Oscar Flashback 2014

Time for my annual day after the Oscars journey back through time to revisit past ceremonies to see if they got it right.  Every year I take ten year leaps back to look at what the Academy thought at then and if time has changed how we look at those movies.

2009 (5 years ago)

            Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

                        Other Nominations: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up In The Air

            Best Actor: Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart

                        Other Nominations: George Clooney-Up In The Air, Colin Firth-A Single Man, Morgan Freeman-Invictus, Jeremy Renner-The Hurt Locker

            Best Actress: Sandra Bullock-The Blind Side

                        Other Nominations: Helen Mirren-The Last Station, Carey Mulligan-An Education, Gabourey Sidibe-Precious, Meryl Streep-Julie & Julia

            This was one of those great years for movies.  I certainly can’t argue with The Hurt Locker as best film, but Avatar, An Education, Inglourious Bastards, Precious and Up In The Air could have all easily won as well.  If I remember right, there was a lot of talk about Up In The Air winning, but I don’t remember The Hurt Locker being a surprise.  The interesting thing is how many of these have kind of been forgotten.  Nobody really talks about these movies much anymore.  Our deposable society continues to make me wonder if there will be such things as classics anymore.  Of all these movies, it seems like the most lasting movie would be Avatar or Up, so looking back maybe we can say one of those two should have won.

            Remember when Gabourey Sidibe got nominated and everyone proclaimed that it was opening the door for over weight girls to get good roles in Hollywood?  Ask Gabby how her career turned out.  I’m not saying she isn’t a good actress, after seeing her in other roles and in interviews, her turn as Precious was amazing, the point is, Hollywood has no interest in casting over weight women unless it’s a comedy or that once in a life time character like Precious.  Let’s look at this year’s nominations… color aside, would Sidibe have been any worse in Emma Stone’s role?  I bet she would have been ten times better since I’ve never seen Emma Stone play anything other than Emma Stone, but I will also bet no casting director in Hollywood would have even considered her.  Every five years or so the Academy decides to throw a bone to an over weight actor or an actor of race and then we get to hear how the industry is changing.  Well, as this year proved, that’s just not the case.  Hollywood is a white male world and the Academy just perpetuates that ideal.

And Sandra Bullock?!?  I feel her getting the award is like Tony Perez getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, it kind of lowers the honor for everyone else.  Carey Mulligan was my favorite of this bunch, but of course, Meryl could easily have taken the prize.  Jeff Bridges was given a life time achievement award for a role that nobody even remembers happened.  This was Clooney’s award.

2004 (10 years ago)

            Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby

                        Other Nominations: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways

            Best Actor: Jamie Foxx-Ray

                        Other Nominations: Don Cheadle-Hotel Rwanda, Johnny Depp-Finding Neverland, Leonardo DiCaprio-Aviator, Clint Eastwood-Million Dollar Baby

            Best Actress: Hilary Swank-Million Dollar Baby

                        Other Nominations: Annette Bening-Being Julia, Catalina Sandino Moreno-Maria Full of Grace, Imelda Staunton-Vera Drake, Kate Winslet-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

            I remember everyone going crazy for The Aviator and me just not getting it.  I loved Million Dollar Baby at the time and know that I was ecstatic that it won.  Again, I don’t know that any of these movies have had any type of shelf life.  Sideways is the only one that I continue to hear people talk about.  Finding Neverland was a piece of crap made for TV movie that somehow got put on the big screen.  I have no idea how it got so many nominations.  Same thing goes for Ray, it had a great performance but it was a terrible movie.  All in all, I would say the best movie won.

            Jamie Fox was a no brainer for his performance in Ray, but if I reviewed these awards today I would go on a tirade about how he was just imitating.  There might be something to that argument since I can’t name another role in the last 20 years that Jamie Foxx was memorable in.  The thing is none of the other nominations are very strong.  Don Cheadle was probably the only other one that felt like an award worth turn.  Same goes for the ladies.  There just isn’t much to comment on.  I do find it interesting that the Best Actress category is traditionally filled with a bunch of movies that aren’t mentioned in any other category.  In other words, the movies that are up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, are also in Best Actor, but most of the Best Actress nominations come from a totally different set of movies.  For example, this year 4 of the 5 Best Actors came from Best Picture nominated movies.  Only one of the Best Actress nominations came from the same list.  Wouldn’t it be nice to see a movie up for Best Picture or Best Screenplay that has a Best Actress in it but not a Best Actor?  Just a little more fodder for those who are upset by the Selma snubs this year.

           

1994 (20 years ago)

            Best Picture: Forrest Gump

                        Other Nominations: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption

            Best Actor: Tom Hanks-Forrest Gump

                        Other Nominations: Morgan Freeman-The Shawshank Redemption, Nigel Hawthorne-The Madness of King George, Paul Newman-Nobody’s Fool, John Travolta-Pulp Fiction

            Best Actress: Jessica Lang-Blue Sky

                        Other Nominations: Jodie Foster-Nell, Miranda Richardson-Tom & Viv, Winona Ryder-Little Women, Susan Sarandon-The Client

            This year is one of the years that caused me to start this exercise of looking back years later at who got the awards and who should have.  Forrest Gump is a perfectly fine movie that was very fun and very much a cultural phenomenon when it came out, but is there anyone today who would argue it was a better movie than The Shawshank Redemption or Pulp Fiction, two movies that are now considered two of the all time greats?  If we gave this award out today it would be a tight race between Shawshank and Pulp Fiction, I think Shawshank would win, but Gump would not even be in the conversation.  Time has proven that this award went to the wrong movie.

            That being said, I would still give the Best Actor to Hanks.  None of the other performances blew me away.  Morgan Freeman’s role has kind of become iconic, but it’s just Morgan Freeman being Morgan Freeman.  The only of the female performances I’ve seen was Susan Sarandon and nothing about what I remember from The Client was Oscar worthy.  Just to keep the tally going, 3 of the 5 men were in Best Picture movies… none of the women.

1984 (30 years ago)

            Best Picture: Terms of Endearment

                        Other Nominations: The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies

            Best Actor: Robert Duvall-Tender Mercies

                        Other Nominations: Michael Caine-Educating Rita, Tom Conti-Reuben, Reuben, Tom Courtenay-The Dresser, Albert Finney-The Dresser

            Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine-Terms of Endearment

                        Other Nominations: Jane Alexander-Testament, Meryl Streep-Silkwood, Julie Walters-Educating Rita, Debra Winger-Terms of Endearment

            This is another year where the movie that won was a big deal when it came out but hasn’t really lasted the test of time.  The Big Chill and The Right Stuff seem like they would probably win if we held this race today.  That’s not even mentioning that Silkwood didn’t get a Best Picture nod.  I’m sure there are plenty of people that would argue with me about this one, but honestly, when was the last time you heard someone talk about how great a movie Terms of Endearment was?

            As far as the other awards go, I haven’t heard of hardly any of these movies, forget about seen them.  I know this was before Meryl Streep was Meryl Streep, or at least about when she was becoming Meryl Streep, but I find it kind of surprising that she lost to Shirley MacLaine.  Something tells me it was a life time achievement win for MacLaine, but today Streep’s turn in Silkwood would be a hands down winner.  The other thing I find interesting is that The Big Chill got a Best Picture nob but its star studded cast only got one Supporting Actress nomination.  I would have thought that it would have been recognized for multiple acting performances.

