Not Too Shabby, Oscar!

It's not every Oscarcast that boasts an iconic feel-good moment of playfulness that captures a true slice of an entire era, but you've got to hand it to Ellen Degeneres. Her group-selfie Tweet managed to deflate the tension and sheer ego right out of the festivities, creating a moment of actual fun and camaraderie that made Hollywood stars suddenly more relatable than the whizbangery of a thousand press agents. How nice a guy does Brad Pitt seem? Handing out pizza plates? Kindness seems to just radiate off the man.

For me, this was one of the most enjoyable broadcasts in years. They let Ellen get right to it and do the monologue - no half-baked composite parodies or protracted skits. A little stand-up, then let's give out an Oscar. The musical numbers were tasteful and there were some terrific songs this year. Happy got the audience going, The Moon Song from Her created a real moment, and U2 brought the house down with Ordinary Love.

There was plenty of real emotion, too. The In Memorium segment was a little harder to watch this year, and the Over the Rainbow tribute to The Wizard of Oz didn't leave a dry eye in the house.

We had some eyebrow-raising moments, too. What the hell happened to Kim Novak? She looked like Jennifer Coolidge in Best in Show. 

You think the Ice Queen in Frozen is cold? She's got nothing on the chill going on between John Ridley and Steve McQueen. Yikes!

We had some terrific acceptance speeches this year. Alfonso Cuaron, Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett and the incredibly moving Lupita Nyong'o. I didn't do too shabby with my predictions this year, only missing on Best Picture - but then again, it's never been a closer race, so I'm feeling good.

The Oscars actually left us loving the movies and wanting to see more of them. To revisit the classics of old and dash out to view the winners we've missed. I can't wait to see 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska and Her. So thanks, Ellen - and thanks, Oscar. You left us feeling a lot this year and you've got some producers on board who've finally cracked the code on how to do it. You gave us a lot more clips, didn't play-off the speakers, avoided embarrassing production numbers, humanized the stars and served up actual fun. You actually left us looking forward to next year!