So, the Oscars are finally over. Not many major surprises this year, although I only managed to get 12 out of 20 of my predictions. The biggest surprise of the night for me was The Hurt Locker winning Best Picture, at which point I let out an obnoxiously loud ‘YES!’ much to the annoyance of the people around me. Although I was rooting for it all along, I just didn’t think it would win Best Picture over Avatar considering the latter’s immense popularity with the general audience ($2.5 billion so far and counting.) Yet, whatever the reason (the new polling system, the introduction of 10 nominees or the well-planned publicity) The Hurt Locker won and I am very happy for it!

The second most controversial win of the night was probably in the Best Actress category. Although I was perfectly happy with Bullock winning, (even only for her speech afterwards) I read/heard many comments about how she didn’t deserve to win and how the other performances were so much better than hers etc. Well, people may have different views on this, but in my opinion none of the leading performances this year (although they were all very good) were exceptionally superior to any other (as was in the Supporting Actress category with Mo’nique, for example.) As a result, the final result was somewhat influenced by the Academy’s “mood,” which happened to be leaning towards Bullock this year. And, I’m not trying to downplay her win by saying this, I think it was well deserved. Only, it had as much to do with the Academy’s fondness for her, as it did with her performance.

And a final word on Avatar..

Firstly I’d like to make it clear that I do like Avatar. Yes, it doesn’t have a semblance of good dialogue in it, yes it is as predictable as an explosion in a Michael Bay film and yes, it basically plays out as The Smurfs meets Dances with Wolves, but I still like it. However I really don’t think it deserved the Best Picture or the Best Director Oscar, and this is why: When I first went to see Avatar (with much apprehension, mind you) I left the theater feeling very impressed. Impressed with the visual effects, impressed with how life-like and incredibly immersive it was, and I give James Cameron props for that. However, the Best Director (and Best Picture) Oscar is supposed to be about good storytelling and what Cameron achieved with Avatar just wasn’t that.

I acknowledge the fact that Cameron spent more than a decade on this project, and that it was his artistic vision and personal initiative that made it possible. However as far as cinematic storytelling goes, it fell flat on it’s face. To make myself more clear, if Pandora and the Na’vi actually existed and Avatar was shot live-action, no one would be half as impressed. Without the magic of the special effects, there’s nothing left to support Avatar; there’s nothing special about the story or the way it’s told. What Cameron did was only to innovate the medium of film, and he and his crew may well deserve every single Sci-Tech Award for that, but years from now, when this technology ceases to be impressive, Avatar will cease to impress as well, and that should just never happen with a good film. So, you can have endless arguments about whether The Hurt Locker will be able to withstand the test of time, but Avatar sure as hell won’t be up there with other classics, and therefore did not deserve to win an Oscar.

I rest my case.

Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique
Best Picture - Avatar
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Actor – Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Best Actress – Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Animated Feature – Up
Best Original Screenplay – Quentin Tarantino - Inglorious Bastards
Best Adapted Screenplay – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air
Best Foreign Language Film – The White Ribbon
Best Cinematography – Avatar
Best Art Direction – Avatar
Best Film Editing – District 9
Best Visual Effects – Avatar
Best Sound Editing – Avatar
Best Sound Mixing – Avatar
Best Original Score – Sherlock Holmes
Best Original Song – ‘The Weary Kind’ from Crazy Heart
Best Makeup – Star Trek
Best Costume Design – The Young Victoria