Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for the 2014 Academy Award winners. They are listed in bold. Keep in mind I haven’t included every category simply because I couldn’t make a fair prediction, but these are the ones I could. Happy Academy Awards!

Best Picture	American Hustle Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity Her Nebraska Philomena 12 Years a Slave The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actor in a Leading Role	Christian Bale (American Hustle) Bruce Dern (Nebraska) Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Leading Role	Amy Adams (American Hustle) Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) Sandra Bullock (Gravity) Judi Dench (Philomena) Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) Julia Roberts (August: Osage County) June Squibb (Nebraska)
Best Animated Feature	The Croods (Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson) Despicable Me 2 (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri) Ernest & Celestine (Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner) Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho) The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki)
Best Cinematography	The Grandmaster (Philippe Le Sourd) Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki) Inside Llewyn Davis (Bruno Delbonnel) Nebraska (Phedon Papamichael) Prisoners (Roger A. Deakins)
Best Costume Design	American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson) The Grandmaster (William Chang Suk Ping) The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin) The Invisible Woman (Michael O’Connor) 12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris)
Best Directing	American Hustle (David O. Russell) Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón) Nebraska (Alexander Payne) 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen) The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
Best Film Editing	American Hustle (Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten) Captain Phillips (Christopher Rouse) Dallas Buyers Club (John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa) Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger) 12 Years a Slave (Joe Walker)
Best Original Song	Happy (Despicable Me 2) Let It Go (Frozen) The Moon Song (Her) Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Oscar Nom. #6: 12 Years a Slave

SPOILER ALERT!

This movie is PERFECTION!!

If this movie doesn’t win Best Picture then there will have been a serious injustice. Huge praise for Steve McQueen, this movie is practically flawless. And the ACTING!!! Wow. I didn’t realize how much talent was in this movie, I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of faces. Everyone absolutely nailed it.

Chiwetel Ejofor had me sobbing. Your heart breaks for him, you can see the frustration on his face, knowing he’s a free man but having no power to prove it. Just watching how these people were treated, honestly I had to look away during a few scenes because it was so hard to watch. That’s when it becomes so much more than just a movie, this was real life and it makes you sick.

Now…we have to talk about Lupita Nyong’o. I’m madly in love with this woman…she blew my mind. She NEEDS to win Best Supporting Actress because she was simply brilliant. This is her first feature length film, and she went out there and gave one the most outstanding performances I’ve ever seen. When she cries, you cry. When she pleads, you plead with her. She puts you right in the situation and makes you feel everything. Flawless.

There’s a scene where her character, Patsey, gets whipped on the back several times because she left to get a bar of soap. I couldn’t watch. I had tears streaming down my face just hearing her screams. The brutal reality is that lashings and so many other cruelties were a very real part of that time…you wonder how people can be so barbaric. While it’s difficult to see, the story was told exactly how it needed to be…honestly. It wouldn’t have been done justice any other way.

The only thing I didn’t love was that I didn’t really get the feeling that all these events were happening over the course of 12 years…at least until the end when we see his full grown children. Before that it all seems very quick. Other than that, EXCELLENT!

The Oscars are tonight! 6/9 films seen…not bad. Definitely more than I’ve seen in the past. When I’m not busy being a college student I’ll be able to see all of them one day.

Oscar Nom. #5: American Hustle

And hustle do I ever if I will see all these movies by Sunday (highly unlikely at this point).

So people are probably going to be really unimpressed when I say this, but this one just wasn’t my favourite. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and I get what people are raving about, I guess it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

All the actors did a stellar job though. I was particularly impressed with Amy Adams, who normally I don’t love. In this movie she was sexy, smart and just brilliant. Being that she’s up against Meryl Streep, her chances of winning (I feel) are lowered, but she definitely deserves the nod for this one. Great acting.

The music in this movie though…can we just take a second to talk about the MUSIC!!?? This movie is set in the 70’s, arguably one of the best decades for music, so if it didn’t have a stellar soundtrack I was going to be immensely disappointed. We have Steely Dan, Elton John, ELO (of course), David Bowie, I mean the list goes on. If there was one thing I LOVED about this movie, it was definitely the tunes.

Ultimately this movie had all the requirements that make a great film. Great story, great actors, great soundtrack, setting, costumes, etc. It was all there, but for some reason I just found something lacking. Honestly I think it just came down to my own personal taste, and it just didn’t really do it for me. I’m glad it is getting an Oscar nod though, because I can see that it definitely deserves it. Sorry folks! Unpopular opinion!

Oscar Nom. #4: Dallas Buyers Club

SPOILER ALERT!

One word. AH-MA-ZING!

Matthew McConaughey is a homophobic, sickly, sex-crazed asshole in this film and I loved every second of it. I’m not going to lie, McConaughey isn’t one of my favourites, but he pulled out all of his acting chops for this one and it can only be described as perfection.

Now, for as good as McConaughey was, Jared Leto steals the show. I mean…there are hardly words for this performance. If Leto doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor then he will be robbed! His portrayal of a cross-dresser with AIDS is so moving and so perfect it brought me to tears. I’m still having trouble adjusting to the fact that this is the same man who bulked up so much for his portrayal of Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27.

