Mad Men “Field Trip” Review: Awkward Turtle

The Partners talk about some issues on Mad Men

Photo Credit: AMC TV

A Review of “Field Trip” as soon as I trade this second sandwich for some gum drops…

“I wish it was yesterday”

-Bobby

Don’t we all wish we could take back the things we do and say? As we move through this season of Mad Men we’re getting to the point where the characters of this show are beginning to look back on their actions and wonder if yesterday is better and whether going back to the way things were is the way to go. What we get is from this is a wonderful exploration of Don and Betty as each makes their awkward field trip and ends up (just like Bobby) looking for yesterday with varying results.

Don finally gets the old fashioned wake up call and tries getting back in action with some mostly positive results. The wake up comes with the fallout with Megan after he gets concerned with her slight meltdown in California (or at least so it’s described by her agent). The resulting concern gets them into a nasty argument that ends in Don spilling the beans of his work situation and Megan forcing him to leave out of a nasty (and mostly deserved) outburst from Megan. This is the first time that Don gets a wake up call and decides that now is the time that life needs to get back to the way it was, he needs to get his old job back and try to convince his wife that he is still actually in love with her. It’s an interesting step forward for Don one that he could have easily slid away from.

And Don is given a chance to slip away from his old life to in his old Hobo taught fashion, but alas he tries to actually make progress; there’s even a nice girl seemingly waiting in the wings for him to sleep with along the way. Don manages to persist and in a fit of determination he brings the offer to Roger and asks him to let him come back in. The scene between Don and Roger is magnificent both showing the decent and yet strange amount of trust and liking that the two share for each other. For Roger it’s a both a power move and a way to get someone he likes back in his office and for Don it’s a way to get his life back.

By the time Don ends up being told to come in is where the awkwardness begins. Roger in true Roger fashion doesn’t actually tell anyone about Don coming in causing a strange reaction of the whole office being mystified and confused, in many different ways to Don’s unexpected return. We get a very eccentric reaction from Ginsberg, a very awful reaction from Lou (who continues to be awful), and a very angry reaction from Peggy. The partners, on the other hand are concerned with the ongoing value of Don and whether he can actually be of use and how much the man will actually will cost both on a financial and personal level.

Turns out that after a fantastic scene with some shrewd negotiation from one Roger Sterling that they do end up wanting Don back on some very strict conditions; these conditions (which involved no alone time with the clients, sticking to the script, no drinking, and worst of all reporting to the awful Lou Avery) would force the old Don Draper to instantly turn it down, but we’re at the point with Don at the moment that he just wants to make it right and in a fantastically timed last shot Don agrees with an “ok.” This sets up a lot of awesome potential with either storylines of Don trying desperately to adapt or we could get an awesome Don versus Lou showdown that could make for some great psychological warfare. The whole awkward office situation was a wonderful sequence that sets up some hopefully great storylines as we get through the season.

The other major storyline involves the return of Betty for what the a field trip with Bobby that gives the episode its name. Betty tries to reconnect with her son throughout the trip and for a while it seems to be working (Bobby making sure his mother had a seat on the picnic towel is a very cute little scene) as Betty actually seems to be making an effort to reconnect with her son. Sadly it seems that Betty’s childish nature seems to catch up with her again (or maybe, as she tells Francine it’s “old fashioned”) as when Bobby trades Betty’s sandwich (without really figuring out that it’s Betty’s sandwich) for some candy leaving Betty on an all out tail spin. She goes into a mode of thinking that her kids don’t love her anymore and breaks down in front of Henry and really condemns Bobby after the food trade. It’s a familiar Betty arch but it will be curious to see if she ends up getting some redemption out of this arc as we continue to move through the season.

