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Oscar Winners

February 29th, 2016 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Last nights Oscar were at times very exciting and interesting and other times long and boring!

Some of the surprises last night included Chris Rock being able to ride the fine line between controversy and humor.  He made valid points on both sides of the argument.

Other surprises in the categories were Mark Rylance’s win for Bridge of Spies.  He was very good but the sentimental favorite was Sly Stallone for Creed.

Also, I was surprised that Mad Max won almost all the technical awards.

Another surprise was the Bond song winning for Sam Smith.  Lady Gaga gave a tremendous performance but did not take home the award.

The fashion was pretty typical but beautiful!

On to another Oscar season.

Happy Movie Watching!

Oscars!

February 22nd, 2016 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

The Oscars are this Sunday night and there is a lot to look forward to!  Here is what you need to look for.

1. Chris Rock. He is hosting and is always hilarious.  With the diversity debate, he will surely have a lot to say and put is own spin on the entire show.

2. Lady Gaga.  She will sing her nominated song and I’m sure she will look stunning.  I would not be surprised to see her take home the Oscar.

3. Charlotte Rampling.  She has been outspoken about the diversity question and it will be interesting to see how others accept her.

4. The Best Picture category.  There does not seem to be a favorite but I’m rooting for Spotlight.

5. Leo! I there is a sure thing it’s Leo winning Best Actor.  He is long overdue and it will be good to see him win.

Favorite moment to look for Sylvester Stallone winning for Creed.

Oscar Book Buzz

January 18th, 2016 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

It’s award season in Hollywood.  From the Emmys to the Golden Globes to the Oscars, books are a major part of the celebration.  Many nomination movies are based on wonderful books!

Here is a list from this year’s nominees.

The Big Short based on a book by Michael Lewis

The Martian based on a book by Andy Weir

Room based on a book by Emma Donahue

Brooklyn based on a book by Colm Toibin

Carol based on a book by Patricia Highsmith

Enjoy!

Oscars!!

February 24th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

The Oscars were Sunday night!  It was a big night in our house because my husband and I have an annual bet about the show.  We fill out our ballots and follow along as the show slowly moves on.

Sunday night we were neck and neck.  Tied at 11 each!  Then he pulled ahead with the win of “Birdman”!  I had picked “Boyhood” to sweep.

If I were to win, he had to wear a suit for a week.  If he won, I have to cook all the meals for one weekend.

So, he won 14 to 11.  I’m looking for new recipes!

In other news about the Oscars, I thought Lady Gaga was wonderful!  She is the whole package!  I’m glad she is finally realizing she does not need the weird image to be successful.  Her voice is tops!

The low point of the show was the weird John Travolta appearances.  He was getting touchy-feeling with both Scarlett Johansson and Idina Metzel.

I thought Neil Patrick Harris was okay.  His opening was great but the show lagged and I was getting very tired by 11 PM!

Onward to next year!

2014 Oscar Nominations Announced!

January 15th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

It’s officially award season.

With the Golden Globes over and the Oscar nominations released this morning, Hollywood is in full swing!

There were a few surprises: Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher, Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night and Meryl Streep picked up her 19th nomination for Into the Woods.  Wow!

Some snubs included Sienna Miller in American Sniper, Amy Adams in Big Eyes, and all the actors in Selma.

There are some lesser known animated features that were nominated such as Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. 

One of the most surprising aspects of the announcements was that the Academy read all of the announcements live versus just the top categories.

Congrats to all of the nominees.  The show will be February 22 live on ABC at 6 pm.

 

Selfies?

March 6th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Sunday night Ellen took the selfie that was heard around the world!

Let me be the first to say it, I don’t get selfies.  This is not the first time we have had handheld cameras.  They have been around for years!  I know they are in phones but why do we feel the need to pull out a camera every minute?

To me it feels like everyone thinks the camera is a new invention.  How weird!

Here are my thoughts about why this is a phenomenon:

1. We all think we are stars!  We are not.  I don’t care if my neighbor takes a selfie on vacation.

2. We have huge egos.  Refer to number one.

3. We live online.  Refer to number one.

4. We want to be cool.  Refer to number one.

Ok, that’s out of my system.

So, how should we use the camera?   Let’s take pictures of interesting things.  Landscapes, family pictures.  Let’s not take pictures of ourselves with our tongues out.

Oscar Re-Cap

March 4th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Here are my best and worst moments from Sunday’s Oscars.    The ceremony was long, as usual, but there were some interesting moments.

