In Marty We Trust

The Departed isn't Martin Scorsese's best movie by a long shot, but who gives a rip. Amid the tedium of the four hour ceremony it was a pleasure to see him receive the Academy honors that have eluded him for over thirty years. Did anyone else catch Clint Eastwood yawning during Marty's speech?

I can't remember a year where I felt so indifferent during the Best Picture announcement. The Queen was my first choice, but I knew from the polls that it didn't stand a chance. Usually Best Picture goes to a film that wins one of the screenplay awards, so I figured Little Miss Thang might squeak through and join the legions of mediocre movies that have won top honors. At least The Departed is a couple of notches above mediocre, but I doubt anyone will be talking about it five years from now.

For the most part I thought Ellen was a charming host, even though her opening monologue wobbled. The producers could have easily sliced a half hour off the ordeal by canning the lame Will Ferrell/Jack Black routine and the interesting but completely irrelevant "images of America" montage.

The awards went pretty much as expected, with the exception of Alan Arkin's upset victory in the Best Supporting Actor department. I'm not a fan of Dreamgirls and wanted its trophy haul kept to a minimum. The award should have gone to Little Children's Jackie Earle Haley, but Arkin's victory was just fine (even though he's played that same role a hundred times and could have done it in his sleep).