Nell, I am not into these type of award shows nor could I attempt to make any selections. However, I was wondering if you had made some selections and how many were chosen. Also, were there any “upsets” in your opinion ? I have also heard many different opinions about the hosts. Do you have an opinion on
them ? Thanks

Thanks, Tim! I enjoy the show very much but don’t take it too seriously. It’s just the industry voting for itself. I thought James Franco and Anne Hathaway were a lot of fun and brought a freshness and enthusiasm that was very appealing. I wish they had had those PS 22 kids on earlier and had them do all the nominated songs. What did you think?

Thanks Nell. I can’t comment on the winners and losers because I don’t have enough knowledge of their work to offer an opinion. What I do have knowledge of is kids, since I have 4 daughters, and I loved the PS 22 kids portion. I love the raw enthusiasm that kids bring to a performance like theirs and, like you, would have enjoyed seeing them do, as you suggested, all the nominated songs. I liked James Franco and Anne Hathaway but since I never seen the show before I have no reference for comparison. I appreciate your input.

The KING has spoken – long live the King.

Hi, Nell. The Oscars are like “my Superbowl” and I enjoyed the show, especially because there were so many good movies nominated this year – I loved “The Fighter,” “True Grit,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” “Blue Valentine,” and “The Kids are Alright,” to name only the movies I’ve seen. (I saw, and didn’t love, “Inception,” and “The Black Swan.” Both worth certainly seeing, however.)
As for the hosts, I do agree with the critics that James Franco was kind of flat, and sort of seemed to be on strike, though not in an obnoxious way. Anne Hathaway had to work a lot harder, it seemed to me, and I thought she went through too many costume changes. That white dress she wore at the beginning of the show (the one Kirk Douglas liked so much) was so beautiful. If I had that dress on, I might never take it off.
I loved Colin Firth’s acceptance speech, and loved when Jeff Bridges came out to present the Best Actress award. He is uber-cool. There were many classy acceptance speeches, but I thought Melissa Leo was like “a bull in a china shop.” Of course, I voted for Hailee Steinfeld in the “Outguess Ebert Contest” so I’m biased.

I think James Franco was just trying to be the anti-Ricky Gervais, and I appreciated his laid-back counterpoint to Anne Hathaway’s enthusiasm. I had a blast watching the Oscars with my critic friends. We had a different snack for each movie! My favorite speeches are always the writers and this year’s were superb.