I was actually quite pleased that Crash won Best Picture. I thought, as far as most movies with many storylines stitched together these days, Crash was above them. (I haven't yet seen You and Me and Everyone We Know, but I've met the filmmaker and she is quite cool). The separate storylines made sense and weaved together well, unlike Syriana where I didn't really care about a single story or how they would come together.

I was also very pleasantly surprised (as was Jack Nicholson!) that Crash won.

I have seen it 3 times now and it is just as gutwrenching each time. The performances are powerful almost to a person, the characters are complicated, the editing and cinematography are excellant, and the humanity (both beautiful and ugly) of each character comes through very strongly.

I did think it was sad that Don Cheadle was not in attendance. This was his triumph as much as anyone else's. He is one of those actors that years from now will come to be appreciated much more than he is currently.

Oscar is just an awards show, nothing more and nothing less. Winning the awards does not mean it is the best picture. There is no objectivity in judging the quality of art. In this material emphasized, consuming society, illusion is being created. There's nothing to be excited or for that matter, depressed about this kind of just one more awards show. In fact, the nomination itself - for the best picture category, does not fully make sense to begin with. There are many more superior films - if one must compare - than these five nominated films. Who gives the right to nominate films they have done, anyways...

Most importantly, Oscar is nothing more than pretty much domestic awards show, it does not even consider to look elsewhere to find truly good films(from all over the world). It just nominates English speaking films and their choices are always disappointing in many ways. Once again, it is a show, nothing more than that.