1974 (40 years ago)

            Best Picture: The Godfather Part II

                        Other Nominations: Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno

            Best Actor: Art Carney-Harry and Tonto

                        Other Nominations: Albert Finney-Murder on the Orient Express, Dustin Hoffman-Lenny, Jack Nicholson-Chinatown, Al Pacino-The Godfather Part II

            Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn-Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

                        Other Nominations: Diahann Carroll-Claudine, Faye Dunaway-Chinatown, Valerie Perrine-Lenny, Gena Rowlands-A Woman Under the Influence

            Um… we’re going to skip over the Best Picture.  It sucks for Chinatown that it was released the same year as The Godfather Part II, but anyone who argues that The Godfather shouldn’t have won it insane.  And I’m just going to ignore that Towering Inferno is on this list.  What really blows my mind this year is the Best Actor award.  This has to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Oscars.  I can only assume that this was a life time achievement style win for Carney, but look at the performances he was up against.  Pacino in The Godfather, Nicholson in Chinatown, Hoffman in Lenny, Finney in Orient Express.  These are some of the greatest performances in film and they lost to a movie I’ve never heard of.  If this award is given out today I would think that Nicholson would win.  But, of all these performances… Carney?  Really?  This is beyond silly.

1964 (50 years ago)

            Best Picture: My Fair Lady

                        Other Nominations: Becket, Dr. Strangelove, Mary Poppins, Zorba the Greek

            Best Actor: Rex Harrison-My Fair Lady

                        Other Nominations: Richard Burton-Becket, Peter O’Toole-Becket, Anthony Quinn-Zorba the Greek, Peter Sellers-Dr. Strangelove

            Best Actress: Julie Andrews-Mary Poppins

                        Other Nominations: Anne Bancroft-The Pumpkin Eater, Sophia Loren-Marriage Italian Style, Debbie Reynolds-The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Kim Stanley-Séance on a Wet Afternoon

            Another fantastic year in film with four of these being all time classics and a third that has two great performances.  For me Dr. Strangelove is clearly the best of this bunch, but pretty much anyone could argue that My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins should win here.  Zorba the Greek has its following as well.  My Fair Lady isn’t my cup of tea but I really can’t argue with it winning.  I guess the same goes for Rex Harrison winning Best Actor, but I really find it hard to say anyone in this group was better than Peter Sellers.  He played three roles in the film and made them so distinct there is never a moment where you realize he’s doing it.  It is one of the best performances in film history, let alone of 1964.  As far as the women go… aside from Julie Andrews, I have no idea what these film are.  Once again, 5 out of 5 male nominations from Best Picture, one woman.  So far this post 21 men and 9 ladies.

1954 (60 years ago)

            Best Picture: On the Waterfront

                        Other Nominations: The Caine Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Three Coins in the Fountain

            Best Actor: Marlon Brando-On the Waterfront

                        Other Nominations: Humphrey Bogart-The Caine Mutiny, Bing Crosby-The Country Girl, James Mason-A Star is Born, Dan O’Herlihy-Robinson Crusoe

            Best Actress: Grace Kelly-The Country Girl

                        Other Nominations: Dorothy Dandridge-Carmen Jones, Judy Garland-A Star is Born, Audrey Hepburn-Sabrina, Jane Wyman-Magnificent Obsession

            This is turning out to be quite a run of ceremonies.  I would like to say that On the Waterfront is the hands down winner here, but The Caine Mutiny and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers could certainly argue they deserve the prize as well.  In my attempts to be as informed for this post as possible I saw Three Coins in the Fountain… it doesn’t hold up and is by no standards an Oscar movie, but the other movies are great.  I’m pretty sure no one will argue the Best Actor and Actress awards, even though Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina was more in lines with my taste than Grace Kelly.

1944 (70 years ago)

            Best Picture: Going My Way

                        Other Nominations: Double Indemnity, Gaslight, Since You Went Away, Wilson

            Best Actor: Bing Crosby- Going My Way

                        Other Nominations: Charles Boyer-Gaslight, Barry Fitzgerald-Going My Way, Cary Grant-None But the Lonely Heart, Alexander Knox-Wilson

            Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman-Gaslight

                        Other Nominations: Claudette Colbert-Since You Went Away, Bette Davis-Mr. Skeffington, Greer Garson-Mrs. Parkington, Barbara Stanwyck-Double Indemnity

            This is obviously a ceremony that was a product of the era in movie making.  Going My Way is a song and dance musical that is totally out of style today and a movie that nobody would even think of making, forget about nominating, in today’s Hollywood.  There is zero doubt in my mind that if this was voted on today Double Indemnity would win.  Gaslight would probably run a distant second, even thought it is a well acted, very creepy movie.  I think the same would go for the Best Acting award.  I really can’t imagine Bing Crosby beating out Carey Grant or Charles Boyer if we voted today.  I’m not sure what that really says about Going My Way as a movie.  The fact that it was rewarded in an era where this was a popular style of movie speaks to how well made it was but at the same time it obviously isn’t timeless, a trait I think is important when considering movie greatness.  I don’t really have to say anything about Bergman.  She was fantastic in Gaslight.

1934 (80 years ago)

            Best Picture: It Happened One Night

                        Other Nominations: The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, The Gay Divorcee, Here Comes the Navy, The House of Rothschild, Imitation of Life, One Night of Love, The Thin Man, Viva Villa!, The White Parade

            Best Actor: Clark Gable-It Happened One Night

                        Other Nominations: Frank Morgan-The Affairs of Cellini, William Powell-The Thin Man

            Best Actress: Claudette Colbert-It Happened One Night

                        Other Nominations: Bette Davis-Of Human Bondage, Grace Moore-One Night of Love, Norma Shearer-The Barretts of Wimpole Street

            Part of the fun of doing this post is being able to see what films have been able to last the test of time.  When you get to the 30’s, very few of the films stand up.  The Thin Man was an extremely popular series of movies at the time, but watching it now, it just doesn’t hold up.  Same goes for Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage.  It just isn’t good acting by our standards today.  It Happened One Night is a classic for a reason, though.  Of all these movies, this one stands out and still feels like it works today.  A lot of it feels like cliché, but then you realize that this is the movie that every rom-com took its clichés from.  The chemistry between Gable and Colbert feels fresh and real, something that wasn’t always the case in the early day of film.  These weren’t caricatures like in Cleopatra, these felt like real people.  It was funny and interesting and clearly the Best Picture.

            By the way, the final tally over the ceremonies that I wrote about… out of 43 nominations 30 men came from Best Picture nominations, and only 15 woman.  Do with that what you will.

87th Annual Academy Awards

It’s my favorite time of year, Oscar season!  Due to some major life events (new career, wedding planning, moving, starting a new blog about old movies didwejustwatchthesamemovie.com) I am as unprepared to write this post as I have ever been.  But who am I to let facts and preparation get in the way of my opinions?  I love to document my year in moving watching and this is the best, most fun way to accomplish that.  There will be a lot of caveats this year, but here are my thoughts on this year’s awards…

Best Cinematography

Nominations: Birdman (Emmanuel Lubezki), The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman), Ida (Lukasz Zai and Ryszard Lenczewski), Mr. Turner (Dick Pope), Unbroken (Roger Deakins)

Who I Want To Win: Lukasz Zai and Ryszard Lenczewski

            Who I Think Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki

            Who Won: Emmanuel Lubezki

            This category kills me to write about.  In a year filled with okay movies, but nothing great, this category is stacked with great work.  If you have ever read my Oscar posts, you know of my deep love and appreciation of Roger Deakins work and my campaigns to have the many wrongs done to him by the Academy assuaged with his first award, but I didn’t get to see Unbroken, so I can’t say with good conscience that I want him to win.  If his name gets called on Sunday I will be ecstatic, but this is the first year since Skyfall that I don’t think he should win.  It looks like Lubezki is a shoe in for back to back wins, and while Birdman is a very interesting visual movie, I can’t help but feel it’s a stunt, like giving the best actor award to someone doing an imitation of a handicapped person (we’ll get to that later).  The steady cam, one camera, one take, style is impressive and fun to watch but I feel that people will just vote for it because they don’t see it much, not that they really understand the technical aspects of it.  As much as I enjoyed Birdman and was impressed by the camera work, there is very little question in my mind that Ida should get this award.  It’s a small foreign film that very few people probably saw.  It’s streaming on Netflix, take the time to watch it.  Like my fiancé commented, you could pause the movie at any point and have an amazing still picture, something you would frame and hang on your living room wall.  You could see the time and care that went into framing every shot perfectly.  The movie is an amazing piece of visual art and should be rewarded for its accomplishments.

