My Oscar® picks

Best Picture:

No Country for Old Men

Best Actor:

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress:
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress:
Ruby Dee, American Gangster

Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay: Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey, Atonement

POST-MORTEM: I went 6-for-9....ecch. Not one of my better years. I was (pleasantly surprised) by Tilda Swinton's upset win in Best Supporting Actress (over Ruby Dee and Cate Blanchett) and I think Marion Cotillard single-handedly torpedoed Oscar pools around the world in the Best Actress race. A few other random observations:

• So that's how they whipped together an Oscar extravaganza in under two weeks - montage, montage, montage! Christ, was it really necessary to list all 79 previous Best Picture winners?
• In what is pretty much a thankless, no-win job, I thought Jon Stewart did a pretty decent job as host.
• I didn't see Enchanted, but based on the zillion or so nominated songs performed last night, I'd rather see Norbit. What horrible, horrible music...I wasn't too fond of the mopey song that won, but at least I didn't want to stick a screwdriver in my ear whilst listening.
• My favorite moment of the evening? Regis Philbin on the pre-show, calling Javier Bardem "Xavier". That and Gary Busey going insane and interrupting a Jennifer Garner interview on the Red Carpet. Busey is the 21st century Howard Beale.
• I'm happy for No Country for Old Men and the Coens, but I have a nagging feeling that I really should have seen There Will Be Blood.