2015 Academy Award Winners

The night was full of some pretty big surprises! The big winners of the night turned out to be Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, although only one of them walked away with the Oscar for Best Picture. Birdman took home a total of four statues including Best Picture and Best Director. Boyhood was a huge favorite to win, but the only statue it managed to bring home was for Best Supporting Actress. Eddie Redmayne shocked audiences by taking home Best Actor and Julianne Moore took home a well deserved Best Actress statue.

Here is a list of the winners:

Best Picture: Birdman

Best Actress: Julianne Moore - Still Alice

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

Best Adapted Screenplay: Graham Moore - The Imitation Game

Best Original Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo - Birdman

Best Animated Feature: Big Hero 6

Best Film Editing: Whiplash

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Song: "Glory" - Selma

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki - Birdman

Best Foreign Film: Ida (Poland)

Best Documentary Feature: CITIZENFOUR

Best Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Visual Effects: Interstellar

Best Sound Editing: American Sniper

Best Sound Mixing: Whiplash

Best Animated Short: Feast

Best Live-Action Short: The Phone Call

Best Documentary Short: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1



Aside from the winners, the show just ran really long. There was no reason for Jennifer Hudson to perform after the In Memoriam segment because it simply took too long and although Lady Gaga was surprisingly excellent, why did they feel the need to pay tribute to The Sound of Music? Like seriously, there was no reason. Not to mention Joan Rivers was not included in the In Memoriam which is a real shame.
Neil Patrick Harris did what he could with the rather lousy dialogue and jokes he was given, but the opening to the show was fantastic. They tried to capitalize on jokes that have been done to death since last year's show (aka, Adele Dazeem) and NPH seemed to be exhausted about halfway through the show and tried to rush it. I think Ellen Degeneres edged him out by a little bit and was a better host overall. Sorry, NPH.

2015 Oscar Nominations

I will start this off by saying I'm not too happy with these nominations. I think the Academy made quite a few mistakes this year and I'm not that excited.
Now that I got that out, here are the nominees for the 2015 Academy Awards. They were announced this morning and gave frontrunner status to both Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel as they each gained 9 nominations. Tune in on February 22nd to see Neil Patrick Harris host the 87th annual event in Los Angeles.

Best Picture

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

Best Director

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum  - The Imitation Game

Best Actor

Steve Carrell - Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Best Actress

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

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Laura Dern - Wild
Kiera Knightly - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jason Hall - American Sniper
Graham Moore - The Imitation Game
Paul Thomas Anderson - Inherent Vice
Anthony McCarten - The Theory of Everything
Damien Chazelle - Whiplash

Best Original Screenplay

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman - Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler

Best Foreign Language Film

Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

Best Documentary Feature

CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Best Original Score 

Alexandre Desplat - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat - The Imitation Game
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar
Gary Yershon - Mr. Turner
Johan Johannsson - The Theory of Everything

Best Original Song

"Lost Stars" - Begin Again
"Grateful" - Beyond the Lights
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" - Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
"Everything is Awesome" - The Lego Movie
"Glory" - Selma

Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

Best Cinematography

Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

Best Film Editing

American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

Best Visual Effects

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Sound Editing

American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

Best Sound Mixing

American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

Best Animated Short

The Bigger Picture
The Damn Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
Single Life

Best Live-Action Short

Aya
Boogalo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

Best Documentary Short Subject

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth


Now let's discuss some of these snubs...
First of all, I don't know what the Academy had against David Fincher this year, but they omitted Gone Girl from quite a few categories it belongs in. I would have nominated it for Best Picture as well as nominating Gillian Flynn for Best Adapted Screenplay and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross for Best Original Score. They won a statue for their Social Network score and the score for Gone Girl is even better. I don't understand it at all.
Moving onto probably the biggest shock is The Lego Movie not being nominated for Best Animated Feature. There is no rhyme or reason to why this was omitted from the category. The animation was seamless, different, and very well put together. The movie itself had a great plot, great writing, and the voice cast was spot on. Big mistake.
I don't personally have much to say on this one because I haven't seen Nightcrawler, but most people out there are upset that Jake Gyllenhaal was not nominated for Best Actor. Some are upset over David Oyelowo not being nominated for Selma, too.

