OSCAR ROUND-UP

Wow...so the Oscars weren't quite as bad as I feared. The entertainment value was up thanks to Jon Stewart who came on strong and then seemed to flag as his material was reduced to "Wow, we're going great!" after the first hour. The self-congratulatory factor was in the red, though, and I was surprised at how liberal/leftie the Oscars were willing to be. I guess they figured if they were going to champion unpopular movies then why not go all the way? At least they had a thought process, something that was demonstrably absent in previous years.

Those weird montages (the Film Noir one and the Epic one) were sure padding though, and the last thing the Oscars need is padding. And speaking of padding, what was that on Charlize Theron's left shoulder? A crow? A little pillow in case she got sleepy? I'm not sure what it was, but it scared me almost as much as Dolly Parton's face work. Every year she gets tinier and her face gets more streamlined and smooth. Eventually she'll just be a six inch tall dancing lady with the face of a 4 year old. And we'll all still love her.