For years now everyone has talked about how beautiful she is. I guess somewhere along the way she picked up a few acting tips as well. When she walked up to the podium, crying out loud, overtaken by the moment you couldn't help but feel that this is what the Oscars are all about. The sheer excitement after hearing your name being called and standing in front of a billion people worldwide to accept an award. And this turned out to be a first which made it all the better.

Halle Berry is the first African-American woman to win for Actress In A Leading Role in the 74 year history of the Oscars!  After crying and being speechless for what seemed like at least half a minute (and bringing a tear to about a billion people's eyes), Berry finally spoke about how the award is for every African-American actress that has come before her and who is currently working in the movie business. It was a special moment that ranks right up there with some of the most memorable acceptance speeches. I know that I will remember it for a long time.

Then wouldn't you know it, Denzel Washington won the very next award for Actor In A Leading Role. As many observers have said before, he is long overdue and as it turns out, he was my pick all the way.

This wasn't just a historical night for African-Americans, but it also turned out to be an international Oscars. There were winners from England, New Zealand, Australia, Bosnia and Italy. I might be missing a country or two. On the other hand, only one of the top six awards went to a foreigner, British Actor Jim Broadbent for Iris (Actor In A Supporting Role).

Baz Luhrman (Australian) was for some reason snubbed of a Best Director nomination for Moulin Rouge, sat and watched his wife (Catherine Martin) win no less than two awards (Costume Design and Art Direction) for Moulin Rouge.

It turned out to be quite a disappointment for LOTR fans such as me. The movie won only four of the thirteen categories it was nominated for. After it won its first four I figured this was going to be LOTR's night, but instead it was a mixture of movies winning. A Beautiful Mind won four, but they were four of the biggest (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress). Moulin Rouge won the two awards I mentioned above, Black Hawk Down won two. Only one of the four acting category winners had a movie that won in other categories (Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind). Denzel Washington (Training Day), Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) and Jim Broadbent (Iris) were the only award winners from their respective movies.

One of the most heavily hyped movies of last year walked away with only one award (Pearl Harbor). Gosford Park walked away with only one award but it was the one that angered me the most. It won for Best Original Screenplay, an award that should have obviously gone to Memento! Shrek won the first Animated Feature Award in the history of the Academy Awards.

When Randy Newman won the award for Best Original Song for Monster's Inc., I told my wife that he probably already had about twenty of them. Turns out that it was his first! Newman has been a fixture at the Academy Awards almost as long as the golden guy (Oscar) himself! It seems he is on stage every single year. I have just never paid much attention to the Best Song category before so I didn't realize that he hadn't won yet. The crowd greeted him with a much deserved standing ovation and afterwards he said that he was totally taken aback by the gesture.

As for my predictions: Well, I did so-so. I correctly predicted Denzel Washington, Jennifer Connelly and A Beautiful Mind (for Best Picture). I was incorrect with Director, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor and both Screenplay awards. I had a little better luck on the smaller awards.

Surprises for the night: 
- Whoopi was sufficient, although I still liked Steve Martin more.
- I really thought that Sissy Spacek was still going to win, but it was a nice surprise
  that Berry won.

Disappointments for the night:
- LOTR winning only four awards (I know Richard Roeper is sitting somewhere with
  one huge smile on his face).
- Memento: It was already a disappointment that it received only two nominations. 
  Now it is even more disappointing since it didn't win for either.
- I would've liked to see Nicole Kidman win, but I was really happy for Halle Berry.

Good things about the night: 
- Robert Altman, Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei walked away empty handed (I'm
  sorry, but I don't think any of them deserved even a nomination. They could've put
  Luhrman in Altman's place).
- The little Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson skit was hilarious.
- I liked the addition of the animated characters for the movies nominated sitting with
  the audience.
- That Circus De Soliel (I'm sure I spelled that incorrectly, but the circus thing with
  the acrobats).

What do these awards mean for the movies? Well, it means that we will most likely be seeing A Beautiful Mind in the top ten for the next few weeks at the box office. It could even reach the $175 million plateau, maybe even higher (it currently has grossed $155 million).  Training Day, which just came out on video will likely stay at the same height of rentals and sales as the first week. Monster's Ball might get expanded into more theaters and actually make some good money. Although LOTR is on its way out of theaters, it might see a little hike in its gross, sending it over the $300 million mark. I don't see any of the other movies that won awards getting much more attention than it is already receiving.

On a night that Sidney Poitier received an honorary Oscar, it was only fitting that Halle Berry became the first African-American female to win for Leading Actress. Poitier was after all the first African-American to win the Leading Actor award. It made the evening all the more special when Denzel Washington became only the second African-American male to win Leading Actor. This is a night that will be long remembered.