Oscar winners, and my personal opinion about them...

Honestly, the only awards I've ever cared about are the Oscars. The Grammy's are lame, the Golden Globes is just a party with trophies being handed out and the Independent Spirit awards is a time for people to convince themselves that they're the modern movie mavericks. But the Oscars is where the elite in the film industry are recognized for their talent and expertise in producing a film of high quality, films that will never get old and films that usually make some kind of difference in the industry. Here are the winners, and my personal opinion as to why or why not I agree.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Jamie Foxx RAY - Impersonation is of the highest forms of flattery, and Jamie Foxx flattered Ray Charles to death, literally. He is so convincing as Ray, and has him down so well he deserved this Oscar.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Morgan Freeman MILLION DOLLAR BABY - This one was long overdue, he should have won it for Shawshank Redemption, but he was great in MDB as well. Congrats!

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Hilary Swank MILLION DOLLAR BABY - Honestly, I thought she was a little over the top in this film, I was pulling for Kate Winslet, but oh well.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Cate Blanchett THE AVIATOR - Another win for a celebrity impersonator, she did a great job as K. Hepburn and is well deserved.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM THE INCREDIBLES Brad Bird Never saw it, the only nominees I saw were Shrek 2, which I felt was not nearly as good as the original, and Shark Tale, which sucked. So I guess the Incredibles was deserving.

ART DIRECTION THE AVIATOR Dante Ferretti (Art Direction); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) - Excellent set design and an art deco feel to everything, really enhanced the film and captured that era.

BEST PICTURE MILLION DOLLAR BABY Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy and Tom Rosenberg - It had all the fixins for a best film, it was formulaic with great characters, a huge character arch and a sweeping story that took you up onto cloud nine then dropped you into the grand canyon. That's why it won and that's why I was pulling for the less conventional work of art that was the Aviator. But Clint Eastwood is a great director, and I have no beef about it.

CINEMATOGRAPHY THE AVIATOR Robert Richardson - I loved the two tone technicolor he used for the first half of the film, and the film in general just looks beautiful.

COSTUME DESIGN THE AVIATOR Sandy Powell - Costumes were good for this film, I had no preference.

DIRECTING MILLION DOLLAR BABY Clint Eastwood - He's one of my favorite directors, so I was happy to see him win. I wanted Marty, but maybe some other year.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BORN INTO BROTHELS Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski - Never saw it, I just hoped Super Size Me didn't win (phew)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT MIGHTY TIMES: THE CHILDREN'S MARCH Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston - Sounded sad and heart piercing, a shoe in for a win FILM

EDITING THE AVIATOR Thelma Schoonmaker - One of the best editors in the business, has cut the majority of Marty's films. A genius of an editor and is the yin to Marty's yang.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE SEA INSIDE Spain Directed by Alejandro Amenábar - I want to see this so bad, looks good. I was disappointed that "A Very Long Engagement" wasn't nominated.

HONORARY AWARD Roger Mayer - I love his restoration work, nice to see him receive some recognition.

HONORARY AWARD Sidney Lumet - 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and etc... Always creates quality dramatic films and never disappoints. Well deserved.

MAKEUP LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso - Lemony Snicket's deserved this award, as makeup was one of the few things that was actually good about the film.

MUSIC (SCORE) FINDING NEVERLAND Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - The music is part of why it was one of the first movies to make me cry in a long time.

MUSIC (SONG) THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES "Al Otro Lado Del Río" Music and Lyric by Jorge Drexler - Hadn't heard it until Santana and Antonio Banderas performed it tonight. I liked it, now I just need to see the film.

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) SIDEWAYS Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - My dad thought it was good, and he's a hard man to convince sometimes when it comes to comedies. So I guess it's deserving.

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman; Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth - Charlie Kaufman's a great modern day surrealist, I was happy to see him win for this great film.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) RYAN Chris Landreth - Does anybody ever actually see these?

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) WASP Andrea Arnold - I heard it was good, I don't know

SOUND EDITING THE INCREDIBLES Michael Silvers and Randy Thom Never heard of an animated feature winning for sound, Aviator should have won.

SOUND MIXING RAY Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa - Musicals usually win this one, and that's alright in my book.

VISUAL EFFECTS SPIDER-MAN 2 John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier - Harry Potter or I, Robot should have won. With all the poorly composited shots and cheesy animation it had, it wasn't deserving. John Dykstra is a pioneer in effects work, and it's good to see him win something at least.