Academy Awards honor top movies for 90th year

Brian Connors Arts and Entertainment Editor

The Oscars celebrated its 90th year of honoring achievement in film on March 4. The 2018 ceremony was filled with an assortment of diverse nominees vying for the coveted golden man. Here is a quick recap highlighting some of the highs and lows of the broadcast.

Best Picture! – The night’s top honor went to Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” The film follows a mute woman who builds a relationship with a scaled creature held prisoner by the government. The movie was nominated for 13 awards, but came away with only four, including Best Director, Best Visual Production and Best Original Music Score.

Riveting Performances – As is tradition, the nominations for Best Original Song are performed throughout the broadcast. Mary J. Blige — who became the first person to be nominated in the acting and song categories in the same year — gave the best performance of the night singing “Mighty River” from “Mudbound.” Although it won the Oscar, “Coco’s” “Remember Me”— performed by Gael García Bernal, Natalia LaFourcade and Miguel—was very awkward.

“This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name” and “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall” were also performed.

Fun Gags – Jimmy Kimmel hosted the event for the second year in a row. His funniest bit was concerning the time actors spend on their speeches. Kimmel joked that the winner who gives the shortest speech would win a brand-new jet ski and in place of cut-off music, “Get Out’s” Lakeith Stanfield would reprise his role from the film and yell “Get out!” Another funny moment was Kimmel brining a group of A-listers to the movie theatre next door to deliver treats.

Lady Bird Snubbed – My personal favorite film of the year, “Lady Bird,” got completely shut out at the ceremony. Laurie Metcalf, Saoirse Ronan and Greta Gerwig came away with nothing in the supporting actress, lead actress and director categories, respectively. Gerwig was only the fifth woman in history to ever get a best director nomination. This stellar film about the crazy, beautiful relationship between mother and child truly deserved better.

Weird Camera Angles! – The Oscars seemed to have been experimenting with its creativity, because the camera angles — most notably during when the presenters were presenting — appeared much steeper than usual. I did not love this as the angle did not help showcase some of the celebrities’ looks, which is a big part of Oscar night!

Great Fashion – The ceremony — as well as the red carpet beforehand — was a showcase of fantastic fashion for fashionistas and celebrity lovers alike. Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis and Taraji P. Hensen were some personal best-dressed picks. Tiffany Haddish made headlines by wearing the same dress she has worn several times before, and Rita Moreno wore the same dress she wore when she was awarded the Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story.