Live Blogging The 2015 Oscars - Part 3

JLo and Chris Pine -- what a magnificent couple!
She's classic. And she always looks the part.
Grand Budapect wins the costume award and the costumer/winner milks it for every minute as she takes forever to get to the stage. Well, she has to get out of the box she's sitting in. She's wearing about twelve earrings.
JLo almost takes a spill on the way off the stage.
Now, Harris makes another joke -- this time about Wtherspoon's name. And it goes nowhere.
And, here we go again - Grand Budapest wins yet another award. Prediction: It will win the most awards tonight but it will not win any of the really big awards.
BTW: Witherspoon's dress looks beautiful - very appropriate and perfect for her. Classy!
Here comes Channing Tatum. And yes, he really does look like a star but he's very obviously reading his lines and he's flubbed one of them.

Live Blogging The 2015 Oscars - Part 2

Beautiful speech by best supporting actor winner J.K. Simmons. So family-oriented. Just. Plain. Wonderful! One of the best things anybody has said so far, on this or other Oscarcasts.
Harris' joke after the JK award (parodying the Farmers Insurance commercial) fell flat.
Now Harris' is doing a schtick centered around his predictions for this year's Oscar winners. And maybe it's just me but this doesn't really seem to be going anywhere. It's somewhat dorky.
Liam Neeson has a wonderful voice and melodic accent but he's been in too many action/thriller/revenge movies.
Now, Budapest Hotel is paired in a preview with Sniper. Two movies that are about as different as you can imagine.
Dakota Johnson appears wearing a classic-looking red dress. She makes a nice apperance.
And now, here's Adam Levine singing with Maroon Five - a Jewish boy who brazenly shows off his tattoos. Well, it's not like he can really hide them. BTW: He's hitting some really high notes tonight.
Nice to see Adrian Brody in the audience -- one of our favorite actors and an Oscar winner.

Live Blogging The 2015 Oscars - Part 1

Are the Oscars becoming too big; too rehearsed; too contrived; too high tech?
I'm wondering as I watch the opening number with Neil Patrick Harris.
This is complete with audience (pre-programmed) participation.
And there are built-in promos for ABC/Disney movies.
No doubt about it -- this is a BIG production number but it's so grandiose. And could Harris' boyhood charm seems to be wearing thin.
But I do like the way he turned to Oprah and said: "Cause you're rich."
BTW: It's a shame that Lady gaga is there because she looks well, goofy -- as usual. At this point she tries to hard, and it shows.
Now, best supporting actor. And, to no one's surprise the award foes to J.K. Simmons.
Not that he doesn't deserve it but is this gonna be a hopelessly predictable night?
BTW: Lupita said "and the ACTOR goes to." Flub!

Obama, Familial Nationhood And Patriotism

It's no accident that George Washington was called "the father of our country."
From the very beginning, American presidents have been somewhat patriarchal -- not in the sense of a monarch, of course but more like a strong, caring, reliable dad who sees the best in us, inspires us, rallies us and above all, defends and protects our national family.
That's what the best dads do. That's what we've come to expect from them.
But what if we had a dad who always noticed our faults? What if he was repeatedly critical? What if he kept pointing it out to others whenever he thought we did something wrong?
Instead of challenging us to aspire to our highest goals, what if he constantly warned us and attempted to lower our aspirations? What if he pushed us to pull back instead of leaping forward?
What would it be like if we had a father who at times appeared to be arrogant and occasionally disdainful toward us?
What if he didn't think we were particularly special or exceptional?
What if he was chilly and somewhat distant and rarely able to even show us that he liked us very much? And all the while, what if he seemed to be spending more time tending to his own needs and his own desires and his own persona than our own?
We'd be (to say the least) quite disappointed, wouldn't we?
And to top it all off, what if this same dad actually apologized for us to others?
We'd begin to question whether or not dad really loved us, wouldn't we?
Well, this is what President Obama has done.
He's never really embraced us; rarely encouraged us; hardly ever recognized nor affirmed the best in us. He's never done this -- not the way Reagan did it; not the way JFK did it; not the way Ike did it; not the way Truman did it; not the way FDR did it; not the way TR did it; not the way Lincoln did it; not the way real presidents have done it. No, he hasn't done that the way presidents who really love their country have done it.
Barack Obama doesn't empower us -- not the way someone who loves you empowers you and inspires you -- indeed, helps you to help yourself so that you grow, achieve and soar. Someone who really loves you takes pride in all that. Instead, Obama seems to want us dependent on him and the all-powerful state that he's determined to construct.
In Barack Obama's view, we should be looking down, not up and back, not forward.
Bottom line: Obama doesn't make us feel good about ourselves in part because he doesn't seem to care very much about us.
So, it's entirely understandable that the question has been posed: "Does he really love us? Does he really love America?"
We have our doubts -- serious doubts.

