Well, needless to say, I am very disappointed in the Academy for giving crap like The Departed the Oscar for Best Picture.  Don’t get me wrong, The Departed was spectacularly acted, but it wasn’t anywhere close to deserving of the highest award.  Of all the eligible films I saw last year, I can think of at least 18 films that were beyond a doubt more deserving.  Now, I understand that trying to judge art is entirely subjective, and that just because a film wins an Oscar does not make it better than another film (and vice versa), but the Oscars have always been very important to me.  I’m not entirely sure why, but I have a deep personal connection to them, and have for as long as I can remember.  I can’t recall ever having missed any of the ceremonies, though I cannot recall when I first started watching.  I don’t think it’s the glamour, the celebrities, the jokes or any of those things that make it so endearing to me.  I think, for me, it’s the fact that it is taking one of the things I love the most, and celebrating it as fully as possible.  Sure, there are mistakes and biases inherent in the awards themselves, but for me Oscar Night is a night not about specific films but about cinema as a whole.  It’s a night for me to justify my love for film to myself.  I love it when the films that have meant so much to me win awards because it shows that I’m not out of my mind, and that I’m attached to something of value, instead of to useless fluff.  It shows to me that movies aren’t just about shoveling handfuls of popcorn in your mouth (by the way, check out the most awesome Strong Bad E-mail Ever!) or about escaping from reality or having fun.  Movies are our dreams (so says Scorsese) and they at least mean more to me than just that.  I don’t go to all these movies because I’m bored on the weekends, or because I’m a loser, or whatever, I go because they speak to me, they teach me, they make me think, they make me feel, they show me things that I’d otherwise never get a chance to see.  What I love about the Oscars is that they acknowledge this, the hard work and the effort that goes into an art form that can do all those things, and still entertain and enthrall, and can mean so many different things to so many different people the world over.  It’s a big part of my dream to be a director someday.  Not necessarily winning or even being nominated, but just being a part of it all.

So I get disappointed when they choose to award a film like The Departed, which had no purpose or reason behind it except to show that people are ugly to themselves and to one another.  While this is a worthwhile subject to explore, there was no why behind it, it didn’t matter why the people acted the way they do, or what they can do to change or make things better, it just simply showed that they were that way.  It lacked everything that gives movies more depth than just a simple still picture.

Other than The Departed, however, I was fairly pleased with the award winners.  I only got 13/24 correct from my predictions, the same tally as last year, though I only got 5 out of the big 8 correct this year.  I was wrong about both awards The Departed won, and was wonderfully surprised by Alan Arkin’s win for Little Miss Sunshine.  I still would have given the award to Eddie Murphy, but I think Arkin was fantastic as well.  I was happy for Scorsese, even if I didn’t agree, and was thrilled with the wins by Mirren and Hudson, both of whom shined out brightly above the rest.  I also think it’s great for the Academy to show that singing and acting are not mutually exclusive.

I was also surprised by Pan’s Labyrinth, which won several awards I didn’t think it would, and lost what I thought was a sure bet because of publicity alone for Best Foreign Language Film.  Melissa Ethridge’s win for Best Song also shocked me, and I was pleased that they didn’t bow to Dreamgirls just because of its 3 nominations.

I thought Ellen Degenerous did a good job hosting.  She was calm and sweet and warm and everything I hoped she would be.  Most people will be saying that it wasn’t funny enough, but I think it was very classy, and I’ll take funny over classy any day.  Besides, they managed to work in an AWESOME Snakes on a Plane joke, and it doesn’t get any better than that (the contortionist/interpretive dance people were a perfect addition, and I hope they come back next year).  I enjoyed the sound effects choir, and all of the film montages except the Michael Mann one about America, because it was pretty pointless.  I was happy to see Al Gore pop up many times, and be funny and charming and moving in his acceptance speech.  I also loved the moments of Coppola, Speilberg and Lucas on stage together, and it just reminds me what a shame it is that Lucas has never won an Oscar.  Those three are the ones I measure all others by, and if I ever get to live my dream, they’re the ones I’m going to measure myself by.

Overall I’d give the night a solid B+.  It ran a bit too long, and had some superfluous bits, but was very classy, and the award winners were good overall, just brought down by the Best Picture disappointment.  But still, I’m already counting down the days to the 80^th awards show, which promises to be a big deal, I’m sure.