Best Moments:

Lady Gaga’s Performance
If you have been hearing Lady Gaga’s name recently, for the first time it might not be due to her bizarre style in clothing. It’s most likely due to her jaw-dropping performance at the Oscars. Most people are aware of Gaga’s abilities and her incredibly strong voice, but it was not her voice that was the shocker but rather the way she was able to deliver an unforgettable performance. Gaga is commonly known in Hollywood for her edgier side of music, but during her performance, Gaga was able to take classic songs from the movie The Sound of Music and add her own twist. While listening to her performance, one was able to recall the original version from 50 years ago, but was able to enjoy the songs with a more modern flare. Not only was Gaga’s performance a mind-blowing one, but she also kept her style simple: she performed in an elegant white dress with her hair tinted grey and a relatively natural makeup look. In one word, everything was “perfect”.

Acceptance Speeches

Hands down, by far the best year for speeches. Every year including last night, we listen as winners thank their directors, producers, managers, family, etc. and most of the time we as the audience have absolutely no clue who they are talking about; but this time was different. From Patricia Arquette, the winner for best actress who gave a speech about feminism and equal wages, to Dana Perry, the winner for best documentary who gave a speech on suicide prevention, many winners took last night as a time to raise awareness to the issues they felt were important. Even among the luxury of the Oscars and all the glitz and glam, many shined light on the fact that we focus so much time and energy on the “good” that we often forget the “bad”. It was not only about those who won and their minute of fame, but rather it was more about what we as the audience can do to make the world a better place.

Anything Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick is the definition of adorable, and that includes her performance during the intro. It is a known fact that Kendrick can sing and that she is good at it, but her performance was more than that, in fact it was almost as if one was watching a meaner version of Cinderella, as Kendrick spoiled the ending to Gone Girl, threw shoes across the stage, and broke all rules about manners, including screaming at others. But let’s be honest: who cares about rules? It’s Anna Kendrick.

Worst Moments:

Timing

It is true that Neil Patrick Harris is a funny person who always manages to bring humor wherever he goes, and most of the time his jokes did make us laugh, but there were instances when the timing did not seem to matter. After Perry’s speech on suicide, Harris made a joke regarding her dress comprised of cotton balls, regarding the “balls” it took to wear such a dress. Harris also left no time for appreciation, including after John Legend’s and Common’s performance of the song “Glory” regarding the Civil Rights Movement, simply saying fantastic performance soon after. Although it is true that many speeches went beyond their time limit, forcing Harris to move the show on more quickly, hopefully in the future the Academy will find a way to include some time for appreciation.

The Predictions
Too much time with little to no interest. Before the Oscars, many people were expecting Harris to perform a great magic trick at some point, and he did, predicting what would happen at the Oscars before it happened. As fantastic as it was to see at the end what Harris had predicted, it quite frankly took too much time. Nearly every 10 minutes, Harris went back to the box to make sure it was being watched and cared for, and for those who did not find the joke funny to begin with, it was complete and absolute boredom.