hindsight: the Oscars in review

alright: well 15 of 24 is respectable. good enough to help one of my buddies to some office pool winnings, of which i shall (allegedly) be receiving an appropriately respectable 10%. most impressive is the 11/13 hit in what i'll call the top tier categories. misses on supporting actress and documentary feature were surprising, although i feel i should have seen the former coming.

i acknowledged that michael clayton was otherwise looking at a shutout on the evening, and with critical accolades being so evenly distributed among all the nominated ladies, the most likely beneficiary would stand to be indy queen swinton. she did/does consistently tremendous work, is highly respected by critics and peers alike, and it was too early for ryan, too small a role for dee, too many kudos for blanchett. that's the way it's done.
taxi to the dark side would have been my third pick for doc feature. surprise. bound to miss a few.

missed my 50/50 call on costume: my should win, elizabeth, did win. that has me look kinda right. right?
i tend to be real crap on tagging the technical awards and the shorts. just don't have my finger on the pulse of those conversations within the industry.
i definitely felt a disturbance in the force when i realized that i had predicted transformers would take home the second-most hardware. that just seemed too unlikely. and i kick myself for not seeing that bourne would be the most obvious choice in the sound categories. after all, we're talking Respect here. those filmmakers have it in spades, while michael bay gets...well, not as much.
visual effects? golden compass = mild surprise.
bourne for editing = big surprise. hell yes, Absolutely a well-earned trophy, yet a shocker nonetheless. bourne really turned out to be--next to the coens--the big winner of the night, coming from out of nowhere to take home three.

scoreboard looks like this:
no country for old men, 4
the bourne ultimatum, 3
there will be blood & la vie en rose, 2
with the rest of the wealth evenly distributed. and rightfully so.

i was Elated with the outcome of the categories that mattered most to me this year--actress and song.
i felt that marion cotillard's performance was one of the best in recent memory, and it would have been a shame if she were passed over. then Wow, she couldn't have been any cuter in her acceptance. her shock in the moment was palpable, and even as she left stage you could see she was Still trying to get a grip. adorable. Gorgeous and Talented and adorable.
once was my feel-good favorite film of the year, a thoroughly moving piece of artistry on every level. i shared the joy of victory with millions of other die-hard fans (i speak for them all when i say we feel we know hansard & irglova; they are our friends; we Love them) when they trumped the mouse house. my top memory of the evening was jon stewart's gracious gesture of bringing irglova back out to the mic after commercial break, and she made the most of her opportunity with words both heartfelt and inspiring.
overall, a good night at the academy awards. nothing earth-shattering, but definitely entertaining. the kind we've come to expect. why they play the game. why we watch.
the show--good: 3 stars
my picks--respectable: 3 stars