I also will acknowledge a lot of Oscar predictions people had were incorrect. The Fault in Our Stars got absolutely no recognition and many thought it would get Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress (Shailene Woodley). Other predictions that didn't pan out included Jennifer Anniston for Best Actress in Cake, Kristen Stewart for Supporting Actress in Still Alice, Nightcrawler gaining more nominations than it did, Selma gaining more nominations than it did, and Big Eyes being nominated for anything.

Not excited about this year at all.

Best Films of 2014

It's that time again, boys and girls. I will start by admitting I didn't see as many movies this year as I usually do and not nearly as many as I would have liked to, but I did see enough to make a "best" and "worst" list. I always start with the worst, which you can see here, so now I will get to the best ones. Didn't think these were great? Enlighten me on why.

Also note these are not in any particular order from best to worst or anything like that. If they are in any sort of order it's just in the order of when I watched them. I also will mention that some of these films were technically made in and/or received limited releases in 2013, but if they got a wide release in 2014 I'm counting them.


Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Before you judge me on this one, let me explain. As a franchise bit this was by far the best one of the Paranormal Activity franchise. It was suspenseful and did what the previous four movies failed to do... IT KEPT MY ATTENTION. This movie had a lot more going on than just nighttime speed shots of people sleeping for an hour. It was actually fun to watch which is why it is on this list.

Devil's Due

As far as horror went this year, Devil's Due was one of the better ones. It kept my attention and was just fun to watch. Was it the best? No, but it wasn't the worst. It was better than what's on the worst of 2014 list.

The LEGO Movie

I can't say enough things about this one. It was funny, the animation was gorgeous, and it was just... I can't even put it into words. I loved it.

Bad Words

Hilarious. Just plain hilarious. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This skyrocketed to my favorite Marvel film immediately after I walked out of the theater. The suspense was amazing and seeing how Hydra was still in the picture even after all this time was fascinating. It took a comic character and gave us a great political thriller in the middle of a bunch of superhero movies with humor elements and cartoony characters. Fantastic.

Godzilla

For what it was it was great. The effects were on point and the story itself was a nice refresher to have. It could have been bad but it wasn't.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Was it as good as X-Men: First Class? No, but it was still pretty good even with a few disappointments.

Deliver Us from Evil

It was more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie and I appreciated that.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Despite the long title it was still good. By far some of the best visual effects of the year. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one but I still liked it.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Easily by top movie of 2014. It was funny, interesting, touching, and it really showcased its strengths. James Gunn is a welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as is the group of criminal heroes. I can't even begin to describe why I loved this movie.

The Boxtrolls

Great animation and a fun story.

Interstellar

Long as hell but Christopher Nolan did it again. Loved it.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Not as good as it could have been and I still don't think it should have been split into two movies, but they picked a good stopping point and what they did do they did well. I'm looking forward to wrapping it up next year.

Camp X-Ray

This movie got a lot of crap and I don't really know why. I thought it was enjoyable for the kind of movie it was and it further proved that Kristen Stewart needs to get back to doing small films like this. It's really where she shines.

The Sacrament

Holy shit. That's really all I can say.

The Babadook

GREAT. The way this movie played with my mind was amazing. It was more psychological than visual gore and I really appreciate movies like this. The foreign horror market is really kicking America's ass right now.

Gone Girl

Wow! I'm really bummed I didn't get the chance to see this one in theaters.

I might still add to this list because I still have a couple movies I am trying to cram in before the year is up, so keep an eye out. Hope you enjoyed!

Jared Leto rumored to play The Joker

With Warner Bros and DC quickly putting their own universe together there are rumors circulating about which actors will play upcoming film characters. A big rumor we got today is regarding Suicide Squad which is set for release on August 5, 2016. Apparently, Oscar-winner Jared Leto is in the mix to play a new version of the popular DC villain, The Joker.

So far Suicide Squad has Will Smith, Tom Hardy, and Margot Robbie in various stages of negotiations. Leto was previously in contention for the role of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the role ultimately went to Joaquin Phoenix (Benedict Cumberbatch is now Doctor Strange).

