Magneto's Movies: Oscar Mania

Magneto's Movies

Oscar Mania

 

With the Oscars creeping up quickly, this review post will try its best to review the films that are in line to win the best picture award at the 86th academy awards. These are short reviews. 

As of yet I have only watched two of the ten nominees (yep, that's a steep climb). Each time I watch another nominated film, I will update it on this post.  

Below I will examine each film and what I feel their chances are not just for best film but also any other categories they are nominated for. At the end I will pull a full list of where each award should go from the nominees at the 86th Academy Awards for the main awards.

The list of films I haven't watched is as follows; Nebraska, Philomena and August: Osage County

So for now lets head to the reviews of...

The Wolf of Wall Street
   

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff, Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia, Kyle Chandler as FBI Agent Patrick Denham, Rob Reiner as Max Belfort, Joe Bernthal as Brad Bodnick, Jon Favreau as Manny Riskin, Cristina Milioti as Teresa Petrillo, Shea Whigham as Captain Ted Beecham with Jean Dujardin as Jean-Jacques Saurel and Matthew McCounaughey as Mark Hanna

Genre: Biographical/Black Comedy

Score: 9.0/10

Pros:-Full on entertainment in Scorsese fashion, his most fun film since The Goodfellas

          -The dialogues work well in the form of explaining the mechanisms of being a stock broker as well as having the comedic touch for the films characters arcs

          -The narrative balances well between the laughter and drama of Belforts journey and personal decadence. Screenplay extrudes the right emotions of  hilarity and uneasiness from the viewer

          -Belfort as a character has well established motives, back story and a thrilling arc. All the other characters add to his story in different forms

          -Scorsese's use of the fourth wall breaking narrative prevents the dialogue from becoming redundant exposition, and adds a sense of creativity to the film

          -Camera work is exceptional, use of slow motion, montages and change in video consistency (when things are being filmed in the film) give the picture great visual appeal

          -All round performances are superb. Robbie is the surprise package, Hill has stellar comic timing while this is one of DiCaprio's best. An actors director, Scorsese squeezes some great showings from his team

          -The soundtrack is killer and works well with setting and mood of the narrative

Cons:-By the final act, the story lags and the audience isn't as fully engaged as before. Once the majority of the comedic portions end, the drama begins to bear heavy on the script

           -Much of the script is marred by style over substance beyond Belfort's larger narrative

           -Scorsese doesn't do as well to highlight Belfort's fall, where as his rise marked by debauchery is given too much of an appealing glamorous touch

Best Scene: A debilitated Belfort crawls towards his car and drives home to beat Azoff for his mistake as well as prevent him from using his taped phone. The subsequent scene shows both overdosed Belfort and Azoff fight, and then Belfort saving a choked Azoff. Hilarious to the hilt. 

Best Performance: Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort

Best Dialogue:  'This right here is the land of opportunity. This is America. This is my home! The show goes on!...They're going to need to send in the National Guard to take me out, cos I ain't going nowhere!'-Jordan Belfort

Nominations: Best Film, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jonah Hill), Best Screenplay (Adapted)

CHANCES

Apart from being nominated for best film, Wolf is also in contention for Best Director, Actor in Leading and Supporting Role and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The surprise here was the Jonah Hill got his second nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Personally I feel this was undeserved, as unlike Moneyball the comedic style of his role was right up his alley and for an actor like Hill seemed easy to perform. 

There were obviously better actors on the supporting list deserving of this nomination considering how vast the category for best supporting male actor is this year. The nomination could have easily gone to SAG/BAFTA/Golden Globe favorites Daniel Bruhl (for Rush), James Gandolfini (posthumously for Enough Said) or outside choices like James Franco (Spring Breakers) and Matthew McConaughey (Mud).   

On the directorial front I also highly doubt Scorsese's chances, his best works have simply not got the recognition they deserved and it was even surprising that Wolf got the nominations considering how it was so envelope pushing in the Academies terms. Such films rarely get the nods but seems Scorsese has accumulated that respect. Since I've not seen Nebraska, I can say and the other awards do note that Scorsese might be one of the two directors too have taken a slightly undeserving spot on the list over better directed films. Note he wasn't nominated at the Globes, but he did slide in into the BAFTA list. Scorsese is essentially the fifth choice in this case.

