The two best Oscar moments

I have always loved movies and I've always loved the Academy Awards show. When I was a kid I imagined being on the stage and making my speech. I dreamed, like many girls, of being beautiful and famous. These days I just enjoy seeing which movies are getting all the attention and trying to figure out why. For instance, I hated Ratatouille, really hated it, turned it off half way through in disgust. I completely do not understand what the fuss was about that movie.

So this year, as most years, I had seen some of the movies, but not all of them. I had my favorites, the ones I was rooting for. I still haven't seen No Country for Old Men or There Will be Blood -- as soon as they're out on DVD I'll get them from Netflix. And here I'd like to interject a shameless plug (although I have nothing to gain) for Netflix. This is the greatest invention for people like me who LOVE movies and want to just see everything they can and do it effortlessly. I love it.

When I saw that Marion Cotillard had been nominated for Best Actress I was very happy -- she did the most incredible job of anyone I've ever seen. After watching La Vie en Rose, I thought there must have been at least 6 women who played Edith. I understood there were two children, but I was sure that the adult Edith had been portrayed by many women. Imagine how dumbfounded I was to learn that it was only one. I knew she deserved the Oscar. I wanted to see if everyone else realized it.


Here's some great old footage of the actual Edith Piaf singing La Vie en Rose. I hope you enjoy it. And if you haven't seen this incredible film, rush right out and do it now.


Then there's this movie. Words like sweet, lovely, quiet, come to mind. It's a love story and a musical and a testament to people making dreams come true. The making dreams come true part is in the story, but it's also the story of the movie: no budget, actors barely getting paid, a filmmaker with a dream. Did you hear Glen Hansard's speech? How precious was that? And Marketa Irglova being cut off before she can utter one word of thanks?! What on earth was that? But somebody (I wonder if it was Jon Stewart) had the good graces to give her her moment. Did you know that Glen and Marketa wrote that hauntingly beautiful song that won? Here's the song and some scenes from the movie. See it, if you haven't already.