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Early this morning the Oscars happened! Wahey!

We, unfortunately, were fast asleep and then had to rush out into the world early today to sit an exam that you have no interest in. Some would say that this makes us unqualified to comment on the ceremony, but we won’t let that stop us.

Both Natalie Portman and Colin Firth gave charming speeches, each touching and funny enough to make them seem like genuinely nice people. Neither took themselves too seriously, which is always a nice surprise.

While some were expecting it to be The King’s Speech all night it was refreshing to see The Social Network and The Fighter get a look in. Sorkin may come off as a little self-important at times but he did write one hell of a screenplay.

Inception didn’t do too badly in its technical categories, and certainly wormed its way into plenty of Franco’s and Hathaway’s material. The hosts themselves were entertaining, but we could definitely benefit from a comedian hosting next year.

Toy Story 3 was an inevitable winner, but Pixar may have to pass on the crown next year when Rango enters the ring.

As with every year the show was in parts entertaining, and in a bigger way incredibly dull. One thing that really stood out/totally underwhelmed was Banksy’s appearance/absence. At least we can all stop speculating about whether he’d show up or not.

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Just kidding, I’ve totally run out of things to be indignant about.

As I have to be awake and coherent on Monday morning Mild Concern will be the least up to date on the internet when it comes to the Oscars. If you are wise enough to be spending the night awake and online I’d recommend checking out Ultra Culture who normally has a live feed going, and his twitter will provide suitably amusing commentary.

You should also go to www.livestream.com/picturehouses where the witty hosts of The Picturehouse Podcast will be live streaming their own brand of commentary if you don’t fancy what Sky have to offer.

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Hold on a moment, I’ve not gone completely delusional. I do realise that this geek orgasm of a film has no chance at winning any of the big awards at a respectable show like the Oscars, no matter how much Edgar Wright directed the bejeezus out of the beast. But from a technical stand point it surely deserves some nominations for doing things a little differently and at a high level of quality and creativity.

There was a time when the film almost made it into the nominees for Best Visual Effects, rubbing shoulders with the far less original likes of Iron Man 2, but it wasn’t to be. Sadly the most visually exciting film of 2010 was not deemed worthy of a nomination.

Another area I could conceive of the film getting a nod is in sound editing/mixing (who outside the profession knows the difference?) as Scott Pilgrim is the only film in the past year where sound design has been so integral. Watch any scene and you’ll find that every eye movement or head turn is accompanied by the subtle sound of some reverb or a coffee maker steaming. Beautiful stuff!

Let’s not even get started on how the huge amount of original songs like the below got ignored in favour of Dido.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – ‘Black Sheep’ Music Video from Louis S on Vimeo.

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Let’s forget The King’s Speech for a moment and remember a british film from the past year with a slightly less uplifting tale to tell. Another Year may be a bit meandering at times but it truly touched me, and in a wholly appropriate way.

Yes, the changing colour palette was far from subtle, and there was a random appearance from Imelda Staunton that no one seems to mention, but besides that the film was amazing. Despite this it has just one Oscar nomination and it is for the Screenplay… something Mike Leigh tends to go without.

All I’m asking for is some recognition for Lesley Manville’s performance of the deeply flawed Mary. Sure she might not stand a chance against Hailee Steinfeld but she was a hell of a lot better than Helena Bonham Carter. It’s not that Carter was bad, just that Manville completely blew me away. The whole cast was fabulous but anyone that has seen the film will know that Manville completely owned it.

Give her an Oscar!

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I’ll admit that the list of nominees for Best Documentary at this years Oscars does feature a few Mild Concern favourites in the shape of Exit Through the Gift Shop and Waste Land, but it’s a shame the most talked about documentary is absent.

Catfish is truly moving and completely shocking. Once you’re into the final forty minutes you won’t be able to look away. Clearly this isn’t the most technical documentary, shot on the fly rather than with nay real intent to make a documentary, but the story it tells is one of the most compelling. Rather than the lack of technical prowess what is probably holding Catfish back is it’s believability.

While I buy into the story completely some are more cynical and find the final act revelation too exciting to be true. This brings the feature’s credentials as a documentary into question and makes it much less award friendly. Exit Through the Gift Shop had a similarly dramatic conclusion that many viewers found hard to swallow. It’s validity only confirmed for some but the fact that it was allowed into the Oscars.

A nomination at the Oscars would have given Catfish the seal of approval from the wider film community. As it is it remains a cult hit and something that has to be seen to be believed… and even then not by everyone.

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