Of screenplay, I can see the film capturing the award even though the Globes seem to think it wouldn't be nominated if Adapted and Original were categorized together. The films central point is complex to understand, but that falls on Scorsese as a director and whether he was painting Jordan's accomplishments in an appealing light. 

Why I see it coming close to the award? This is due to personal liking, in comparison to lets say a American Hustle which wasn't written as well as the other films. On the offshoot thought Hustle could also win because it might not win anywhere else, same reason why the academy might see Wolf get the award and also both are on different lists. Still it has staggering competition on that list. 

This brings me to the most likely winner from the nominations; Leonardo DiCaprio. He is highly likely to win in his category compared to the others for Wolf. It was a stellar performance and one widely out of DiCaprio comfort zone. 

Personally I don't think he deserves the award, maybe not even the nomination. There were far better performances inside and outside the list, yet DiCaprio is the riding the wave as the third on the list currently putting him in prime position as a shock winner. He won the Golden Globe but in a divided category for Comedy rather than Drama where his stiff competition lies. Even his Globe is questionable with far better performances in his list by Joaquin Phoenix (Her) and Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis) He was a presumed lock for the BAFTA with McConaughey not in contention, but got beaten out by Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave as I said pushing him 3rd. 

Like with director, on the film front I don't see Wolf anywhere near the top 3. Sadly not even as the dark horse.




American Hustle

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld, Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser/Lady Edith Greensly, Bradley Cooper as FBI Agent Richard 'Richie' DiMaso, Jeremy Renner as Mayor Carmine Polito, Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld, Louis CK as Stoddard Thosen, Jack Huston as Pete Musane, Michael Pena as Paco Hernandez/Sheik Abdullah with Shea Whigham as Carl Elway and Robert De Niro as Victor Tellegio

Genre: Crime/Dramedy

Score: 8.9/10

Pros:-First act framing device does well to establish the lead character's voices, backgrounds and relationship

          -Film has an entertaining and well structure narrative that depends on its powerful dialogue and great character interactions/relationship

          -The film is all out hilarious thanks to how the scripts pace builds up and the dialogues

          -Russell provides the film with a greater sense of energy due to his camera work. He executes the predictable final twist with sensational visual conception

          -An actors director, he extracts some powerful performances from his cast

          -The all star cast is brilliant, Bale gets into the skin of his character with a physical and mental transformation as an actor and developmental transformation as the character. Amy Adams is scintillating and balance the dual nature of her role with dynamism. Bale has some electric chemistry with his ladies, but more importantly with Jeremy Renner

          -Cooper stands well among his far accomplished peers, his performances exudes the research he has put into playing an FBI agent in a compromising (corrupting) situation. Lawrence has stellar comic timing and adds a lot of fun to proceedings

          -The score sets the mood and setting of the film perfectly

Cons:-The runtime is too long, certain scenes seem to go far in establishing unnecessary back-story and complicated sub-plots

           -In conception the con comes off as complex (At least to me) and would have been helped by at least a line of explanation

           -Irving's narration post the first act pops up inconsistently, and is at times distracting

           -Even with the dialogues being the backbone, in a few scenes Russell is unable from preventing the heavy conversation from lagging the screenplay

Best Scene: When Irving and Sydney reveal their last play to the FBI thus going Scot-free and sabotaging Richie's career and investigation

Best Performance: Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Call her overrated now if you want, but J-Law actually energizes the whole film with her presence)

Best Dialogue: 'Sometimes, all you have in life are fucked up, poisonous choices.'-Rosalyn Rosenfeld. Among the comedic gold she spouts, Rosalyn makes one of the most major points about the characters and their arcs through the narrative. 

Nominations: Best Film, Best Director (David O. Russell), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Christian Bale), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Amy Adams), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Lawrence), Best Screenplay (Original), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

CHANCES 

Hustle has a staggering number of nominations, with the rare four acting nominations for each category just like Russell's feature last year in Silver Linings Playbook. 

For the smaller categories; I could see it winning Production and/or Costume design, specially costume considering it was snubbed for Makeup and Hairstyling. Funny how a film nominated for ten awards can still be overlooked. Production though has some stiff competition, costume of the films I've seen are only Hustle, 12 Years and Great Gatsby. In the editing also it could get the win specifically considering how seamlessly it ran but still so did Gravity. Simply these categories give Hustle a chance to get awards it might not anywhere else. 