Best Animated Feature

            Nominations: Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

            Who I Want To Win: Anyone except Big Hero 6

            Who I Think Will Win: Big Hero 6

            Who Won: Big Hero Six

            I really shouldn’t be writing about this category, I haven’t seen one of these films.  Still, I feel like I have a bit to say no matter how uninformed I may be.  The Oscar snub that incensed me the most this year was hands down The Lego Movie.  I don’t think there was a bigger consensus in all of film.  Everyone enjoyed this film.  It crushed everything at the box office, critics raved about it, it was funny and well done.  Yet, it doesn’t get a nomination.  How is that possible? The Lego Movie should be winning this award this year.  That being said, it feels like this category is in place just so Disney/Pixar can win an Oscar every year.  Again, I haven’t seen any of these movies, Big Hero 6 might be great, and I do love Disney and Pixar movies, but I would love to see a non-Disney movie win here.   There is quality animation and storytelling going on in places other than Burbank and Emeryville.  Maybe this isn’t the year for me to be arguing this, but I’d love to see a surprise win here.

Best Documentary Feature

            Nominations: CitizenFour, Finding Vivian Maier, Last Days in Vietnam, The Salt of the Earth, Virunga

            Who I Want To Win: Finding Vivian Maier

            Who I Think Will Win: CitizenFour

            Who Won: CitizenFour

            From everything I am hearing CitizenFour is a sure thing.  It’s everything the Academy loves in its documentary, a cause they can get behind.  CitizenFour is the story of Edward Snowden and the NSA spying.  Everything I hear also says this isn’t much of a movie.  The story may be a big deal, so big that the movie is getting a lot of notice, but there really isn’t much film making going on.  Virunga seems like a much better choice.  It’s a great cause that Hollywood can get behind and it is a beautiful piece of film.  The shots of the African wilderness are breathtaking and the story is suspenseful and moving.  My favorite of these films by far, though, was Finding Vivian Maier.  It’s a pretty crazy story about a fascinating person.  It’s about a filmmaker who stumbles across tons of old photos.  The movie follows his journey to find out who the photographer was and get her work into museums where they belong.  There are a few wonderful twists and the photography is truly amazing.

Best Original Screenplay

            Nominations: Birdman, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Nightcrawler

            Who I Want To Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

            Who I Think Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

            Who Won: Birdman

            Wait… there was a screenplay for Boyhood?  You are going to see a theme start to emerge in this post, a theme dealing with my strong dislike of Boyhood and everything to do with it.  There always seems to be one movie every year that I feel is getting WAY more attention then it deserves.  Boyhood is that movie this year.  There was nothing interesting or well written about this movie.  The film was filmed over 15 years and it felt like it was written over those years as well, plot points just popping up with no previous set up, characters doing things that didn’t go along with anything we knew about them previously.  Nothing about this film, le alone it’s writing, says Oscar worthy.

            Everything seems to be pointing towards a big night for Birdman, but Best Screenplay is usually where we see quirky, original movies get some recognition.  The Grand Budapest Hotel was another wonderful, funny, heartwarming, film from Wes Anderson.  It’s weird to me that Anderson hasn’t won in this category, and even weirder that he was only nominated one other time.  This feels like the movie that will give Anderson the Academy credit he deserves for being one of the most original and quirky film makers in Hollywood.

Best Adapted Screenplay

            Nominations: American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Inherent Vice, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash

            Who I Want To Win: Inherent Vice

            Who I Think Will Win: Whiplash

            Who Won: The Imitation Game

            This is an interesting category and I really wish that I had seen a few more of these films so I could weigh in a bit more.  The two movies I did see in this category I hated.  The Theory of Everything is everything that makes biopics something to avoid.  There is nothing interesting or compelling about this movie, but the Academy loves its biopics, so here it is. 

            Whiplash I could probably write a full post about.  It kind of bothers me how much people love this movie because the message is so disturbing.  Yes, the acting is great, but the premise and how the movie is resolved is so God awful, I can only pray it doesn’t win.  Unfortunately, the writing categories are where movies critics like but don’t stand a chance of winning the big prize get rewarded.  I have a creeping suspicion that Whiplash will win this, but I am praying it doesn’t.

            I have a small dash of hope that American Sniper pulls out a win.  People are starting to say its popularity at the box office may let it creep into contention for the big prize.  I don’t think it has a shot at that, so maybe they throw Clint this bone.  I would love to see Inherent Vice win based on nothing else than I loved the book.  Yes, usually that means I will hate the movie, but it’s Paul Thomas Anderson, so how bad could it really be?

Best Supporting Actress

            Nominations: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Laura Dern (Wild), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Emma Stone (Birdman), Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)

            Who I Want To Win: Emma Stone

            Who I Think Will Win: Laura Dern

            Who Won: Patricia Arquette

            There are times when I watch a movie and feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone or something, watching a completely different movie than the rest of the world.  Boyhood gave me this feeling.  I’ve heard plenty of mixed reviews about the movie as a whole, but the one thing everyone seems to agree on is how amazing Patricia Arquette was.  I must have watched a version of the movie pieced together with outtakes and sold as the real thing because I thought she was horrible (as was everyone in this movie).  She was stiff as a board, had zero charisma, and delivered her lines like she was reading them off a cue card.  The scenes where she broke into crying fits felt so incredibly forced and fake it made the scene feel weird.  Is she supposed to be crying or laughing?  I didn’t believe a single person in this movie was real and she was the worst of the bunch.  I refuse to believe that she is a serious contender for this award.  I’m hoping that Laura Dern sneaks in, even though I hear she is only in Wild for 5 minutes, something I would usually rant about being an injustice, just so I can not feel anymore off by thinking Arquette is a horrible actress.

            I put Emma Stone as the one I want to win simply because Birdman was the only of these movies I saw other than Boyhood.  There’s part of me that really wanted to predict Streep will win this because we all know how much the Academy loves her.  It’s hard to pick anyone else in a race that Streep is running in, but on the other hand, absolutely nobody is talking about this movie or this performance, so really, what are her chances?

Best Supporting Actor

            Nominations: Robert Duvall (The Judge), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Edward Norton (Birdman), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

            Who I Want To Win: Edward Norton

            Who I Think Will Win: J. K. Simmons

            Who Won: J.K. Simmons

            There isn’t really much to say about this one.  Simmons is going to win and I guess I really don’t have much of an issue with that.  He’s a great actor and, as much as I hated the movie, he was pretty amazing in it.  I certainly enjoyed Norton in Birdman more, though.  I thought he was great.  It’s been a while since he has had a quality role and I would love to see him get recognized for it.  The noise you hear if for some odd reason Ethan Hawke wins will be my brain exploding.

Best Actress

            Nominations: Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Reese Witherspoon (Wild).

            Who I Want to Win: Rosamund Pike

            Who I Think Will Win: Julianne Moore

            Who Won: Julianne Moore

            I got nothing… I didn’t see any of these movies.  I really liked the book, Gone Girl and David Fincher is one of my favorite directors, so I’ll be routing for Rosamund Pike.  I hear Julianne Moore will get the award, though. 

