The Oscars finally ended, and so did Marty's losing streak

Clocking in at just under four excruciating hours, the 79th edition of the Academy Awards could have used Best Achievement in Editing winner Thelma Schoonmaker to to trim the bloated, montage-filled monstrosity to less time than it takes to watch two of the nominated films back-to-back.

Despite a long run time, lackluster hosting job by Ellen DeGeneres and a goofy, creepy dance troupe the end result was rewarding: the highlight of the night came right near the end of the show, when a trio of directing greats- Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg- presented the Best Director statue to Martin Scorsese. The huge, loud ovation the respected filmmaker received for finally winning the big one after 5 failed attempts was both heartwarming and well deserved.

Scorsese's Boston-based crime saga The Departed also took home the coveted Best Picture as well as screenplay and editing statues, as Oscar once again went against what everyone was thinking would win (Babel) and chose something a little safer, similar to last year's Crash upset of Brokeback Mountain.

Here's a quick rundown of the major awards:

Best Picture-The Departed
Best Director-Martin Scorsese
Best Actor- Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
Best Actress-Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supp. Actor- Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Supp. Actress- Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best orig. Screenplay- Michael Ardnt, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay- William Monihan, The Departed
Best Documentary-An Inconvenient Truth
Best Foreign Film- The Lives of Others
Best Animated Film- Happy Feet

By the way, I went 7-4 with my predictions for whatever that's worth.

Upsets included Arkin besting Golden Globe winner Eddie Murphy in the Supporting Actor category; newcomer Hudson scoring a win in what was one of the toughest categories of the night; and foreign language fantasy Pan's Labyrinth took home 3 Oscars yet was snubbed in the Best Foreign Film category for Germany's The Lives of Others.

The night resembled a Democratic National Convention with Al Gore's global warming doc taking home Best Doc Oscar as well as Best Song by Melissa Etheridge, capping a Gore lovefest from the decidedly pro-Democrat crowd.

All in all it was a stuffy, boring, underwhelming production that ran 45 longer than scheduled. In other words just like almost every other year. Combine that with Ellen in a velvet suit and vacuuming, so many foreign language speeches the thing should have been subtitled, and not one shocking moment and you've got one hell of a long night spent waiting for something to happen.

Kind of like watching Babel.

Full rundown tomorrow after I sleep off the effects of this one.