Oscars: disappointment or not?

Back-to-back Russell Crowe movies named Best Picture? Are you kidding me? As usual, I'm pretty disappointed with the Best Picture winner, but that's the way it goes. Ron Howard's win and Ben Kingsley's loss were also annoying, and Whoopi -- while more tasteful than her last hosting duty in 1999 -- was not as funny Billy Crystal or Steve Martin. But this year's ceremony was not all bad. The Cirque du Soleil performance alone was worth tuning in for, as was the appearance of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. In fact, Sunday night's show featured many pleasant surprises and memorable moments, and so, here were my favorites.\n1. Denzel wins\nPerhaps more than any other great actor of our time, Denzel Washington's work has been ignored come Oscar time. His role as Rubin Carter in 1999's "The Hurricane" lost to Kevin Spacey, his role as Jake Shuttlesworth in 1998's "He Got Game" was not nominated and most shamefully of all, his incredible portrayal of Malcolm X in 1992 was nominated but not rewarded. Although I did not feel his performance in "Training Day" was better than Russell Crowe's in "A Beautiful Mind," I was very happy when he won, if only to make up for earlier undeserving losses. Washington lost in 1992 to Al Pacino, a make-up award for Pacino losing seven times previously. This year, he beat the more-deserving Crowe, who won last year undeservingly for "Gladiator." \n2. Woody shows up\nDoes Woody Allen spend time at home in front of a mirror doing imitations of himself? The legendary director seems more like the stereotype than a real person. Allen was the funniest part of Sunday night's program, providing more laughs than his most recent film. I was surprised he even showed up. He never had before, even though he's been nominated 20 times since 1977, when he won for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay.\n3. Halle Berry wins\nHalle Berry's victory for Best Actress was possibly most surprising to Berry herself, who was seen mouthing "Oh my God" over and over again before she tearfully spoke. Berry's emotion stemmed not just from her own personal accomplishment but rather from the greater cultural significance of being the first African-American woman ever named Best Actress. She immediately made note of that, and although her speech may have been longer than some would have wished, it was worth every minute.\n4. Poitier Tribute\nOn the night when Berry was the first black actress to win Best Actress and Washington was the second black actor to win Best Actor, Sidney Poitier -- the first black man ever named Best Actor -- was given an honorary Oscar for his work. A group of actors and actresses gave tribute to Poitier's influence on them and on America's view of African-Americans in film. That was followed by Poitier's touching speech and was capped off when he stood to salute Washington's win.\n5. New York Film Tribute\nNew York City has been the backdrop to countless films, and on a night that asked the question "What do films mean to you?" the clip show of New York movies helped show what the city means to more than eight million people. In light of Sept. 11, the clips took on an extra significance.