Okay, let’s get it out of the way right now; the 83^rd Annual Academy Awards were dull, dull, DULL. I was hoping they would be better than last year which, despite the presence of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, seemed like a boring affair. But this year’s proved to be even worse. Even David Letterman did a better job than this. In an attempt to reach a younger demographic, they gave us the youngest hosts ever and actually succeeded in keeping the proceedings shorter than usual for a change. But instead they cut out the heart of what was so memorable about the Oscars in the first place. While the producers can’t be faulted for this year’s winners being the most predictable bunch ever, it doesn’t excuse them for the lifeless affair this all turned out to be.

James Franco and Anne Hathaway are wonderful actors, and they will be able to live this down in the long run. It doesn’t change the fact that they flopped as hosts though. We knew they were in trouble when their opening montage only elicited minor chuckles at best. Having anyone other than Billy Crystal do this is just not going to work. It’s a shame to say that because both are wonderfully energetic entertainers who we want to see succeed. Franco was even more of a disappointment in that he looked uncomfortable, and many of his jokes fell flat. This is the same guy who had us in stitches in “Pineapple Express,” and yet he and Hathaway looked like they were neutered far too much in what they could have pulled off.

It also did not help them that many previous Oscar hosts were around that evening. Seeing Alec Baldwin sucking down a juice pack of Ambien, Hugh Jackman relaxing in the audience, or Billy Crystal finally coming back to the Oscar stage for a standing ovation only reminded us what the show was missing; a wonderful comic personality who could keep us interested even when the show dragged. Seriously, after awhile I forgot that Hathaway and Franco were even hosting the Oscars! It didn’t matter how many times Anne changed clothes throughout the show either.

Now the producers succeeded in making this one of the shortest Academy Award telecasts ever, but at what price? I am sick of all the lifetime achievement Oscars being handed out at a separate event. When these people get rewarded for a career of greatness, it makes for some of the most memorably heartfelt moments in Oscar history. To see them reduced to mere footnotes, and that’s even if they do show up at the ceremony, is insulting.

Were there any memorable moments were from this year’s Oscars? Well, I did enjoy Kirk Douglas’ goofing around before he finally read the winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. In fact, he did a favor to all the nominees in breaking the tension they were experiencing. Also, seeing Melissa Leo get it was my highlight of the evening, and that’s even with her making Oscar history by saying the F-word. Those censors who were looking out for Mickey Rourke were he to win for “The Wrestler” finally got the workout they were looking for. And although I wanted to see David Fincher get Best Director, Tom Hooper’s speech was very nice and genuine, especially when he spoke of his mother.

But when all is said and done, the 2011 Academy Awards were truly a major flop. Just when I thought they could not get any worse, they did. You know what? Let the show run hours and hours. Heck let it run into Monday! Don’t even cut down the original song nominees performances because they serve as the bathroom break many of us need. Bring back the lifetime achievement awards, bring back the Irving Thalberg Award for the worldwide audience, and bring back Billy Crystal. If Billy won’t come back, put a horse’s head in his bed. If that doesn’t work, get Hugh Jackman or Steve Martin or even Alec Baldwin.

Critics are always going to be complaining about the Academy Awards regardless of if they are too long or too short. Hollywood might as well live it up for hours because then there will stuff to remember for a change. Anyone who has a problem with that can change the channel or watch something else altogether. But one thing’s for certain, the show can do so much better than this major disappointment.

4:16 PM PT

The Academy Awards are finally here, so as you can imagine, all of Los Angeles is pretty much shut down. I’ve lived in Los Angeles now for over a decade, and the city comes to a halt when the Oscars are about to be handed out. There’s almost no point in going anywhere because most of the roads in the city are closed off. The city is not as glamorous as people make it out to be, but tonight is a major exception obviously. The stars have already started to arrive and are being interviewed, and it’s the typical interview of celebrities describing the maker of their clothes and of how nervous they are. Why be nervous? They’re only about to go in front of a billion people!

