Dear Readers,

The Oscars were a week ago? Hm… WHO CARES. RELEVANCY IS… erm… IRRELEVANT AT THIS GAMING BLOG! It's time to finally write this up! LET'S DO THIS! It's time for the 2013 Oscars recap in the voice of g1 Flapperdoodle! HELL TO THE YES PEOPLE!

FLAPPERDOODLE'S ON THE 85TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS SHOW AND RESULTS

We made predictions, didn't we? Over a month ago, I laid down the flappy law and I listed off every major award and the person I expected to win. I went into some deep analysis I must say. But if you thought THAT was deep… do we have a show for you tonight. It's time to go all out. Now that the show happened, and the results are finally here, I think it's time we compare my thoughts, and take a look at the show as a whole. Consider this a slightly more extensive blog than last year. More prediction analysis, more discussion, etc. Be sure to leave comments as well. For now, let's get going!

Let's review last year's show… now, last year, we had Billy Crystal. I actually liked last year's show honestly, because I thought it had some truly surprising laughs, and Billy Crystal did a good job. A few jokes were off, but it was a fun show. It wasn't necessarily respectable completely, but it was good. This year… hm…

THE HOST

This year, hoping to bring up ratings, the Academy hired famous comedian Seth MacFarlane. Famous for Family Guy and American Dad, the comedian was obviously going to boost ratings, but would MacFarlane actually be good? Actually, yes, and quite good actually. Seth MacFarlane truly surprised me. He was definitely chock full of jokes… even if some of them weren't very good. He had a lot of charisma, and he just had a very impressive stage presence. For somebody who doesn't do too much acting, he kinda fit in very well.

However, he did have a few tripping points. First of all, the opening was way too long. It just went on and on with sketches and singing and dancing. Look, I love seeing famous actors do funny things and sing well written songs, but an opening is meant to have that done once for an extended period of time. It's not meant to be done three times. It gets overlong. Let's not forget that time was padded by an awkward out of place Star Trek homage, a song about women's boobs in cinema, and Flight with sock puppets. Honestly, the opening started strong with MacFarlane stand up, and it ended well with a strong ending, but overall it felt kinda padded, way too long, and sometimes it felt like MacFarlane was trying too hard. Add that to the fact that a few of his jokes missed the mark, and that he kept the show running for a whole HALF AN HOUR LONGER and didn't even attempt to wrap it up a bit quicker, and you've got some faults.

But MacFarlane did good with what he had. He definitely had some true zingers. Some of these jokes really stuck with you, and a lot of times it worked very well. He knows how to sing, in fact very well, and he was an enjoyable host. Many don't realize this, but for all of the times MacFarlane has tried to stay hip and new with his shows and his pop culture banter, be continues to make up for it in being EXTREMELY retro. This guy mainly sings showtunes and swing diddys. He loves older songs and classic tunes. He is pulling a Justin Timberlake… he's going retro. And honestly, I love him for it. He's better if he's like this. I like HIM more than his shows, let's say.

In the end, he did a good job. He had a few missteps here and there, but his charm and charisma saved his faults for an overall good performance.

THE EXECUTION

Let's start off with this, considering that the actual winners we'll keep for last (as in, the best part!). So, this section essentially is where I discuss if the show went well. Was there anything that it did that I wasn't proud of, etc.

As for this, there isn't too much to mention. There were a lot of things the show did that were kinda funny. It used the Jaws music when telling people to hurry up, which I thought was actually really, really funny. And overall the show did a decent job as a whole. It was a well done show. Lot's of good stuff. Yeah.

There was one thing that bothered me though, when Phoenix (nominated for Best Actor in The Master) was shown for his nomination, he was just frowning and overall looking uncomfortable. That kinda annoyed me. I mean, is it that hard to just smile at the camera for two seconds? We all know you hate the Oscars Phoenix. But at least TRY to look happy.

That is all.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

This is actually a very interesting section this year. Seth MacFarlane pretty much handled the comedy aspect this year. He was pretty entertaining as I already mentioned. The only other comedic attempt was with Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy… and didn't go very well… at all.

So, how was this show? Well, it was entertaining in the beginning. Lots of interesting presenters, montages, speeches, etc. It was a ton of fun, and it felt like the Oscars. The problem is that it began to go through a drought. The major awards were kinda shoved all the way to the ending of the highly extended show. So, we kinda went through this drought of boring, predictable awards. And if the award wasn't predictable, it was kinda minuscule. There were some VERY entertaining segues. The cast of Les Miserables did a fantastic job performing live on stage, and the James Bond tribute was truly excellent (even the Goldfinger song was cool). The Adele performance of Skyfall also won me over. The performance by Streisand after remembering all of the deceased was nice too. But it was too far apart and overall failed to truly keep my intrigued 100%. Plus… man, that tie. That was quite the surprise to me. And let's not forget The Avengers hosting the show. Oh boy was that good. Oh man, and I almost forgot Ted's appearance. That was quite a feat.