“Field Trip” was a wonderful episode that got Don back to work and Betty back on the show. I’m loving  the way the season is progressing and really looking forward to where we are going as we get closer to the end of this year (sadly due to the split we have only four left)

Some other thoughts:

• Along with the return of Betty we get the return of Harry Craine! He gets his moment in this episode with Cutler pointing out his dishonesty and the issue of a potential computer for the firm. It’s also great to see the blank reactions on the partner’s face when Harry’s name is mentioned, shows how much he really matters.
• Dawn seems to be adopting to her job decently despite the constant running around (and now dealing with Don again).

That’s all for this week folks! Exams are over so I should be back to a Sunday night review schedule next week! Sorry about the last two weeks...

That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?

Transcendence Review: A baffling lack of nuance

Johnny Depp becomes AI in Transcendence

Transcendence

  

C+

A review by Frederick Cholowski

Sometimes you need a smaller break out to get your stride and reputation. Thus is the case for most of the recent breakout blockbuster filmmakers, the most notable of them being Christopher Nolan. Nolan started smaller which allowed him to make free and risky films to give him a feel of how to develop his voice before gaining access to the big Hollywood picture. Sadly (or at least so it seems creatively) Nolan’s former cinematographer turned director Wally Pfister doesn’t get that room for growth as he’s thrown right off the deep end with his opening film being a bigger budget blockbuster. The result is a film that takes an interesting sci-fi issue and transforms it into generic film that never lives up to any of the potential of its individual parts.

In the near future, Dr.Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) are developing new and more developed artificial intelligence. Them and a few other colleagues in the field of AI including Joseph Tagger (Morgan Freeman) and Paul Bettany (Max Waters) are targeted by a group of anti artificial intelligence mercenaries led by the mysterious Bree (Kate Mara). Will gets hit with a bullet that’s been laced with poison and only has a few weeks left to live leaving his wife and projects in dismay. In order to save her husband Evelyn transfers Will’s consciousness into his most powerful computing creation. Soon Evelyn connects this creation to the internet and it all spirals out of control threatening to control the world, forcing the government to team up with the mercenary group to try and shut it down.

Transcendence’s worst sin is that it takes a cool and potentially complex issue of artificial intelligence and turns it into a simple black and white situation. There is no pondering of the issue or any middle ground regarding the issue; instead it’s boiled down into the simplest terms. Artificial intelligence and what makes a person human are such interesting topics that could make a really awesome, thought provoking film. Instead it’s just a backdrop for the good guys and the bad guys (or potentially misunderstood guys) to battle it out for supremacy.

This ultimately wouldn’t be a complete disaster if the film didn’t make the artificial intelligence question half of the film. If the film had been a total 100% thriller or action film based on the subject it would have probably turned out okay but instead it tries to pretend to have intelligence by talking about the issue in a broad falsely dichotomized fashion. It makes the film look dumb and dull as a result. There is nothing subtle, nuanced, or interesting that comes out of this discussion that the filmmaker’s think is suppose to provoke thought on how we deal with technology.

The next biggest sin of Transcendence is that it treats its female characters very, very poorly. Evelyn doesn’t come off as a grief ridden widow determined to keep her husband alive but instead an insane, over emotional stereotype of a female character. The same is reflected in Bree who seems over impulsive and emotionally driven when she should seem like a suitable leader for this band of mercenaries. The characterization of the women wouldn’t be too problematic if the men around them weren’t depicted as rational beings whom had all of the intelligence while the women had too much emotion to do anything. But alas this is the case and throughout the film the feeling of slight sexism was hard to shake despite the female actors trying to give solid performances throughout the film.

For a first time director Pfister does a good job visually. Pfister’s cinematography always focused on big wider shots to cover the action and that is no different throughout Transcendence. Everything throughout this film is shot beautifully and everything that is presented is coherent and easy to watch. If there was a problem with the direction it’s that at time Pfister doesn’t seem to have a clear voice or style throughout the film. There are times where the direction seems like it’s from a calm and reflective film and in others it feels more like he’s making an action film. It may just be the result of the jumpy nature of the script but there are times that visually it feels like there isn’t a overly confident and collected single voice.