My hopes for this year’s show? I hope it’s far more entertaining than last year’s effort. Despite the presence of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, there wasn’t much to remember about it. This year, we have James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting, and they are the youngest hosts this show has seen in ages. Both are also wonderful actors in their own right with Franco nominated this year for “127 Hours.” I hope he wins, but it seems a foregone conclusion that Colin Firth will take it home.

4:30 PM

With these interviews with the stars, I keep waiting for that moment that Jack Black had when he was being interviewed and the interviewer looked off in the distance and Jack said:

“Is someone more important coming along?”

I had been waiting years for someone to say that!

These interviews were typically short and more about what they were wearing or “who” they were wearing. They always come across as awkward because the smiles seem forced, and you get the inescapable impression that the celebrities would rather be somewhere else.

5:00 PM

So now have the countdown clock ticking backwards to the start of the show. I have to tell you, seeing these clocks make time go SLOWER for me. I know the Oscars are coming up. You don’t need to remind me because I don’t watch TV all that much!

5:08 PM

Ben Mankiewicz said the obvious that Colin Firth will get the Best Actor Oscar for “The King’s Speech.” He described his chances in saying to think of Colin as the Green Bay Packers going against a high school football team, and not a very good one at that. Brilliant!

5: 13 PM

Nicole Kidman, nominated for Best Actress for “Rabbit Hole,” said that it is an honor to be nominated. While it may be easy for her to say that, I actually believe she is genuine in saying that. Sometimes that is the best way to look at things. I have not seen “Rabbit Hole” yet which didn’t get much of a release, but I look forward to seeing it soon.

5:44 PM

Art Direction is the first Oscar to be presented. Tom Hanks gives it to “Alice In Wonderland,” a movie that was not as good as it wanted to be. James Franco and Anne Hathaway have a nice start, and I liked how they joked about fitting the right demographics that the Academy Awards is looking to get this year.

5:47 PM

Wally Pfister gets Best Cinematography for “Inception” (YES!!!). He was looking to the clock which gives him how much time he has left. So far, the Oscars are off to a quick start. The producers really are serious about keeping the ceremony shorter than usual.

5:51 PM

Kirk Douglas gets the evening’s first standing ovation. Says Franco looks better out of the cave, and says Hathaway is gorgeous and wonders where she was he was making movies. He is presenting the Best Supporting Actress award.

Melissa Leo gets Best Supporting Actress! YES!!!!! She ended up saying the F-word on national television. You know what? Good for her! Seeing her win was awesome because it means her own ads didn’t affect her odds. Also, it was clearly based on her performance which was awesome. I’m really happy for Melissa who has had and still will have an amazing career.

I love how Kirk Douglas stalled on announcing the winner for Best Supporting Actress. Most other actors would NOT get away with that, but he did and for good reason. To see Kirk living and kicking after all these years is great.

6:06 PM

“Toy Story 3” gets the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and they continue to dominate this Oscar category for very good reasons. Its director thanked the audience for embracing a movie about “talking toys” which truly had something important to say.

“Toy Story 3” was one of my favorite movies of the year.

6:14 PM

Aaron Sorkin wins Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Social Network.” But did the music really have to play as he was finishing his speech? Way to go!

6:18 PM

“The King’s Speech” gets its first Oscar of the evening for Best Original Screenplay. Its writer David Seidler said that his father called him a late bloomer, and that he hopes that his record as the oldest Oscar winner in this category will be broken over and over.

So right now, it looks like the Oscar race between “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network” is pretty tight.

6:25 PM

It’s not often you see a former host of the Oscars sitting in the audience and being addressed by the host of this year’s Oscars. Hugh Jackman is and most likely always be a great sport as Anne Hathaway proved she has an amazing set of vocal pipes!

6:32 PM

Christian Bale wins Best Supporting Actor for “The Fighter.” It looked to be a tight race between him and Geoffrey Rush, but in the end, it always looked like this particular award was destined to be his.

6:45 PM

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross take away the Oscar for Best Original Score for “The Social Network.” I’m thrilled to see the head of Nine Inch Nails now being known as an Oscar winner.

6:47 PM

“Inception” gets its second Oscar of the evening for Best Sound Mixing. Maybe it will do better tonight than many would expect it.

