Before I get into the main purpose of this post, my Oscar nominee reviews, some responses to your post:
So glad the Rolling Stones were fantastic. I wouldn't say I was overly impressed with their Super Bowl stint a few years back (compared to say, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, or this year's impressive showing by Bruno Mars), so I am elated to hear the old guys can still strut their stuff. Cause it's all about the strut.
Totally understand on Game of Thrones. It's an incredibly well done show. I think maybe you're on to something with the Mortal Instruments. I can see two options. If it's Showtime or HBO, a faithful retelling of the series, because we know they aren't afraid of incest, so almost incest that turns out to not be incest should be fine. Alternatively, a CW show that takes place in the Shadowhunter realm, perhaps with a (recast, after your review) Magnus as the lead. They could spin off of the short stories that Cassandra Clare wrote with Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan, which I still need to read for obvious reasons. I wonder if it is available in book form yet? I think that was the plan once they were all released. It's almost my birthday, in case you needed an idea.
And I look forward to your drinking game submissions. I feel like Gilligan's Island would be another good one for a drinking game with so many basic plot elements occurring in the majority of episodes.
Okay, on to the main event. I can't live blog the Oscars tonight because I have people coming over and I feel that would be a little rude. But I will certainly give a review with highlights, especially any Ellen dancing, next week. For now, I did manage to see all 9 best picture nominees. I watched Gravity on iTunes last night to wrap it up. Honestly, I really wanted to watch Frozen, but I can't rent it yet and it was like $20 to buy on iTunes. Which is likely worth it, but I had to factor in that I would probably be buying the soundtrack right after finishing the film, so I'll give it another week and rent it on iTunes instead. Anyhow, I've ranked the nominees in reverse order from "thanks for the nomination" to "better walk home with the little gold guy." I tried to balance the merits of the movie (acting, directing, writing, technical stuff) and my feelings about it (enjoyable, characters I cared about, did I cry, did I feel the story was important etc). Here is the list:
9. Her - Please don't read this and think I didn't like Her or think it worthy of a nomination. I believe the Academy got it right this year as this is an impressive, although depressing, collection of films. The screenplay for this is fascinating and definitely deserves the Oscar. I expect to see Spike Jonze on stage tonight for that. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic (and deserved a nomination except that category is already tight... maybe he deserved it over Leo?) and Amy Adams is great in a supporting role. It would be a great film for a book club like discussion group (along with Nebraska, which I was surprised I liked as much as I did) to talk about society and human relationships and how much technology has will continue to impact that. But I was a little bored at points.
8. Gravity - This squeaked by Her based on technical merit. I waited to fill out my guesses until I had watched it, and immediately checked it off for all the production/technical categories. The acting is great, Sandra Bullock gives an incredibly believable performance and I'm not science-saavy enough to know how much they got wrong (Neil DeGrasse Tyson said it was a lot, and I believe him, but he did also say he enjoyed the film) This and Captain Phillips go in the 124 Hours (Franco sawing offf his arm) category for me, brilliant lead performances and innovative filmmaking, but not my thing.
7. Captain Phillips - I listened to an interview with Tom Hanks and the director, Paul Greengrass, on NPR and I think it enhanced my appreciation for the technical aspects of this film. It definitely benefited from them shooting it on the sea instead of in a studio somewhere, and Greengrass' background in documentary filmmaking has a positive and distinctive impact on his movies. Again, Hanks is great, and this gets an added boost (over Gravity) for two things. First, the incredible performance by Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate. Second, for its ability to make me anxious despite my knowledge of the story's outcome due to it being a recent major news event.
6. The Wolf of Wall Street - Not to take anything away from the genius of Martin Scorsese, but I think this beats the last 3 on the list for me simply due to enjoyability. In a year of low key and depressing films, this is a big, funny, obnoxious film about excess. It is exactly what you imagine the worst of Wall Street to be with giant bonuses and lots of blow and misogyny. DiCaprio is brilliant in how his character transforms over the course of the film. It is both a significant transition, and yet you can tell that at the end he is who he was meant to be. I don't know if that makes sense, but maybe after you watch the movie it will. Jonah Hill is great and perfectly cast, but the real scene stealer is Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey is only in the film briefly at the beginning, but if you watch only his crazy chest thumping restaurant scene, it's worth the price of admission. He is completely insane, but it kind of works. This movie probably could have been bumped up even higher if it had about 30 minutes less boobs and blow, but where is the fun in that?
5. Nebraska - I was very hesitant to watch this, but then I cried at the end. As I mentioned, this goes into the book club movie group for good discussion, only this would be about family and parental relationships and what we learn and understand about our parents as we get older. Despite the fact that my relationship with my parents is nothing like what is portrayed in the film, there was a universal feeling about this family. It was both funny and surprisingly heartwarming, although in a very subtle and understated manner. I have been, of late, hesitant about over-hyped indie films, but I really should trust Alexander Payne, since he made Sideways which I absolutely love.
