21st-Century Vox

Oscars and Angels

This entry is going to be bifurcated, and if you don’t know what that means look it up or just continue reading. Tomorrow night is the Academy Awards, also known as The February Event Where Hollywood Celebrities Come Together and Celebrate Themselves. I say this is the February Event because God knows the celebrities don’t like to miss a month without giving each other an award. You know, kinda like employee of the month or top salesmen of the week for other people. Only we don’t usually bask in the moment wearing $15,000 gowns and give speeches about how fantastic it was to go to work. I don’t take flowers to the girl at McDonald’s for showing up and packing the biggest box of fries, so I guess it seems weird to me that they win awards for doing good work. When I’m nominated for one, I promise I will come back and apologize for this blog entry, but until then let’s move along to the most pretentious night in all of Hollywoodland.

Everyone knows who’s gonna win almost every category so I won’t bore you all with my predictions. I do, however, like how they try to recognize as many films as possible so as not to piss off anyone, like when The Color Purple (the best film of all time) lost 11 awards. I have watched every single movie that has been nominated for an acting award since 1970 (yes, I am a dork). That’s roughly 20 a year for 36 years and I can tell you now, some of those people didn’t deserve a greatly packed fry from McDonald’s, much less an Academy Award.

I can also say that Meryl Streep is the best actor of all time, bar none. She may not be the best every year, which is why this year, with her 12th loss, she will officially become the most-nominated and biggest-losing actress of all time, despite her two wins a few eons ago. Helen Mirren was brilliant, yes, but Meryl is inhuman in the way she can evoke a character just by walking onto a set. If you disagree with me on her talent, you have to go back and watch all of her movies. Each one of them is distinct and different, and not only does she change her appearance and mannerisms, she actually is able to transform herself. That’s a gift, and that’s what every actor should be striving to achieve perfection.

Babel will no doubt win best picture, which will add it to a long line of almost unwatchable movies to take home that prize. I think The Silence of the Lambs and Titanic are the only two films to win in my lifetime that I’ve been able to watch more than once. That said, I want to find out what you all think is the best picture of the year. Don’t just look at “Oscar caliber” films, but remember any film that made you laugh or cry or will be something that you will watch for years to come. For me the best film of 2006 was The Descent. Yeah, I know it was a stupid horror movie, but it was fun to watch, well acted, the concept was cool, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, which is what a film is suppose to do. That is what I think but to quote one of you chronic objectionists who likes to disagree with me, “What do I know?”

So pretense aside, I have another cool but more serious matter that I would like to discuss. This spring, a few of my friends and I have registered for Project Angel Food’s Bowling for Angels event which helps raise money for men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. The Project Angel Food Program delivers free and nutritious meals, prepared with love. Our team, known as the Angel Mafia, has been effective over the past few years in raising over $20,000 for the cause, and we totally appreciate every cent that you all can donate. This year, my team includes my good friend and one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met (despite how he looks on Big Brother, lol), Marcellas Reynolds; the brilliantly talented and amazingly beautiful Kimberly Caldwell from American Idol (check out her myspace – she rocks!); The Apprentice alum Carey Sherrell (remember him and his tiny bathing suit?); the sultry star of Temptation Island, Valerie Penso; the infamous Beth S of Real World fame; and the amazing hard-bodied Ethan Reynolds from Brat Boy School. We are trying to beat last year’s goal, and if you’re feeling generous please sponsor me and help this to be a great event. Anything you can give is so appreciated, and I will definitely post pictures of the event. To sponsor, visit my site here. Thanks, and blog hard!