Here we have the 71st British Academy Awards that actually aired tonight, ended less than an hour ago, so my review is as fresh as it gets. The host this time was not Stephen Fry sadly, but Joanna Lumley and I must say I found her very bland and hardly any of her jokes worked. Then again, there was nothing daring at all about her material, almost cowardly. The introduction to Daniel Craig at the very end was the best example. Bring back Fry next year please. I know they may want to have preferred a woman this time in the face of all the Weinstein controversy, but sttill they should be able to do better than that. As for the acting winners: McDormand, Oldman, Janney and Rockwell have been sweeping the awards season and this evening here brought no change at all. It's fix. However, the win by 3 Billboards for Best Film makes the Oscar race interesting again. Can it beat The Shape of Water, where Del Toro seems to have his director trophy safe for sure now. This awards show here was not too long, stayed comfortably under 2 hours. Other expected winners were Coco, Ivory and Desplat, but the original screenplay category stays wide open with McDonagh triumphing this time and will Roger Deakins really win his first Oscar this year? I wish it could be for a better film than the new Blade Runner though.One category winners include Phantom Thread, Baby Driver and Dunkirk. And of course the sexual discrimination subject was omnipresent again tonight, but I don't want to say anything more about that. The inclusion is telling enough. BAFTA Fellowship went to Ridley Scott this time and he sure is deserving, even if I must say somehow that I just cannot get used to including this segment after all the awards, even if it is tradition somehow at the BAFTAs. The in memoriamm sequence was fine, pretty touching at times and representing all the ones we lost, including very recently Golden Globe winner Johansson way to early, let me say that they shall all rest in peace, especially Roger Moore and I need to emphasize that as a James Bond fan. So some good moments and some not so good for this night all in all and I still believe finally that all the awards should be presented during the broadcast. Make the show longer if you don't fit it in, but don't discriminate against certain categories, especially if anti-discrimination is a key this awards ceremony. All in all, a thumbs-up from me. Go watch it if you haven't already and if you like awards shows.
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