Not much to say, but I wanted to get something posted while we still have this extra day.

In thinking it over, I’ve decided to forgo this year’s Fan Expo Canada/CNE trip to Toronto. No, the impending pandemic is not a factor; day trips to the movies or food festivals are still on the table. It’s more a money-saving reason. This ties into a longer post I’m working on, but I have a chance to relieve some of the debt that’s been plaguing me for so long and I’m gonna take it.

Besides, there’s so much cool stuff on this side of the border.

Unless Patrick Warburton really is at Fan Expo Canada this year. At that point, all bets are off.

8:00 Janelle Monae singing "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

8:02 ...and now, it's a full original number with dancers dressed as the year's movie characters...and Billy Porter cosplaying Elton John.

8:06 Steve Martin and Chris Rock showing us why we need Oscar hosts again. Seriously, can they host next year?

8:11 Regina King presents Best Supporting Actor. The Oscar goes to...Brad Pitt (1/24).

8:21 Beanie Feldstein introduces Mindy Kaling, who's about to present Best Animated Feature. The Oscar goes to Toy Story 4. Seriously, when is it going to be Laika's time?

8:25 Best Animated Short Subject now. The Oscar goes to..."Hair Love" (2/24).

8:27 Josh Gad introduces "Into the Unknown" performed by the voices of Elsa from around the world.

8:36 Kelly Marie Tran introduces Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves, here to present Original Screenplay. The Oscar goes to...Parasite!

8:42 Timothee Chalamet and Natalie Portman present Adapted Screenplay. The Oscar goes to...Jojo Rabbit (3/24).

8:46 Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen present Best Live-Action Short Subject. The Oscar goes to..."The Neighbor's Window" (4/24).

8:53 Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig presenting Best Production Design. The Oscar goes to...Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (5/24).

8:59 ...and now, Best Costume Design. The Oscar goes to...Little Women (6/24).

9:01 Chrissy Metz performing "Standing with You" from Breakthrough. This may, by a wide margin, be the oddest nomination of the year.

9:08 Mark Ruffalo presents Best Documentary Feature. The Oscar goes to..."American Factory" (7/24).

9:12 ...and now, Best Documentary Short Subject. The Oscar goes to..."Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you're a girl)"(8/24). I guess other people liked the title, as well.

9:15 Mahershala Ali presents Best Supporting Actress. The Oscar goes to...Laura Dern (9/24).

9:25 Anthony Ramos (of "Hamilton") introduces the creator of the musicals, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

9:30 Oh, man. Eminem performs "Lose Yourself".

9:36 Oscar Isaac and Salma Hayek present Sound Effects Editing. The Oscar goes to...Ford v. Ferrari (10/24). Sound Mixing goes to...1917.

9:42 Randy Newman performs "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away".

9:48 A musical recap of the show. Not sure who this guy is, but he's pretty good.

9:49 Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus present Best Cinematography. The Oscar goes to...Roger Deakins (11/24). Seriously, that's some effort for 1917.

9:54 ...and now, Best Editing. The Oscar goes to...Ford v. Ferrari (12/24).

9:57 Casting director and Academy president David Rubin and Tom Hanks telling of a museum of Hollywood memorabilia.

10:03 Zazie Beetz introduces the orchestra pit, as well as Cynthia Erivo performing "Stand Up".

10:12 James Corden and Rebel Wilson present Best Visual Effects in a weird bit of irony. The Oscar goes to...1917.

10:16 Ray Romano and Sandra Oh present Best Hair and Make-Up. The Oscar goes to...Bombshell. Huh.

10:23 Penelope Cruz narrates a montage about what movies mean to her. What's more, she is presenting Best International Feature. The Oscar goes to...Parasite (13/24).

10:27 Elton John performs "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again".

10:36 Taika Waititi recaps the Governor's Awards and the honorary Oscars given to Wes Studi, David Lynch, Geena Davis

10:37 Gal Gadot, Sigourney Weaver and Brie Larson introduce a suite of the year's nominated scores led by a female conductor. The Oscar goes to...Joker. Well, at least it was orchestral.

10:44 ...and now, Best Original Song. The Oscar goes to..."(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (14/24). Smashing.

10:51 Spike Lee presents Best Director. The Oscar goes to...Bong Joon Ho. Okay, now I really got to try and see Parasite.

10:55 Steven Spielberg introduces the In Memoriam montage.

11:04 Olivia Colman presents Best Actor. The Oscar goes to...Joaquin Phoenix (15/24). Definitely the film's most deserved win.

