And The Winners Are...

A violent killer, a crazed oil-baron, a pregnant teenager and a forgetful assassin were the big winners at this years Academy Award ceremony.

Across the board, deserving films were rewarded from a variety of genres and countries, marking one of the richest years in cinema history.

Ethan and Joel Coen won three Oscars, for writing, directing and producing Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men. The bleak Texas-set thriller dominated the awards season, and deservingly so. Javier Bardem was awarded Best Supporting Actor for playing the sadistic killer that drives the Coen Brothers film forward.

Daniel Day-Lewis was named Best Actor for his role in There Will Be Blood, which also claimed the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Daniel Day-Lewis was the clear favourite for this award, after successfully ‘drinking up’ everyone else’s ‘milkshake’ at awards shows prior. The now iconic ‘milkshake’ rant from the film was noticeably absent from his humble acceptance speech.

French actress Marion Cotillard was awarded Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. She beat the favourite Julie Christie and the dark horse Ellen Page. She also beat Cate Blanchett, which is not so surprising, as many had tipped the Aussie icon to win Best Supporting Actress instead. However, in the biggest surprise of the night, Blanchett’s portrayal of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There was beaten by Tilda Swinton for her role in Michael Clayton.

Rounding out the other major winners:

Perennial blogger and (yes, we all know) former stripper Diablo Cody won Best Original Screenplay for penning the audience favourite Juno.

The action packed Bourne Ultimatum won three technical Oscars.

The incredible Ratatouille was named Best Animated Feature.

And the highlight?

Marketa Inglova and Glen Hansard winning Best Original Song for ‘Falling Slowly’, from the movie Once.

Although lacking surprises in its 80^th year, in recognising the very best that cinema had to offer, the Oscars were fresher than ever.