Hiatus is off and Oscar lament

Due to a recent series of tragic and poorly timed catastrophes, I have been away from my blog. These events range from my wife being in the hospital to losing my job. Now that I have these things under some control, I feel that I can let my creative vomit spew forth from my mind again and contribute my insane babblings to my blog.

With that brief intro, I would like to slip right into something about the Oscars last night. I was outraged to see that none of my "Best Movies of 2004" list were even considered or mentioned. My top-five list of movies is as follows:

1. Shaun of the Dead (Best Movie)
2. Shaun of the Dead (Best Directing: Edgar Wright)
3. Shaun of the Dead (Best lead actor: Simon Pegg)
4. Shaun of the Dead (Best supporting actor: Nick Frost)
5. Shaun of the Dead (Best Zombie flick of the year)

There was no mention of the finest cinematic achievement of 2004 at last night's Oscars. Why? I can only think that it has something to do with the fact that the Academy is out of touch with what the average American really likes in movies. Or, perhaps the Academy was too afraid to admit that the witty British humor and outstanding dialogue of Shaun of the Dead was far beyond their grasp.

If you are unfamiliar with Shaun of the Dead, shame on you. I encourage you to become familiar with it. One of the things that makes this movie superb is the exquisite humor throughout the entire movie. Even at the worst possible moment for the hero and his friends, you feel detached from the horror because the fun supersedes the sting of "scary". Shaun of the Dead provides you with the classic thrill of awesome zombie hordes, who are hell-bent on eating the living and gives you a look into what an average slacker can achieve when motivated by not being eaten.

Things you cannot miss in this movie include; the druken rendition of the 80's classic "White Lies", cricket bat meets zombie head, a zombified groom, zombie death-accompanied by Queen, Ed's off-color overtures to Barbara, zombie game shows, Mary's impalement and the "Harry Potter" look alike who gets what he deserves.

Though I must give props to the uber-action packed, extra-scary, bed-wetting fun of Dawn of the Dead; Shaun of the Dead didn't leave me wanting to sleep with a shotgun at night.