Despite what the title of the film suggests, there is little transcendent in Transcendence. The film stumbles with its vision, over simplifying and ultimately making generic a really cool science fiction subject while destroying its female characters in the process. The film just ends up being a very average to below average attempt at summer sci-fi fare, and a not great directing debut for cinematographer Pfister. This is one piece of science fiction that doesn’t need to be sleeked out.

Mad Men “Time Zones” Review: Everybody’s lost! Everybody’s lost!

Peggy Olsen in returning to action on Mad Men

Photo Credit: AMC TV 

And so it begins again! For the final time (or at least for half of the final time we still have to sit through a split final season… Thanks AMC) we’re back in the world of Mad Men and boy there is a lot to go over in this premiere so…

A review of Mad Men’s 7^th and final (ish) season premiere as soon as I make this conversation about coffee….

“Are you ready?”
-Freddy

So it’s only two months later and boy has so much changed. In fact this felt almost like we are in a complete establishing where everyone is mode in “Time Zones” which had a ton to cover of the course of a very short feeling hour. “Time Zones” found a lot of the characters in a state of being lost in their current positions. Familiar I guess for Don and Roger but even poor Peggy is in a state of disarray. It’s an interesting place to be in as the season begins, and “Time Zones” does a great job at establishing it.

“Time Zones” doesn’t open with Don, Peggy or any of the regulars for that matter; nope it opens with our wonderful recovering alcoholic Freddy Rumson! Yes Freddy is now the voice of Don Draper (which of course is revealed much later but the ad is so Don Draper you can almost tell/assume), and is making a name for himself through the work of the former creative master. The Accutron pitch sets us up perfectly for where we are going to go, what strange, strange places we are going to go.

So Roger is hosting an all day, every day orgy party? This seems very rock bottom for Roger (maybe where the LSD has taken him) as he seems to be lost in this predicament. He can hardly take the forgiveness charm from his daughter (who seems to have found something, therapy? LSD?) as he’s caught off guard and also finds himself detached from the situation in the first place. It seems that Roger has no clue where his life has gone, and even less of an idea of where it’s going to progress.  We saw over the last few seasons just how off Roger is about his career, and now it seems like we are going to get the same sort of thing with his personal life. It’s a little sad for Roger and the final shot of confusion on his face will hopefully, but not likely, spark a potential redemption for the old man.

Then there is Don, very, very lost Don. In a rare move for a Mad Men premiere Don doesn’t show up for a good 9 minutes, and when he does it seems so glamorous. Don gets his own big slow motion Rolling Stones backed scene where he meets his wife Megan at the arrivals section of the LA airport. Everything in that scene seems so sexy, so happy, and so right for Don, but of course as per usual it just quite frankly isn’t. Don is trying to keep his life from falling apart at the seams and, so far, it seems as though he’s not doing as well as he would probably like to. Let’s start with the marriage which is still as rocky as it has ever been, but not in the same ways. There are no blow ups, or big arguments to speak of (Megan even mentions that he’s not in California long enough for arguments) but there is just sheer lack of chemistry. They just don’t really click anymore, from Don trying to woo Megan with fancy gifts (in this case a big (for 1969) television) of which Megan wants absolutely none of, to the most awkward sex in the entire universe, these two are just holding their marriage together by a very thin thread. Even Don is at the point of admitting, in a strange moment of devil on his shoulder with ie the woman on the flight back to New York that he knows that Megan thinks he’s a horrible husband, and that what he has at the moment is a sham of what it may have been in the beginning.