We haven't really seen or heard from The Joker since Heath Ledger's acclaimed, and Oscar-winning, performance in The Dark Knight back in 2008. Many people felt that after Ledger's unbelievable performance that the character should be left alone. There isn't any confirmation that The Joker will be part of Suicide Squad or that Leto will be playing that character, but he is apparently circling around a major role in the film that "could prove to be The Joker."
Now... this is somewhat interesting as some people, including myself, thought that Jena Malone's casting in the DC Universe could possibly be Harley Quinn. Even if Malone is not connected to the role, it has been rumored that the famous sidekick will be part of Suicide Squad. Leto's role was previously attached to Ryan Gosling, but he was reluctant to sign a multi-film contract with press obligations.

Suicide Squad follows a team of villains who begin executing dangerous missions for the US Government to avoid major prison sentences. As a result, they have the ability to roam free among the DC heroes undetected until they commit a major crime or offense.

Neil Patrick Harris to host 2015 Oscars

The 2015 Academy Awards has found its host!

This year we had a fairly amusing host with Ellen DeGeneres and it seems next year they are goiung the same route. The Academy announced today that the host of the 2015 Oscars will be Neil Patrick Harris.
Harris has performed on the Oscars before but he has never hosted. He has, however, hosted the 2013 Tony Awards and the Emmys in 2013 and 2009. He is a five time Emmy winner and recently took home a Tony Award for his performance on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Itch.

The Oscars will air on February 22, 2015 and are being produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

2014 Academy Award winners & review

Last night we celebrated the 2014 Academy Awards hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Gravity was the big winner of the night taking home a total of seven statues including Best Director while 12 Years a Slave took home Best Picture. There weren't really any big surprises in terms of where the awards went this year, but overall I think the night went well.
As far as the total production and the host, I thought everything looked nice and flowed very well. Ellen was fun to watch and she didn't go over the top with anything. It was a night full of selfies, Tweeting, and pizza. I have seen people already complaining about the inevitable drag in the middle of the show and I know how it could have been avoided; they should have put Pharrell in the middle of the show instead of at the beginning. "Happy" is such a fun song in general and it would have definitely given the energy a needed boost.
Speaking of the musical performances, I feel a bit sorry for Idina Menzel because on top of John Travolta butchering her name and introduction she was obviously very nervous. As a result she rushed the hell out of the song. Pink was very nice and sounded great as did Karen O. The questionable one was Bette Midler mainly because she couldn't even sing her own song. She kept taking the pitch all over the place and lost track of the song. It was a bit gross.

Anyway, here are the winners!

Best Picture - 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Best Original Screenplay - Spike Jonze (Her)
Best Adapted Screenplay - John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)
Best Animated Feature - Frozen
Best Original Score - Steven Price (Gravity)
Best Original Song - Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez ("Let It Go" from Frozen)
Best Foreign Film - The Great Beauty
Best Documentary Feature - 20 Feet from Stardom
Best Documentary Short - The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Best Animated Short - Mr. Hublot
Best Live Action Short - Helium
Best Production Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Cinematography - Gravity
Best Editing - Gravity
Best Visual Effects - Gravity
Best Hair & Makeup - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Sound Editing - Gravity
Best Sound Mixing - Gravity


In other fun news, Robert Lopez is now the youngest person to "EGOT." That meaning he has now won a Golden Globe, Oscar, Tony, and Emmy award. He also has won Grammys for The Book of Mormon. He joins the short list including Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Nichols, Scott Rudin, and Audrey Hepburn.

Dallas Buyers Club - Review

After being unexpectedly diagnosed with HIV, Ron Woodroof begins an underground drug business to expand the usage of non-FDA approved HIV/AIDS therapies among fellow sufferers. As a result, he begins facing legal opposition by the Food & Drug Administration and his own doctors in Dallas Buyers Club.

