The Uptown Lounge

The 81st Annual Academy Awards will go down as the best directed show of the entire 08-09 award season. For the first time in many years, I sat through the entire show, without becoming bored.

Hugh Jackman turned out to be a remarkable host, and his opening number was pretty amazing.

It is safe to say however, that this year’s show could have easily been called The Slumdog Button Show, and no one would have thought otherwise.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Slumdog Millionaire,  Milk, Revolutionary Road, The Reader and Frost/Nixon. I have yet to see any one of them in their entirety, but the clips that I have seen have been utterly amazing. In saying that, I think that this is also the first year that I had actually heard of all of the films that were nominated in the best picture category!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was an excellent film, with a great moral story attached. Although many people were turned off by the length, I thought that the film was well written, making it worth my time. I was glad to see these two movies do so well with the Academy. Taraji P. Henson’s performance was excellent, and I hope that that role will become a stepping stone for many more great roles to come. She’s proven that she can step out of the typecast, which I think will be that much more beneficial to her career.

Check out the following clips from the show:

The opening sequence- Featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqsLUZxw__U]

“The Musical is Back”- Featuring Hugh Jackman, Beyonce Knowles, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron and the chorus from Mama Mia!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCjJ81WSNOM]

Here’s what happened in the big categories:

Slumdog Millionaire:

• Best Picture
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Film Editing
• Best Cinematography
• Best Director: Danny Boyle
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song: ‘Jai Ho’-AR Rahman

Check out ‘Jai Ho’ here

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1RyjC9wPhs]

Best Actor:

Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress:

Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actor:

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona

For the complete list of winners visit the official Academy Awards site.