The show: a post-mortem

I'll say right off the bat that Jon Stewart did a good job: much better than his uncomfortable first stint a few years ago and better than Ellen DeGeneres last year. The opening monologue was sharp even though some other jokes fell flat (the Yom Kippur-Atonement joke was the worst).

It was a taut, well-produced show, clocking in at about three and a half hours.

The biggest problem: A lack of drama. Marion Cotillard was a surprise, Tilda Swinton somewhat less so. But the last three awards (Daniel Day-Lewis, the Coens and No Country) were more or less anticlimactic. Day-Lewis was gracious but not very memorable; the Coens seemed detached and betrayed no emotion at all; by best picture I was ready to wrap it up.

The show has settled into a formula the past several years: a few montages, the best-song nominees performed, yada yada. The show needs a shake-up, but how to shake it up without flirting with disaster? There's the rub. Maybe we'll find out next year. What's Billy Crystal up to?

My picks: How did I do?

I got seven of the Big Eight correct (only miss: Tilda Swinton for best supporting actress) and 15 of 24 overall. That was the same I got right last year, but I don't think it'll be enough to win my office pool. Somebody had to have gone with Bourne for the sound categories, and they're two up on me right there.

Although ... I just went through Entertainment Weekly's picks and saw that they also got 15 right. So, who knows.

The scorecard

This year's multiple winners:

No Country for Old Men: 4
The Bourne Ultimatum: 3
There Will Be Blood: 2
La Vie en Rose: 2

The winners:
No Country for Old Men: The most Oscars, so by definition the big winner.
The Bourne Ultimatum: Three nominations, three Oscars.
La Vie en Rose: Two for three, with a surprise best actress win.

The losers:
Atonement: Seven nominations, just one Oscar (for original score).
Transformers: Three nominations but goes home empty-handed.

Best picture: No Country for Old Men

Kind of an anticlimactic ending with No Country taking the big prize as expected. Although Scott Rudin's more emotional speech was an antidote to the detached intellectual Coens, it was nothing like Scorsese's triumph last year. Just kind of like, OK, it's over, let's go home.

Best director: Joel and Ethan Coen

Joel's speech made it clear they're still a couple of kids making movies with their Super 8 camera. Which is how it should be. Congrats.

Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

The guy is almost too well-spoken; an elegant acceptance speech. It's a good thing he works only once every few years, or he'd have a lock on the best-actor Oscar. Next up: best director.

A tearful Diablo

An emotional, courteous acceptance speech from Diablo Cody: She thanked the Academy, her fellow nominees, Ellen Page, Jason Reitman and "my family for loving me just the way I am." She then stammered "sorry" as she began to lose her composure and abruptly walked off stage with a mortified look on her face. No worries, Diablo; you were great.

We're down to the Final Four

The preliminaries are over. Now it gets serious: Original screenplay, best actor, best director and best picture. Diablo Cody, are you ready for your close-up?

A documentary upset

No End in Sight was the big favorite here, and a few thought Michael Moore's Sicko might win, but Taxi to the Dark Side pulls it out.

It still gets me every time

The "In Memoriam" montage. Ingmar Bergman ... Suzanne Pleshette ... Heath Ledger.

Now THAT was a great moment

Kudos to Jon Stewart (and to the producer who presumably made the decision) for bringing the "Falling Slowly" songwriter back out on stage after the break to say her thank-yous.

The honorary Oscar

Robert F. Boyle. Strangely moving. Sometimes it's good to remember that there are artists in the motion picture industry who have excelled at their craft for decades -- but we've never heard of them.

Sorry, Roderick Jaynes

We don't get to see what happens if the pseudonym for the Coen brothers gets called to the stage.

Scoreboard: Bourne 3, No Country 2. Enjoy it while it lasts.

The best pictures, made boring

Montage time ... I believe ... I think ... yes, they actually are going to show all 79 best-picture winners, at two seconds apiece. Wake me when it's over.

Best actress: Marion Cotillard

What I said about never picking an upset? Forget it.

And a great emotional acceptance speech: "Thank you life, thank you love, and it is true there are angels in this city! Thank you so much!"

A division of opinion here about her dress. The wife: "I still think the mermaid dress is unfortunate." I didn't mind it.

Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill

Funny in Knocked Up. Funny in Superbad. Not funny on the Oscars.

And Transformers is officially an Oscars oh-fer. Not many predicted that. Good for Bourne, though. Great flick.

Best actress up next. If it's not Marion, I'm toast.

Oops

It was "That's How You Know" that Kristin Chenoweth sang, not "So Close." (Did I mention I haven't seen the movie?) She was good, but I think Amy Adams would have been better. Still, two numbers in one show would have been a lot.

After a strong start, the show is starting to settle into the zzzzz zone. Hey, only two and a half more hours to go!

Yay Minnesota!

The Coens win for adapted screenplay. No Country for Old Men is the first double winner of the night.

It's Sid Ganis. Time for a bathroom break.