I went into Dallas Buyers Club with very minor information in terms of plot and characters, and I think that it was better that way. I loved the acting, loved the story, and I thought it was very well put together. Matthew McConaughey really was on point along with Jared Leto.
The character of Ron was really brought to life by McConaughey. The transformation he endures after his diagnosis was very present and well paced. It was believable and it showed that this rugged, cowboy had a side that wanted people to be as successful as he was. Jared Leto took the show with the character of Rayon, though. He was loveable, positive, and you just felt connected to him immediately. I don't know why it was but I was pulled in very quickly. I haven't seen Leto nail a role right on the head since Requiem for a Dream. After seeing this movie it fully solidifies my prediction that both Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey should, and probably will, win Oscars for this film. I am somewhat surprised no one gave Jennifer Garner a Best Supporting Actress nod. Just putting that out there.
As far as the plot goes, like I said it was very well put together. I never once felt that it was rushed or too slow. I haven't read up on the real events with Ron Woodroof so I can't really comment on how accurate it was. I do recall hearing the character of Rayon is fictional, so who knows what else might be.

I think, as disturbing as it may be, they portrayed the time very well. It was a scary and desperate time for both physicians and citizens when the AIDS crisis hit. People who had it didn't have much hope other than drug trials and the doctors and pharmaceutical companies didn't know what else to do but use the patients as guinea pigs and tell them that was their only option. Ron just took a step back and figured if he could find another way to help himself and others with the same disease he would fight to give people that option. I thought it was very well done.
As far as Oscar predictions go, I think this could be a dark horse and might just sweep the major categories. I don't know if it has the street cred to beat out Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, or American Hustle for best picture, but it might. I am also banking on Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto winning in their categories. Easily.

Idina Menzel to perform at Oscar ceremony

The Oscars are less than a month away at this point and many were speculating on exactly who would perform the Oscar nominated song, "Let It Go," from Frozen. Would it be Idina Menzel who voiced the character of Elsa or would it be Demi Lovato who released the radio version of the song?

The news was released today that Idina Menzel will be performing the Best Original Song nominee during the ceremony and not Demi Lovato. In addition to Menzel performing, we will also see "Happy" from Despicable Me 2 performed by Pharrell Williams during the ceremony. "Let It Go" is the clear frontrunner as it is part of the longest standing #1 soundtrack since 2003 and prompted Disney to re-release Frozen in sing-a-long formats.

I wasn't a huge fan of Frozen, but I will admit that "Let It Go" is a great song. I think it's right for them to choose Menzel to perform, as well. If you haven't heard "Let It Go" just yet I would give it a try.

Oscar nomination rescinded for Alone Yet Not Alone

This is a rare occurrence for sure, but the Academy's Board of Governors has rescinded the Best Original Song nomination for Alone Yet Not Alone. Reasoning has been cited as insider campaigning. Former Academy member Bruce Broughton, and writer of the film's song, apparently sent a hefty amount of emails to his Academy friends in order to bring the attention to the song and to the film. The Board came to a conclusion that Broughton's actions were not in compliance with the promotional regulations and policies in place and that including the film would make the competition unfair and biased.

Despite losing out on one nominee, the Academy also concluded that there will be no replacement named. The Best Original Song category will now only have four nominees. Those nominees are:

"Happy" by Pharrell Williams - Despicable Me 2
"Let It Go" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez - Frozen
"The Moon Song" by Karen O. & Spike Jonze - Her
"Ordinary Love" by U2 - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

2014 Oscar nominations announced

American Hustle and Gravity turned out to be the hits with the Academy this year as they both lead with 10 nominations each. 12 Years a Slave ended up with 9 total. There are quite a few surprises including the complete snub of Monsters University and the fact that Jonah Hill got nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Also a bit surprising: Tom Hanks not being nominated for Captain Phillips, Cate Blanchett not being nominated for Blue Jasmine, Spike Jonze not being nominated for Best Director, Blue is the Warmest Color not being nominated for Best Foreign Film (that was just expected), and Monsters University not being nominated for Best Animated Feature. Seriously, why the hate for Pixar this year? It wasn't a bad movie and the animation was beautiful.

The Academy Awards will air on March 2nd.

Here are the nominees!