Best Actor

            Nominations: Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

            Who I Want to Win: Michael Keaton

            Who I Think Will Win: Eddie Redmayne

            Who Won: Eddie Redmayne

            I write this thing once a year, so I’m never sure if I should assume people know some of my Oscar theories or if I should jump up on the same soap box every year.  It looks like Eddie Redmayne is going to win this, he hit the Oscar daily double of a role that is a famous person and a handicapped person.  The Academy loves, LOVES people who can imitate other famous people.  So much so that it makes the snub of David Oyelowo’s turn as Martin Luther King Jr appear to be nothing but racism.  The only thing the Academy loves more than famous imitations is actors who take on handicaps.  Put the two together and Eddie Redmayne is pretty unbeatable.  Once again, this year I am going to have to enact my gimmick theory. The theory says that people fawn over people who play gimmick roles even though those gimmick roles are easier to make interesting than a straight role.  In other words, it’s not hard to pull of a character that comes with set traits that make them interesting, like being a ALS patient or being mentally disabled, you’re given a set of behaviors that you just have to mimic.  Taking a normal person off a page and making them interesting with out a bunch of clichés to play off of is much more skillful.  Eddie Redmayne did a great imitation but I don’t think imitation is great acting.

            Michael Keaton is my pick this year.  I loved the job he did.  Some may argue that he was essentially just playing himself, but there was a bit of over the top edge his character had that made him interesting.  It was a subtle bit of craziness that gave the movie character.  I wouldn’t mind if Bradley Cooper wins either.  Yes, he’s playing a real life person, but not someone who everyone knows or could pick out of a crowd.  I didn’t see the movie, but I’ve been a fan of Cooper since his Alias days, and he’s never really had a bad role.

Best Director

            Nominations: Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

            Who I Want To Win: Wes Anderson

            Who I Think Will Win: Alejandro G. Inarritu

            Who Won: Alejandro G. Inarritu

            I will save my Boyhood tirad for one more segment, but let’s just say that I’m not the biggest fan of Richard Linklater’s arty films.  Dazed and Confused is great, School of Rock is funny, Bernie was really interesting, but all the shit that he gets nominated for just sucks.  Yes, he shot the movie over 15 years, but that was a choice not a display of directing skill.  I really hope the Academy doesn’t buy into that gimmick and give him the award.  I really want to see Wes Anderson walk away with this.  I love all his stuff and really think he deserves to be awarded for the creative and original style he infuses into his movies.  He does things that are different and stylistic and interesting, the type of stuff that the Academy should be trying to promote in film making.  That being said, I think that Birdman is going to be the big winner and walk away with a bunch of awards, the director nod being one of them.

Best Picture

            Nominations: American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash

            Who I Want To Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

            Who I Think Will Win: Birdman

            Who Won: Birdman

            This was a pretty weak year for movies.  I liked a few of these nominations, one was a well made movie with a horrible message, I hated a couple too, but nothing blew my mind.  It’s weird to compare this years crop to last year where I felt that any of those films could have won the award and I was moved by many of them.  I wish a movie or two from last year could have been moved to this year to balance things out, but that’s not how this works.  I didn’t get a chance to see American Sniper which seems to be the public’s choice.  I didn’t see The Imitation Game either, which I heard good things about, or Selma, which I would love to see win just because of all the hubbub around it.  All the others left a lot to be desired.

            Birdman is a fun, entertaining movie that makes some interesting style decisions but really doesn’t say much at the end of the day.  I feel like most years this movie wouldn’t even have been talked about come Oscar time, but the weak field has made it a favorite.  I think it’s going to win the big prize, mostly because I refuse to believe that Boyhood is award caliber film.  I loved the performances in this movie and was impressed by the one camera, one take; the way they made time move while never making a cut was fun to watch.

            Boyhood is not as bad a movie as I have been making it out so far in this post, but it certainly should not be a highly nominated and heralded film.  I don’t care how many years it took to shot, it wasn’t well acted, it wasn’t well written, and it wasn’t interesting at all.  This is a gimmick movie and all these critics and award givers that tell you it is great are just buying into the gimmick.  If this movie cast 4 different people in the boy’s role and used special effects to age the other actors, nobody would be talking about this movie.

            The Grand Budapest Hotel was probably my favorite movie of this bunch.  I really enjoy Wes Andserson’s work.  This isn’t his best movie, which makes me wonder why it has gotten so much more attention then his other stuff, but it still has all the elements that make Anderson’s stuff so much fun.  I’m sure his stylistic approach might turn some people off, but I think it’s the type of film making that Hollywood should be promoting. 

            The Theory of Everything is a horrible cookie cutter biopic.  It’s the kind of stuff that the Academy seems to love and I hate.  I’m sure there is an interesting story somewhere in there, Stephen Hawking is an amazing enough person that there has to be a movie in there somewhere, but this movie didn’t find it.  I get why it got nominated, but I can’t support any of those reasons.  To me, this just isn’t good film making.

            Whiplash was the movie that angered me the most.  Not because of the acting or the film making, all of that was top notch.  It was the movie’s message that had be tied in knots.  Mental and physical abuse is more than okay, it creates genius, is the only thing one can take from the movie.  I wanted so much to walk away from this film feeling that the abuse the main character was put through would be painted as the horrible underbelly of the world he was trying to be a part of, but what the movie really presented is that the abuse is essential to being great.  I’m sorry, but there is a clear line between hard work and abuse.  You do not need to cross that line to be great, hard work will do just fine.  The one scene that really pushed me over the edge, other than the ending which validated the character who should have been the movie’s villain, was when the main character gets into a car crash that flips his car and he climbs out of the car, runs to the theater, and tries to perform.  It was absurd.  I really wish all the people who loved the performances in this movie would talk about the horrible message it contains as well.

Dating a Lawn

I wrote this in May or June. Things have been pretty busy, but I just got a chance to post it...

 

I’m dating a lawn.  Metaphorically, of course.  In reality, I’m dating a beautiful, intelligent, sharply hilarious woman, but along with her comes a huge lawn.  I’ve never dated a lawn before.  It’s a completely new concept for me which brings with it a whole set of thoughts and questions I’ve never really had the need to ponder.  It seems to me that dating a lawn is something that comes with age. You don’t have to worry about dating a lawn when you are a teenager, teenagers don’t have lawns, or at least, they are someone else’s responsibility.  You don’t have to worry about lawns in your twenties either, since most twenty-somethings rent or if they own property it’s most likely a condo, once again making the lawn someone else’s responsibility.  Which, I guess, is the bigger point I’m trying to get at, a lawn brings responsibility.  I’m 37 and I just recently started dating responsibility.

A man’s relationship with mowing the lawn is an interesting one.  Starting at  a very early age, there is nothing more a young boy wants to do than mow the lawn.  I’m sure it has a lot to do with father worship and wanting to do everything he does, or maybe wanting to do all those things you aren’t allowed to.  Mowing the lawn is dangerous and complicated and not something a young child can do, or so I was led to believe by my father.  There’s gas and oil and a cord you have to pull hard and a large sharp metal blade that cuts things like grass, weeds and little boy’s hands.  I can only assume every other boy got the same story.    When I was younger, I had a toy lawn mower that I used to push around behind my dad as he cut the lawn so I could feel like I was doing my part.  I did this at a safe distance, of course, because of the danger.  Mowing the lawn was exciting and an important responsibility and I wanted to take part in things that were exciting and important.  By the time I was old enough to handle the danger, to manage the complicated task of gassing and starting and running a mower, things had changed.  I was a teenager, and teenagers have a different set of priorities.  I now wanted nothing to do with mowing a lawn.  I wanted to hang out with my friends, play baseball up the street, spend time with my girlfriend, plus it was now expected that I do my part and help take care of the yard.  Looking back, there was probably only a period of one summer where my desire and my ability to mow were perfectly in line.

