Thursday, February 27, 2014

BTMG Picks the 2014 Oscar Winners


Let’s keep things simple this year and not even worry about all the reasons I’m running with the picks I’m running with…  Well, let’s cover a few: Matthew McConaughey (Best Actor), Cate Blanchett (Best Actress), Jared Leto (Best Supporting Actor) and Alfonso Cuarón (Best Director) should all be locks for their respective categories.  Should be…   
In the race for Best Picture, I can see one of three things happening: 12 YEARS A SLAVE wins because it’s an important and powerfully brutal film.  For me, it lacked the emotional trigger needed to make it a great film.  Perhaps GRAVITY wins because it assuredly and aggressively transports you to another place and drops you smack dab in the action – something, I’m pretty sure, most of us go to the movies for…  GRAVITY was also my favorite movie of 2013.  Finally, the overwhelming love (?!) for the vastly overrated AMERICAN HUSTLE wins the favor of Academy voters and trumps the sadness of SLAVE and the spectacle of space.
It’s anybody’s guess what each Academy member was thinking when they filled out their ballots.  Assume, for a minute, that I have a pretty solid grasp on their fiendish little minds and jot down my picks below – odds are you’re gonna do fairly well in this year’s Oscar pool.
As an added bonus – because I care about you more than any other critic ever will – I’ve included my letter grade alongside all the movies I’ve seen.  This is what is commonly referred to as a win-win scenario.  So go see some movies, fill out your ballot and earn Oscar pick bragging rights for yet another year… 
Be sure to let me know how you made out, and make checks payable to BTMG – oh, you know you already have the address you stalkers you!

BEST PICTURE

American Hustle (C+) possible spoiler
Captain Phillips (A)
Dallas Buyers Club (B+)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win
Her (A+)
Nebraska (B)
Philomena (B+)
12 Years a Slave (B-) possible spoiler
The Wolf of Wall Street (A-)
BEST DIRECTOR
David O. Russell/American Hustle (C+)
Alfonso Cuarón/Gravity (A+) who I want to win
Alexander Payne/Nebraska (B)
Steve McQueen/12 Years a Slave (B-) possible spoiler
Martin Scorsese/The Wolf of Wall Street (A-)
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale/American Hustle (C+)
Bruce Dern/Nebraska (B)
Leonardo DiCaprio/The Wolf of Wall Street (A-) who I want to win
Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years a Slave (B-) possible spoiler
Matthew McConaughey/Dallas Buyers Club (B+)
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams/American Hustle (C+) possible spoiler
Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine (B+) who I want to win
Sandra Bullock/Gravity (A+)
Judi Dench/Philomena (B+)
Meryl Streep/August: Osage County (B+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi/Captain Phillips (A)
Bradley Cooper/American Hustle (C+)
Michael Fassbender/12 Years a Slave (B-)
Jonah Hill/The Wolf of Wall Street (A-)
Jared Leto/Dallas Buyers Club (B+) who I want to win/no spoiler
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins/Blue Jasmine (B+)
Jennifer Lawrence/American Hustle (C+) possible spoiler
Lupita Nyong’o/12 Years a Slave (B-)
Julia Roberts/August: Osage County (B+) who I want to win
June Squibb/Nebraska (B)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods (B+)
Despicable Me 2 (C+)
Earnest & Celestine
Frozen (A) who I want to win/no spoilers
The Wind Rises (B+)
BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown (B)
The Great Beauty (A-) who I want to win
The Hunt (A-) possible spoiler
The Missing Picture
Omar
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle (C+) possible spoiler
Blue Jasmine (B+)
Dallas Buyers Club (B+)
Her (A+) who I want to win
Nebraska (B)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Before Midnight (A) who I want to win
Captain Phillips (A)
Philomena (B+)
12 Years a Slave (B-)
The Wolf of Wall Street (A-)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle (C+)
The Grandmaster (B)
The Great Gatsby (C-) who I want to win
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave (B-) possible spoiler
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Happy from Despicable Me 2 (C+)
Let it Go from Frozen (A) who I want to win
The Moon Song from Her (A+)
Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (C+) possible spoiler
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams/The Book Thief (B) possible spoiler
Steven Price/Gravity (A+) who I want to win
William Butler and Owen Pallet/Her (A+)
Alexandre Desplat/Philomena (B+)
Thomas Newman/Saving Mr. Banks (B+)
BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
The Act of Killing (A-) possible spoiler
Cutie and The Boxer (B)
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom (A-) who I want to win
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club (B+) who I want to win/no spoiler
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger (D)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
American Hustle (C+)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win/no spoiler
The Great Gatsby (C-)
Her (A+)
12 Years a Slave (B-)
BEST FILM EDITING
American Hustle (C+)
Captain Phillips (A) possible spoiler
Dallas Buyers Club (B+)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win
12 Years a Slave (B-)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster (B)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win/no spoiler
Inside Llewyn Davis (A-)
Nebraska (B)
Prisoners (C+)
BEST SOUND EDITING
All is Lost (C+)
Captain Phillips (A)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win/no spoiler
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (B)
Lone Survivor (C+)
BEST SOUND MIXING
Captain Phillips (A)
Gravity (A+) who I want to win/no spoiler
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (B)
Inside Llewyn Davis (A-)
Lone Survivor (C+)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity (A+) who I want to win/no spoiler
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (B)
Iron Man 3 (B+)
The Lone Ranger (D)
Star Trek Into Darkness (C+)
Full disclosure, I haven’t seen any of the films nominated in these categories.  Run with my picks and you should come out on the other end fairly unscathed...
BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Get a Horse
BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
The Voorman Problem

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