2015 IN FILM, MY THOUGHTS (The Force Awakens/Spotlight/The Big Short/The Martian/Steve Jobs)

2015 IN FILM-Well the Jedi returned with vengeance, Bond got tired, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Eddie Redmayne try to make some history, Indie movies continued to not get the respect they deserve, and sadly yet again the Oscars failed to be color blind.

3 things to remember (1) we are tough graders The Shawshank Scale is 1-10 but there are only (2) films that have scored 10's (yes of all time) think of it more like 5.5 and up are movies you should make time for (2) I take no responsibility for anything I write, mostly it is done when I can't sleep, and lastly (3) I really have no idea what I'm talking about, I just like movies and my poor memory requires me to rank them so I can remember what I like and don't like.

UPDATE 1: I still haven’t seen Straight Outta Compton and Carol (among others), but I do feel that I have enough to start the list process of 2015 as we all prepare for the Oscars! Now let’s break some of the Good, Bad, and Ugly down:

BIG ONES:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens-I had to start with one of the biggest films of all time, after all I stood outside in the cold on opening night to get in like so many others. Here is the thing with a movie like this is more than just a movie (don’t snicker), it really is a cultural phenomenon. I know this is true because during my 2^nd viewing of this film (some 9 days after its release in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday) people were still giving standing ovations. Even more so than that, almost every time I’ve been to a theater since its release, someone in line behind me is talking about it (and get this they are usually young and diverse). This film didn’t need to be great (and it’s probably not great), it just needed to be good (and it’s better than good). J.J. Abrams does a nice job bringing back what made Stars Wars fun to begin with (and not just talking about the original cast). Like an Onion the film peels back layer after layer of nostalgia, however none of that would have really mattered if he didn’t get the new characters right…and he did, big time. I think it is wonderful to see a female lead, I can’t tell you how fresh the character Finn is (Reluctant hero, traitor, and cool leading man), Poe Dameron (who was supposed to die in the first script) is also great, I’m happy they are keeping him around. The returning cast does a nice job as well, Han Solo leads the film very well, Leia is sharp in her limited but effective role, and Luke delivers in his brief but smart ending sequence. The locations they used, and real sets really make the difference and improve upon the prequels (which get a bad rap, but are pretty good). Now it isn’t all great in a galaxy far far away, there were moments this year that I flirted with the idea of having this film as #1 on the Top Ten List (See Sidebar), certainly all said and done I will rewatch this film more than any other film this year and that holds a lot of water on the Shawshank Scale, but despite that this film has problems. For starters it is fair criticism that the beats of this film feel awfully familiar (another Death Star, was that really necessary?). In addition to that the film feels incomplete, I know some of that is done on purpose, but not all of it. The film really feels like they were writing, shooting, and guessing as they went along…there is probably like 4 hours of additional footage that takes the film in all sorts of other directions. To me they could’ve waited to get the story right instead of trying different things and piecing it together. Several times in the film it feels cut and pasted, now we don’t care because it is so much fun, but still. I was surprised it received an Oscar Nomination for editing given that some of the edits are abrupt and out of place. I didn’t love, understand, or care about the Bad Guys. Who is the first order, Snoke, or what the hell are the knights of ren…who cares. That said it is a great ride, it bridges that old with the new in a fun way. I’m not sure anyone (including Lucas) could’ve done a perfect job with a film like this and J.J. deserves credit for taking on such a daunting task and not failing. Kids are excited about Star Wars again, and adults love that…because they’ve always been excited about it!

Spotlight-In 1976 Alan Pakula directed All the Presidents Men to stunning perfection (an 8.0 on the Shawshank Scale!) now in 2015 Tom Mcarthy directs another newsroom drama which comes close to capturing the same tension. The cast is very good, the story is straightforward, but incredibly fascinating, and the actors portraying the victims really give it the heartbeat to make it come alive. It is deserving of Best Picture.