Like with Scorsese, Russell seems to be the fifth choice for best director. He is an academy favorite and I feel the one that shouldn't have gotten the nod over the deserving Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips). Still Hustle is a stellar looking film so that's up for debate. As I said he is interchangeable with Scorsese since he got his nomination at the Globes but didn't at the BAFTA's. 

Screenplay once again is up in the air, a lot of critics bashed the script for allowing too much leeway for the actors to improvise and derail the narrative. I don't feel that was true as a whole, but you could see that this is a wafer thin script as compared to the other films in its list especially those with better or emotionally powerful concepts. Still with a win at BAFTA I have a nagging feeling it might just get it here as well.

The acting came as the biggest shock. An all out nomination seems unjust, even though the film did win the cast award at the SAGS. While Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence easily hit the nomination tab, both Cooper and Bale shouldn't have made the list with better performances at their heels. Copper like Hill could have been replaced by anyone whether it be the aforementioned Bruhl, Gandolfini, Franco or even his own co-star Jeremy Renner who was far better among the male actors in the film. Bale as well beats out better showing by Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) and what many thought would be the winner Robert Redford (All Is Lost).

Of Amy Adams, she is being touted as the dark horse considering her multiple nominees and the fact that unlike her compatriots in the category she has never won before. Academy could easily decide to give her the award. But not only on this distinction, but the fact as well that a surefire Cate Blanchett win comes with the controversy of putting into limelight Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine whose director has been outed for a child molester. Still these reasons should take nothing away from Adams performance which is stellar and balanced. 

Jennifer Lawrence seems locked as the winner in her category having given the best performance among her cast-mates. That though also feels unsatisfactory as SAG winner and previously predicted winner Lupita Nyongo seems to have been derailed for her equally if not more so deserving showing. Plus the academy seems to seriously love her. 

In the movie department, the film to me is far off from the best and the award. Like with Wolf it's neither the dark horse, though it maybe a favorite for most Academy Members.      


12 Years A Slave

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, Lupita Nyongo as Patsey, Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps, Sarah Paulson as Mary Epps, Benedict Cumberbatch as William Ford, Paul Dano as John Tibeats, Garret Dillahunt as Armsby, Scoot McNairy as Brown with Paul Giamatti as Theophilus Freeman and Brad Pitt as Samuel Bass

Genre: Biographical/Period/Drama

Score: 9.8/10

Pros:-A thought provoking film with a brutally honest look into slavery

          -The script entails a harrowing character study of man wronged. Real in it's soul, the character of Solomon is explored with efficiency and linked to the themes that the film presents of survival and justice

          -Writers craft complex characters in a world presenting historical realities and consequences

          -Dialogues are effective in expressing motifs of the film and character situations

          -Cinematography captures the mood and tone of the time and protagonists journey as well as aptly mirroring the period setting. Costume and production design do the same.

          -McQueen engages you with such brilliance that you don't even realize the time passing during the viewing

          -He also visually depicts the film with bravery and analyzes the plight of the slaves without a biased or insulting lens. He cannot truly comprehend the suffering of Northup and his fellow slaves and he doesn't insult them by trying too, instead he put his heart into the subject with care and understanding yet with reality in mind.

          -The all star cast is terrific with memorable extended cameos by Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt but especially Benedict Cumberbatch effectively portraying a man strangled by the times and his own situation

          -Fassbender is a force of nature, he bravely crawls into the skin of his character and portrays Epps with a vicious misguided belief and sinking obsession and above all a mean streak with relative ease

          -Nyongo is a revelation, in her debut film she threatens to steal every frame as she emotionally tugs at the audience. She makes you deeply care for Patsey and moves you in the films most important scenes

          -Ejiofor crafts a masterpiece with his portrayal of Northup, he pours his heart and soul into the most memorable performance of the year. Even after the film you can see the man's haunting eyes, which variably shift in conveying the extent of his suffering and horrors he faced. His delivery is powerful and full of conviction, where as his body language changes as his plight continues. This is a damn near perfect showing.

          -Music is weaved in brilliantly, from the tunes in story to the magnificent score itself

Best Scene: An apologetic and worn Solomon finally reunites with his family in a heart warming and poignant final. Ejiofor acts his ass of in this scene proving why he is Oscar worthy.

