Pitch Perfect 2 Review

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine

2012's Pitch Perfect was a surprise success. It's one of the biggest cult movies of all time. If you don't believe me, Pitch Perfect 2 made more in 3 days than the entire revenue of the first film. I cannot tell you how many people told me to watch Pitch Perfect as soon as it came on DVD. Literally, everyone was all over this movie, and it stumped me why no one went to see it in theaters. The first film is an incredibly funny movie with a great purpose. It takes the college comedy and turns it into a fresh new idea, and I believe Pitch Perfect 2 capitalizes on this. Pitch Perfect 2 is not hilarious, and is not nearly as funny as the first one. But it undergoes a certain kind of change from the first one, as if it has morphed into a new type of movie. This is a very good movie, but it is so different from the first one. Directed by Elizabeth Banks (who appeared in the first one, and appears here as well), she seems to capitalize on the success of the first one, and this allows it to graduate into a more serious movie.

Everything about Pitch Perfect 2 feels bigger. The main thing I loved was the music. The music is much better than the first one. I don't want to spoil many of the songs, because it is greater when you don't know what's coming. The Riff Off scene is much better than the one in the first movie. I also favored Das Sound Machine as the enemies rather than the Treblemakers from the first movie. Das Sound Machine, the German group the Barden Bellas team would be challenging in the World Championships, looked like a real threat. Both the German male and female were very good in their roles, and I enjoyed that the film downplayed the romance between Jesse (Astin) and Beca (Kendrick). In the last movie, it was the "forbidden love" between two families in a Romeo & Juliet style that was just so old, I liked that it was ditched here. I don't think "Flashlight" is better than "Cups", but it definitely makes more of a presence. Remember "Cups" is a remixed version that became popular after the film, and the actual song didn't make much of an impact in the movie. "Flashlight" is the original song of the sequel, and they perform it at the finale to much applause. It's written by a newcomer played by Hailee Steinfeld. In my opinion, she was the best in the movie. Steinfeld is an Oscar nominee for True Grit back in 2010, and she definitely brings some acting chops.

Here's what I thought did not work. Lily (the Asian who doesn't talk) is not very funny. Her whispered lines of sheer ridiculousness was one of the highlights of the first film, and what she says isn't very funny, and it's a lot more infrequent than in the first one. Fat Amy is also not as funny, but I feel like Rebel Wilson did a better job acting-wise. Her character actually had an arc, and a romantic relationship. So she upped her game, but lost her humor in the process. The commentators were one of my big problems. They were my favorite part of the first movie. The showed up so infrequently that every time was absolutely hilarious, and here they show up too much. And none of them is really funny either. Gail is played by director Elizabeth Banks, and I attribute this to her not being able to act and direct well at the same time. But she does direct with an incredible skill both behind the camera and from a business perspective. She's definitely capitalized on the success of the first film.

That's really all I have to say about Pitch Perfect 2. Quality-wise, it's a better film than its predecessor. It lacks the re-watchability that the first film had in spades. I can watch Pitch Perfect over and over again (I probably have seen it at least 10 times by now) and the jokes are still hilarious, and it's like watching it for the first time. It never gets old and that quality will, I believe, immortalize it in time as one of the defining movies of this generation. This movie flows better, but it doesn't quite match the surprise and awe of the first film.

Rating:

Mad Max: Fury Road Review

Starring:Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Bean, Rosie Huntington-Whitley

Mad Max: Fury Road is the best film of 2015 I've seen so far. If you don't believe it could possibly be so incredibly good, check out the Rotten Tomatoes score, where it sits at a near perfect 99%. Mad Max: Fury Road tells the epic story of a world without water. Set in futuristic Australia, a group of brainwashed road warriors worship a False God-like king Immortan Joe (Keays-Bean). When one of them, Furiosa (Theron) steals his "Breeders" (basically sex slaves to give him an heir) and plans to help them escape to freedom, Immortan Joe starts an all-out pursuit of the convoy, where a prisoner named Max gets thrown into the mix. Mad Max (Hardy) is not the star of the movie. This movie is about a shockingly important message on humanity and power that draws from both mythology and the Bible. I cannot stress enough how great this movie is. Continue reading, and I can better articulate why this movie may be one of the best I have seen in recent memory.

