Oscar Watch: The 84th Annual Academy Awards

"The Artist" takes the win, and most deservedly in my opinion. I feel, contrary to what the blogosphere seems to think, that this film will be seen in future years as a classic, unlike most of the other nominees for best pic this year.

The big surprises of the night:

- Meryl Streep beat Viola Davis for best actress. Totally didn't see this one coming, because Davis was felt to be as close to sure bet this year, outside of "The Artist" for best pic.

- "Hugo" for visual effects? Seriously, AMPAS? Every single other nominated movie deserved it more than "Hugo," I think. I feel that, to sort of rectify "Hugo" not winning the top awards, they awarded it a plethora of technical awards. ROTPOTA totally deserved this, to me.

- Chris Rock was hilarious! Best laugh of the night.

Not as surprising, but still nice:

- Jean Dujardin for his role as George Valentin. I did not want Clooney to win, but I did want Bichir to win. Dujardin was arguably excellent in the film, and I'm still glad he won.

- "Rango" for best animated pic.... quirky, fun, and overall well done. Next year, though, I really want to see "Brave" and pixar nab the award.

- Plummer for best actor.... oldest actor winner, which is a record, but too much emphasis placed on his age.


Disappointing:

- Billy Crystal. From the blah opening video, to an all-too-brief opening medley, to minimal and usually not so funny jokes throughout the show, I was disappointed with his hosting this time.

- "Hugo" nabbing most of the technical awards. Yes, it was a decent film, but seriously? It wasn't THAT amazing, at least not to me.

And so, another oscars comes and goes. Looking forward to the 85th annual awards.... and perhaps "The Dark Knight Rises" will be up for the top spot, along with "Brave"? I really hope so. I miss some of the past stellar ceremonies, like when "Slumdog Millionaire" won, and "The Return of the King," with Crystal on top game, to me. Let's hope next year's exciting!