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Hey, at least it didn't run terribly late

Kim Hollis: What were your favorite and least favorite moments from The Academy Awards?

Josh Spiegel: Inception, Natalie Portman, The Social Network, and Toy Story 3 winning were great moments, as was Kirk Douglas' bit at the beginning. Pretty much everything else was forgettable or painful. James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting was an interesting experiment, but they should never do it again. Just stick with comedians, Academy.

Brett Beach: Trent Reznor in a tux (and winning) was awesome. I will take licks for being a bastard, but Kirk Douglas was painful, Dick Clark painful. Also, reinvigorated Weinsteins is cause for despair and doldrums on this end.

Max Braden: I thought Kirk Douglas could have been painful but turned into something funny. I really liked David Seidler's acceptance speech. My least favorite moment was a turnaround from a favorite. I thought Melissa was so good and natural in The Fighter that she was my favorite performer of the year. But her acceptance at the Oscars - after plenty of adoration leadup both at the Globes and SAG awards - felt totally staged. Combined with her taking out an ad for herself, her apparent desire to win the award somehow managed to exceed how much she deserved it.





Daron Aldridge: As Josh pointed out during the Oscar live blog, I loved that Inception won four awards and each winner took it upon themselves to thanks/recognize Nolan, since the Academy seems to think his brilliant films direct themselves. Still on a Nolan-related note, I was thrilled that Christian Bale won. Also, points to Bale and Downey for poking fun at themselves and Franco, who might as well been channeling his Freaks & Geeks' Daniel, for his "Congratulations, nerds." My least favorite part of the evening was easily Melissa Leo's acceptance script...er, I mean, speech. It seemed way too forced, rehearsed and...dare I say...poorly acted/executed. I didn't even buy the spontaneity of the F-bomb.

Jim Van Nest: I thought the Kirk Douglas bit was the highlight of the night. I also liked Hathaway's song to Hugh Jackman. Too bad it came 90 minutes into the program. The fact that Chris Nolan couldn't even land the Screenplay award just pisses me off. Is there anyone making films today that is as consistent as Nolan? Maybe Fincher...oh wait, he was empty handed as well.

Also, is it too early for me to start a campaign to get Justin Timberlake the hosting gig for next year?

David Mumpower: I'm conflicted on the Kirk Douglas incident. He has certainly earned the right to take an extra moment in the spotlight, but Helena Bonham Carter in particular looked like she was ready to charge the stage then kick his cane out from under him. I would not want Bellatrix Lestrange as an enemy. I didn't mind the hosts, which places me squarely against the entirety of the internet. I didn't feel like they were given enough to do, however, and that means neither Hathaway nor Franco took control the way a more confident host would. The whole night had a passive feel to it as if everyone realized that the primary categories have been settled for a while now. Josh has been commenting on this with his In Contention pieces and the night's event proved him correct. Best Director was the only surprise of the evening, which makes for frustrating television. At least the show was short.

Kim Hollis: I loved Colin Firth's win, expected though it was, because I think it's well-established that I've been a fan for a very, very long time. David Seidler's speech was charming. I, too, found James Franco highly entertaining, though I realize I am very much in the minority on that opinion. I just don't think many people have been "with" him long enough to quite get it. I will say that I think that's a fault of the producers, who should have known better.

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