Oscar wrap-up 2005

Well, it was a very blue-state affair, another orgy of Hollywood self-importance.

The big surprise of the night was that Crash instead Bareback, er, I'm sorry, I mean Brokeback Mountain won for Best Picture, even though director Ang Lee won for Best Director. Usually the best picture is the one directed by the best director, but split occasionally arise as they did last night because directors vote for directors, actors for actors, etc., but everyone in the Academy votes for best film.

I suspect that the whole thing was political, that voting for a film about race, whose message was good (but not especially uncharted territory) was "safer" than voting for a film which acknowledges that people of the same gender can love each other.

And although my opinions about homosexuality may deviate from most members of the Academy, it incenses me they should do such a thing, that they don't have the integrity to stand by their convictions.

Also, while I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, I strongly suspect it is a very well-made film, more artistically accomplished than Crash. I liked Crash, but it seemed a bit like a TV movie. I also saw Munich, one of the other Best Picture nominees, and that was better than Crash, too.

But I am glad that Crash's writer-director, Paul Haggis, won an award, because he deserves one for the whole first season of Due South.

And I am happy for Rachel Weisz, although I think her best role to date was actually in Confidence. Now hopefully no one will remember her having been in Constantine or the Mummy films, for that matter.

And I am happy for Ang Lee, who deserved awards for Sense and Sensibility and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and probably deserved an award for Brokeback as well. We will forget about that boring film he did a few years ago, The Hulk.

Typically, people get Academy Awards for things which are not really their best or most memorable work.