The more troubling part of Don’s overall nature of being lost is the work aspect. Don’s been in a state of being lost before, whether it being in his personal life or keeping up with these kids now a days, but he has always had the constant of work to at least be able to have some outlet to get his creativity and whatever else out. Now that’s gone and has been for what seems to be for Don a very long two months. It’s gotten to the point that he’s funneling ideas through the now freelance Freddy Rumson, who is gladly taking his ideas and moving along with his life. It’s still not enough for Don who is lost not at least just going in to the office (which let’s face it was often the only thing he would do on a workday) and he’s just stuck at home to do nothing. Both Freddy and Pete are itching to try and get him to push himself back into the fold but to no avail. The final shot of him moving out to the cold patio alone and in his underwear when the sliding doors won’t close perfectly describe the sad state of Don. He’s got nowhere to go for the time being and is lost in a heap of the shadow of himself that he’s all of a sudden become.

Peggy’s doesn’t seem to be doing much better either. She’s so used to the Don order, and is ultimately so much like Don, that it’s so hard for her to bear the new, Mr. Rogers type creative head Lou Avery. It could be so easy for her to just walk through that door and work with this guy, who seems like the most sane creative head that Mad Men has ever presented, but Peggy can’t simply walk through it (in fact Lou even says “Why are you making it so hard? Open the door and walk through it.”). Peggy is so used to the hardcore, perfectionist, slightly off nature of her predecessors that she can’t stand the nice, laid back nature of the new world order. It leaves Peggy hot and bothered and attempting to ram through ideas that she knows that she can’t get through because they are way too late and spontaneous.

Not only is it frustrating professionally for Peggy, but her personal life is potentially even worse. The whole Ted situation has left her broken personally, she still ends up living in the terrible apartment with the terrible tenants, and is haunted whenever Ted shows his face back up in New York (which by how it’s presented in this episode is very often) leaving her personal life in shambles. She really has no one (she even seems to have alienated Stan by the end of this episode) both in the professional world and in her personal life and it certainly seems like it’s not a great time to be in Peggy land. The sequence at the end of the episode with her finally breaking down and crying at her apartment door perfectly reflects her position in the world at the moment, alone, personally destroyed, and unable to cope with what the rest of the world has to offer.

Finally we have the unlikely and dysfunctional duo of Ken and Joan. Full on captain eye patch Ken (I guess the eye is still healing) has now been put in charge of New York accounts and is not taking it well at all as he is crumbling under the constant stress of the job. Joan on the other hand is trying to work her way into the copy area of life, managing to defy the expectations of both a client and a University business professor, with her charms and knowledge. The scene with her defying the University professor’s expectations with her knowledge of commissions and fees (and in a funny way him defying her expectations by not being a total pig when he asked for a deal, instead asking for information for research) was a wonderful scene as was the quick turnaround that she managed to pull on the snarky client, putting the agency firmly back in control. It creates a little bit of a mentor underling relationship for Ken and Joan (even though technically speaking Joan has a higher rank than Ken) as Joan tries to get into the ropes of the accounts business. Hey we never know maybe Joan will go for head of accounts out of all this who knows.

Ultimately “Time Zones” was a strong place moving opening for the last season of Mad Men. We’re in some interesting places at the moment especially in rearguards to Don and Peggy and it’s going to be fun to see how all of these charcters ultimately get to say their final dues. We’ve only got 13 more left after this and boy I’m just happy to be back in this world with these characters again.

Some other Musings:

• California douche Pete!!! Wow was that wonderful to see Pete go unabashedly eccentric California hipster in this one after the strange crappy year that the character had last season. Poor guy just wants to get his tan on and have sandwiches with coleslaw in them! With Vincent Karthiser (along with pretty much the whole strew of California bound cast) still being regulars it’s going to be very interesting how we move from California to New York throughout the season.

• That airplane sequence with Don and the widowed potential lover was curios and fascinating. It allows Don to have the little devil on his shoulder (she clearly wants to sleep with him) and whether he will continue to ignore it like he did in this episode or whether we will add another mistress to the ever growing group. For now it seems like he’s backsliding less which is a good sign I guess.

