The highlights and the best parts of cinema were honored yet again at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15.

Conan O’Brien hosted the ceremony for the second year in a row and, much like last year, he was a ton of fun to watch. Some of his jokes were a swing-and-a-miss, but the majority of his hosting job was still enjoyable nonetheless. The ceremony kicked off with a fun skit based around “Weapons” that also incorporated several of the Best Picture nominees.

Much like last year, there was real passion for cinema shown through O’Brien’s comedy. There were several skits throughout poking fun at the modern state of cinema while also showing love for it.

As usual, most of the wins were pretty predictable based on who won at the precursor award shows, such as the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards.

The first award of the night was given to Amy Madigan, winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Weapons.”

This was an unusual win, as it was a horror performance and the only nomination for that movie. Madigan gave a great performance, although Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas should have been awarded for her beautifully emotional and subtle work in “Sentimental Value.”

The same feeling is true with the results for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Sean Penn won for his flashy villain role in “One Battle After Another,” which was a fantastic performance that impressively balanced comedy and intimidation. However, the most deserving to win in that category was Stellan Skarsgård for the masterclass in subtle acting that was his performance in “Sentimental Value.”

“Frankenstein” took home all three awards of Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Production Design. Unlike the last few awards, all three of these were deserving wins, as the film was a great showcase of impressive technical craftsmanship.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for her breathtaking work in “Sinners,” making her the first woman to win the category. The cinematography lineup was strong this year, with Arkapaw triumphing over other amazing work such as Michael Bauman for “One Battle After Another” and Adolpho Veloso for “Train Dreams.”

Ludwig Göransson managed to win his third Oscar for his original score for “Sinners.” This was a fantastic win, as Goransson’s score perfectly captures the rage quietly boiling under the surface of the film, while also being a joy to listen to.

The inaugural award of the brand new Best Casting category was won by casting director Cassandra Kulukundis for “One Battle After Another,” which makes sense, as the film has a sprawling cast full of believable performances. Also, the casting of newcomer Chase Infiniti for one of the film’s lead roles was a great choice. However, Francine Maisler taking the award for “Sinners” would have been a great choice, along with Michael P. Shawver winning Best Editing for “Sinners” over Andy Jurgensen, who ultimately won for “One Battle After Another.”

For the first time in 13 years, there was a category that resulted in a tie, that award being Best Live Action Short Film. This was the seventh tie in Oscar history. The two winning films were “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva.” The former was mediocre and forgettable, and the latter was intensely boring and lacking substance. The only film in the category that is anything special is “Butcher’s Stain,” an impressive debut that flawlessly crafted an unrelentingly suffocating and uncomfortable tone.

The ceremony contained two live musical performances of songs nominated for Best Original Song.

The first was “I Lied to You,” from “Sinners,” performed by Miles Caton, who sang the song in the film along with various other musicians and performers, such as the co-writer of the song, Raphael Saadiq, and Buddy Guy, the jazz legend who was also in “Sinners.” Ballet dancer Misty Copeland and country artist Shaboozey also performed.

Everyone involved in the performance did a fantastic job recreating the “Sinners” sequence where the song appeared, doing justice to one of the most iconic and powerful musical sequences in this decade of cinema thus far.

Near the end of the ceremony, Rei Ami, Ejae and Audrey Nuna performed the smash hit song “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.” This performance was much less memorable than the performance of “I Lied to You” and was underwhelming compared to both its visual and musical aspects.

When it came time for the outcome of the Best Original Song category to be announced, “I Lied to You” or Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner’s beautifully written “Train Dreams” from the film of the same name would have been two completely expected and reasonable picks. However, “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” took the award home after also achieving victory in the Best Animated Feature category.

The two screenplay awards, Best Original and Best Adapted, predictably went to the two frontrunners of the night, “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.” It was clear this ceremony was a two-horse race. And even though “Bugonia” and “Train Dreams” are both great films, none of the other eight Best Picture nominees had a chance of taking home the biggest prize of the night.

This was solidified even further when Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Director, followed by Michael B. Jordan winning Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Jessie Buckley won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her intense, emotionally grueling performance in “Hamnet.” A worthy win for a great performance.

Emma Stone’s performance in “Bugonia” and Renate Reinsve’s performance in “Sentimental Value” also would have made for worthy winners, as they are both performances nobody else could have executed to a science better than they did.

When Best Picture was being announced, it was clear what movie was most likely to win Best Picture. At the end of the day, “Sinners” should have won, but it lost the big award to “One Battle After Another,” which is still a good film in its own right. It just isn’t comparable to the masterpiece that is “Sinners.”

The Oscars are a celebration of film and, for many years, the ceremony was criticized for not feeling like one. Now, with Conan O’Brien hosting, there is a deep love and appreciation of cinema at the center of the Oscars. It is amazing to see, no matter who wins or loses.