Review of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards; Jeff Bridges Wins Best Actor

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards got off to a great start when hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin took to the stage. In their opening monologue, stars seemed to nervously anticipate their turn at the jibes being sent out. George Clooney sat in his seat glaring stoically as the pair made it around his way. The pair played very well off each other, and the show was on its way.

Funniest moment? Watching the clip of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in bed together just prior to the salute to horror films. I laughed so hard my belly ached. It was great. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin work very well together.

My personal favorite part of the show was when Mo'Nique won for her role as Mary Jones in Precious. During her acceptance speech, Mo'Nique said, "I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to."

McDaniel won an Oscar for her role as "Mammy" in Gone With the Wind, making her the first African American performer to do so.

Mo'Nique wore a royal blue dress "because it's the color that Hattie McDaniel wore in 1940 when she accepted her Oscar." Mo'Nique went on to say she wore a gardenia in her hair because, "it is the flower that Hattie McDaniel wore when she accepted her Oscar."

Well done, Mo'Nique! You deserved the win.

I was disappointed that Gabourey Sidibe was passed over as Best Actress. She gave a riveting performance as Precious, reaching down deep within herself to deliver a powerful performance and bringing Precious to life. This young lady has the potential for a long career ahead of her.

Kathryn Bigelow made history when she was awarded an Oscar for Best Director. I was a little surprised by this given Avatar's box office success, but it was refreshing to see a woman win in this category.

When actress Sandra Bullock won her Oscar for Best Actress, she appeared a little surprised. When she stood up and started to the stage, she veered over toward Meryl Streep as if she were about to hug or kiss her. When she finally got on stage, Bullock, clutching her Oscar, said, "Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down?"

The most heartfelt part of her speech came when she thanked her mother, Helga, saying, "For making me practice every day when I got home. Piano, ballet, whatever it is I wanted to be. She said to be an artist, you had to practice every day, and for reminding her daughters that there's no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else."

Jeff Bridges was so gracious when he won an Oscar for Best Actor. After all these years, it finally paid off when he went home with the coveted golden statue.

Some people may think he seemed a little out of it, but that's just Jeff - very laid back and calm.

During his acceptance speech, Bridges thanked his parents, saying, "Thank you, Mom and Dad, for turning me on to such a groovy profession. Oh, my dad and my mom, they loved show biz so much."

Bridges parents are late actors Lloyd and Dorothy (Simpson) Bridges.

He added, "They loved show biz so much and I feel an extension of them. You know, this, this is honoring them as much as it is me."

Best Supporting Actor:
Winner: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

In his acceptance speech, Waltz thanked actor Brad Pitt who "helped me on board" and director Quentin Tarantino, of whom he said, "...with his unorthodox methods of navigation, this fearless explorer, took this ship across and brought it in with flying colors and that's why I'm here."

I was really surprised Waltz won given the star power in the category. I had expected either Matt Damon or Christopher Plummer to take an Oscar away, so it was nice to see someone other than a major actor win this one.

Nominees: Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Animated Feature Film:
Winner: Up (Pete Docter)
Nominees: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, and Up.

Best Original Song:
Winner: The Weary Kind (theme song for the movie Crazy Heart)
Nominees: Almost There (The Princess and the Frog), Down in New Orleans (The Princess and the Frog), Loin de Paname (Paris 36), Take It All (Nine), and The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart).

Best Original Screenplay:
Winner: The Hurt Locker written by Mark Boal
Nominees: The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, and Up.

"You honor me and humble me with this," Boals said of his first Oscar.
He went on to tell Kathryn Bigelow, "...this belongs to you."

Best Animated Short:
Winner: Logorama
Nominees: French Roast,Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte), and Logorama.

Best Documentary Short:
Winner: Music by Prudence
Nominees: China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, Music by Prudence, and Rabbit a la Berlin.

Best Live Action Short:
Winner: The New Tenants
Nominees: The Door, Instead of Abacadabra, Kavi, Miracle Fish, and The New Tenants

Best Makeup:
Winner: Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, and Joel Harlow)
Nominees: Il Divo (Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano), The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore), Avatar (James Horner), Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat), The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders), Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer), and Up (Michael Giacchino).

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Winner: Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Nominees: District 9, An Education, In the Loop, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, and Up in the Air.

Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Mo'Nique (Precious)
Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), and Mo'Nique (Precious)

Art Direction:
Winner: Avatar
Nominees: Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, and The Young Victoria.

Best Costume Design:
Winner: The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)
Nominees: Bright Star (Janet Patterson), Coco before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme), Nine (Colleen Atwood), and The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell).

Sound Editing:
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Nominees: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Star Trek, and Up.

Sound Mixing:
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Nominees: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Star Trek, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Cinematography:
Winner: Avatar
Nominees: Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and The White Ribbon.

Original Score:
Winner: Up
Nominees: Avatar, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hurt Locker, Sherlock Holmes, and Up.

Visual Effects:
Winner: Avatar
Nominees: Avatar, District 9, and Star Trek.

Best Documentary Feature:
Winner: The Cove
Nominees: Burma VJ, The Cove, Food, Inc, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, and Which Way Home.

Best Film Editing:
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Nominees: Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.

Best Foreign Language Film:
Winner: El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes)
Nominees: Ajami (Israel), El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina), The Milk of Sorrow (Peru), Un Prophete (France), and The White Ribbon (Germany).

Best Actor:
Winner: Jeff Bridges
Nominees: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Best Actress:
Winner: Sandra Bullock
Nominees: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire), and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).

Best Director:
Winner: Kathryn Bigelow
Nominees: James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire), and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air).

Best Picture:
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Nominees: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air.

There you have it. The winners and nominees of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Some were shoe-in's, others came as a complete surprise. One thing is for certain, they all entertained us.

See Also: The Most Memorable Moments in Academy Awards History

Sources:
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences: Press Transcripts Onstage and Backstage
82nd Annual Academy Awards Viewer