It seems like I grow more confused with every passing day. Is it my age or is it that life keeps getting more and more complicated and it has nothing to do with my advanced years? I keep seeing tv blurbs about upcoming UFC fights and now realize just how popular these fights are. Popular with whom? It just has to be with the young crowd. I can’t imagine anyone even close to my age who would be a fan of this Mixed Martial Arts stuff. We’re now in an NFL move to protect football players from serious head injuries, going through concussion protocols for every player who comes staggering off the field after a train wreck collision with a behemoth defensive end or linebacker. And yet these UFC fighters smack and kick and jab each other with deadly desire. How can they not die after such beatings? These matches seem to be more like gladiators in the Roman Coliseum with blood and guts flying everywhere. It must be for viewers who like the blood sport of dog fights and cock fights. And I’m not a fan of either of those, just as I’m not a fan of these fighters.
The SAG awards were announced last night and we’ve already had the Golden Globes and a few other less well-known film award shows. Are we ready for the big one, the Academy Awards next month? I still have a few movies I’d like to see before I make my predictions, but what the heck, I may as well stick my neck out now. Sadly, this will be an all-white-as-mashed-potatoes awards night with not a single film about or with color to be found. Two movies came out so long ago that they might get overlooked—
Boyhood and
The Grand Budapest Hotel. I thought when I saw it that
Boyhood was a lock for best picture, but now, though I still think it should win, it’s no lock. Instead, I see
Birdman edging it out. Best Director? Richard Linklater for
Boyhood with Iñàrritu a close second for
Birdman. I haven’t yet seen
Still Alice, but I wasn’t very impressed with any others for best actress except for Rosamund Pike in
Gone Girl, so I guess I’ll go with Julianne Moore. Best actor? This category is wide open and could go to any of the five nominees. Michael Keaton in
Birdman is my choice although I was fascinated with both Eddie Redmayne doing his Stephen Hawking thing and Bradley Cooper doing his pumped up Chris Kyle thing. Best supporting actress: Laura Dern in
Wild, but my second choice would be Patricia Arquette in
Boyhood. Best supporting actor: Mark Ruffalo in
Foxcatcher, but J. K. Simmons in
Whiplash is getting all the attention. My mind can’t see Simmons as anything but Brenda Leigh’s boss Will Pope in T
he Closer. I don’t have a clue about any of the other categories so I’ll quit right here, while I’m still ahead. But if Neil Patrick Harris is as good with the Oscars as he’s been with the Tonys, this should be an entertaining evening.
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