~ The ceremony starts off with something like the Olympic Parade of Nations where all the stars nominated for Best Actor and Actress march out onstage while a voiceover announces their names. Weird. And the voice is cheesy, as if it should be announcing Wayne Newtonnnn, Mr. Las Veggggggas instead of Oscar nominees.
~ Doogie Howser is here now. In a sparkly tux. You know, in case you didn’t yet know he’s gay. He’s doing the bit that used to be Billy Crystal’s: Singing about the nominated movies. Only ….. he’s supposed to be able to really sing — I mean, he’s done Broadway — and, well …… he sounds off. And the bit is not funny. At least with Billy, you didn’t expect great singing and you GOT good funny.
~ Hurrah! The hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are here. They instantly start picking on Meryl Streep. Steve: “The woman with the most nominations ever ……. or as I like to think of it, the most number of losses.”
Cut to Streep. She’s dying.
Later, they pick on her again. Steve: “You know, everybody always says the same thing when they work with Meryl: Wow. Can that woman act! But what’s with all the Hitler memorabilia???”
Cut to Streep. She’s howling again. So funny. I love Steve and Alec together. And Meryl just seems so down to earth and good humored and I want to eat pie with her. (I also love how I call them all by their first names as if we’re all old school chums, you know? What a wiener.)
~ Steve: There’s that damn Helen Mirren. Alec: Steve, that’s dame Helen Mirren.
~ Penelope Cruz presenting Best Supporting Actor. She looks beautiful, but yamahama, Crackie, that chick seriously no habla. I have no clue who will win this one. Okay. It’s Christoff Waltz from “Inglourious Basterds.” (I actually did see this and the man is scary — and I mean SCARY — good. Nightmares.)
~ Speaking of nightmares: Before the ceremony starts, Whoopie Goldberg — Oscar award-winning actress — is in a commercial for Poise pee pads. She’s playing different women through the ages, like Joan of Arc, and showing …… I’m not suure …… how things could have been different if only they’d been wearing a Poise pad? Like, if only Joan of Arc had been wearing a Poise when they burned her at the stake, it would have made the peeing her pants part bearable???? “Poor Joan. How awful she wasn’t sportin’ a Poise.” Like, wha???
~ Up wins Best Animated Feature. I cannot even speak of that movie. Parts of it — yes, an animated feature — hit WAY too close to home.
~ Mylie Cyrus (KAPOW!!) and Amanda Seyfried wearing prom dresses. Is it me or is Mylie Cyrus (KAPOW!!) becoming a strumpet? She’s, what, 16 and has a weird whiskey voice that I kind of think comes from actually guzzling whiskey. Disney Schmisney. I’m telling you. Wait a few years. She’s gonna go all strumpet on us.
~ Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. presenting Best Original Screenplay. I can’t even explain their presentation — a whole writer vs actor thing that they play with deadpan perfection. Funniest presentation of the night so far. Hurt Locker is the winner.
~ Oh, they dust off Molly Ringwald to do a John Hughes tribute/montage with Matthew Broderick. Help her, baby Jesus! She’s a deer in the headlights. The first montage of the night! I can’t believe we’re 45 minutes in and only one montage — played to what sounds like tepid applause to me.
~ Oh, sheesh. The Olympic Parade of Actors again. Hughesian actors, all dusted off and whatnot, take the stage to talk about John Hughes. Look! There’s a 53-year-old Macauley Culkin! There’s an anorexic Ally Sheedy! Crinnnnge.
~ Steve Martin: “Now let’s introduce two beautiful actresses because we’re sick and tired of introducing all these ugly actresses.” I love you.
~ So far, pippa, there’s a weird vibe to the evening. A subdued vibe, like a post 9-11 vibe. I can’t explain it. It’s almost disturbing. Did something catastrophic happen while I was in the snowy mountains eating black bean and ham soup???
~ Okay. Dude giving the acceptance speech now? If you’re out of breath walking up the three stairs to receive your Oscar, it’s time to work some serious cardio into your strenuous but boring speech-giving schedule. Or start slacking off at work so you won’t have to climb stairs and accept awards anymore.
