The latest post-Oscar wrap-up on the Internet!

So, I never got around to commenting on the Oscars back when they happened, then it felt like too much time had gone by to mention them.  But it has been suggested to me that I should do it anyway, and since I doubt this is widely-read, why not.

Overall, a good show.  The focus on the history of the Oscars was a little disappointing, as at times the proceedings felt a little (a lot?) too self-congratulatory, but Jon Stewart was a funny, compassionate host (when he brought the co-winner of the Best Original Song Oscar back on stage to finish her speech, he instantly created the most talked about moment of the evening).  Surely the writers' strike was to blame for much of the less-than-inspired content, as things were pulled together at the last minute, so all things considered, bravo.

Some of the awards seemed like foregone conclusions (I can't recall an Oscars when I was so sure of the Best Picture winner), while others were a surprise, but with such a remarkably solid list of nominees it was nice to see the little golden men distributed widely.  I revisited No Country for Old Men two nights ago and liked it even more than the first time; it is a worthy Best Picture winner that has no easy answers, and leaves much more open for interpretation than you would expect.  It also contains the most suspenseful sequence in any movie this year.

I was 10 for 25 on my guesses, not bad, not as good as some friends.  I'm not usually very good at predicting these things anyway - in the summer, I thought Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe would be competing for Best Actor oscars thanks to American Gangster, and was wrong on both counts (I also thought - and still do, mind you - American Gangster deserved a nod for its phenomenally understated, yet completely revelatory, costume design.  Crowe barely had to speak, we could just look at what he was wearing and know what his character was all about.)