• I wonder how the heck Betty, Henry and the kids are going to fit into this season. More Sally Draper please!

• Eye patch Ken needs to be a superhero, equipped with a Gif of him throwing that earring into oblivion (yay depth perception).

That’s it for this week folks! I’m pumped that it’s Mad Men season again and I hope this season is great, despite AMC’s strange decisions…

That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?

The Jake and Fred Show Episode 1

 Hey look a podcast! Yes the inaugural episode of the Fred and Jake show is here! This is one of hopefully two new podcasts (no promises but I'm working on it) debuting within the next few weeks. Specifically the Jake and Fred show will focus mostly on talking about a few random entertainment related topics that are topical during the week before doing a look back segment on an old, sometimes classic sometimes not, film.

This week Jake and I talk about Alien: Isolation and how it could potentially rejuvenate both the idea of an Alien game franchise and survival games in general. Our second topic focuses around the recent announcement that Pixar is now working on 2 new sequels as well as how much of an effect that Pixar films have had on both our childhoods and how we look at those films now. Then in the final segment we debut the first film look back segment with the infamous beginning of the Start Wars prequel trilogy "Episode 1 the Phantom Menace."

For now the only link to the podcast is here through Soundcloud. Once I get the RSS Feed thing figured out and try to get the show posted on Itunes I will update this post.

Link to the show on Soundcloud

On the next show (hopefully next week I have to find a good day to edit and post it) the movie we are going to talk about is, of course, Star Wars Episode 2 Attack of the Clones (ugh). For now if you want to watch along and share your thoughts potentially at the show comment on this post. By the time the next episode is released I should either have a proboards page, or an email address ready for feedback and movie responses.

Girls: “Two Plane Rides” Review: Welcome to Broadway

Shoshona and Ray have some awkward moments on Girls

Photo Credit: HBO 

A review of Girls’ season finale (and a few thoughts on the season as a whole) as soon as I feel out the gender of my unborn child…

Oh bittersweet melancholy…

Girls (one of my absolute favorite shows on television) wrapped up its third season to more and more of the bittersweetnes that the series knows all too well. “Two Plane Rides” was another perfectly toned finale that, even better than in past years managed to wrap the season’s themes into a nice bow of beauty and sadness. Better yet it made Season 3, unlike its predecessor, to feel better than the sum of its parts, managing to better balance its strange ideas, character beats, and plot better than it managed in, say the end of last season.

The place we leave Hannah in this season is interesting. Most of this season seems to be tied to how Hannah has begun to grow up in some ways and stay in the same place in others. On one hand we see her get some professional direction with her acceptance to grad school in Iowa (and the best writing school in America none the less), but at the same time personally, and especially here with Adam, seems to be going close to nowhere. She still needs that moment of being special, and thus despite knowing better than anyone Adam’s negative reaction, decides to tell him about Iowa right before he goes on opening night. The scene where she does tell him is beautifully uncomfortable in that way that only Girls can manage to make it, providing that wonderful reaction of “why would she do this?” while still keeping it with in the territory of something that Hannah Horvath would actually do.

Of course it leaves Adam and Hannah’s relationship on the rocks, which for the most part is nothing new for the show. The way that it does leave it on the rocks though is a fascinating new place providing numerous different options of where this could go as the series moves on. The final shot of the finale that shows Hannah hugging the Iowa acceptance letter suggesting that we could go off into strange new territory, one that could potentially be an interesting departure for the series as a whole. It also allows us to ponder just how stable this relationship between Adam and Hanna is, and whether Hanna’s attempt to feel special, instead of waiting on breaking the news, has cost her the relationship.

Relationship drama doesn’t end with Hannah, in the ball goes quite firmly into Shoshana’s court as well. Shosh finds herself in quite the situation in this finale, being three credits short of being able to graduate university, and having Ray flat out reject her as he feels potentially “better off” without her. The scene in which Shoshana painfully proclaims her desperate love for Ray while he coldly rejects her is one of the most painful scenes this season and easily the best work that Zosia Mamott has done so far on the show. The dramatic angle that this season has brought the character is very suiting and has made Shoshana a much more satisfying character as the season has progressed.

