Best Director/Picture

Well, that was sweet.
Even a confirmed Oscar cynic like me adored everything about the Martin Scorsese lovefest at the end of the 79th Academy Awards.
Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas' goofy little presentation routine.
Marty's recollection of everybody who'se told him he should have won through all the years that, well, he should have won.
And it just felt wonderful that it wasn't a split victory, as has happened so often in recent years, between best picture and director. If the academy dopes are going to take so long to recognize America's greatest living filmmaker, they at least owe him more than half the Monty.
In the final analysis, though, Marty was one of this year's most predictable choices (Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker and the screenplays were others). And the best picture award, though considered throughout the season to be totally up for grabs, went to the nominee that sold the most tickets, had the most and biggest stars in it and ultimately might have had the least illuminating things to say about the human condition (even the contrived, anything-for-a-laugh "Little Miss Sunshine" took some sharp swipes at the inequities and idiocies of the American success syndrome).
But "The Departed" was also unmitigated indefensible fun, fantastically presented with energy and filmmaking panache to burn, and filled with characters who spoke my language (abjectly vulgar, if you must know).
And it was no "Raging Bull," "GoodFellas" or "Taxi Driver," all better pictures that were genuinely the best of their given years. So what? The academy just did what I've been saying all night it's best at now, which is bestowing the mark of achievement on someone whose overall body of work has advanced the cinematic artform and brought deep pleasure to intelligent filmgoers for decades.
Does any of this mean anything else, Oscarly historically wise? Probably not, except that the voters want to do some things unexpected but still think too conventionally to go all the way with that.
Otherwise, don't know and don't care. Which reminds me of one more thing: Scorsese didn't pimp himself out during this year's awards race, as he did the last two times he ran and lost. Hope that's a lesson to all fools who drop trou again and again for recognition during awards season. And if you can't learn that lesson from former altar boy Scorsese, I refer you to my post earlier tonight from the Book of Leviticus.