By the time most adult men reach my age they have returned to lawn mowing.  They now own a lawn of their own and busy themselves with it’s upkeep.  I have even heard stories of men who enjoy this task; it provides a zen like escape that gives them great pleasure.  I have successfully avoided this issue.  I have never owned a parcel of land, nor have I dated anyone who has.  Heck, even my parents downsized to condos and apartments before I moved back from the other coast.  That being the case, I still carry with me my adolescent views on pushing a loud stinky mower around an acre or so of green clumpy lawn.  Much like how they say an alcoholic stays the same emotional age they were when they started drinking, I carry around the same irrational teenage feelings about about taking care of a yard I had when I last has a yard to help maintain.

 

But that seems to have all changed.  There’s part of me that is excited to mow a lawn.  Maybe it’s something I will be good at.  Maybe I’ll find Zen.  Maybe I’ve finally met the person who makes me want to be responsible.  Because really, I think that is what all this lawn stuff is about.  Why would anyone WANT to mow a lawn?  Its manual labor.  Its an hour I could spend reading or watching TV.  But I really do.  I want to do it because I want to be part of something and I think I found the someone I want to build that something with.  The idea of responsibility still gives me a rash, but when its presented as something else it doesn’t itch as much.  I’m not excited about doing things I have to do but I am excited about doing things for someone else, things for us.  I’m excited about dating a lawn.

Oscar Flashback 2013

     This is now becoming as annual a post as my Oscar preview.  Here's my look back at the Oscars every ten years.  I say it's to make sure everything was done right, but we all know it's just another topic for me to express my stupid opinions on.  I tried to do a little more research for this year.  It didn't work out as well as I would have liked, but I'm certainly more informed than I was last year.  Here's my Oscar flashback...

2008 (5 years ago)
     Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
          Other Nominations: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader
     Best Actor: Sean Penn-Milk
          Other Nominations: Richard Jenkins-The Visitor, Frank Langella-Frost/Nixon, Brad Pitt-The CUriosu Case of Benjamin Button, Mickey Rourke-The Wrestler
     Best Actress: Kate Winslet-The Reader
          Other Nominations: Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie-The Changeling, Melissa Leo-Frozen River, Meryl Streep-Doubt

     I'm starting to wonder how movies in this day and age are going to become classics.  In all honesty, I haven't seen any of these movies since I watched them to write about this ceremony.  And I haven't heard of anyone else watching them numerous times.  Is there any compelling reason to watch a movie multiple times anymore?  How will any of these become classics if no one watches them again?  At the time I felt Slumdog Millionaire was the deserving movie and since I haven't re-watched any of them I have to still say that was the deserving movie.  The only movie I feel shouldn't be on the list is The Reader. Doubt was a much better movie and deserved more recognition than it got.  That being said, Meryl Streep should have won over Winslet.  It was a better performance.  I could also go on about Sean Penn getting the award for mimicking someone.  He clearly robbed Mickey Rourke who put in the performance of a lifetime and created an amazing character as apposed to mimicking a real person.

2003 (10 years ago)
     Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
          Other Nominations: Lost In Translation, Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit
     Best Actor:  Sean Penn-Mystic River
          Other Nominations:  Johnny Depp-Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Ben Kinsley-House of Sand and Fog, Jude Law-Cold Mountain, Bill Murray-Lost In Translation
     Best Actress: Charlize Theron-Monster
          Other Nominations:  Keisha Castle-Hughes-Whale Rider, Dianne Keaton-Something Has To Give, Samantha Morton-In America, Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

     Wow!  I'm going to hold back on this one.  I could easily write a five page post about how offended I am by the Lord of the Rings movies.  Even in a world where I was fine with them, Return of the King wasn't the best of the three movies.  The Two Towers was the only part of the trilogy worth it's salt.  I know that part of who wins the Oscar each year has to do with who they go up against, but Return of the King was the worst of the three Lord of the Rings movies and should not have come anywhere near the Oscar.  Mystic River would be my choice for the award.  It's by far the movie I enjoyed most out of this group.  But really, as much as I hated it, the movie that sticks out of this group is Lost In Translation.  It's a movie everyone still talks about and is clearly considered a modern classic, something you can't say about any of the other nominations.  Sean Penn wasn't even the best actor in his own movie.  Bill Murray got robbed and that has just become more clear over time.  And how the hell did Johnny Depp get nominated for Pirates?  Did people really take this serious?  There really isn't any need to talk about the actress category.  Charlize Theron pulled off one of the greatest performances of our time and got the credit she rightfully deserved.

1993 (20 years ago)
     Best Picture: Schindler's List
          Other Nominations:  In the Name of the Father, The Fugitive, The Piano, The Remains of the Day
     Best Actor: Tom Hanks-Philadelphia
          Other Nominations:  Daniel Day-Lewis-In the Name of the Father, Laurence Fishburne-What's Love Got To Do With It, Anthony Hopkins-The Remains of the Day, Liam Neeson-Schindler's List
     Best Actress: Holly Hunter-The Piano
          Other Nominations:  Angela Bassett-What's Love Got To Do With It, Stockard Channing-Six Degrees of Separation, Emma Thompson-Remains of the Day, Debra Winger-Shadowlands

     This year's Best Picture category reminds me of this year's.  This is a great list of films and on any given year any of the five films could have won.  Let's also not forget that Philadelphia didn't even get a best picture nod.  There is something to be said about the phenomenon that great movies seem to come out in one bunch all in the same year.  At the same time, there is no question what the best film was.  Schindler's List is one of the all time greats and there will never be any argument that it shouldn't have won.  It feels weird to say this, but it's also hard to argue Tom Hanks winning Best Actor over Daniel Day-Lewis.  I mean, I have a problem ever saying that Day-Lewis doesn't deserve the award, I've gone on record saying any year he makes a film they should just not have the Best Actor category, but this is one time that I am okay with him not getting the big prize.  Hanks job in this film was amazing and iconic.  I don't have much of an opinion on the actress category.  It seems to me now that Bassett could have won.  She was great in that film, but I don't want be a hypocrite and go against my mimicking rule, so I'll say Hunter deserved it.  The biggest surprise to me... Stockard Channing got an Academy nomination?  Rizzo from Grease is an Oscar worthy actress?  Who knew?

1983 (30 years ago)
     Best Picture:  Terms of Endearment
          Other Nominations:  The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies
     Best Actor:  Robert Duvall-Tender Mercies
          Other Nominations:  Michael Cain-Educating Rita, Tom Conti-Reuben, Reuben, Tom Courtenay-The Dresser, Albert Finney-The Dresser
     Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine-Terms of Endearment
          Other Nominations:  Jane Alexander-Testament, Meryl Steep-Silkwood, Julie Walters-Educating Rita, Debra Winger-Terms of Endearment

     Okay, so we now know that great movies don't come in 10 year clumps.  This is a pretty bad collection of nominations.  Terms of Endearment is over dramatic garbage, I've never heard of The Dresser, I've never seen Tender Mercies, The Big Chill is entertaining and effectively captures a moment in time but hardly seems Best Picture worthy.  I guess I would say The Right Stuff should have gotten the Oscar, but even that movie left we wanting.  I can't comment on the Best Actor award because I haven't seen any of the movies.  I haven't even heard of most of them.  The Best Actress seems kind of tragic.  How did Meryl Streep not win for Silkwood?  I know Terms of Endearment was an extremely popular movie but time has kind of proven that it was a flash in the pan.  Meanwhile, Streep's performance in Silkwood is a classic turn.  Clearly, if this race was run today, Streep would come out on top.

