Every year, Hollywood’s biggest stars come together at Dolby Theater for the year’s most famous award show. Like most Oscars, this year’s were quite divisive. Many movies with a mixed reception have been awarded, while plenty of highly-regarded films have been ignored. So just in case you missed the 2019 Academy Awards, we’re here to recap the ups and downs of the show.

First of all, we should have a moment of silence for movies for all the talent that was snubbed. Toni Collette screamed her heart out for the entirety of “Hereditary” but didn’t even get nominated. Barry Jenkins drenched his heart and soul into “If Beale Street Could Talk” but was left in the dust. And the masterpiece “Paddington 2” didn’t even get a  best picture nomination even though it was objectively better than six out of the eight nominees.

Now that we got that out of our system, let’s talk about the good. One of the highest points of the event was when actress Olivia Colman won a surprise Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in “The Favourite.” Her acceptance speech felt true to heart and genuine, which made me love her even more.

Another highlight was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s stunning performance of the hit song “Shallow.” Their chemistry on stage was electrifying, along with the truly great singing chops shown from the actor and actress.

One moment that warmed the hearts of everyone was Spike Lee’s win of adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.” Samuel Jackson’s joyous scream as he presented Lee the Oscar was made even better with Lee’s complete bear hug onto Jackson. This was all capped off by an amazing speech where Lee thanked his ancestors and preached for change in the upcoming election.

These were sadly the only moments that stood out.  

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows this year for the Oscars, which is evident from the social media reactions. One of the reasons people were mad was because “The Green Book,” a film that is regarded as bland and uninspired, won Best Picture. Very few people were satisfied with the decision and ever since, “Green Book” has been called the new “Crash.” It was also ridiculous that “Bohemian Rhapsody” won Best Editing, which is notorious for having terrible editing. It’s a given that there are going to be long, drawn out jokes that seem to never end in the Oscars, and this one was no exception.

The worst part of the 91st Academy Awards was that it was bland. The winners were mostly predictable, the lack of a host took away from some memorable moments, and there wasn’t a lot of great speeches. While it is a step up from last year’s awards show, it didn’t offer a good reason to watch the show live. The most likely scenario is that this Oscars will be forgotten in a couple months.        

While the TV event did have a few enjoyable points, they couldn’t help but be overshadowed by the grueling blandness the show presented. It was boring, unfunny, and just a waste of time. I’ve been watching the Academy Awards since the age of 5. I remember getting so excited to sit down and watch the awards be given out, even though I had barely seen any of the nominated films. Now, I no longer get that butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling when the show begins because I know it’ll just be a stale three hours of my life. I think this year’s show finally convinced me to skip next year’s, and just read the results the following day.