The nominated movies of 2015 were a strange mix and pretty downbeat, so why shouldn’t the Oscars be weird? It’s fun when there’s a little mystery involved with the awards, there’s a mix, and we don’t have a whole sweep. That gets boring.
Chris Rock was an excellent host. He came right out and kicked #OscarsSoWhite right in the teeth. (Is that why he wore a white dinner jacket in February?)
“I’m here at the Oscars, otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards. If they nominated hosts, I wouldn’t even be here right now. Y’all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris.”
If it sounded loud, looked amazing and was put together in a great and weird way, it was one of six Oscars for Mad Max: Fury Road. That film was the only one that came close to a sweep.
Mark Rylance won a somewhat surprising Supporting Actor for Bridge of Spies after many expected a Sylvester Stallone win for Creed. Alicia Vikander won for Supporting Actress in The Danish Girl.
Brie Larson followed through the awards season with an expected Best Actress win for Room. Leonardo DiCaprio did the same, winning Best Actor for The Revenant after six previous nominations. He made an impassioned speech about the environment without becoming political.
Best Director went to Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant. It was his fourth win and his second in a row.
Best Picture went to Spotlight. (Yay, it was the one I was rooting for!)
In 2015 there were not exactly feel-good movies. Come on, Hollywood, laugh a little!
Here's Looking At You, Kit 
The movies were definitely pretty dark this year. Alas, these are dark times we live in though.
I thought The Martian was excellent and very uplifting. It was also acclaimed for being scientifically accurate without being boring.
Mateo, you’re right about The Martian. It was not a downer. But still, I never saw it as an Oscar-worthy film.