Final Predictions For The 2014 Academy Awards

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Director nominees

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Actor nominees

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Actress nominees

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Supporting Actor nominees

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Best Supporting Actress nominees

Should Gravity Be The Favorite To Win Best Picture?

With the Academy Awards just a few days away, it seems that the winner of the major categories are already set. All of the the pre-award shows like the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and BAFTAs have already taken place, and all of the Guilds like the Screen Actors Guild and the Director's Guild of America have all cast their ballots. Based upon all of the build up and hype, 12 Years A Slave is predicted to win Best Picture and Alfonso Cuaron, the director of Gravity, is predicted to win Best Director.  You can check out all the odds at www.oddschecker.com.

However, in the history of the Academy Awards, it is extremely unlikely that the Best Picture and Best Director are not from the same movie. Since 1983 (the past 30 years), the director of the Best Picture winner has not won Best Director six times. Here are the examples:

The Top 10 Best Oscar Nominated Films Currently Streaming on Netflix*

10) The Artist (2011)
Directed By: Michel Hazanavicius
Won: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Score, Best Costume Design
Nominated For: Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Production Design

Brief Description: While The Artist was able to dominate the 2012 Oscars because 2011 was an extremely weak year for films, and this was a film destined to be Oscar bait and appeal to the old fogies of The Academy, it's is surprisingly warm, engaging, and delightful.I wanted to hate this movie when I saw it in the theaters, but I couldn't. While I would have rather seen Moneyball win (or Drive at least get nominated), there should be no problem with this win.

9) A Fish Called Wanda (1998)
Directed By: Charles Crichton
Won: Best Supporting Actor
Nominated For: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay

Brief Description: The plot is not important. Just take my word for it, you'll love A Fish Called Wanda because it's wonderfully irreverent.

The Top 10 Best Documentaries Currently Streaming On Netflix*

10) Young@Heart (2007)
Directed By: Stephen Walker & Sally George
STARS: 3 out of 4

Brief Description: A group of senior citizens stay young by singing modern songs in a choir.








9) Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (2012)
Directed By: Nat Segaloff
STARS: 3 out of 4

Brief Description: This film follows a handful of Bronies- adult, male fans of the young girl cartoon My Little Pony- as they head to New Jersey for the first annual Broni-Con

2014 Oscar Preview: Best Picture

NOMINEES:
- 12 Years A Slave
- American Hustle
- Captain Phillips
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Gravity
- Her
- Nebraska
- Philomena
- The Wolf of Wall Street

SHOULD BE HERE: The Place Beyond The Pines

This was a decently small film that was released in April of 2013 by an Indie director. Granted, the names attached like Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendez gave it some credibility to the outside world, but still, I get why it wasn't nominated. Being "good" doesn't cut it- you have to be able to promote and network as well. Despite that, The Place Beyond The Pines was excellent. In this year of mediocre films, The Place Beyond The Pines was one of the best of them. I don't want to give anything more away about the plot of the film, because it's best knowing as little as possible about it going in. I was initially off put by the 140 minute run time, but I promise you, it's worth it.

Now, out of the films that at least had somewhat of a chance to be nominated but was not, Friuitvale Station was the best of them.

The 15 Best Oscar Winning Performances of The Past 15 Years

15) Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius (Gladiator)

Category: Best Actor
Year: 2001
Reasoning: Maximus' most memorable line from the film is after he has slain another opponent in the Colosseum and he screams, "Are you not entertained?!" We were all entertained by Crowe's performance, and the Academy was as well. Crowe plays a war hero who gets captured as a slave and is forced to win the hearts and minds of the people by winning in "cage matches" in the Colosseum in order to take down the Emperor Commodus played by Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix.

14) Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk The Line)

Category: Best Actress
Year: 2006
Reasoning: Joaquin Phoenix was really good as Johnny Cash, but Reese Witherspoon was amazing as June Carter. I think Phoenix is an incredible, incredible actor, but Witherspoon blew him off of the screen every time they appeared together. It also helped that Phoenix was doing an imitation of Johnny Cash, whereas Witherspoon WAS June Carter. Who knew the ditz from Legally Blonde had it in her?

2014 Oscar Preview: Best Director

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

SHOULD BE HERE: Spike Jonze (Her)

Her is one of the best films of the year, and when you make one of the best films of the year, you deserve to get a Best Director nomination. Sure, it's mainly bolstered by Spike Jonze's amazing script, but his script in the wrong hands is easily nominated for a butt load of Razzies. Plus, Jonze deserves a nomination solely for making Joaquin Phoenix lovable and easy to root for.