After the Oscars yesterday, this critic felt particularly disappointed (although not as much as last year) with what came to pass as the highlight of the awards season. Here are the top four sucky points of The Academy Awards:

1. The Artist winning five Oscars

I haven't seen the Artist and it's not the movie that bothers me. What really bothered me most about the Oscars was the predictability. Of course The Artist would win best picture and of course Meryl Streep would win best actress. Everyone knew Octavia Spencer would win best supporting actress. For once, I just wish that the Academy would switch things up. Why SHOULDN'T Melissa McCarthy win best supporting actress? Why shouldn't Extremely Loud win the best picture? Why shouldn't Harry Potter win best make up? The Academy should take into account the public opinion as well, for what is popular can also be art. Just because a film is silent or a film takes on the age old topic of racism (don't get me wrong, I adore The Help) does not make it art. Art can be funny and art can be animated. Better luck next year, every single film that deserves the award.

2. The Cirque Du Soleil performance

Someone please tell me what happened here. I was confused the entire way through. Sure, it was fun to watch, but it was so out of place. Everything the Oscars stand for is class. The Oscars are classy. In context, Cirque was tacky and totally out of place. Sorry, guys, it just didn't work.

3. The host

Billy Crystal, you beautiful irrelevant angelfish (as Ms. Poehler's Leslie Knope would say). Is it sad that he was almost as boring as last year's hosts? He did try harder and half of it was quite amusing, I'll give him that, but there was little amusement that constantly kept people entertained throughout the show minus the camera cuts to celebrity's faces. Nice try, Billy, but try again.

4. The pacing