Highlights of the 79th Annual Academy Awards

With its pageantry and magic that make the movies so special, Oscar celebrated its 79^th birthday with the annual Academy Awards. Live from the famed Kodak Theater, and hosted by Ellen DeGeneres the Academy Awards were presented for achievement in film. The Oscars are often full of surprises and upsets, and this year was no different.

Ellen DeGeneres did herself proud as host. She was funny and entertaining as her comedic timing shined. Her opening monologue was perhaps the funniest I have heard for an Oscar host. With recent hosts Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock and John Stewart, the Oscars really needed a face lift; Ellen DeGeneres was that and much more. She has definitely set the bar pretty high and I would most definitely expect to see her back not only next year, but for several years to come.

A point was made by Ellen DeGeneres in her opening statements that this year's Oscars was the most international. This goes to show how truly global the film industry has become. The problem with this however, is that several of the evening's winners did not speak English as a first language and therefore took longer with their acceptance speech. As usual many were cut off when the band began playing, and to me this is unfortunate. Instead of having interpretive dancers and a ridiculous sound effect choir, the time could have been put to better use by allowing the winners the time to finish their speeches. I mean do we really need to see Jack Black and Will Ferrell do a song and dance number? Sure, it was somewhat funny, but overall did not offer anything to the telecast.

Most Touching Moment:

I believe the most touching moment was watching Pan's Labyrinth's director Guillermo del Toro become emotional as he watched Guillermo Navarro, Eugenio Caballero, and Pilar Revuelta win Oscars for Art Direction and Cinematography. I was somewhat reminded of how emotional Paul Sorvino became when his daughter Mira, won a Bet Supporting Actress Oscar in 1995.

Best Presenters:

This was an easy one in my opinion. Steve Carroll and Greg Kinnear who presented for Sound Mixing carried over their chemistry from the Little Miss Sunshine. They managed to make an otherwise relatively unknown category standout with their dry humor and comical innuendo.

Worst Presenters:

This must go to Abigail Breslin and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith who presented for Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short film. When will the Academy learn that child actors though cute make for horrible presenters? Abigail Breslin was able to hold her own, but Jaden Smith looked out of place, and could not even read the winner for best Short Film Live Action. The winner, The West Bank Story, was the easiest to pronounce out of the nominees; just think what would have happened if one of the others would have one. It could have turned an already embarrassing moment into a nightmare. Also, imagine how the winner felt having to accept his Oscar from those two. Here he has worked so hard to achieve a dream and now must get his Oscar from an actor's child who cannot even read the name of the movie. It was unfortunate and unnecessary. Hopefully Oscar has learned its lesson, and we will not have to sit through another uncomfortable moment like this again.

An honorable mention must also go out in this category to Ben Affleck whose complete indifference to the moment was appalling. He acted as if this duty was a bother, and that he would rather be somewhere else. As a past winner you would think he would have a little more dignity and show the same respect to the artists nominated this year that he received when he picked up his Oscar for Good Will Hunting.

And with that I give you the 79^th Annual Academy Awards. I do not believe this was the most memorable of Oscar ceremonies but it had its moments. Ellen Degeneres provided a much needed spark as host, and though many of the gimmicks could have been left out, overall it was an entertaining evening.