Oscar wrap-up and other things

So much to do, so little time. I'm going on a mini-vacation tomorrow so I don't have as much disposable time right now as I'd like to have, (pesky work keeps getting in the way) I'd like to get a couple of thoughts down and get caught up on my reviews, if possible.

The Oscars were incredibly predictable, but I was happy with that Bigelow and The Hurt Locker won. I was trying to remember when the Oscars weren't a foregone conclusion, but the last time I can remember there being a surprise for the better was Adrien Brody, and for the worse was Crash. Maybe I was young and naive, but I seem to remember there being a bit more suspense involved in years past. Anyway, I managed to see all but 5 of the films that were remotely available to me, which meant seeing about 30 films, most of them good, a couple of them stinkers.

Realizing that there is a lot of derision toward The Oscars (a lot of it understandable) I still maintain that A) It's fun to judge and guess the winners and B) I end up seeing a lot of films I probably wouldn't have - both good and bad. It's kind of like watching the Independent Spirit Awards on IFC. I'm constantly saying, "I've never even heard of that movie" but I'm also taking notes for my Netflix queue because so many of them look well done and compelling.

I'm going to have my Oscar nominated film reviews up on the front page of my Web site through the end of March so take a look if you're interested in a film that caught your interest during the ceremony or in the pre- and post- ceremony buzz.

In other movie related news, I seem to have chosen to work on the work of the wrong director for my Great Directors Project . March is apparently Akira Kurosawa month on Turner Classic Movies, and they are featuring a fantastic slate of films that are going to burn up my DVR. At least now I don't have to wonder who I'm going to work on next!

Speaking of the Great Directors Project, though I haven't had time to truly begin it yet, please check out my Great Directors Project blog and give me your feedback on what directors I should be looking at.

And finally, I leave you with another reason to love Christoph Waltz.