I can’t believe I’m saying this, but mercifully the 2025 awards season has come to an end. I usually love this time of the year which culminates in the star-studded Oscars ceremony. But this year has felt more curated than ever before and it has highlighted why people shouldn’t take these things seriously. So to no surprise, last night the Academy Awards wrapped up the season in a fittingly underwhelming way.
We live a world with such a diverse range of opinions and tastes. Yet voting bodies, from the smaller critics groups to the Academy, have all selected their winners from the same tiny pool of nominees. To some degree this has often been the case. But this year it has been more pronounced. Who christened this small handful of films as the ones every group would choose from? And so quality now takes a backseat to what’s trendy and we end up with the mess we have now.
I hope you’ll forgive the rant from this Oscar lover turned Oscar curmudgeon. Now onto why we’re here. Last night the Oscars celebrated mediocrity with the 97th Academy Awards. And as I’m prone to do, here are a few random thoughts about this year’s show…
- Well, to no real surprise “Anora” was the big winner of the night and it seems fitting. It’s the perfect bad movie to represent this bad awards season. But the right people got behind the film early and in this curated system it was pushed right over the finish line.
- “Anora” took home the night’s top prize of Best Picture which was pretty obvious. Prognosticators tried to muster some drama, but for some reason this became the movie of choice early last year. It’s especially baffling considering it’s not a good movie. Move over “Crash”!
- Conan O’Brien was a solid host who was better early in the show than he was later. Several of his gags landed well and his self-aware musical number was pretty funny. It did add some extra length to the show which could really be felt by the last hour.
- Of course Sean Baker won Best Director for “Anora” which is hard to wrap my mind around considering what a mess the movie is. Then again, this wasn’t a serious category. They didn’t even nominate Denis Villeneuve for “Dune: Part Two” which is beyond ridiculous.
- Another “Anora” win came in the Beat Actress category. Mikey Madison wins in what was no real surprise. Some tried drum up some drama by hyping Demi Moore. But Madison was a pretty clear frontrunner. Her winning over Fernanda Torres is almost comical. But the actual best performance was never going to win this category.
- The best movie of the year, “Dune: Part Two” had already been shafted in the nomination phase and it never had a shot at Best Picture. But it did win the two awards that every person in house expected it to – Best Visual Effects and Beat Sound. It’s mind-boggling how little consideration it received. But then I remembered, some voters didn’t even take the time to watch it. Go figure.
- In keeping with the night’s theme of predictability, Adrien Brody won for Best Actor. It’s hard to be too upset because he was terrific in “The Brutalist”. But considering Chalamet’s work in “A Complete Unknown” AND “Dune: Part Two”, he would have easily earned my vote. But again, no gripe here, and Brody’s great speech made it even better.
- Speaking of “A Complete Unknown”, it had a rough night going home empty-handed. That shouldn’t have been the case, but any win for it would have been a long shot. Same for the likes of “Nosferatu” and “Nickel Boys”. They never fit in with the popular kids and that’s what it’s all about these days.
- June Squibb is a treasure.
- The ceremony opened up with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo singing tunes from “The Wizard of Oz” and “Wicked”. Both have amazing voices, but hopefully this will wrap up their schmaltzy promotional tour (or at least give us a temporary break).
- To no surprise but to the embarrassment of the Best Original Screenplay award, “Anora” took home the statue. I couldn’t help but chuckle considering the script was easily one of the most frustrating things about the film.
- Best Adapted Screenplay goes to “Conclave” in what would be its only win of the night. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the idea that “Dune: Part Two” didn’t even earn a nomination is an example of how warped this year was.
- But the night turned into a full-blown awards show parody once “Anora” won the Oscar for Best Editing. It’s hilarious in that good editing might have actually made the movie tolerable. Baffling!
- Kieran Culkin wins for Best Supporting Actor to the surprise of absolutely no one. No other nominee had a shot. To his credit he gave one of the best speeches of the night especially when talking directly to his wife. It was a nice moment.
- Mark Hamill presented the award for Best Original Score and to the benefit of everyone in the room and watching at home, his pants stayed up this time.
- Speaking of Original Score, the Oscar went to “The Brutalist” and it’s hard to be too upset. It was a brilliant and truly memorable work. No arguments here.
- Adam Sandler had a funny bit where he’s called out by Conan for sitting among the stylish tuxedos and elegant gowns in his signature hoodie and basketball shorts. Sandler capped it off with a smile-worthy “Chalameeeet”. IYKYK.
- “I’m Still Here” wins the Oscar for Best International Feature just as it should have. It was Brazil’s first Academy Award and viral videos of watch parties showed how excited the country was. The film was tremendous and it should have garnered a healthier consideration for Best Picture. But again, trends.
- Who knew sandworms were so musical. Yes, the sandworm playing instruments was a silly and rather pointless bit of comedy. But what can I say, I really got a kick out of it.
- STILL in keeping with the complete lack of drama, Zoe Saldaña wins for Best Supporting Actress. I was rooting for Monica Barbaro, but Saldaña had won everything leading up to the Oscars. And she remains the very best thing about “Emilia Perez”.
- Speaking of Zoe, she too gave one of the more moving speeches of the night. So much joy, appreciation, and thankfulness. You love to see that from a winner.
- This year’s IN MEMORIUM was incredibly tough. As a massive Gene Hackman fan, Morgan Freeman’s heartfelt tribute gutted me. The memorial that follows was difficult. But several names were missing. Shannon Doherty and Tony Todd anyone?
