Overall, the show felt a little sedate and it kept moving along at a nice pace. All in all, I enjoyed the show and look forward to whatever comes next year without strike drama making us wonder if the show will go on.

Shifting gears, I feel the need to take a look at how well I did in my predictions. I am a bit disappointed in how I did this year; last year I believe I got 16 of the 24 awards correct. This year I was merely 12 for 24 and slightly better on my "want to win" choices at 13 of 24.

What were the big ones I missed? Well, both actress awards. I was truly surprised when Tilda Swinton took the prize for supporting actress in Michael Clayton. If it was going to be an upset, I was sure it was going to be Ruby Dee. I thought Cate Blanchett was going to walk away with it. As for lead actress? Julie Christie and Ellen Page topped my list. I have not yet seen La Vie en Rose, but with the positivity around Cotillard's performance I probably won't be disappointed.

I did not figure The Bourne Ultimatum to sweep the three categories it was up for. I was figuring more for the big two of No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, not to mention Transformers.

That brings me to visual effects, the one I am probably most upset over. How in the world can The Golden Compass win? It was the worst of the three; this should have gone to Transformers hands down. The only thing I can think is that the Michael Bay film split the vote with the Pirates sequel, thus allowing the fantasy film to slip through for the gold.

The only other one that I got wrong that was a bit upsetting was Elizabeth: The Golden Age winning for Costume Design. The fact that I am not too keen on the film may be coloring my judgment, but I thought Sweeney Todd should have taken it. The Burton film had such a great look while Elizabeth was ornate for the sake of being ornate. In the end, I won't lose sleep over it. Sweeney did still win an award, in Art Design, so that makes me happy.