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

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

Best Actress:

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

Best Supporting Actor:

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

Best 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

Best Director:

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

Best Original Screenplay:

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

Best Adapted Screenplay:

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

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Croods
The Wind Rises

Best Original Score:

Alexandre Deslplat - Philomena
Thomas Newman - Saving Mr. Banks
William Butler & Owen Pallett - Her
John Williams - The Book Thief
Steven Price - Gravity

Best Original Song:

"Alone, Yet Not Alone" - Alone, Yet Not Alone
"Let it Go" - Frozen 
"Happy" - Despicable Me 2 
"The Moon Song" - Her
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography:

Phillipe Le Sound - The Grandmaster
Phedon Papamichael - Nebraska
Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity
Roger Deakins - Prisoners

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Foreign Language Film:

The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Piece
Omar

Best Documentary Feature:

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

Best Documentary Short Subject:

CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Jack Hall

Best Production Design:

American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Best Costume Design:

American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing:

All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing:

Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Best Animated Short:

Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Live-Action Short:

Aquel No EraYo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre
Helium
Pitakko Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?
The Voorman Problem

My 2014 Oscar Predictions

We are now a little over a day and a half from learning the official Oscar nominations, so I figured I would share my personal predictions of what we might see this year. I'm not claiming to know everything, obviously, and I could be wrong but it's fun to guess.

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Saving Mr. Banks
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

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

Best Supporting Actor:

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

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

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay:

Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron - Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope - Philomena
Tracy Letts - August: Osage County
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
Monsters University

Best Original Score:

Alexander Ebert - All is Lost
Randy Newman - Monsters University
Steven Price - Gravity
John Williams - The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer - 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song:

"I See Fire" - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
"Let it Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography:

Barry Ackroyd - Captain Phillips 
Sean Bobbit - 12 Years a Slave
Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity
Hoyte Van Hoytema - Her

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness


Like I said, this is just a prediction list. I'm excited to see how many I got right and wrong. The Oscar nominations will be revealed on Wednesday, January 16th. 

2014 BAFTA nominations

One week before the big Oscar announcements, we have the nominations for the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Gravity is a surprise leader with 11 total nominations while 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle each earned 10. One movie missing that has been popular in other award lists so far is Dallas Buyers Club, so that is a bit of a surprise. The BAFTA's are set to air on February 16, 2014.

Best Film:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena

Outstanding British Film:

Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
The Selfish Giant

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer:

Colin Carberry & Glenn Patterson - Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel - Saving Mr. Banks
Kieran Evans - Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright & Polly Stokes - For Those in Peril
Scott Graham - Shell

Best Foreign Film:

The Act of Killing
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
Metro Manila
Wadjda

Best Documentary:

The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University

Best Director:

Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Original Screenplay:

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Adapted Screenplay:

12 Years a Slave
Behind the Candleabra
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips

Best Actress:

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

 Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

Best Original Score:

12 Years a Slave
The Book Thief
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Saving Mr. Banks

For the rest of the nominees, head on over here to look.

Oscar nominations to be voted on

It's almost that time!

The secret ballots for the 2014 Academy Awards have been made available as of today, December 27th. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are to electronically cast their votes by January 8, 2014 to determine the nominees. The official nominations will be announced on January 16, 2014. Frontrunners are expected to be American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave as they have been already for the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild nominees.

Ellen DeGeneres is set to host the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.

First Academy Award teaser feat. Ellen DeGeneres

114 scores eligible for Oscars

Quite a list!

The shortlist for Best Original Score has been released and it contains a whopping 114 options. Included are Gravity, Man of Steel, The Book Thief, 12 Years a Slave, Star Trek Into Darkness, Pacific Rim, The Conjuring, and many more. Here is the full list:

Admission by Stephen Trask
Ain't Them Bodies Saints by Daniel Hart
*All is Lost by Alex Ebert
Alone Yet Not Alone by William Ross
The Armstrong Lie by David Kahne
Arthur Newman by Nick Urata
At Any Price by Dickon Hinchliffe
Austenland by Ilan Eshkeri

Before Midnight by Graham Reynolds
The Best Man Holiday by Stanley Clarke
*The Book Thief by John Williams
The Butterfly's Dream by Rahman Altin