Steve Jobs-I’m a sucker for Aaron Sorkin, his rhythmic dialogue is often intoxicating to me. He doesn’t disappoint in Steve Jobs, which is a film less about the myth, and more about the man. It has very little factual, biopic value, but as a father/daughter film it is beautiful and powerful. It is also deserving of Best Picture.

The Big Short-How do you make the depressing financial crisis interesting and fun? Go get the the guy who did Anchorman (Adam McKay) and then base it on the book by the guy who did Moneyball (Michael Lewis remember he made baseball stats and strategy sound like Dave and Busters), and while you’re at it, construct an all-star cast, and just for good measure bring in a few extra random cameos for the heavy stuff...Then what you get, is maybe the Best Picture of the Year.

The Martian-Up until this year I would probably argue Ridley Scotts’s best film was 1996’s White Squall. Other films like Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Alien, or maybe Blade Runner are very good, but I didn’t feel great about him as a filmmaker. Unlike some others I know, I don’t run to Ridley Scott films (plenty of stinkers like Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven, Exodus, or G.I. Jane), but he has done some wonderful and entertaining work. I think The Martian is his best film, this little airport book with a time stamped story, and an easy to root for hero really comes to life with his direction and Matt Damon’s wonderful performance. It is funnier than I thought it would be and even though everyone knows exactly where the story is going, everyone wants to go on the ride anyway. I quietly root for this film to win Best Picture.

The Rest: Creed was the best Rocky movie since Rocky period. Stallone gives such a wonderful and understated performance that he will bring tears to your eyes, I loved it...except how quick the guy got the main event fight, they should've fixed that one glaring problem. Joy may not be David O’Russell’s best work, but it is a very good and interesting story (now can we stop with Jennifer Lawrence!). Sicario is a great vehicle for Bencio Del Toro who should’ve gotten nominated for an Oscar. Love & Mercy is a really good film that probably came out a little too early for its own good which is why it missed out on being nominated (Dano and Banks were deserving). Bridge of Spies is a good effort and has good performances, however Spielberg tells a dark story with too much color and optimism for its own good. The Revenant is maybe the current favorite at the Oscars and I can see why, however for me sometimes it’s not enough to have excellent direction, storytelling, and acting…sometimes I have to like the story and this plain one about survival and revenge felt old to me. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is the year’s best action film, I’m not a big fan of the never ending Fast & Furious films, but like those it seems they can keep making these films forever and they will be at least fun and entertaining.

The Dissapointments: So not a lot of films were bad enough to bash, but there were some:

Spectre-Beautiful cinematography and breathtaking locations couldn’t save a tired looking Bond and a very poorly written villain. I was more interested in Ray Fiennes than either Craig or Waltz.

Jurassic World-Like The Force Awakens it mirrors the original film, unlike The Force Awakens all it does is supply us with entertainment. Characters were bad and the story was goofy.

The Walk-I don’t want to kill this film, just please go rent MAN ON WIRE the documentary on this topic rather than watch this film, it tries but lacks all the romance or charm of the true life story.

Aloha-I love Cameron Crowe, Love him, love almost all of his films…this was a complete mess. Some good individual scenes and some excellent chemistry from Cooper and McAdams couldn’t save this awful mess of a story.

THE ACADEMY AWARDS 2014

OSCAR! OSCAR!

In a year where there was a lot of good…greatness was lacking.

Boyhood changed the way we think about what film could do, Birdman changed the way we thought we watched film, and Selma changed the way we think about the Academy Awards.

Let’s break it down.

THE BIG ONES:

BEST PICTURE: What will win-Boyhood (its long at 165 minutes and slow at times, but it is both emotional and fun to watch not only Ellar Coltrane age 12 years, but how about Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette in brave performances, Kudos to Linklater for pulling this off). What should win-Birdman, I think my top 3 all have cases to make (Boyhood is deserved, but Birdman was a wonderfully fun film that really took you on a 2 hour ride that blows your mind a few times along the way, and of course Selma really made MLK and that Alabama awfulness come to life in way that people of all races and parts of the country needed to see). 