6:49 PM

It’s another one for “Inception” as it gets Best Sound Effects Editing. To see it as the one as the one with the most Oscar wins this evening so far feels really cool.

6:56 PM

“The Wolfman” gets the Oscar for Best Makeup. Seeing Cate Blanchett say that their work is gross “is a highlight.”

6:58 PM

Colleen Atwood gets Best Costume Design for “Alice In Wonderland.” A couple of stagehands were seen going being the stage as she did her speech.

7:20 PM

Oprah Winfrey presents the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The Oscar goes to don my Netflix queue. One of the winners pointed out that not one of the Wall Street executives are behind bars and how wrong that is.

7:27 PM

Anne Hathaway introduces Billy Crystal, not at all expected. He called Bob Hope what an Oscar host should be, a “sexy movie star.” Seeing him at the Oscars again is really nice, and hopefully we will see him there again. Even after all these years, so many wonder before the Oscar host(s) are announced if Billy will be back. Give in to it Billy!!! I hate to see you wake up in the morning with a horse’s head in your head.

7:33 PM

It’s another one for “Inception” as it wins Best Visual Effects! Could it possibly upset “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network” for Best Picture? I can dream, can’t I? “Inception” is my pick for Best Picture mainly because my favorite movie of the year (“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”) was NOT nominated.

7:35 PM

“The Social Network” wins Best Film Editing. Things are looking better for this film in an awards ceremony where “The King’s Speech” is expected to reign supreme.

7:45 PM

The last two nominees for Best Original Song perform. The Oscar goes to Randy Newman for “We Belong Together” for the great movie “Toy Story 3.”

7:51 PM

Celine Dion sings over the In Memorium section of the Oscars. Usually you measure the applause between those you got the most, but this year that was not the case, Halle Berry comes out to praise the late Lena Horne, so she is the only one from this past year who deserves more applause than anyone else.

8:03 PM

Tom Hooper gets Best Director for “The King’s Speech.” While I wanted to see David Fincher get it for “The Social Network,” Tom did get the DGA award for good reason. Tom ends his speech by saying:

“Listen to your mother.”

8:07 PM

The Academy looks back at the Governors Awards. Kevin Brownlow, Francis Ford Coppola, and Eli Wallach get their due in front of a billion people. Still, it would have been nice to see them accept their awards during the actual ceremony.

8:14 PM

Jeff Bridges takes his precious time introducing each of the nominees for Best Actress. Natalie Portman wins the Oscar in this category.

So I guess there’s not going to be anymore of those emotional tributes to each nominee. It’s back to the clips and close ups of the actors. What a shame, that made it seem like there were absolutely no losers. My reaction to that was censored by ABC just in time.

8:25 PM

Colin Firth wins Best Actor for “The King’s Speech” just as we all expected him to. It seems like whenever someone playing a member of the Royal Family, they are destined to win no matter what. Perhaps there have been exceptions to this.

8:36 PM

“The King’s Speech” wins Best Picture of the year. This is somewhat of a deflating moment for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was far and away one of the best movies of 2010, but Best Picture?

“Inception,” “The Social Network,” “Winter’s Bone,” and “Toy Story 3” were far more deserving. How did this particular one manage to trump them all?

8:39 PM

The P.S. 22 kids end the ceremony with their wonderful singing. Not sure why the producers ended the show with this, but nice all the same.

So, another Oscar ceremony comes to an end. All I can hear now is the collective sigh from all the nominees that the awards season finally comes to an end. They must be so sick of hearing about themselves.

I know I didn’t include all the winners in this article, but I guess it shows which moments of the show were more absorbing than others.

The Oscars have come and gone again, and it still feels like yesterday when the nominations were announced. They were again, back in the month of March where they really belong. ABC presented as they always do, and they took the time to pimp out their primetime schedule (especially “V”).

By the way ABC, stop reminding everyone that it is the final season for “Lost.” We all know that by now!

We finally went back to “and the winner is” instead “and the Oscar goes to…” Why the change? Was it because people now remember that “and the Oscar goes to” started during the worst Oscar ceremony ever produced by Alan Carr? At least that stayed in our minds longer than the memory of Rob Lowe singing with Snow White (excuse me while I cringe uncontrollably).

