This year's Oscars had good taste! The winners and nominees very much reflected my personal choices, for the most part. No Country for Old Men won in all the right places. Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem were shoe-ins for top actor honors, and deservedly so. Diablo Cody won for original screenplay, which pleased me about equally as much if Tony Gilroy would've won for Michael Clayton (see below). I was even glad the $100K film, Once, won Best Song.
Happiest Surprise
Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress. I'm happily wiping egg from my face after her win
completely contradicted my prediction a couple blog entries ago. She was incredibly good, demonstrating a range that, perhaps, even Cate Blanchette couldn't match. Not to mention Cotillard is drop-dead gorgeous and willingly went through the prosthetics necessary to look the role, particularly in old age (a BIG assist and well-deserved Oscar went to her costuming people).
completely contradicted my prediction a couple blog entries ago. She was incredibly good, demonstrating a range that, perhaps, even Cate Blanchette couldn't match. Not to mention Cotillard is drop-dead gorgeous and willingly went through the prosthetics necessary to look the role, particularly in old age (a BIG assist and well-deserved Oscar went to her costuming people). 
Almost Happiest SurpriseTilda Swinton's win for Best Supporting Actress. I thought Michael Clayton would probably be shut out, and, sorry to say, deservedly so. It consistently offerred the third- or fourth-best effort of the nominees, which is still to say it's the third- or fourth-best film of the year (not bad considering each year sees about 300 feature films released in America). But I figured Blanchette would win (this time for cross-dressing as Bob Dylan). Amy Ryan (Gone, Baby Gone) most deserved to win, though. I've lived in Boston, and her washed-out look and accent reminded me of many similar types the city has to offer. In fact, she was so convincing I was under the impression a non-actor had played role, until I was disabused of this notion several weeks after seeing the film (no, I've never seen an episode of TV's, "The Wire"). But Swinton's performance was the next-best thing.
MIA Comments
Only two oversights, among others, caused me distress. The lovely and amazing Marisa Tomei didn't receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her lovely and amazing, and not to mention visceral (Philip Seymour Hoffman, you sly dog, you), performance in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. And a missing nomination for the There Will Be Blood score, written and led by Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood. If ever a score were reflective of a film...but then it was rather dissonant, wasn't it (those few of you who've seen the film)? But, you know, if I'm moping about something as meager as a Best Score slight, the Oscars did a fine job.
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