Friday, February 25, 2011

A few giggles to whet your appetite for Oscar gold



As the 83rd annual Academy Awards hover over the pop culture horizon this weekend,a flurry of preparations are in motion from both professional folks in the film industry and dedicated movie fans alike.

Parties,predictions and fashion critiques will all be part of the fun but adding a dose of parody into the media mix is just as important.

As much as any major movie watcher adores this salute to the best of cinema,a touch of tongue in cheek with a satirical gain of salt approach can really help to keep things grounded amidst the starry eyed celeb fest being presented to us:



A MOST APT TECHNO TEAM-UP

One of the big films this year was The Social Network,that lauded the creation of Facebook. Unfortunately,some of that early adulation flickered out over time and became old news rather quickly,much like keeping up a Friendster account.

The way the tide has turned in the Hollywood waters these days,The King's Speech is destined to outdo TSN with it's trophy tally by the end of the night. Perhaps if TSN had taken on another technology related film with a strong following and combined their talents to make one huge mega hit movie,the odds would have been more in their favor. Tron:Legacy may appear to be an unlikely candidate for this proposal but,hey,it worked on South Park,people!:





CREATIVE CONVULSIONS,TAKE TWO!

Speaking of South Park,the guys did a twisted take on Inception,one of the few blockbuster films out there that didn't insult the intelligence of it's audiences.

However,they encountered a bit of controversy for not giving credit to the folks at College Humor for riffing on their Inception mockery material. Everyone involved made amends and all agree that while Inception was exceptionally well done,those plot points could at times make as much sense as a Charlie Sheen radio show rant:





IN THE EYE OF THE FIGHTER

A major contender in the acting categories this Oscar season is The Fighter,with Mark Walhberg and Christian Bale heading up the best lead and supporting actor arenas while Amy Adams and Melissa Leo have to duke it out against each for the Best Supporting Actress nod.

A very serious boxing movie like this tends to have a good number of bonus features when it arrives on DVD,especially if it's based on a true story. Given the realistic tones of this piece,the only lighthearted moments such a film might have would only be found in the deleted scenes.

You might think allowing such great actors to improvise would be entertainingly revealing but it might reveal way more than you'd ever want to know about the limits of their range:





A HEX ON TOY STORY

Sequels are old hat in Hollywood but the unabashed love for Toy Story 3 by adults who were literally moved to tears by this last chapter in the Woody/Buzz saga went so far as to put this movie up for Best Picture and Best Animated Film,a first for the Oscars there.

However,not everyone had a such a great time out on the summer movie circuit this past season. In this Marvel/DC mash-up,Iron Man consoles Jonah Hex the only way he can-by slipping him a spiked milkshake that lets Jonah re-imagine his feature debut in Pixar mode:





By this time on Monday,we'll be basking in the highs and lows of Oscar night lore. Some will be happily collecting their Oscar pool winnings while others grumble about Hollywood phonies and vow to never watch this show again(like the Terminator,they'll be back).

Hopefully,there will be plenty to talk about and some of it even in a good way. That includes how well our pair of co-hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway perform their entertainment duties. If this co-hosting trend takes off,maybe next year we can have Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot do the honors in 2012. They do know their stuff when it comes to films of a certain quality and as a bonus,Ed Asner! How could you go wrong with these two,I ask you?:

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