I don't say very often that I am enamored by something.  In fact, the power behind that word requrires me to weigh its use very carefully.  Let's look at the etymology:  Amor is French for love, and en is used emphatically.  So when I say that I am enamored by something, that means its force is so strong to make me love it emphatically.

Since I was 11 years old, the Academy Awards have enamored me.  The idea of the best of the best in film sit together and celebrate their work.  What's more, the medium is film, the most powerful and eclectic of all the modern media.  The awards also represent reward for hard work done among a bunch of crap (Wicker Man anyone?).

The show is a brilliant blend of comedy, choreography, sneaky orchestral sounds that make you cry when you didn't even realize you were listening, tears, staccato speeches, dramatic montages, and gratitude.

Memorable moments from this year:

The semi-sweep by Pan's Labyrinth.  A child's story, similar to Chronicles of Narnia but  a bit darker, starring...a girl!  The film looks brilliant from the previews, but it has yet to be released on video, nor is it playing at the local cinema.

Jennifer Hudson's not unexpected win as Effie in Dreamgirls.  Hudson, gaining her big break via American Idol, made her acting debut with a songster's yawp, turning heads the entire way.  What's more, she's a big girl keeping it real.    Honorable Mention here goes to Beyonce who's filling out her acting chops nicely.  Her performance in the same film was haltingly and surprisingly exspresive.

Though expected, Helen Mirren's win for The Queen has its own quirks.  The British don't take their monarchs lightly.  Her win may not seem like much to us, but to Mirren and her fellow Brits it's a big step.  Because England still has a farily strict, by modern standards at  least, class system, Mirren, who comes from the working class, to portray the current Queen of England, and to do it well, will make strides in the UK for years to come.