But besides for all of those, the show didn't really pick up until the major awards were becoming revealed. And even with that, the show mostly kept itself to pre-show predictability. That isn't a truly bad thing, but a surprise would've been nice. And sure, the Michelle Obama appearance was a clever treat, but was it really necessary? I dunno. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But all I know is that the show definitely hit a stalemate. The show was good overall, don't get me wrong, but it definitely had moments where it had a lack of true entertainment. But it definitely had some very nice moments.

But now… it's time for the true reason you all are here.

THE WINNERS

Alright. This is pretty much me responding DIRECTLY to my predictions. Right in the order I put 'em in. We'll go over who won, who I thought would win, and my overall reactions. Let us begin now.

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Prediction: Django Unchained or Lincoln

Winner: Argo

I'm not gonna lie dude, I was very upset that Lincoln didn't win. As that was my personal Best Picture choice (not my favorite film of the year, but the one I wanted to win), I was hoping for it, and sadly, Lincoln didn't rack up too many awards this year, let alone the ones it deserved. Yet, even though it didn't win, I was still happy to see Argo win it. Not LIfe of Pi. THANKFULLY. It was probably my next best choice for Best Picture, Argo. I truly heard some great things about Argo, so I am happy that it earned the award. Ben Affleck seemed pretty damn enthusiastic about it, so I'm happy for him. It's good to see good ol' Benny getting an award like this on his shelf. Overall, a good choice.

Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Yeah, this was a fricken no-brainer. If the Academy didn't give this award to Lewis, there would be a serious problem. This was one of the only awards Lincoln won throughout the entire night. But ya know what, I'll take it. What helped this was Day-Lewis and his very heartfelt and overall very nice speech. Honestly, I think Lewis is a very down-to-earth guy, so his speech was really sincere. I liked it a lot. So once again, I am a fan of this outcome.

Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence (Sliver Linings Playbook)

Winner: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Once again, people saw this coming from a mile away, before the nominations were even announced. Her performance was excellent, and she definitely deserves this award with flying colors. But what was even better than her winning, was the events afterwards. As some of you know, she unfortunately tripped going up the steps. That's one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you at the Oscars. How do you handle that? I'll tell you, like Ms. Lawrence over here. She was toady human about it, had a laugh about it, and let it slide right off her back. THAT is how you handle a tripping ladies. You can also stop wearing high heels, but that'll never happen.

Prediction: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Winner: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Some people were pretty uncertain about this one, but I knew it and I stuck by my prediction. Waltz is an Oscar darling, and him getting this award was no surprise to me. Sure, I could see any of them winning the award, but Waltz was essentially redoing what he did with Inglorious Bastards. And sure enough, he hit a home run with another Best Supporting Tarantino Actor win. I really liked they way he quoted his character in the speech. I think that tied the speech together very nicely. He actually seems like a very nice guy in real life. Another good win.

Prediction: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

Winner: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

It wasn't even a question. It's a little bit odd that all of these major awards are so easy to get right, but nevertheless, Anne Hathaway won the award (as predicted). I think Hathaway is doing very good with her career choices as of late, and this only proves her path is so far made of gold. This role was definitely out of her comfort zone, and the Academy respects that. Plus, she even got that darling Oscar haircut. There's a near guarantee that if you do shave your head, there's some kind of Oscar reward ahead of you. He speech was nice, and overall she had a good stage presence. Let's not forget, she can SING man. Seriously.

Prediction: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Winner: Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

Before I discuss the winner, I want to say that I actually have had a change of heart since my prediction. I originally said Lincoln was going to get it due to Spielberg. But after thinking about it, it seemed that Spielberg wasn't truly responsible for the success of Lincoln. He actually didn't really exert too much control according to behind the scenes sources. So, I think this award should've gone to somebody like O. Russell. I thought he was going to win (he's Steven fricken Spielberg), but as for who SHOULD'VE won, it should've been O. Russell.

That being said, Ang Lee winning this award is absolute bogus. This was definitely the biggest surprise and the biggest letdown of the entire night for me. After seeing Life of Pi and overall finding it a fine (possibly even average after thinking about it) film, it was so annoying for me to see it beat out other much more deserving films. I mean… it is true that the one truly good thing about Life of Pi was Lee's direction. However, his direction was the said direction of a pretty average film. With directors like O. Russell and Spielberg, they directed movies that overall had more polish, emotional attachment, and especially more to latch on to as a film. I just can't see why everyone is in love with this movie. Sure, it's visually fantastic in many ways, but was the movie truly good enough to win a Best Director Oscar? No, it wasn't in my opinion, and it should've gone to O. Russell. It's a shame really, because Silver Linings Playbook didn't really come out with too much by the end of the night… and Life of Pi did.