Best Performance: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup

Best Dialogue: 'I will survive, I will not fall into despair! I will keep myself hardy until freedom is opportune.'-Solomon Northup

Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Steve McQueen), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael Fassbender), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Lupita Nyongo), Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design

CHANCES

This is the film to beat. If not from the Academy's viewpoint than from mine, this is the film to beat. 

12 Years is an thoroughly honest portrayal of a very dark time in our history. The Slavery aspect is the one that can be seen to have carried it through compared to McQueen's previous films. Initially I was hesitant about it considering that with the Academies reputation this could have been a film that softly explores the real life situation of Solomon Northup. Yet McQueen doesn't disappoint and takes a hard hitting and truthful look at slavery with his work. 

For what is a terrificly visualised film there is a visual masterpiece by Alfonso Cuaron blocking McQueen's way and neither a BAFTA may change that. 

Unlike Gravity, this isn't pure cinema but from a technical stand point it is a masterpiece and sadly was overlooked in the cinematography and original score categories. Production design seems where it will nab its first win. Costume Design could be a tight race with Hustle and maybe Gatsby. 

Writing is another area where its win is close since it doesn't have to contest with Globe Winner Her and BAFTA winner for Adapted Philomena seems to only have won it due to British ties.

Of the acting awards I find it funny that according to the other major awards and critics, each of the nominees are second to the top in their respective categories. Fassbender surprisingly trumped by Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) at the BAFTA has been touted as a logical winner second to Jared Leto. I don't see him winning because Leto was far better. 

In Nyongo's case it seems unfair that her momentum post 12 Years release is all but gone because the awards love Lawrence. She should win the award but might not because her SAG doesn't compare to Lawrence's wins at BAFTA and the Globes.

The lead actor is where the tough competition comes in. Statistic would say McConaughey has favor with both wins at The Globes and SAG's not to mention his omission from the BAFTA, but Ejiofor gives such a stirring performance it would be hard to miss him. His BAFTA win came surpirsingly with Leo in contention, his performance was my personal favorite considering how much I was anticipating it. 

I would be content if McConaughey won, but I don't want it to be just because he has had the most amazing three years in what is called the McConaissance since 2011 with Lincoln Lawyer. Still this is his best but it is Ejiofor's best as well. 

Once again to conclude I will reiterate; this is the film to beat. If McQueen isn't standing tall with the director's statue he surely will be along with his crew with the film statue in hand. He did it with the Globe and he did it with the BAFTA. 

      

Gravity

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Cast: Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone with George Clooney as Lieutenant Matt Kowalski and Ed Harris as Mission Control

Genre: SciFi/Thriller/Drama

Score: 9.1/10 

Pros:-A dynamic visual experience

          -First act setup is quick and efficient, the third act was constructed with feverish pace imitating the action. Action scenes were written with intelligence and the visual scope in mind

          -If nothing else, the script is consistent in tone keeping us at the edge

          -Cuaron immerses the viewer into a stunning film with the way in which he reigns in all the elements into a visual masterpiece. This is pure cinematic brilliance at its best.

          -Cinematography vividly capture the stunning look of space

          -Action is stupendously visualized and flows smoothly but keeping the feverish pace of the situation intact  

          -George Clooney is a bucket load of charm and wonderful in his extended cameo

          -Bullock essentially carries the film and a shoddily written character with her charm and charisma. She is impact full in the emotional scenes whether loud or slow, engaging the viewer and making them care

          -The score sets and adapts itself to the mood and tone of its character and the conflicts arising. It is as strong as the visual component and helps in crafting the wonderful world that Cuaron builds

Cons:-The second act dips due to the solemn character study it tries to establish

           -Worse is that the character is inconsistent and develops in a way rendering the script with plot holes

           -The script follows a few typical plot beats of a survival film just with the unique concept of space in mind

Best Scene: The 18 minute opening shot of Gravity that is a wonder to witness, apparently it's one complete take. 

Best Performance: Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone

Best Dialogue: 'I get it. It's nice up here. You can just shut down all the systems, turn out all the lights, and just close your eyes and tune out everyone. There's nobody up here that can hurt you. It's safe. I mean, what's the point of going on? What's the point of living? Your kid died. Doesn't get any rougher than that. But still, it's a matter of what you do now. If you decide to go, then you gotta just get on with it. Sit back, enjoy the ride. You gotta plant both your feet on the ground and start livin' life. Hey, Ryan? It's time to go home.'-Matt Kowalski

Nominations: Best Film, Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Sandra Bullock), Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects

CHANCES

A lot of people have been giving flak to Gravity since its debut in theaters. It's been said to be a film with no real plot or deep story and I agree, but that's not the only thing that needs to make an excellent film. 

