'Hello. Positive thoughts erm ...'

Film I wasn't going to write about The Baftas, but really, wasn't it the daffiest awards ceremony you've ever seen? Throughout there was the dangerous feeling that it could all go Brits '90 at any minute, even with Stephen Fry behind the podium. If your eyes didn't widen when Gillian Anderson, looking fabulous, seemed to momentarily forget where she was or Richard Gere treating the thing like a birthday party for his wife ('Stand Up Dear') then frankly you've seen too many of these things. As category after category was given to the dark horse candidate I really thought Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would win Best Picture. I mean even Charlie Kauffman was there (picking up a well deserved mask for his script... again). Although frankly I've never seen what the real one looks like so it could have been an imposter and I'd be none the wiser. I just feel as though a Best Picture should go to something extra-ordinary we haven't seen before. The Aviator isn't a poor film -- it just feels like a boring choice from the films nominated, like American Beauty the year that was going around winning everything. It's an HBO film of the week on a larger budget and with better pacing.