Another Year Another Oscars

It's not exactly live blogging, but here were my impressions as they gave out the Oscars. Not on the show, just the categories.

Best Costume--didn't they used to start with supporting actors? Elizabeth wins. I had no clue. Could have been any of them. Enjoy your short stay on top, Elizabeth.

Animated film. Boy it would be amazing if Persepolis won, but there's no way--it's Ratatouille. Well, at least it's a good film.

Makeup--I'd love to see Norbit win just because it's generally considered to be the worst film of the year. But the winner is, predictably, La Vie En Rose. The aging they did of Marion Cotillard was great.

Visual Effects. All blockbuster style, and Golden Compass wins. Could have been any. I would have chosen Transformers.

Art Direction. Amazing how many awards they go through before you get anything anyone cares about. Winner, Sweeney Todd. Why not?

Finally, Supporting Actor. It may be a lock, but people across the world start paying attention. Winner, of course, is Javier Bardem. Only real competititon is sentimental fave Hal Holbrook.

Short Film means nothing to anyone, since no one's seen them. When they used to let anyone vote even if they hadn't seen them, you could pick to winner based on the best-sounding title.

Animated Short--see above.

Supporting Actress--now we're talking. The most competitive category of the night (that anyone cares about). The Academy goes for Tilda Swinton, a surprise victory. Does this bode well for Michael Clayton?

Now they're announcing technical awards--they must be even more boring than they stuff they're showing, since they already gave them out.

Wow, Adapted Sceenplay Award, another biggie. To no one's surprise, it goes to the Coens for No Country For Old Men. I get the feeling they're not done for the evening.

Sound Editing--one of the two sound awards, that no one can distinguish. Bourne Ultimatum wins because, I think, the Academy liked both the sound and the editing in the film. Right on its heels the same guys give the Sound Mixing award because no one would set for a second introduction to set it up. Bourne wins again for that great sound.

Hey! Best Actress. They're really mixing it up. There's a strong favorite here, but not a lock, in Julie Christie. And the second favorite wins! Marion Cotillard. 1) If Christie didn't have one already, who knows what would have happened? 2) A very continental night. We've given out three acting awards and not a single American has won yet. 3) This sort of stuff makes the Oscar poll more interesting. 4) When Daniel Day-Lewis wins I assume it'll be the first time no Americans got an acting prize.

Editing. Will Bourne keep winning the tech stuff? Yes, it does. I guess the lack of above-the-line nominees must mean the script sucks.

Foreign language film--the only controversy here is the great films that weren't eligible or nominated. The expected winner is The Counterfeiters and the expected happens. I haven't seen it, and though I've heard it's good, it's also a topic that often wins Oscars.

Best Song. Since Enchanted had three nominations, it split it's vote so of course, "Falling Slowly" from Once wins.

Cinematography, maybe the most interesting of the technical awards. Oscar goes to There Will be Blood. Does this help in its shot at Best Picture? No, I'd say.

Best Score, always fun. Atonement, which had a main theme I found memorably annoying.

Now the moment no one is waiting for, Short Documentary. Apparently the winner is about some worthwhile topic. Maybe it's even good, I don't know. Now, much worse, best Feature Documentary, which'll either be something against Iraq or Michael Moore. It's one of the Iraq pieces. The audience applauds their nobility.

Best Original Screenplay. I've been waiting for this since I simply want to hear what Diablo Cody has to say. Her victory is a done deal. It turns out to be tearful but not that funny. Come on, Diablo, make with the Juno wisecracks.

Best Actor, lock of the night. Daniel Day-Lewis fumbles through his speech. (Still sounds like George Harrison.) There Will Be Blood seems to be leading in the major awards battle, could that mean....nah!

Best Director, as predicted, goes to the Coens. Two brothers, two awards. Makes sense.

Finally the big award. Once again, no surprise (no major surprises tonight, though a few minor ones): No Country For Old Men. And Joel and Ethan come up on stage for the third time tonight, though Scott Rudin accepts.

By the way, the show ran pretty smoothly. It's a good thing they didn't have a lot of time to prepare.