- I’m not sure who made the decisions, but it seems like the showrunners let some winners talk as long as they wanted but were really quick to cut off others. Pretty tacky if you ask me. If you’re stuffing your show so much extra fluff at least give ALL winners equal time to have their moment.
So that wraps another awards season and (whew) I’ve never been more relieved. Here’s hoping that next year is better (it would almost have to be).
Keith & the Movies 
No interest in the Oscar’s for all the reasons you give. Disappointed The last Showgirl didn’t get mentioned.
My husband worked on that movie, so I was a bit biased towards it, but I too was disappointed it didn’t earn a mention!
It deserved it!
I’m usually an Oscar junkie. But in recent years (last year mostly being an exception), there have been some icky trends.
I have to admit I was shockingly unprepared for the Oscars this year, having seen barely any of the movies nominated. Fail. I simply have to do better next year!
Well I can’t really shame you too much. You always make me feel ashamed whenever I see the number of books you read in a year compared to me. LOL
LOL!! 🙂 🙂 So we’re even! Love that.
thank you for the interesting post Keith
i watched the event on separate clips posted on youtube. and i still found enjoyment simply because it is about movies
Conan did a great job,
but am sorry you had a bad time
I will admit that although am more eager about adventure, action, or dry comedy films, i find a good drama to be the most powerful of all movies when they work.
with that said, i have not seen Anora or the Brutalist, 2 films that look very interesting. Anora seems to be about a free spirit and am hoping to enjoy it
I didn’t have a terrible time (although it certainly sounds like I did, LOL). Just disappointed in how curated things seen to be. No surprises, no drama, the same tiny group of movies in every single show.
As for The Brutalist, there is some exceptional qualities to that movie. I wanted to love it but a few things kinda push me away. Anora is another story altogether. I won’t rehash my review, my I found it loud, empty, indulgent, and abrasive. But many folks like it, so…
I can’t really criticize what won since I only saw a couple of the nominees, but I would have liked to see A Complete Unknown grab a few awards. My sense is Academy voters don’t get behind more conventionally told movies, even though really well executed, which I think describes A Complete Unknown. They are more into the fringe independent type movie, which shows up in box office numbers.
I agree on A Complete Unknown. It seems that its all about what gets in with the right people who then are able to turn it into something fashionable. Anora was the cool movie to love and it became the darling early on despite being seriously flawed. Oh well. 🙂
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this. I on the other hand is ELATED over Anora. Yes, I wanted Demi Moore to win but I have no problem with Mikey winning. I am happy for Adrien, Kieran, and Zoe. I’m happy with a lot of the people who won. Except for the song “El Mal” as I don’t remember it at all but at least it beat Diane Warren… again.
I watched some of it on Hulu and they really suck with the livestream. I didn’t watch the Memoriam and the Oscars once again fucked up. It is bad enough that Tony Todd, Shannen Doherty, Michelle Trachtenberg, Olivia Hussey, Tony Roberts, and Alain Delon were omitted but to give David Lynch five measly seconds is a fucking diss. Man, if I ever get famous (god forbid) in relation to cinema. Do not put me in the memoriam at all as I will have someone in my family post a picture of me giving the finger to the Academy.
BTW, fuck that Zionist bitch Gal Gadot for not wanting to present the Oscar to the documentary film award winners.
I haven’t taken the Oscars or the Golden Globes seriously in years. I get that they’re big industry awards, but to me they’re a big joke. I would’ve understood Dune 2 not winning Best Picture, but not even getting NOMINATED? I think people were smoking something that was contaminated with bullshit.
They’ve earned not being taken seriously. It’s sad really.
Can’t believe Dune Part Two got such disrespect. Academy voters admitting they don’t watch all of the films is forever ridiculous to me, but the extra shade that they didn’t finish Dune 2 is galling. But I digress. Befuddles me that they can’t get the In Memoriam right, always seems to be an issue every year with omitted names and bizarre song choices. And I’m right there with you that the Oscars should give equal airtime to everybody who won, not just celebrities.
Honestly tho I had fun with this year’s broadcast. Aside from those Emilia Perez songwriters trying to get the audience to singalong and a crazy long speech from Best Actor, I thought it ran pretty smooth compared to previous years?
The Dune: Part Two thing is stunning to me. But it never had a real shot in anything other than the two technical categories. And all of this stuff was channeled early on. That’s why there wasn’t much drama. Still, to not even nominate it in Adapted Screenplay and Director is unfathomable to me.
I Think Mikey Madison would be Good Choice as Rogue In MCU
Hi – first time commenter here – I largely agree with your take and although I didn’t watch the ceremony, it is a weak year and the Oscars seem to have made some odd decisions as they usually do.
-Anora was poor – the middle, mainly improvised section with the Russian bodyguards was messy and inconsistent – it felt like a GCSE drama improvisation class where the actors swear too much, fight and there was no structure like where each scene needed to end, character consistent behaviour or themes. It has been described as comedic but it wasn’t funny. Mikey Madison was good at the beginning, poor in the middle and excellent in the last 10 mins of the film but barely enough to warrant an Oscar. There’s either some kind of Russian ulterior motive or the Oscar voters liked the sex scenes in my opinion! Couldn’t agree more with your comments on the editing and script.
Thanks so much for reading and taking time to comment.
I’m with you on everything you said. After it won, I even went back to reread my Anora review and still stand by everything I said. That middle section you mention really zaps the movie of any meaningful character development. So much so that the final 10 minutes (though well acted) didn’t land with me as intended. But the movie became the darling for the right people who pushed it hard following its win at Cannes.