The 2024 awards season finally wraps up with the 96th Academy Awards. This year offered up an interesting collection of nominees on what was a long road to Oscar night. As is often the case, there was very little drama in some of the big categories as a lot followed the awards season trends. But there were a few surprises. And unlike last year, there were more winners that genuinely felt deserving. Anyway, enough chatter. Here are a few Random Thoughts on this year’s Oscars.

• What a huge and well deserved night for “Oppenheimer”. While it hasn’t been the case in recent years, the Academy got it right by give Best Picture to this Christopher Nolan masterpiece. It was great seeing the best movie of the year recognized as it should have been.
• FINALLY! It took forever but Christopher Nolan has finally won an Academy Award for Best Director. He has deserved it several times in the past and he certainly deserved it this time as well. Bravo!
• This year saw Jimmy Kimmel return as the host and it again showed that we could easily have an Oscar ceremony without a host. Kimmel wasn’t glaringly bad. But he also wasn’t particularly funny. Some of his jokes were ill-advised and others downright bad.
• Back to “Oppenheimer”, I was thrilled to see Cillian Murphy win Best Actor. He gave the performance of his career and that’s saying something considering he’s always great. I was so hoping he would win and felt confident. But you just never know. He was extraordinary and the anchor of that incredible movie.

• But that’s not to say the Academy got it all right. In what was easily the most frustrating category of the night, Emma Stone wins Best Actress for the bafflingly acclaimed “Poor Things. It’s such a travesty that Lily Gladstone was snubbed by BAFTA and left to settle for a nomination from the Academy.
• And speaking of Lily Gladstone, her getting hosed by the Academy means the exceptional “Killers of the Flower Moon”, which received ten nominations, went home with NO wins. It’s hard to image a world where that is a reality. Yet it has become a trend with the Academy and Martin Scorsese movies. Ridiculous.
• One of the most sure-things of the night was Da’Vine Joy Randolph winning for Best Supporting Actress. But that didn’t make it any less exciting. She was absolutely tremendous in “The Holdovers” and delivered such a heartfelt speech.
• While we’re talking incredible wins, how about Robert Downey Jr. He takes home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Oppenheimer” and it was such a delight. And he didn’t disappoint, giving a great speech after a great win for a great performance.

• This was an interesting category. The award for Best Original Screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall”. Things were looking up for it but there was a chance for “The Holdovers”. Both would have been worthwhile winners.
• Best Adapted Screenplay was predictable but still disappointing. Christopher Nolan’s script for “Oppenheimer” was sublime. Yet the award went to “American Fiction”, a good movie but one where the screenplay was its weakest part. Oh well.
• Best Hairstyle and Makeup went to “Poor Things”. But that’s the one Oscar I would have given to “Maestro”. It also won for Best Production Design, the one Oscar I would have given to “Barbie”. And it won for Costume Design. Sure….okay I guess.
• How about that terrific “Beetlejuice” reunion? Wasn’t it awesome seeing Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara presenting together? Of course it’s always awesome seeing Michael Keaton.
• Who didn’t cheer when hearing “Godzilla: Minus One” announced as the Oscar winner for Best Special Effects? It’s such a brilliant film even beyond its visuals. But there’s no denying it deserved this one.

• One of my favorite wins of the night was “The Zone of Interest” taking home the statue for Beat International Feature. It would have been an absolute travesty if it had went home empty-handed. What an incredible film and a worthy win.
• But then it won again! The Academy rightly awarded “The Zone of Interest” for Best Sound. It’s such a great thing to see considering sound plays such a crucial role in the film. Love it!
• “Oppenheimer” wins for Best Editing as it should have. Again, things were trending in its direction. But it’s great to see the Academy get it right.
• Also, “Oppenheimer” wins for Best Cinematography. Hoyte van Hoytema is a brilliant cinematographer and it has really shown in his collaborations with Christopher Nolan. “Oppenheimer” ranks among his very best work.
• And staying with “Oppenheimer”, it also won Best Original Score. It’s the second Oscar for the infinitely talented 39-year-old Ludwig Göransson. This was such an aching, powerful, and driving work.
• Speaking of reunions, I got a kick out of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito back together. The “Twins” stars are a blast even at this stage of their career. And when Michael Keaton gave them the evil eye from the crowd, the “Batman” vibes were off the charts.

• Okay, so I’m not a fan of “Barbie”. But I have no problem admitting that Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was pretty great. I mean he even got Slash to show up and jam!
• I’m really not a fan of the far-away camera shots for the IN MEMORIAM segment. I get there are singers and dancers on stage. But maybe do something simpler so we can actually put the focus on where it belongs – on those lost over the last year.
• It was great to see the Academy take time to acknowledge the stunt workers who have been such a pivotal part of movie-making since the very beginning. While the segment was nice, perhaps it’s finally time to create a category to properly award them.

And that wraps up another loooong awards season. This year was a significant improvement over last – just as predictable in many ways but at least the Academy got most of it right. Now we can fully focus on the movies of 2024. See you next year.