While I believe it is incredibly well-acted, I think that the story is really what makes the actors shine. The script is so tightly woven, that it's a strenuous task to find any problems. Max's backstory is confusing, but it's meant to be that way. I believe it draws from previous Mad Max films which I have not seen. The true strength of the movie is its message on feminism, ans subsequently, the female characters. The Breeders are such fascinating characters, completely draped in white clothes, one of them 8 months pregnant. They are treated as objects by Immortan Joe (pictured above) so they try to escape. One of the most poignant scenes I saw was when Immortan Joe's truck was speeding up behind Furiosa and Max's and he was aiming his gun at Max in the window. Suddenly the backseat door flew open and Splendid (Huntington-Whitley) was leaning out in front of Max, her pregnant belly blocking the shot. He couldn't hit her, no matter how much he hated her. She was his object, and that baby was his. The way they interacted was great to watch as well. One was scared and she always wanted them to take her back, and they joined forces with Furiosa's old tribe to fight Immortan Joe. The tribe was very Amazon-like, obviously drawing from the myths of tribes of all-women warriors able to combat any man. The true star of the movie was not Mad Max, but Furiosa, with Charlize Theron turning in a spectacular performance worthy of any award. While it surprised me, there's a subtle somewhat feminist nature of the movie. Even more surprising is how much it elevates the story and the film itself if you pick up on it.

Now to talk about director George Miller. The directing is spot-on. The whole movie is like a wild ride that never relinquishes its grip on the viewer. I've tried to explain certain plot points to people and it just comes out sounding like a psychedelic nightmare. The movie is almost stolen by on of Immortan Joe's henchmen, a guitar wielding servant who rides with the gang, stage and speakers attached to his vehicle. While the action's going on he's literally just jamming out from, while his electric guitar breathes fire. I cannot explain how awesome this is. The score is also incredibly well-done, as are the gorgeous visual effects. The cinematography is so well-done that it doesn't even feel like you're watching a movie, it feels like you have been thrust into the world, and the script makes you believe every line, and every image, no matter how convoluted it seems.

Can I recommend this movie to everyone? Even though it's near 100%, that doesn't mean 100% of my audience will enjoy it. I think if you're into this sort of adventure, if you've seen the original movies, or if you just enjoy really amazing movies, this is for you. It's not very graphic in violence or sex, there is just a fair amount of explosions and some very disturbing imagery. When the movie ends, a single quote comes up after the fade to black. This quote really illustrates how poignant this movie is. You can see this as your standard popcorn flick, or you can see it for the message George Miller intended. I hope it's not forgotten during awards season so it can get the recognition it deserves. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but the quote really made me realize that humanity could end up like this, as crazy as it seems. We fight wars over individuals, over oil, and over diamonds. When will the war be for clean water? And will we lose ourselves and our humanity in the scramble.

Rating:

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson

The following contains hidden spoilers. Reveal at your own risk.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the movie that you'll all likely see. It's poised to become the biggest movie of the year (if Furious 7 doesn't keep it from the top) and is going to open with massive numbers this weekend. Here we see our six major Avengers: Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers),Thor, The Hulk (Bruce Banner), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), and Hawkeye (Clint Barton) take on Ultron, played very well by James Spader. Ultron is an artificial intelligence that turns against his creators and becomes hell bent on eradicating the Avengers and their kind. Ultron is aided by The Twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (Pietro and Wanda Maximoff) who turn against him and become Avengers. We also have Paul Bettany playing

The Vision

. One thing that The Avengers movies really succeed with is character development. The characters are so well developed that it makes the movie so enjoyable. I think this is a great movie. It's not perfect, and I'll dissect it below.

Out of the characters, the ones who make the most impact are definitely Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The latter was my favorite part of the movie. I think her superpowers of mind and matter manipulation are unmatched by anyone in the series, and I really like her character struggle. When she's a villain she's the one that brings the team down, and when she's a hero, she struggles with her past. Quicksilver was like a little boy running all over the place. His humor and accent were perfect. I also really liked

The Vision and his little nods to religion and Christianity. His birthing scene was fantastic, and the fact that he's JARVIS makes the character well realized as artificial life

