AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Oscar Night is finally here!

Every year I have a look at the best picture nominees, make my predictions, and enjoy the 5-hour plus ceremony including the over-hyped and glamourized red carpet event. Even out here in Thailand, I plan to avoid all Oscar-related news until after I have been able to download the telecast and watch it first-hand. The long speeches, the dresses, the notoriously unfunny hosts; I love everything about the Academy Awards! It’s like a second Christmas ever year.

Yet, this year, the same buzz just doesn’t seem to be there – at least for me. A few factors could be playing into that. First, I am in Thailand and most of the major nominations never saw a theatrical release in this country. Second, the entire award season has taken place during what has been an incredibly trying and difficult month for myself and all of us who work at Lertlah School. However, I think the most significant reason for my lack of excitement is for the simple reason that few of the films and performances are really worthy of their nominations this year.

Take the best picture nominees for example. It’s not that any of them are particularly bad films, most of them are just far from being Oscar-worthy.

War Horse comes off as a redundant B-rated children’s movie intended for adults that is no different than any animal film of the 1960’s. Sorry Mr. Spielberg.

Midnight in Paris is an obligatory nomination for Woody Allen, and nothing more. It was a great idea but poorly executed.

Moneyball is a decent (I’d even say good) movie, but nothing we haven’t seen before. And yes, Brad Pitt is a great actor, but he didn’t need a best actor nod here, nor did Jonah Hill.

Even though The Help was actually quite good, I can’t say I feel it’s deserving of the “best picture” title. With that being said, all three women nominated in the acting categories more than deserved their nominations.

The Descendants is a tailor-made cliche of what every best picture winner is supposed to be like (much like The King’s Speech last year). It was unoriginal, uninspired, but technically near-perfect.

The only four movies that are truly deserving of the nominations this year are The Artist, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Hugo, and The Tree of Life. These movies had something new to bring to the table, or provided a modern twist to an old idea. Sadly, it appears only The Artist has a chance at winning the final award of the night from The Descendants. My personal pick for best picture would have to be The Tree of Life for being one of the most cinematically gorgeous films in years and using an incredibly unique narrative to tell the story of a family dealing with the passing of a son and brother. It was moving, thought-provoking, and fresh – something that was sorely missing from most of the other nominees.

And now, without further adieu, the films that I believe will be the big winners tonight (but necessarily the ones that I want to win):

 

BEST PICTURE – The Descendants (but I’m hoping The Artist does manage to take it)

BEST DIRECTOR – Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

BEST ACTOR – George Clooney (The Descendants)

BEST ACTRESS – Viola Davis (The Help)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Octavia Spencer (The Help)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Midnight In Paris (the Academy has to keep their beloved Woody Allen happy…unfortunately)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – The Descendants

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – Rango (no competition in this category)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Footnote (I know nothing about any of these movies, so my pick is random)

BEST DOCUMENTARY – Hell and Back Again (Again, I know nothing)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – The Artist

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – “Man or Muppet” (The Muppets)

BEST SOUND EDITING – Hugo

BEST SOUND MIXING – Hugo

BEST ART DIRECTION – Hugo* (oh, there’s a rant coming, see below)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – The Tree of Life

BEST MAKEUP – The Iron Lady* (see rant)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN – The Artist

BEST FILM EDITING – The Artist

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – Rise of the Planet of the Apes* (see rant)

 

*The Academy will once again ignore the Harry Potter series, despite its brilliance in these departments. For whatever reason, they have decided that the Potter series is not worth acknowledging at all, despite the fact that time and time again it has deserved awards in the technical categories, ESPECIALLY for best art direction. The final film in the series wholeheartedly deserved the tenth best picture nomination and a best supporting actor nod for Alan Rickman (take out Jonah Hill…seriously). Sadly, I truthfully predict that despite ten years of incredible work in effects, sound, cinematography, costumes, makeup, and art direction, the series will continue to go unrecognized.

THE “CREATING” CLASSROOM

This past week, my students started a new project to conclude our unit on media. They were given the task of creating a new product and then making a commercial to sell it. (Unfortunately, due to time limitations, we were unable to pre-film the commercials, and they had to be performed live in front of the class.) There was only one rule: they could not create a commercial around a pre-existing product.

It was one of my favourite projects from this past year. The groups made such unique products: including a new recyclable and stylish line of wallets for men and women, a prototype for a hologram pop-up book about insects, and teacher-flavoured pie (the result of an ongoing class joke that began with the idea of “little-boy pie” in Roald Dahl’s The Twits).

We spent the last 3 days of regular classes working on these projects and it was one of those few occasions this past year when my students were so engaged that I never once had to remind any of them to get back on task. The idea of creating their own products and then trying to sell it to their classmates was something that just struck a chord with them. The imagination that went into these projects blew my mind!

Through it all, I was reminded of a very important thing: how often this year have I relied on worksheets and textbook work to explain concepts so I could “check-off” curriculum outcomes? In only 3 days, we tackled at least 10 outcomes, but with an entire class of fully engaged young minds that were analyzing, creating, and evaluating their ideas. They created amazing work that was much more meaningful and memorable to them than a pen-and-paper worksheet ever could have been. It’s so important that students get the opportunity to “do” and “create.” The pay-off is huge!

