90th Academy Awards show speaks up yet keeps the smiles coming - latimes

The 90th edition of the Academy Awards came and went Sunday evening, filling its nearly four hours with laughter and tears, self-mocking and self-celebration and more than a usual amount of music. Jimmy Kimmel hosted for a second time, handily.

It was, as always, a long flight, stimulating in its scenic views, enervating in its length. Compared to some earlier years, there was a decided lack of turbulence.

There were two main narrative thrusts to the evening, one looking backward, one looking ahead — looking ahead was also looking outward, to a more inclusive film industry.

The 90th Oscars ceremony was the reason for the first, which announced itself with a faux-historical, black-and-white newsreel opening and continued through the evening with well-edited montages featuring past winners of major categories. The message seemed to be that movies may have a long way to go in terms of diversity and representation but were always kind of woke: We have much to do, but we have done much. - Read More

FULL COVERAGE: Academy Awards 2018 | Red carpet | Winners room

Review: 90th Academy Awards show speaks up yet keeps the smiles coming