Gravity is pure cinema, it's a spectacle and above all a technical masterpiece. That's why you might just see this film pick up the most awards this season. The clear locks are Sound Editing, Cinematography, Film Editing and Visual Effects. That's four wins I see right there, barring the fact that All Is Lost has won Original Score at the Globes. 

Best Sound Mixing is questionable mostly because it's Inside Llewyn Davis's only nomination, which I think a lot of people including the Academy know was overlooked overall. Production design is also high since it won the other technical aspects at every award. Though as mentioned Gatsby, Hustle and 12 Years seem further ahead on that one.    

Alfonso's win might just be the easiest to predict, but I'm keeping chances open since the nominees in line with him are quite capable of pulling it out as well. Still this as mentioned is pure cinema and Cuaron takes control of the film brilliantly. 

Like with the film, Sandra was getting flack before and after its release. I never agreed with her win for Blind Side because the role was very easy to portray and was tepid at best. Here though I'm in full support, she carries the film on her shoulders and does so with stellar confidence. It isn't easy performing on green screen especially when you're alone, and she does this impeccably. I liked Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine but to me Bullock just resonated better. 

As a film Gravity is second in line, like last year this film could magically win Best Film yet miss on Best Director if the Academy is slightly skewed. It won Best British film at BAFTA and that could be a kick for it to top 12 Years though I highly doubt it would. 

 

Dallas Buyers Club

Director: Jean Marc Vallee

Cast: Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof, Jared Leto as Rayon/Raymond, Jennifer Garner as Dr. Eve Saks, Steve Zahn as Tucker, Dallas Roberts as David Wayne, Michael O'Neill as Richard Barkley with Denis O'Hare as Dr. Sevard and Griffin Dune as Dr. Vass

Genre: Biographical/Drama 

Score: 8.9/10

Pros:-An inspiring and emotionally powerful film that delves on some important social and medical issues for its time

          -The writing realistically adapts its setting and understands and explains the issue at hand

          -Writers surprisingly easily infuse comedy into situation that fit within character

          -A great character study is at its core that creates a complex protagonist worth watching. Also aids him with a supporting character; Rayon, with resonating development 

          -Tour de performance by McCounaughey, he just gets better and better with each film and here he embodies his character with spirit and furious energy

          -From the physical to the emotional transformation, Leto slips into the skin of Rayon with ease. He effectively carries the major part of the third act with an emotionally drenched showing

          -Silence is used to profound effect especially in Ron's most darkest moments

Cons:-Of course with any deep character study, the other characters are basically stock

           -The sub plot regarding Dr. Eve is unnecessarily focused on and Garner gives an uninspired showing

Best Scene: As Woodroof realizes Rayon's dead after using the AZT he goes into an unstoppable rage confronting the Hospital Doctor responsible and then shouting out against the corrupt FDA in a seminar with a megaphone in hand and pamphlets in the other

                    Tied with; Ron shopping with Rayon meets his former friend who was hesitant towards him when he found out Ron has AIDS. His friend seems to think everything is water under a bridge and insults Rayon due to being homophobic and prejudiced. Ron chokes him and forces him to say sorry to Rayon and shake his hand. Restrained yet emotionally powerful that captures the essence of good within Ron Woodroof.  

Best Performance: Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof and Jared Leto as Rayon/Raymond

Best Dialogue: 'Mr Woodroof, I'm afraid that you're nothing more than a common drug dealer, so if you'll excuse us...'-Richard Barkley

                         'Oh, I'm the drug dealer? No, you're the fuckin' drug dealer. I mean, goddamn, people are dyin'. And y'all are up there afraid that we're gonna find an alternative without you.'-Ron Woodroof

Nominations: Best Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto), Best Screenplay (Original), Best Film Editing

CHANCES

Buyers is somewhat considering its dreary subject matter, the most feel good film among this years nominees. For it, it's all about the performances that reign over the picture. 

Editing, just maybe the second best but no win. Original Screenplay I highly doubt it, since it was neither nominated at the Globes or BAFTA (though nothing of it was nominated at BAFTA). Still Hustle, Nebraska and specially Her are above it on the ladder. 

