And the Oscar Goes to...

It’s that time of year again. Blizzards in New England, Spring Training is underway, and famous people dress up in fancy clothes to honor each other with trophies and accolades. That’s right, it’s the 85^th annual Academy Awards taking place on Sunday night.

I will first admit that my knowledge of this year’s nominees is lacking. I really wanted to see some of this year’s contenders, especially Django Unchained, Argo, and Lincoln. But when you work full time and are finishing up a master’s degree, it sometimes can be tough to find a few spare hours to venture to a movie. I’m not trying to make excuses though.

I was able to see the film favored by many critics, Zero Dark Thirty. My second admission is that I fell asleep about halfway through the movie. A cheeseburger and two Dogfish Head IPAs before a 10:05 screening on a school night can do that. Again I’m not trying to make excuses. Not all was lost though. I’m not sure how long I was asleep for, but I was awoken by the sound of gun shots taking place in the movie. After my cat nap I was able to focus on the rest of the film.

So what does all that say about my ability to make informed picks? Very little. But certain patterns tend to develop over award season and front-runners develop. And in my mind it’s fun, so I’m going to do it anyway. Let’s tackle the major categories that people actually want to tune in for (sorry best sound mixing).

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams – The Master

Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

Who doesn’t love Anne Hathaway? She’s the all American actress, this generation’s Judy Garland. Not to mentioned she looked pretty damn good last summer donning the Catwoman suit in The Dark Knight Rises. But I’m straying off the point. This is her second career nomination for a role where she’s barely on screen for fifteen minutes. Plus she dropped twenty five pounds for the role and does her own singing. Sally Field might sneak in and take the prize, but after winning the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, the trophy goes to Hathaway.

Best Supporting Actor:

Alan Arkin – Argo

Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christopher Waltz – Django Unchained

None of these actors are a stranger to Oscar. Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), De Niro (The Godfather II, Raging Bull), Hoffman (Capote), Jones (The Fugitive) and Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) have all basked in Oscar’s glory. This might be the most wide open category, but I’m going with Jones for his role as radical Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Oscar loves portrayals of real life people. Plus he should win for this alone.

Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

In a category that has the oldest (Riva) and the youngest (Wallis) nominees ever, it’s a two way race between Chastain and Lawrence. Both won Golden Globes, and Lawrence won at the SAG Awards, making her the front-runner. But I’m going with Chastain. She’s the best thing about Zero Dark Thirty as a fiery CIA agent hell-bent on finding Osama Bin Laden. Years from now when looking back upon great movie lines, her “I’m the motherf!*#er that found this place” should be at the top of the list.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight

Sorry Bradley, Hugh, Joaquin and Denzel, but you don’t stand a chance. This will make the third Oscar for Day-Lewis (My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood) as his portrayal as our 16^th president. He will make history, being the first actor to win three times in the best actor category. It’s his to lose.

Best Director

Michael Haneke – Amour

Behn Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

I wrote in a previous post that it was surprising that Katherine Bigelow was ignored for best director for Zero Dark Thirty. How did I miss Ben Affleck’s snub for Argo? All he’s been doing for the past month is piling up directing awards. With that being said, I don’t think anyone is touching Spielberg. He is one of the best at his craft, and he does well at Oscar when it comes to historical matters (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan). But don’t worry. Affleck will have his revenge.

Best Picture

Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

A month ago this would have gone to Zero Dark Thirty, but the debate on the films controversial torture scenes has killed its changes. Also I personally didn’t think the film lived up to all of the critical hype, but I don’t receive a vote. So that leaves Argo and Lincoln. Spielberg is going to have flash backs to 1998 when he won best director for Saving Private Ryan but then was hosed for best picture, losing to Shakespeare in Love. Wait, didn’t Affleck have a small role in that movie? I see a small pattern developing. With twelve nominations, Lincoln is definitely the favorite. But Argo has been gaining a lot of steam, racking up awards like Affleck. At the end of the evening the underdog Argo takes home the top prize. Hopefully I can stay awake to see it.