11:10 Rami Malek presents Best Actress. The Oscar goes to...Renee Zellweger (16/24).

11:22 Jane Fonda presents Best Picture. The Oscar goes to...Parasite?! Damn.

16 out of 24. My best average yet, I think. Well, this has been a bucket of fun. Good night, all.

The gold standard.

No more shenanigans. These are my Oscar picks:

Picture: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A movie about making movies and the best movie I saw last year. Good deal.

Actor: Even with my misgivings about the film, Joaquin Phoenix earned this prize.

Actress: The buzz for Renee Zellweger was strong even early on and though Erivo's performance was the only thing keeping Harriet afloat, I'm sticking with the buzz.

Supporting Actor: Much as I liked the work of Pesci and Pacino, they are likely to cancel each other out. Ultimately, I'm going with...Brad Pitt.

Supporting Actress: Call it intuition. Call it the Holdo Maneuver, but I'm liking Laura Dern's chances.

Director: Sam Mendes. For real, if someone flubbed a line, they started over from the beginning? Jesus. No way I could have that kind of patience.

Original Screenplay: Much as I liked Knives Out (and an Oscar would put certain people in their place), this is definitely going to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit. I just have a feeling.

Cinematography: Robert Richardson's work on Once... was typically strong, but the work necessary to pull off a one-take movie...say hello to Oscar number 2, Roger Deakins.

Editing: Ford v. Ferrari, because it ought to get freaking something.

Original Score: The buzz is leaning toward Joker, but if it gets Thomas Newman his long-deserved Oscar, 1917 all the way.

Original Song: "I'm Gonna Love Me Again", because Rocketman ought to get freaking something.

Costume Design: Little Women. Period piece + fancy dresses = gold. It's science.

Production Design: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It can't have been easy creating that look of 1969, but the end result was impressive.

Animated Feature: Granted, the film was lightweight, but Missing Link was a great deal of fun. Plus, Laika is long overdue for a win.

Hair and Make-Up: Judy, Judy, Judy. (The young people probably don't know this joke. Sad, really.)

Sound: Ford v. Ferrari.

Sound Effects Editing: Ford v. Ferrari.

Documentary Feature: I'm never good at these, but let's just say...American Factory.

Documentary Short Subject: "Learning to Skate in a Warzone (if you're a girl)". Hey. I like the title.

Animated Short Subject: "Hair Love". I wonder if it's available to watch anywhere.

Live-Action Short Subject: I've long since lost interest in going to see the short film programs at the theaters (and was there even time to book the program for this year?), but I'll pick..."The Neighbors' Window".

Visual Effects: Avengers: Endgame, because duh.

Foreign Film: Parasite. They'll find a way to screw it out of the major categories. Just you watch.

Day of the Animals (Lalo Schifrin)

A group of hikers head for a weekend of hiking, only to discover too late that the deteriorating ozone layer has turned the animals into crazed killers. If you accept the limitations of the time (weak effects, TV-style cinematography) and meet it on its own level, this is a pretty decent thriller with a fine cast (Leslie Nielsen makes for an effective scumbag).

Lalo Schifrin provided a creepy main theme, as well as some ferocious attack music and an intermittent love theme.

Day of the Animals

composed & conducted

by

Lalo Schifrin

1. Day Break (Main Titles) 2.21
2. Bird of Prey 0.13
3. Whirly Birds/Fresh Meat 2.48
4. Eagle Eye 0.24
5. Hot Dog/Walk and Stalk 2.45
6. Night Owl/Love Birds 0.56
7. Wolf Attack 1.47
8. Back on the Path 0.28
9. Spider Walk 0.14
10. Catlike Reflexes/Birdemic 4.38
11. Too Much to Bear 0.42
12. The Little Girl 0.37
13. Scratching 0.47
14. Rat Bastard 0.36
15. Evacuation 1.46
16. Cat Nip 1.56
17. Fade to Morning 0.35
18. Seeking Safe Ground 2.34
19. Alpha Male 0.24
20. Regrets 2.03
21. Bear Hug/Road Hogs 1.52
22. Empty House 0.12
23. Dog Tired 0.58
24. Torn Apart 1.08
25. Wolves on a Chopper 1.00
26. Barricade 2.01
27. Attack and Raft 2.26
28. Survival 0.48
29. Finale and End Titles 2.58

By the way, no, I'm not ashamed at all the animal puns.