For Supporting Role, it is a guaranteed win for Leto who gives a mesmerizing performance as AIDS victim Rayon. It's a magnificent turn in a year that had the most stellar male supporting performances in and out of the awards season. Funnily enough one of those include his co-star McConaughey's non-nominated turn in Mud.

McConaughey is also a lock, even though I have this stupid fear that it would be noteworthy only because of his filmography shooting upwards since 2011 after the lull period of rom-com's before. Stupid because in truth this is McConaughey's best performance of all time and he is definitely deserving of the win. Just I also like Ejiofor. Golden Globe and SAG is in the bag, Oscar is most likely coming home for this man.      

Captain Phillips

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips, Barkhad Abdi as Abduwali Muse, Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips, Faysel Ahmed as Najee, Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy, David Warshofsky as Mike Perry, Corey Johnson as Ken Quinn, Yul Vazquez as Commander Frank Castellano with Max Martini as Navy SEAL Commander and Omar Berdouni as Nemo

Genre: Thriller/Drama

Score: 9.1/10 

Pros:-A thrilling film with terrifically enacted  action scenes that keep the narrative moving

          -Dialogue delves well into not just the intensity of the situation but the necessity of its antagonists.  Measured sub text is revealed on the political and social situation of the Pirates

          -Character exploration is commendable, Phillips gets a heavy arc to develop from where as the pirates aren't simply painted in blacks and whites

          -The dichotomy between Muse and Phillips is well delved into. Their similarities and differences making for stellar dramatic interactions in between the action

          -Shaky Cam is used to highlight tension and movement well. It supports the brilliantly choreographed action well

          -Greengrass captures the viewer with an aura of tension through the proceedings. He unravels the tale in masterful fashion for most of the runtime

          -Tom Hanks has never been better, he brings equality to his measures of restraint as well as his haunted broken down performance when Phillips realizes the end to his situation

          -Barkhad Abdi supports him from beat to beat, he brings out the more pity and resonance to his character that the audience needs to feel. His charisma and presence bears well on the film

          -The music works itself well into the narrative matching the tension at the right amount each and every time

Cons:-The film is overlong, it could have done with better editing to make it seamless

           -For much of the latter half of the second act the film loses steam, tension dies down and it falls heavy on the script and proceedings

Best Scene: The final shot as Phillips comes to realize the situation he just went through and the post traumatic stress piles up on him. Hanks is simply marvelous in the final scene and takes his game to a whole other level.

Best Performance: Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips

Best Dialogue: 'I'm the captain now.'-Muse

Nominations: Best Film, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Barkhad Abdi), Best Writing (Adapted), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing

CHANCES

Captain Phillips to me personally was one of the better films among the nominees, it also has the best re-watchable quality to it. 

The film possibly has the biggest snubs with neither Greengrass getting the director nomination nor Hanks getting the lead actor one. For Greengrass this was another typically stellar thriller from him. He got the BAFTA nod and the Globe nod yet he was shafted in favor of the far less superior work of Scorsese and Russell. Still even those two weren't that bad, just the way Greengrass capture you is something else. 

Abdi is the lone best actor nominee for the film, deserving so he has the nomination and slight momentum with a win at BAFTA but obviously without Leto in sight. The miss though was Hanks, who in the year gave two stellar performances in Saving Mr. Banks but more importantly here. The last minutes of the film can be considered some of the best work on celluloid this year, not to mention Hanks restrained showing for the two hours before that. It's been 15 years since his last nomination and unfortunately it might only get more. 

The technical side is another place where Phillips could have won on any given day but Gravity was just that much better. 

Screenplay is a great nod but once again it gets beat by the more ambitious and successful at that; 12 Years A Slave. It didn't get the nominee at the Globes and lost at BAFTA. 

In film, Phillips isn't being considered a top contender, rather one of the just there nominees but one deservedly so.