4. Philomena - It was kind of impossible for this to not make it high on my list. Touching and heartfelt, based on a true story, Judi Dench, and an awkward stuffy British lead character played well by Steve Coogan. I cried several times and was enthralled throughout. I don't really know what else to say about it.
3. American Hustle - I think this suffered from hype, and I've giving it the spot above Philomena because I don't want to punish it for it not quite living up to my ridiculous expectations. It was a very good movie, although not as good as the director's offering last year, Silver Linings Playbook. The acting is on an elite level. Apparently Cate Blanchett is the favorite in the best actress category this year, but I put my check mark next to Amy Adams anyhow because she is perfect in this film. Christian Bale delivers his usual brilliant performance and the fact that Bradley Cooper makes me so irritated that I kind of wanted to punch him, is an impressive feat. Jeremy Renner is well cast as the likable politician who really does want to improve his community and Louis CK has a small roll as Cooper's FBI supervisor, and is probably my favorite character in the film, or at least the most likable. And of course, there is Jennifer Lawrence, who steals every scene she is in, except perhaps when she is opposite Adams, where they appear to be on equal footing. Director David O. Russell knows how to get brilliant performances from his actors. It didn't live up to the hype because I was a little bored in the middle. I thought the plot worked to showcase the talents of these actors, but the story in and of itself didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped from the previews.
2. Dallas Buyers Club - Here is a movie that again has brilliant acting, from McConaughey and Jared Leto, both of whom should walk home with gold statues, as well as Jennifer Garner, whose work hasn't been as appreciated, but who really grounds the movie and gives a solid performance. However, it also has a compelling story that draws you in and keeps your attention. Almost the number one pick. Almost. Because I cried, but I didn't sob.
1. 12 Years a Slave - I sobbed. This is a difficult film to watch for all of the obvious reasons, but it is an important film to watch and worthwhile. Lead actor, Chiwetal Ejiofor, takes you with him for the entire 12 years of horror, every moment when he is close to giving up, every time he thinks there could be hope. One of the things I think was well done was its ability to highlight the various participants in the hierarchy of the horrific institution of slavery, from Paul Giamatti as the sleazy and opportunistic slave trader to Benedict Cumberbatch as the "nice slave owner" highlighting the degree to which the "nice" was irrelevant. Nice or not, he was still a participant in the crime. Michael Fassbender is horrifying as a deranged, likely psychotic slave owner. His nomination is well deserved in a brilliant supporting actor category. Lupita Nyong'o's performance as Patsey should win her an Oscar (despite steep competition from Ms. Lawrence, who could steal it, like she did all her scenes) as it is heartbreaking and transcendent. This movie has all of the standard elements of a great movie and gives a larger audience to the important story of Solomon Northup that otherwise many would have never heard.
Whew, made it. I changed order a few times on that. Other predictions for tonight:
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. All are deserving, and maybe Spike Jonze should be in there, but Cuaron's technical achievements push him over. Russell could end up with it if the voters give more weight to the actors' performances than the overall production.
Best Actor: McConaughey - The man is having a year, and I can't wait for his speech. Ejiofor could possibly surprise here, but I doubt it.
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett - But I am still checking Amy Adams because I haven't watched Blue Jasmine yet. And with all the Woody Allen backlash, that could impact the voters. And Amy Adams was amazing.
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto - He's been cleaning up at the award shows, and deservedly. Way to take a 6 year acting hiatus to focus on your band and come back to a role like this. How far you've come from Jordan Catalano.
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o - But Jennifer Lawrence should wear a dress and shoes she can walk in, just in case.
Original Screenplay: Her
Adapted Screenplay: Philomena - This is a bit of a toss-up. Could easily go to any of the nominees.
Animated Feature and Song to Frozen, even though I haven't seen it.
All the technical/production awards to Gravity
Score: Her - I am disappointed to not see the score from Nebraska on here as I thought it was incredibly well done and well-suited to the movie. But I think the score for Her is impressive as well.
Costumes to American Hustle (although perhaps Gatsby will upset there) and Makeup to Dallas Buyers Club (because seriously, move snob moment, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and The Lone Ranger cannot win an Oscar)
I haven't seen any of the documentaries, foreign films, or short films, so I'm skipping that here, but I did make wild guesses.
Alright, we shall see how I do after the show tonight. For now, it's on to cleaning and prepping some snacks.
Sarah will be staging her own award show tonight in lieu of watching the Oscars. There will be categories such as Best Matthew McConaughey performance of the year and Most likely to fall on the stairs this year (it's not really a fair competition as Jennifer Lawrence is always the favorite here).