Best:

1. E!’s commentary:  Their pre-show interviews showed class and style.  However, I did miss Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski live on the red carpet.

2. Charlize Theron, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Lawrence:  They were best-dressed!

3.  OK, I admit, Ellen did some creative things: selfie and pizza man!

4. Matthew’s speech.  So classy.  He did not swear or use notes.

5. Jared Leto’s Jesus hair.

6. Bette Midler

7. Whoopi Goldberg

8. The Great Gatsby nabbing two Oscars

9. Loved Jennifer Lawrence’s necklace.

10. Angelia Jolie looking healthy

Here are my worse moments:

1. Nipita’s dress.  I loved the dress but not on her.  She has the body of a boy and this dress accentuated it.

2. John Travolta: Just a tip!  Rehearse.

3. Way too long.  Let’s cut out the hero segments, the gimmicks and just give away the awards.

4. Way too much campaigning and too little surprises.  We usually get one or two surprise winners but we all knew who would win and so did they.  Cate Blanchett wore gold!

5. Pink.  She is a rocker not a ballad singer.  Kristen Chenoweth was in the audience.  She would have stopped the show!

6.  Idina Menzel.  I don’t get her.

7. The trip.  Jennifer, learn how to walk on the red carpet.  It was cute at first but now we all will start to wonder.

8. Why was Jessica Biel there?

9.  Loved the addition of Kim Novak but introduce her properly.

10.  Again, it was way too long.

Oscars!!

February 25th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

The Olympics are over and we are moving on to the next big event –  The Academy Awards!

They will air on Sunday, March 2.  This year many of the top stars will appear and the films being honored are exciting, meaningful and entertaining.

My favorites include Captain Phillips and Gravity.

Here are my picks!

Best Supporting Actress:

I’d love to see June Squibb win for Nebraska!

Best Supporting Actor:

Jared Leto will talk away with this for Dallas Buyers Club.

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett has this wrapped up for Blue Jasmine

Best Actor:

I’m torn on this one.  I’d love Leonardo DiCaprio to win for Wolf of Wall Street.  He is long overdue for an Oscar win.  However many are predicting Matthew McConaughey has this wrapped up for Dallas Buyers Club.  This is a tight race.

Best Picture:

I’m going for Dallas Buyers Club or 12 Years a Slave.

I love the Oscars and the pageantry.  It’s fun to see the dresses and the drama.

Let me know if anyone is having an Oscar party!  I’ll be on my couch in my sweats cheering on everyone in heels and Spanxs.

 

 

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

February 4th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

  Such a tragedy.   Such a talented actor.  So sad. 
Hoffman was a great actor.  His Oscar winning performance in “Capote” was amazing and inspiring.  His performances in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” as well as “Patch Adams” were some of my favorites.   I was saddened on Sunday when I heard of his passing.   Since then people have been commenting on his drug habit as much as his talent.
America has a very dark problem.  Our  drug and alcohol issues are in the news every day.   It seems like celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus are promoting alcohol and drug use while most parents are telling kids to Just Say No.
The question remains:  What is the overriding problem that causes people to use drugs and why do we glamorize it?
I’m not going to say I have the answers.  However,  I do know that we glamorize drug use.  News outlets printed how Hoffman overdosed.  We were fascinated by the details.   Why?
We are fascinated by the party culture of Hollywood.  Why?
When are we going to wake up and stop medicating ourselves?  Our lives are precious and special.  Infecting ourselves with drugs and alcohol will only lead to death.
We don’t need any more premature deaths like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Cory Moneith, Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Judy Garland, and the list goes on.
During this awards season there will be various tributes to Hoffman.  He was very special but we have to ask ourselves why we award people after their deaths.
Let’s help them with their confidence during their lives and maybe we can have them longer.
Let the award tributes begin…

Today I’m going to do a rundown of all things Oscar and award season.

The Oscar nominations for 2013 were released today.  Barkad Abdi was nominated for his first movie role in Captain Phillips.  What a wonderful accomplishment for this first-time actor.  I hope he stays down to earth and will receive many more movie roles!

It was a big morning for American Hustle. The director and actors all received nominations.

Surprising, Saving Mr. Banks and The Butler we shut out of nominations.

Meryl Streep received her 18th nomination for August: Osage County.

Julia Roberts is also back in the running for August: Osage County.

Brad Pitt is up for best picture with 12 Years a Slave.

The awards are announced March 2.

I’m looking forward to it.