OK, am I wrong, or were the Oscars kind of sweet this year?
Yes, there were the usual excessive number of jokes about the ceremony being too long (which, of course, made it longer), and a bit too much shtick from host Jimmy Kimmel, but for the most part, the Academy Awards telecast Sunday felt pleasantly old school. Unlike last year, every category was presented live; unlike last year, nobody got slapped. Many of the winners were predicted, particularly the strong showing by “Everything Everywhere All at Once”; but there were some surprises, notably multiple awards to the German war film “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the trippy multiverse film from writer/directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, won seven Oscars to lead the evening. The Daniels, coming to the podium three times (for original screenplay, directing and best picture), seemed pleasantly gobsmacked — a couple of indie filmmakers stunned and amused to be in the big leagues.
