One (at least to me it was a surprise) was how well Hugh Jackman played his role as host. I've enjoyed the comedy route the Academy has taken in the past, especially the one hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, but it seems from tonight's outcome, the Academy's new direction of picking entertainers from the film industry as host wins my award for best move. Funny, clever, entertaining, a voice pleasing to the ears, funny, Jackman filled the gaps of an already exciting night. I can now also acknowledge that at least one Australian can sing well.
"Slumdog Millionaire" swept the night with an astounding eight wins out of its 10 nominations (remember what I said about films rarely winning more than five Oscars?). The hotly contested awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress were awarded to actors with some slight surprises. Sean Penn won his second Academy Award, only six years after winning for his performance in "Mystic River," beating out favorite Mickey Rourke who received the award at the Golden Globes and the BAFTA Awards. Penn, though, had won at the SAG Awards. His acceptance speech, rife with political messages against supporters of Proposition 8, and the white ribbons worn during the night by the cast and crew of "Milk" advocating gay rights got my nod.
Best Actress was given to Kate Winslet, who was up against the brilliant old-timer Meryl Streep. Penélope Cruz, after her unsuccessful run for Best Actress in 2007 for "Volver," won Best Supporting Actress. Although Cruz was a favorite, Viola Davis' performance in "Doubt" gained a loyal following from many prominent critics.
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" won only three of the 13 awards it was nominated for, showing that 13 is an unlucky number. All three awards (Best Makeup, Art Direction, and Visual Effects) lauded the film's advanced technical work. Perhaps the only biggest surprise was the award for Best Foreign Film (which isn't a very climatic award to begin with), which was given to the Japanese film "Departures" instead of Israeli favorite "Waltz with Bashir."
And so, on a personal note, I managed to predict 17 of the 25 wins correctly in this year's exciting Oscars. Below are the results from the night. If I had just bet some money on this, I might have actually gone out of this a bit richer. 2008 was the year for movies. You know, because when a recession hits, people flock to the theaters.
