When I read that "The 79th Annual Academy Awards" started at 5 pm, I assumed that the lead-in started then. When I turned the channel on at about 5:50, I saw that they were well into the ceremony. Criminy! But no worries, I saw most of it, and I really liked it. I especially laud them for FINALLY giving Martin Scorsese what he's deserved for so long, for giving Alan Arkin what he's deserved for so long, and for giving Ennio Morricone what he's deserved for so long. Kudos above all to Al Gore for calling on the world to deal with global warming and reminding us that it's not a political issue, but a moral one (and I'm glad to see that Leonardo DiCaprio is part of the movement to curb global warming).
What do I think of Ellen DeGeneres as a host? Well, after Jon Stewart last year, I guess that anyone might seem a little weak, but I liked how she did (particularly that trick with Scorsese). Even if she's not the best host ever, she's gotta be better than Bob Hope.
I notice that Best Actress went to Helen Mirren - who's also deserved an Oscar for years - for playing a queen, and Best Actor went to Forest Whitaker for playing a king (the last one of Scotland, that is). Jennifer Hudson's win is the perfect slap in the face to "American Idol" (they kicked her off, believing that she had no talent).
As is often the case, the best parts are the montages. I liked that the writing montage included scenes from "The Shining", and the history montage included a scene from "Dr. Strangelove". Good that they included Robert Altman in the "In Memoriam", but I think that he should have gotten his own montage.
I bet that this ceremony must have really irked the right-wingers. Aside from the fact that a lesbian hosted, a lesbian won for Best Original Song (and for a documentary about global warming at that), honorary winner Sherry Lansing sits on a stem cell research board, and they gave some awards to "Babel" and "El laberinto del Fauno/Pan's Labyrinth" (both by Mexican directors). I hope that tomorrow night, Stephen Colbert - in his right-wing commentator persona - rants against the Academy for all this. In fact, they ought to have him host the Oscars next year; he would probably be better than Jon Stewart.
So, it was a great ceremony. Each of the Best Picture nominees received at least one Oscar. If Scorsese really meant that "The Departed" was his first movie with a plot, then it paid off. A fine few hours. But what did Cameron Diaz do to her face?
