2019 OSCARS: The Winners

The 2019 Oscars were last night. According to my predictions for the Top 8 categories, I only predicted 4 of 8 correctly, and went 12 out of 24 overall.

• Documentary (Feature) — Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Free Solo
• Actress in a Supporting Role — Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Makeup and Hairstyling — Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney, Vice
• Costume Design — Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
• Production Design — Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther
• Cinematography — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Sound Editing — John Warhurst, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Sound Mixing — Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Foreign Language Film — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Film Editing — John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Actor in a Supporting Role — Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Animated Feature Film — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
• Animated Short Film — Domee Shi, Bao
• Documentary Short Subject — Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton, Period. End of Sentence.
• Visual Effects — Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, First Man
• Live Action Short Film — Guy Nattiv and Jamie Ray Newman, Skin
• Best Original Screenplay — Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
• Best Adapted Screenplay — Spike Lee, Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman
• Original Score — Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther
• Original Song — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, “Shallow,” A Star Is Born
• Best Actor in a Leading Role — Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Best Actress in a Leading Role — Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Best Director — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Best Picture — Green Book

2019 OSCARS: My Predictions for the Top 8 Categories

Here is my annual prediction post for the 2019 Oscars. I really just consider the Top 8 categories on the blog but I play the Oscar game like everyone else (on other websites). Last year I predicted 7 out of 8 and 17 of 24 correctly.

Best Picture:

• “Black Panther”
• “BlacKkKlansman”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• “The Favourite”
• “Green Book”
• “Roma”
• “A Star Is Born”
• “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: A Star Is Born.
WILL WIN: Roma.

Director:

• Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
• Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
• Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
• Adam McKay, “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman.

WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma.

Lead Actor:

• Christian Bale, “Vice”
• Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
• Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
• Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

SHOULD WIN: Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born.

WILL WIN: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Lead Actress:

• Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
• Glenn Close, “The Wife”
• Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
• Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
• Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

SHOULD WIN: Glenn Close, The Wife.

WILL WIN: Glenn Close, The Wife.

Supporting Actor:

• Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
• Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
• Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
• Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

WILL WIN: Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman.

Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams, “Vice”
• Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
• Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
• Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
• Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams, Vice

WILL WIN: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk.

Adapted Screenplay:

• “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
• “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
• “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
• “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
• “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

SHOULD WIN: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

WILL WIN: BlacKkKlansman.

Original Screenplay:

• “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
• “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
• “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
• “Vice,” Adam McKay

SHOULD WIN: Roma.

WILL WIN: The Favourite.

2019 OSCARS: The Nominations

And they're off! The nominations for the 91st Academic Awards, i.e. the Oscars, have been annonced.
The nominations in the top 8 categories are given below. For Best Picture I have currently seen 4 of the 9 nominees (indicated in bold), and definitely intend to see "The Favourite" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" before the ceremonies. I don't even want to hate-watch "Green Book." "Vice" is a strong possibility too.

Best Picture:

• “Black Panther”
• “BlacKkKlansman”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• “The Favourite”
• “Green Book”
• “Roma”
• “A Star Is Born”
• “Vice”

Director:

• Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
• Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
• Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
• Adam McKay, “Vice”

Lead Actor:

• Christian Bale, “Vice”
• Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
• Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
• Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Lead Actress:

• Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
• Glenn Close, “The Wife”
• Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
• Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
• Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Supporting Actor:

• Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
• Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
• Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
• Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams, “Vice”
• Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
• Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
• Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
• Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Adapted Screenplay:

• “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
• “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
• “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
• “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
• “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Original Screenplay:

• “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
• “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
• “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
• “Vice,” Adam McKay

Total Nominations

• 10 — “The Favourite” and "Roma"
• 8 — “A Star Is Born” and “Vice” 
• 7  — "Black Panther”
• 6  — “BlacKkKlansman”
• 5 — “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book”
• 4 — “First Man” and “Mary Poppins Returns

2014 OSCARS: Reviewing The Winners

This year's Oscar ceremony had very few surprises except at the very end, when for the very first time, a film directed by a Black man about black people was named Best Picture of the year, when 12 Years A Slave beat out Gravity for the night's top honor. Interestingly, even though Gravity and American Hustle went in to the night with 10 nominations each (and 12 Years A Slave with 9), Gravity romped home with 7 Oscars (Director, Editing, Sound Effects, Sound Mixing, Score, Cinematography and Visual Effects) while American Hustle was shut out! That being said, 12 Years A Slave only won two other Oscars besides Best Picture, Lupita Nyong'o won Best Supporting Actress and John Ridley won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Both became examples of that rare phenomenon, a Black Oscar winner. The first Latino man won for Best Director when Alfonso Cuarón won the Best Director Oscar, as expected, for Gravity.

