Brokeback Mountain lost? I demand a recount.... Crash is commercially the least successful Best Picture since 1987's The Last Emperor.... James Dean and Harrison Ford never won an Oscar, but the Three 6 Mafia have.... After hearing George Clooney's speech congratulating Hollywood on its cutting-edge civil-rights record, one wonders if he has ever heard of a movie called Birth of a Nation.... Reese Witherspoon seemed the only normal person to win a major award. She is sweet. Were the Best Actress winner's constant references to being a "real woman" a subconscious jab at her competitor, Transamerica's Felicity Huffman?

Hollywood is completely out-of-touch with the rest of America. Personally, I am still miffed that "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" never won an Oscar...

What if an industry that thrived on publicity came up with a way to not only promote its products while at the same time indulging in an orgy of self-congratulation? Voila: the Oscars!

The most unfortunate part of the story is that that a number of other entertainment segments have sought to capitalize on the idea, and television now has almost as many awards shows as reality series and medical "dramas".

Never seen 'em; never will!

I really thought Reese would have won one before this for Legally Blonde or at least Legally 2.

The only reason Bareback Mountain didn't win, is because everyone was EXPECTING it to win. The Oscar Fancy Lads that do the voting don't want to seem predictable, or give any further ammunition to its critics.

All in all, I was pleased with the selections. Considering that most of the movies were crap, the Academy did seem to choose on merit and not based on Hollywood correctness.

Maybe they're trying a bit harder to please a public that has essentially dissed what's trying to pass today as film entertainment.

Clooney getting a token award for his work in a revisionist anti-American film entry was not that all unexpected.

I would say that Reese's referral to "real" women had more to do with her stance on the state of young women who are "celebrities" today. She has said in lots of interviews that as the mother of a young daughter, she isn't pleased that many young women in the spotlight choose to appear dim witted rather than demonstrating they have a brain. It seems she'd rather girls see that they can have power from having self respect, making good decisions, and being in charge of themselves rather than feeling like they need to show a ton of skin and very little of their brain.

The sad thing that George Clooney and all the Hollywood droids don't realize is that they are merely tools being used for profit. What lasting effect on society is "Syriana" ever going to have? Who will remember it?

Next year there will be a new set of money makers and they'll all pat each other's backs, shake each other's hands, give each other $55,000 "goody bags", and then go back to making more money. The Academy Awards is just a big gala to make them feel good about themselves and important. I tuned in this year to watch Jon Stewart, and he actually made fun of the Hollywood elite more than anyone else! Finally, someone who understands what flakes these people really are.

The movies that we will remember and love will never win Oscars. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rocky, Rudy...the list goes on.

Im at least part-way grateful that Crash beat out Bareback Mounthim. I didnt watch it last night, but I was voting for the lesser of two evils I guess. I agree with Doyle that great movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark will never win Oscars for best picture, even though they dont make movies that are up to par with Raiders anymore in Hollyweird. I stopped watching after Saving PVT Ryan got snubbed for Shakespeare in Love....I still cringe when I hear that movie title. The last great movie to win best picture was Return of the King.

I don't mean to be a pedant but since Rocky is a great film that should always get its due I have to correct Doyle. It won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1977 and also won for director.

Oh crap, I pulled Streisand! I was trying to correct Doyle and screwed up myself. Rocky won Best Picture in 1976 (of course!); Annie Hall won in 1977. (Skeptic don't give me hell for forgetting Allen winning one please).

Btw, Rocky beat out Taxi Driver and All the President's Men that year, both terribly overrated films which were much more in line with Hollywood's politics than Rocky was.

Does anyone know which of the Bareback boys is the woman, and which one is the man? Ya'll know what I mean...

I don't want to have to watch it to find out...ugh.

You're just an intolerant barbarian nazi homophobe Homer!

I haven't and won't see it either, but my sister went to see it and told me more about it than I wanted to know. Like, when one guy flips the other one over in the tent.......

Sorry, don't understand life on Bareback Mounthim.

I was watching Jay Leno last night and his guests were Ebert & Roeper. Leno asked them if Hollywood was out of touch with mainstream America and Ebert responded, "I think America is out of touch with good movies." They were lapping so many compliments on George Clooney, I swear if he was there, they both would have been polishing his knob. Hollywood is drowning in a sea of its own bull$hit.

Homer,

Jake Gyllenhall plays the submissive to Heath Ledger's dominant character in BM. Haven't seen it but it is made clear in reviews I have read.

What else would Ebert say? He's got to protect his high paying phoney baloney gig. They all reciprocate in the suck up game and most people outside of their little worlds don't care. The people, that is, who buy the tickets (or don't) that support the crap that plays better on DVD anyway.

And, I can see Ledger being the dominant one. Wasn't he in 'The Knights Tale' ? Was pretty good with the lance in that one too. ;-)

Brian,

Take Rocky of my list and add another one of your favorites that will never win. Remember, the Academy was a little different back then too, they didn't have Pimps and Ho's on the stage performing and then give them an award. What a discrace!

Clooney has a point: whatever perversion the cultural elites promote and is denounced by most normal American inevitably becomes mainstream 20 years later, and anyone who dared question its values will be labelled an extremist. I'm sure in 20 years, the idea that anyone could oppose gay liberation would seem as shocking as the fact that 17 states had anti-miscegenation when Guess Whose Coming to Dinner came out (and subsequently got 10 oscar nominations.)

I personally found Crash much worse than Brokeback. Brokeback was actually a good movie if you took out the pro-homosexual propaganda, while Crash was possibly one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. Futthermore by making a few pretenses of seeming to just be provocative rather than politically correct it was probably more destructive.