writing

2014 Academy Awards Super Spectacular Hooray Blowout Blog Post

Sunday, March 2nd will be the 86th annual Academy Awards – a show where rich people get together to congratulate themselves for being awesome and rich. But, it is entertainment. I tend to consider myself a bit of a film connoisseur, or a movie buff (whichever term you understand). I usually don’t agree with most of the awards that are given at this ceremony, mostly because it’s usually more about politics than actual film. So when I write a post like this where I intend to make predictions on which film or actor will win their respective award, I have to divide my thoughts into two categories: those that I think will win, and those that I think should win – because so often those are different. Now in the case where those two categories are indeed different, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I think that the film/person that will win doesn’t deserve to win. Sometimes it does, though.

The problem is, very often (especially in the Best Picture category) the award is given to the film/person that seems “important”. Important because of some social issue, or political stance, or what have you. Now usually these are still quality films/performances, but the statement that is made does not mean that it is the best of the year. Too often films are made and performances are given as “Oscar bait” – meaning the purpose of making the film, or of an actor taking a role, was simply an attempt to win an Academy Award. There was no intrinsic artistic thought put into the process; those are usually the films that make a true statement – the ones that keep the integrity intact. But I’m rambling…to make a point…relevant to this year’s awards. You’ll see.

On with the show. I will cover just the categories that I consider to be the “major” categories, which are:

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actor/Actress

Best Supporting Actor/Actress

Best Original Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay

My qualifications for analysis on these categories are that I have seen each film represented in each category, with the exception of “Before MIdnight”, in the best adapted screenplay category.

So, let’s go from the bottom up:

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees:

Will win: 12 Years a Slave

Should win: Captain Phillips

For me, Captain Phillips took what could have been a one-sided good vs evil story and turned it into a thought provoking, intelligent story that makes you question where you draw the line in the proverbial sand. 12 Years a Slave will win though, for reasons I will explain later.

 

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees:

Will win: her

Should win: her

There is no question on this one. This is one of the most original, beautiful pieces of work ever put to film, and if the Academy doesn’t recognise it, there is a very good chance I will stop paying any attention to this show from now on. This must win.

 

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees:

Will win: Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Should win: June Squibb – Nebraska

This is a toss up for me between June Squibb and Sally Hawkins. I think they both deserve their nomination and could easily win, but if I have to pick one over the other, I give the edge to Squibb because her performance is a light among some less than acceptable performances in Nebraska. However, this is the year of the slave, so the award will go to Lupita Nyong’o. Her performance is wonderful, and she does deserve her nomination. I just think she was outdone by the two previously mentioned actresses. Also, I find it shameful that Scarlett Johansson was not nominated for her brilliant, unseen performance in her. She could have easily replaced Jennifer Lawrence in this category.

 

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

Will win: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Should win: Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Abdi’s performance in Captain Phillips was a little shocking to me, and he won me over as the film wore on. I felt more emotion for him than I did even for Mr. Hanks. But, I don’t think he has a chance against Leto. I honestly was not all that impressed with Leto’s performance, but a trans-gender AIDS junkie is the stuff of Oscar legend. He has it in the bag.

 

Best Actress

Nominees:

Will win: Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Should win: Amy Adams – American Hustle

The Academy does love them some Woody Allen – scandal and all. Cate Blanchett does a terrific job in Blue Jasmine, and I don’t see any way she won’t win…UNLESS – dun dun duuuuuuuuunnnn….. There is some guilt over American Hustle. For a film to be nominated for screenplay, directing, all four acting categories and best picture and not win anything – that’s a shame. For me, if American Hustle has any chance at taking home an award, it’s in this category. Possible upset?? Doubt it. But Amy Adams does deserve it as much as Blanchett. Good lord if Streep wins I may have a breakdown. I like her and all, but at what point does it become just plain old fashioned nepotism?

 

Best Actor

Nominees:

Will win: Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Should win: Joaquin Phoenix – her (not nominated)

Travesty is the most fitting word for this. Phoenix wasn’t nominated, so for me that discounts the entire category. No disrespect to the fine performances by those that were nominated, but Joaquin Phoenix should have been nominated and should win. Bitterness aside, McConaughey did an amazing job here, pulling a Christian Bale and transforming himself physically for a role. That usually means an Oscar win. Both DiCaprio and Ejiofor are possible upsets, but I just don’t see it happening.