So, how did I do in my predictions this year? In the Top 8 categories, I got 6 of 8 correct, only missing Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, and really in both those characters the person that I wanted to win, did so, but they were not who I thought was going to win. This is better than last year, when  I only correctly predicted 5 of 8 correctly, but no where near my high of 2008 (8/8) or 2012 (7/8).

In the Top 24 categories last year I had a dismal 15 of 24, this year I was at 18 of 24 of the winners list. Here's looking to next year!

2014 OSCARS: My Final Predictions In All Categories

Yesterday I posted my predictions post for the Top 8 Academy Awards categories and today, just a few hours before the Oscars begin at  5:30pm PDT (hosted by Ellen Degeneres) I am publicizing my final predictions (no guts, no glory!) in all 24 categories. Last year I only got 14 of 24 correct. I hope to do better this year.

Best Picture: Gravity (2nd: 12 Years A Slave) 

Director: Alfonso Cuaron (2nd: David O. Russell) 

Original Screenplay: Her (2nd: American Hustle) 

Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Actor: Matthew McConaughey  (2nd: Leonardo DiCaprio ) 

Actress: Cate Blanchett (2nd: Amy Adams) 

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (2nd: Jennifer Lawrence) 

Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper  (2nd: Jared Leto) 

Editing: Gravity (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Production Design: Great Gatsby (2nd: American Hustle) 

Sound Mixing: Gravity (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Sound Editing: Gravity (2nd: All Is Lost) 

Cinematography: Gravity  (2nd: Inside Llewyn Davis) 

Costume Design: American Hustle (2nd: The Great Gatsby) 

Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom   (2nd: The Square) 

Foreign Language: The Great Beauty (Italy) (2nd: The Hunt (Denmark)) 

Animated Film: Frozen (2nd: The Wind Rises) 

Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club

Score: Gravity (2nd: Philomena) 

Song: "Happy" (from Happy Feet 2) (2nd: "Let It Go" from Frozen) 

Visual Effects: Gravity  (2nd: Star Trek Into Darkness) 

Animated Short: Get A Horse (2nd: Feral) 

Live Action Short: Helium (2nd: Avant Que De Tout Perdre)  

Documentary Short: Cavedigger (2nd: Lady in Number 6)

I think the big winer will be Gravity with at least 6 Oscars, but there's an outside chance 12 Years A Slave could outshine it in the Top 8 (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor).

My Top 10 Best Films Seen in 2013

This post contains the list of my Top 10 films that I saw in 2013. Last year my favorite film was A Separation. This year it was very hard to decide between the very best film of the year, with the two contenders being very different from each other but each very powerful in their own way.

