The 88th Annual Academy Awards

In a world where there is so much violence, war, politics and craziness, we bring you "The 88th Annual Academy Awards". Although with all the politics looming over the Oscars, this year's host, Chris Rock obviously had to address the gorilla in the room. Before viewing the awards, I felt that Rock would've gotten a bit too passionate for an event that was to celebrate the film industry instead of bringing politics into it. But as I watched the show, I soon realized that even though Rock was certainly passionate, he also channeled his passion in a more humorous way teaching us in a more entertaining way. No, he was not Billy Crystal, who is undoubtedly the best host the Academy Awards has had, but he was much better than I expected. He kind of stumbled a bit in areas, but he then was able to catch himself before it turned into a total blunder.
There were some very humorous montages that Rock covered mostly addressing the obvious racial situation, and some very well done songs being nominated for best song, specifically "Til it Happens to You" from "The Hunting Ground" performed by Lady Gaga. There weren't too many surprises this year, except from "The Spotlight" winning best picture; I was sure "The Revenant" would cop it, and the number of wins held by "Mad Max: Fury Road" for best makeup and hair, editing, production design, costume design, sound mixing and editing. I felt it would win a couple, but this many? Otherwise the rest was not surprising at all, especially Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning that elusive acting award, which he truly deserved. So on that note, here is the complete list of this year's winners:

Best Picture:
Spotlight

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio-- The Revenant

Best Actress:
Brie Larson-- Room

Best Supporting Actor:
Mark Rylance-- Bridge of Spies

Best Supporting Actress:
Alicia Vikander-- The Danish Girl

Best Director:
Alejandro Inarritu-- The Revenant

Best Original Screenplay:
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy-- Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay-- The Big Short

Best Animated Film:
Inside Out

Best Foreign Language Film:
Son of Saul- Hungary

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki-- The Revenant

Best Editing:
Margaret Sixel-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Production Design:
Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design:
Jenny Beavan-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Score:
Ennio Morricone-- The Hateful Eight

Best Original Song:
Spectre "Writings On the Wall"-- Sam Smith, James Napes

Best Sound Mixing:
Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Ben Osmo-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Editing:
Mark A. Mangini, David White-- Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects:
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett-- Ex Machina

Best Documentary Feature:
Amy

Best Documentary, Short Subject:
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

Best Short Film, Animated:
Bear Story (Historia de un oso)

Best Short Film, Live Action:
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles wird gut)

Governor's Award:
Gena Rowland, Spike Lee, Debbie Reynolds

As I mentioned prior, Chris Rock was passionate, in your face, but at the same time, he definitely restrained himself which is smart and savvy. This was a place where controversy can be mentioned, but one has to know how to do it, so as to keep the presentation entertaining and humorous which I feel Rock pulled off. This isn't the best awards presentation I've experienced-- Billy Crystal and Ellen DeGeneres are both better in this gig, but considering the gorilla in the room, Chris Rock gave it his all, and if anyone could even handle the controversy this year, Rock would have to be the one to handle it.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                              Non-rated                             Time- 3:20