The Call by John Debney
*Captain Phillips by Henry Jackman
Closed Circuit by Joby Talbot
The Company You Keep by Cliff Martinez
The Conjuring by Joseph Bishara
Copperhead by Laurent Eyquem
The Counselor by Daniel Pemberton
The Croods by Alan Silvestri

Despicable Me 2 by Heitor Pereira

Elysium by Ryan Amon
Ender's Game by Steve Jablonsky
Enough Said by Marcelo Zarvos
Epic by Danny Elfman
Ernest & Celestine by Vincent Courtois
Escape from Planet Earth by Aaron Zigman
Escape from Tomorrow by Abel Korzeniowski
Evil Dead by Roque Banos

47 Ronin by Ilan Eshkeri
42 by Mark Isham
Free Birds by Dominic Lewis
Free China: The Courage to Believe by Tony Chen
Fruitvale Station by Ludwig Goransson

G.I. Joe: Retaliation by Henry Jackman
Gangster Squad by Steve Jablonsky
*Gravity by Stephen Price
The Great Gatsby by Craig Armstrong

The Hangover Part III by Christophe Beck
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters by Alti Orvarsson
Haute Cuisine by Gabriel Yared
*Her by William Butler & Owen Pallett
*The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug by Howard Shore
Hollywood Seagull by Evgeny Shchukin
Hours by Benjamin Wallfisch
How Sweet it Is by Matt Dahan
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by James Newton Howard

Identity Thief by Christopher Lennertz
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone by Lyle Workman
Insidious: Chapter 2 by Joseph Bashara
Instructions Not Included by Carlo Silotto
The Internship by Christophe Beck
The Invisible Woman by Ilan Eshkeri
*Iron Man 3 by Brian Tyler

Jack the Giant Slayer by John Ottman
Jobs by John Debney

Kamasutra 3D by Sreejith Edavana & Saachin Raj Chelory

Labor Day by Rolfe Kent
*Lee Daniels' The Butler by Rodrigo Leao
Live at the Foxes Den by Jack Holmes
Love is All You Need by Johan Soderqvist

Mama by Fernando Velazquez
*Man of Steel by Hans Zimmer
*Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Alex Heffes
The Missing Picture by Marc Marder
*Monsters University by Randy Newman
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Alti Ovarsson
Mud by David Wingo
Murph: The Protector by Chris Irwin & Jeff Widenhofer

Now You See Me by Brian Tyler

Oblivion by Anthony Gonzalez & Joseph Trapanese
Oldboy by Roque Banos
Olympus Has Fallen by Trevor Morris
Oz the Great and Powerful by Danny Elfman

*Pacific Rim by Ramin Djawadi
Pain & Gain by Steve Jablonsky
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters by Andrew Lockington
Philomena by Alexandre Desplat
The Place Beyond the Pines by Mike Patton
Planes by Mark Mancina
Prisoners by Johann Johannsson

R.I.P.D. by Christophe Beck
Reaching for the Moon by Marcelo Zarvos
Romeo & Juliet by Abel Korzeniowski
Runner Runner by Christophe Beck
*Rush by Hans Zimmer

Safe Haven by Deborah Lurie
Salinger by Lorne Balfe
*Saving Mr. Banks by Thomas Newman
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by Theodore Shapiro
Short Term 12 by Joel P. West
Side Effects by Thomas Newman
The Smurfs 2 by Heitor Pereira
The Spectacular Now by Rob Simonsen
*Star Trek Into Darkness by Michael Giacchino
Stoker by Clint Mansell

Thor: The Dark World by Brian Tyler
Tim's Vermeer by Conrad Pope
Trance by Rick Smith
Turbo by Henry Jackman
*12 Years a Slave by Hans Zimmer
2 Guns by Clinton Shorter