BEST DIRECTOR: Who will win-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (His Birdman “the unexpected virtue of ignorance” is a vision that comes to life in a way few directors could pull). Who should win-I think Inarritu, but I will say there is a case to be made for Linklater and his patience and certainly for Ava DuVernay who is clearly being overlooked for some reason, at a minimum she should be a nominee…this is an epic fail by the Academy (why is Bennett Miller nominated?).

BEST ACTOR: Who will win-Seems to be Eddie Redmayne who really shouldn’t, though his depiction of Sephen Hawking is a physical acting achievement. Who should win-Michael Keaton, this is not a legacy or lifetime award he was really good and even in a film where there are many standout performances he is the glue that holds it all together, now that said I wouldn’t want to argue with David Oyelowo winning, he is wonderful as MLK, again this year the Academy really failed to acknowledge a worthy actor (last year it was a travesty that Michael B. Jordan was not nominated for Fruitvale Station, this is that same level of awful).

BEST ACTRESS: Who will win-Julianne Moore, lock it up but I can’t comment as I have not seen Still Alice (yet, I will get to it). Who should win-I thought Felicity Jones actually in many ways outshined Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everthing, and I thought (though not her fault) Rosamund Pike was unbelievable as an unbelievable character Gone Girl.

BEST SUPPORTING’S: Who will win-LOCK IT DOWN J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette and without a doubt they should win, Norton and Ruffalo are commendable but Simmons is unreal on point. As for Arquette she is the glue and hero of the 3 hour film Boyhood and her performance shines in everyway.

BEST OF THE REST:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Will win-Grand Budapest, Should win-I’d say Birdman but I won’t argue with a wonderful little film like Grand Budapest Hotel.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Will win-The Imitation Game, Should win-Whiplash, this film is too good to only win 1 award this year.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Will win-Birdman, and yes it should win, what a ride of a film!

ORIGINAL SONG: Will win-Glory (always want to root for Common), should win-Everything is awesome (I play this at work when I really get mad).

GO DOOGIE HOWSER MD!!  

ENJOY THE OSCARS!!!

2014...Lots of explosions, little bang, and as usual super backloaded the smart films for Oscar Season

3 things to remember (1) we are tough graders The Shawshank Scale is 1-10 but there are only (2) films that score 10's (yes of all time) think of it more like 5.5 and up are movies you should make time for (2) I take no responsibility for anything I write, mostly it is done when I can't sleep, and lastly (3) I really have no idea what I'm talking about, I just like movies and my poor memory requires me to rank them so I can remember what I like and don't like :)

UPDATE 5: Finally only a week before Oscar time I managed to check off the last of the Best Picture films, The Theory of Everything. Not too long ago I also saw American Sniper…well time to make the final list.

American Sniper-This is really Eastwood at his best, his best work since Changeling (which is a very very good movie), Eastwood solves the problem of a complicated man by really not addressing any of the controversy within the man and just giving us a war movie, a metaphor about war and what it does to people. I thought it was sharp and it unwarranted all the drama surrounding it. Again a man can be untruthful, maybe unremorseful, and perhaps even a racist…yet still be a hero.  The ending is a effective a choice for an ending I have seen in sometime (makes up for Million Dollar Baby).

The Theory of Everything-Fitting these are the last two films I saw given that they deal with complex ideas. The story of Stephen Hawking is an incredible story of triumph and perseverance. More than anything it feels like a love letter full of gratitude from Stephen to Jane. Both Stars shine incredibly bright and though the film is slightly uneven in its thematic tone versus the story it’s telling, it is wonderfully effective and emotional, mostly because of the two stars (Redmayne and Jones).  This is a worthy Best Picture candidate and well worth your time.

