Sunday, February 27, 2011

What to watch on a Sunday night

For my viewing pleasure this evening I have the choice between the Scotties final, the Amazing Race or the Oscar broadcast. I suspect there will be some channel surfing this evening, although Cathy normally hates that kind of thing.

The curling might drop off the radar pretty quick. It starts at 6:30, but I hate watching Jennifer Jones and Team Canada play. I'm wondering if they know they're the most hated team in curling right now? I might stick around and watch the game if it looks like they're taking a beating, but I expect them to win at this point and then go to the world's and choke again.

I hate the Team Canada format, even though I know they're likely going to do something similar in the Brier in the next couple of years. Kevin Koe, the defending world champion, lost in the Alberta playdowns, which is striking some as tragically unfair. I call it curling. I don't think any team should get a free pass to the national championships. But that's me.

Then there's the Amazing Race at 8pm, which could be fun this year, with a bunch of teams that choked or screwed up in previous races getting a second chance. Some of these teams are still going to be dead meat, but there's a couple I'm looking forward to seeing do well. Although, I confess I'm a bit annoyed. The commercials in the weeks leading up to the show indicated two of my favourite teams from last season - the QVC hosts and the Harvard guys who sing - were going to be in this season. And they're not. A pity because they were both a lot of fun.

Finally, there's the Oscars at 8:30. Yes, there's the red carpet beforehand to gawk at the dresses, but that's one of those things you can easily channel surf. As for the hosts - James Franco and Anne Hathaway - I suspect they will be pleasant, safe and utterly bland. You won't see much in the way of insulting the big stars of the day, which is a pity. A little mocking never hurt anyone, and in some cases is much needed.

As for my pick for the winners:
Best Picture - The King's Speech
Best Director - David Fincher
Best Actor - Colin Firth
Best Actress - Natalie Portman
Best Supporting Actor - Helena Bonham Carter
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale
Best Animated Feature - Toy Story 3
Art Direction - The King's Speech
Cinematography - Inception
Costume Design - The King's Speech
Documentary Feature - The Inside Job
Documentary Short Feature - (No idea) Killing in the name
Film Editing - The Social Network
Foreign Language Film - Butiful
Make-up: Barney's Version
Music: Original Score - Inception
Music: Original Song - We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)
Short Film (Animated) - The Lost Thing
Short Film (live) - The Confession
Sound Editing - Inception
Sound Mixing - Inception
Visual Effects - Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - The Social Network
Writing (Original Screenplay) - The King's Speech

We'll see how well I do. Normally I'm around 70-75% on my picks.

Last Five
All songs from 21 by Adele.

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