Anyway, here is my Top 10 list of best films seen in 2013

1. 12 Years A Slave. This was the best film I saw all year. Although it is a difficult movie to sit through, and despite the fact it is a cinematic rendering of a terrifying and terrible historical period, 12 Years A Slave has a lot to say to contemporary audiences. Unlike last year's Lincoln, which was another one of Steven Spielberg's forays into historicized verisimilitude in pursuit of racial reconciliation, I never felt like I was completing a dutiful chore by experiencing Steve McQueen's version of Solomon Northrup's stranger-than-fiction life story. A free black man who gets kidnapped and manages to endure and then escape any Black person's worst nightmare is the source material for a work that you would think would mostly resonate with predominantly black audiences, but from the rapturous critical responses and significant Academy Award recognition (Nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress). I hope that it wins as many awards as it can but regardless of what happens on Sunday March 2nd, the value of 12 Years A Slave is not measured by the number of Oscars it wins but by the number of people who are impacted by the film now and in the future.
2. Gravity. Although I did not end up ranking Gravity as the best film of the year I would not be upset if the Academy disagrees with me and recognizes it for  the technological tour de force that it is. Structured around a gripping performance by Sandra Bullock, the central mission of the film is director Alfonso Cuaron's desire to make the experience of watching the film to be a truly immersive experience. This is an especially effective and ambitious goal because the film is set in space and only the voices of four individual actors (and live faces of two) are ever seen on screen. I saw the film in 3-D but it is my understanding that even watching the film in other formats the strength of the film to suck you in and make you believe that you are also in space along with Bullock as her character encounters an unfortunate sequence of harrowing events which literally set my pulse racing.
3. Prisoners. The most suspenseful moments I spent in the theater in 2013 were watching this film from Denis Villeneuve, who made my favorite film of 2011, Incendies. The cast is incredible, with memorable performances by Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, Terence Howard and Paul Dano. The story is about the the kidnapping of two little girls (Jackman and Bello, and Howard and Davis play the parents) investigated by police detective Gyllenhaal with Dano as a strange guy who is the prime suspect in the kids' disappearance. Prisoners explores how far decent "regular" folks will go when faced with extraordinary circumstances as Jackman's character begins to unravel under the pressure of the diminishing chances of survival of his beloved daughter as time elapses and the desire to do something, even the unthinkable, in order to see his child alive again.
4. American Hustle / Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Even though these two movies were released in two consecutive years they are linked together in my mind because they are made by the same director (David O. Russell) and feature some of the most noteworthy performances stars of both years. In fact, both movies star some of the same people: Jennifer Lawrence (who won her Best Actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook and who is nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her work in American Hustle) and Bradley Cooper (who was nominated for Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook and for Best Supporting Actor for American Hustle). Russell has a richly deserved reputation as an actor's director, since in his last two movies actors received Oscar nominations in all four of the acting categories. Of the two films, I think that American Hustle is superior, and this is primarily due to the presence of Christian Bale and Amy Adams as well as a more compelling storyline, which is a comedic depiction of the infamous AbScam scandal of the 1970s. The film is both richly entertaining and quite suspenseful, as Bale and Adams inhabit their characters with such vivacity that the audience becomes quite invested in what happens to them,
5. Zero Dark Thirty (2012). This was Kathryn Bigelow's follow-up film after her Oscar-winning turn in The Hurt Locker about the search for Osama bin Laden which made Jessica Chastain an above-the-line movie star. This would have been near the top of my list of best films for 2012 but I didn't see the film until January. It's quite extraordinary that Bigelow is able to make such a suspenseful, engaging film about a story in which we already know the ending. 
6. Dallas Buyers Club. This film was a pleasant surprise, centered around two astonishing, transformative performances by Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.  The powerful story is a clear-eyed depiction of some of the darkest days of the AIDS crisis when people had to be creative to get access to potential life-saving drugs against the wishes of a heartless government bureaucracy. Jennifer Garner (Mrs. Ben Affleck) has a key role as a doctor who abandons the establishment for the good of her patients. Both Leto and McConaughey give revelatory performances and one and perhaps two of them may receive Oscars for their work.
7. Fruitvale Station. This film is a heartbreaking depiction of the last few days of the life of Oscar Grant, who was fatally shot in the  back by a BART officer while he was face down in the early hours of 2009. Grant is portrayed powerfully by Michael B. Jordan and the film is effective at humanizing a story that could have easily become an unwatchable hagiography but instead  is as compelling and horrifying as a slow-motion car crash.
8. Star Trek Into Darkness. My favorite action film of the year was this entry into the Star Trek franchise directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain. There's an exciting twist to this movie which fans of the earlier Star Trek films willl greatly enjoy. There's great chemistry between Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine as Kirk and Scott and Simon Pegg basically steals the movie as Scotty.
9. Her. This film features one of the most creative screenplays of recent memory, another Spike Jonze joint. The story is about  a man played by Joaquin Phoenix who falls in love with an operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson in a near-future time where this event is not remarkable. In addition to the very original screenplay, the production design and vision of Los Angeles are also remarkable. 
10. Lee Daniels' The Butler. Although some people dismissed this film as "the Black Forrest Gump" due to the travelogue version of history it depicts of great moments of the civil rights era, it features compelling performances from Oprah and Forrest Whitaker. Additionally, there are amazing cameos from  a dizzying array of actors portraying real historical figures.