1973 (40 years ago)
     Best Picture:  The Sting
          Other Nominations: American Graffiti, Cries And Whispers, The Exorcist, A Touch of Class
     Best Actor: Jack Lemmon-Save The Tiger
          Other Nominations: Marlon Brando-Last Tango in Paris, Jack Nicholson-The Last Detail, Al Pacino-Serpico, Robert Redford-The Sting
     Best Actress: Glenda Jackson-A Touch of Class
          Other Nominations: Ellen Burstyn-The Exorcist, Marsha Mason-Cinderella Liberty, Barbra Streisand-The Way We Were, Joanne Woodward-Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

     Maybe it's every twenty years we get a group of classics.  Three all time greats in this bunch, any of which could have taken home Best Picture.  You can't argue with giving The Sting the big prize.  The Exorcist and American Graffiti are pretty amazing movies as well, but The Sting is still my favorite of the bunch.  At the same time, I obviously didn't do as much research as I would have liked this year because I haven't heard of Cries And Whispers or A Touch of Class.  I've never seen Save The Tiger, so I don't know if Lemmon was Oscar worthy in it or not, but the test of time would say that the better performances were Pacino or Redford.  I have nothing I can say about Best Actress.  The only movie I've actually seen is The Exorcist.  Again, test of time would give the award to Burstyn even though she really wasn't the best part of that movie.

1963 (50 years ago)
     Best Picture: Tom Jones
          Other Nominations: America, America, Cleopatra, How The West Was Won, Lilies of the Field
     Best Actor: Sidney Poitier-Lilies of the Field
          Other Nominations: Albert Finney-Tome Jones, Richard Harris-This Sporting Life, Rex Harrison-Cleopatra, Paul Newman-Hud
     Best Actress: Partricia Neal-Hud
          Other Nominations: Leslie Caron-The L-Shaped Room, Shirley MacLaine-Irma la Douce, Rachel Roberts-This Sporting Life, Natalie Wood-Love with the Proper Stranger

     I have never heard of any of these films.  That's not totally true.  I guess I have heard of How the West Was Won and Cleopatra is pretty famous but not really for being a great movie.  Needless to say, this probably wouldn't be considered a great year for movies.  It is an impressive collection of actors though.  I haven't seen any of these performances but how can you go wrong with Sidney Poitier, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Rex Harrison and Paul Newman.  I'd like to argue that Paul Newman deserved the Oscar, but I have nothing to back that with other than my strong love for anything Newman has done.  The actress category is interesting in the fact that other than MacLaine and Wood I have no idea who these women are.  This tends to ring true over the years.  For whatever reason, I'm sure people have wrote volumes about it, actors tend to last for years and years while nominated actresses tend to be flashes in the pan.  With one glaring exception of course.  Yes Meryl, you are the greatest.

1953 (60 years ago)
     Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
          Other Nominations: Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday, Shane
     Best Actor: William Holden-Stalag 17
          Other Nominations: Marlon Brando-Julius Caesar, Richard Burton-The Robe, Montgomery Cliff-From Here to Eternity, Burt Lancaster-From Here to Eternity
     Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn-Roman Holiday
          Other Nominations: Leslie Caron-Lili, Ava Gardner-Mogambo, Deborah Kerr-From Here to Eternity, Maggie McNamara-The Moon is Blue

     So, the idea was for me to watch, over the course of the year, all the movies that were nominated that I haven't seen.  I didn't get very far.  Which is unfortunate because this is a year that I would really have like to have seen all the movies so I could actually comment on things.  Three classics were nominated that appear on almost any top 100 list but is From Here to Eternity really the best?  I feel that many would say that Shane was the better film.  Again, the Best Actor category is a who's who of acting but I can't comment because I haven't seen any of the movies.  And I guess I should learn who Leslie Caron is because she was nominated ten years apart and shows up on this list after I wrote that all the actresses were flashes in the pan.  Thanks for proving me ignorant, Leslie.

1943 (70 years ago)
     Best Picture: Casablanca
          Other Nominations: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, The Human Comedy, In Which We Serve, Madame Curie, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette, Watch on the Rhine
     Best Actor: Paul Lukas-Watch on the Rhine
          Other Nominations: Humphrey Bogart-Casablanca, Gary Cooper-For Whom the Bell Tolls, Walter Pidgeon-Madame Curie, Mickey Rooney-The Human Comedy
     Best Actress: Jennifer Jones-The Song of Bernadette
          Other Nominations: Jean Arthur-The More the Merrier, Ingrid Bergman-For Whom the Bell Tolls, Joan Fontaine-The Constant Nymph, Greer Garson-Madame Curie

     This is a no brainer.  Way to go Academy!  You got this one right!  The interesting thing about this year is that Ingrid Bergman was nominated but not for Casablanca.  Weird.  It also seems like Bogart should have gotten Best Actor but I can't really say Lukas wasn't worthy so, who knows.

1933 (80 years ago)
     Best Picture: Cavalcade
          Other Nominations: 42nd Street, A Farewell to Arms, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin' Through, State Fair
     Best Actor: Charles Laughton-The Private Life of Henry VIII
          Other Nominations: Leslie Howard-Berkeley Square, Paul Muni-I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
     Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn-Morning Glory
          Other Nominations: May Robinson-Lady for a Day, Diana Wynyard-Cavalcade

     This one seems like a mistake to me.  I loved Lady for a Day!  It was an amazing movie with a great story and some great performances.  Cavalcade... not so much.  It was hard watching most of the movies from this era because they were so dated, but Lady for a Day really holds up and was in a class of its own as far as this list of movies goes.  May Robinson got robber twice because she was clearly the best actress as well.  It's hard to go against a legend but I was really blown away by Lady for a Day.  I really hated The Private Life of Henry VIII, so I would have given the Best Actor to Paul Muni.  Henry VIII was supposed to be a comedy, I think, but it wasn't close to being funny which could be a product of era differences.  Maybe he deserved it back then, but if we held the vote today I think it's safe to say it would go to someone else.

     

86th Annual Academy Awards

I’m back!  I’ve pretty much abandoned this blog due to other time restrictions, but I had to make time for my yearly Oscar post.  I have more fun writing this than pretty much anything else so there was no way I was going to miss a year.  It just do happens that this was one of the best years for movies in recent memory, with a ton of award worthy movies getting recognized.  It was hard to make a lot of these picks because all the nominations were amazing filled with great performances and awesome writing.  So, here are my picks and predictions…

Best Cinematography

            Nominations: The Grandmaster (Philppe Le Sourd), Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki), Inside Llewyn Davis (Bruno Delbonnel), Nebraska (Phedon Papamichael), Prisoners (Roger Deakins)

            Who I Want To Win: Roger Deakins

            Who I Think Will Win:  Emmanuel Lubezki
            WHO WON: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)

            I’ll be honest, this is Lubezki’s award and I really have no problem with that.  Gravity was an amazing visual movie and I was blown away by the things that were done.  I really wanted to put his name under the “want to win” line, but I’m still mad about last year’s award.  Roger Deakins was flat out robbed.  I am so offended by Skyfall not being recognized for how perfectly the camera shots were set up that I’m not going to be happy until Deakins gets his just due.  He’s the Susan Lucci of cinematography.  It feels like he’s been nominated every year since the mid to late 90’s and has never won.  This isn’t going to be the year, but I’m supporting him until he takes home that statue.

