I have just spent the last four hours of my day off watching the 76th Annual Academy Awards.

Much to my delight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept the awards, winning each of the 11 categories it was nominated in, including Best Picture and Best Director. While there are some who feel that this movie shouldn't have won on its on merit, especially given that it's a fantasy and much of the magic of the film was just that - magic created by the wonder of special effects, I still stand by what I said in December last year when I first watched the film. It's one of the best films made. The acting of the entire cast is on the whole rather good. The cinematography and the special effects are spot on, and the music... The score is great and Annie Lennox's wistful Into The West is very moving. Her performance at the show was great, and it showcased just how much vocal ability she has, able to go from restrained to performance from one moment to the next. The making of the whole trilogy is itself a wondrous fairy tale, and Peter Jackson and those at New Line should be praised for willing to take such a huge risk on what turned out to be a fantastic trilogy of incredibly magical films.

I still feel that Sean Astin should have been nominated for his great performance of Samwise Gangee though.

I can't comment on the other nominations and wins because I haven't had the chance to watch the other nominated shows, other than Lost In Translation. It's a sweet film and it would have been nice for it to win, but in the words of the Highlander, there can be only one.

I've got to say that Billy Crystal is incredibly funny. No wonder he's hosted the show for eight times already. This year, probably more so than any other year, the show was very musical. Billy started the night off by paying tribute to the five movies that were nominated for Best Picture in song, and presenters Jack Black and Will Ferrell added lyrics to the tune that's always played for those who have exceeded their allocated time while making their thank you speeches. They've got not-too-bad voices and they were very funny too.

Other funny moments that I can recall (it was a long show) included Adrien Brody, just prior to announcing the Best Actress in a Leading Role receipient, took out a breath spray and used it. Who could forget the gorgeous kiss he planted on Halle Berry last year when he won the Best Actor Oscar?

All right, I'd been meaning to write this down for some time now. Lest there are those among you who believe that I don't find that many movie actors hot - and believe me, there are many - here's my list of actors who have at one time or another made me go, "Whoa..." (in a good way, of course).
- Ethan Hawke
- Christian Slater (especially in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)
- Ryan Phillippe
- Adrien Brody (especially in the Ermenegildo Zegna ads)
- Viggo Mortensen (only in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and even then, only when unshaven and unkempt)
- Jude Law (only in Cold Mountain)
- Keanu Reeves (only in Something's Gotta Give)