~ Ben Stiller, dressed up as a blue thing from Avatar with a blue tail, speaking Avatar-ese. Award for Best Makeup. “It’s weird because …… Avatar isn’t even nominated. I should have worn my Spock ears because Star Trek is nominated …… but ……. no …. this is much cooler …… totally …..” He’s doing this whole embarrassed shtick. “After I announce the winner, I will stand as far away from them as possible, so as not to demean their moment of triumph.” Hahaha. Stupid, but it’s working for me somehow.
~ Adapted Screenplay, presented by Jake Jill’n’Hall (I never know how to spell that guy’s name) and a slouching Rachel McAdams. Stand up, Rachel McAdams! Come on! You’re too pretty to slouch! (What are you, Trace — her mother??) Precious just won. The winner stumbles through his speech, apologizing left and right, clearly overcome. It’s sweet, in a bumbling, I-can’t-watch kind of way.
~ Steve Martin comes back onstage: “You know …. I wrote that speech for him.”
~ This whole show needs MORE Steve and Alec. (My old school chums, don’t you know.)
~ Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall struggle up from their seats for some reason. The audience applauds this effort. I have no idea what’s going on.
~ Ugh. Robin Williams. Stand back. Make room. He’s so VERY hairy, something could spring forth and suffocate you. But he’s presenting Best Supporting Actress. And …. Mo’Nique wins. I thought her speech would be a bigger, more spontaneous, cut-loose moment — a la Cuba Gooding, Jr. — but it was more purposeful and calculated and ….. political. Despite proclaiming that this proves “it’s not about the politics.” Eh. Okay.
~ More Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, I beg of you. Or bring back more “Whoopie has Poise” commercials. “I was wearing one of these when I won MY Oscar. SUCH a relief, honey.” I need more of these commercials so people can share in my horror. When I’m old, I just plan on wettin’ my pants. No Poise or poise for me. I shall just surrender to the indignity of it all. Seriously, pippa, if I’m a gammie and I start peeing on your couch, you have my permission to shoot me.
~ Sarah Jessica Parker now. MB weighs in on her hairdo: “It’s like a marble rye from Schnitzer’s!”
~ Oh, this is Costume Design. The winner says, “Wow. I already have two of these.” Okay. Wow. Reeeerrrrr. I do believe she’s wearing a black-sequined Poise on her head.
~ Charlize I made myself gross to win one of these and haven’t worked since Theron, showing a clip of Precious, which I thought would seem much more precious and a lot less depressing. I hate false advertising.
~ Steve and Alec do a sendup of that freaky movie “Paranormal Activity.” It’s night. They’re in bed, being videotaped with a running time stamp ticking off their night together. (If you haven’t seen this movie, that’s basically the entire movie: a couple sleeping while a video camera, set up by the guy, records what happens while they’re sleeping. Sounds lame, but it’s a really effective and creepy movie.) Steve and Alec’s video shows them in various bizarre sleep positions throughout the night until Steve gets up, walks over to Alec’s side of the bed, and sleep-smacks Baldwin, who then sloooowly, as time elapses, falls out of bed. I don’t know why this is striking me as so funny. Maybe it’s because nothing else IS.
~ John Travolta here to present the clip of Inglourious Basterds. So sad to see him. His hairline is not by Sharpie this year, though.
~ Ooh, here’s Sandra Bullock, my BFF. She looks fabulous. Well, mostly fabulous, except her lipstick is too dark, in my opinion. She’s presenting Best Cinematography. Winner: Schmavatar.
~ I don’t know why I have such an attitude about Schmavatar. I haven’t even seen it — okay, basically because I find James Cameron detestable. After his whole “I’m the king of the world” thing, I just turned cold towards him. Not that I was ever hot or even warm towards him. Okay. Look. I don’t know what I’m saying because I’m bleary and full of beany ham and I have not understood the last 48 hours of my life and the Poise commercial really ain’t helping things. Mainly, James Cameron seems like an ass and I don’t like feeling as if I’m expected to think highly of him, so I do the opposite out of protest. Because, YEAH, that’ll show ’em.
~ Eh. James Taylor singing “In My Life” whilst the In Memoriam montage plays. Not a huge James Taylor fan, but at least he’s not the king of the world. Also: Is it my imagination or has Karl Malden died the last 5 years in a row?
~ And now ….. the dancing to the Oscar-nominated songs begins. Or as I like to call it: The best that winners of So You Think You Can Dance can hope for. Go, winners whose careers are just like the losers’! You GO!!
