Not "Sports" Banter, Per Se

I know very little about movies. Anyone that knows me, knows this.

Tangent: I just learned Helena Bonham Carter's actual name earlier this week (I could have sworn it was Helen Obama Carter). Good thing I never had any reason to use her name.

But, I do know about gambling, and I do know about opportunity, and I do know there are gambling opportunities related to movies. Bodog.com offers some great ones.

Look at the odds for Best Actress. Syosset native, Natalie Portman is a 1/12 favorite to bring home the honor for her work in Black Swan. Now, I didn't see the movie, but if the trailers are any indication, I thought her work in Sex Friends - or whatever that flick she did with Ashton Kutcher was called - looked more interesting, and that's not saying much.

For what it's worth, I'm taking a shot on Nicole Kidman despite never having seen the Roger Rabbit sequel, either.



Not to be outdone, some dude named Colin Firth is a 1/33 favorite to win Best Actor. One to Thirty-Three! Why would anyone ever make a bet on Firth here, and how good could he have possibly been? (I guess I should see this movie so I know for future reference what kind of standards actors should be held to.)

If Bodog offers the "Field" at 10/1, I'm jumping on it.



As for Best Picture, I only saw three of the 10 nominated films:



Inception: If not for Leo, this film would have tanked. [The snow-fight scene may have been the dumbest scene of any movie made in the last five years. I was actually laughing at how stupid it was.] Leo should be nominated for Best Actor for making it watchable. Think Andre Dawson winning the NL MVP in 1987 when the Cubs went 76-85 (how bad would they have been without him?).

The Fighter: I liked this one and will take a shot at 50/1.

The Social Network: I liked this one as well, especially since it was filmed at Johns Hopkins, not Harvard.

If we learned anything this award season, it's that the way to get your academy noticed is to make waves. Look at the Recording Academy and the work they did at the Grammy's.

Esperanza Spalding over Justin Beiber for Best New Artist? Mindboggling.

Or how about my favorite #wtf moment of the night:

Category: Best Alternative Music Album
Nominees: Broken Bells, The Black Keys, Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend
Winner: The Black Keys

Now, on to Album of the Year...
Nominees: Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, Lady Antebellum
Winner: Arcade Fire

This means Arcade Fire lost their own genre, but won best overall. How does that make any sense?

Any time, people are unaccountably in charge of voting for these awards, there is opportunity for corruption ... and to make money.

Don't ride the favorites. You'll thank me later.