New: The Oscars:

It was a good year for movies, everyone said all season, and Oscar voters                                reacted accordingly, spreading their affections around.

Of the best picture nominees, only “Beasts of the Southern Wild” went home                                         statueless, but the cheers in the theater anytime its players were mentioned                            should be more than enough for the first-time filmmakers and neophyte stars.                                         And “Zero Dark Thirty” scraped by with a technical trophy, for sound editing.