Putting the season to bed on a few positives

Not everything that transpired this season was cause for moaning and groaning. If there were never a handful of redeeming moments that make me sincerely happy every year, I wouldn't keep following this Oscar circus so closely. Some of this season's highlights include:

-Christopher Plummer

There's nothing new about the Best Supporting Actor category being used to bestow a better-late-than-never career honour upon a respected veteran actor, but rarely is the coinciding performance of such high quality that it could have won the award on merit alone. Such was the case this year as Christopher Plummer, at 82 years young, became the oldest Oscar winner ever for his graceful, emotionally pure performance in Beginners. Given that it was such an under-seen, understated little gem of movie with no other nominations, for Plummer to do so well by it is a small, but very satisfying, miracle.

-Foreign Language curse broken

I wasn't very smart in my prediction for Best Foreign Language Film, where I skeptically laid back on the category's history of shafting the critical favourite in favour of typical Academy bait. But if ever there was a film to buck the trend, it was A Separation, legitimately the best foreign film of 2011, and of the many predictions I missed this year, its Oscar win was the one I was happiest to get wrong.

-Muppets have an Oscar!

Hard to believe in retrospect that "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie lost Best Original Song back in 1971, making it evident that the Academy might consider themselves to be just a little bit above those TV-based puppets. But even if it has to come with the asterisk of this year's dubious Best Original Song crop, it's still gratifying to see a Muppet film finally win an Oscar, and I personally was pleased to, for the first time, hear Jim Henson thanked in an Oscar speech.

-Smooth recovery from the Ratner fiasco

Brett Ratner's media fuax-pas back in November seriously threatened to become the major talking of the season, but the Academy's swift resolution (bringing on Brian Grazer as replacement producer and Billy Crystal as host) ensured that the whole messy affair soon became nothing more than a distant memory. The show they subsequently put on may not be the most special in Oscar history, but it was exactly what I'd have expected and wanted from that creative team, and not once did the proceedings feel like they were lingering in the shadow of the previous scandal. Sometimes a dose of familiar shtick really is the best remedy.

That's just about all there is left to say about this past Oscar season as far as I'm concerned. At some point in the coming months I'll start compiling some early predictions for next year. Speaking of early predictions, how well did I do predicting this year's nominees from a year back? I correctly anticipated 3/5 Best Adapted Screenplay nominees, 3/5 Best Art Direction nominees, 3/5 Best Sound Mixing nominees, 5/9 Best Picture nominees, 4/5 Best Cinematography nominees, and (if you count predicting Viola Davis in Supporting) all five Best Actress nominees! Looking forward to trying to improve that for next year!

Ta, for now.

Sunday Top Ten - Pet Peeves of the 2011-12 Oscar season

This little custom of mine has become a nice form of post-Oscar therapy for me. It's perfect for bringing some closure to the season and releasing the pressure valve on the season's many frustrations. You may note that I didn't include any of this year's big nomination snubs, and there were plenty to choose from: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for Art Direction, The Tree of Life for Visual Effects, Captain America for Original Song... but I came to terms with those a month ago, so it's more useful for me to unload my other awards season woes, some of which you might share, others you might disagree with. You'll have to keep reading to find out.

War Horse looking good for both Sound Oscars with win from MPSE

As I expected, it was War Horse that won the Motion Picture Sound Editors' key category of Best Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film, a category which has proved itself to be a rather accurate litmus test of which way the Sound Editing Oscar will go for the last five years.

Given the higher match-up rate between the Academy and the MPSE (compared to the lower match-up rate between the Academy and the CAS), I'm going to stick with my theory that this is a better sign for War Horse than the CAS victory was for Hugo, but I could be dead wrong.

Speaking of Hugo, it did manage a win for its only nomination from the MPSE, for Music in a Feature Film, so that may be worth noting if it does end up taking Best Sound Editing from War Horse next Sunday.

Full list of winners (plus some comments) after the cut.