But when it was all done, the big question was how long did you stay awake? Truth is that this year’s Oscars, while having their moments, felt like the most lifeless in recent memory. After last year’s reinvigorated proceedings, this ceremony threatened to feel dead on arrival.

Click here to read more

JR - (If you don't have a google account, it literally takes two minutes to get one. So sign up and login to post comments throughout the night.)

It has begun.

The blog, not the Oscars. I have just settled down to watch the remainder of the red carpet arrivals and after five minutes, I'm already tired of Ryan Secrest. Did he really need to ask Jessica Alba about breastfeeding? And then he asked Marion Cotillard to do an American accent, after he repeated something she said in a mocking French accent? He should have just told her to be more American. Geez.

Cameron Diaz's dress doesn't fit her very well. She's not fat by any means, but her dress was too tight along the top making her look like she has fat along her back and her chest.

That's the first update for now! Jeff has just left to pick up some wings, since this is my Superbowl. He'll be back soon to help with the commentary. TonyD will be weighing in throughout the night. You won't want to miss it!

Oh, Amy Adams and Anne Hathaway look gorgeous. And Miley Cyrus looks like she's had some kind of work done to her face. Botox or something? I don't know. She doesn't look the same anymore.

TD - Hey Jenny!

I haven't been watching the red carpet. Something tells me I'd be getting mad. I was watching Reelz Channel though and saw their coverage on the films.

TD - I just caught Diaz. Agree with Jenny. I also caught Cyrus. Agree with Jenny also.

Jenny - I've decided that when I post, I'll do it in bold so we can tell the difference easily between Tony's posts and mine and Jeff's.

TD - Hey Jenny, Blogger's going bitchy, so bold won't change for me. We'll probably be keeping this bold (but that's okay. Bold doesn't really show up on blogger when your writing is white)

Jenny - Blogger is bitchy. I posted these comments a few minutes ago:

Jeff - *makes horse sounds* (directed at Hillary Swank)

Jenny - Yay! The "How Does She Know" people! I just found out today that Kristin Chenoweth is performing that song instead of Amy Adams. I heart Kristin Chenoweth.

Jenny - As cheesy as that opening was, I liked it.

Tony - I liked it also. I really don't know about Chenoweth, but I love Adams, so I'm interested in listening to Chenoweth's version

Jenny - Dude. Kristin Chenoweth rules. "Wicked" is worth listening to.

Tony - Did Stewart say 4 to 5 hours?!?! CHRIST!

Jenny - Yep. We're in this for the long haul.

Jenny - Diabolo Cody took a paycut to become a screenwriter?!! Hahaha! Jon Stewart rules.

Tony - He's cracking political jokes now. It has now become The Daily Show, folks. Diablo Cody is wearing one million dollar shoes I heard. Also heard she danced for them.

Jenny - Titler? He's hysterical. He owned that monologue.

Tony - I know ATU won't win, but I'm rooting the hell out of it.

Jenny - I KNEW Elizabeth would win! I've got one right.

Tony - Hey Jenny. Do you have a link to that Oscar Pool that you, I, and Dr. Royce and Molly are in?

Jenny - Yeah, just go to oscar.com and click on Play, then click on Predict the Winners and sign in!

Tony - Thanks! Christ look at Clooney's hair. Looks like he killed a hair-gel bottle.

Jenny - I love watching these old clips as much as everyone else, but do they HAVE to play "My Heart will go On"?

Tony - While they do that, I eat my Chinese food and I no longer care about the Oscars

Jenny - I am SO looking forward to "Get Smart".

Jeff - They showed a clip at WonderCon this weekend. ...Did Steve Carell just say shit??

Tony - Ratatouille's win surprised me just as much as it surprised everyone else. Especially when "Surf's Up"'s nomination is complete bullshit, so the only real competition Ratatouille had was Persepolis

Tony - Now if Norbit wins, I'm not watching this anymore.

Jenny - YEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "La Vie En Rose" won for Makeup! I'm three for three. God, I love that movie. I need to buy it already.

Tony - I still think Amy Adams should look into singing instead of acting.