If I had a problem with the way the finale wrapped up it would be that the show still has very little idea of how to handle Jess and her messiness. Even this season with two episodes to work with her arc still seems incomplete and rushed in so many ways. It’s way too quick for Beadie to want to commit suicide and then go against it by wanting to call 911 immediately afterwards, it seems like that whole arc needed a few more episodes to develop and give us an idea of where Jessa has gone as this season has progressed.

Some other musings:

• Marnie is playing man stealer as this episode goes along. She really brings out the desperateness in Shoshana when she talks about sleeping with Ray right to her without real remorse. Then she goes and steals a few kisses from Desi, and awkwardly confronts his girlfriend (in a similar dress none the less) in the bathroom a little later in the episode.

• Ray has yet to learn how to dress to Elijah’s standards for a formal event.

• Those textbooks really can break windows!

That’s it for Girls this season! Another really good one indeed! We’ll have to wait and see whether we will be spending a ton of time in Iowa I guess…

That’s just me folks. What did everyone else think?

Live Blogging the Oscars 2014

How long will the Oscars last??

It's Oscar time again!!!! It's going to be a long show so strap in, grab some snacks and join me for this year's Oscar's live blog 2014. I'm going to be commenting on the awards, all the filler, and counting all my picks to see just how right I am! Also I'll be keeping track of the points for this year's Outpick Fred at the Oscars to see who will win (this year it's looking pretty grim for my picks in the contest). So follow me throughout the evening as I cover the Oscars as they air:

4:12- So I'm a sucker apparently 4pm doesn't actually mean 4pm in Oscar world... Show is set to start at 5:30 I'll see you then...

5:29- Ok here we go! A little uneasy with the lack of overdone video package....

5:40- Elen's not bad so far... A few of her jokes weren't funny, but for the most part it worked ok. Nice finish with the 12 Years a Slave joke overall I was decently happy with it

5:40-On to best supporting actor with the very awkward Anne Hathaway

5:42 Jared Leto with the predictable win. Would have liked to see Fassbender but I get the first prediction correct. Good speech, gone very long as expected given the producers. Fred Picks 1/1

5:46- Elen does the Anne Hathaway joke from a few years ago but less awkwardly and not with a stoned looking James Franco

5:48- Hey look it's a segment to make the show go long! This time a tribute to animation ie a bunch of clips set to music... And the great Jim Carry

5:50- Hey look it's that we're trying to be too much like the grammy's and tony's thing.... Starting with Pherell Williams... These should have all happened in one montage... Like the animation one...

5:54- Hey look almost a half an hour in and only one award presented... This is going to be a long show....

5:56- Hey look finally another award! Let's see how long the tech people get to speak!!

5:58- Yup I really screwed up on this pick... Great Gatsby wins this one easily... And there goes my win I do believe in  the contest Fred's picks 1/2

6:00- Redeamed myself with Hair and makeup.... Although it was an easy pick... Apparently we fought for the hair and makeup of Dallas Buyers Club! Short speech though no Jared Leto's here! Fred's Picks 2/3

6:02- Hey it's Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal skull... No they're taking cues from the Golden Globes... No.. Not the stupid films clip packages! No!! Why?? What's the freaking point?

6:09- Hey animation! Go Mathew McConaughey go all Rust and talk about life the universe and everything! Animated Short, a category I don't generally pick!

6:13- Ok best animated feature ie the category that Frozen will win.... And Frozen wins... Shocker! *Sarcasm* Hey they're going to keep it short well done Disney animated studios people! Fred's Picks 3/4

6:16- That was really lame Ellen.... There must be something wrong with this teleprompter everyone is tripping up on their lives... Ok why do we have these video packages these don't celebrate film, they are redundant and messy... Can we just let the tech people speak more or make this show shorter?

