I’ve watched 7/9 nominees for best picture, and was unable to get to viewing the lesser known “Philomena” and “Nebraska”. But I feel comfortable making my picks for the Oscars tonight based on that.
Best Picture: American Hustle http://wp.me/p2EM0A-t6 (My review of American Hustle)
“12 Years A Slave” is the favorite for this category tonight. I wasn’t as impressed with it as I was with “American Hustle” or “Gravity” though. If I were the Academy, I’d pick American Hustle for its brilliant and dynamic cast playing off such a complex story. The ending was its weak point, but I still feel it was enough to beat “12 Years A Slave”. I would be just as satisfied with “Gravity” taking the award for being such a simple, yet elegant film that was also definitely the most visually stunning. For these reasons I believe “Gravity” will take the awards for Best Film Editing and Cinematography
Best Actor: Christian Bale <a
For me, this is a tough choice between either Christian Bale or Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio played the best greedy Wall Street scumbag ever played on cinema I'm sure. His role in "Wolf of Wall Street" was the centerpiece of the film, and so if he does receive the award it's because he held the movie up almost single-handedly. I would give this award to Christian Bale based on his immensely interesting character in "American Hustle".
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock http://wp.me/p2EM0A-ph (My review of Gravity)
Cate Blanchett for her role in “Blue Jasmine” is the favorite for this award, but I would give it to Sandra Bullock for “Gravity”. She was the only actor/actress in the film besides a brief George Clooney, and I think her performance in that isolation was highlighted. Amy Adams in “American Hustle” would be a close second for me on this.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity
I think for such a unique and difficult film to capture appropriately in cinema, “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron deserves the award.
Best Original Screenplay: Her http://wp.me/p2EM0A-xx (My review of Her)
“Her” was so different from anything I’ve come to expect from romance and drama that it needs to be recognized for that uniqueness if not for the high quality of nearly every other component within the film.
Everything else no one cares about:
Because I’m a fan boy I want the Hobbit to win best Sound Editing and Visual Effects. http://wp.me/p2EM0A-rz (My review for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
I’m sure “Frozen” will take best Original song and Animated feature, since its the only animated film I’ve heard anyone talk about for the better part of 3 months.
As AJ Thinks 