2013 was an even better year for movies than 2012. I hope that 2014 turns out to be just as good!

2014 OSCARS: Actual Nominations List!

 

The nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards have been released. I predicted the nominations in the top 8 categories yesterday. American Hustle and Gravity lead the nominations with ten followed by  12 Years A Slave with 9.

The big surprise was the surprising total of Dallas Buyers Club with 6. Notable snubs were Tom Hanks not getting nominated for Best Actor in Captain Phillips and his Saving Mr. Banks co-star Emma Thompson not getting nominated for Best Actress.

Best Picture

• "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• "Captain Phillips"
• "Her"
• "American Hustle"
• "Gravity"
• "Dallas Buyers Club"
• "Nebraska"
• "Philomena"

Best director

• Steve McQueen -- "12 Years a Slave"
• David O. Russell -- "American Hustle"
• Alfonso Cuaron -- "Gravity"
• Alexander Payne -- "Nebraska"
• Martin Scorsese -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best actor

• Bruce Dern -- "Nebraska"
• Chiwetel Ejiofor -- "12 Years a Slave"
• Matthew McConaughey -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
• Leonardo DiCaprio -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• Christian Bale -- "American Hustle"

Best actress

• Amy Adams -- "American Hustle"
• Cate Blanchett -- "Blue Jasmine"
• Judi Dench -- "Philomena"
• Sandra Bullock -- "Gravity"
• Meryl Streep -- "August: Osage County"

Best supporting actor

• Barkhad Abdi -- "Captain Phillips"
• Bradley Cooper -- "American Hustle"
• Jonah Hill -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• Jared Leto -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
• Michael Fassbender -- "12 Years a Slave"

Best supporting actress

• Jennifer Lawrence -- "American Hustle"
• Lupita Nyong'o -- "12 Years a Slave"
• June Squibb -- "Nebraska"
• Julia Roberts -- "August: Osage County"
• Sally Hawkins -- "Blue Jasmine"

Best original screenplay

• "American Hustle" -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
• "Blue Jasmine" -- Woody Allen
• "Her" -- Spike Jonze
• "Nebraska" -- Bob Nelson
• "Dallas Buyers Club" -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Best adapted screenplay

• "12 Years a Slave" -- John Ridley
• "Before Midnight" -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
• "The Wolf of Wall Street" -- Terence Winter
• "Captain Phillips" -- Billy Ray
• "Philomena" -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

The awards are being given out on Sunday March 2.

2014 OSCARS: Predicted Nominations

Here are my predictions for the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards that will be announced publicly on Thursday.

12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Best Director

• Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
• Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• David O. Russell, American Hustle
• Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
• Spike Jonze, Her

Best Actress

• Amy Adams, American Hustle
• Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Judi Dench, Philomena
• Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Actor

• Christian Bale, American Hustle
• Bruce Dern,  Nebraska
• Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
• Mathew McConnaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

• Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
• Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
• Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
• June Squibb, Nebraska
• Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Best Supporting Actor

• Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
• Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
• Bradley Cooper,  American Hustle
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Best Original Screenplay

• Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
• Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said
• Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron, Gravity
• Spike Jonze, Her
• Bob Nelson, Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay

• John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
• Tracy Letts, August: Osage County
• Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
• Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
• Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena

Total Nominations

1. American Hustle

2014 GOLDEN GLOBES: Predicting The Winners

The 2014 Golden Globes are being held in Los Angeles on Sunday, hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, broadcast on ABC at 8pm. Although there is an infinitesimal group of people who vote on the winners, it is true that Golden Globe winners often go on to win Academy Awards so it is worth paying attention to them.

