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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.
She is an actress who has been in her prime since the very first moment she stepped in front of a camera. A pleasure to watch and will always give absolute effort to a role. From comedy to drama, her characters never fail to inhabit the story and keep one enthralled. Hats off to Alabama native, Octavia Spencer!
2011 Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer for the film, "The Help."
extremely versatile yet underrated actresses: Viola Davis
25 movies to watch before you die
A list of 25 spectacular movies that changed my life and the way I see the world around me. I truly believe these movies made me a better person and I invite others to watch them and to add to the list.
A child called “it”
A walk to remember
Christopher Robin
Dead poets society
Front of the class
Hachi: A dogs tale
Holes
Klaus
Not without my daughter
My fair lady
Pride and prejudice
Schindler’s list
Second hand lions
Shawshank redemption
Spirited away
The book thief
The green mile
The help
The hobbit
The hunch back of Notre Dame
The iron giant
The life of pie
The lord of the rings
To dance with a white dog
To kill a mockingbird
~May's Books Reviewed~
May saw some highs and lows in my enjoyment of books! I largely was still making my way through some old books I hadn't had the opportunity to read, but I also read a couple of newer ones. I was also on holiday for a week in May which meant that I had a couple of easier books thrown into the mix too. All in all, I've been enjoying my reading, especially as the weather has been nice and I'm able to read outside more!
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
(369 pages)
I actually started this book at the end of April, but I finished it at the start of May so in this post it goes! I really really enjoyed this book! I picked it up at the book shop because I have an unapologetic love for heist films, but had never actually read a proper heist book that I could think of. This fulfilled everything u wanted it to be as a heist book though. It was light and fun and a fairly easy read. It completely held my attention and remained believable (bizarrely!) while being compelling. It brought about the same feelings of investment and fun that I get while watching heist films and I would highly recommend it to people.
I gave this book 4.5 stars ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
The MouseTrap (70th anniversary edition) by Agatha Christie (arranged and introduced by Sophie Hannah)
(245 pages)
This is a bit of an odd one to include, however I saw the play (finally!) and absolutely loved it so felt I had to locate the book now that I was part of the secret! Obviously seeing it was indescribably better, however it is still a fun story and I enjoyed all the behind the scenes bits and history that this book went in to. I cannot recommend going to see the play enough and would in fact not recommend reading this until after you already know the story so that you can enjoy the plot twists and mystery in real time with the rest of the audience.
I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗 (but as a play it was 5!)
The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman
(546 pages - this was a hardback)
I had owned this book for several years, having got it when it first came out with every intention of reading it, only to never get around to it! I loved the His Dark Materials trilogy when I was younger which is why I was really wanting to read another book from the same universe. That being said, while I enjoyed this book, it did not quite live up to the original trilogy (at least not in my memory). This was probably mostly due to a lack of nostalgia and attachment to the characters considering it is set like a prequel to the original books. The world and the writing remains incredible so I would highly recommend all Philip Pullman books, including this one to anyone who is perhaps a younger reader and wanting to get into a good fantasy world.
I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré
(367 pages)
So I read this primarily for its reputation as this incredible espionage book.... I have to admit, I do not get the hype. I honestly could not tell you anything that happened in this book, it kept my interest that little that I have already forgotten genuinely everything. I found that there were too many characters and the plot and language was long winded, meandering and unnecessarily complex. It's supposedly a classic, but unfortunately I'm still not sure what I even actually read. I therefore did not exactly enjoy it. It's definitely not the worst book I've ever read, but I doubt I'll find myself reaching for any more LeCarré.
I gave this book 2 stars ⭐️⭐️
The Help by Kathryn Stochett
(451 pages)
Very different from the other books that I rated this highly, but no less enjoyable. It took me a surprisingly long time to read for the number of pages it is, but this was in no correlation to the writing, which was simple and effective, but rather down to the content I think. The book deals with a lot of heavy themes around racism in particular, especially as it aims to by historically accurate and so it would have felt disrespectful almost to have read it much quicker. The writing and story were addictive and despite the heavy themes, I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and at no point felt weighed down by the responsibility of it. I would really recommend this book.
I gave this book 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
(434 pages)
This was the start of my holiday reading and it was indeed a total "airport book", ironically enough about an airport book author! I did strangely enjoy this book and was definitely desperate to finish it and find out what was going on the whole time. Although, that being said, the ending was a little anticlimactic and sudden in my opinion which did drag the rating down a little. I would also say that there does need to be a bit of a content warning here for eating disorders and very casual references and descriptions of them at that. It is set at a wellness retreat so a lot of the characters internal monologue does end up focusing a fair amount on body image and dieting.
I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
(461 pages)
The second of my holiday books! I mean.... it's been read before, and it holds up as being exactly what it says on the tin - a classic teen coming of age book that while horribly cringy at points is still generally enjoyable. I loved this book when I first read it (almost 10 years ago!!) and I still loved it this time through, even if it was no longer quite as relatable! I have not much else to say about this one other than I would recommend it, but know that this is not the highbrow literature but simply fun and light and easy.
I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Icebreaker by R.L. Graziadei
(314 pages)
The last of my holiday reads. My kindle recommended this one to me based off other books I have read I suppose and I have to admit that unfortunately I was a little disappointed, especially by the end.it felt like it was just beginning to pick up and get interesting, only for all the resolutions etc to happen and feel kinda rushed and kinda unrealistically unsatisfactory. That being said, it was still a mindless holiday read and I really did enjoy the representation, both of multiple sexualities and relationship types; and more so perhaps of various mental health struggles.
I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
(382 pages)
I really really enjoyed this book, was definitely a high to finish the month on! I found it highly engaging as I was so desperate to find out what had happened through out. The protagonist/speaker was incredibly unique and well written, with her trauma and experiences clearly affecting her thought patterns. This made it really interesting and cool to be reading from such a clearly unreliable narrators perspective, but also to watch with front row view as she herself slowly unpacks what has happened to her and come to terms with what other people see and how she could be living her life. The ending was perhaps a tiny bit too abrupt for my liking, but I really would recommend this book to people.
I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️