The Ultimate Life by Mark McKenzie
Unfinished Song by Laura Rossi

Wadjda by Max Richter
Walking with Dinosaurs by Paul Leonard-Morgan
Warm Bodies by Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks by Will Bates
We're the Millers by Theodore Shapiro & Ludwig Goransson
What Maisie Knew by Nick Urata
Why We Ride by Steve Gutheinz
The Wind Rises by Joe Hisaishi
Winnie Mandela by Laurent Eyquem
*The Wolverine by Marco Beltrami

* the frontrunners most likely to make the final decision list
The highlighted ones in red have already received Golden Globe nominations

Golden Globes nominations announced

The 2014 Golden Globes has its nominations. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle lead the nominations with 7 each. I think these, as always, will serve as a precursor of what to expect for the Oscars. I expect lots of 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. However, Gravity could be a dark horse as well as Dallas Buyers Club.

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture - Drama:

12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush

Best Actress - Drama:

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet - Labor Day

Best Actor - Drama:

Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Tom Hanks - Saving Mr. Banks
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford - All is Lost

Best Picture - Comedy or Musical:

American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress - Comedy or Musical:

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Enough Said
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County 

Best Actor - Comedy or Musical:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix - Her

Best Animated Feature:

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film:

Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises

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

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
David O. Russell - American Hustle

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

Best Original Score:

Alex Ebert - All is Lost
Alex Heffes - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Steven Price - Gravity
John Williams - The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer - 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song:

"Atlas" - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
"Let it Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Inside Llewyn Davis
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - One Chance

Click here to see the television nominations. A lot of people are complaining that they snubbed Sons of Anarchy, Homeland, and Game of Thrones.

 

Ellen DeGeneres returns to host the Oscars

After the seeming failure of Seth MacFarlane's show this year, the Oscars have tapped yet another previous host to return for the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014. That would be Ellen DeGeneres.

She first hosted back in 2007 and was tapped after MacFarlane apparently turned down an offer to return after citing scheduling conflicts. Many are speculating the choice to go with DeGeneres is due to her ability to keep the mood light and fun without rocking the boat toward too raunchy. Not to mention the fact that she earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for her hosting skills back in 2007. She has also earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmy nominations for her talk show Ellen which has aired for 10 seasons. Show producers Craig Zadan and Neal Meron will return for the show as well.
Another project DeGeneres has coming up is voice work to return as Dory for the Disney/Pixar sequel Finding Dory which hits theaters in 2015.

My predictions for the 2013 Academy Awards

I think there are going to be some surprises waiting for us regarding the 85th annual Academy Awards, but for now I am going to share my predictions for how the awards will go this year. I'm not going to predict every category as I have not seen every movie, such as documentary shorts and foreign films, but I will do my best.

Best Picture:
I think Argo is going to take this one. Starting out a lot of people were thinking Lincoln was a sure thing but seeing how unpopular Lincoln has seemed to be at the other award shows I don't think it will take Best Picture. Not unless the Academy is going to surprise us. I personally think Beasts of the Southern Wild or Les Miserables should win but those are both long shots. The only other movie besides Lincoln I can see giving Argo a good run for its money is Silver Linings Playbook.

Best Director:
Seeing that the Academy stiffed Ben Affleck, who has swept this category everywhere else, I don't really know who else to pick. They also stiffed Tom Hooper for Les Miserables. Out of the choices I think it will go to either Ang Lee or Steven Spielberg, leaning more toward Ang Lee. I would like to see Benh Zeitlin win for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Best Actor:
There is no competition for this category. It should be Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables, but it's going to be Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln.

Best Actress:
This one is tough for me. I would love to see Quevanzhane Wallis win for Beasts of the Southern Wild. She was fantastic and I want her to win badly. However, I would also be happy with Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook. I think Lawrence is probably going to win it.

Best Supporting Actor:
It's going to be either Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook or Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained. Leaning more toward De Niro.

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables. Enough said.

Best Animated Film:
I have no doubt Brave is going to take this one. Pixar almost never loses in this category. I would like to see either ParaNorman or Frankenweenie win this one, but I highly doubt either of those will beat out Brave. They probably won't even beat out Wreck-It Ralph.

Best Cinematography:
It should be Skyfall but it will be Life of Pi.

