Wrapping Up the Oscars
Before I say anything about the winners, a quick thought comes to mind. Again. It's about the incredible place storytelling needs to play in our world. Watching some of the montage clips or reliving this year's nominees, the power and need of good storytelling came clear again. It is plot and dialogue and all the other elements of a good movie that turn a great story into a great movie. It is a soundtrack that complements and enhances the scene. It is the lighting and the camera work and sound editing.

Another thing that struck me this year was that this gift and need of storytelling is universal. The diversity of the nominees reminds us that, as Alejandro Inarritu said about his movie, Babel, it is about what can bring us together- we are in this together. I for one hope this is a trend that continues so we can all get the power of story from all these different points of view making us all a better people. The diversity side of this, as I commented about on Saturday, was very special. It was a real showcase this year. I hope it isn't a fluke, but instead shows a deepening trend.

As to the show, Ellen was nice and down-to-earth like she always is. I enjoyed her trips into the audience and her talks with Eastwood and Scorsese. I will always miss Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, though. Roger Ebert commented that it was a gentle Oscar ceremony. I would agree with that, too. There seemed to be a movie cameraderie that I have not noticed quite as strongly as before. And as always, it was too long.

Two words: Martin Scorsese! Well-deserved. And it is not a lifetime award. This movie deserves it. Scorsese deserves it. Period. End of discussion.

There weren't too many surprises this year in spite of it being billed as more "wide-open" a race than some years. Perhaps more varied is a better word. (Back to the wonderful diversity!)

However there are these few surprises:
You've-got-to-be-kidding-me category: Best Original Screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine. Dysfunctional family dialogue beats dysfuntional criminal family beats worldwide families. No way.

The Obscene Old Man category: Alan Arkin as supporting actor winning over Eddie Murphy. Not a chance. I keep wondering if the overall downplaying of Dreamgirls had more to do with reminding us of the racism of the 50s and 60s in the music business.

The Worst Dictatorship Category: The Lives of Others, about East German dictatorship wins this over Pan's Labyrinth, Franco Spanish fascism. I haven't seen The Lives of Others yet so can't say if it is a better picture. Perhaps realism beats magical realism in this one.

The Split the Votes and None Win Category: Well, when you have three to choose from, how do you choose one. Melissa Etheridge (for a documentary song) beat Dreamgirls. Not that the Etheridge song wasn't good. It was. It's too bad that Dreamgirls had to be so incredibly creative.

And so it goes for another year. Still lots of movies to see from this year's list that I haven't seen; movies from previous years that deserve a viewing because I missed them; and it looks like a whole new batch on the way this year.

The story continues to be told!