Awards season is over. In case you missed it, awards season was incredibly important to me, probably evidenced by my (nearly perfect) predictions of the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards and Oscars. If you didn’t read them, my Oscar predictions were pretty spot-on, with my best picture/best director cop-out picks the only (sort of) miss. That officially makes me an awards season expert. Here are some Oscar highlights I would like to note:

• Neil Patrick Harris was a mediocre host, but most Oscar hosts, except for rare occasions like Ellen Degeneres and Billy Crystal, are. The opening number was entertaining, but his jokes were too smug and cheesy.
• J.K. Simmons’ win for “Whiplash” was well deserved and his speech was kind and heartfelt.
• Patricia Arquette’s speech after her win for best supporting actor for”Boyhood” brought attention to many problems all over the world. Her equal right for women shoutout was particularly great (especially to Meryl Streep). Her performance in “Boyhood” was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she rightfully milked this speech.
• Graham Moore’s screenplay for “The Imitation Game” was sharp and smart, eliciting laughs and sobs, even at the same time. His speech was pretty much the same thing. I really liked his stay weird” message. Another case of a deserved winner (for best adapted screenplay) bringing awareness in their speech.
• Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the director of “Birdman” and winner for best director and best original screenplay, was slightly an upset for me, considering Richard Linklater, director of “Boyhood,” took 12 years for his achievement. With “Birdman” also winning best picture, it showed that the academy voters majorly slighted “Boyhood,” even though it had major awards buzz.
• Both Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton deserved the award for best actor. I thought Keaton might edge Redmayne out because of his longer career, but Redmayne’s physical transformation for his role as Stephen Hawking was outstanding. Plus, Redmayne is super dreamy and his excitement after his win was adorable.
• “American Sniper,” a movie I detest due to its promotion of anti-Islam bias only won one Oscar, though I consider that too much.

Despite the “Birdman” surprise, the rest of awards show was boring and predictable. Changes, including more diversity in its acting nominations, need to be made if the Academy wants to draw larger crowds than it did this year.