The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, took place on Feb. 24. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented their awards to honor the best films of 2012. It was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, and was the most watched ceremony since the 76thAcademy Awards in 2004.
Seth MacFarlane hosted the Oscar’s for the first time this year and has already stated that he will not be returning for another. Not only did he deliver his type of humor, he also used musical numbers and cringe-worthy jokes to attempt to win the audience over…which didn’t work. MacFarlane’s opening monologue lasted far too long, and gave a preview into how the rest of the night was going to turn out. During the evening he sang a number called “We Saw Your Boobs” where he pointed out instances where past nominees were topless. The worst joke of the evening, without a doubt, had to have been the one about Lincoln’s assassination: “Daniel Day-Lewis is not the first actor to be nominated for playing Lincoln,” remarked MacFarlane. “Raymond Massey portrayed him in 1940’s Abe Lincoln in Illinois. I would argue, though, the actor who really got inside Lincoln’s head was John Wilkes Booth.” Along with many of his other jokes that evening, this one took it too far. It’s funny at first, but then you realize that he is making a joke a about a man who killed one of the best presidents this country has ever had.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role was taken home by none other than Anne Hathaway for her role in Les Miserables as Fantine, a young mother who loses her job in a factory and struggles to find money to support her daughter. Marni Chan, a movie critic for policymic, commented, “We see in every quiver of her mouth, and flash of her eyes, the despair, humiliation, and in the end, fury she feels that “life has killed the dream [she] dream[s].” was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, but only came away with three wins at the end of the night.
Christoph Waltz took home Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Dr. King Schultz, a German bounty hunter in the pre-Civil War South who buys a slave to assist him with his work, in Django Unchained. This category was one of the tightest races at the Oscars with Waltz prevailing against Alan Arkin (Argo), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), and Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook). This was the second win for Waltz in this category, where he previously won it in 2009 for Inglorious Bastards.
Ang Lee also beat out Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) for the Best Director Award for Life of Pi, winning his second award in this category. According to Kenneth Turan, a Los Angeles Times Film Critic, “There was something missing for me in “Life of Pi,” something missing that made me wish that one of the other films in that category had won for directing.” However, Life of Pi won the most Oscars of any film with four, followed by Argo with three for the night. Argo took home Best Adapted Screenplay, and the biggest and least suprising award of the night – Best Picture. There was also a tied for the first time 1994 in the Best Sound Editing Category between Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall.
Best Actor was given to none other than the great Daniel Day-Lewis, who made history for being the only Oscar winner to win three awards in the same category, for portraying Honest Abe in Lincoln, which was also nominated for Best Picture. His previous winnings were in 2007 for There Will Be Blood and in 1989 for My Left Foot. Day-Lewis, according to Xan Brooks from the Guardians “is renowned for his careful preparation and exacting nature – often immersing himself in a role to such a degree that he remains in character for the duration of filming.”
Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her role as Tiffany Maxwell in Silver Linings Playbook, who is a troubled young widow who begins a complex relationship with a man recently released from a psychiatric facility. “it was as if the Academy wanted to recognized the entire range and depth of her work, remarkable for one so young. There is a fierceness that runs through all of her performances that is refreshingly brash,” commented Betsey Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times. When she was walking up the steps to receive her award, she tripped on her own dress and at the microphone said, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell – it’s really embarrassing. This is nuts!” If you have not seen Silver Linings Playbook yet, you need to see it. As soon as possible. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a really long time. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper capture the characters so well, and even though there are sad parts, it will keep you laughing throughout the entire movie.
Even though the host was a dud, and some aspects of the show “nuts,” the 2013 Oscars turned out as they always turn out, with no one satisfied with the results. It’s hard to satisfy billions of people who all have varying opinions, none of which are voiced in the results. Some of the best movies of 2012 were not even nominated for an Oscar! The movies that deserved recognition but did not receive it include: The Hunger Games, The Avengers, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Perks of Being a Wall Flower, Pitch Perfect, and Rise of the Guardians. But the best movie for me, of 2012, without a doubt, is Silver Linings Playbook. Now we will just have to wait and see if the 86th Academy Awards will be able to top this year’s, with the odds pointing ever in their favor.