The academy votes are in, and the Oscars are handed out to the best in film.
Host Chris Rock started the 88th annual Academy Awards show with his highly anticipated monologue amid the #oscarssowhite controversy.
The Oscars took place on Feb. 28 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Rock started the show off by taking jabs at Hollywood’s culture, the Oscar boycott and much more. Rock did a fantastic job hosting the show, especially since celebrities were encouraging him to join in on the Oscar boycott.
But, what was surprising was that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who started the boycott, were the tagline of a lot of the jokes. Rock said Jada refusing the Oscars would be like Rock refusing Rihanna’s panties, “There was no invitation in the first place.” 
This year, the academy decided to try something new when it came to accepting awards.
Nominees were asked beforehand to fill out a form with all the people they would like to thank so a ticker would scroll on the bottom of the screen with all of their “Thank you’s.” The purpose for this was that the academy wanted the winners to say something more profound because history shows that whenever the winner gets to that part in their speech, the music starts playing, indicating their time is up. Unfortunately, even with the ticker on the bottom, winners are still spending their 45-second acceptance speech thanking their loved ones and the cast and crew for the film. Plus, the ticker was going so fast it was impossible to read.
One of the best parts of the ceremony was when they had black actors and actresses in the nominated movies showing what it would’ve looked like if they were nominated. The best one was hands down “The Danish Girl” with Tracy Morgan.
Amazing performances of the night were definitely from Best Original Song winner Sam Smith and nominee The Weeknd. But, it did not compare to the powerful and moving performance from Lady Gaga. While performing, sexual abuse survivors came and stood around Gaga’s piano, giving it a more emotional feel. After that, I would’ve liked to see Gaga win the award for Best Original Song.
The moment we were all waiting for was to watch Leonardo DiCaprio win his first Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in “The Revenant.” DiCaprio’s speech was moving and a call for action on climate change.
I do have to say that this year’s Academy Awards were the least predictable. Best Actor and Actress were a lock-in, but Best Picture was a toss up between “Spotlight,” “The Big Short” and “The Revenant.” In the end, “Spotlight” got to walk away with that honor. Other surprising wins were Best Supporting Actor and Actress.
In the end, the Oscars ceremony was a great success this year because of all the controversy. It would’ve been very easy to have the show turn ugly. The winnings were well deserved, and the performances were spectacular. Rock did a fantastic job hosting. “Mad Max: Fury Road” ended the night with six awards, and “The Revenant” walked away with three, and “Spotlight” earned two awards.

The full list of winners below:

Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant”
Best Documentary Film: “Amy”
Best Documentary Short: “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”
Best Film Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Foreign-Language Film: “Son of Saul,” Hungary
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Music – Original Song: Writing’s on the Wall from “Spectre” performed by Sam Smith
Best Music – Original Score: “The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone
Best Production Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Short Film – Live Action: “Stuttere”
Best Short Film – Animated: “Bear Story”
Best Sound Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Sound Mixing: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Visual Effects: “Ex Machina”
Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short”
Best Writing – Original Screenplay: “Spotlight”