Oscars - A PSA For Those As Compulsive As Myself

So every year I get really obsessed with the Oscars for no discernible reason (they are not in any way indicative of the BEST work of the year, just the most publicized...and yet I plan my whole late winter around this event) and I drive myself crazy into the ground trying to see as many nominated works as I can. (It's especially difficult to pull off when I restrict myself to the first showing on weekends, traditionally the cheapest available ticket and the only budget-friendly way to stick to my plan.)

I've seen a number of powerful and impressive films in this pursuit, and then like NONE of them got nominated for best picture. Lucky for me, that sacred institution AMC Theatres is doing something that theatres nationwide should have been doing annually for 30 years - they're showing all five best picture nominees back to back in a single day. Blessedly, the tickets are cheaper than they would be to see each individually - $30 for all five - and include bottomless popcorn, a saving grace for those of us with husbands of infinite metabolism. (I for one will tote a bag of radishes and cucumbers, thank you.)

I'm saying hallelujah that the one film we did see, Benjamin Button, is the one showing smack in the middle of the day. There's a lakefront park and walking trail about 100 yards from the theatre, so we can get outside into the real world, have lunch, go for a walk, hit a Starbucks....I think it'll be a nice day. It's especially great for those of us in a strange area where, inexplicably, Paul Blart showed in every multiplex but no one really felt like putting Milk on a screen. (Um, thanks? Welcome to the South, baby.)

If you want to see if an AMC in your area is mounting the effort, check here.

And I'm thinking I may "live-blog" the whole event. (The Oscars, not the five movies. God, would that be torture for you or what?) By "live-blog" I mean, I'll write one ungodly long post and then publish when the thing is over, rather than assault your bloglines with 1400 posts all night. Things I always like to snark on: who won, who deserved it, who gave a catty sideways look when she lost (lookin' at you, Jolie), who looked great (expectation: Hathaway) and who looked jacked as hell (expectation: Cameron Diaz, as always, will appear to have run there straight from the gym...in Encino; and God willing, Meryl Streep will show up in stirrup pants again like she did to the SAG Awards, not expecting to be shown on camera in full view and only dressing for her gracious-and-lovely-from-the-bust-up loser shot.)