2010 Oscars A Polished, Yet Predictable Affair

The 2010 Academy Awards were held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California last night.

This is the 82nd year that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences have acknowledged excellence in motion pictures when awarding actors, directors and writers in the most prominent awards show.

Before the show began, Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest interviewed stars as they made their first appearances on the red carpet. Some of the most memorable dresses were worn by Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez and Miley Cyrus.

Catch up on all of last night's red carpet couture here!

This year’s telecast returned to the roots of earlier Oscar ceremonies with ten films nominated for Best Picture. Kathryn’s Bigelow’s war drama “The Hurt Locker” beat out the nine other nominees to win the top prize. Other nominees included “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9,” “An Education,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” and “Up in the Air.”

Best Actor and Best Actress were awarded to Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart” and Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side,” respectively.

Best Supporting Actor was awarded to first time nominee Christoph Waltz for his role as “the Jew Hunter” in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” Mo’Nique, who turned heads as an abusive mother in “Precious,” took home the award for Best Supporting Actress.

The award for Best Director was awarded to Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker,” which also won for Best Original Screenplay. Bigelow’s award for directing was the night’s most significant win due to the fact that she is the first female director to walk away with the coveted statuette in the category.

The award for Best Animated Film was given to Disney/Pixar’s “Up,” which beat “The Secret of Kells,” fellow Disney animated movie “The Princess and the Frog,” and the stop-motion features “Coraline” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

Overall, last night’s 82nd Academy Awards ceremony was fairly predictable from top to bottom. Most wins were expected, the show ran over its allotted time slot and the hosts (Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin) were both adept and adequate.

The night's biggest highlight, a brilliant song and dance number from Neil Patrick Harris that kick-started the whole shebang.

Note to the Academy: Get more NPH next year and I’ll RSVP… ASAP!