UPDATE 4: Well I have just American Sniper and Wild to go, maybe a few more sneaky gems I missed, and perhaps a few rewatches, but the 2014 Oscar watch is finally coming into focus. Last year Philomena was my pick for best film and I have probably rewatched it 4 times by now I'm not sure this year has produced a film I like as much as Philomena (did I mention you should watch it?), but the film industry has at least taken a few big swings and given us a few films we can be proud of that don't include comic heros (not that I don't like those films but they always come up a little short of great). *The Dark Knight Rises is the only comic film that has ever hit 7.0 on the Shawshank Scale and still the more I watch that film the more flaws I see, that said I still greatly enjoy it and I thought Captain America The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were both flawed but very entertaining so maybe we are moving in the right direction (2015 Antman anyone? written partly by the guy who wrote Ancherman and Step Brothers...I'm intrigued)

Inherent Vice-I am not the biggest P.T.A. guy on the planet but I read going in this was his Big Lebowski so perhaps that raised my expectations up a bit too high, this film is less entertaining than Boogie Nights and much less profound than There Will Be Blood (the only 2 P.T.A. films I really like) so it's not in my wheel house. Inherent Vice does let some very talented actors and actresses eat up some great scenery and perform some very nice dialogue so if your looking to see stars shine, and don't mind that you don't know whats going on then this may be for you (Phoenix gets old in the lead but Josh Brolin and Reese Witherspoon chew up scenes).

Whiplash-Wow very interesting film, the choices it makes are very smart and as you have all heard (Oscar Oscar) J.K. Simmons's performance as a brash, loud, violent, music professor is as advertised electric and Mile Teller is growing on me, that said Whiplash falls short of great because as good as it is (love the ending) it leaves me wanting more in a bad way. 101 minutes is just not enough to get Andrew (Miles Teller) from where he starts out at, to where he ends up. (why is Transformers 4 165 minutes and Whiplash 101 minutes, Hollywood?)

The Imagination Game-The story of Alan Turing is both tragic and fantastic and The Imagination Game tries hard to capture both sides of that story, but ultimately only succeeds in telling the fantastic part really well. It tries very hard to explain just how awful he was treated after the war when England essentially destroyed him (along with some 49,000 others) for the crime of being a homosexual but the latter part of his life feels too much like a footnote in this film. Aside from that this is a really well made film both Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch shine and it should be on your 2014 must see list.

Selma-I was blown away by just how good David Oyelowo was in this moving film that covers an extremely important moment in the Civil Rights Movement. This is the only man who has a chance to take away Keatons Oscar (For Birdman). Rarely do you see a filmmaker who takes on such a difficult story make so many good choices, and this early in their career, but Ava DuVernay is a rising star (mark my words) and she has made a wonderful film with Selma (SEE IT!).

Kill the Messenger- Jeremy Renner puts down his arrows for a much more poignant film that covers now deceased journalist Gary Webb's crusade to expose just how deep the connection between the CIA and the Drug Dealers (who were funneling money to help the Contras) ran. I thought this film was a noble effort to help clean up Webbs somewhat tarnished record (the slimy Washington Posts still sticks by its smear campaign even now), he may have played a little fast and loose with the facts but ultimately his thesis proved true...don't believe me, ask John Kerry.This is the perfect film to watch when you are in the mood to google for a few hours afterward...fascinating and shameful story.


UPDATE 3: Getting there, I've seen most of what I was hoping to see but I still have a few more (Inherent Vice, Wild, still Whiplash, American Sniper, and Selma to name a few)

Into the Woods-Wonderful job by all the Actors, great job showcasing the songs that made the musical so great, but the tone was a bit off and it lacked some of the charm of the show...its worth mentioning out of resepect that Meryl Streep is no Bernadette Peters in the role of the witch, not even close.

