The Oscars -- A Running Report

This year's Academy Awards show was one of the best in memory. Those involved were classy, funny, touching, and impressive en masse. There were no glaring moments of awful-ness, nor did the ceremony feel too long. It was well hosted, well written, and well done. The presenters were admirable and the winners had some great moments. Here are my running notes:

6:06 -- George Clooney is classic Hollywood. And "Michael Clayton" is as close to a classic Hollywood film as the Best Picture(s) get this year.
6:10 -- Miley Ray Cyrus shouldn't be there.
6:13 -- "Where's Regis's oxygen tank?" -- Dad Cheney
6:15 -- Daniel Day-Lewis is awesome, just awesome
6:18 -- Regis needs to stop working the crowd: "One, Two, Three... YAY!" ... Noo!
6:21 -- Spike Lee is so freaking cool
6:22 -- My aunt points out that every woman has a ponytail
6:22 -- Ellen Page is very classy
6:24 -- Okay, officially sick of Regis. Wow. Totally sick of him.
6:27 -- Jack Nicholson might be the only human I can forgive for wearing sunglasses in a closed, dark theatre. I just love the man.
6:28 -- Frank Calliendo's George Bush -- still funny.
6:31 -- Always love Oscar montages
6:32 -- John Stewart looks nice. Viggo doesn't.
6:34 -- "Does this town need a hug? ... all I can say is thank God for teen pregnancy."
6:39 -- LOL John McCain swipe. Oh! Double McCain swipe!
6:41 -- Jennifer Garner looks very nice
6:48 -- Historical montage -- woo hoo! Seriously, I love these.
6:56 -- Katherine Heigl wins Best Wearing of a Red Dress
7:01 -- First song, too long
7:04 -- I love good commercials
7:05 -- I hate bad commercials
7:11 -- I love Cate Blanchett. LOVE her.
7:18 -- AND Philip Seymour Hoffman
7:23 -- Oscar Salute to Binoculars & Periscopes -- HILARIOUS! BRILLIANT!
7:30 -- Most foreign-language acceptance speeches ever
7:40 -- Tilda Swinton -- no. Undeserved, & worst outfit yet. Her role was not demanding, unwavering, and run-of-the-mill. Her performance was good, but not extraordinary. Blanchett in "I'm Not There" was arguably the best performance I saw in any film, this entire year. She was Bob Dylan -- what a rip-off.
7:43 -- There are simply not enough Afros in the world
7:47 -- "Two pregnant women at the Oscars, that's great! But then again, the night is young. And Jack is here." HAhaHa
7:49 -- Miley Cyrus should not be there. Did I say that?
7:50 -- Her intro was actually not bad, though. I'll give her that.
8:03 -- "We look exactly alike, dude."
8:15 -- Very cute acceptance speech, Marion.
8:18 -- They're playing Wii!!! GENIUS!!!!
8:20 -- "The little movie that could" is the "Seabiscuit" of the Oscar race. Not in that way -- the cliche way.
8:24 -- Oh good, Jack took his shades off!
8:35 -- Robert Boyle is awesome. Great movies, great work, great scarf. How chivalric, thanking Kidman for introducing him. How Bad A. -- he calls Alfred Hitchcock, "Hitch"! They're just homies, they're ol' chums!
8:36 -- American Life commercials are good. "Let's Dance" is one of the best songs ever.
8:50 -- Jon McLaughlin totally sucked. And those dancers were lame.
8:52 -- Well, "Once" HAD to win. And they're so cute! "Make art, make art."
8:54 -- "Ugh, that guy is so arrogant."
8:58 -- Awesome, they brought the "Once" girl back out for her thank-you! That is great and sweet.
9:07 -- You want a good commercial? Have a great song in it. Done. Next!
9:12 -- Tom Hanks has one of the best voices ever
9:24 -- TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES?! Are you kidding me?! Are you freaking serious?
9:24 -- Whew, okay. Back on.
9:29 -- "I'm so sick of watching everyday people on television." -- Me
"She does cool stuff but she looks like a goldfish." -- Dad Cheney, on Oprah
9:35 -- Even watching the clip of "There Will Be Blood" made my heart start banging against my ribs again -- wow -- Day-Lewis so deserves it.
9:38 -- Cadillac's ad campaign sucks
9:42 -- I can honestly say Robert Redford has got to be the best looking man of all time.

9:47 -- "With the opportunity to make movies comes the responsibility to make them good."

What a great way to end it.