Best Animated Feature

            Nominations: The Croods, Despicable Me, Ernest & Celestine, Frozen, The Wind Rises

            Who I Want To Win: Frozen

            Who I Think Will Win: Frozen
            WHO WON: FROZEN

           

            I didn’t get to see all the films in this category so it probably isn’t fair to comment but I don’t think there is much doubt that Frozen is a shoe in.  I missed out on Ernest & Celestine and The Wind Rises.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Wind Rises and I know there is a lot of fans of anime out there who would love to see it win, but I the genre doesn’t do much for me.  My question with this category is, what are we supposed to be looking at?  Is this award supposed to go to the best all around film or the best animation in a film?  The Croods was stunning to watch.  In my mind, the animation was light years ahead of the other movies I saw.  But, the story kind of sucked.  I could have cared less about what was going on, but I loved watching it.  Frozen, on the other hand, was pretty standard across the board.  It looked like a typical Disney animated film and it sounded like a typical Disney animated film, and it played out like a typical Disney film.  I enjoy Disney animated films, so I have no problem with Frozen taking the gold home, but if this is supposed to go to the best animation, The Croods should be winning.

Best Documentary Feature

            Nominations: The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, The Square, 20 Feet from Stardom

            Who I Want To Win: The Act of Killing

            Who I Think Will Win: 20 Feet from Stardom
            WHO WON: 20 Feet from Stardom

           

            I shouldn’t even be listing this category because I only saw one of the films, The Act of Killing, so I really have nothing to go on.  But, I love this category so much I feel the need to chime in, even if it’s a little ignorant.  The funny thing is I have no excuse for not seeing all of them other than I just didn’t have the time.  All except 20 Feet from Stardom are streaming on Netflix.  From everything I’ve heard, 20 Feet from Stardom is the odds on favorite.  Lucky for me the one movie I saw was good enough that I’m okay saying I want it to win.  The Act of Killing was so different and unbelievable and poignant that it certainly deserves an award.  I can’t say that it’s more of those things than the other four movies, but what I saw was certainly amazing and would have been my favorite in past years.

Best Original Screenplay

            Nominations: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Nebraska

            Who I Want To Win: Her

            Who I Think Will Win: Her
            WHO WON: Her

           

            This category traditionally goes to a quirky indie movie that doesn’t have the support to win Best Picture.  That movie this year is clearly Her.  I really like Her more than I expected.  It was way more accessible than most of Spike Jonze’s movies, yet the concept seemed much more off putting.  It wasn’t off putting at all.  It was really well done and very deep and tender.  I attribute the effectiveness of the film to the writing.  This easily could have been a disaster of a movie, but the characters and relations that Jonze created felt so real the movie worked.  I didn’t feel that the writing really stood out on any of the other films.  Nebraska is another indie darling that may get some love in this category, but I didn’t think it was on the level of excellence that Her is on.  The only other movie I can see stepping into Her’s way would be American Hustle.  There is always the possibility that American Hustle gets the award as a consolation for not winning any of the bigger prizes.

Best Adapted Screenplay

            Nominations: Before Midnight, Captain Phillps, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street

            Who I Want To Win: Philomena

            Who I Think Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
            WHO WON: 12 Years a Slave

            The same line of thinking for Original Screenplay goes along with Adapted Screenplay, but I have a sneaking suspicion that 12 Years a Slave is going to get this nod.  This year is packed with quality movies that all deserve awards, but 12 Years a Slave was the stand out of the bunch.  The question is, will the awards be dispersed amongst the good movies or will they all just be given to the best?  I loved Philomena, but don’t think it was quite good enough to get Best Picture, so I would really like to see it get this one.  A lot of the movie’s charm has to do with the chemistry between Steve Cogan and Judie Dench, but I think the basis of that relationship is in the writing.  I also want to take the time to put on record that I don’t get the Richard Linklater “Before…” movies.  I know people love these movies and think that they are the best thing ever put on film, but I fell asleep 15 minutes into Before Sunrise and have had no desire to try watching again.  I’m sorry for all of you that love these movies, but they suck!  Watching paint dry is more entertaining then watching these two characters that I don’t care about prattle on about nothing.

Best Supporting Actress

            Nominations: Sally Hawkins, Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong’o, Julia Roberts, June Squibb

            Who I Want To Win: Sally Hawkins

            Who I Think Will Win: Lupita Nyong’o
            WHO WON: Lupita Nyong'o

            I’ll get my Julia Roberts rant out of the way first.  Those of you who know me are probably expecting it, so here we go… I didn’t even have to see August: Osage County to know that she shouldn’t have gotten this nomination.  She’s not a good actress, there is nothing likable about her, and she annoys the piss out of me.  She is Julia Roberts in everything she does.  There is no range at all in her acting.  So, I didn’t see the movie.  And, I’m still secure in the fact that I just gave a fitting analysis of her performance in it… Ok, on to the deserving nominations.  I enjoyed June Squibb in Nebraska, but I wasn’t really impressed with her acting.  Part of the charm for me was that she appeared to be acting obviously bad and that became endearing.  I love Jennifer Lawrence, but her character did nothing for me.  My favorite this year was Sally Hawkins.  Everyone is talking about Cate Blanchett’s performance but I was pulled into that movie by Hawkins.  There was something about the genuineness of that character paired with the walking disaster that she was that was endlessly interesting.  Hawkins did a great job making her character more interesting and important than the lead.  For me Blue Jasmine was all about Hawkins and not Blanchett at all.  That being said, Lupita Nyong’o put in an amazing performance in a great movie that is going to be hard for the voter’s to ignore.  As much as I would like to see Hawkins win, I can’t be upset if Nyong’o win because she was equally impressive.

Best Supporting Actor:

            Nominations: Barkhad Abdi, Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, Jonah Hill, Jared Leto

            Who I Want To Win: Bradley Cooper

            Who I Think Will Win: Jared Leto
            WHO WON: Jared Leto

            I feel like Jared Leto is a sure thing in this category, but as much as I enjoyed his performance, I can’t look past my gimmick theory.  The theory says that people fawn over people who play gimmick roles even though those gimmick roles are easier to make interesting than a straight role.  In other words, it’s not hard to pull of a character that comes with set traits that make them interesting, like being a transvestite or being mentally disabled, you’re given a set of behaviors that you just have to mimic.  Taking a normal person off a page and making them interesting with out a bunch of clichés to play off of is much more skillful.  Jared Leto did a good job with his role but it’s still a gimmick role.  I would much rather see Bradley Cooper take home the prize.  I wasn’t crazy about American Hustle but Cooper was a standout in my eyes.  I really enjoyed what he did with the character and brought something to a movie that didn’t really pull me in otherwise.  And I need to take a minute and say something about Jonah Hill getting nominated.  Could someone tell me what he did to deserve it?  He was Jonah Hill in that movie.  It required no acting whatsoever.  You could have played that performance next to Superbad and not noticed a difference.  I like Jonah Hill, don’t get me wrong, but there is no way that he deserved a nomination for that role.

Best Actress

            Nominations: Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench, Meryl Streep

            Who I Want To Win: Judi Dench

            Who I Think Will Win: Cate Blanchett
            WHO WON: Cate Blanchett

            Can we just say that Meryl Streep is the best actress every year and who ever wins this award is second best?  Like I said earlier, I haven’t seen August: Osage County, but have you ever seen a sub-par Meryl Streep role?  Okay, we can pretend that Mama Mia didn’t happen.  She’s the best and it’s almost not fair that she take up a nomination every year.  You’re great Meryl, we get it.  By the way, I would institute the same rule for Daniel Day-Lewis and the Best Actor category too.  I’m pretty sure Blanchett is going to get this one.  She has all the buzz right now and it was certainly a worthy role.  If I was giving out the awards this one would be Judi Dench’s hands down.  I really enjoyed Philomena and most of that came from the performances that Dench and Coogan put in.  She played the role so perfect.  It’s a role that might be hard for people today to understand but Dech did a perfect job of making irrational responses to situations seem rational and understandable.  There was something softer about Dench’s performance that made me appreciate it more than Blanchett.

