'Argo' wins Best Picture: See the winners and losers at the Oscars

Another Oscar year is in the books. There were a few surprises (Ang Lee's win for Best Director was a definite surprise), but for the most part, the awards were what was expected. Ben Affleck's "Argo" culminated its successful awards season with a win for Best Picture; it was even announced by First Lady Michelle Obama. I'm sure that helped soothe any would Affleck felt over not getting a Best Director nod.

Seth McFarlane was the host this year, and I have to say that overall, "Meh". He didn't blow, but I was hoping for an edgier show from him. I think Ricky Gervais and the reaction he received from the Golden Globes have scared anyone from truly trying to do any funny, edgy comedy as a host anymore.

Here is a list of the winners and losers with my thoughts. The winner in each category is in bold.

Best Picture

“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Amour”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”

I had this one originally and then I over thought it thinking that "Argo" and "Lincoln" might split the same voting block. I can't complain though. I loved this movie, and Affleck is proving he's a force to be reckoned with both on screen and behind the camera. We can all forget Gigli now, right?

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

This race has been over since before the movie was even released. Daniel Day-Lewis not only gave one of the best speeches of the night, he was far funnier than host Seth McFarlane.

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

The brilliant young actress gets her first Oscar win. I have no doubt it will be the first of many.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”

This one was a surprise, but the Academy gives Christoph Waltz his second Best Supporting Actor (both while being directed by Quentin Tarantino). The man is brilliant, so I can't be too upset I didn't pick him to win.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams – “The Master”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
Jackie Weaver – “Silver Linings Playbook”

No surprise here. I think Helen Hunt would have won in any other year, but Hathaway nailed a solid performance and charmed her way to an Oscar win.

Animated Feature Film

“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

"Brave" takes the Best Animated Film. It was between "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Brave". I preferred the former but I can't be upset that "Brave" won. Pixar is always amazing.

Directing

“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – Ang Lee
“Lincoln” – Steven Spielberg
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell

This was the biggest surprise of the night for me, but Ang Lee is an incredible filmmaker and he gave the best speech of night.

Writing – Original Screenplay

“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” – Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” – John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” – Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” – Mark Boal

With all the controversy around "Django Unchained" I didn't expect Tarantino to win. Evidently the Academy failed to realize two things:

Remove the N word and the script could have been scribbled on a napkin.
Tarantino keeps making the same movie over and over again - see "Kill Bill" and "Inglourious Basterds"

Writing – Adapted Screenplay

“Argo” – Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – David Magee
“Lincoln” – Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell

This one was probably the biggest foretelling that Spielberg was going to go home empty handed.

Music – Original Song

“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice,” music and lyrics by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from “Ted,” music by Walter Murphy, lyrics by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi,” music by Mychael Danna, lyrics by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from “Les Miserables,” music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Another no-brainer. Now Adele needs to tackle Broadway and win a Tony.

Foreign Language Film

“Amour” (Austria)
“Kon-Tiki” (Norway)
“No” (Chile)
“A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
“War Witch” (Canada)

With a Best Picture nomination in addition to Best Foreign Language Film, "Amour" was a given to win. Every foreign film that has been nominated in both categories has won Best Foreign Language Film (none have won Best Picture).

Cinematography

“Anna Karenina”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

The most gorgeous movie of the year definitely earned this award.

Costume Design

“Anna Karenina”
“Les Miserables”
“Lincoln”
“Mirror Mirror”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”

The gorgeous and elegant costumes of "Anna Karenina" outweighed the grime of Les Mis and Lincoln.

Documentary – Feature

“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How to Survive a Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

I thought for sure "The Invisible War" was a sure thing, but "Searching for Sugar Man" would have been my second choice.

Documentary – Short

“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays at Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”

The only category where I didn't see any of the nominees, but based on the trailers, "Inocente" looked like a sure thing. It was.

Film Editing

“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

I pegged "Zero Dark Thirty" for this one, but "Argo" was on a roll.

Makeup And Hairstyling

“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”

Anne Hathaway was not going to be the only one to win for this movie, so it makes sense it wins in this category.

Music – Original Score

“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

Another no-brainer in my opinion. It was by far the most powerful score of the year, and the only one I could see myself listening to independent of the movie.

Production Design

“Anna Karenina”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”

I had picked "Life of Pie" for this but in hindsight realized most of the movie takes place in the middle of the ocean...not a lot of production design there. "Lincoln" deserved the win.

Short Film – Animated

“Adam and Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’”
“Paperman”

The obvious choice, "Paperman" was better than most of the full-length movies I saw last year!

Short Film – Live Action

“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)”
“Henry”

Loved "Curfew", but it would have been the last film I thought would be picked by the Academy. Shows how much I know.

Sound Editing

“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

A tie between "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall"? I didn't have either one of them picked. "Skyfall" is the first Bond film to win two Academy Awards, and the first to win since 1965.

Sound Mixing