The 84th Academy Award Oscar Winners….

Was it just me, or did Eddie Murphy look different? Heh heh. Well, that’s it for the Oscars. If you’re like me, you probably still have 2011 films to catch up with, it’s just that now there’s no rush. Safe bet, Billy Crystal returned for his 9th time as host with a semi-strong start that soon fizzled to what we knew all along – a comfortable and predictable choice. The expected opening where Crystal inserts himself into the nominated films was pretty funny, especially the Clooney kiss and “The Princess Bride” line, but by the time we got to the What are they thinking? bit that fell flat before it even started – well, I started feeling uncomfortable for him. One thing I’ll admit, it certainly didn’t feel as long as past shows.

As for the actual awards….while “Hugo” picked up some initial steam right out of the station, the numerous wins for “The Artist” were inevitable – deserved or not. But let’s look at some of the categories “Hugo” ran away, the ones that should’ve gone to go to other films.

“The Tree of Life” should’ve won for Cinematography, “Drive” should’ve won for Sound Editing, and (face palm) “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” should’ve won for Visual Effects. Sheesh. “Hugo” was in my Top Ten, so I obviously really liked it, but it didn’t deserve to clean out all those categories. But, that’s how the Oscars have always been. Any film with high nominations is bound to sweep, and “Hugo” – with 11 nominations  – had the most  of any film.

Although “The Iron Lady” had some  admittedly fine Makeup work, I would’ve like to see the Oscar go to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”, seeing how it was the last of the series. In the Shorts nominees, there were no surprises in the Animated and Live Action categories, but I must say I was overjoyed to see “Saving Face” earn a deserved win. David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” also deserved to win for its sublime and seamless Editing (it should’ve won soundtrack too, but again – that’s what a load of nominations will do for “The Artist). Animated Feature, Foreign Language, and Original Screenplay, all had predictable wins, but I was surprised to see “Undefeated” to win Best Documentary –  I was sure “Paradise Lost: Pergatory 3” would win. It was great to see “The Descendants” win Adapted Screenplay, the strongest nominee in that category, especially with Jim Rash modeling Angelina Jolie while on stage.

The winning actors – not too surprising. It would’ve been nice to see Viola Davis win, since “The Iron Lady” was not an overall award-worthy film, but one that was clearly carried by Meryl Streep – who delivered a fun speech (which is why I watch the Oscars).

Below is the full list of winners as well as links to reviews….

BEST PICTURE: The Artist

BEST DIRECTOR: Michael Hazanavicius –The Artist

BEST ACTOR: Jean Dujardin – The Artist

BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer – Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Octavia Spencer – The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Midnight in Paris

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Descendants

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE: A Separation

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Rango

BEST ART DIRECTION: Hugo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hugo

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Artist

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Undefeated

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Saving Face

BEST FILM EDITING: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

BEST MAKEUP: The Iron Lady

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: The Artist

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: The Muppets

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED): The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE-ACTION): The Shore

BEST SOUND EDITING: Hugo

BEST SOUND MIXING: Hugo

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Hugo

(Photos via Associated Press)

So, what did you think of the show, the winners and the losers?

Comment below with your thoughts.