An annual tradition that I just can't bring myself to stop...

Yet another year that I found myself watching the Academy Awards. I know I thrive on procrastination, but the Oscars are just a pure waste of time, listening to each winner thank everyone from their castmates to their parents to their pet turtle George. I'm a sucker for hype, though, and I end up watching nonetheless.

It's a rarity (actually, never) that my favorite film of the year wins the Oscar for Best Picture, so it was nice to see The Departed get the grand prize for the night. Even better that Martin Scorsese finally got an Academy Award for his work, although the fact that they got Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas up there to present the Best Director Award kind of took all the suspense away.

Sad, though, that Peter O'Toole yet again was denied an eighth time for an Oscar. Granted, I've never actually seen any of his Oscar-nominated work, but he's just one of those actors that you just assume has won an Oscar (or actually, many) when you see him in movies. I know he was awarded a consolation prize i.e. Lifetime Achievement Award a few years back, but you gotta feel for the guy who you know wanted to win one outright, especially when he looks like he could croak at any minute.

Then again, what does the Academy know? After all, this is the group that voted Driving Miss Daisy the Best Picture of the Year back in the 80's. Does anyone honestly still even remotely remember that movie? Field of Dreams and Dead Poets Society were up for the same award that year. Yup, a waste of my time. A waste of my time. Damn you, pop culture hype machine!