~ “Up” wins for Score. All I can say is if you haven’t seen it, you must.
~ Oops, I stopped writing. My hands have fallen into a stupor. What did I miss? Where are we? I think it’s Best Documentary now. They’re showing that one with the Hayden Panetierre dolphins. ‘Member how that girl tried to save the dolphins or did save the dolphins or maybe only stood there and bawled while the cameras rolled? Yeah. So it’s all about dolphins right now. Go Dolphins! (And I mean the football team. Come on. They haven’t been worth a tiny rat’s bottom since the 70s.) Oh, the winner is …….. told ya. Dophin movie wins.
~ I’m done with this whole dealio until Best Actor/Actress. But if there’s another Whoopie wears Poise commercial or Steve Martin cavorts in his jammies again, I will certainly alert you. The entire show is lackluster to me. Especially when I know I’m just sitting here waiting for the king of the world to reclaim his kingdom.
~ Okay. Various actors/actresses who’ve worked with the Best Actor nominees come onstage to talk about each of them. Michele Pfeiffer talks about Jeff Bridges. When she talks about his daughters, his marriage — his successful real life, basically — Jeff Bridges tears up. He’s got these amazing crinkly-cornered eyes, but you can still see them through the crinkle, those tears. Oh my heart. These are real moments, warmhearted tributes, actor to actor. The nicest touch of the night, I think.
~ Kate Winslet announcing Best Actor. Ohhhhhhhh …… I don’t know what to think … yep ……. it’s Jeff Bridges. Finally. But then again, I feel ambivalent. He’s getting a standing ovation, though, and it IS wonderful to see just how much his peers really respect him. The actor’s actor. He’s talking about his mom and dad, how this honors them as much as it honors him. Sweet. He’s such a classy guy. A gentleman. He’s thanking his wife of 33 years. She’s gorgeous and crying and still gorgeous while she cries. His whole speech is so mellow. He’s relaxed and confident, not frantically trying to thank everyone and everybody. So nice to see a man comfortable in his own skin. He owns himself, you know? Well, now I’m choked up. Congratulations to the best actor out there.
~ Now various actors/actresses come to talk about the Best Actress nominees. I really like this whole bit. You can feel the admiration, the mutual respect from actor to actor. A little inside glimpse. Lovely. Stanley Tucci’s tribute to Meryl Streep is hilarious.
~ Sean Penn presenting Best Actress. And the winner is …… my BFF, Sandra Bullock!! Hurrah! Love her. Always have. “Did I really earn this or did I just wear y’all down?” Hahaha. She’s just adorable, you know? Awesome speech, can’t even encapsulate it. Great tearjerking speech. Funny and thoughtful, too. Congratulations, Sandra Bullock.
~ Barbra Streisand presenting Best Director. The winner is ……… the first woman, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker.
~ Tom Hanks for Best Picture ….. (ten nominees, oh brother). And the winner is …… The Hurt Locker. Wow. No Schmavatar.
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin come back and Steve says, “Okay. The show has been so long that Avatar now takes place in the past.”
Hahahaha. Again, I love you, Steve Martin.
Okay. Phew. 3 1/2 hours by my count.
Lordy!!
We’re done here.
Tracey,
I stumbled upon your beautiful blog while trying to find out what the heck Sean Penn was on about (I’m still searching!) but I stayed because your site is so easy on the eyes, and your writing is so, well… readable! Your take on the Oscars is informative, insightful and laugh-out-loud funny. Thank you!
I am so happy for Jeff Bridges and Christoff Waltz – both my picks for those categories. Overall, I was pretty happy with the results. I though Schmavatar won where it should have. Haven’t yet seen Hurt Locker so I won’t comment about it, but I will say that I wish District 9 would have picked up an award for something.
Bacall was getting a Lifetime Achievement award- I saw her interview with Robert Osborne on TCM. What a lovely lady.
Miley Cyrus sounds like that naturally. I see her on Disney channel, until I make the g-daughter turn if off because all they do on her show is act ugly to each other. I fear your predictions for her are pretty accurate. Too bad.
So happy for Mr. Bridges. When I saw him in “The Last Picture Show” it was obvious that he was one to watch.
