Oscar Wrap Up-LK's take

What a night. First of all, let’s start out with the news we’re most excited for. Finally, finally, finally. Kate Winslet is an Academy Award winner. She accepted gracefully, but the speech was still very genuine. You could tell she was nervous on the red carpet, but everything paid off. Congrats Kate!
Hugh Jackman could not have been a better host. His opening number, which also showed off Anne Hathaway’s pipes (big props to her) was fantastic and it set the stage for the show, which had much more fun attitude than ever before. Last night’s Oscars were the best Oscars I’ve seen in 10 plus years. I loved, loved, loved the musical montage of all the broadway songs. And despite what I think of Beyonce, I think she did well along side Hugh and company. Zach Efron should have worn a little(a lot) less gel in his hair and I wish Vanessa wore a dress she could walk in, but Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper were amazing. Dominic Cooper is very hot.
Sean Penn walked away with the Best Actor award, something I was happy about but didn’t predict. I was glad he won and his speech was very fun and touching, and slightly political, but for a good cause, so it’s all good. I thought the speech given by Milk’s screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black was extremely moving. And of course, you can’t mention the Academy Awards without mentioning Slumdog Millionare, which owned the night. Sumdog walked with 8 awards including Best Director for Danny Boyle, Best Cinematography and the night’s big award, Best Picture.
Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger won the supporting prizes. Penelope’s speech was very genuine, very sweet and Heath’s family accepted the award on his behalf and gave a brief but heartfelt thanks to the Academy.
The A-list of presenters included Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Reese Witherspoon, and for the first time this year instead of having the previous year’s winner present the 4 major acting awards, the Academy went in a different direction. They pulled 5 of the former winners and had them all come out and speak about each of the nominees, and then present the award. I really liked the idea, it showcased many of the talents and allowed legends like Sophia Loren and Angelica Houston to be on stage along side modern day talents like Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman.
Overall, the night was superb, an excellent display of talent and glitz and glamour at its finest. Bravo, Academy. And goodbye 2009 Award Season! You have served us well!
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS:
Best Picture -- "Slumdog Millionaire," Christian Colson, producer

Director -- Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Actor -- Sean Penn, "Milk"

Actress -- Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

Supporting Actor -- Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

Supporting Actress -- Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Animated Film -- "WALL-E"

Adapted Screenplay -- "Slumdog Millionaire," Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay -- "Milk," Written by Dustin Lance Black

Art Direction -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

Cinematography -- "Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle

Costume Design -- "The Duchess," Michael O'Connor

Documentary Feature -- "Man on Wire"

Documentary Short Subject -- "Smile Pinki"

Film Editing -- "Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

Foreign Language Film -- "Departures," Japan

Makeup -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Greg Cannom

Original Score -- "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman

Original Song -- "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire," Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar

Animated Short Film -- "La Maison en Petits Cubes"

Live Action Short Film -- "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

Sound Editing -- "The Dark Knight," Richard King

Sound Mixing -- "Slumdog Millionaire," Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

Visual Effects -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Fashion wise, I haven’t got much to complain about. Everyone really looked good. Some of my favorite looks were Kate Winslet’s one-shoulder getup. It was different, risky, but she wore it insanely well. Her hair, her earings, everything was perfect for her winning night. Meryl Streep. Dayum, woman! She’s sixty and still hot. She glammed herself up! Miley Cyrus’ dress was a lot for her to wear—similar to Sarah Jessica Parker’s, which I loved—and Miley pulled it off. I was surprised, but she carried herself well. Anne Hathaway’s dress --I couldn’t decide on. It was alright, it didn’t do a whole lot for me, but not awful. Natalie Portman looked gorgeous in an insanely bold color choice, the hot pink dress. Penelope Cruz strayed from her usual black dress and looked sensational in that light colored dress, while Angie opted for black and looked fab as well. Brad Pitt looked very hot, as did Robert Downey Jr and John Legend as he performed. As I said, I wish Zach Efron didn’t use an entire tube of gel in his hair and Vanessa Hudgens wore a dress she could walk in; they looked ridiculous, but you win some, you lose some. Jessica Biel looked great in white. The trend of the night was definitely light colors and the scaley dress look. Reese and Tina looked great, as always. I loved Halle Berry’s dress and I have to say, Frieda Pinto is stunning. She looked fantastic all glammed up last night, but she really is a ridiculously pretty girl.
Overall, I was very, very pleased with the Academy Awards!