. I also loved Hawkeye. Hawkeye is always the butt of the jokes, but he finally gets to shine. His backstory with his wife and kids makes him seem like the only sane Avenger, with all the rest considering themselves as monsters. Even Black Widow, who is also very well-realized. She's not at her best, but she has a meaty backstory where she's

sterilized

. I have problems with The Hulk. He has a romance with Black Widow and I hated it. The scenes were boring, and their relationship was not believeable. While the first film capitalized on The Hulk's struggle, this one got caught up with the romance and the movie suffered from it. Maria Hill and Nick Fury are great as always. I disliked Ultron (I KNOW RIGHT?) only because they cheated with the ending. He did not get a good fight scene, and I never felt he was dangerous to the team. Overall I loved the ending and when they fought in the circle and "became" the statue and when 

Quicksiilver died and Scarlet Witch finally gained confidence. When she ripped out Ultron's heart it was

symbolic . So much symbolism made the movie really shine.

The seeds are definitely being sowed for Civil War. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's the storyline for Marvel going forward. In it, Iron Man and Captain America are divided and must fight each other. The next movie is Captain America: Civil War. Obviously Iron Man is being painted as the villain after this movie. He is incredibly unlikeable here, and he leads all of the Avengers to even fight Cap and the Twins. I really liked the team at the end. If you've seen it, you know some of them quit and new Avengers join Captain America's team. I love the direction Marvel is going in, I just am getting a little bit of Marvek fatigue. I still believe that Marvel's greatest villain is Loki, and to cut Tom Hiddleston's scenes was a mistake. I think James Spader did a fine job as Ultron, but the character just didn't deliver in the ending. It's a little overblown, and it's not as good as the first one in quality, but they definitely insert new characters with ease and really give us some great action sequences!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Furious 7 Review

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Kurt Russel

Confession: I've never seen a single The Fast and the Furious movie. I've always favored more realistic movies, calling the franchise "full of crap" and refusing to watch any of them on the basis that I'm a serious movie-goer. This is much to the dismay of my best friend, who's tried to introduce me to the series a number of times. So what would make me go to the theater and see the seventh installment, against everything I stand for? First Paul Walker died. I was a huge fan of Eight Below when I was a kid (I legitimately watched it probably 100 times as a kid) so I felt like I grew up with him, which made it moderately sad when he tragically passed away. That piqued my interest, as they advertised this as his "last ride". This also quickly became the highest-grossing movie in the past two  years, broke a bunch of records, and everyone's been raving about how great it is. So I checked it out. I mean, I'm the movie guy, and I can't allow myself to see what might be the biggest movie of all time. Was it worth it, though? Has my opinion changed? A big YES! I love this movie. I think it's done fantastically, and boasts great action sequences, and great acting. And yes, it has a spectacular ending that serves as a tribute to Walker. Read on to get my full review where I'll break down this blockbuster as best as I can.

The opening had me a little skeptical. I've always thought the franchise was a little sexist, featuring a bunch of scantily-clad models draped over cars. This movie opened with a drag race, with women walking around in high heels and showing off their butts. It was a little off-putting and made me roll my eyes. But it soon graduated into a movie that surprisingly packed some heft. I had to quickly learn some information, like Michelle Rodriguez's character having amnesia after presumably dying in a previous movie, and that Jason Statham's assassin/terrorist wanted revenge for his brother's crippling by Dominic Torreto (Diesel) and his team. But you can walk into this movie blind and get away with it. Nothing is too confusing. The internationalism is well handled. The scene in Dubai is great, and a fight between Rodriguez's character and a female bodyguard is executed to perfection. To be honest, all of the fighting scenes are great. Over the top (everyone knows ju-jitsu?), but believable once you accept that the whole movie is going to be action-packed. As far as acting goes, the whole cast does well. Diesel and Rodriguez shine the brightest, and Walker also turns in a very good performance. Kurt Russell is good as well, and Dwayne Johnson has some great scenes.