Thank you for watching, so we don’t have to…
I was surprised that Sandy won but dadgum, that was the best acceptance speech EVER. And when they cut to Jesse James crying (!!!) I lost it. She is SO awesome, even though that movie is the biggest load of crap.
Good for Jeff Bridges.
And, am I a wicked person for laughing so much at your Karl Malden observation? The whole post is great, but that line almost rolled me out of my chair.
Re: Ally Sheedy – doesn’t Siobhan on Idol look like Ally circa “Breakfast Club”? Every time she sings on the show I start making “I stole your wallet” jokes with her and Ryan Seacrest. (And Casey James looks like the Free Credit Report dot-com guy – singing at the Ren Faire. Kills me every week.)
My favorite parts of the night were…
1. Stanley Tucci talking about Meryl Streep. I thought they were both adorable in Julie and Julia. I want to have dinner with both of them.
2. The scene of Alec and Steve in the back wearing their duo-Snuggie. I laughed out loud at that!
3. Seeing Jesse James get teary-eyed over Sandra’s acceptance speech. Wonderful!
But, why was it so long? Too many commercial breaks. I was beginning to wonder if everyone there was thinking the same thing.
Stanley Tucci’s tribute to Meryl Streep was fabulous. She strikes me as such a great dame, you know? Someone you’d just want to hang out with.
And Sandra Bullock is just so darned lovable. Her speech was one of the best ever, I think. Making people laugh, making people cry. Perfect.
I guess there’s now a hubbub because Farrah Fawcett was left out of the In Memoriam. I guess so they could put Karl Malden in again??
bonbon — Hi and welcome! Your comment went into moderation because it was your first comment.
But thank you for your kind words. What a lovely thing to say.
Have you seen the story explaining the weirdness during the acceptance speech for Best Documentary Short? I don’t want to go into moderation, so Google “Elinor Burkett” and the story will pop up under the news results. Weird stuff going on there.
Tracey,
If you see one movie in the theater, it should be Avatar… and on IMAX 3D. Don’t think of it so much as a movie, but as RIDE! The only difference is is that this ride lasts over 2 hours compared to the average Disney ride that is 10 – 15 mins long.
Yeah, the story line is “Dancing With Wolves” in space, but the visual effects are so amazing that you almost forget the corny (and uber-liberal) plot.
I’m with JFH – Schmavatar is only worth seeing for the visual ride it takes you on but I’d compare the story more to Pocahontus.
I missed most of the awards but came in at the end to see Mr. Biker tear up. Good for him. Comfortable enough in his skin to cry with pride for his beautiful wife.
Cullen — Yeah, I only caught the end of that whole thing. I got up, came back, and there she was. Uhm, little bit rude??? There’s some kind of feud going on there?? She totally hijacked his speech!
Just saw an online ad for the Whoopi Pee Pads. What the heck!? Joan of Arc’s pee would’ve put out the darn fire. Who wrote that?
Kate P — I do NOT know.
/Joan of Arc’s pee would’ve put out the darn fire./
Hahahahahaha! Exactly! Let the woman PEE, for God’s sake. She very well might have lived.
She didn’t need Poise, she needed a penis she could AIM. We women are so ripped off.
Now I will be thinking about this blog post if I’m ever being burned at the stake.
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in the Snuggie?? SO FUNNY. I also loved the parody of “Paranormal Activity” – especially the moment when Martin was standing right over Baldwin staring down at him. Hysterical – I’d love it if they hosted it again.
I was underwhelmed by Avatar. I’m bored, in general, by the whole special-effects juggernaut – it’s never been my thing, at least not as an end in and of itself. I love ALIENS, for example, but that’s mainly because of the super-wattage powerhouse performance of Sigourney Weaver (speaking of Avatar). And 3-D bores me as well. I saw and loved UP, but it had nothing to do with “cool effects”. Whatever. Just tell a good story, please. Then you’ll have me forever.
I am thrilled HURT LOCKER won so much. It’s the main reason that I didn’t win the Oscar Pool, because I didn’t see that one coming – I thought Avatar would get most everything, and Hurt Locker get Best Director. Imagine my surprise …
The problem with so many war movies is that they try to do too much, they try to “explain”, or they try to justify/criticize/analyze – and it’s all tremendously boring and didactic.