The Oscars: Looking Back 25+ Years

To commemorate its 25th anniversary, IMDb presents a special look back at the 1990 Oscars ceremony in support of the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Oscars: Behind The Scenes Witn The Host

Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris takes viewers inside his creative process while preparing for tonight's show.

Razzies: The WORST Movies of 2015, 'Winners'

The Golden Raspberries were distributed last night.
These are The Razzies - the worst movies and performances of 2015. Here are the winners:

Worst Picture
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas

Worst Actor
Kirk Cameron

Worst Actress
Cameron Diaz

Worst Supporting Actor
Kelsey Grammer

Worst Supporting Actress
Megan Fox

Worst Screen Combo
Kirk Cameron & His Ego

Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
Annie 

Worst Director
Michael Bay,Transformers 4: Age of Extinction

Worst Screenplay
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christma

The Oscars: Here's Who Will Win Tonight!

Now, we're right up against the Big Moment: Oscar Night!
And there's not much suspense this year. Not much at all.
The winners would seem to be cut and dried and spread all over the place. There will be no sweep for one movie of another, at least not in the big categories, anyway.
Yes, there may be a Big Upset. American Sniper could still win Best Picture if Birdman and Boyhood cancel each other out. It could happen (and we would be ecstatic if it did) but it's simply not likely. And yes, the most appealing actor of his generation, Bradley Cooper could win the Best Actor Oscar (and we'd be thrilled if he did) but it's not considered likely.
So, here's who will win tonight:

Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons
Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette
Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Adapted Screenplay: The Imitation Game
Costumes: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Song: Glory (Selma)
Foreign Film: Ida
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez, Birdman
Actor: Eddie Redmayne
Actress: Julianne Moore
Picture: Birdman

Happy viewing, everybody - and Hooray for Hollywood!

What The Democrat Party's REALLY All About

Abraham: Kenney Goes Negative With 'Futile' Scheme

Here is a statement from the Lynne Abraham campaign:

For Lynne’s opponent, Jim Kenney, to falsely and deliberately misrepresent what Lynne Abraham said at a televised, audio and video-recorded debate on February 19, 2015, shows Kenney’ desperation and fear of Lynne‘s popularity. Lynne stood behind Mayor Michael Nutter’s statements that any attempt to award pension bonuses to everyone receiving a city pension, at a time when our pension fund is underwater by about five billion dollars, threatens the entire pension house of cards. Any money going to pensioners, just because the stock pickers did a better job in one year than in previous years, threatens not only those receiving pensions now, but also city employees who hope and expect their bargained for pensions to be there for them in the future.
Outside of their families, no one knows more about the deaths and injuries of police officers and firefighters than Lynne Abraham. For the better part of nineteen years as District Attorney, Lynne investigated every death and injury of these brave public servants and prosecuted the guilty parties. Her investigations included the deaths of Captain John Redmond and Firefighter Vencent Acey, as well as the deaths of Captain John Taylor and Firefighter Rey Rubio.
Kenney’s attack is ironic.
Jim Kenney not only qualifies for a pension from the city, he was also getting a salary from Vitetta, a company he worked for while he was collecting his $165 thousand a year city council salary and accruing pension benefits. Not only is that double-dipping, it may qualify for triple- dip status. While during that same time, Vitetta also gained lucrative City contracts. His yearly salaries further included a paid board position with Independence Blue Cross, which also has contracts with the City.
Rather than taking the time to tackle difficult problems, Kenney only makes them worse by spending his time pandering for votes. Far from making the city safer for retirees, he makes things worse by seeking to add to our serious pension deficits. Lynne supports pension benefits bargained for at the collective bargaining table and respects all bargained-for pension rights.
Kenney has made an appalling mistake with this feeble attempt to tarnish Lynne Abraham’s credibility with police and firefighters. They know better. Philadelphia knows better. Already this is being seen as the obvious trick that is it. Kenney must fear Lynne’s strength in these two municipal communities to pull this futile, ill-advised scheme.