I usually enjoy watching the Oscars, but last night felt a little anticlimactic.

One, I think I was thrown off by the fact that they were being shown a month earlier than in the past.

Two, I didn’t see many of the nominees this past year. The year before, I’d really enjoyed “The Two Towers,” “Chicago,” “The Hours,” “The Pianist,” and “Far From Heaven. Most of those spoke to me in one way or another — three as a gay man, one as a Jew. And they were all amazing. But this past Christmas season, there weren’t many “big movies” I felt like seeing, and while those I saw were very good, they didn’t do anything special for me. “Cold Mountain” and “Seabiscuit” were typical Oscar-season big movies, but they weren’t particularly brilliant, even if “Seabiscuit” warmed the cockles of my heart and Tobey Macguire warmed some other parts of me. As a former resident of Tokyo, I did thoroughly enjoy “Lost in Translation,” although it didn’t strike me as an Oscar movie. And I still haven’t seen “Mystic River” or “Master and Commander” or “Monster” or “The House of Sand and Fog.”

The third reason last night’s Oscars were anticlimactic is that there weren’t many memorable moments. I liked Blake Edwards’s wheelchair ride, and I loved “Mitch and Mickey’s” performance of their song from “A Mighty Wind.” But there was no controversy and nothing outrageous — thanks to the five-second delay, no doubt. Susan Sarandon’s one-strap dress came dangerously close to providing a Janet Jackson moment, or at least it appeared that way. And I appreciated that Michael Moore could make fun of himself in Billy Crystal’s Oscar parody.

But there was something bland about the whole thing. Perhaps it was the “Return of the King” juggernaut. I loved the movie, and I’m glad it tied the record for most Oscar wins and won in every category in which it was nominated (in fact, I wish Sean Astin had received a Best Supporting Actor nomination), but… did it really deserve Best Friggin’ Adapted Screenplay? I would have given that to “American Splendor,” which was brilliant. The Oscar voters just seemed to have gone on automatic pilot. Lord of the Rings… Lord of the Rings… Lord of the Rings. They should have just given it Best Documentary as well.

I don’t want to detract from the achievement, though. The entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a masterpiece, and last night’s Oscars were clearly meant to reward the whole thing. In fact, I may have to see “Return of the King” a second time (although 210 minutes is awfully long to sit through), and I look forward to next fall, when I can have all three Extended Editions side by side in my DVD collection.

And I don’t know who else will agree with me, but I think Dominic Monaghan looks so handsome in this picture.