Oscars

What happened to the Oscars this year? Was there anything worthy of remembering? I had high hopes when I heard that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were cohosting. But somehow things turned out to be a bore. The two hosts were so obviously reading from a script. There was no chemistry. The usually hilarious Robin Williams didn't say much. There was the usual silliness from Ben Stiller but that's about it.

As for the awards themselves, there weren't too many surprises. Avatar took home most of the "effects" awards. It was quite evident early on that The Hurt Locker would win Best Director and Best Picture. Maybe Meryl Streep should have been Best Actress for her uncanny portrayal of Julia Child. But Sandra Bullock was an OK choice I guess.

Movies

Is there really any originality in movies anymore? Other than adaptations from books and the retelling of previous movies, is there anything new anymore? The Twilight series is from a book. Almost every comic book character has been done to death already. Some (Batman, Superman) even get their stories redone. Now The Dark Knight was perhaps one of the greatest "revisions" of The Joker but there is no originality anymore. Next thing you know we'll be seeing new versions of Gone With the Wind and The Godfather, as if Hollywood actually thinks they can do better than Clark Gable and Marlon Brando.

Twilight

There is so much hype surrounding this saga, even so that there have been people lining up DAYS in advance of the premiere of the movie. Now I can understand lying up a few hours before a movie premieres but days? I remember years ago when I waited about four or five hours in line for Episode I of Star Wars and what a big disappointment it was. It's only a movie, it will be on the next day. It's like those people who wait in line at midnight for the unveiling of the new Harry Potter books. You really can't wait a few hours for the bookstore to open? Is there nothing better to do?