HURT LOCKER did it right, controversies notwithstanding. It’s a MOVIE, not a documentary – and it works really really well. And helmed by a woman. GLORIOUS. With my new fantasy-boyfriend Jeremy Renner in the lead role. Who took his mother as his date to the Oscars. Help me.
I also liked the) insightful comment from the costume designer when she said she wanted to give a shout-out to designers who DIDN’T do “period” pieces – we had just been talking about that at the party I was at. Costume design mainly goes to some luscious period piece – and most of the nominations are also period – because it’s more noticeable the work that went into it. But that’s silly. The costume design of a contemporary movie is equally as challenging and equally as important to the success of the picture, even if it’s not as noticeable as some chick wearing a hoop skirt. Anyway, we had jUST been talking about that discrepancy when the winning costume desginer said the very same thing in her own speech – which I thought was really classy – giving a shout-out to costume designers who don’t do luscious period dramas but who are equally as talented. For example, the costume design of Casino Royale. I thought that was top-notch – the film flat out would not have worked as well – the colors – the green-ness of everything – and then when someone WASN’T wearing green it always meant something. It was invisible, the costume design, yet 100% part of the film’s effectiveness. But not nominated for an Oscar. There are tons of examples – but I just liked that she gave a shout-out to her colleagues who work in that invisible but no less important manner.
I was mainly bummed that they relegated Lauren Bacall, and Roger Corman to another dinner – not on Oscar night. These are giants of the industry. That’s one of the great things about those Lifetime Achievement Awards. This is an industry with a long history, and it is nice to take a moment to REMEMBER and ACKNOWLEDGE. So that bummed me out.
But all in all, thought it was a great broadcast, and really liked the duo-hosting of Martin and Baldwin. Thought it really worked well.
And judging from the chemistry between Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. when they presented together (hilarious!!!) – they should totally do a movie together. I could have watched them go back and forth like that for 10 minutes. Reminds me of when Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin presented together a couple years back (this was when Prairie Home Companion was about to come out) – and it was HIGH COMEDY, those two up there – it looked totally improvised – and was so FUNNY, so watchable. Maybe there is a Tina/Robert pairing in the future – I think that could be a potential slamdunk with great screwball potential.
And I laughed out loud when Ben Stiller, in blue makeup, said, “I will stand far away from the winners so I do not demean their moment of triumph.”
I am still laughing.
And I agree with you about Doogie – I’ve seen him perform way better than that. He definitely sounded off.
What really impressed me about the Martin/Baldwin duo is the life they were able to bring to some of the lame scripting. There was some joke Baldwin set up by describing a movie plot and Martin countered with something like, “You forgot to say SPOILERS!” or something. For anyone else that would have just died, but Martin’s delivery MADE it work.
I agree. It would be great if they hosted again.
Sheila put that wish out into the universe for Tina Fey & Robert Downey, Jr. to work together–I hope it comes true!
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was already in the works. Ear to the ground!! I loved when she said to him, curtly, “Just say what we write, please” and he kept going on in his grandiose artistic fashion. Perfect timing!!
Alec Baldwin, to me, is like that boyfriend that reeaaally doesn’t treat you very nicely at times and is kiiiiind of a jerk, but the s*x is SO GOOD that you just can’t let him go. Every time there’s been something unsavory about him on the news, my mind just can’t go there with the hate because there’s just SOMETHING about him.
Lisa – hahahaha
I think he’s just gotten better now that he’s kind of a pudgy middle-aged dude. When he was young and gorgeous, that kind of unsavory thing didn’t really work for him – it was more of a cliche – but now?
COMEDY!
That’s true. I wasn’t really a fan back when he was on Knot’s Landing and in Beetlejuice (Billy was my favorite Baldwin then) but now I just love him. “It’s Complicated” was, like, the best movie ever.
I think it’s that sense he gives of being kind of arrogant and constantly irritated by everyone else’s stupidity – that is so FUNNY now – know what I mean? It’s not a quality I enjoy in PERSON, but he manages to “spin” it into something very very funny.
Billy was my favorite Baldwin too back in the day.
Oh wow – Knot’s Landing – had forgotten about that!!
I’ve gone full circle on Alec. I really liked him back in Beetlejuice and Prelude to a Kiss was a shared favorite movie for the wife and me. But something happened … The Shadow probably … and I just couldn’t stand the guy. The last few years, though, I’ve really come to like him again. The self deprecation works well for him.