Here are the nominees in the film categories for the Golden Globe awards:

MOTION PICTURES 

Best Drama 

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips 

Gravity 

Philomena 

Rush 

SHOULD WIN: 12 Years a Slave 

WILL WIN: Gravity 

Best Musical/Comedy 

American Hustle 

Her

Inside Lleweyn Davis 

Nebraska 

The Wolf of Wall Street 

SHOULD WIN: American Hustle 

WILL WIN: American Hustle 

Best Director 

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity 

Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips 

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave 

Alexander Payne, Nebraska 

David O. Russell, American Hustle 

SHOULD WIN: Alfonso Cuaron 

WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuaron 

Best Actress in a Drama 

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine 

Sandra Bullock, Gravity 

Judi Dench, Philomena 

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks 

Kate Winslet, Labor Day 

SHOULD WIN: Cate Blanchett 

WILL WIN: Cate Blanchett 

Best Actor in a Drama 

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave 

Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom 

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips 

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer’s Club 

Robert Redford, All Is Lost 

SHOULD WIN: Chiwetel Ejiofor 

WILL WIN: Matthew McConaughey 

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy 

Christian Bale, American Hustle 

Bruce Dern, Nebraska 

Leonardo Di Caprio, The Wolf of Wall Street 

Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis 

Joaquin Phoenix, Her 

SHOULD WIN: Joaquin Phoenix

WILL WIN: Leonardo Di Caprio

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy 

Amy Adams, American Hustle 

Julie Delpy, Before Midnight 

Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said 

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County 

SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams 

WILL WIN: Amy Adams 

Best Supporting Actress 

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine 

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle 

Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave 

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County 

June Squibb, Nebraska 

SHOULD WIN: Lupita Nyong’o 

WILL WIN: Jennifer Lawrence 

Best Supporting Actor 

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips 

Daniel Bruhl, Rush 

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave 

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer’s Club 

SHOULD WIN: Jared Leto 

WILL WIN: Jared Leto 

Best Screenplay 

Spike Jonze, Her 

Bob Nelson, Nebraska 

Jeff Pope/Steve Coogan, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave 

Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell, American Hustle 

SHOULD WIN: John Ridley 

WILL WIN: John Ridley

The Oscar nominations for the 86th annual Academy Awards will happen next Thursday, January 16, 2014. The Oscar ceremony is on March 2, 2014. 

FILM REVIEW: Gravity

The film Gravity has turned out to be a huge box-office hit ($200+ million) and crtical favorite, an unusual bright spot in Hollywood's fall box office, when more serious, dramatic films that vie for Oscars and other awards are released. But Gravity is also a realistic contender for end-of-year awards, with an impressive pedigree of the people involved with the production. It is directed by an Oscar-nominee Alfonso Cuarón (who co-wrote the script with son Jonas) and starring two popular Oscar-winners Sandra Bullock (Best Actress for The Blind Side) and George Clooney (Best Supporting Actor for Syriana).

Gravity has received some of the best reviews of the year, with a 97% rating (87% from audiences) on rottentomatoes.com. Interestingly, it is also one of the rare movies released in 3-D which most people seem to think takes advantage of the new technology in a way that justifies the ticket price hike.

I saw Gravity at one of the best theaters in Los Angeles (the Arclight Cineramadome) in 3-D and enjoyed it immensely. The film is quite immersive, with a cast that basically consists of only Bullock and Clooney. The story is set in space, and depicts a disaster that occurs while their characters are doing a space walk on a Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble telescope.

Gravity has stunning visuals and a suspenseful (if somewhat far-fetched) plot that left me with my pace elevated and on the edge of my seat. Some have criticized the film for scientific inaccuracies in the depiction of orbital mechanics and logistics of living and working in space. But for the vast majority of viewers, including yours truly, Gravity is the first movie which really makes you feel like you understand what it is like to be in space, and it is both exciting and terrifying.

Although the film stars both Clooney and Bullock it is really carried by Bullock who if she had not won her Oscar in 2010 would probably be a lock to win this year and is almost guaranteed to be nominated for her performance as Dr. Ryan Stone. It is Dr. Stone's first time in space so she is the person who the audience identifies with (since it is our first time in space also). Clooney plays Matt Kowalski, a veteran space captain who is on his very last mission and he is the person both Ryan and the audience look to for help and reassurance when things go awry early in the film.

Overall, Gravity is an amazing cinematic experience that one should not miss, and one that most people will remember for quite a long time after they leave the theater.


Title: Gravity.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón.
Running Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense perilous sequences,  some disturbing images and brief strong language.
Release Date: October 4, 2013.
Viewing Date: October 10, 2013.

Writing: B+.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: A+.

Overall Grade: A (4.0/4.0).