Best Actor

            Nominations: Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew McConaughey

            Who I Want To Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor

            Who I Think Will Win: Chiwetel Ejifor
            WHO WON: Matthew McConaughey

            If this was a Best Actor of the Year award I’d be giving it to McCoaughey.  If you add up all his roles he had an amazing year.  Dallas Buyer’s Club was great.  His scene in The Wolf of Wall Street was the best in the movie.  And everyone seems to have forgotten about Mud, which was one of my favorites of the year.  But unfortunately it’s just best actor in one role, and nobody was better in one role this year than Chiwetel Ejifor.  12 Years a Slave was the best movie this year and that was almost solely due to Ejior’s job.  It easily could have been played over the top, but it wasn’t.  Ejifor’s ability to subtly convey the emotion behind a totally fucked up story was amazing.  Bruce Dern just stared blankly at the camera for an hour and a half.  Christian Bale was good, which is always is, but he did nothing that made me interested in the character or the movie.  DiCaprio was good as well, but nothing felt special about what he was doing.  Ejifor carried a great movie, pulling the audience in and pulling at the heart strings.

Best Director

            Nominations: David O. Russel, Alfonso Cuaron, Alexander Payne, Steve McQueen, Martin Scorsese

            Who I Want To Win: Alfonso Cuaron

            Who I Think Will Win: Steve McQueen
            WHO WON: Alfonso Cuaron

            There’s a couple ways I could go with my predictions on this one.  One is that 12 Years a Slave is going to get Best Picture so the voters throw Gravity a bone and give the statue to Cuaron as a consolation prize.  The other is that 12 Years a Slave walks away with everything.  I am going with the second scenario even though the quality of the movies nominated this year is much better than it has the last few.  I think Cuaron is deserving either way.  Gravity had some problems but direction wasn’t one of them.  The way the movie looked and was directed was truly amazing.  I think McQueen did a great job as well, but there was just something about Gravity that grabbed me.  It wasn’t the acting or the writing, so it must have been the directing.

Best Picture

            Nominations: American Hustle, Captain Phillps, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street

            Who I Want To Win: 12 Years a Slave

            Who I Think Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
            WHO WON: 12 Years a Slave

            This is an exceptional year for movies.  I think this is the first time since I started doing this post that I have no problem with any of the nominated movies winning.  The only movie I didn’t get a chance to see was Captain Phillips.  I enjoyed watching every other movie.  There was nothing that bored me to tears or offended my intelligence or filled me with disdain.  These are all extremely worthy movies that would have won in almost any of the last 5 years.  Unfortunately they all have to compete with each other, which leaves a tough discussion about who wins the big prize.

            American Hustle was an entertaining movie but it left me kid of lacking.  I wasn’t completely interested in the characters which left me with a disconnect with the story.  I didn’t totally care what happened to anyone, which makes me feel that it didn’t accomplish everything it meant to or should have.

            Dallas Buyers Club was an amazing story about an era we are not that far removed from.  I really enjoyed all the performances and felt it was a story that needed to be told.  It’s scary to think that it wasn’t that long ago that this happened, yet is kind of a forgotten moment in our history.  Any other year I would be pushing for this movie to win, but at the end of the day it just didn’t strike me on all the levels that 12 Years a Slave did.

            Gravity was a visual wonder.  I was blown away watching this film and totally engrossed in everything that was going on.  Cuaron is a great visionary and I hope some day he wins because I love his movies, but I don’t feel this is the one.  There were some holes in the story and I wasn’t as impressed with Sandra Bullock as others seemed to be.  Normally I would argue that because she was on the screen alone for the whole movie and I remained interested in the movie it was a sign of a great performance, but I think my awe with the film had more to do with other factors than Bullock’s acting.

            Her surprised me.  I’m not a huge fan of Spike Jonze and find most of his films hard to tap into and enjoy, but this movie was pretty engrossing.  When you hear the premise the knee jerk reaction is to think it’s silly or absurd, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Jonze handles the subject wonderfully, creating a world where everything makes sense and is totally believable.  It’s a wonderful movie on loneliness and relationships and I highly suggest everyone give it a viewing.  In the end, though, it just doesn’t have the weight to beat out this year’s heavyweights.

            Nebraska was a fun little indie that takes a great look at getting old and the problems with family and small town America.  It’s a collection of great characters and a wonderful story, but I think it is much stronger as a Best Screenplay nominee than a Best Picture.  It has some good performances and a very stylistic look.  At the end of the day, however it just doesn’t compare to the film making of its competition this year.

            Philomena was probably my favorite movie of the year.  I really enjoyed the chemistry between Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.  The characters they brought to the screen were well drawn.  They were able to showcase a deep complexity that made the story work in a way it wouldn’t with lesser performances.  I loved the mix of humor and poignancy that was presented.  It spoke to a generation of thinking that is passé and looked down upon in this day and age, but did so in a way that was humanizing not patronizing.  I would love to see this movie win, but I don’t really think it has much of a shot.

            The Wolf of Wall Street was a highly entertaining movie but when all was said and done I’m not sure what it was getting at.  Much of the movie was over the top no matter how real it was and I feel like it could have used a little more editing.  There were large portions of the movie that just didn’t need to be there or scenes that went on much too long.  That being said, there were still some amazing moments, like the lunch scene between Leonardo and McCoaughey.  I really liked the movie, but I feel like there was a better movie if some things were changed a little.  I know, who am I to say what Martin Scorsese should be doing with his movie?  Nobody.

            12 Years a Slave is the clear winner for me.  It had great performances.  It told an amazing story.  It did it all without beating a message over your head or making the story super sappy and emotional.  It’s an incredibly troubling story that blows your mind and leaves you asking tons of questions.  At the same time, it was amazingly entertaining and compelling.  This is everything a great movie should be.

Reviewing The Previews: 7/24

This is the rating system…

F- I will never see this movie under any circumstances
D- I will never pay theater price to see this movie but may watch it on Netflix
C- I might pay to see this if nothing else is playing, if not I'll catch it on DVD
B- I am not excited, but I'll probably try to catch it in the theater
A- I'm all in

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug – F+  12/13/13

            In keeping with my boycott of anything with Peter Jackson’s name on it after his desecration of the Lord of The Rings books, I will not drop a red cent on this movie.  I’m not even sure how he’s taking a book that’s a quarter of the length of The Lord of The Rings and turning it into three movies.  I’m guessing by changing characterizations, screwing up themes and adding his own ideas to the story because he obviously knows better then Tolkien how to tell Tolkien’s stories.

Closed Circuit – C  8/28/13

            This looks like a pretty hum drum thriller.  Nothing new or spectacular here, just the same old clichés we’ve come to expect from espionage thrillers.  It is from the producers of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which gives it some credibility, but the story doesn’t do much for me and the cast is nothing to write home about.  I’ll have no problem waiting to see this one.

The Wolverine – B  7/26/13

            I may the only person on the planet, but I enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  It wasn’t the greatest movie ever made but I felt it held up to the first two X-Men movies and was certainly ten times better than X-Men 3.  Add that to the fact that I’m kind of a comic nerd, and chances are I’m going to see this one opening week.  Everyone seems to think this is the Wolverine movie people have been wanting to see for years.  I’m not a Wolverine fanatic, so it doesn’t take much to please me, or offend me, with story lines.So chances are I’ll be entertained again.

Ender’s Game – A+  11/1/13

            I’m sorry gay community, as much as I support your right to get married I haven’t been more excited about a movie since The Dark Knight Rises.  This story has nothing to do with Orson Scott Card’s politics and is easily one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever written.  History tells me I can only be disappointed and offended by an adapted film that I am this excited about, but I can’t wait none the less!