Jeff - From the torso up, she looks like Amy Adams. Her arms, she looks like Helen Mirren.

Jenny - It must be cold in there. They're blue, poor thing. Why is she out there by herself? They just showed the entire cast of the performance of the other song from Enchanted, and Kristin Chenoweth is a pro. Not to say Amy Adams isn't, but it's different. That wasn't fair to her.

Tony - I always wondered what they did during commercials too.

Jenny - This is the first one I've gotten wrong. I voted for Pirates for Visual Effects.

Tony - I voted for Transformers. I wanted ATU to be nominated for Art Direction.

Jenny - I voted for this one too! I'm so glad Sweeney is going home with an Oscar. ...I didn't know Cate Blanchett was preggers. She's cute. I love her dress.

Tony - Cate Blanchett also played Simon Pegg's girlfriend in "Hot Fuzz."

Jenny - What? Really? I knew there were a ton of cameos in that movie, but I missed that one.

Tony - Before he leaves for Stanford, he tells her he's leaving when she's looking through an apartment complex (she was a forensic scientist or something, so she had a mask over her face so she wouldn't be recognizable). She wasn't credited either. GO JAVIER BARDEM!!!

Tony - Hey Jenny, how are you doing with the Oscar pool?

Jenny - Bardem was a shoe in, but I'm glad he won. He ruled in NCFOM. I'm tied for first place with Molly!

Jenny - What the FUCK is this montage about binoculars and periscopes?? See, this is why the show goes for five hours.

Tony - This song's better than what I remember it being. Is Hansard and Irgatov performing Falling Slowly?

Tony - You know I'd LOVE to make a joke about Owen Wilson right now, but I won't

Jenny - Yes, Hansard and Irgatov are performing. I voted for that song, "Falling Slowly". And c'mon, you know you want to make an Owen Wilson joke. Jeff did.

Jeff - What's up, wristcutter! What happened to his nose? It looks like a penis.

Jenny - It's always looked like that.

Tony - LMFAOOO. It's funny, I voted for that Mozart film, but then switched it with another one last minute.

Tony - In my opinion, Supporting Actress is the toughest category this year. I still don't know who will win it yet.

Jenny - I don't know what's happening to my comments...anyway. I didn't see Tilda Swinton coming at all. Did anyone else pick her? I picked Blanchett.

Tony - It's Blogger most likely. I didn't see Tilda Swinton either, but I was going for Amy Ryan. Guess it was a split between her and Cate Blanchett, so they went with the next best choice.

Jenny - Yeah, that's a good point. I hadn't thought about that.

Tony - Glad to see NCFOM win again, especially to see the Coens to win another Oscar for best screenplay.

Tony - I added this on Digg. Can everyone please Digg it as soon as possible? THANKS! http://www.digg.com/movies/LIVE_OSCAR_BLOG_AT_FILMARCADE_NET

Jenny - Just dugg it!

Jenny - I love everything about this song. Kristin Chenoweth, the dancers, the set, everything. I might be wrong about which song will win.

Jenny - Can I retract that previous statement partially? As much as I love Kristin, Amy Adams sings that song better.

Tony - Fucking Blogger didn't post my comment. Anyway, I agreed with your second statement. I think she could do better in "Happy Working Song". Sounded like "Kiss the Girl" a little bit too much

Jenny - Previous Oscar winners Dame Judi Dench and the girl who wishes she could wipe Judi Dench's ass, Halle Berry! ...and then Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. LMAO! This is great!

Tony - I voted for Transformers in both. Goddamnit. How are you doing in the pool?

Jenny - Jeff really wanted Transformers to win something. He loved that movie. I'm tied for first win Molly and Dr. Clemens.

Jenny - GOOOOOO MARION COTILLARD!!

Tony - Wow, they're nominating Best Actress early this year.

Jenny - I fucking love Marion Cotillard. I'm so happy she won. I yelled a little too loud and a little too high...and the windows are open.

Tony - I rented it three times - watched it zero. Renting it tomorrow a fourth time.

Jenny - It's long and it can seem a bit drawn out at times, but it's a wonderful movie. I loved it. I thought it was extremely moving.

