THE OSCARS....WTF?!

The Oscars were last night and, as usual, I watched the show from the beginning to the end. Here are my thoughts.

- Chris Rock was not a good host. The Oscars So White commentary and jokes did not go well at all. It was constant, and very, very offensive. There was a brief video segment where Rock interviewed black moviegoers and they revealed they hadn't seen or heard of any of the Best Picture nominees, but they had seen and loved Straight Outta Compton (Thus making everyone he interviewed look terrible. Talk about racism, Sheez!). He also stopped the show to peddle Girl Scout cookies for his girls. It could have been cute, but it came across (to me at least) as more self-serving. I will say he had a fantastic opening monologue, bur that was about it. This was an opportunity to bring people together and apologize for the whitewashing at The Oscars this year (which really was blown completely out of proportion in my opinion), but instead The Oscars chose to divide. The whole show felt like fuck you whitey, and it honestly turned me off.

-Louis C.K. had the best presenter speech of the night for Documentary Short. I would love to see him host one year.

- The president of The Academy came out to apologize about Oscars So White. This was really all they needed to do about the whitewashing. Her speech was short, to the point, and very well done.

- Gaga's performance of Til It Happens To You was a real show stopper. The fact that The Academy gave the award for best song to Sam Smith's The Writing on The Wall instead was bogus ( Not a good song, and easily one of the worst Bond themes). I will say it was bizarre to see Smith come out as gay during his acceptance speech.

- -Alicia Vikander walked away with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I really love this gal. Last year was her first year on the scene, and that she got an Oscar so soon is very impressive. Keep your eyes on her, I'm expecting great things.

-Ennio Morricone won for Best Score. He deserved it! Loved his acceptance speech.

- For a while there I really thought that Mad Max could walk away with Best Picture and Best Director (Spoilers, it didn't). Max swept a good portion of The Oscars, winning awards for Best Makeup, Best Sound Editing,  Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Costume Design. What A Lovely Day, I guess.

- Ex Machina won the award for Best Visual Effects, and I think it was well deserved. Nice to see that film get some recognition.

-Really happy that Big Short won Best Adapted Screenplay, that film definitely deserved it. For Best Original Screenplay I was hoping Ex Machina would win, but they gave it to Spotlight instead.

- Best Cinematography went to The Revenant....ok. It was a beautiful film, but I still feel that Mad Max or Hateful Eight should have won.

- Really pissed about Inarritu winning Best Director. I'm finally going to come out and say it: I hate this guy. He mistakes being overly artsy as having real quality in a film. The Revenant was a film that was bloated and over-long (absolutely NO REASON that it needed to be three hours. NO REASON!!!!). I get that he wanted the film to be a transcendent experience for the audience and the characters, but by the time the end finally rolled around I found that I had stopped caring and just wanted to leave. It was a film filled with needlessly surreal, dream-like moments (It also really bothered me That Leo spoke mostly in a foreign language, but I'm not sure I fault Inarritu with that decision). Inarritu WAS NOT Best Director, he in no way deserved that award. He also took the time during his acceptance speech (completely ignoring the "hurry up and finish" music. Come on guys, CUT HIS MIC!) to comment on the Oscars So White thing,  trying to make himself look relevant. Maybe you should JUST STOP Inarritu. UGH!

- Mark Rylance surprised everyone and usurped the award for Best Supporting Actor. He was great in his film, but I'm shocked that the award didn't go to Mark Ruffalo.

- Leo FINALLY won his Oscar. I still feel that Fassbender was the best out of the nominees, but Leo easily deserved this one for all the times he lost but should have won in the past. This was a moment six years in the making, and it felt so good to just sit there and watch him bask in it. His acceptance speech should be an example of the right way to do one. Enjoy your Oscar Leo, You deserve it.

-Spotlight won Best Picture. No shock. I had said in my Top 15 of '15 that I felt it was the highest quality film of last year, and I guess the Academy agreed. Cool!

So, there you have it, my full list of thoughts on The Oscars this year. Let's hope they learn their lessons and make a better show next year (with considerably less Chris Rock and Inarritu). Till Next time, Stay Classy!