The Oscars were reasonably short (3:17), reasonably entertaining, and not terribly surprising. Jon Stewart was very funny (Gaydolf Titler!), Helen Mirren was elegant even while saying the word “cojones,” and a whole lot of foreigners won awards. Several of the acceptance speeches were actually quite touching and sweet, which is rare.

I correctly predicted 13 out of 24, same as last year. I note that while I intentionally avoided matching Entertainment Weekly’s predictions in the short categories because of their poor track record, this year we split: EW got the documentary short right, I got the animated short, and we both missed the narrative short.

The big winner of the night was “No Country for Old Men.” That’s only the second time since I started doing top 10 lists in 1999 that my pick for the year’s best film actually won the Oscar for Best Picture. (The other time was “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.”) Am I starting to have the same tastes as the Academy? Am I turning into an old white liberal rich man? I hope so!

“No Country” won four prizes. The second biggest haul was three awards for … “The Bourne Ultimatum”? It won all three of its categories (editing, sound editing, and sound mixing) — not bad, considering the first two “Bourne” films didn’t even get nominated for anything.

After the jump, the complete list of winners, in case you didn’t watch the show and haven’t been anywhere else on the Internet yet today.

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Matters of race, politics, abortion, and homosexuality appear in this week’s “Snide Remarks,” and my Utah readers probably already know what that means: It’s about Sen. Chris Buttars (R-West Jordan). If you’re not familiar with Buttars, you’re in for a treat. Please feast on this week’s column, entitled “A Crock of Buttars.”

And speaking of loathsome, vile things, my review of Larry The Cable Guy’s “Witless Protection” is up at Film.com. The final paragraph reads: “If you find any of this funny, please rush out and see ‘Witless Protection.’ And please don’t ever do anything that would make me aware of your existence. I prefer not to know.” This was toned down (at the request of my editor) from my original conclusion, which was: “If you find any of this funny, please rush out and see ‘Witless Protection,’ and then please take your own life. It is the only honorable course of action.” I accept the need for the alteration, though I stand by my original position.

This week’s “Snide Remarks,” including the audio version, is here.
The audio version (i.e., the podcast) is also here.
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