And The Oscars Went To

Let me start by saying that I think Ellen did an amazing job. I’d be delighted if they brought her back next year. In a night full of surprises, none was more shocking than having a host that was consistently (and seemingly effortlessly) hilarious.

As I mentioned, there were a lot of surprises. The biggest upset for me was Pan’s Labyrinth losing out to The Lives Of Others in the Best Foreign Film. I also expected Cars to easily nab the Best Animated Film category. Honestly, I was not at all impressed with Happy Feet. I also fully expected Dreamgirls to at least be honored with Best Original Song, although, honestly, the votes were divided amongst three songs.

Ultimately, though, the big winner of the evening was The Departed, which swooped up four awards (more than any other). And despite not winning Best Foreign Film, Mexico’s Pan’s Labyrinth still won in three categories (which was second only to The Departed). Overall, the awards were spread out nicely, with all Best Picture nominees snagging at least one award. It was nice to not have one film dominate every category.

As for my predictions, I got all but one correct. In my defense, though, I did say that I thought Alan Arkin should win, but almost doesn’t count now does it? Overall, I only correctly guessed 12 of the winners, which was off from last year when I predicted the wins in 14 categories. Here’s a breakdown of the big winners:

The Departed: 4 Wins
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Editing

Pan’s Labyrinth: 3 Wins
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Make-Up

Little Miss Sunshine: 2 Wins
Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay

An Inconvenient Truth: 2 Wins
Best Documentary
Best Original Song

Dreamgirls: 2 Wins
Best Supporting Actress
Best Sound Mixing

The Queen: 1 Win
Best Actress

The Last King Of Scotland: 1 Win
Best Actor