanize the show is just sad, and their attempts at English versions of Japanese language sayings and formalities just don't work. They renamed almost all of the characters and removed way too much of the content. In the original, Sakura and Li originally start bonding over the fact that they both have a crush on Sakura's brother's friend Yukito (Julian in the dub). Since Americans can't deal with homosexuality in their children's TV shows, this entire subplot was removed. They also took out Tomoyo's loving admiration of Sakura. This makes their entire relationship feel wrong. They don't really feel like the closest of friends anymore, and Tomoyo ends up coming off as kind of spoiled and entitled instead of endearing and cute. It's unfortunate because Tomoyo is my favorite character in the original. If I haven't made myself abundantly clear, watch the original and not the dub. The original is a well-written and sweet show with good characters, great animation, and fast-paced action scenes. To be clear, I'm usually not against dubs; it just really doesn't work here.

Favorite Game Series: "Kingdom Hearts"

I love this series. I've literally bought game systems based around these games. That may sound obsessive, but it is totally obsessive. I don't know if this is my all time favorite series, but it's pretty darn high on my list. For those who don't know, "Kingdom Hearts" follows Sora, a seemingly normal teenage boy, as he goes to different Disney and Final Fantasy themed worlds to defeat the Heartless. Later games would expand on the themes and ideas of the first, adding different worlds, characters, and enemies. The first remains my favorite (with the sequel and "Birth By Sleep" coming in right behind it) because it really struck me with its originality. Who would have thought that the admittedly odd combination of Square Enix and Disney would form such consistently good games? My favorite part is finding out which films and characters will be featured in the next installment. I also generally love action RPG's, and this series contains some of the better ones. The characters are always a blast to meet, and the worlds always make you feel as though you've entered the movies. The fighting mechanics, though they vary by game, are always solid. I consistently enjoy every game, and I know I'm not the only one who does. This game deserves the praise that it gets, and I hope it continues for a while (even if the story gets more and more convoluted with each passing iteration).

Great Songs From Lousy Musicals: "One Normal Night"

The general consensus is that the musical based on the "The Addams Family" was not particularly good. It didn't get nominated for Best Musical at the Tony Awards when there wasn't even that much competition. It lasted longer than most people expected it to, but that was due more to the status of the characters than the actual quality of the show. I own the soundtrack because of the recommendation of a friend, and, while most of it is mediocre at best, one song has kept me coming back time and time again. "One Normal Night" details the plight of Wednesday, Gomez and Morticia's daughter, as she tries to convince her family to be normal for one night while her boyfriend is over. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is trying to do the same with his family. This song is fast-paced and fun. It gets tons of character motivation and plot out, as all musical theater songs should strive to. The vocals and acting are superb on the track, especially when it comes to Wednesday and Lucas. The only sore spot in the song for me is when it slows down considerably in the middle so that Uncle Fester can tell some unfunny jokes. It kills the song's momentum, and, while the song does generally recover, this portion forces me to keep my finger near the fast forward button on my iPod. If you can get past that and the general mediocrity of the rest of the soundtrack, you may just find this song as enjoyable as I do.

Anime Corner: "Puella Magi Madoka Magica"

Here's a relatively new series that I really enjoy. It follows in a similar vein as "Cardcaptor Sakura", but where that show is optimistic and cute, this show is twisted and dark. It's kind of like "Cardcaptor Sakura" for adults only. The show follows Madoka, a totally average girl who wants to figure out a way to help the world with her limited abilities. Her life is completely changes when she and her friend Sayaka stumble into a witch's lair while chasing a small creature named Kyubey. This entangles them in the world of the magical girls. Kyubey offers to gives them one wish in exchange for them making a magical girl contract with him. However, as certain events unfold, Madoka and Sayaka realize how terrible being a magical girl can really be. This show caught me completely off-guard. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. What I got was an interesting take on a genre that has become somewhat stale over the years. It's not for the faint of heart. It's a bit slow to start, but, once you hit episode three, everything shifts into high gear, and every episode seems to deliver another bomb for the girls. I highly recommend this show to anyone who likes anime, particularly magical girls shows. It's pretty short at only 12 episodes, so it's good for marathoning. I wasn't even planning to originally, but I was so intrigued by the premise and mythology that it just kind of happened. I usually can't marathon shows, so there's really no higher recommendation I can give. There's also one other thing. If you can, don't read any spoilers for the show. It completely ruins the surprises and takes away from the overall experience. Every episode reveals a bit more of the mystery, so, without the mystery, the show doesn't work as well as it should on your first time watching it. Resist the urge, and just watch the show.