And now we celebrate...ourselves

Another Oscar season come and gone, mostly met with apathy. Seems no matter what, the Academy (all 5000 of them) will continue to champion movies that only they go to see. And the generational tendencies mean your best shot at winning is to set your movie in World War II or show how awesome the 60's were. But this is not about that but about the other thing.

There is a world of difference between the awards and The Show. I started watching the ceremony in high school when I got bitten by the film bug, wanting to know more about the people that made the movies than just their names. I followed the season pretty religiously but soon lost my faith when terrible, overhyped Oscar Bait movies kept winning. Blame Darth Weinstein for that. But I kept, and keep, up with the show not only to put names to faces, but to keep up with how Hollywood feels about itself. And to see the veneer crack.

In a town all about illusion and appearances, the rare moments are the honest ones. It is not every time, but once in a while, you get to see an honest moment from these practiced liars. And I use that term respectfully, honest. Julia Roberts cackling 'I love it up here!' Tom Hanks talking about Heaven being crowded with angels. These have real power. It's what I hope for. And they delivered.

The show told a story, which was very cool. It went through the steps as if a movie was being made right in front of us. Once a step was completed, the award was given, from writing being the first to directing being the last. It was very classy, with nimble host Hugh Jackman noting at each group of people 'They make movies.' It is not just about stars but about craftsmen of all stripes. Very classy.

But what really got me, and appeared to really get the nominees was that instead of last year's winner introducing a series of clips, 5 former winners of that category came out and each one spoke directly to a nominee about their performance. Pure, uncut star power ladies and gents. This was a chance to see actors actually acting, delivering solilliquies at apparently unsuspecting actors. Was it back patting and self congradulatory? Sure. Was it at times honest and moving? Absolutely.

As for the speeches, a couple good ones. I'm not a Penelope Cruz fan (search for my discussion of Sahara for details) but her emotional memoir was pretty moving. Same goes for Kate Winslet. This, like Julia and Denzel, was much more for body of work but it was still her time and she seems honestly surprised. As the only movie of the crop I saw, I was pulling for Slumdog, and so was rewarded. I think Danny Boyle is one of the greats working right now. If Slumdog is not your cuppa, try Millions. Sure it's a Christmas movie, but only in the way that Love Actually is a Christmas movie.

All in all, this had to be my favorite Oscar broadcast. Triple the star power, no lame bits, three amazing musical moments (one by Baz!) and not one mention of Jack Nicholson. If they repeat this same format over and over again, I'd be content. It'll be interesting to see what they do in a good movie season. Either way, top hats off to a great three plus hour show and congrats on bringing luster back to the Oscars.

Mass Effect 2 'Debut' teaser

Motion in the ocean

I'm fascinated by this concept, the idea of animating comics to make them into micromovies. It's nothing new, as they did the same thing to Kirby art in the '60s but it's still pretty cool. Plus full voice, unlike the narrator ala Watchmen Motion Comics. What I'm concerned about is another new idea totally reliant on iTunes. I think this would be great to go mobile with, but for those of us who abstain from the Cult of Steve Jobs, doesn't that make it just one more thing to watch when you are at the computer? I'm hoping they cast their net wider than just Apple, but we'll see. Anyway, take a look and see what you think.

Heroes on the run

Here we have it, the pilot episode 2009 edition. A radical revamping of the show in an attempt to shore up the gaps through which the viewers keep slipping through. Forget everything about time travel, doppelgangers, or power potions. (Oh, but prophecy via Tim Sale art? That we're keeping.) Now, it's people with powers on the run from Johnny Law, excuse me, The Hunter. It's a kinder, gentler Days Of Future Past sans giant robots. Know what? It actually works. I'm interested in where they are going with this. And I love anything in the show that brings them together. So for that, bravo. Doesn't mean there aren't problems though.

Time to roll out the geek. My issues are about their powers. I don't mind the Hiro depowering. I knew from the first few episodes they were getting into deep water. The way they introduced his abilities, he really didn't need any help to take care of any troubles that might show up. Make him a flatscan for a tick? Sure. It's the mimics I don't quite get.

In the Claremont era of X-men, a period the writers like to, ahem, borrow from, one of his recurring tricks was in each issue when a mutant would first use their power, they would describe it. Ask any X-fan of that era what Psylocke's Psychic Knife is, and they can rattle it off with nary a thought. Annoying in retrospect, it served a solid purpose in letting new readers catch on to why the short hairy guy with the claws could shrug off a cannon blast to the face. Now I wish the creatives in question would salt a little of this into the new volume, not because we've forgotten what the powers are but because they keep changing them.

First. Sylar. Last season, if I remember his powers went a bit awry as he tried to control The Hunger and eventually found he could learn new abilities by osmosis as opposed to cutting and pasting from brain wrinkles. (Sylar: the first wiki villian?) Now back in control, he could have up to a dozen powers that are undocumented, besides the fact he rarely uses any of the ones we saw him aquire in seasons 1 and 2. Hey, once you have TK, who needs superhearing? But where did he get immune-to-darts? What's that one? It isn't a TK shield and it isn't healing. When did he get so tough?

My bigger issue is Peter. When we met him, he got his powers from meeting people and then remembering them. Then he got stripped of the mimic power and apparently his hard drive was erased. Now he can get only what he touches and then only one at a time. Except flight. In a conversation with big brother Senator Judas, he revealed the only power he has held onto was flight. So why is it the cliffhanger is him about to be sucked out the side of a plane? That is the one situation we know he will be fine. I'm beginning to like the simplicity of Mohinder: tough or Tracy V3: ice. How about a Tommy Lee Jones pep talk explaining to his cape-killer squad what each one can do? That'd be a nice bone to throw new watchers and get the rest of us up to speed on the new status quo. Overall, it's a nice soft reboot. They've just got some more clean up from the last party.