6:20- Hey it's Hermione and Batman Jr. doing visual effects ie the award if Gravity doesn't win there should be an uprising... And Gravity wins! Woot I guess! It's all about the team they say while Gordon Levitt seems to mock them in the background... Hey they get to speak! Good job all around... Fred's Picks 4/5

6:24- Time for another song from the "most important not important category!" At least we get to hear Karen O who is very good

6:29- Ellen update... Most of her jokes have been misses

6:30- Hey shorts now time for a quick break... Although I will stick around to see what the tiebreak winner is... So Helium is the winner for best live action short... One person got it in the contest so if it comes down to it said person has the leg up!

6:35- God Ellen is becoming a little unbearable... Oh Documentary time... If I loose this I'm done... Go Act of Killing! Winner is.... 20 Feet from Stardom... Yup I'm done in the contest looks like we're going to have a winner this year! Sad Act of Killing is a special documentary... Fred's Picks 4/6

6:39- Yay Kevin Spacey!!! Who gets to do 10 seconds of his House of Cards accent! He looks board, about as board as I am at this point...

6:47- Hey look it Obi wan Kenobi! And Ms monotone I mean Viola Davis... Foreign film which should have gone to Blue is the Warmest Color... Winnner is The Great Beauty! No surprise there 5/7...

6:50- Tyler Perry??? Disappointed he's not dressed as Madea because that shtick hasn't gotten old... He's introducing more stupid video packages... Why did they take the worst part of the Golden Globes? Couldn't they have gotten Tina and Amy instead? God Ellen still isn't funny...

6:54- So U2's now the biggest band in the world? That's a reach... Why did we waste Brad Pitt for U2 by the way? Gahh none of this makes any sense... Bono is shouting way too much and can't hit high notes really well but otherwise he's fine... Ps the sound mixing is awful as they aren't miking the guy who is singing Bono's high notes at all...

7:01- Ellen is still terrible... Where is the Pizza? This selfie Joke is really bad and has gone on way too long... Where's Billy Crystal when you need him? I mean people insult him for being safe but at least he's funny... Hey it's Wallace and Veronica Mars!!! God Michael B Jordan and Kristen Bell got to host the tech show? Why couldn't they have hosted this show???

7:06- Sound awards... Gravity wins mixing! No surprise there! Got another pick... it looks like 2 picks wrong seems like a bad score so far though... Fred's Picks 6/8... Sound Editing... Also Gravity! No surprise well deserved awards though! Wow could we be exposing how terrible Alfonso Caurone is to his staff? Probably not Fred Picks 7/9

7:11- How can you tell that the show is running behind time... How fast Christoph Waltz is walking! Woops camera 1 where are you? On to supporting actress... Great clip for June Squibb.... Winner is Lupita Nyong'o! Great win! Absolutely deserved!!! She gets a deserved standing ovation! Great speech too! She's trying so hard not to cry and is so excited! Good for her! 8/10

7:20- Pizza is here!!! Finally... That Pizza company is really slow... Sorry Ellen I doubt a billion people are watching this.... Hey Marty gets pizza!!!

7:24- Not going to make too many jokes about the museum but boy are those designs ugly... Cinematography time... Or best shooter.... Gravity needs to win this for that tracking shot... Great Job Bill for giving the shout out to Harold Ramis!! Gravity wins! Fred's picks 9/11

7:29- Time for Film Editing... Another award that Gravity should win.... And it does! Fred's Picks 10/12

7:32- Whoopi Goldberg! Where's Billy Crystal? Can we please just have Billy Crystal? Wizard of Oz celebration time! At least it isn't just just a video package... The Garland kids are here! Why is Pink doing the Wizard of Oz tribute? Everything makes no sense!!

