On the SAGs

Well, it's only been five long days now since the news broke of Heath Ledger's tragic passing, but I think the time has come to move on. His death has really triggered a lot of unexpected emotions in me, and it's frankly a little odd how deeply affected I have become by this. I've watched Brokeback Mountain two times since last Tuesday and they've been some of the most emotional movie-watching experiences I've ever had. But as sad as I am now (and probably will continue to be for a while), at least we'll always have Brokeback.

So, as promised, moving on...

Another sad reality the movie-loving public is having to face lately is the absence of all our beloved awards shows. :( Fortunately though, the Screen Actors Guild Awards were allowed to continue full-force and everyone (or almost everyone) was there to celebrate and "bask in each other's awesomeness" (to quote Lizzy Caplan in Mean Girls.) Here's a quick rundown of what I thought of some of the winners, losers and others.

Favourite Win: Julie Christie in Away From Her. As much as I love surprises (and a surprise wouldn't have been entirely unwelcome in this category), sometimes it's nice to just have the best of the best rewarded all the time simply for being the best of the best. A classy, eloquent woman (beautiful speech, that was) and a classy, heartbreaking performance.

Least Favourite Win: No one! This has been such a rewarding awards season (for the most part) mostly because people who should be nominated and win are actually being nominated and winning. (I guess my least favourite performance out of all the categories was Ruby Dee's but how can you begrudge that lovely old woman her moment in the spotlight? I know I can't.)

Best Dressed: I'm gonna have to go with Marion Cotillard. I may be a big hater on her performance but she is a stunning woman in real life and the dress was divine. For the guys, I'm going with Josh Brolin. Without that stupid mustache that he's been sporting through all his films this year, he is HOT. And smart and funny as well (see: his No Country acceptance speech.)

Favourite Speech: Daniel Day-Lewis getting genuinely cracked up about Heath Ledger's death after winning for There Will Be Blood was a tearjerker for sure. I love how he acknowledged his work in Monster's Ball too before talking about Brokeback being one of the most moving things he's ever seen.

Runner-up: Tina Fey and the hat-rack analogy. Gotta love her.

Most Awkward Moment: Pairing Zac Efron and Debra Messing up to announce a category together. Was it just me or did she look really really uncomfortable? Then she goes and chokes on the words in her mouth. I don't get what was going on with that.

Runner-up: Mickey Rooney. And. His. Really. Slow. Even. For. An. 87-year Old. Diction.

So I guess what this all means is: Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem are about as locked for the Oscar as someone like JHud last year; Julie Christie remains the frontrunner for Lead Actress, although I still think an Ellen Page or Marion Cotillard upset isn't out of the question; and Supporting Actress will be by far the most interesting Acting race come February 24th with Cate Blanchett, Ruby Dee and Amy Ryan all having shots for the statue. (My money's still on Blanchett though.)