The Pointless Awards

Hurray! Some people won arbitrary metal statues, said a few words, and walked offstage to get drunk later! The 88th Oscars have just wrapped up, and they are still missing the point of what award shows should be.

An award means absolutely nothing ESPECIALLY to your 55 million-count audience if there is no discussion on what brought along the choice for the award. Additionally, the vast majority of that audience has likely not seen the films in question. Without discussion, awards are essentially meaningless, as there is no information on why a certain film or actor performed better than others. That amount is currently nil. Walk onstage, speak, leave, repeat.

Now, an example of what a good award show looks like. I watch a fellow on YouTube named John Bain, aka TotalBiscuit, and each year he holds the “Arbitrary Video Game Awards”. The man recognizes that his awards mean nothing in the end, as they are just an individual opinion of his. However, each award and nominee is addressed in the video and before the winner is announced, the viewer understands why each game was nominated and each receives its well-deserved recognition. In addition, categories are more interesting than “best X” or “most impressive Y”. These are prestigious awards, not yearbook superlatives.

In addition, providing well thought-out discussion on why each winner actually won encourages further discussion. In our digital world, anyone can get in front of a camera or write a post on Facebook and say what their favorite films of the past year were. Explanations from such a prestigious event as the Oscars would allow people to say “no, it did not win an Oscar, but I thought this film was better for these reasons”. Encouraging discussion gives your awards meaning, and makes people talk about your awards show for more than five minutes before moving on with their lives.

So, yes. Before watching the Oscars or another awards show, think for yourself and share with the world what you thought was the best of the year. Rather than posting a list or taking four hours to reveal said list, use that time and take some effort to explain why each winner got the recognition that they did over the other nominees.

PS: Can we talk about nominees for a second? There were so many good movies released in 2015 and the Oscars only mentioned a small amount of them. This is yet another reason why these awards shows need to properly explain why each nominee was nominated for an award. 

PPS: Star Wars deserved those sound and visual design award much more than Mad Max. I don't care who you are. X-Wings and TIE Fighters beat out cars in the desert any day

PPPS: Kingsman still deserves best picture 

Deadpool: The ConnoReview | A Katana in Marvel's Armory

I walked into the theater with a relatively casual demeanor. I flashed my online ticket code and was expecting to walk right in.

That didn't happen. They still carded us.

They had good reason to do so.

After calling up the father of the friend I saw the film with, we walked into the wacky, witty, and gloriously profane world of Deadpool. Save for a few bumps along the way, Ryan Reynolds’ labor of love hits all the right notes.

“My boyfriend told me this was a superhero movie, but that one guy just turned that other guy into a f**king kebab,” says Reynolds during one of his many talks with the audience during the film. If you've seen the trailers, you know exactly what you're in for. I certainly did. Reynolds brings a sense of life and fun to the character which is a joy on screen. While he's dismembering gunmen, Deadpool cracks wise about the situation he's in, making for riotously entertaining action sequences rife with pop-culture references and playful jabs at Hugh Jackman. The creativity of the humor is to be commended, as it’s both juvenile and smart. Reynolds embodies Deadpool’s character perfectly, almost to the level of Robert Downey Jr. to Tony Stark.

Through all of this fun, Deadpool strikes out at some points: especially when it comes to pacing. After a particularly morose scene, the film returns full-force to its humor and action. This happened on a few occasions, and the film did so in such a heavy-handed manner that I felt a bit out of it at points. Additionally, a few of the jokes fell flat where they likely shouldn't have due to the sheer absurdity of them. (TJ Miller, I'm looking at you.)

Despite its minor issues, Deadpool is great fun for most -- NOT ALL -- ages. There are several instances of nudity in addition to humor and imagery some may find offensive. (I didn't.) Hopefully, the success of this film will pave the way for more Marvel movies cutting loose and having fun.