 

Best Director

Nominees:

Will win: Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Should win: Spike Jonz – her (not nominated)

Another case where I feel the Academy overlooked her. Spike Jonz has crafted an amazing, memorable film with few flaws, but he isn’t exactly a prolific director so the Academy doesn’t give him much credit in this field. Alfonso Cuaron has also crafted an amazing, memorable film with few flaws, and I do believe that he will be rewarded for his effort here. Gravity is one of those once in a lifetime experiences, and it could have easily been mishandled by a less competent director. He does deserve the win, since Jonz wasn’t nominated. I also like David O. Russell here, because I think that he did an expert job at creating a kinetically paced comedy/drama/crime film that could have been cheesy, but wasn’t.

 

Best Picture

Nominees:

Will win: 12 Years a Slave

Should win: her

You shouldn’t be surprised at either of my choices here. As I said before, this is the year of the slave. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way at all, I am just referencing the domination of the film 12 Years a Slave. And because I feel that it will win Best Picture, I see no way that it wouldn’t also win for Best Adapted Screenplay. I mean if it’s the best picture, how is that same film not the best screenplay? Seems logical. This is straight up Hollywood here. As good a film as 12 Years is (and it is), at least 3 of the nominees for Best Picture are better. But 12 Years is one of those aforementioned “important” films, so it must win. Gravity has a shot, but I think Cuaron winning for Best Director is the only love it will get (other than special effects, obviously). All this aside, I cannot say enough about the film her. This is in my mind by far the best film of 2013. I don’t want to give any type of synopsis on it for fear of selling it short. Everyone should watch it, as it is a film which redefines film as art, in my humble opinion.

That about covers it. If you have anything to say about my choices – agree or disagree – feel free to leave a comment below.

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Sports, Weather & Other Important Things

The thing that bugs me about weather is that any sudden, extreme change in temperature is an almost guarantee that I´m gonna get a cold. I mean even if I´m feeling as healthy as I ever have, hopped up on vitamins and minerals daily and dressing appropriately; if the temperature hits a high of 90 one day and a high of 65 the next, I am bound to begin sniffling and sneezing and coughing. But I can´t complain about it because I love cold weather, which is what makes it even more annoying that I get sick whenever the weather turns.

A few nights last week I had to resort to sleeping in long pants. I don’t think I´ve done that since I was living in Dallas, which was quite some time ago. The weather was low and cool during daylight for almost the entirety of last week, then a break on Friday, and back to the cool yesterday. Today the sun has come up, but it´s still relatively cool. The nights have been consistently nice, though…which is nice. Today I got up and decided to go to the Sunday Market and purchase a blanket, which is almost a guarantee that it´s going to warm up again very soon. But no matter. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it, am I right?

So why have I written all this endlessly fascinating information on my blog? Is it to give people an accurate idea of how the weather is here in Cofradia? Is it to complain about getting my 5th cold in 3 months? Is it simply to fill up this blog post with words so that it is bigger than it needs to be? We may never know the answer to that question, but rest assured, I will continue my search.

So I mentioned the decent weather on Friday (aside from some slight drizzles in the afternoon), which was pretty warm. Friday was the day we had the school Olympics. Kids from each grade in the school, along with the teachers and volunteers, are split into 5 ¨houses¨, represented by the colors blue, green, orange, red and yellow. Kids are awarded ¨house points¨on a daily basis based on different criteria. For the Olympics, each house was designated a country, often determined by the nationality of the volunteers. For this year´s event, the countries were: Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, Ireland and Japan.

The kids took part in 8 different events throughout the course of the day. Only 2 were traditional sporting events, those being the sprint and the relay. The other events were the ball toss, limbo, sack race, 3 legged race, tunnel ball and tug of war. Of these events, the volunteers also took part in limbo, sack race, 3 legged race and tug of war. Of course it goes without saying that I fell over whilst attempting the sack race. I am not too proud to admit that I am not adept at hopping around with my legs bound up in a tiny sack.

The kids had a blast, and the day as a whole was pretty fun. The only negative to the day is that even though we don´t know the official results yet, I´m pretty sure The Bahamas team finished no better than 4th overall. Actually it´s not really a negative because honestly it means very little to me, but it was the team I was on, so doing better would have been cool…oh well. Another positive to the day was that I was able to procure a jar of guanabana (sour sop) jam, which is rather tasty indeed. Sorry to say I do  not have any pictures to post at the moment, but pictures were taken, I assure you. Just not by me. If I find some that are worth posting, I will. Otherwise, it´s just a matter of time before they are posted to the Cofradia´s Bi-lingual School page on Facebook, so you can see them there.

So that´s the news for today. My sniffles are slowly going away, but the pesky phlegm filled coughing is still in full force. Oh yea, and there are only 2 weeks left until Christmas break, so if anyone wants to be Santa for me and send me a box full o´surprises to help pass the time while I´m stuck here (mostly by myself because pretty much everyone else is going somewhere), then it would be greatly appreciated. Now that my shameless begging is complete, I will stop typing.

