Here we got the the 2016 edition of the "The EE British Academy Film Awards" or, in short, the BAFTAs. It ran for about two hours including a brief introduction and it was hosted as always by Stephen Fry. I like him and I think he did a good job once again with the exception of the political references in his opening monologue, one anti-Trump of course as it was hip back then, another one against creationism. But I really liked his words after the in memoriam sequence and the way he closed the ceremony was handled nicely too (of course he has lots of experience there from QI) mixing important words with a joke on his after-show activities. His material in general was strong and frequently funny and I hope he returns a couple more times to host. He has a great talent in getting in fun as well as significance without ever making it look pretentious. As for the winners, it could have been better or worse. The ones that stood out for me positively were Mark Rylance's and especially Brie Larsen's wins. Lubezki managed the triple here like at the Oscars too which is very impressive. Inside Out truly deserved the win. Good for Morricone too. And I cannot deny Rebel Wilson was really funny here. Kinda embarrassing though by the Revenant actor referencing her later on. Pure bandwagon stuff. What I also didn't like was the Screenplay win for The Big Short. The BAFTAs really messed up in screenplay recently, also with the 2 wins for David O. Russell. The Boyega win was also ridiculous given who he was up against, although you could argue of course if Larsen still was considered a rising star. And Winslet was not even close to greatness in Steve Jobs. Baffled by her awards attention there. Luckily the Oscars got it right by honoring Vikander, even if she was lead probably. Big night for The Revenant there, a bit on the surprising side, but again the Oscars decided differently for Best Picture. I don't have a clear favorite between The Revenant or Spotlight. As long as The Big Short didn't win, I'd have been fine with all the other four. Many stunning women there that night: Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Johnson, Rooney Mara, Caroline Bartleet and certainly a couple others I forgot. Interestingly enough the two most nominated films went home almost completely without win's. 1 for Rylance and Bridge of Spies, nothing for Carol. And finally I liked how they showed some categories that did not fit in the TV broadcast for time reasons. If you have to let them out, then watch and learn. BAFTAs did it right there. And very finally, a general statement: We can be glad film award ceremonies still focus on the awards unlike music awards ceremonies that have turned into concert shows basically. This one here deserves to be seen. I give it a thumbs-up.
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