OSCARS, MY QUICK THOUGHTS

No big surprises--I've read a few things that said Crash could upset Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture. It wasn't totally out of left field, such in 1981, when Chariots of Fire beat out On Golden Pond and Reds. Of course, Crash was the only one of the five nominees I haven't seen.

I was a little disappointed Transamerica didn't win in either of the categories it was nominated in. I knew Felicity Huffman had an uphill battle against Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line for Best Actress, but I was hoping Dolly Parton's "Travelin' Thru" might pull out a win for Best Song. Instead a hip-hop mess, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle & Flow, won. Actually, I thought the third nominee, "In the Deep" from Crash, was the best. I guess the Academy voters wanted to seem hip and with it.

I thought Jon Stewart did an OK job as host, not great, but not a disaster either--though I could have done without his opening "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and Felicity" line.

I thought the music they played during the acceptance speeches was distracting, annoying, and just plain disrespectful of the winners. They need to find another way of keeping them short.

Finally, the dresses. The best dress I saw was Salma Hayek's. I loved the color. I can't think of any that were really bad--Charlize Theron's was a little bit much, with the big bow or whatever on the shoulder, but she's stunning enough to carry it off.