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On writing

What is it about writing that people enjoy? How can it be in any way something that you actually look forward to doing? I don’t get it. It’s certainly not easy; it requires a mental, physical, and very often an emotional effort. We all have our jobs and hobbies. The job is something you do to earn a living, and the hobbies are what you have to take your mind off your job. Is it possible that writing is both a job and a hobby? Or at least, can it be?

I know writing can be used as an outlet for many people. They use it to release their thoughts, their emotions, their troubles, their grievances. Sometimes it’s better than talking to someone else. A piece of paper (or in this case, a laptop) doesn’t feel the need to try to solve your problems. It doesn’t judge you and tell you to do better. It doesn’t wish for you to hurry and finish your thought just so that it can make its own opinion known. It simply accepts what you have to say, and reflects it back to you.

I like that. It “reflects” your own thoughts back to you. Writing is like looking into a mirror, except in a more raw way. It shows you what’s inside yourself and it sees what people can’t. As you sit and write your thoughts down, be it simply a journal for your personal reading, a story for others to read, an essay to provide information, a love letter for a special person, an angry letter for someone who has wronged you, or a blog simply to pass the time, you are taking a small slice of your soul and exposing it.

It occurs to me that even if you wrote what equates to a page full of lies about yourself or even another person, in reading it back to yourself, it becomes an accusation of sorts. The paper knows you are lying, and it shoves it in your face with HD clarity. If you can read it back to yourself and accept it, then you have simply lied to yourself. The paper hasn’t judged you or condemned you; it has shown you the unflinching truth, whether or not you wanted to see it. You remember that children’s taunt “I’m rubber, you’re glue, everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you”? Writing is the literal example of that.

Even the most tight-lipped and private of people; people who trained psychiatrists have trouble getting a read on, given pen and paper and enough time, could write a soul jarring testimonial that might bring one to tears. It’s akin to forcing him to stand in front of a mirror for hours at a time. Could you imagine yourself standing in front of a mirror, staring at yourself for 3 consecutive hours? Could you handle that? What would go through your mind (other than the obvious “just what the hell am I doing standing here?”)? Would you smile, or cry? Would you get happy, or angry? There is no more convicting judgment than the one we force upon ourselves when faced with the cold hard truth. Writing is just that. Can you handle it?

The thing is, if that truly is the case, why would you purposely subject yourself to it? Why would anyone volunteer to go through such an agonizing experience? Seems crazy to me. What about people who want to pay others to do it? Are they sadists? And if you accept the job, does that make you a masochist? Perhaps. Or perhaps it means you’re brave. Brave enough to take on such a painful assignment. Or perhaps it means you’re weak. So weak that you would rather inflict your own suffering upon yourself, rather than deal with other people and the real world. I don’t have the answer, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any “nice” answer to it.

Obviously writing doesn’t always have to be such a serious business. It can be funny and silly just as often as thought-provoking. But no matter what you are writing, you have to take it as far as you can to make it mean something. What I mean by that is just writing for writing’s sake is an exercise in redundancy. It means very little, and is equivalent to spouting random nonsense into the air when nobody is around. Yes you’ve said something, but it hasn’t accomplished much. You’ve taken the pain and intensity and purpose of writing and reduced it to nothing. In everything you write, you have to pull off a little piece of your skin and stain the paper with your blood. Not literally, of course. That’s disgusting and honestly a stupid comment, but my point is made. I hope. It doesn’t matter if it’s a limerick, a poem, a short story, an epic novel. The fact that you’ve committed to doing it should mean something deep inside. If not, then why do it?

The writing down of your thoughts,feelings and ideas can and perhaps should be a cathartic experience. You are trying to touch someone in a special way, even if it’s just yourself. Perhaps it’s a form of yoga? Or meditation? I’m not too sure about that, but it certainly helps to think of it that way; as an exercise to clear your mind and soothe your soul. If you look at it that way, then perhaps it’s not such an agonizing experience after all. It’s different for everyone, I would imagine. Maybe it’s different for everyone at different times; sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s freeing.

Back to my question. What is it about writing that people enjoy? I’m thinking that is something that each person has to answer for themselves. It may be a deeper question than I originally thought. It may be an existential dilemma…I think I’d like to think that! I don’t know; does writing bring any meaning into a person’s life? As I’ve stated, I’m of the opinion that it should; if for no other reason than to make the writing itself have a real meaning. I love writing. I don’t do it as often as I should because, frankly, I’m lazy. But now looking at those very words I just now wrote, I realize it for the first time. I need to do better. Stupid words. Always judging.

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