http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6EEdSZOo5U

Are you kidding. This was a random collection of poorly done masturbations. Witness the idiotic floating screens when showing members of the academy who died within the last year (and where was Heath Ledger in that???). You couldn't even read the bloody things! And the graphics were sophmoric. And if Jackman was the Host, where the H was he for 98% of the show? The only good part was the introduction of Best Actress and Best Actor by previous winners. A touch of class in a tasteless bowling alley bacchanal.

Please read the thread before you post.

Look, nobody said that every acceptance speech has to include thanking your spouse. But the first words out of his mouth were "I'd like to thank my best friend." And then he proceeded to name someone else, while his wife of 13 years was sitting right in front of him. Oooof. Gut punch.

Yes, we all take our loved ones for granted from time to time. But if you're speaking to an audience of billions, and you've had months to prepare the speech, and you're the heavy favorite (so much so that his "I didn't expect this" is a joke, right?), and you proceed to acknowledge the people most important to you but omit your wife, AND you were on your way to the podium before your wife had to yank you back to deliver a kiss that you received with the enthusiasm of a grandson, then you have live with the fact that you've just revealed the shallowness of your feelings for her.

No big whup. The world is full of shallow marriages. People stay together for lots of reasons that don't include the kinds of feelings that would cause one to spontaneously kiss the other upon receiving the single greatest achievement in your chosen profession. But maybe you should fix your own house before you start wagging your finger at others.

The Academy should look at TCM's year-end memorial tribute and see how it should be really done in future Oscar shows. Either they can hire the same people who do it for TCM, or just rip off the idea and do it themselves (they're good at that).

The show was enjoyable and had a lot of glitz. I have to ask, has the film industry run out of female entertainers, besides Beyonce Knowles? I am so sick of her in everything nationally televised, I could scream. Is her thug husband intimidating someone, does she pay the Academy to perform, what's the deal? Talk about mediocre talent, she lip-synced while everyone else actually sang. Flapping those huge hams around while she mouthed the words was way too much. Remember the year she ruined the Oscars by performing every musical number in the show? Did no one learn a lesson there? Everyone complained afterward, yet there she was AGAIN. Please, whoever is in charge, try someone, anyone besides Beyonce Knowles. Enough is QUITE enough.

I'm in total agreement lilybean. when is the lipsynching hack going to pack it in? She and Ron Howard must have dirt on some Academy members

I love everything Heather Havrilesky writes. I read her column faithfully, about TV shows I have never seen and mostly never plan to see, because she's so damn smart and insightful and funny. I have the Rabbit blog bookmarked. I am not joking. And this is a good article, even though I didn't agree with a lot of her opinions about the show, which is beside the point for me. I'm in it to be entertained by the writing.

B U T . . .

Every Oscar-morning-after for years now, I've run drooling to Salon with my coffee to luxuriate in the glorious snark of Cintra Wilson deconstructing the latest train wreck with a scalpel and a smirk and her mighty prose. This morning, no Cintra. Lunch time came and went, and no Cintra. Where o where has she gone?

If it's true, as she asserts on her website, that it's because Salon was trying to save money by not hiring her for this piece, then I'm deeply disappointed. Dog knows I've put up with a parade of writers here that I have truly disliked (including some that are apparently still getting an occasional paycheck from Salon, for reasons beyond me). I suck it up and don't click on the ones I don't want to read (something that I recommend to our friends in trolldom). I'm glad for the ones I enjoy who have been kept on, so to speak.

But I never thought you'd take Cintra off the Oscars beat. Once a year, people. That's all. Next time, ask for the damn money. Some of us would be glad to help you out. I'd be much obliged to you. And the Cintra-hatahs can see my advice above.

This show streamlined some things very well--the screenwriters' awards were nicely handled, and having one presenter do several category awards was smart. I also liked the Franco/Kaminski piece (why is it Oscar's best moments in recent years have been poking fun at the gap between what's nominated and what people actually see? :)) But the five-presenter-for-acting deal did a disservice to the nominees and seemed longer than just showing clips of their work (which would have solved both problems just fine.) The musical numbers were embarrassing--Jackman was terrific, but the material was strained and silly. (And, really, if a musical number is rushed through so you can't appreciate the singing, dancing, or songs, you might as well be watching a wack video iPod mix on fast-forward.) As for the memorial segment, I kept expecting Colonel Kilgore to swoop by in a helicopter or something. Visual powie is generally not that point of that segment. :)

As well, THE DARK KNIGHT didn't seem to be written to tell a story clearly and to add up to one devastating conclusion. It seemed to be written out of fear viewers would click the remote to something else if they weren't bombarded with enough twists and cool scenes. Nolan normally does a better job of balancing plot, characters, and twists, but he seemed to be running scared of the budget and summer-movie demands here. (He had a similar problem with THE PRESTIGE, which got so mired in double- and triple-agendas that you didn't care about anyone in it--and as a result, its point about insane obsession wasn't as effective as it should be.)