Underwhelmed

What? That was it?



This year's Oscars were a model of ruthless efficiency...and utter lifelessness (full disclosure: my two favorite Oscarcasts were the two most derided shows: the Letterman one, and the 2002 show with all the film clips that ended up being the longest one ever). I wonder to what extent the Super Bowl fiasco cast a pall on the proceedings. They just didn't do much for me this year, though the fact that I didn't do any sort of Oscar pool this year may have lessened my interest.



Best dressed: Diane Lane, Scarlett Johansson. Charlize Theron would have made the grade if not for her Oompa-Loompa tan.

Worst dressed: Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.

probably the most common pool upsets: losses by Bill Murray and Destino.



So what the hell was that thing Sting was playing, and how long does one have to crank it before the Jack pops out?



Congratulations Errol Morris! Even if Fog of War was a make-up award, nice to see Errol win, and especially nice to see him acknowledge that it was About Damn Time he got some attention from the Documentary group.



It wasn't my favorite, but I can't begrudge ROTK any of its awards except Best Song. "Into the West" was the weakest of the five. Running close to it was "A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow", which was slight and in a disappointing film, but it gets the edge for actually being part of its film, and not just aural wallpaper under the credits.



Too bad about Twilight Samurai losing Best Foreign Film. It's outstanding; keep an eye out for it this year.



Crystal: he was okay...better'n Whoopi, who should be kept 50 miles away from the Kodak Theatre at all times, but still, I say the best way to cut show length (and it does not need to be cut) is to eliminate the host altogether.