Oscars

I've got to admit now that I'm pretty excited about the Academy Awards tomorrow night. For some reason, it seems like enjoying an awards show is a kind of guilty pleasure; hence the admission. I don't know though. I always like watching them cause I like movies and generally they get at least a couple decent films in the running for big awards (though they are often lost in the swarm of shit that gets nominated seemingly only to pet the egos of big traditional Hollywood crap).
The main reason I'm particularly excited about these Oscars though, is that I've got a horse in the race, so to speak. No Country for Old Men is my favorite new theatrical release maybe ever. (Remember now that I'm just 27 years old and have been culturally sensitive for only maybe 10 of those years, so we're only talking about a best-of-the-last-decade level of excellence.) I've stated many times--though only a few in this space--how fond I am of this film, but only recently have I divined the real truth of the matter regarding this fondness: that my love respect for it has gone beyond a simple artistic reverence into a more personal and opinionated love. What I mean is that my passionate fondness for this film has rendered me incapable of discussing it in any comparative or unbiased manner. The reason this is relevant is that No Country for Old Men happens to be competing directly against another holistically similar film: There Will Be Blood; and additionally that many of my friends have stronger positive feelings about this latter film. For a time, I exerted small amounts of energy exclaiming my taste for my favorite vs. the (in my opinion) the comparative shortcomings of the other. Now I've accepted that artistic quality is unfortunately something I simply cannot soundly consider when examining these two fine films. I'll tell you now again that I think that There Will Be Blood--while certainly a powerful experience highlighted by an even more powerful performance by Mr Daniel Day-Lewis--simply has its imperfections, while No Country for Old Men is amazing for its lack of them. (This statement is one that I deem to be factual, not opinionated.)
I don't have the list in front of me at the moment (which, since I'm obviously sitting at a net-ready computer right now, is code for: I'm too lazy), but I'm fairly sure that each film is nominated for eight awards, and further that they are in direct competition in seven of those eight categories. You can't help but sense the man-vs-man nature of this; and, as a sports/competition/gambling lover, I am eating it up with a big fat spoon. So, looking at everything from this perspective, you've got to share in my enthusiasm for the show: it's like anticipating a big game or especially a big boxing fight.
I don't know now if this has helped to spur your own excitement for the LA love-fest to ensue tomorrow night (mostly cause I'm into my third pint glass rum & coke), but hopefully it has. No Country for Old Men is my Buckeyes, my Steelers, my Pirates (well, maybe not my pathetic Pirates). I'm rooting it on just as I would any of the others.