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After all the nail-biting and hair-graying, February 24, 2008 served as the date for the 80th annual Academy Awards. It was an evening of glitz, glamour, and Jon Stewart.

There were a few surprises, the least of which being Daniel Day Lewis’ Best Performing Actor victory. His speech was pre-meditated and eloquent, as could only be expected of the English gentleman.

In fact, all the leading and supporting actors were foreign. Day Lewis and Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting) are both from the United Kingdom, Javier Bardem is Spanish, and Marion Cotillard is, but of course, French. Even the winner of Best Animated Film, Ratatouille, is about a foreign country.

Is it bad that the winner’s circle was without an American? Not at all; there is nothing to prove that American actors are better then foreign ones. All these victories signify is a need for American actors to step it up a notch.

My favorite win of the evening was Best Song going to “Falling Slowly” from the film Once. I reported on this film earlier this year and completely expected the Academy to ignore this fabulous low-budget indie classic. I am so happy to be proven wrong.

I was also very pleased over Atonement’s Best Score win. I loved the film and when the SAG passed over Atonement in all categories, I did not expect it to go home with an Oscar. The score of this film is wonderful, with a clever use of a typewriter to provide the rhythm to the music. It fit into the film perfectly, yet stood out enough to be noticed and appreciated by both the audience and the Academy.

Another non-surprise was No Country for Old Men’s 4 Oscars. The film won Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Directing, and Best Picture.

Even Juno was able to bring home some Oscar gold. The movie won Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The vitory gave Diablo Cody the recognition she deserved for creating such a brilliant film.

The only forgotten film, it seems, was Into the Wild. Personally, I feel that the film should have been recognized, especially for the sheer amount of work that went into it.

Jon Stewart, who only had one week to write the show, did a phenomenal job. He was able to poke fun at just about everything, while entertaining millions and millions of people. He also stuck with his usual brand of humor, which works well for him. The Academy made the perfect choice when picking Stewart to do the impossible.

All-in-all, the 80th Academy Awards show was a success. Everyone was gorgeous, Stewart was funny, and all the best films this year were awarded.