Preshow is pure EVIL!!!! I thought this gay guy and that blonde woman were gonna bend over and start fisting their a**holes while shouting "OH you look sooooooo beautiful... oh yeah fabolous, so amaaaaaazing!!!!!!!"

Tree of Life not winning cinematography = FAIL

Well who needs the Oscars anyway (except for the Studios to promote their Films)...?

You would like Tree of life. It is such a film student/snob movie.

I always get 'Tree of Life' and 'The Fountain' mixed up, so for a minute I thought you were saying 'The Fountain' got nominated and was absolutely ecstatic. (I haven't actually seen 'Tree of Life', so I can't really be happy or unhappy that it got nominated.)
Also, Ringo's "irony!" dance made my day ^_^

Tree of life sucked. I'm glad it didn't win.
I think all the right people won this year. Except Woody Allen. Fuck that guy

Of course the Oscars are horrible! That's a fact of life, and will probably never ever change! But...kinda like Luke, I don't think I'll ever completely stop watching each year, because like he said, it is a chance for us film geeks to enjoy the art of film celebrated in SOME way at a least a little, even if it is extremely shallow and incredibly manipulative. ;)

I was fine with all the actual nominations and wins. The only one I saw was "The Descendants" which I really liked a lot! You forgot it instantly after seeing it? What the hell? I guess that's fine for you, but I'd be curious on more detail on the movie and why.

Woody Allen truly does make me have faith in humanity when it comes to movies...and sometimes just humanity in general. He's one of the best writers/directors/actors, wins all the right awards, and still gives a big "Fuck you!" to the academy presenting the awards to him by never showing up, because he truly is better than that and can't be bothered with their shit. He'd rather be reading great literature or playing his jazz music at a small club than be on the fucking red carpet and listening to the low born give embarrassing speeches. I admire that. ^_^ (And no, I'm not being sarcastic, I really am a diehard Woody Allen fan. My dad introduced him to me when I was 16, and we both love his work and his dislike of award shows to death. LOL)

Interesting. Brad Jones put "Tree of Life" on his worst movies of the year list, and just thought it was awful. He said the cinematography was great, but the story and everything else didn't work in the slightest. I haven't seen it, but now I'm curious that you're calling it brilliant. Hmmm...

I don't bother with the pre-show because it's garbage but I enjoyed this year's Oscars more than last year's travesty.

I love the Oscars but I am also not a film snob/student

i'm actually glad this movie got shut out. granted, the cinematography was gorgeous, but in the end, this is a college art project that terrance mallick over-thought and over-executed. it's so focused on it's imagery and symbolism, that it forgets to tell an actual story and develop it's characters. Brad pitt and the sean penn kid are the only 2 characters that have any depth to them, the mom doesn't at all act like a human being, and the two brothers have little to no personality/development. they make a big deal about one of the brothers dying at the beginning, only to ignore it for huge chunks of the movie, so what's the point? also, the imagery and the story never truly connect at any point in the film. had mallick found some clever ways to tie those two aspects together, it would have made a much more cohesive and interesting movie.

if you want a movie that really deals with how families deal with tragedy, go see 1980's ordinary people, it is so much better and thoughtful.

I'm gonna be sincere, I chuckle at the last comment "Much like the oscars..." :D.

Anyway, I've never seen the oscars..."Why?" you ask, the answer is simple, I don't care if a film gets one.

If a film was good to me, it was good. If a film was bad to me, it was bad. Who the hell cares what the industry has to say about it? I don't, and I never will.

That's the way thing goes with my, myself and I (I know it sound egocentric, but sometimes it's better to say things straight)

Anyhow, it was a good review, but I'll have to say that you need a little bit more charisma on the videos. Great job, whatsoever :D.

The Oscars by their nature are always going to be a mixed bag: they're a product of equal parts: industry politics, mass popularity, and actual film making merit. Just take some satisfaction when a deserving film gets nominated and the rarer occasions when such a film gets the recognition it deserves from the academy when it wins, and enjoy the show for what it is, or don't bother with it at all.

But agree with you on Drive it got so snubbed, Albert Brooks doesn't even get a nomination for best supporting actor but Jonah Hill does? Who'd he blow for that nomination?

I like the idea of celebrating the art of film-making, but The Oscars tend to be very garish and boring.

Luke still reminds me of Benedict Cumberbatch, especially Phil.

"Not every movie needs to be "Tree of Life" to gain recognition". Very well put Luke! I highly agree. And you know what? I love the Oscars, I genuinely enjoy them! I really don't get this bashing of the Oscars other than "then never nominate any of the GOOD movies" or "it's just a way for rich people to pat themselves on the back". Frankly, I don't care and I say good for them. These people are putting forth a lot of effort into their jobs and to even be nominated for an Oscar is what they deserve. It's just like anything else that you put hard work into and wanted to be recognized and rewarded for it. I know I do because I know all that effort paid off. Yeah, there are movies made strictly because they know they would be nominated 'Tree of Life' and 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' but I'm glad they were snubbed at the awards ceremony. It's like the academy is finally deciding just because you made this kind of a movie, doesn't mean you'll get anything for it.