So glad the Rolling Stones were fantastic. I wouldn't say I was overly impressed with their Super Bowl stint a few years back (compared to say, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, or this year's impressive showing by Bruno Mars), so I am elated to hear the old guys can still strut their stuff. Cause it's all about the strut.
Totally understand on Game of Thrones. It's an incredibly well done show. I think maybe you're on to something with the Mortal Instruments. I can see two options. If it's Showtime or HBO, a faithful retelling of the series, because we know they aren't afraid of incest, so almost incest that turns out to not be incest should be fine. Alternatively, a CW show that takes place in the Shadowhunter realm, perhaps with a (recast, after your review) Magnus as the lead. They could spin off of the short stories that Cassandra Clare wrote with Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan, which I still need to read for obvious reasons. I wonder if it is available in book form yet? I think that was the plan once they were all released. It's almost my birthday, in case you needed an idea.
And I look forward to your drinking game submissions. I feel like Gilligan's Island would be another good one for a drinking game with so many basic plot elements occurring in the majority of episodes.
Okay, on to the main event. I can't live blog the Oscars tonight because I have people coming over and I feel that would be a little rude. But I will certainly give a review with highlights, especially any Ellen dancing, next week. For now, I did manage to see all 9 best picture nominees. I watched Gravity on iTunes last night to wrap it up. Honestly, I really wanted to watch Frozen, but I can't rent it yet and it was like $20 to buy on iTunes. Which is likely worth it, but I had to factor in that I would probably be buying the soundtrack right after finishing the film, so I'll give it another week and rent it on iTunes instead. Anyhow, I've ranked the nominees in reverse order from "thanks for the nomination" to "better walk home with the little gold guy." I tried to balance the merits of the movie (acting, directing, writing, technical stuff) and my feelings about it (enjoyable, characters I cared about, did I cry, did I feel the story was important etc). Here is the list:
9. Her - Please don't read this and think I didn't like Her or think it worthy of a nomination. I believe the Academy got it right this year as this is an impressive, although depressing, collection of films. The screenplay for this is fascinating and definitely deserves the Oscar. I expect to see Spike Jonze on stage tonight for that. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic (and deserved a nomination except that category is already tight... maybe he deserved it over Leo?) and Amy Adams is great in a supporting role. It would be a great film for a book club like discussion group (along with Nebraska, which I was surprised I liked as much as I did) to talk about society and human relationships and how much technology has will continue to impact that. But I was a little bored at points.
8. Gravity - This squeaked by Her based on technical merit. I waited to fill out my guesses until I had watched it, and immediately checked it off for all the production/technical categories. The acting is great, Sandra Bullock gives an incredibly believable performance and I'm not science-saavy enough to know how much they got wrong (Neil DeGrasse Tyson said it was a lot, and I believe him, but he did also say he enjoyed the film) This and Captain Phillips go in the 124 Hours (Franco sawing offf his arm) category for me, brilliant lead performances and innovative filmmaking, but not my thing.
7. Captain Phillips - I listened to an interview with Tom Hanks and the director, Paul Greengrass, on NPR and I think it enhanced my appreciation for the technical aspects of this film. It definitely benefited from them shooting it on the sea instead of in a studio somewhere, and Greengrass' background in documentary filmmaking has a positive and distinctive impact on his movies. Again, Hanks is great, and this gets an added boost (over Gravity) for two things. First, the incredible performance by Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate. Second, for its ability to make me anxious despite my knowledge of the story's outcome due to it being a recent major news event.
6. The Wolf of Wall Street - Not to take anything away from the genius of Martin Scorsese, but I think this beats the last 3 on the list for me simply due to enjoyability. In a year of low key and depressing films, this is a big, funny, obnoxious film about excess. It is exactly what you imagine the worst of Wall Street to be with giant bonuses and lots of blow and misogyny. DiCaprio is brilliant in how his character transforms over the course of the film. It is both a significant transition, and yet you can tell that at the end he is who he was meant to be. I don't know if that makes sense, but maybe after you watch the movie it will. Jonah Hill is great and perfectly cast, but the real scene stealer is Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey is only in the film briefly at the beginning, but if you watch only his crazy chest thumping restaurant scene, it's worth the price of admission. He is completely insane, but it kind of works. This movie probably could have been bumped up even higher if it had about 30 minutes less boobs and blow, but where is the fun in that?
5. Nebraska - I was very hesitant to watch this, but then I cried at the end. As I mentioned, this goes into the book club movie group for good discussion, only this would be about family and parental relationships and what we learn and understand about our parents as we get older. Despite the fact that my relationship with my parents is nothing like what is portrayed in the film, there was a universal feeling about this family. It was both funny and surprisingly heartwarming, although in a very subtle and understated manner. I have been, of late, hesitant about over-hyped indie films, but I really should trust Alexander Payne, since he made Sideways which I absolutely love.