COMING SOON…

I must apologize to all my avid readers – and by readers, I mean both of you – for my somewhat lengthy absence from the online world. Quite simply, it’s that time of year in every teacher’s life when every single minute of my day is consumed by the all-encompassing aberration that is “the end of the school year.”

Assessments must be completed. Marks must be diligently calculated. Report card comments must be written. Missing work must be dug out of the very back corners of students’ desks. Exams must be written and then carefully looked over. Review work must be started, letters sent home, and due dates met. There are a million things to do and not enough time to do them.

Despite all of this, I think it’s remarkable that even as I watch the seemingly-impossible-to-complete mountain of marking grow taller on my desk and feel my world of stability crumbling around me, I can still say without any hesitation that I whole-heartedly love what I do!

Rest assured, I will be filling this space with much more meaningful posts in the days to come, just as soon as I find where my MacBook Pro has been buried underneath this pile of projects and worksheets on my desk. In the past couple of weeks, I have probably thought of a dozen blog topics to explore. Unfortunately, they have had to sit on the back burner for the time being. Keep your eyes open over the next week or so.

Until then, cheers!

TOP THAT!

You knew it was coming. Did you really think I was going to let it go without a blog post?! I’m talking about the one and only MADONNA!

Last night, she took the stage for the Super Bowl half-time show and she absolutely kicked some serious butt! This is a woman who has defied the odds and stayed relevant in pop culture for 30 years, even though many have proclaimed her career was over long before it had even really begun – as early as her infamous 1984 “Like A Virgin” VMA performance. Little did those critics know she was just getting started.

At the age of 53 (yeah, that’s not a typo), she showed up every other pop star in the industry, proving why she is the undisputed Queen of Pop. She looked great, moved with more agility than most of her proteges, staged an incredible production, and picked the perfect songs (“Vogue,” “Music,” “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” and “Like A Prayer”). From the very beginning, when she was carried onto the stage Cleopatra-style like the reigning Queen that she is, to the starry “Like A Prayer” finale, it was nearly impossible to take your eyes off of her – showcasing her uncanny attention to detail and mastery as a performer.

Of course, the entire spectacle was due to the release of her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’” from her new album M.D.N.A., which is due out in March. Her latest record is nowhere near her best work, but it is a catchy retro throwback that could have easily come out alongside her early dance tracks like “Material Girl,” “Burning Up,” or “Like A Virgin” in the early 1980s. Without a doubt, it’ll be another chart topper for Madge and and be blasted at the highest decibels in dance clubs around the world.

So many have come and gone since she appeared on the scene. They have emulated her, they have copied her, but in the end, there is only one Madonna.

LIFE

For the past few days I’ve been debating whether or not I should make any mention of this here. In the end, I felt it would be wrong to continue blogging normally as if nothing had ever happened and felt compelled to share my thoughts from the past week. On January 28, two fellow teachers were driving home from school on their moped and were involved in a traffic accident. Sadly, one of them did not make it. Many of us arrived on the scene within a few minutes as we were also on our way home. Those moments have played over and over in my head ever since. This type of stuff is only supposed to happen to other people. It doesn’t actually happen to you and your friends.

For those of us living in Bangkok, it has certainly had a profound impact on all of us. The teacher who passed was only 27 years old and still had a full life ahead of her. Three days earlier we celebrated her birthday… it just feels so wrong.

You can’t help but re-examine life and all its complexities when something like this happens. How many tiny, minuscule events occurred throughout the day that ultimately led to all of those people and vehicles being in that exact spot at the time of the accident? If it could happen to her, could it happen to me? To someone else I love? When will I die? 60 years from now? 10 years? Next month? What if today was actually my last day? I would never know.

Life’s fragility has become even more apparent because of this. It feels wrong. Twisted, like a cruel joke with a horrific punchline that no one wants to own up to.

When’s it my turn?

This past week, those of us here in Bangkok had a small memorial service. One of the most touching aspects that I think we all took away from it was just how full her short life had been. She truthfully touched the lives of everyone around here, just as we all touch the lives of the people around us. She lived her life with a straight-forward attitude, both hands on the reigns, and no bars hold. Her passing has reminded me on a very deep level that this is my one life on Earth and I want to live it fully, with no regrets. No one wants to look back on their life when they’re 80 and feel disappointment with the life they lived.

Do I sound like a cliche? I hate that it’s coming off that way, even as I write this. But it’s so true, isn’t it? You can’t hold back with your life. You have to take risks. Try something new. Be who you are and don’t ever let others dictate who you should be or how you should live. Find your inner peace. Find happiness.

Don’t forget to live.

That brings up a loaded question right there. What exactly is it that constitutes living? Honestly, I’m not even going to try to answer that. Instead, I want to share a video I found on YouTube a few days before the accident. It has brought me so much comfort and inspiration since then. It’s titled “Moments.” The other day I asked my EAL students to individually define a moment and one of the responses was worded so beautifully. According to her, a moment is “a some thing that people do it every day. A some thing that we call ‘life.’”

Life. She’s only 10 and she already recognizes the importance of those little moments we experience everyday. Remember to appreciate all the moments in your own life. For a woman who left us much too soon, thank you for living and touching the lives of everyone around you. Rest in peace.