Oscar: Post-Mortem

Yet another Oscar season has come to a close, and, as expected, The King's Speech came out the victor. However, there wasn't so much a sweep for the film as many had expected, with it taking four Oscars out of its twelve nominations. It won for Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Colin Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler. The only one of those I take umbrage with is Hooper, who only did serviceable work on a film that, to me, was also mostly overdirected. Fincher was a true craftsman, but alas, his Oscar day will come in the future. The other Oscar wins for actors Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo were expected.

The only surprises that came in the night were in the technical categories, where Inception not only took the technical effects Oscars, but also cinematography for Wally Pfister. I am glad for him, because he should have won among those nominees, but part of me is sad that Roger Deakins remains Oscar-less still. But Pfister's win pushed Inception to tie for the most wins of the evening with four. Second place was The Social Network, which won for Adapted Screenplay, Editing and a surprise win for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score. Another little surprise was Alice in Wonderland taking both Art Direction and Costume Design. I'm happy for Colleen Atwood, but am disappointed that the busy and downright ugly art direction of that film was honored over Inception and The King's Speech. That's not good.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco were okay, but not great hosts to be honest. Hathaway carried virtually the entire show while Franco only read his lines with a goofy grin. The only noteworthy thing he did was come out in a dress (No, Roger, he's not gay). Hathaway had some nice moments, and I'd actually be interested in seeing what she could do on a solo mission. Next time, I'd hope Franco just takes the role as a nominee and leaves the hosting to someone who can actually do it well.

And with that, another Oscar season is over. Below are the complete list of winners. Some I liked, others not so much, but that goes with every Oscar season. That's all until it starts all over again in about two weeks.

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Best Director: Tom Hooper - The King's Speech

Best Actor: Colin Firth - The King's Speech

Best Actress: Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale - The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler - The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland

Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland

Best Cinematography: Inception

Best Film Editing: The Social Network

Best Original Score: The Social Network

Best Original Song: "We Belong Together" - Toy Story 3

Best Makeup: The Wolfman

Best Sound Mixing: Inception

Best Sound Editing: Inception

Best Visual Effects: Inception

Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job

Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World

Best Live Action Short: God of Love

Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing

Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More