Best Costume Design:
I would give it to Les Miserables, but I am thinking this one will go to Anna Karenina.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Les Miserables. It could go to The Hobbit, though.

Best Original Score:
I think it should go to Thomas Newman for Skyfall, but it probably will go to Alexandre Desplat for Argo.

Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" by Adele. If it goes to anyone else I am turning the show off.

Best Production Design:
Les Miserables, again, is my pick but it probably is going to Life of Pi or Anna Karenina.

Best Animated Short:
Paperman is my choice and what I think will win. At least it should win.

Best Sound Editing:
The Dark Kn.... oh wait, I forgot. Skyfall.

Best Sound Mixing:
Skyfall or Les Miserables

Best Visual Effects:
This one is no doubt going to Life of Pi. I think it should go to The Avengers or The Hobbit. I'm not a Lord of the Rings fan, but I am smart enough to know Peter Jackson is a wizard when it comes to visual effects.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Argo or Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:
Hands down should be Moonrise Kingdom, but I am predicting Amour or Django Unchained.


We'll see how my predictions turn out tomorrow night! 

Moonrise Kingdom - Review

Moonrise Kingdom is the tale of two 12-year old children who fall in love and decide to run away together in their small New England island town. Their disappearance causes a town-wide search party to go after them during the biggest storm in the island's history.



The only reason I watched Moonrise Kingdom was because of the hype it had received during this awards season. I honestly knew nothing about the movie but I like to see the movies that get everyone's panties in a bunch. All I knew is that it had Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, and Bill Murray. Truth be told I didn't even read a synopsis until I got the Netflix envelope. Sometimes I think it's best to go into movies this way because I had absolutely no expectations or anything regarding this movie. Moonrise Kingdom was yet another film that had me walking away completely in love.
My synopsis above basically tells the backbone of this movie. Two 12-year old kids, Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, meet during some sort of program at the local community center and shortly fall in love. They become pen pals as they live on different sides of the small island they both reside on and eventually they devise a plan to run away together. Sam is part of a scout group called Khaki Scouts who's scout leader, played by Edward Norton, is a down to business math teacher. Suzy is the oldest of four and is considered weird and troubled by her parents, siblings, and peers. The only person who seems to understand Suzy is Sam and the only person who seems to understand Sam is Suzy. When the plan to run away is executed, Edward Norton seeks the assistance of Suzy's parents (played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) and the local police captain (played by Bruce Willis) along with Sam's fellow Khaki Scouts to help find where the children have run off to.

First of all, I found the story to be rather original. We have had stories and movies of young kids who dabbled with innocent romance before but this movie was played out a little differently. The characters of Sam and Suzy were rather mature despite being 12-years old. Sam was an orphan who had been abandoned at scout camp by his foster parents and Suzy was coping with being a complete outcast in her own family. These experiences gave the children a little backbone and it made you feel like they knew what they were doing despite being so young. I think that is why the characters meshed so well together. It was absolutely brilliant.
Along with the characterization of the children I thought the adult characters were just as good. Edward Norton's performance as Scout Master Ward was almost hilarious. He plays this man who obviously took the scout master job to feel like he had a higher calling and responsibility. It was almost like he felt like having the respect of his scouts made him feel he had the control and discipline he always knew he could keep. I also loved Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp. He seemed like a good man who was just going through the motions of his life and his career until this event happened. He stepped up and wanted to do what was right for all the parties involved.
Aside from the brilliant characters I think the dialogue was perfect. The conversations Sam and Suzy had were so well written. Like I mentioned before, despite the characters only being 12 it felt like you were listening to a conversation between 20-year old adults. Somehow it worked, though. I never felt like the dialogue was unrealistic at any point. That goes for any of the characters.


I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this movie. It was a very pleasant surprise for me. I highly recommend checking out Moonrise Kingdom if you haven't done so. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Adele to perform at the 2013 Academy Awards

To go along with her Golden Globe and her Oscar nomination, Adele now has locked a performance slot for the Oscars. She will perform her song "Skyfall" from the newest James Bond film of the same title. She received a nomination for the song and, hopefully, will win it.

Bring it on, Adele! I have been waiting for a good Oscar performance for a few years now.