Her

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, Scarlett Johansson as Samantha, Amy Adams as Amy with Rooney Mara as Catherine and Olivia Wilde as Amelia

Genre: SciFi/Romantic/Drama/Comedy

Score: 9.5/10

Pros:-A grand magnificent world is realized with profound ideas and powerful themes that create a thought provoking and heart warming film

          -The script establishes character well and breathes in life for Samantha and Theodore from where they develop in compelling arcs

          -First act efficiently and quickly brings forth the meat of its plot; the relationship

          -Dialogues is poetic and conveys great thought as well as defines the romantic element

          -Spike Jonze crafts romantic scenes with masterful brilliance and an underlying comedic vibe

          -He gives thought to every scene that plays out yet the film doesn't feel rushed, montage sequences help keep pace and are aptly supported by the music and shots

          -Camera work gives breadth to a gloriously conceptualized world

          -The supporting cast is commendable.

          -Scarlett with her mesmerizing voice creates a dimensional and complex character. It's a performance that takes your breadth away and the staggering effort shows when you feel for her and Theodore's love story

          -Phoenix portrays his character with evocative subtlety, he makes both the character and his situation not only real but endearing

          -Their chemistry has an undeniable charm to it

          -Music is stirring and it speaks volumes of each and every detail of the films central narrative

Best Scene: Any romantic scene between Theodore and the disembodied voice of Samantha

Best Performance: Scarlett Johansson as Samantha

Best Dialogue: ' It's like I'm reading a book... and it's a book I deeply love. But I'm reading it slowly now. So the words are really far apart and the spaces between the words are almost infinite. I can still feel you... and the words of our story... but it's in this endless space between the words that I'm finding myself now. It's a place that's not of the physical world. It's where everything else is that I didn't even know existed. I love you so much. But this is where I am now. And this who I am now. And I need you to let me go. As much as I want to, I can't live your book any more.'-Samantha, heart breaking yet soothing

Nominations: Best Film, Best Writing (Original), Best Original Score, Best Original Song (The Moon Song), Best Production Design

CHANCES

Just cause the concept and narrative was great it was sad to see Spike overlooked as Director for his equally great effort in that area. Jonze was also one who deserved the nomination, this time more so according to me. This is because he visually brought to life a futuristic world with such a love story that came off realistically and it takes a huge effort to do that on screen more so than on paper. 

A win for writing in general at the Globes makes Her the front runner for the screenplay award. Yet the film was conspicuously absent in the category at BAFTA. Still Her in this list is the film to beat with the aforementioned stellar concept and brilliantly rendered characters. 

I was surprised with the acting misses. Phoenix was another person who should have gone ahead of Bale's turn from Hustle. Where as Johansson played a role effortlessly just with her voice and made a fully realized character, very difficult I might add. Still the no physical showing may have been the reason to keep her off. 

The smaller awards, Production design was magnificent in Her but once again there's bigger fish to fight. Original score it wasn't considered anywhere else so I'm not hopeful. Song is also questionable with fan favorites 'Let it go' (Frozen) and 'Ordinary Love' (Mandela) leading the way. 

This was according to me the second best film of the year, but I highly doubt it gets the cut above either 12 Years or the favored likes of Gravity and American Hustle. 

Unfortunately as I said, I haven't watched the last two films on the list; Philomena and Nebraska. I might not be able too since the Awards are next Sunday. So here's a full and final list of who I think will and should win in each major category.  

Best Costume Design-American Hustle (Should and Will)

Best Visual Effects-Gravity (Should and Will)

Best Film Editing-Gravity (Should and Will)

Best Cinematography-Gravity or Prisoners (Should), Gravity (Will)

Best Production Design-12 Years A Slave or Gravity (Should), The Great Gatsby (Will)

Best Sound Mixing-Inside Llewyn Davis (Should), Gravity (Will)

Best Sound Editing-Gravity or All is Lost (Should), All is Lost (Will)

Best Original Score-Gravity (Should and Will)

(fairly easy to predict, now onto the hard ones)

Best Adapted Screenplay-12 Years A Slave (Should and Will)

Best Original Screenplay-Her (Should), American Hustle (Will)

Best Supporting Actress-Lupita Nyongo (Should), Jennifer Lawrence (Will)

Best Supporting Actor-Jared Leto (Should and Will)

Best Leading Actress-Sandra Bullock or Cate Blanchett (Should), Amy Adams (Will)

Best Leading Actor-Chiwetel Ejiofor or/and Matthew McConaughey (Should), Matthew McConaughey (Will)

Best Director-Alfonso Cuaron (Should and Will)

Best Film-12 Years A Slave (Should and Will)

(Still fairly easy to predict because I'm going the safe route except with Adams)

 

'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia