Ebert gives the Oscars his seal of approval

Can a guy who’s survived decades of Oscars letdowns ever find anything new to love? Roger that:

It was the best Oscar show I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty. The Academy couldn’t bring it in under three and a half hours, but maybe they simply couldn’t, given the number of categories. What they did do was make the time seem to pass more quickly, and more entertainingly. And they finally cleared some of the logjams involving simply reading the nominees. By bringing out former winners to single out each of the acting nominees and praise their work, they turned the reading of lists into a surprisingly heart-warming formula. I had a feeling Hugh Jackman would be a charmer as host, and he was…

The new design also made possible a crucial new camera shot, looking directly at the nominees from behind the presenters on stage. The looks in the eyes of Viola Davis, Marisa Tomei and Amy Adams as they were praised by Oscar legends was dramatic–infinitely better and less sadistic than the the traditional practice of framing the nominees in little boxes so we could see the instant reactions of the losers.

Ebert saw one thing he didn’t much care for, but it was way offstage.

I don’t want to copy-n-paste Mr. Ebert’s whole column so if you want to know why he thinks Finke was in a funk, you’ll have to go see for yourself. Hint: He suspects it’s because things didn’t turn out quite like she was told they’d turn out.