Jenny - Colin Ferrell just said that "once" was the little movie that could. Amen to that. I heard someone say earlier that "Juno" was the little movie that could. Bullshit. It was the factory produced indie film that was pushed to the front. "Once" was not. If there were a movie this year that is the little movie that could, "Once" is that movie.

I love this song. It's my vote to win. It's hauntingly beautiful.

Tony - That was beautiful. Once is amazing

Jenny - I loved that Best Picture montage. ON anothere note, Renee Zellweger's dress is fantastic!

Tony - I know I haven't been updating much in the past fifteen minutes but look at Kidman towering over that guy.

Jenny - She looks beautiful, but she is freakishly tall.

Jenny - This Robert Boyle...I hate to be the one making fun of an old guy, but he just said that "They support me with their love and support". And he drolled on and on. Ugh. That's where the orchestra should have cut him off with the exit music.

Tony - LOL. Yeah, I pretty much ignored him. I'm just waiting for Best Picture now - LOL. Here's to hoping that Ms. I-Sell-My-Body-For-People-To-Read-My-Blog losing that award to Gilroy.

Jenny - There's no way this "So Close" song will win. The guy singing looks like he's straining.

Tony - Of course he was going to dance out on the stage - hahahaha.

Jenny - Hoo-fucking-ray!! I'm so happy this song won! I don't care if the movie is boring, that song is amazing.

Tony - I don't think it was boring. Think it was fantastic.

Tony - But it's Hollywood... that was classic haha!

Jenny - The first of a few awards for "There Will Be Blood" hopefully.

Tony - Jerry says DRAINAGE!, so let's all join in - DRAINAGE!

Jenny - DRAINAGE!

Jenny - We lost so many good people this year. I'm still reeling from Heath Ledger...Wait, did they include Brad Renfro?

Tony - They didn't include Roy Schneider either. I don't know if his death came too late as they were making this montage, but I don't think it was.

Tony - Because I'm too busy updating this every two minutes, I haven't told my opinion of There Will Be Blood or Atonement yet. I LOVED Blood, but I didn't like Atonement. Sorry, but I just didn't like it. The twist was terrible and by then I just didn't care how it ended. Anyway, the one thing it saved itself from was its score.

Jenny - My comment disappeared again. Anyway, I was wrong about the documentary short, but it was a toss up for me. I haven't seen any of them and as cute as the winners were, crying their little hearts out, I'll probably never see any of them.

Tony - Four more awards to give out and it'll take them an hour to give them out.

Jenny - Yep. Happens every year.

Tony - WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?!?! OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!

Jenny - What? You want fucking barbeque? Anyway, this will just encourage Diabolo Cody when what she needs is a slap on the wrist. No, Diabolo, no! Bad pop culture reference!

Tony - Hearing Mirren say "cajones" makes me laugh.

Tony - DRAINAGE! I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

Jenny - Much deserved. "I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"

Jenny - Agh!! I got this one wrong!! Congrats to the Coen brothers. This was a hard one to pick.

Tony - Big moment...

Tony - Well deserved. No Country for Old Men is the best film of 2007.

Jenny - I didn't pick No Country, I picked Atonement. For me, it was between Atonement and There Will Be Blood, so I would have been wrong either way. LOL Oh well. All of them are good films. This was a great year for film all around.

Tony - Okay guys well the Live Blog is over. Thanks every one for joining in on the discussion - Randy, Jerry, Anthony, Jeremy, and Tripp. Thanks Jenny and Jeff for joining the Live Blog with me because if it was just me I would have sounded like a douchebag. See you all next year!

Jenny - Thanks everyone! Thanks to Tony for hosting it! See you next year!

FilmArcade's very own Jerry Dennis is hosting a live Oscar event tonight on the greatest MOVIE GEEK show alive. Tonight on MOVIE GEEKS UNITED, Jerry, Jamey, and Chris will be taking your calls to talk about your predictions, possible outcomes, and other fun stuff that might be going on tonight, in addition chatting about the red carpet and other fine stuff. The show is at 6PM EST and will be about one hour. This is going to be awesome.


Listen here: www.blogtalkradio.com/moviegeeksunited

Call: (718) 508-9477