This week I made it my mission to watch as many of the Oscar Movies as possible before the big gong on Sunday. Disclaimer time, I most definitely did not watch these illegally online. So I eased myself in with Frozen, then watched Philomena, Blue Jasmine, Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club, Captain Philips, American Hustle and Wolf of Wall-Street. Fair to say, it was a great week. I'd already watched 12 Years A Slave in the cinema upon release, so I'm down with that.
A bit like my Brit Awards blog, I now intend to give my predictions for who's going to win what on Sunday. I'm only going to focus on the acting/directing/music/costume awards, as I cant pretend to have knowledge of sound mixing and whatnot.
Starting with the big award....
Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
For me, this was an easy one. Although I loved Blue Jasmine and Gravity a lot, they don't compare to the awe-inspiring devastation created within me that 12 Years a Slave disposed. I think, had the Oscars been in January, American Hustle may have been in with a chance, but the momentum for Russell's picture has significantly slackened.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Chiwetel came a very close second, but everyone loves a comeback-kid. And man McConaughey's comeback is almighty. Dallas Buyers Club is above anything he has ever done before. He managed to make me laugh, break my heart and make me despise him all within one film. P.s Leo still doesn't deserve that Oscar, he is continuing to lack that award-worthy performance!
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchet (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Without meaning to be a sheep and completely follow every predictions blog out there, Cate Blanchet has to win this ward. Never has she been so poignant and perfect for a role. I loved Judi Dench in Philomena also, she was incredible, but Blanchet's modern day reprise of Duboise is faultless.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
I was sceptical of Leto's role in Dallas Buyers Club, but from the minute he sat down on McConaughey's hospital bed in that 80s silk dressing gown I knew he was going to be phenomenal. He truly deserves the Supporting Actor gong, although Fassbender and Abdi make this a very difficult category.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Again, another very tough category. Lupita deserves this award more than any of the others, her role was heartbreaking and played with such elegance, and I feel she should have made a clean sweep during this years award season. However, I did also LOVE Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine, she is a seriously underestimated actress, and she is just sublime as Ginger.
Best Animated Feature
Frozen
Despicable Me 2
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
The Wind Rises
I may have only seen Frozen and The Croods out of this category, but that is irrelevant. Frozen is magnificent. That's all there is too it really.
Best Costume Design
American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson)
The Grandmaster (William Chang Suk Ping)
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
The Invisible Woman (Michael O'Connor)
12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris)
I want Gatsby to win this, because costume design was pretty much the only thing that was right about the film. Gatsby is my favourite book, but the film completely devastated me. The only accurate measurement was the incandescence of the era, and this was channeled through the costume design.
Best Original Song
Happy (Despicable Me 2)
Let It Go (Frozen)
The Moon Song (Her)
Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
Move over Pharrell, the Queen of Musical Theatre has arrived to take her crown. I've always been an Idina Menzel fan but boy Let It Go is quite possible the catchiest song ever! I think theres quite possibly no way that Let It Go won't win this award, there will be a lot of upset children (and adults!) if it isn't recognised.
Best Directing
American Hustle (David O. Russell)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)
Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
12 Years A Slave (Alexander McQueen)
The Wolf Of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
There's no denying that Gravity has to be one of the most technically demanding films ever made, for the actors and directors alone. Cuaron creates an absolute masterpiece, which must have been a logistical nightmare from start to finish. Although all the nominated directors are award-worthy, Cuaron was daring, bold and incredibly intelligent with Gravity.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
12 Years A Slave
Philomena
The Wolf Of Wall Street
12 Years A Slave deserves every accolade it can nap at the Oscars this year. I believe that the fact UK schools are placing 12 Years A Slave on the curriculum says it all. The endorsement a blockbuster film can pay to a relatively unknown book and story, is unrivalled.
Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska
This category was a complete toss-up between Blue Jasmine and Dallas Buyers Club, but I chose to go with Blue Jasmine due to the sheer ingenuity of the writing. A film, where nothing really happens except the gradual, documented break down of the lead, with no real plot, yet still manages to keep me gripped and watching on the edge of my seat, truly deserves some recognition. Dallas Buyers Club, although being an incredible story, is very formulaic in it's writing.
The Oscars are on Sunday 2nd March. Make sure to keep yourself updated, and watch these films, they don't get nominated for nothing, they really are bloody amazing!
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