Honestly, I'm quite satisfied for the people that won that night. And really, if people are going to continuously bitch about how much they can't stand/dislike/hate the Oscars, then don't watch it! Yeah, I know that's probably an overused response but it still holds truth. Why bother watching something you can't stand? What do you gain from it? It just makes you look like a hypocrite when I hear/read, "Well I watched the Oscars but I think they're overrated". Especially when you know the movies you like aren't nominated which pisses you off, makes you despise them more but you still tune in. WTF people?!

Ugh. Sorry for my rant, I really liked your video Luke.

I'm sorry, what?

You honestly think that films like Tree of Life and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close were "Oscar Bait?" No one was expecting either of those films to be nominated for completely opposite reasons. Tree of Life was an extremely unlikely nomination because the Academy runs screaming into the hills at the sight of anything unconventional that doesn't follow a traditional narrative format. In all likelihood, the only reason it was nominated was that the 1950's family segment appealed to the bloated nostalgia centers of Academy voters. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was unlikely because it was sentimental schlock that no one liked (its one of only a handful of films nominated for Best Picture that have a "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Neither film was ever expected to win anything (except, perhaps, a win for Tree of Life's cinematography), and neither film did win anything.

The Best Picture win of The Artist wasn't some upstart victory against more predictable nominees, it was the predictable nominee.

People criticize things because they care about them and want them to be the best they can be. Thinking something isn't perfect doesn't mean you should automatically have to dismiss it from your life. It's more troubling to me when people can't see the flaws in the things they love. I wonder how genuine their feelings are.

Hard work just isn't enough in business. Any business. As they say, "The road to Hell..." Entertainment IS a business, and everyone... okay, most people work very hard at what they do. The truth is, it's movies like Hugo, War Horse, and The Artist that have 'Oscar bait' written all over them, not Tree of Life.

The awards season is as hotly contested as a major national elections, and money for ads and screeners has a lot to do with it. It has a lot more to do with politics and money, as Luke and others have pointed out.

First time I've watched your video.

Really should have different voices for the different characters. It felt like the same guy rambling on and on. All the characters from Doug, Linkara and Noah have very distinctive voices and speech patterns.

Or maybe that's the point...

Terminal Insanity has a pretty much correct. Industry politics had an especially big part this year.

Hugo and The Artist are both about the golden age of cinema, and about the preservation of that golden age. AMPAS is going through some internal struggles with their new CEO who doesn't seem to understand what AMPAS is, or their primary function in the industry - the preservation and promotion of cinema. She's gutting the archival and history departments. Awarding those two movies so heavily probably had more to do with internal Academy issues with her than anything else.

None of that explains how the POS War Horse got any nominations at all. Even Industry people walked out of the screenings hating it. And yeah, Drive's shut out was a mystery too.

The biggest problem with the award show is that the organization has no idea what to do to be current. The fact that even considered Bret Ratner shows how out of touch they really are, and that many good directors won't touch the broadcast says a lot about how the Academy runs things. Still, it is an important event for AMPAS - kind of like their annual gala - and the business as a whole, and it shouldn't go away.

My favorite dumb director moment of the night was cutting Jim Rash out of The Decendants' acceptance speech after his mocking of Jolie. They had on idea who he was, or why having him on screen would attract their precious 18-49 demographic. Okay, that and not getting why letting Bret Mackenzie perform the Muppets song on stage would be a big draw. Instead we get Justin Beiber?

Personally, I love the pre-show. It's a fun celebration, not a time for hard hitting questions. So what if all you learn is who has gum in their purse, or who made their jewelry?

Not to mention the same politics and business is making way for a new age of censorship.

It was the one film that had that little bit of magic the others didn't. Hugo was the next best & pretty good, but it seemed to lack something as in almost every review it kept getting 4 stars not 5. The Descendants was alright, but nothing special.

The Descendants was written very well, that's why it won for best adapted screenplay. I can admit that it doesn't necessarily stay with you days after but you can't deny the quality of the writing.

As for Drive, not only was the title misleading, it just wasn't written very well. I sorta liked it but I have no immediate desire to see it again.

I agree with you on Shame, it was a very good film that did stay with me days after, and the reason you gave for it's absence makes sense. As long as we know it was a good film, I think that's important (except maybe for the rushed ending).

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...well, at least I know that someone out there isn't going crazy for this film. I HATED this film, it was badly written! The acting was great mind you, but the story just didn't flow and was extremely anticlimactic. That's what happens when you try to stick to the book so closely. It doesn't deserve any of the praise it's being given BUT I do think Rooney Mara should have been given an award (but that's only because I haven't seen The Iron Lady to compare).

As for the Oscars itself, it's not as luxurious and they make it out to be. It's looks more like a glorified MTV award show. However, I still think I'll watch it every year...unless I have something better to do.

The Artist was definitely Oscar bait and even the general public could see that. Hugo might have been lumped into the same category but it had more meat on its bones. While there are references to the golden age of cinema, it was more about a son trying to reconnect with his father. This kind of emotional resonance makes it timeless. The Artist operates on fickle nostalgia.

The Oscars suffer from a need to honor tradition to the point of stagnation. Having Billy Crystal host is just another example of sticking to the familiar. Woody Allen's win shows how the Academy is populated with aging members that aren't interested in anything new.

The Academy needs massive reform in how it operates. A lot of the rules and procedures for voting and membership don't make a lot of sense these days. They were established when Hollywood was still run by the studio system.