By Kit-Kat

For 80 years we have celebrated the cinema and the Oscar statue has become the elusive dream for actors and actresses around the globe. Not even the looming indecision of the Writer's Strike could put a damper on one of the most celebrated Award Shows in history. Though, let's face it, that strike did make an impression on the presentation for the awards just about as much as the unpredictable weather (or so I deemed).

I have to admit on my drive home late last night I was in ready agreement that some of the awards doled out were just a plain shock. That Transformers missed out on the awards for Sound Mixing and Editing to the Bourne Ultimatum (c'mon, a transforming Autobot is way more sound worthy than two guys beating each other to death) plain blew me away, not to mention the ironic snub Enchantment received after monopolizing the Best Original Song award nominations only to watch a relatively unknown Fox Searchlight movie nab that gold. I'm right there with those critics last night, my predictions were way off to the point of idiocy and near the end I just gave up trying.

Listening this morning at the growing buzz over the show and the performances I was even more dumbfounded. Clearly the Daywalkers have a bit more of an issue than my nighttime critics. The ping pong over John Stewart's performance had me literally squawking in my car - how can you say he was bad? Now I have always found the presenters for the show to be a bit droll, I mean they are mired in Academy politics after all. But this year, for the first time ever - I enjoyed listening to John Stewart's natter. His quips were on the whole rather good and refreshing, I found the more lighthearted approach much more welcoming and less structured than previous years. I would certainly approve of seeing this approach in years to come. After all Oscar may not change but the world around him does, and it's about time they get with the millennium.

Aside from the most amazing young eleven year old singer, I will heartily agree the musical numbers were extremely lacking. I had no use or enjoyment from the childish musical feel or even the set display this year - Solid Gold had a better set back in its day.

When it comes to the clips of 80 years past that were sprinkled about I will disagree with the majority - that was special and it was something I expected and enjoyed. Let's remember why Jack is still in the front row okay! It puts into perspective just how long this show has been around, and lest we forget it - at one time it was much more revered.

Honestly, I wish it was as revered at it used to be 'back in the day'. I thought last night made an impression for the better over all, and that perhaps the attempt at providing a somewhat fresh face will not get unnoticed. In any event I am neither stuffy nor old and I found last nights show - even if it was a wee bit shorter- to be one of the better ones I've had the privilege of watching over the years.

Of course I have to mention the Academy gained massive respect from me and my posse over having Stewart bring back out Marketa Irglova for her most amazing acceptance speech after winning the award for Achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song) with her partner Glen Hansard (song "Falling Slowly"from the movie "Once"). I will admit on occasion I have "looked for the hook"so to speak with those long winded winners; however I also found myself annoyed at the ones that clearly had something poignant to express and were snubbed being ushered off the stage too quickly. I certainly wasn't alone in the massive cat calls that went out as that poor Marketa hung her head to walk off stage with absolutely no time to even get a mere 'Thanks' out (I'm suspecting it wasn't water in the Orchestra's bottles all night). I was ready to walk away in disgust right there, until the noble Stewart (can you tell he's grown on me) brought her back out. That simple act will remain as one of the special points to me from this 80th telecast and I certainly hope to see more in the future.

Below is a list from the Academy on the winners and nominations for you to enjoy. And until next year with the shining 81st (hmmmm I wonder if they will go back to March now that February has proved to be the worst for weather) I'll leave you while I head off to do my proper bashing of the Red Carpet fashion nightmare this year.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
	George Clooney in Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.)
	Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
	Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
	Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah (Warner Independent)
	Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises (Focus Features)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
	Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.)
	Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
	Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilsons War (Universal)
	Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
	Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
	Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal)
	Julie Christie in Away from Her (Lionsgate)
	Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse)
	Laura Linney in The Savages (Fox Searchlight)
	Ellen Page in Juno (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
	Cate Blanchett in Im Not There (The Weinstein Company)
	Ruby Dee in American Gangster (Universal)
	Saoirse Ronan in Atonement (Focus Features)
	Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone (Miramax)
	Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.)
Best animated feature film of the year
	Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
	Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
	Surf's Up (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
Achievement in art direction
	American Gangster (Universal) Art Direction: Arthur Max Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
	Atonement (Focus Features) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
	The Golden Compass (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners) Art Direction: Dennis Gassner Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
	Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Art Direction: Dante Ferretti Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Art Direction: Jack Fisk Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Achievement in cinematography
	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
	Atonement (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathi Renn) Janusz Kaminski
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit
Achievement in costume design
	Across the Universe (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
	Atonement (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
	Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
	La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
	Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood
Achievement in directing
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathi Renn) Julian Schnabel
	Juno (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
	Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson
Best documentary feature
	No End in Sight (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
	Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production Richard E. Robbins
	Sicko (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production Michael Moore and Meghan OHara
	Taxi to the Dark Side (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
	War/Dance (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine
Best documentary short subject
	Freeheld A Lieutenant Films Production Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
	La Corona (The Crown) A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
	Salim Baba A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
	Saris Mother (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production James Longley
Achievement in film editing
	The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) Christopher Rouse
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathi Renn) Juliette Welfling
	Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor
Best foreign language film of the year
	Beaufort A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production Israel
	The Counterfeiters An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production Austria
	Katyń An Akson Studio Production Poland
	Mongol A Eurasia Film Production Kazakhstan
	12 A Three T Production Russia
Achievement in makeup
	La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
	Norbit (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
	Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
	Atonement (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
	The Kite Runner (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
	Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
	Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
	3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
	Falling Slowly from Once (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
	Happy Working Song from Enchanted (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
	Raise It Up from August Rush (Warner Bros.) Music and lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
	So Close from Enchanted (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
	Thats How You Know from Enchanted (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Best motion picture of the year
	Atonement (Focus Features) A Working Title Production Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
	Juno (Fox Searchlight) A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
	Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers
Best animated short film
	I Met the Walrus A Kids & Explosions Production Josh Raskin
	Madame Tutli-Putli (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
	Mjme les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven) (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
	My Love (Moya Lyubov) (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
	Peter & the Wolf (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman
Best live action short film
	At Night A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
	Il Supplente (The Substitute) (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production Andrea Jublin
	Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets) (Premium Films) A Kari Production Philippe Pollet-Villard
	Tanghi Argentini (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
	The Tonto Woman A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown
Achievement in sound editing
	The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Skip Lievsay
	Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
	Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins
Achievement in sound mixing
	The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
	Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
	3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate) Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
	Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) Kevin OConnell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin
Achievement in visual effects
	The Golden Compass (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
	Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (Walt Disney) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
	Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier
Adapted screenplay
	Atonement (Focus Features) Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
	Away from Her (Lionsgate) Written by Sarah Polley
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathi Renn) Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
	No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
	There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
Original screenplay
	Juno (Fox Searchlight) Written by Diablo Cody
	Lars and the Real Girl (MGM) Written by Nancy Oliver
	Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.) Written by Tony Gilroy
	Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Brad Bird Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
	The Savages (Fox Searchlight) Written by Tamara Jenkins