I thought Chris Rock did a decent job in what has always been a thankless role. His opening monologue was a bit scattershot, at times he seemed to be taking his fellow African-American actors to task more than the white elites of Hollywood. But many of his jokes, albeit a few too many at Will and Jada Pinkett's expense, landed. And I'm not sure anyone else could have done a better job of pointing out the absurdity of liberal Hollywood's persistent prejudice.
Here are the other big takeaways (for me) from the night.
Mad Max made an impact: I, of course, wanted my favorite film of the year to win Best Picture and Best Director, but for a blockbuster action movie reboot, that was perhaps asking too much -- at least this year. But I think it's a positive sign that the film cleaned up in the technical categories, dominating the first portion of the night. That a film like this, which took real artistic chances AND was a hit, got recognized like this gives me hope for the future.Star Wars snubbed: That said, much of Mad Max's success seemed to be at the expense of The Force Awakens. It's pretty odd to me that the most successful film of all time in the U.S. (without taking inflation into account) and a critical hit, walked away with zero recognition for the Oscars.
Footage of Harrison Ford in a 2015 montage only reminded me of how much I think he belonged in the Supporting Actor category, and I thought the film was seriously snubbed for Best Visual Effects. Just another case of the Oscars being out of touch.
Ennio Morricone finally wins one: It wasn't a surprise thatwhen Ennio Morricone finally won his first Oscar for The Hateful Eight. The 87-year-old was not just a sentimental favorite, he deserved to win. This man is my favorite film composer of all time and it was very moving to see him embraced by his peers Quincy Jones and John Williams, although it boggles the mind that they seated this frail man up in a balcony.
"Til It Happens to You": I was stunned when Lady Gaga's powerful tribute to campus rape victims lost in the Best Song category to Sam Smith's perfectly nice theme from Spectre. Still, Gaga's characteristically great performance at the Oscars will likely bring a lot more attention to an important documentary The Hunting Ground, which needs to be seen and discussed. The finale of her song, with alleged victims holding their hands high in solidarity was easily the most moving moment of the night.
Stallone loss stings: The other moving moment I was hoping and rooting for didn't come. Sylvester Stallone was upset for Best Supporting Actor by Mark Rylance. I thought Rylance gave a very good performance in Bridge of Spies but I have a great deal of affection for Stallone as an actor, and he did the best work of his career in Creed. After this disappointing result I fear his fate will be the same as Mickey Rourke and Eddie Murphy's, two actors who returned to doing subpar work after Oscar rebuked them for deserving performances. I hope I'm wrong, but this loss hurt.
Spotlight shocker: I genuinely did not see that coming. I figured if any movie was going to knock The Revenant off its front-runner perch it would be The Big Short. And when Mad Max: Fury Road started racking up wins early, I held out hope that it had a chance. But Spotlight, the best reviewed of the eight nominees, won and I was pleasantly surprised. First off, bully for Michael Keaton, who's starred in two Best Picture winners in a row -- although he lost last year for Best Actor and was snubbed this year. Also I'm impressed that the academy got behind a smallish movie that hasn't been a big commercial hit and has been lagging in the awards race all year. Perhaps the Best Picture will win help this powerful movie find a wider audience, it's terrific and really deserving of one.
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