2010 Oscar Recap: 82nd Annual Academy Awards Highlights & Winners

If last night's Oscar ceremony was an Olympic event, The Hurt Locker would have walked away with the Gold Medal. Actually, six of them. The film received six golden nods, most notably for Best Picture and Best Director. Kathryn Bigelow X'd out ex-husband James Cameron, director of Avatar (2009), to win the Oscar for Best Director, and became the first woman in history to do so. Barbra Streisand was on hand to deliver the historical award proclaiming "and the time has come" before announcing Bigelow's name as the winner.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin used their comedic chemistry to entertain as the hosts for this year's 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony, which was held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. One of the evening's funniest moments occurred when Baldwin engaged in a mock stare-down with audience member George Clooney, as Martin looked on. Not all of their jokes hit the mark, but the two veteran actors/comedians complimented each other well.

Another comedy high point occurred when Ben Stiller, dressed as a character from Avatar (2009), made faces and gestured at the film's director James Cameron, who was humourously indulging in the moment. Stiller's genius is in his ability to simply stand still and make people laugh. Add blue body paint, animal ears, and a long blue tail that has a mind of its own, and you've got funny. Stiller funny. He joked at the irony about presenting for Best Make Up, since Avatar (2009) was not nominated in that category.

Tyler Perry, when entering the stage to present the award for Film Editing, joked, "They just said my name at the Oscars. That'll probably never happen again."

Best Actor and Best Actress recipients Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock both had emotional acceptance speeches, with Bridges looking up to thank his own parents, and Bullock thanking her mom for "not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18, because she's right, I would have done what she said I was gonna do." Bullock also sent out a nod to moms everywhere "who take care of the babies and the children, no matter where they come from."

Young Hollywood was well represented, and presented themselves well. Twilight (2009)'s Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart were paired up for the evening, and presented a tribute to the horror movie genre. Both looked anything but scary, however, with Taylor in a Dolce and Gabbana tux and Kristen in a sapphire blue Monique Lhuillier gown.

Miley Cyrus made an appearance with Amanda Seyfried to present the Oscar for Best Original Song, which went to The Weary Kind, from Crazy Heart (2009). Zac Efron wowed the crowd in Calvin Klein and presented an award in the sound category with Anna Kendrick. Zac was there solo without his lady love Vanessa Hudgens, who was at home watching the ceremony in the comfort of her own living room with a girlfriend. She later met up with Zac for the Vanity Fair party, where the couple were seen enjoying the evening together.

The old-young Hollywood was also there, as the "Brat Pack" reunited to honor director John Hughes. Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Jon Cryer, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Matthew Broderick, and Macaulay Culkin joined together onstage in a tribute to the director, who passed away last year.

A montage of clips from his legendary teen films such as The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), and Home Alone (1990) were shown as an homage to his vast film catalog.

Strangely absent from the traditional "In Memorium" segment, introduced by Demi Moore, was Farrah Fawcett.

This year's 82nd Annual Academy Awards were a celebration of past and present, young and old, and the best of the best in each category. Concluding the show on a positive and historical note, the Academy left us with a happy ending, waiting anxiously for the sequel.

Just like a Hollywood movie.