4. Philomena - It was kind of impossible for this to not make it high on my list. Touching and heartfelt, based on a true story, Judi Dench, and an awkward stuffy British lead character played well by Steve Coogan. I cried several times and was enthralled throughout. I don't really know what else to say about it.
3. American Hustle - I think this suffered from hype, and I've giving it the spot above Philomena because I don't want to punish it for it not quite living up to my ridiculous expectations. It was a very good movie, although not as good as the director's offering last year, Silver Linings Playbook. The acting is on an elite level. Apparently Cate Blanchett is the favorite in the best actress category this year, but I put my check mark next to Amy Adams anyhow because she is perfect in this film. Christian Bale delivers his usual brilliant performance and the fact that Bradley Cooper makes me so irritated that I kind of wanted to punch him, is an impressive feat. Jeremy Renner is well cast as the likable politician who really does want to improve his community and Louis CK has a small roll as Cooper's FBI supervisor, and is probably my favorite character in the film, or at least the most likable. And of course, there is Jennifer Lawrence, who steals every scene she is in, except perhaps when she is opposite Adams, where they appear to be on equal footing. Director David O. Russell knows how to get brilliant performances from his actors. It didn't live up to the hype because I was a little bored in the middle. I thought the plot worked to showcase the talents of these actors, but the story in and of itself didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped from the previews.
2. Dallas Buyers Club - Here is a movie that again has brilliant acting, from McConaughey and Jared Leto, both of whom should walk home with gold statues, as well as Jennifer Garner, whose work hasn't been as appreciated, but who really grounds the movie and gives a solid performance. However, it also has a compelling story that draws you in and keeps your attention. Almost the number one pick. Almost. Because I cried, but I didn't sob.
1. 12 Years a Slave - I sobbed. This is a difficult film to watch for all of the obvious reasons, but it is an important film to watch and worthwhile. Lead actor, Chiwetal Ejiofor, takes you with him for the entire 12 years of horror, every moment when he is close to giving up, every time he thinks there could be hope. One of the things I think was well done was its ability to highlight the various participants in the hierarchy of the horrific institution of slavery, from Paul Giamatti as the sleazy and opportunistic slave trader to Benedict Cumberbatch as the "nice slave owner" highlighting the degree to which the "nice" was irrelevant. Nice or not, he was still a participant in the crime. Michael Fassbender is horrifying as a deranged, likely psychotic slave owner. His nomination is well deserved in a brilliant supporting actor category. Lupita Nyong'o's performance as Patsey should win her an Oscar (despite steep competition from Ms. Lawrence, who could steal it, like she did all her scenes) as it is heartbreaking and transcendent. This movie has all of the standard elements of a great movie and gives a larger audience to the important story of Solomon Northup that otherwise many would have never heard.
Whew, made it. I changed order a few times on that. Other predictions for tonight:
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. All are deserving, and maybe Spike Jonze should be in there, but Cuaron's technical achievements push him over. Russell could end up with it if the voters give more weight to the actors' performances than the overall production.
Best Actor: McConaughey - The man is having a year, and I can't wait for his speech. Ejiofor could possibly surprise here, but I doubt it.
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett - But I am still checking Amy Adams because I haven't watched Blue Jasmine yet. And with all the Woody Allen backlash, that could impact the voters. And Amy Adams was amazing.
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto - He's been cleaning up at the award shows, and deservedly. Way to take a 6 year acting hiatus to focus on your band and come back to a role like this. How far you've come from Jordan Catalano.
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o - But Jennifer Lawrence should wear a dress and shoes she can walk in, just in case.
Original Screenplay: Her
Adapted Screenplay: Philomena - This is a bit of a toss-up. Could easily go to any of the nominees.
Animated Feature and Song to Frozen, even though I haven't seen it.
All the technical/production awards to Gravity
Score: Her - I am disappointed to not see the score from Nebraska on here as I thought it was incredibly well done and well-suited to the movie. But I think the score for Her is impressive as well.
Costumes to American Hustle (although perhaps Gatsby will upset there) and Makeup to Dallas Buyers Club (because seriously, move snob moment, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and The Lone Ranger cannot win an Oscar)
I haven't seen any of the documentaries, foreign films, or short films, so I'm skipping that here, but I did make wild guesses.
Alright, we shall see how I do after the show tonight. For now, it's on to cleaning and prepping some snacks.
Sarah will be staging her own award show tonight in lieu of watching the Oscars. There will be categories such as Best Matthew McConaughey performance of the year and Most likely to fall on the stairs this year (it's not really a fair competition as Jennifer Lawrence is always the favorite here).
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