The Oscars

The Oscars 2025 will be better known for an independent movie and early hot favourite Emilia Pérez self combusted.

All because its lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón expressed passed sentiments that were out of sync with the message of the movie. She hated everyone especially if they were black or muslim or low budget independent movies.

First time host Conan O'Brien underwhelmed. Not helped that Billy Crystal later showed up to hand out an award. It reminded the audience that once upon a time, the Oscars were funnier.

As for the wards themselves. It is another year when independent movies such as Anora rule. The major movie studios have forgotten how to make epic movies.

This is my first time reviewing the Oscar show and while I enjoyed it like I do every year, yeah, it's too long! Still, loved the production number tribute to the films based on The Wizard of Oz featuring the stars of Wicked as well as the monologue of first-time host Conan O'Brien who I've enjoyed for years since his first NBC late night show. The only nominees I managed to watch were Wicked and Conclave but it was nice to see all the speeches mostly get their words in the alloted time though, yeah, the one who previously had also won Best Actor tor The Pianist does tend to go a little longer than he should though his remarks were touching enough. Also loved Conan's crack at multiple times-host Jimmy Kimmel! Oh, and nice to see Gene Hackman, who had been recently passed under mysterious circumstances get an acknowledgement in the "In Memoriam" segment especially when presented by one of his most distinguished co-stars in Morgan Freeman. So, yeah, I very much enjoyed this year's Oscars!

The Oscars went pretty smoothly and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Glad that nothing controversial happened (coughcoughWillSmithcoughcough) and each moment with the presenters and musical numbers were pretty entertaining. I could go on and on here, but here were some of the highlights in my opinion:

1. Solid opening numbers from Ariana and Cynthia, both were amazing just like how they were in Wicked and definitely outstanding powerhouse singers.

2. Conan O'Brien was the perfect choice to host the Oscars. Consistently funny, kept the ball rolling, and did not get political! (though I'll give him that "I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian" jab. Kudos!!)

3. Haven't seen Emilia Perez, but from what I heard and saw in a few clips, Zoe Saldana deserved to win her Oscar for that film. So congrats, Zoe!!

4. Congrats to Adrian Brody for his win too, but talked for WAY too long. Seriously, should've cut his mic off early or something.

5. Might have missed it, but where did Anora come from??? Literally have not heard about it until last night. Now curious to watch it and see how it swept 5 wins.

6. No offense to the actress who won for Best Actress (Mikey Madison for Anora), but personally thought Demi Moore got robbed. Heard she made quite a comeback to her career with The Substance, and it was her peak, and should've won. Haven't even heard of Mikey Madison before, but I guess like i said, have to see Anora to see what the big deal is, as well as seeing The Substance (or having the courage to see it, since it looks pretty intense lol).

7. Nice In Memoriam tribute, and glad Morgan Freeman gave a special tribute to Gene Hackman, especially since it was last minute, as well as Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah, and Queen Latifah paying a special tribute to Quincy Jones. Very nice.

8. Nice little "When Harry Met Sally..." reunion between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal during the Best Picture announcement. It was cute and liked Billy's joke about working there, given how many times he's hosted!

9. Loved how they paid tribute to the LA firefighters and had them come out on stage. Nice way to show respect for them for everything they're doing to control the wildfires in LA. Pretty funny too how Conan let them tell a few jokes as well!

Among other highlights, the Oscars was worth watching last night. Thoroughly enjoyed, it was done very well, and Conan did an excellent job hosting (surprised this was his first time. Please bring him back!). Congrats to all the winners as well and I'd recommend checking out some of the clips from the show.

Michelle Trachtenberg, Shannen Doherty, Tony Todd Among Those Omitted From Oscars In Memoriam Segment

Oscars In Memoriam Shannen Doherty, Michelle Trachtenberg Tony Todd Getty Images

The 2025 Oscars got reflective with the traditional In Memoriam segment celebrating the entertainment figures who died over the past year as the names scrolled onscreen. Notable names in filmmaking including David Lynch, Maggie Smith, James Earl Jones and Donald Sutherland were recognized during the emotional segment.

"Harriet the Spy" star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died the Wednesday before the Oscars, was not included in the In Memoriam segment. This year, actors including Tony Todd, Chance Perdomo, Alain Delon, "Annie Hall" star Tony Roberts, Linda Lavin, James Darren, Mitzi Gaynor, Martin Mull and "Romeo and Juliet" star Olivia Hussey were also omitted, along with documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Gene Hackman, who was found dead with his wife on Wednesday, was remembered with a tribute from Morgan Freeman, who worked with the two-time Oscar winner on "Unforgiven" and "Under Suspicion."

Quincy Jones also got his own separate Oscars tribute later in the show.

The tribute reel unspooled to an orchestral presentation of Mozart's "Requiem in D Minor," known as "Lacrimosa" - though some commenters on social media found it too lachrymose even for a segment dedicated to the memory of those who have passed away.

But no matter how many people are remembered, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can't dedicate an unlimited amount of time to listing names and photos. So every year, a few notable entertainers are omitted, which often causes an outcry on social media. The Academy traditionally posts a longer list on its website.

Other performers and creatives who were remembered during the segment include Gena Rowlands, Teri Garr, Shelley Duvall, Bob Newhart, John Amos, Roger Corman and Robert Towne.

Tony Todd, that's so below the belt and so disrespectful. Shame on them. The others I understand since they weren't in the film industry, only tv. I remember when Ron Silver died they did the same thing.

I should start by noting that of all the nominated movies, I've only seen "A Complete Unknown", "Flow", "Inside Out 2", "A Real Pain", "The Substance", "Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" and "Wicked". It was especially good to see underdogs "Flow" and "I'm Still Here" win their awards (making them the first Latvian and Brazilian productions to win, respectively). It was also good that Conan O'Brien brought out a number of firefighters to champion SoCal's real heroes.

But the most important moment of the 97th Academy Awards was the win for Best Documentary Feature (as is usually the case). "No Other Land" co-directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham called for an end to the blockade and bombing of Gaza, and for the release of the hostages. Everyone should be doing this. The fact that the documentary still doesn't have a US distributor shows what's wrong with our country.

Anyway, I enjoyed the broadcast up to the point where Hulu's telecast cut off (right before Best Actress got announced, no less!). I hope to see the rest of the nominees eventually.