Prediction: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Winner: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Hm, looks like the prediction master has struck again. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but many people thought Zero Dark Thirty or Flight would take it. But not me, cause I stayed vigilant. Tarantino's whole idea behind this movie is one of the more creative ones we've seen. He took a lot of liberties with characters, motives, and plot. And good on him. It's GREAT to see a director this prolific being this creative. So, I was happy to see him win, and even happier to hear his speech. I swear, this guy is a natural. He does such a good job just speaking his mind. Was the "peace out" a bit informal? Yes. But was it kinda fun? Definitely. Similar to Waltz, he just seems like a really nice guy. A slightly messed up guy, but a really nice one.

Prediction: Tony Kushner (Lincoln)

Winner: Chris Terrio (Argo)

I'm not going to get in a hissy fit about this one, because I've heard some great word of mouth on Argo, and I feel that it does deserve the awards that it did in fact get. However, I am slightly upset. I personally felt Lincoln had this one in the bag, because the movie's script is probably its greatest strength. It's what held the movie together, it's what kept it interesting, and it's what made it so brilliantly handled. To see it lose is a shame, because I love the screenplay. However, it's not that big of a disappointment. Sure, your pick may not get the award, but the second best thing is seeing it being given to a nominee that did deserve it.

Prediction: Brave

Winner: Brave

Yeah, it sucks man. I hate to be right on this one, because if there was any film that shouldn't have won this award, it's Brave. Being the least creative, least intelligent, and the least impressive out of all five picks, Brave just took a near perfect first act and smothered it with a terrible plot twist and a reliance on slapstick humor. I mean, despite how disappointing it was, Frankenweenie would've been a better pick. At least it was well animated, well scripted, and had great characters! Brave lacked most of those things by the second third. And someday… maybe someday… a film about video games may just win the award… someday.

Alright, lightning round! HERE WE GO!

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Best Cinematography

Prediction: Claudio Miranda (Life of PI)

Winner: Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)

Yeah, it sucks. As much as I predicted that it would win, it would've been nice to be proven wrong by Skyfall. Also, Skyfall didn't win NEARLY enough awards. Just wanna put that out there.

Best Original Score

Prediction: John Williams (Lincoln)

Winner: Mychael Danna (Life of Pi)

Remember when I said Life of Pi won too many awards? Yeah… this is unacceptable.

Best Original Song

Prediction: Who Will Win: "Suddenly" from Les Miserables (Alain Boubilil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, and Herbert Kretzmer) or "Skyfall" from Skyfall (Adele and Paul Epworth)

Winner: "Skyfall" from Skyfall (Adele and Paul Epworth)

I was happy to see this win come alive. Not only was this award a given, but the performance was excellent. Skyfall still didn't win enough awards though.

Best Visual Effects

Prediction: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott (Life of Pi)

Winner: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott (Life of Pi)

This is the ONLY… ONLY AWARD that Life of Pi thoroughly deserved. Richard Parker's awesome effects were worthy of an Oscar.

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OTHER VARIOUS AGREEMENTS AND DISAGREEMENTS:

AGREE: Best Animated Short Film

YES! PAPERMAN WON! SUCK IT SIMPSONS!

AGREE: Best Sound Mixing

Considering Les Miserables' achievement in the field of song, it seems necessary they win this award.

AGREE: Best Foreign Film

Best Foreign Film being given to the only foreign film nominated for Best Picture. A no brainer, and an agreement.

PARTIALLY AGREE: Best Sound Editing

I am still shocked that THIS was one of the only ties in Oscar history, but yes, Skyfall won as well as Zero Dark Thirty. I commemorate both films.

DISAGREE: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

I think that The Hobbit and Hitchcock (either one) deserved this more than Les Miserables. C'mon man, The Hobbit and Hitchcock had some much more impressive makeup.

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And that about covers all of the award comments. Time to wrap this up.

CONCLUSION

I thought the night was a mixed bag overall. Most of the awards were deserving, the host mostly spewed out some funny jokes, and there were plenty of memorable moments. However, it ran on for way too long, the opening was way too long as well, and there was definitely a drought. However, this show was nowhere near a failure, and was definitely one of the best ones I've experienced as a surefire cinephile. I enjoyed it.

And that concludes this crazy long-ass blog. Thanks for reading everybody, and I hope to see you all soon for more of The Perfect Platformer, my favorite movies of 2012 list… and quite possibly the conclusion to FLAPPERDOODLE'S GAMES OF THE YEAR 2012 LIST! FINALLY!

- Larry :)