KG Reaches Milestone

The first thing I will say is that’s it’s always fun to watch the Boston Celtics thrash the Los Angeles Lakers, no matter where and when the game is. The matchup doesn’t have the same significance as it did in Bird/Magic era of the 80s, but it’s been rejuvenated in the past few years with two finals matchups in 2008 and 2010. Both veteran teams are suffering from injuries, but Thursday’s matchup wasn’t even close, with the Celtics scoring 37 points in the third quarter. I blame Dwight Howard’s lackluster play. Plus “Metta World-Peace” went 2-13 from the field. Who would ever allow the artist formerly known as Ron Artest to take 13 shots in a game? As a Celtics fan, I’m not complaining.

During the game, Kevin Garnett became the 16^th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points on one of his signature, mid-range turnaround jumpers with a defender in his face. He joins a list that includes fellow forwards Jerry West, John Havlicek and Elvin Hayes. What’s more impressive with passing that milestone is that Garnett is the first player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 blocks and 1,500 steals.

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What does this say about Garnett’s legacy? These days in the NBA, a player’s greatness is usually measured in championships more than statistics. Karl Malone and Charles Barkley were two of the best power forwards to ever play the game, but where do they rank all-time? Even though they had to contend with Michael Jordan, its arguable they don’t rank with some of their contemporaries such as Garnett, Tim Duncan and even Dirk Nowitzki because they were eluded an NBA title.

But it’s hard to ignore Garnett’s other accomplishments. He was the first player in 20 years to successfully make the jump from high school to the NBA, leading a trend that lasted for the next 10 years until the league changed the eligibility rule in 2005. He led the Minnesota Timberwolves to their only eight playoff appearances in franchise history, with a rotating cast of teammates that included Stephon Marbury, Wally Szczerbiak and Latrell Sprewell. With the trade to the Celtics in 2007, he reinvigorated the franchise, instilling his mantra of defense and toughness that brought Boston its first title in 22 years. That year he won defensive player of the year, and has been on the NBA All-Defense 1^st Team nine times, and was the league MVP in 2004. And then there’s this.

Some could argue that the style of play Garnett introduced when he entered the league was bad for the game, being a seven footer that played away from the basket. Due to his trash talking, he is probably one of the most disliked players in the league. When your team is playing against him, you probably hate him too. But if these stats prove anything, it’s that Garnett is one of the most versatile players the NBA has ever seen. It will be a long time, if ever, that we come across another player of his caliber.

'30 Rock' Signs Off

I was a little behind the eight ball on this one. I knew this was going to be the final season of 30 Rock, but what I didn’t know was that the final episode would be airing on January 31^st until sometime last week. I had to come to the realization that something I’ve enjoyed for several years was coming to an end. Blurgh!

Even with its critical acclaim, 30 Rock was never as popular in the ratings as some of its Thursday night predecessors such as Friends or Seinfeld. Alec Baldwin even considered leaving the show after season five for what he considered weak scripts. But it’s the show’s unique style of comedy and joke delivery that could place it in the same class of NBC’s comedy elite, if not all of television. It provided us with many classic moments and lines, and gave us phrases and parodies such as “I want to go to there,” “MILF Island” and my personal favorite, “Werewolf BarMitzvah.” Even the first half of the finale was entitled “Hogcock”, which Baldwin’s network executive Jack Donaghy labels as “a combination of hogwash and poppycock.”

The finale was classic 30 Rock. As the cast and crew were saying goodbye to TGS, we were saying our final farewell as a viewing audience. It had its brilliant moments (Conan O’Brien, Julianne Moore and Selma Hayek’s cameos, Kenneth’s list of television “no-no” words and Jenna’s “Rural Juror” song, just to name a few). Even Liz and Jack’s final conversation, with all its sentimentality, infused the show’s brand of silliness.

Ultimately 30 Rock was the product of the comedic genius of Tina Fey. Liz Lemon’s quirkiness lasted all the way to the end, highlighted this season by donning a Princess Leah outfit to her wedding. Although the show allowed Baldwin to shine in his first regular attempt at comedy, it was Fey’s personal touch that made the show likeable in its distinctive originality. Similar to Arrested Development, 30 Rock was as smart as it was funny.

For me it’s going take some time to get used to Thursday nights without 30 Rock. With its absence, NBC is going to have a difficult hole to fill, especially when The Office says goodbye in May. But 30 Rock went out the right way, doing it on its own terms while not overstaying its welcome. The same can’t be said for many other shows of its quality.