There are so many brilliant moments in this film, I don’t know that I can pick a favourite. Mostly what’s wonderful is seeing the change in McConaughey’s character. Watching him accept people for who they are, watching him fight for not just his life but hundreds of others. Watching him accept the fact that he really is dying…that was hard to watch. What was harder, however, was watching Leto’s character fall victim to AIDS and his drug addiction and eventually pass away.

There’s also a scene where Leto has to dress as a man to visit his father, who is clearly unhappy with his son’s choices. It was just so devastating to watch because you can see that, that is just not who he is. Yet, he clearly wants to be accepted by his father…it really breaks your heart. Leto gives so much raw emotion through this whole movie…I can’t compliment it enough.

I could go on and on about this movie and just continue to give it constant praise. It’s such an important story and a must watch regardless of the Oscar nomination. This film is a serious contender for the win. Just amazing.

Oscar Nom. #3: Gravity

Gravity…it left me…blank.

I really don’t know how to feel about this movie. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. Truly I’m struggling to find the words to describe how I felt…well…mostly I just feel uninspired.

I wish I could say that something really stuck out for me in this one, but I just can’t. Don’t get me wrong, for a movie that is basically a one-woman show they really had a lot going on, but I still got bored. I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that space just isn’t my thing or I need more characters to stay interested but this film just wasn’t for me.

That being said, visually this film was brilliant. You really want to believe they filmed this in space because it was just so convincing. I felt myself get a little light-headed at parts through all the spinning and the floating. When a movie can give me a physical reaction, they’re doing something right.

I feel so bad! I want to be more excited about this one! I love Sandra Bullock and I definitely get why this movie is getting the praise that it is, it just doesn’t do it for me. Speaking in general though, this one, again, is not likely to be the big winner on Oscar night, but I can definitely see it getting huge honours on the effects side of things.

Still have mad love for Sandra Bullock though, that woman is a rock star.

Oscar Nom. #2: Captain Phillips

SPOILER ALERT!

You want to talk about suspenseful? Try watching this one.

I am a deep lover of Tom Hanks and this film totally proved why. The weight of this movie is largely set on his shoulders and did he ever do it justice. He delivered such raw emotion I was sobbing by the end of the film. Seriously, this man left me a basket case.

This isn’t the usual kind of film that I go for, and I was concerned that it would get boring after a while. How wrong I was. Yes, there is a brief period in the middle of the film where not a lot is happening, but every other moment in the movie makes up for that.

Near the end of the movie, when Phillips is incredibly close to being rescued, the pirates tie him up and there’s nothing but screaming and pleading and then suddenly…there’s silence. All you can hear is Hanks heavily breathing as he tries to understand what just happened, he doesn’t realize that the pirates are dead and he is safe. It’s a moment that could be easily passed over by anyone but to me, it stuck. It left you thinking. You feel relief for his safety but sadness for what Phillips will have to mentally deal with after. That moment brought so many things to light for me.

I don’t think this will be the Oscar winner, but the nomination is most definitely well-deserved. Everyone was brilliant in this film, but Hanks made it what it is…amazing.

Oscar Nom. #1: The Wolf of Wall Street

SPOILER ALERT!

I’ll never let go Leo…never let go of my dream of you getting an Oscar.

And after seeing The Wolf of Wall Street I’m more than convinced that he needs one. I’ve seen most of DiCaprio’s films and never has been more brilliant than in this role as the drug-crazed, con-artist Jordan Belfort. While What’s Eating Gilbert Grape will likely remain my favourite Leo performance, this is a close second.

I can only imagine the stamina it must have taken to make this movie. DiCaprio and his co-star Jonah Hill have nothing but energy throughout the entire course of this movie. There’s never a lull, something is always happening, and it’s always brilliant. Every scene, both actors bring their A-game and delve deep into their characters. However, if for no other reason, DiCaprio should win for one scene alone.

There is a scene closer to the end of the film where Hill and DiCaprio both take some old quaaludes. They’re so old that their effects don’t kick in until much later than usual, but our boys don’t realize this and just keep taking more and more. When they do kick in, Mr. Belfort is trying to get back to his home…there’s just one problem. He’s taken so many of these quaaludes that his body goes into a cerebral palsy type of a state.

This scene is completely brilliant. I can’t even begin to describe the acting skills that DiCaprio omits in this scene. His movements, his facial expressions, everything is so perfect you forget he’s acting. It brings me back to his performance in Gilbert Grape, a performance that was so convincing, it brought me to tears.

Am I a little bias? Yes. I love Leo and this is only the first Oscar nominated film I’ve seen, but I think it will take a lot to get this performance out of my mind.

And the Oscar Goes to…

In honour of the upcoming Oscars, I’ve taken on a personal challenge.

I have vowed to watch all the Oscar nominated films before the night of the Academy Awards. Yeah, it is definitely turning out to be harder than it sounds. Especially since I can barely find the time of day to get my homework done, let alone leisurely watch movies. Nevertheless…Challenge Accepted.

I won’t lie, a big driver for me watching all these flicks is because Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated this year and I feel it is about time that man won. That being said, I want to be able to say I saw all the nominated films so that I can cheer him on knowing full-well that he is the most deserving.

Yes I realize this all sounds obsessive, but I just can’t help it. I’ll never let go Leo.