James Cameron is about to choke his ex-wife since her movie was really good, and his movie really wasn't. Ah...justice.Avatar, the most overblown, overhyped movie ever, walked away from Oscar night with only three piddly statues for the effort (and for the $300 million budget). Much has been written about this silly, Smurfs-meet-Ewoks story, and many people undoubtedly expected it to rake in the awards. The awards it won, however, were for the less exciting visual effects and similar categories that nobody really cares about.
I applaud the Academy for not indulging the mass appetite for mindless, CGI action. Although I've been told that watching Avatar in 3D is a must, I can't help but think I got the idea without alien palm fronds jumping off the screen at me. The mystical, psuedo-illuminati people behind the Academy Awards weren't fooled either. And even though I'll probably never forgive them for choosing Gladiator over Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, they moved one step closer towards vindication tonight.
(They also didn't lose any points for going ahead with selecting Christoph Waltz to bring home the Best Supporting Actor award for Inglorious Basterds. His genius in that role was appropriately recognized. I only wish Quentin Tarantino had finally been recognized for his genius.)
Congrats to Kathryn Bigelow for making a great movie and for becoming the first woman to ever win the Oscar for Best Director.
I wholeheartedly agree with all these things. I don't think the chasm between Crouching Tiger and Gladiator is as great as you think, but I still would have selected it over Gladiator for best pic. Wanted Tarantino, but thought that Bigelow was a very close second.
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