And the 2008 Oscar Winners Are...

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
"No Country for Old Men"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - "No Country for Old Men"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Dae Lewis - "There Will Be Blood"

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN
Diablo Cody - "Juno"

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES
"Taxi to the Dark Side"

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS
"Freeheld"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE
Dario Marianelli - "Atonement"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit - "There Will Be Blood"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG
Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová - Song: “Falling Slowly” from "Once"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
"Fälscher, Die"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING
Christopher Rouse - "The Bourne Ultimatum"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Marion Cotillard - "Môme, La"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis - "The Bourne Ultimatum"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Karen M. Baker, Per Hallberg - "The Bourne Ultimatum"

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - "No Country for Old Men"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tilda Swinton - "Michael Clayton"

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
"Peter & the Wolf"

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
"Mozart des pickpockets, Le"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Javier Bardem - "No Country for Old Men"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo - "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood - "The Golden Compass"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald - "Môme, La"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Brad Bird - "Ratatouille"

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne - "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"


Overall I thought it was a pretty good show with some pretty decent awards given. Though "Juno" was probably my favorite movie of the nominees, I'm more than happy "No Country for Old Men" got the best picture award and the Coen Brothers more than deserved it. While I liked "There Will Be Blood," I just didn't think it dived in to the darkness of humanity as well as "No Country for Old Men." (And I've been meaning to put up my "There Will Be Blood" review, but I've had my hands full as of late.) I do agree that Daniel Dae Lewis deserved the best actor award though.

Other awards I was happy with include Diablo Cody for "Juno" and the incredible Javier Bardem for "No Country for Old Men." The sound awards for "Bourne" were unexpected but pretty spot on. It's good to have that movie grab at least a few awards.

Now for the poor decisions: "Bourne" won best editing? Really? How could anyone possibly tell? Cate Blanchett got snubbed in both the supporting and lead actress categories. (More in the supporting. From what I've seen of Marion Cotillard, she did great. I still think Ellen Page deserved it.) The award I was most angry with was that for Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass?" I'm not a fan of "Transformers," but its special effects were top notch. Meanwhile, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" had the most flawless mixture of practical and computer effects I've seen. So I guess the poor CGI from "The Golden Compass" wins out...

Now for the snubs: Why wasn't "Eastern Promises" nominated for more? Why didn't "Zodiac" get nominated for anything? The competition left movies like "Atonement" and "Michael Clayton" in the dust, but the inclusion of "Eastern Promises," "Zodiac" and hell, even "American Gangster" could have spiced things up far more. I'm most angry about "Eastern Promises" getting snubbed from some greater nominations, but at least Viggo had a shot. "Zodiac" is just frustrating because it seems like it was completely forgotten.

Oh well. Overall, not a bad show. I don't agree with some of the awards and even the nominations, but it's been a lot worse in the past. ("American Beauty?" "Brokeback Mountain?" ) Jon Stewart was much funnier this time and I thought it was very nice of him to bring back Markéta Irglová when the music cut her short. Very classy thing to do.

Until next year...