so, i’ve managed to see four of the nine oscar nominees for this year’s oscars. which, by the way, is march 2. and ellen is hosting. so, i’m looking forward to it. let’s carry on.
the four i’ve seen, worth mentioning since i’m about to dive into a post about them, are:
dallas buyer’s club
wolf of wall street
american hustle
12 years a slave
anyway, four out of nine is… approximately 0.44444 repeating. almost half, not quite, odd number bullshit. thus, i’m no expert. but since there’s a slim to none chance i’ll see them all, i’m just diving in head first. plus, i am pretty confident i’ve seen the best four out there. (though, her looks pretty cool. and philomena… i mean, judi dench. and gravity has me intrigued, confused, interested. you?)
so let’s go.
best picture: dallas buyer’s club
// now i’m not sure it’ll actually win. but it was so dang good that i sort of want it to. i’d be pleased if 12 years a slave won too.
// is it just me or does it feel like there’s more stellar movies this year than usual? maybe just cause i actually started watching movies again? whatever.
// fyi: 12 years a slave is amazing but be prepared to cry the biggest tears. it is a really hard movie to watch and i have a really high threshold for “hard.” it’s one of those movies that, in some respects, i think we have a responsibility to see though.
best actor: matthew mcconaughey in dallas buyer’s club
// i know, i know, i tweeted how christian bale was so good in his and he waaaaas! but damn, matthew mcconaughey. and not just because he lost a bunch of weight for the role. he was just so great.
// i’d also be thrilled if chiwetel ejiofor won for 12 years a slave. and who am i kidding, if christian bale wins, that’d be awesome too. he’s probably in third place more because i hear he’s a real life jackass than anything.
// and no doubt, leo was awesome per usual, but i don’t know, i’m not putting him at numbers one or two. also, was sort of repulsed at the whole culture of that movie. and there were scenes where steve and i looked at each other like, “did this REALLY happen?? how did they sustain this lifestyle?!” (the boat going down, THE quaaludes scene with leo and jonah hill. holy moly.) and i’m not convinced the real life jordan belfort has made some huge turnaround. watched a few interviews with him, not impressed at all. in fact, sort of pissed that he’s still raking in the big bucks with book sales, etc. that said, the yuck nonsense aside, really well done movie.
best actress: amy adams in american hustle
// it’s the only best actress nominee i’ve seen soooo… i guess i gotta give it to her. though she was really, really good. and bra-less for the entire movie, i’m pretty sure? award for that alone!
best supporting actor: michael fassbender in 12 years a slave
// after seeing dallas buyer’s club i was all “jared leto has to win. he must. no question.” but after seeing 12 years a slave… michael fassbender, woahhhh. you will feel such hatred for his character and that is good acting. though if jared leto wins, i’ll be thrilled. but honestly, bradley cooper was so good too! look at him in those curlers!
// and honestly, jonah hill was amazing (and disgusting) in wolf of wall street. if only one wolf of wall street nominee wins, it should be him for best supporting. though, i still hope it’s one of the other two.
best supporting actress: hands down, hands DOWN lupita nyong’o in 12 years a slave
// this category is the one where i will actually be pissed if anyone else wins. YOU HEAR THAT ACADEMY? she played the hardest role by far and knocked it out of the park. no one else comes close. no, not even jennifer lawrence and i feel the need to apologize for that statement.
alright, i want to hear your thoughts. have you seen the other films? do you disagree with me on the above? agree? let’s have at it!
I love the Oscars, and I hate that I've only seen 2 of the nominated movies–American Hustle and Philomena. By the way, I found Philomena to be a better movie. I thought American Hustle had incredible acting performances individually, but I was really disappointed in the movie as a whole. I just felt it was rambling and never really came together. Enough that it makes me think the movies can't be this good this year if it's winning best picture awards which is a rarity for me to think. But I know the others have to be good! I'm hoping to rent Dallas Buyer's Club this weekend. I want to see 12 Years a Slave, but I know I'll never be able to. I have this empathy thing that I know will destroy me if I see it. I've also heard that Captain Phillips is really good!
heard the same of captain phillips (but also heard it's not really factual–i.e. the captain was actually a jerk who strong armed the crew into going closer to the coast!)