By far, the most enjoyable part for me was the ending. I've never seen any of the other movies, but when they brought out the footage I got emotional. And with everything all the actors were saying, and an amazing use of music with "See You Again", I found myself crying at Furious 7. That's right, I cried in a The Fast and the Furious movie. The ending was obviously cut different from the rest of the movie, but it felt authentic, not like something that was just tacked on because they had to address Paul Walker's death. Because they didn't need to. The fact that these actors, some of his best friends and practically his family for the past fifteen years, paid such a meaningful tribute to him (in the film, as they could have just done it through promotion) is extraordinary. Thinking of that, and the song, (and maybe feeling overwhelmed at seeing such an awesome movie) made me emotional. I think Walker's death is contributing to the movie being such a hit. It's great to see that so many people cared about him and want to see his last movie. His death hit so hard that outsiders like me were curious. But at the end of the day, this movie has made over $1 billion dollars in 18 days, and was the fastest to get to the billion dollar club. What's making people come back over and over again to see Furious 7? That answer is clear. It's simply a fantastic movie.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes action. Because it's pretty obvious that if you don't like action movies, this will do nothing for you. I'm pretty sure I'm late to the party on Furious 7 (and extremely late to the franchise) so I bet the diehard fans have already seen it. I'm just letting everyone know that a non-fan like myself can go in and have a great time. This was probably one of the most satisfying and greatest movie experiences I can remember. The script is a little over-the-top with some lines that could be cringe-worthy, but they're not if you're engrossed in what's on the screen. So I really can't take off anything for the lines. I can't believe I'm giving this four stars, but I just can't find anything that much that's wrong with it. Some scenes are ridiculous. A plane literally drops cars from the sky, and they freefall until they activate parachutes and land on the road. I hate to admit it, but I loved every second of that scene. I really hope this is the last movie in the franchise. I'd see another, but the tribute to Walker, and the fact that I'd like this to be the only one that I see. Too much racing might ruin this movie for me, so the rest of the movies might have to wait...

Rating:

Insurgent Review

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, Ansel Elgort

The second movie in a series is always going to be the hardest to pull off. The first movie's job is to reel you in, and introduce you to the characters and plot. If the first movie fails, there isn't even a possibility of a sequel. The job of the sequel is to elevate the material. It needs to raise the stakes and flesh out the characters. Countless sequels have done this ans succeeded. But for every The Empire Strikes Back, Toy Story 2, and Catching Fire, there is a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and sadly, an Insurgent. The director of this movie obviously thought elevating the story meant dropping it altogether, and replacing it with as many visual effects and cool explosions as humanly possible. I'm serious, this movie has the most cringe-worthy overuse of visual effects I've seen yet. They unfortunately take the place of the intriguing script. By the end of the movie, the whole thing is pretty much a colossal failure for the average moviegoer, but it does have a few inconsistent bright spots.

The bright spots are the actors and the world building. I believe that Divergent did a great job of really immersing the viewer into the universe, and it introduces you to all the characters. Insurgent unfortunately throws away much of what made the first succeed, but still builds upon a very interesting universe. I really enjoyed the opening, where Kate Winslet is projected onto the buildings delivering her evil message. Kate Winslet is amazing as Jeanine, the main antagonist. I liked her more than I did in Divergent, and she was a much more commanding presence. Winslet really brings prestige to the movie. Miles Teller is also charming as Peter, and I thought he was able to stay afloat even when the dialogue written was trying to bring him down. Theo James and Ansel Elgort are also good as Four and Caleb, but they don't have much to do. They don't elevate their book characters. Naomi Watts plays the resistance leader, and as menacing as she looks and carries herself, she actually doesn't really do much. Watts is a great actor, but save for Winslet, all the adult actors seem like wasted talent. Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer says maybe two lines in the whole movie.

I haven't said anything about Tris yet. That's because I found Shailene Woodley to be very bad in the role. I really commended her for her acting in Divergent, but she really disappointed me here. I've read the books, and Tris is a very unlikeable character. But Woodley was able to make her likeable in Divergent, and she's just so bad in this movie. I could blame the script, but she has some part in it as well. She's whiny, she's annoying, and she seems like she's not even on set acting with everyone. This movie's dialogue fails, but Shailene Woodley could look like she's actually trying. There's one scene where she has to fight a projection of herself in a simulation, and two of Tris was just too much. I'd also like to point out that while in the simulation, every single thing she touches explodes into a million pieces. Why? For 3D, and that's the only reason. The effects are so overused it's cheesy. Fight scenes seem forced, the dialogue seems forced, and only some of the actors seem like they actually are trying to give good performances. To say its effects are spectacular means nothing today, because movies have such huge budgets that they all have good effects. It's only when something groundbreaking is attempted, like in Gravity that it's actually praised with sincerity. There's none of that here. It just feels like your standard young-adult adaptation, with nothing new.