One Category at a Time: Original Song

I seriously debated whether or not it was even worth doing an analysis of this category. Year in and year out, the music branch has forced us to question their eyebrow-raising taste when it comes to songs, showing an explicit aversion to high profile artists and critically praised music. It's always been a nagging point, but this year they've taken it to the next level. This year they've turned themselves into an outright laughing stock
(I literally laughed out loud when I read the nominees) by selecting a pathetic two songs from 39 eligible options. They're not even going to perform the songs on the show, as that would only compound the embarrassment.

My Awards nomiations: Original Song

As is usually the case, this is a thin category. Songwriting for film just isn't in vogue nowadays, but if you look close enough you can usually spot at least three of four decent Original Songs a year:

"Lay Your Head Down" from Albert Nobbs (Brian Byrne, Glenn Close):

This lovely Irish lullaby that concludes the film appropriately captures the film's subdued, delicate nature. Only used for the credits, but it's just so pretty.

"Star Spangled Man" from Captain America (Alan Menken, David Zippel):

One of my favourite moments of the film was the snappy montage set to this jaunty anthem that gently satirizes wartime propaganda in the spirit of a USO show.

"Lily (Rita)" from Chico & Rita (Bebo Valdes):

A romantic and melodious love theme that evolves over the course of the film from random ticklings of the piano keys to a sweeping full-bodied orchestration.

"Hell and Back" from Hell and Back Again (J. Ralph):

Soulful, poetically worded, and given melancholy voice by Willie Nelson's country rasp, this track is a soothing epilogue to a wrenching character study.

"Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets (Bret Mackenzie):

A bouncy opening number that signals the beginning of a laugh-out-loud romp, and it even gets a heart-bursting reprise as the film's big finale.

Just missed:
"The Living Proof" from The Help, "Pictures in My Head" from The Muppets,
"The Keeper" from Machine Gun Preacher

Sunday Top Ten - Christmas favourites

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I'm big on Christmas traditions, and some of my most important ones come in the form of my beloved holiday entertainment. Below are ten gold standards that I simply cannot go a Christmas break without watching. Feel free to share your own favourites in

the comments, even if you don't celebrate Christmas.

On that, I'll wish you a safe and happy holidays, whatever that holiday may be.
I, for one, am taking a much needed ten-day break overseas, so there won't be a top ten list next Sunday. I shall post it the following week instead.

Feliz Navidad!

Review - The Muppets

It's been a fair deal of time since we last saw the Muppets in action, but it's clear from their new film that Jim Henson's felt funnymen haven't lost a beat. The script, cowritten by star Jason Segel, isn't always focused and doesn't always keep an even keel, but it's a sidesplitting comedy/variety mash-up that clearly demonstrates an understanding of these characters and what they're all about. Sure, some of the jokes are easy gets, and maybe they throw in one self-referential gag too many, but silly though it may be, it consistently draws roars of laughter (the third best gift a anyone can give, according to the film), and the Muppets shouldn't have it any other way. Nostalgics won't be able to help but adore the dozens of classic Muppet homages, the most affecting of which is a brief but beautiful new recording of “Rainbow Connection”.

It's too bad they won't get to host the Oscars this year, but if we're lucky we'll get to see them perform one of the film's songs (assuming one gets nominated).

**1/2 out of ****

Back to basics: Crystal in as Oscar host

AMPAS wasted little time in finding replacements for producer Brett Ratner and host Eddie Murphy in the wakeof their sudden exodus from next February's Oscar telecast. Brian Grazer stepped in yesterday in place of Ratner, and today it has been confirmed that Billy Crystal, the best Oscar host I've ever had the pleasure of seeing MC the show, is swooping into the gap left by Murphy. It's a role Crystal knows well. He has an easy charm with his audience that can only come from years of doing the gig.

Personally, I'm delighted. I've been waiting patiently since 2004 (the last time Crystal hosted) for his return to the stage. His surprise appearance at last year's show only whetted my appetite further, but now it seems my wait is over. There were those lobbying online for an Oscar ceremony hosted by the Muppets, for which I would have been 100% on board, but a seasoned pro as classy and witty as Crystal is a more-than-adequate alternative.