Another year of cinema has been logged, and the Oscars have officially brought the 2013 season to a close. There was a lot going on at last night’s ceremony, and much of it passed as expected. Bill Murray lovingly remembered Harold Ramis. The In Memoriam was respectfully constructed and followed with an atrocious bit of schmaltz.

Winners won, speeches were given, things unfolded as usual. With a few noteworthy moments of good and bad.

Here are 5 things I really liked about the Oscars last night:

5. Matthew McConaughey, after winning Best Actor for Dallas Buyer’s Club, made the following comment about God:

God has shown me that it is a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates.

It’s quite possibly the greatest sentence ever uttered. He also said a bunch of other stuff about himself and God.

4. Cate Blanchett, who won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine, made the following comment about women in films:

I truly appreciate it…And perhaps to those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences, they are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. So the world is round, people!

I wasn’t rooting for Blanchett, but her win is not a surprise. It was a nice speech in a strange moment regarding the film’s writer and director, and Blanchett handled it with class. Not that we should have expected anything else. She’s great at these things.

3. Ellen’s Opening Stand-up routine. She was very funny to get things started, and she maintained a great sense of wit and humor throughout the show. Things got less and less funny as the night progressed, but such is the standard for a 3-hour award show. But her opening was great. And she was much better than Seth McFarlane.

If you need more evidence that Ellen crushed it, here’s a review to back me up:

I have always liked Ellen, done her show numerous times, but she was not good last night - fumbling and stumbling!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2025

Also, this was very funny:

Nice job Ellen.

2. Alfonso Cuaron. The director of Children of Men (a masterpiece) won Best Director for a feat of unparalleled skill. For my money Cuaron is one of most talented directors working in movies this century. That he won for Gravity is no great shock. But that should not lessen the fact that it is entirely appropriate. He’s a master at his craft.

Also, he was grateful and graceful in winning, which always deserves recognizing.

1. Steve McQueen, Lupita Nyong’o, John Ridley, and the victorious night of 12 Years a Slave.

It was the best movie of the year. Perhaps Cuaron deserved Best Director. But 12 Years deserved Best Picture, and I’m glad to see it win. Also, the clear enthusiasm for the win is a reminder of why the Oscars are worth watching. Director Steve McQueen’s speech was thoughtful-pointing to the continued, and massive problem that is modern slavery-and his reaction following his comments was priceless. It’s nice when winners seem like they care about winning.

McQueen’s movie deserved it, so too its actors and the entire team-even Brad Pitt. Also, the debut of the actress Lupita Nyong’o-who won for Best Supporting Actress-is one of the great triumphs of last year. Similar to that moment Americans discovered Chistoph Waltz. Just a wonder. And that human beings as beautiful as Lupita Nyong’o exist makes the world a little better.

**Bonus: NO PLAY OFF MUSIC. Thank you Academy Awards for not raising the music to play off overlong speeches. This matters, and it’s far overdue. Let the winners-all winners-have their moment. Respectful and dignified. Nice job.

And here are 5 things I decidedly did not like:

5. The big deal about how Jennifer Lawrence falls is already kind of annoying, and her presenting moment was a bit too cute. There’s no question that I love J-Law. Have always and will continue. But there’s risk in being loved by everyone. I think she knows that, which is why her team made no real push to get her the Oscar this year. So there’s no reason to worry, really.

Still. The falling thing. Maybe she’s just clumsy. But you don’t wanna be the Gerald Ford of the Oscars, right?

4. The rest of Matthew McConaughey’s speech. One day he’ll be the hero he is striving for or not. Or something.

I do appreciate the Wooderson moment.

3. The Pizza gag. It wasn’t funny and it never ended. Evidence of how hard it is to script a good emcee night. Even given a charming host who plays the part with aplomb, you still end up returning to a pizza delivery gag.

2. John Travolta’s fumble. I must say that John Travolta’s presence at the show confused me. But it apparently confused John Travolta even more. The appeal to youth at times is terribly frustrating. But if you are going to have favorites from the 70s (and Pulp Fiction-he didn’t have a career resurrection, just one great moment), make sure they are prepared.

Idina Menzel may never get another shot up there. It’d be nice to get it right for her.

1. Montage Madness. No one in the room I watched with had any idea why we were montaging all night long. Nor does anyone need a reminder about Avengers. Because IT’S AVENGERS!

Nobody knew why Jim Carrey was impersonating Bruce Dern. Or why we saw clip after clip of robots and fantasy movies and Atticus Finch. Most of the movies clipped were fine films of course, but why is this happening? Seriously. Why?

Seriously.

Why?