I didn't like American Hustle….I thought it was SO slow and both Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence seemed oddly miscast to me. I agree with what Betsy above wrote, the movie as a whole kind of fell flat. Captain Phillips was really good….and Gravity was good as well but I don't know about Oscar good (I meannnnnn there's only so much Sandra Bullock floating in space I can applaud). I didn't see 12 Years A Slave but now I really want to based on what you wrote. I felt the same way about Lone Survivor, difficult to watch, but that it is our responsibility as Americans to see that movie (talk about crying ugly tears omg I basically had to be wheeled out of the theater), I don't know if that movie was nominated for anything but if not it should be, it was incredible and the kind of movie that I thought about for 2 hours after it ended. The bravery of our military is mindblowing. Anywho that's my two cents. I only saw 2 of the Best Movie movies but I consider that a win, half the time I have never heard of most of them.
it was definitely a little bit of a "huh?" to me plot-wise but i thought it was funny, clever, and the acting was good enough that i probably overlooked the strange non-plot!
we're watching blue jasmine tonight and that will the first oscar movie we've seen. i would like to see dallas buyers club next!
http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2014/02/parenting-ups-downs-and-inbetweens-vi.html
oooo love this. although we've seen ZERO of the noms. Noms? yes let's run witit.
Some of my friends told me wolf of wallstreet should've been rated xxx so we didn't see it but now I'm wishing we had — I guess we still can. ha — the trailer looked really good. You don't think Leo should finally finally get an award?? or will the snubbing continue?!
nahhhh. wolf of wall street was definitely raunchy but (maybe i'm a total whore) not xxx.
he's never won an oscar?! that's crazy. it should be for another role, not this one. aviator! he should've won for that.
I haven't seen any of these yet, but I just added them all to my must-watch list for these inevitable snow days coming up.
I need to get on my game and see all of the nominations!
ohhhhh the oscars! i can jump on board here. my best friend and i make it a point to see all the oscar nominated movies every year. it's our thing. like, my mom called me one day to check in and she mentioned that she was going to this craft show with her friend and i was like, "yuck" and she was like, "aubry, it's our thing. we've gone every year since 1986." craft shows…. movies. it's our thing. there's some crazzzzy stuff out there, all in the name of art house movies – like when we saw "the reader" together, or when we walked into the independent theater and saw a movie poster for "black swan" with a caption that called it a "psycho sexual thriller"… we looked at each other and said, "there's no one in this world i'd see a psycho sexual thriller with if not you." those are the ties that bind. we tackle this task with diligence. like it's homework.
this year, though, we're having a rough go. she had a seizure last month and was diagnosed with epilepsy… and until they can get her meds regulated, she's down for the count. don't tell her…. i might sneak out for the rest of the movies on our list without her!! i agree with you, though – exceptional movies! i always say that, but this year is SO GOOD! thankfully they're still playing most of them in the theater. on your word alone, i can't wait to see dallas…. i haven't heard much about it until now. i've heard philomena is heart-wrenching, which is right up my alley. and 12 years is going to rip me apart, but i love a good emo sesh in a dark theater. i'm becoming ever-the-prude these days, though, so i've decided i can't hack the wolf of wall street. the parental guide on imdb did me in!
lets meet in the middle for a mid morning matinee, eh?
i loooove that you and your friend do this. i've wanted to see them all before the oscars in years past but have done so…… never.
yes, let's meet!!
I saw many 2013 movies, but a lot of them didn't end up being nominated (Blue Jasmine, Inside Llywn Davis, etc) for best picture. But I do highly suggest seeing Her. It's beautiful, moving and challenging. Have you seen the Before Trilogy? (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight). Before Midnight I believe is nominated for screenplay. If you haven't you really should!
Matthew Mcconaughey was so good! I'm rooting for him (he was also incredible in Mud).
And Jared Leto forever (seriously, he has the prettiest hair)! I'm rooting for Cate Blanchett too!
I have heard of the Before series! I can't remember if I've seen one of them or not — is it Ethan Hawke? I'm going to go with no, I haven't seen them. And now I must.