I LOVED him in State and Main, the David Mamet film. Truly hilarious performance as a big cocky movie star, filming in a small town in Vermont. A TERRIBLE person. Gets in a huge car accident with a local waitress he is having an affair with (played by Julia Stiles) – and he emerges from the car wreck, with a cut on his face, looks around and says, “So that happened …” Funny, campy, over-the-top – it’s really his specialty. He did a workshop at my school, and he was awesome with us. Really just told us hysterical stories, but he was a hoot.
Yeah, I was trying to remember the name of that movie. Very enjoyable!
Sheila – I think the key is that he holds up that arrogant, impatient persona to ridicule. We’re in on what a joke the character is, and so is Baldwin, while the character himself remains serenely unaware. It’s brilliant comic acting. I can’t even begin to figure out how he does it.
Wow! Where have I been???
There’s an article about Alec Baldwin in a recent edition of Vanity Fair — by James Wolcott, Sheila, did you catch it? — that really nails Baldwin’s appeal and gifts.
Lisa — /Every time there’s been something unsavory about him on the news, my mind just can’t go there with the hate because there’s just SOMETHING about him./
I totally agree. It’s impossible for me to dislike him and sometimes I feel weird, as if I’m SUPPOSED to dislike him — I mean, the thing with his daughter was hideous — but I CANNOT do it.
Also, was John Travolta wearing JEANS? I wonder if that was a subversive act of protest because of the giant 2-page piece on his “church” that appeared in the Sunday NY Times. Jeans, dude? I could be wrong, but he looked pretty dern cazh.
I very much enjoyed your take on the whole thing…possibly because it reflected spot-on how I was feeling about the whole thing! 🙂 I got a weird subdued vibe about the whole thing too, like people were uncomfortable and embarassed to be seen there or something. I didn’t get it.
Some of the jokes I didn’t get, but I figured it’s because I’m old and out of the loop. What was the thing between Alec and George Clooney? I mean I got that it was a joke, but I didn’t get it? Was there some background on that that I was unaware of?
I thought the chemistry between Steve and Alec started off a little shaky and stilted…I was thinking, “Whoo boy, this could be a Loooooooong night,” but they quickly got into a nice groove and had me cackling.
I TOTALLY agree about the Tina Fey/Robert Downey Jr. thing…TOO funny…if only all those other actors could really act and make their bits funny!
I was happy that Jeff Bridges won, but was TOTALLY bummed when my DVR cut off right before Sandra’s big win. She is one of my ALL_TIME favorite girls-next-door. I screeched at the TV when it suddenly cut off in the middle of Jeff’s speech…”Aw, COME ON!!!!”
Like Tracey, I hadn’t seen most of the nominated movies, which is why I wanted Meryl Streep to win. I did see “Julie and Julia” and loved her so as Julia Child. Very endearing…but of course, she is magnificent in almost everything she does.
I have to put in my two cents about Avatar. I’m pretty good (VERY good) at tuning out stuff I don’t like (um, except lots of bad language), so the ultra-liberal message of the movie didn’t bother me much, because the WORLD that JC (no, not Jesus Christ) created was absolutely mesmerizing. I honestly didn’t want to leave that world at the end of the movie (I rarely feel that way). It was so imaginative, so eye-fulfilling (I know, not a real term). The plot would probably really get to me after about 10 times though. 🙂
Oh, one last thing. I too wish “District 9” had won some stuff. That was one creepy disturbing movie, but so well-made!
sheila — “cazh” hahahahaha. Was he cazh? I didn’t notice. Jeans?? No, no, no.
ann — Yeah, the Tina Fey/Robert Downey Jr. thing was a visual and tone of voice thing that I couldn’t even describe, which is why I didn’t try. Brilliant.
I did see Julie/Julia as well and Streep, well, she’s Streep. Amazing. There was one moment in that movie where I burst into tears because she was SO spot on about something I’ve experienced firsthand. It caught me so off guard and I was totally embarrassed to be sitting there sobbing in a movie that wasn’t, overall, a sad movie.
District 9 is on my list. I’m a big fan of creepy. Not blood or gore or “gotcha,” per se, but creeeepy I like.