The Artist tap danced all over The Descendants' face at the 2012 Oscars, beating the power of George Clooney and Alexander Payne to take home Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Score and Best Costume Design. So far, so predictable, you might say. And you'd pretty much be right, although the main surprises of the evening came in the form of Hugo hogging all the technical awards in its grubby 3D hands. The good news? Transformers didn't win Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects of Best Sound Mixing. The slightly more disappointing news? Hugo won them all.

In total, Hugo took home five awards (including Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography), matching The Artist bald, gold statuette for bald, gold statuette. Other upsets saw Best Editing go to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - definitely deserved by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, who gave David Fincher's adaptation a dynamic energy missing from the Swedish film version, but unexpected nonetheless.

The final surprise of the evening was, weirdly, Meryl Streep's victory. After the buzz around Best Actress swarmed to Viola Davis, Streep seemed out of the race. But she soon rose triumphant, collecting yet another award from the charming clutches of Colin Firth.

Otherwise, the ceremony was a dull affair, all interpretative dance and ageist jokes and not enough Muppets. The highlight was the bit where Sacha Baron Cohen's Dictator poured the ashes of Kim Jong Il all over Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet. (You can watch that over on our Oscars Live Blog). Still, tedium aside, at least we now know that one half of Flight of the Conchords has won an Academy Award.

Say it with me: Academy Award-winner Bret McKenzie. Oscar-winning Figwit. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Read on for the full list of winners - as if they will ever look as good as this:

Best Film

The Artist

The Descendants

War Horse

Moneyball

The Tree Of Life

The Help

Midnight In Paris

Hugo

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Alexander Payne (The Descendants)

Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)

Terrence Malick (The Tree Of Life)

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

George Clooney (The Descendants)

Demian Bachir (A Better Life)

Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actress

Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)

Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Viola Davis (The Help)

Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)

Jonah Hill (Moneyball)

Nick Nolte (Warrior)

Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Max Von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bijou (The Artist)

Jessica Chastain (The Help)

Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)

Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)

Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Best Animated Feature

A Cat In Paris

Chico & Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss In Boots

Rango

Best Art Direction

The Artist

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Midnight In Paris

War Horse

Best Cinematography

The Artist

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

The Tree Of Life

War Horse

Best Costume Design

Anonymous

The Artist

Hugo

Jane Eyre

W.E.

Best Documentary

Hell And Back Again

If A Tree Falls Short: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Pina

Undefeated

Best Documentary (Short)

The Barber Of Birmingham: Foot Soldier Of The Civil Rights Movement

God Is The Bigger Elvis

Incident In New Baghdad

Saving Face

The Tsunami And The Cherry Blossom

Best Editing

The Artist

The Descendants

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

Best Foreign Film

Bullhead

Footnote

In Darkness

Monsieur Lazhar

A Separation

Best Music (Score)

The Adventures Of Tintin

The Artist

Hugo

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

Best Music (Song)

The Muppets - A Man or a Muppet

Rio

Best Animated Short

Dimanche/Sunday

The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr Morris Lessmore

La Luna

A Morning Stroll

Wild Life

Best Live Action Short

Pentecost

Raju

The Shore

Time Freak

Tuba Atlantic

Best Sound Editing

Drive

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

War Horse

Best Sound Mixing

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

War Horse

Best Visual Effects

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Real Steel

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

The Descendants

Hugo

The Ides Of March

Moneyball

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Screenplay (Original)

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Margin Call

Midnight In Paris

A Separation