87th Academy Awards Review

Like many people, I love the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars). I don't always agree with them, but the real point isn't the awards. I don't think any nominees really care about winning either. The ceremony is about awareness, and bringing this awareness to not only the great movies, but everything that makes them great. Acting is a favorite, but makeup, costuming, editing, and even sound mixing. Not a lot of people consider these, but every movie requires them. Whoever wins doesn't really matter. I just hope people actually see the movies nominated, and are able to recognize the hard work in Hollywood to create these movies we love so much.

Major Winners:
Best Picture: Birdman
Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu- Birdman

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne- The Theory of Everything
Best Actress: Julianne Moore- Still Alice
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons- Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette- Boyhood
Best Original Screenplay: Birdman
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Imitation Game
Best Animated Feature: Big Hero 6
Best Original Song: "Glory"- Common & John Legend- Selma

Now my review of the telecast...

Neil Patrick Harris was a bad host. I love him, because I'm a huge How I Met Your Mother fan, so I really enjoy his style of humor. I really liked his opening number with Jack Black and Anna Kendrick. Seeing him show up in all the movies (especially in Ghost behind Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze on the pottery wheel!) really made me laugh. I really liked Anna Kendrick's reference to him getting his throat slit by Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl. I knew it was coming at some point, but it was still funny. I liked him going into the audience (channeling Ellen) and pointing out the seat fillers no one ever seems to talk about. I think his best moment was when he channeled Michael Keaton and came out in his underwear, as well as some J.K. Simmons and harped on Miles Teller, to parody two of t he nominees. I think he tried to connect, but there were some awkward moments (the American Sniper-Harvey Weinstein joke was in bad taste) and some horrible mispronunciations (David Oyelowo 3 TIMES) and when we come down to it, he didn't do that great. Ellen had her selfie that elevated the night, and Neil had his...predictions? That was the biggest disappointment of the night. I was expecting something great, and it ended up being really lame. Poor Octavia Spencer...she deserves better than to be involved with that. His jokes fell flat, he seemed like he was trying hard, but couldn't connect. Using "with her spoon" to introduce Reese Witherspoon is not funny. Nor is saying Documentary winner Citezenfour's subject Edward Snowden, "could not be here for treason." He tried, and I'll give him that. He also wasn't as bad as Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Horrible writing is probably to blame.

We saw some really great speeches from the winners. Patricia Arquette had a great bit at the end of her acceptance for Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood. She brought up that women aren't being paid as much as men, and while nobody talks about, she certainly wasn't going to let it go unsaid that night. Her speech brought an uproar to the crowd, with Meryl Streep standing up and pumping her fists, yelling "YES!" being the best of the reactions. Graham Moore won Best Adapted Screenplay for The Imitation Game, and he spoke out about how unfair it was that the film's subject Alan Turing, who committed suicide to escape persecution for being gay, which happened at the hands of the same government he worked for. Moore spoke about his own suicide attempt. He urged everybody who thinks they're different or weird to stay true to themselves, and to follow his example when they are up onstage one day and hopefully encourage someone else watching that they are perfect just the way they are. It was inspirational and definitely a highlight of the night. My favorite is Eddie Redmayne, who was just so giddy and excited (maybe terrified?) about his new Oscar he was all over the place. True surprises do happen, and it shows that the whole night isn't scripted.

Julianne Moore won her first Oscar for Still Alice. She was spectacular, and her speech was very touching. She didn't say a lot, but she spoke to both the illness she portrayed (Alzheimer's) and ALS, which the director of Still Alice is fighting. While some actors know they're going to win and are a little pretentious about it, she has seemed truly grateful for this opportunity all awards season. J.K. Simmons also won for Whiplash, and he urged everyone to go call their mothers and fathers. "Don't text." he said. He was obviously going to win, and he's such a nice guy. It's strange to see him so in character in the film, but that's why he was the clear choice!

Best Picture went to Birdman. If you remember from my picks, I picked Birdman to win. Sadly, I did not win my Oscar pool, my brother beat me by one point (that darn makeup...) but I correctly chose the biggest award of the night! I'm satisfied with it, because besides Selma, I think it's the best movie of the year. I knew Selma wouldn't get any love, but it did win for "Glory" which I'll touch upon next. Alejandro González Iñárritu won for Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay, and he was so humble. He made jokes about immigration and Mexico, all in good taste, and about his hard-to-hear accent. Michael Keaton was the best when accepting for Birdman, as he is the most genuine person in the whole show. He's just a regular guy. I wish he could have won, but eh, it doesn't detract from how great he was in the role of the lifetime he got for that movie.

Now onto the performances. Best of the night by a landslide, was Lady Gaga. Holy cow, I was so surprised! She did a tribute to The Sound of Music for its 50th Anniversary, and she brought the house down. If you think of how great Julie Andrews does in those songs, she was able to match Andrews' talent. Andrews also came out at the end to hug her and present the next award. John Legend and Common also performed "Glory" from Selma which was very emotional. Crying faces were seen all over the audience. "Everything Is Awesome" from The LEGO Movie was as awesome as expected, and the rest didn't really connect with me.

I'd also like to add that my personal favorite part was Idina Menzel and John Travolta's bit. Travolta horribly, horribly, horribly messed up her name when she performed (and later won for) "Let It Go" last year, calling her "Adele Dazeem". She introduced him as "Glom Gazingo" and he finally said her name, so we all know that he does know it. They were hilarious, and it was moments like these, of genuine humor, that really made the night. When celebrities played off of each other and genuinely "hung out" like regular people, it was nice to see. None of them seemed to want anything to do with Neil Patrick Harris.

So that's my review of the Academy Awards! Hope you enjoyed!