I don't always watch the Oscars, and not at all for the last few years, but I was curious to see how Chris Rock would handle hosting duties in the context of the all-white acting nominee controversy. Overall, I thought he was quite good -- he confronted issues of racism and blackness all night, and he pulled none of his punches. Although I also felt like there were a couple of missteps (the bit about men and women being treated differently on the red carpet comes to mind, as does how close he came to suggesting that African Americans are no longer facing "real" problems and therefore have time to spare on diversity in Hollywood), I'm actually hard pressed to think of a better host, given the circumstances.

Other things I liked: the shout-outs to climate change, anti-racism, and sexual abuse in various winners' speeches, Louis CK's thoughts on the power of documentaries, Joe Biden speaking up about sexual assault followed by Lady Gaga's moving performance and the bravery of all the people who stood with her, Spotlight winning best picture (it's a REALLY good movie -- if you haven't seen it yet, you should), all the awards for Mad Max: Fury Road (although I'm sad that George Miller didn't win for directing, at least he received a lot of recognition via his team), and the fact that we can FINALLY retire the "sad Leo wants an Oscar" meme. Nothing against DiCaprio -- he's a great actor, and by all accounts he put in a worthy performance (I haven't seen The Revenant and don't plan to, since it's not my kind of movie) -- but I grew tired of the meme awhile ago. There are plenty of other great actors without Oscars who are possibly even more deserving, and I am more than ready to move on, please.

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