7:36- That being said I'm surprised Pink isn't terrible! This is the best musical segment they've done so far.... Not saying too much... Still confused why it's Pink and Whoopi Goldberg.... At least for the Bond tribute last year they got Shirley Bassey...

7:42- Really Ellen?... Still terrible... Oh hey there's production design! Why is it this late in the show? This should have happened with hair and makeup and Costume design.... Winner is The Great Gatsby... Deserved... at least I picked this right unlike my slip up in costume design... Fred's Picks 11/13

7:47- This show would be a lot shorter without all these stupid video packages... At this rate this show is never going to end.... Gahhh!!!

7:52- In Memoriam time hopefully they don't screw it up and turn it into a musical number like last time... Goodness we lost a lot of people this year....And yup it's a musical number again.... Why? Can't we just honor those people we lost without having an overindulgent song? And a bad song at that... Why do we have to make it about some singer? Can't we just make it about the people we lost? Anyways....

8:01- Can this just be over already? I don't remember this show being this painful last year... Maybe I don't remember things properly...

8:05- My god this show is never going to end!!!!!! More video packages!!! We still have a ton of awards to go folks and we're almost 3 hours in!!!

8:07- Ok at least here is the final song performance... This show just needs to end now

8:11- Idina Menzel is pretty fantastic! Hey remember those days where the band was actually at the theater... No? God Jamie Fox is terrible but at least he has some energy in him unlike the person typing this right now... Finally it's score and original score time... Score goes to Gravity.... Not surprised! Good win! Fred's Picks 12/14

8:15- God almost through the music stuff... Original Song goes to.... Let it Go! Again limited surprises at these Oscars... Nice rhyming speech though! Made the most out of what they got! Fred's Picks 13/15

8:22- Ok this Pizza thing is now old... Deniro!!! Finally screenplay.... Adapted Screenplay... Go Before Midnight... (it won't win)... winner is 12 Years a Slave! Yet to to be surprised by a win yet the two picks I made early were just either stupid or followed the heart... Good speech by Ridley... If before midnight weren't nominated I would cheer this more...  Fred's Picks 14/16... Now for Original Screenplay... Can Woody Alan win so that we don't have to hear a speech? Winner is Her! Deserved win! God you give Spike Jonze 42 seconds to win because you gave all those minutes to stupid video packages??!! Gahhhhh! Fred's Picks 15/17

8:28- Ps Ellen is still terrible! And this show still hasn't ended!

8:31- There is totally a problem with this teleprompter.... Could we just get this over with? Directing time folks! Winner is... Alfonso Cauron! Deservingly so he made the best looking film of the year! Great speech on Cauron's part! Get's laughs! That's a relief! Fred's Picks 16/18

8:37- God they teased the show ending!!! Please let this show end!!!

8:40- Daniel Day Lewis!!!!!! Can he make this show better please? Nope he just gets to say one line! Best actress in a leading role time! Winner is.... Cate Blanchett! Again no surprise here! Well deserved though! Great Speech! Fred's Picks 17/19

8:47- Best Actor time... Still puzzled why Bale was nominated... Winner is Matthew McConaughey! Hugs Dicaprio... Love the guy but sad that Dicaprio nor Ejiofor.... Alright alright alright great speech... No surprises from the acting category Fred's Picks 18/20

8:54- Finnnnnnallly Best Picture time!!! god it has taken so long to get here! Could Will Smith hurry the heck up?? And the ultimate winner is.... 12 Years a Slave.... Really no surprises at all! Deserved win.... I did love this film so no bitterness at all In total I went 19/21... Better than last year... But not enough to win... Someone went perfect in Outpick Fred at the Oscars this year Congratulations to Jimmy Orsag!!! You win! I'll email you (if your reading this) sometime later tonight and get the film sometime tomorrow! For now thank God this show is over!!! Hosting was terrible! Pacing was terrible! Show was predictable! Goodnight folks finally thanks for reading!