Insurgent was the first movie in a long, long time that I felt just truly wasted my time. I love to see Kate Winslet act, but she's good in just about everything, so there's a better use of my attention out there somewhere. And if I want a movie with over-the-top effects and cringe-worthy dialogue that's "so bad it's enjoyable" I'll watch the Transformers series again, because robots talking about intergalactic war with humans literally carries more weight than Shailene Woodley does in this movie.

Rating:

Cinderella Review

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Helena Bonham Carter

As many people know, I'm a sucker for Disney. I grew up watching all of the classics, and I've honestly enjoyed everything they've produced from Sleeping Beauty all the way to Frozen. However, the 1950 Cinderella is not one of my favorites. I saw it once, and never felt that I needed to see it again. So going into the live-action remake of Cinderella, that was a strike against it already. This movie needed to make me forget the original. Also, I'm not a fan of Disney's live-action remakes so far. Alice in Wonderland is visually great, and I enjoyed it, but Oz the Great and Powerful and Maleficent didn't keep my attention. So with those two factors, I should have hated this movie. The real surprise was how much I loved it. Cinderella is a magical movie. It's enchanting, it's mesmerizing, and it's a fantastic adventure. This movie is basically just a re-do of the original, and I still loved it. I'm still excited about this movie, so I apologize for not explaining it so far. I'll elaborate now.

As far as acting goes, it's a no-brainer that Cate Blanchett is the star. Lily James plays Ella ("Cinder-Ella") and she's great, but Blanchett's Lady Tremaine aka the Evil Stepmother is a tour-de-force. When she's introduced, and she walks into Ella's house with her wicked cat Lucifer on a leash, her face is obscured by her veil. She turns to the camera, and you see her twisted smile. And in that scene, I knew this was going to be a fascinating character. Her style (always green for envy), and just the way she carried herself, brought such a gravitas to the movie. Like Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, Cate Blanchett's Lady Tremaine really fleshes out the character and adds prestige. Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera were hilarious as the stepsisters. They were surprisingly well realized for two characters that were laughing-stocks in the original. Richard Madden also did a fine job as the Prince, and his scenes with Lily James were very, very good. Speaking of James, this was a role that was very tough. Everyone has that idea of Cinderella in their head, and she was able to pay homage to that, and also create her own version separate from the original. And she carried herself just like a princess.

This is by far, one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. The costumes are amazing, particularly Ella's blue dress. Lily James was breathtaking when she walked out on the ballroom floor for the first time. Everybody's dresses looked great, but you could definitely see why everyone, even the prince, was staring right at her. Along with the costumes, the set designs are impeccable. Every scene is gorgeous to look at. I'm literally running out of synonyms for "pretty" that I can use to describe Cinderella. Cate Blanchett looked great in every scene she was in as well, and her daughters looked...well they call them the Ugly Stepsisters for a reason. The Fairy Godmother, played wonderfully by Helena Bonham Carter, has such a great scene where she transforms the pumpkin into a carriage, and the animals into her horses, footmen, and driver. Even better, is when the clock strikes midnight and everything turns back a little earlier than planned. All the visual effects are perfect, with enough to make you think they're genuine, but just enough whimsy to make it magical. This is a fairy-tale brought to life.

So should you see Cinderella? If I haven't convinced you it's actually a fantastic movie, then I don't know what else I could say. If you love Disney movies, you'll love Cinderella. If you just appreciate great acting, the cast, especially Cate Blanchett, does an outstanding job. If you like period-dramas with beautifully lavish (but not extravagant) settings then you'll really appreciate what director Kenneth Branagh did here. Cinderella is the revitalization Disney needs in its brand after Big Hero 6 failed to generate the kind acclaim and fame that Frozen was able to. The only reason I wouldn't suggest it to you, is if you don't like clichés, because this is all a giant cliché. But it's a princess movie, and the Cinderella story is like that, so you should know what you're getting into. It's just a magical fairytale adventure that can capture the imaginations of all ages. If you don't believe me, there was a little girl in our aisle, and when Cinderella walked out in the dress she poked at her mom and gasped "Wow!!! She is so pretty!" completely entranced by what was going on onscreen. The real magic was that even though I'm much older, I was feeling the same magic, and my even older parents felt it too. This really is a movie for everyone, and a must-see.

Rating:

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!