The Oscars have wound down to their predictable conclusion. Avatar, like Lord of the Rings and Dark Knight, was stuck with the technical awards. James Cameron had to sit there uncomfortably with no chance of repeating his "I'm King of the World" speech (I'm guessing the speech he wrote this time ran more along the lines of "I'm King of the Galaxy") and The Hurt Locker took the golden trophies home.

The Hurt Locker is probably the most deserving film to win best picture in some time. Coming off Slumdog Millionaire, a movie hardly anyone remembers a year later, or the inexcusably wretched No Country for Old Men, or Scorcese's weakest effort in years with The Departed, or Paul Haggis' wretched two year reign with Million Dollar Baby and Crash, The Hurt Locker's win is a breath of fresh air cleaning out a lot of the tainted awards.

The Hurt Locker is not a fantastic movie. But it's solid enough to deserve the award. It stands on its own without being a gimmick picture and is has the courage of its convictions. Which is more than could be said for the competition.