This week while our midterms were being graded, so were the 10 Best Picture nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards. You’ll have to watch the Oscars, hosted for the second time by Ellen DeGeneres, March 2, but right now, I’ll share my picks.
My favourite of all the films is Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. Hanks’ brilliant portrayal of shock and hysteria when his ship gets hijacked by Somali pirates should have earned him a Best Actor nomination. Given the way the Oscar committee votes, I doubt it will win, but it should.
Luckily, Barkhad Abdi (playing Muse, the lead Somali pirate) was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, so hopefully he’ll get the gold he deserves.
American Hustle is a huge contender to win, due to its depiction of unlikeable conmen and swindlers. I believe this film was overhyped and most of the Oscar judges were enchanted by its cast of A-list actors, overlooking more worthy films.
Gravity was a short story stretched out to a feature-movie length that was saved by its zero-gravity cinematography and Sandra Bullock’s acting. She definitely deserves the Best Actress Oscar, but the film is riding a wave of hype because of the special effects.
I highly recommend Dallas Buyers Club, where Matthew McConaughey lost 40 pounds to play a terminally-ill HIV patient in a terrific story. Oscar seems to like nominating films that rip your heart out, and Dallas Buyers Club truly does that.
I don’t even want to talk about Her. Its nomination is based on its witty script and breathtaking cinematography, but Spike Jonze broke my heart the way Scarlett Johansson’s cyber Samantha broke Joaquin Phoenix’s.
Most of you probably didn’t get the chance to see Nebraska and Philomena, but while I don’t think either will win, both have great acting performances and engaging plots.
I know a lot of people are rooting for The Wolf Of Wall Street, but gratuitous sex, nudity, drugs, and money don’t turn a so-so movie into a goldmine.
The film I think will win, but doesn’t deserve to, is 12 Years a Slave. The trailer promises a story of a man cast into slavery who stands to fight cruelty and injustice. He spends 12 years as a slave, and then, through an opportune meeting, arranges his own freedom. No victory, no climax, no Oscar.
To recap, my picks are:
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
