2017: The 90th Annual Academy Awards

[George]

What were your thoughts on the Oscars last night?

There are disappointments and triumphs for me every year. 

I was half expecting McDormand, who received the last individual award of the evening, to say, "Screw it, I want that Jet Ski. Thanks!" And walk off.  

[Chris L]

Apparently it's impossible to make the ceremonies significantly shorter than four hours. (I think they came in at about 3:48.) It seemed tighter than usual, with no gratuitously large production numbers (with one or two possible exceptions) and the speeches were shorter than usual, maybe in hopes of winning those jet skis, yet it still ended close to midnight on the East Coast. One of the advantages of living out here in SoCal is that, even when they run late, the show still ends early. The disadvantage is that you have to start watching at 5 in the afternoon.

McDormand was dependably feisty and probably could have started a march down Hollywood Blvd. right there. I was thrilled to see Del Toro get an Oscar because the man is as natural born a filmmaker as anybody since Stephen Spielberg and Shape of Water is probably his greatest film. I haven't seen enough of the nominees yet to comment on the worthiness of the competition (including Three Billboards). Kimmel managed to negotiate this year's hot button issues fairly gracefully while still being entertaining and I honestly think he's one of the few hosts who could have done that while still being white and male.

There wasn't a single memorable tune nominated for Best Song and, afterwards, neither @AmyG nor I could remember which one won.

[Chris L]

I checked to see what had won Best Song. During the show, the best song seemed to be Sufjan Stephens' "Mystery of Love," so of course it didn't win. The winner was "Remember Me" from Coco, by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. I like the Lopezes, so it's probably a song I'd like if I heard it a few more times.

[George]

I checked to see what had won Best Song. During the show, the best song seemed to be Sufjan Stephens' "Mystery of Love," so of course it didn't win. The winner was "Remember Me" from Coco, by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. I like the Lopezes, so it's probably a song I'd like if I heard it a few more times.

"Remember Me" is a very simple tune, but in the context of the movie packs an emotional wallop. Poor Gael Garcia Bernal, who really isn't a singer and was probably AutoTuned for the film, did a commendable job of getting in front of one billion people and singing.
The songs from Call Me By Your Name are wonderful, and I wouldn't have minded if "Mystery of Love" had won. 
I didn't see Mudbound or The Greatest Showman, but their songs were appropriately rousing and beautiful.