I have loved the Oscars since I was in the first grade, so bless you for writing a post about them because these things make me so excited.
Best Picture – 12 Years a Slave
Best Director – Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor – Matthew McConaughey (and definitely watch Mud if you haven't seen it already)
Best Supporting Actor – totally agree with you, can't decide between Leto or Fassbender. Mostly because Fassbender is always incredible, but the Academy really tends to favor any actor that goes through some huge physical transformation for a role (i.e. Charlize Theron in Monster)
Best Supporting Actress – Lupita (she is basically this year's Jennifer Lawrence 2.0 and the sweetheart of awards season
Best Actress – Cate Blanchett, but I totally think Sandra Bullock should get it because if you read interviews of everything she went through shooting Gravity, it's incredible. Also, she basically acted the shit out of that role and was by herself onscreen for like two hours and you couldn't take your eyes off her. BUT I DIGRESS.
You best be tweeting that night, Hunt.
I just may tweet that night. Watch the followers drop one by one, but it's the Oscars!
I like everything you said here. Also, we finally watched Gravity and… I just wasn't that impressed! I'm sorrrrrryyyyyy.
I have not seen all the ones I have wanted too! We saw Captain Phillips…but only because it came out on apple tv early. I thought it was great though. I was so curious about the whole story that I looked up info on it afterwards and was surprised that so many facts where not true…but I guess thats hollywood for ya. Anyway it was some A+ acting in my book. Oh and Blue Jasmine was great as well!! I can't wait until more of the movies come out because I will not be making it to a theater any time soon.
Love this. It was full of information.
I saw Amercian Hustle at the Berlinale this week and i was amazed by the cast and crew; I did not really like the story, but the acting was so incredibly good, that I actually didn't care.
I really want Leo to get an Oscar, but not for his role wolf of wall street, the movie wasn't my cup of tea.
I totally agree with your choice for best supporting actress!
Ah, I agree with you about there being SO many good movies this year. So far I've seen: American Hustle, Wolf of Wall Street, August Osage County, and Blue Jasmine (last year, which I remember liking, but barely remember). I am DYING to see 12 year a Slave. My mom raved about it, and now you. I am really drawn to movies like that. I must see it. I'm dying to see Dallas Buyers Club too. It's only playing in one theater here (crazy right?).
Overall I liked American Hustle the best, for sure. I actually loved it so much. I didn't mind that it was slow because the acting was SO SO good. I love quirky characters like that in movies so much. Agree about Amy Adams and her boobs, they should both win.
Meryl was awesome in August Osage County too, but it was such a depressing movie. Not in a good way either. But, still, she's Meryl.
Wolf of Wall Street I knew nothing about and actually went to see alone. haha. We couldn't find a sitter that night and I needed a night out so bad, so Wyatt took one for the team and I went alone. I think Leo is such a good actor. I love his movies always. I think he did awesome in this too, but you nailed it- I just can't love LOVE it because the lifestyle was so awful. And I admittedly blushed at parts (especially being alone!). haha.
Okay I'm going to see 12 years a Slave this week!! Can't decide what I think about Her? I'm intrigued, but not enough to go see it for some reason.
OK, I've seen all the films you list with the exception of 12 years a Slave because, frankly, I'm a little afraid it will just be too hard to watch. is it? Talk me into it. Because I really do want to see it. Gravity is still on my list. As is August Osage County.
Fave movie overall : toss up Dallas Buyers and American Hustle. Both so good.
Actor: Matthew {hands down…JAYsus he was good}
Actress : Amy {amen on the no bra thing}
I also saw Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. I'm not sure what to say. She was amazing but the actual movie, not so sure. Strange, for me.
Annnnd, how about Frozen!!! Did you see that? No matter as I have more than made up for it since I've seen it about 2,338 times. 🙂 Amazing. xo
I just watched '12 Years A Slave,' it was so intense, I agree with you about it being a hard to watch film everyone should have a responsibility to watch. I hope it wins best picture and the actors nominated win. Cate Blanchett was pretty cray cray in Blue Jasmine, not sure if that merits a best actress nod but she was pretty convincing.