By Eric Bernstein 

This past Sunday, the 86th Annual Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars, was held in Los Angeles and critics are giving Ellen Degeneres a mixed review. Despite her great opening monologue, the Oscars got off to a very slow start.  It picked up later on with some really great moments such as the giant celebrity filled “selfie” and the delivery of pizza to stars starving in the front rows. Cate Blanchett, who won the award for Best Actress, did something amazing when she praised the other nominees’ performances she managed to compliment each woman in specific, sincere fashion. And then of course, there was the darling of the ceremony, Lupita Nyong’o, who, in her acceptance speech for the Best Supporting Actress for her work in 12 Years a Slave, reminded viewers that there’s a long history behind how she got to that stage- from Nairobi to Yale to Oscar.  Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were also first time nominees and winners who won over the Academy with their performances in Dallas Buyers Club.