Oscar Night: The Big Screen Hits The Small Screen

We here at Token White Girl would just like to remind you that The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (aka The Oscars) are tomorrow night, March 7 at 8:00 pm eastern time. 5:00 pm pacific, on ABC. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will share hosting duties this year (this could be hilarious or a new human form of Lunesta), as the ceremony is streamed live from The Kodak Theater in Hollywood. In an unprecedented move, The Academy has nominated a record 10 films for Best Picture this year, which are: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up and Up In The Air. (We here at Token White Girl are a bit partial to Up. There are few animated features that are poignant and sincere enough to bring us to tears. Plus, Russel is the adorably charming fat kid we love to love.) You can check out all of the other nominees in their prescribed categories HERE. And while another Token White Girl fave, New Moon, went unnominated (BASTARDS.), Twilight Saga stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will be in attendance and are said to be presenting at the show. (We can't wait to see what frock K. Stew is gonna ROCK!) Sadly, our homeboy R. Pattz will not be at The Oscars, as he is across the pond in London filming Bel Ami. Tune in tomorrow night to see who wins and who's wearing what at The Oscars. (You can even print out your very own ballot and play along from your living room!)

Up In The Air: A Terminally 'Good' Movie

Any movie that can pull off a cameo from Young M.C. (BUST A MOVE!) is bound to be a good movie. Up In The Air is that good movie. (And yes, it really does house an appearance from Young M.C.) I'm no member of The Academy, so I'm not exactly sure WHY Up In The Air has earned so many Oscar nominations, but it was indeed a touching and poignant film. Oh, and one more thing. I have to confess that I'm not so big on the Clooney. Not so much. No. 'Haven't really been a big fan of his work since he filled the shoes of Dr. Doug Ross on ER. He's just another Irishman. Who looks like most of my cousins. Father's side. Having said that, I enjoyed George Clooney as Ryan Bingham.

Ryan Bingham, a terminal bachelor living in endless airport terminals, is likely not much of a "departure" for the chronic single guy, Clooney, but perhaps that's what pushes Clooney's perfomance forward. Ryan Bingham is a frequent flyer mile junkie who travels the country as a "termination specialist," who fires people for a living and goes out of his way to lead an uncluttered, detached existence. An existence that balances on the proverbial edge when his company seeks to cut all company travel in favor of a live video feed firing system developed by Bingham's young, idealistic co-worker, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick).

The journey to save his job is long, dirtied and burdened with messy people that Ryan would rather not be weighing his "backpack" down with... sisters and a casual love interest, Alex (Vera Faminga), turned utterly and hopelessly complicated in a move that not only completely blindsides Ryan Bingham, but the audience as well. Bingham's character arc is better defined as a character "almost," because the precipice of change leads Ryan right back to the American Airlines cabin he boasts as "home." The films hosts characters whose lives are remarkably all Up In The Air, with everyone making a purposeful landing minus Mr. Bingham.

Once more, I don't know the checklist of components for Oscar Worthy, but Up In The Air is still a film worth its hour and forty minutes. It speaks to those still working to stay ahead of a rocky economy and those of us who find ourselves in those awkward transition periods that tend to make or break us. To quote Clooney as Bingham in full-on fire speak, "Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now. And it's because they sat there [firing chair] that they were able to do it." If you have the opportunity to catch Up In The Air before it blows out of the theaters completely, do it. Jason Reitman probably needs another Bentley or something.

Up In The Air Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor, George Clooney; Supporting Actress, Vera Farminga and Anna Kendrick; Director, Jason Reitman; and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Date Night: K. Stew and T. Lau Hit The Oscars.

E! Online is reporting that Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner are both presenting at The Academy Awards this year. In her endearingly awkward style, Kristen is already planning her wardrobe for the awards gala, “I’ve been looking at shoes,” she said. “I’m trying to pick shoes that I know I won’t fall down in.” We are now officially justified in spending 3 to 4 long, painful hours watching The Oscars on Sunday, March 7. The telecast kicks off at 8:00 pm eastern time, 5:00 pm on the west coast, and is being hosted jointly by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.