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Winner: The Danny Boyle Library.

Today, Netflix queues are being inundated with requests for prior films from the director. Internet debates are raging about what the best Danny Boyle movie is. My choice is 28 Days Later, the film that re-invented the zombie horror genre, but I am also partial to Millions as well. Others are going so far as to recommend The Beach, something I cannot do in good conscience, and Sunshine, a movie I thought was great two thirds of the way in before turning on it completely. Others are going all the way back to the director's first two projects with their recommendations. If you have never seen Shallow Grave or Trainspotting, now is the time to correct that oversight.

Loser: The David Fincher Library

Had the directors been reversed last night, the same popularity would be shown to Fincher's older works. This would have led to people saying - possibly for the first time ever - I want to watch Alien 3. Most people reading this have already availed themselves of Fincher's most established works, Fight Club and Se7en. I would suggest that if you have never seen his 1997 release, The Game, you should do so immediately. It is my favorite of his works to date as well as one of the 20 best titles of the 1990s in my opinion. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this movie is the reason Michael Douglas so warmly greeted Sean Penn when the latter man accepted his award last night. They play brothers, with Douglas being the well to-do, respectable elder brother who is much like his father and Penn having a smaller role as his immature, always in trouble sibling whose heart is in the right place. The Game is a masterpiece that holds up remarkably well.

Winner: Favorites

The collective BOP staff correctly predicted nine out of the ten major categories. The only one we missed was the true coin flip of the bunch, Best Actor. That merits special discussion in a moment, but the point here is that we wouldn't have done that well if last night's show had offered a lot by way of surprises. Instead, candidates that were heavily favored throughout awards season won for the most part. Even the categories that appeared up for grabs such as Best Supporting Actress wound up defaulting back to the strongest early contender. On the whole, last night's show lacked a genuine "WOW!" moment.

Loser: Underdogs

Always a bridesmaid is not a phrase that applies to Meryl Streep since she has won twice, but since her second wedding to Oscar ended in 1983, she's been single, on the market and available for about 25 years now without another offer. Beyonce has even written a (terrible, terrible, truly vile) song about it. The Academy hasn't put another ring on Streep's finger since 1983. Meanwhile, something called A. R. Rahman won two just last night. That's a strange flaw with the process. Similarly, Anne Hathaway seemed like she was on her way to a coronation three months ago, but the Golden Globes made it clear that a reversal of fortune had occurred between Kate Winslet and her. As I said last night, it is unfortunate that one of Winslet's worst films becomes her first Oscar, but it is equally tragic that a performance as great as Hathaway's was overlooked by the Academy. Similarly, people like Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella and Robert Downey Jr. all offered brilliant performances this year. Their timing just didn't seem to work out since the former two men ran up against two spectacular Best Actor performances and the latter happened to be in the same category as the ghost of Heath Ledger. None of the people who won the major acting categories yesterday stole an award, even Winslet, but having just one of them be a shock would have been a pleasant surprise for the viewer.

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