The Envelope Please!!!!

This year I pick none of the above. I haven’t been to a movie at the theaters in several years. I can’t even remember the last movie I saw away from home. I can’t get into high priced soda, popcorn or candy. I also can’t deal with people kicking the back of my chair, ringing cell phones (oh I forgot to turn it off) or the lack of a pause button for when I must leave to use the facilities.

If the movie is that important for me to see, I’ll rent it and watch it at home. That’s of course after I buy a CD player, DVD player, Blueray, Wii II or whatever I need to watch a movie and have some kid hook it up for me.

I went on the Oscar website and checked out what and who was nominated. The only movie I heard of was True Grit, and that’s because I saw it 45 years ago. Jeff Bridges is a heck of an actor, but he’s not The Duke. If I think of True Grit, I think of John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn, not Jeff Bridges. The Duke took the Oscar home. I wonder if Jeff will.

Of all of the actors nominated, I only recognized 2 names. None of them are bigger than life like Bogart, Bacall, Fonda, Bergman or Grant. Say those names and I see a face, a character or a movie. I’ll even start saying lines from some of their movies. Say the names of this year’s nominees and I won’t know what you’re talking about.

Do you have a line that sticks out in your head from this year’s movies like Jack Nicholson in The Shining with “Here’s Johnny!” or Bogie with "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." True Grit doesn’t count “little sister”, because it’s a remake.

Hollywood lost me. I don’t know when or why, but it lost me. I guess I’m stuck in time. If I want to see this year’s best, I’ll turn on TCM and watch it from my Lazy Boy while enjoying my ice tea and corn bread. That’ll be my Oscar-watching party.