The Oscar Aftermath

Let's start with my tally from yesterday — 15/24 — which isn't terrible considering this was a night full of surprises. And, of course, I need to apologize for the gaff of failing to post my picks in the musical categories on my blog yesterday.

There were some things we learned last night right after the awards started flying. First, the Academy really had no love for "Lincoln." The film earned the most nominations — 12 — but took home only two awards — production design and Daniel Day Lewis for Best Actor. Most considered Day Lewis a lock, and he's loved by the Academy, so let's set that aside. One for 11? That's not great. While I figured it was on the outs for Best Picture, seeing Spielberg lose and Kushner lose for screenwriting was confirmation that the film had soured among voters.

But "Lincoln" wasn't alone. "Zero Dark Thirty," once considered a front-runner, managed just one award — a tie in the sound editing category. Ouch! And "Silver Linings Playbook" may have dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, but it couldn't really break through on Sunday.

The Academy, however, loved "Life of Pi." In addition to taking a number of technical awards, Ang Lee was named Best Director. This, of course, could still be about some guilt over what happened to his film "Brokeback Mountain," but I also think people were generally inspired by the film, its story of survival and the mismash of religious ideology in the film. With four awards, it led the night.

"Argo" took home three awards, including the big prize, as did "Les Miserables." "Django Unchained," despite being viewed as politically incorrect, nabbed awards for its performer and its writer, Quentin Tarantino. Overall, it was a night about spreading the love — unless you were "Lincoln" or "Zero Dark Thirty."

Other thoughts for me:
* Ben Affleck gets his due. Sure, he may not have been nominated as a director, but you have to think that "Argo's" Best Picture win was about people showing their love for Ben. He may have gotten stuck in a rut of cheesy action films for a while, but his three directorial efforts have shown his talent and heart as a filmmaker.

* Jennifer Lawrence, Academy Award winner. I loved "Silver Linings Playbook," as I have written before, so I was excited she won. But not just for the film, but because she's developed a pretty impressive career to this point. The only sad thing about her win is that others in her category, like Jessica Chastain who was brilliant in "Zero Dark Thirty," couldn't win as well.

* There are too many tributes and musical numbers. Last night's show was more than 3.5 hours... It featured a tribute to those who died, to James Bond, and to movie musicals. Setting aside the fact it was, apparently, only movie musicals of the last 10 years, that's too much. When you add the running gags throughout the show, some of the special speeches, and the 20 minute opening, there's too much in there to fit in the time window.

* Seth Macfarlane is funny, but the Oscars might not be his best venue. I didn't mind his schtick, but I don't think it was the right crowd. The Oscars want to be younger and edgy, but they don't really know how to do it. Last night was fun at times, but at other times it seemed a little off. Still better than when Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted, but it wasn't quite in the magic zone. The things that make "Ted" likeable don't translate to an awards show.