It was a great year for movies, stories based on mostly true stories, historical dramas, spectacular technical achievements, some of the best performances in all categories, and no shoe-in any of those categories. Here are my picks for the 2014 Academy Awards.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The front runner and early award winner here has been Jennifer Lawrence but I’m glad to see Lupita Nyong’o come to the forefront with a startlingly good first film performance in “12 Years a Slave”. This category loves newcomers.
The nominees:
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”
Should and Will win: Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Could win: Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
This is tough category, there will be some sentimental votes for the first time actor, limousine driver, Barkhad Abdi, and a magnificent performance by Michael Fassbender, but Jared Leto was unparalleled in “Dallas Buyers Club”. I wish the academy had nominated Daniel Bruhl had been nominated for his performance in “Rush” instead of the underwhelming Jonah Hill.
The nominees:
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”
Should and Will win: Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”
Could win: Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett has been the frontrunner here but there is some drama about whether or not the recent Woody Allen controversy will affect voters. I don’t think it will. The other obstacle to an Oscar for Cate is the fact that 4 time nominee Amy Adams has never won, so that might be in Amy’s favor here, but I’m sticking with Cate for the best performance.
The nominees:
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”
Should and Will win: Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Could win: Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
BEST ACTOR
This is the toughest category. Chiwetel Ejiofor was wonderful as Solomon Northrup, the free black man kidnaped and kept in brutal slavery for 12 years, and there’s a lot of love for Bruce Dern in “Nebraska” for a lifetime of fine performances, but Matthew McCounaughey caps of a series of terrific movie characters (he could have been nominated for the terrific “Mud”) with the best performance of the year in “Dallas Buyers Club”. I wish there had been room for Robert Redford in “All is Lost”, in perhaps the best performance of his career.
The nominees:
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”
Should and Will win: Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”
Could win: Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
BEST DIRECTOR
This is a weird category, David O. Russell showed of his prowess with getting the most out of his actors, the same for Steve McQueen and Alexander Payne, but Alfonso Cuarón created things never seen on the screen before so I think he’ll be honored with the Oscar here.
The nominees:
“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese
Should and Will win: “Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
Could win: “12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
BEST PICTURE
These are all fine nominees: “12 Years a Slave” created a conversation about an important historical moment, and “Philomena” entertained with a great mixture of humor and pathos, “Gravity” dazzled us with it magnificent visuals with the best use of 3D in memory, but I’m going with “American Hustle” for the combination of all of these factors.
The nominees:
“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Philomena”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
Will win: “American Hustle”
Could win: “12 Years a Slave”
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