Post Oscar Analysis

Well, the event is finally over, and I do say that I am a bit proud of myself. Ever since I've been doing this, this was the year where I had the best average at predicting the winners, where I went 19 for 24 categories. With that, I do have some things to say as well.

For one, I'm glad that I went with that gut feeling and picked Slumdog Millionaire as the undeserving winner for Best Sound Mixing, making it's total of 8 Oscar wins exactly in the categories I predicted it to win in. In the other sound category, I have mixed feelings. One part of me is glad that The Dark Knight got another award beside Ledger, but another part is upset that the fantastic sound team behind WALL-E went home empty handed as well. Still, I'm somewhat happy.

Speaking of Ledger, the acceptance of his Oscar by his family was a deeply emotional moment, and seeing the teary eyes of everybody from Christopher Nolan to Brad Pitt made you realize the power in this event. Besides that, Cruz and Winslet were expected wins but always rather "meh" to me. And I know I am not the only one who agrees that Penn's win here was the more deserving performance. I wish I had had the guts to call it, but am still glad he won over Rourke. I could have done without the back half of his speech, though. If a political statement was to be made, I preferred it from Dustin Lance Black, who won for Milk's original screenplay, whose message came more from a softer heart.

In terms of the ceremony itself, I think Hugh Jackman did a nice job with the new outlook. Only Jackman could get away with it, though. I liked the opening number, but when the second one with Beyonce and Zac Efron came around, it felt a bit like overkill. Having five people introduce the acting categories seems like a nice change, only if you don't mind adding an extra ten minutes to each category (I really don't).

In the end, it was a rather typical night with very few surprises. If anyone happened to miss it, here are the winners. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for the next Oscar season.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn - Milk
Best Actress: Kate Winslet - The Reader
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Costume Design: The Duchess
Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Song: "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire
Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Sound: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Foreign Language Film: Departures
Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire
Best Live Action Short: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Best Animated Short: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Best Documentary Short: Smile Pinki