In an unexpected turn of events at the Oscars this evening, “The Hurt Locker” triumphed over James Cameron’s long anticipated “Avatar”. Director Kathryn Bigelow was awarded the Best Director Oscar, the first woman in Oscar history to accomplish such a feat. While the movies explore two completely different genres, people continue to be surprised due to the massive budgeting gap between the two films. One cost $300M to produce, with its flashy 3d effects yet recycled storyline. The other, fractions of that amount. Naturally, they haven’t earned equally well in the box office. Perhaps we can surmise that cutting-edge 3D graphics don’t necessarily compensate for a subpar storyline. The movie based on the ongoing conflict in Iraq was also awarded the best original screenplay, beating out yet another promising contender.

Some other winners at the Oscars included “The Blind Side,” a drama-sports film starring Sandra Bullock, and “Inglorious Basterds,” a Quentin Tarantino flick on a Nazi assassination plot, spearheaded by Aldo Raine (who is played by Brad Pitt in the movie). Everyone had high hopes for this film come Oscar time, yet it was surprisingly trumped by “The Hurt Locker.”

“Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney as a professional “layoffer” also didn’t failed to fare as expected during the awards. The recurring theme here is that big budget doesn’t mean everything these days and that people are starting to focus more on substance. The over-hyped eye candy-laden “Avatar” undoubtedly demonstrates this best.