Unbroken-I wasn't sure what to expect from Jolie and her WWII Epic, It garnered many uneven reviews but I think it was very good, incredibly moving in a year when there were not many films that moved you, the mans story alone is incredible and Jolie does a noble job delivering it, though at times it is a tad cheesy and uneven I think it is mostly a triumph for her as a director and I look forward to her next film (is she the next Kathryn Bigelow?).

Foxcatcher-Bennent Miller is a director I'm starting to love (MoneyBall), even though he mostly misses with this film. It is dark and unimaginative (tells us nothing we really don't already know, does not even try to guess motive really), but it is very watchable and the actors are all very good (Mark Ruffalo shines the most), I just wished it took a shot at explaining what happened besides the obvious.
Big Eyes-Though it makes me exceedingly happy to see Tim Burton come down off his animated or Johnny Depp fascination and do something normal (reminiscent in tone to another Burton film I like, Big Fish), Big Eyes is a wonderful story of a naive woman with talent and a conniving man without a lick of it, I thought it was well made and well acted (Maybe Waltz is a bit over the top but it works 50% of the time), worth seeing without a doubt.

Pride-A sneaky good British film about the teaming up of Union Coal Miners and Gay and Lesbian rights activists in  1984, very heartwarming and well made, made me think of Gung Ho, a film I have always loved. You may have to look to find it, but it is worth it.

***Bonus-The 100 Foot Journey-This years Best Exotic Hotel Marigold, just not quite as good, but still cute, entertaining, and worth seeing!

UPDATE 2: Still yes a long way to go but checked off a few more,

Birdman-Without a doubt this movie will make waves at Oscar time, Keaton is excellent, so is Norton and Emma Stone...the music is tremendous and the way the film is shot is so engaging that you will forget the few whiffs it makes in the direction of the story toward the end.

Rosewater-In a way I didn't want this film to be this good, it isn't perfect mind you, but it is very well done especially considering first time director (A Mr. Jon Stewart). It has an original way of presenting a clean cut story taking place in a very complex land and it handles that with a hint of brilliance, now I thought it could've been a little longer and bit more graphic, but nontheless a fine film firmly in the top ten of the year. It will receive Oscar buzz at minimum but in my view should get Oscar noms.

St. Vincent-A heartwarming and more complex than you expect comedy that really was full of good performances (Oscar Watch for Melissa McCarthy seriously and yes the Great Bill Murray should be considered as well).

Intersteller-Well Nolan deserves a lot of credit for taking BIG film chances on space, time, quantum physics, and making all that great to look at, and he really got a great cast, then sadly he forgot to develop the characters and polish a lackluster script...I was much more dissapointed with the lack of character development (um Anne Hathaway's character is a useless ice queen) than the confusing storyline that really requires a chart to follow.

Still a long way to go but NOTE: refer to sidebar I have already changed my mind on many of these films I was able to rewatch and or reconsider them...Sidebar will be updated through the rest of the year :)

UPDATE 1: I have a lot of films to go (Birdman, Whiplash, Interstellar, and The Skeleton Twins) to name a few but if you thought 2013 was a bad year (and it was, outside of 2011 maybe the worst of the 2000’s) this year is possibly gearing up to be the WORST ever! Huge blockbusters like Godzilla, Transformers 4 and Spiderman 2 were really not good and even some very anticipated (and in some cases critically acclaimed) films like Gone Girl and Monuments Men just not very good at all. I am not sure the 2014 fall season can save a year where in October the (2) best films are about a food truck and Legos lol, that said really strong films like Philomena and Inside Llewyn Davis really saved the day last year, perhaps Interstellar and Birdman can do that this year?  In any case the time has come…the top ten list (of course subject to change) has arrived.

Top Ten of 2014

  1.       Birdman

  2.       Selma

  3.       Rosewater

  4.      Whiplash

  5.       Chef

  6.       Grand Budapest Hotel

  7.       Boyhood

  8.       American Sniper

  9.       The Theory of Everything

  10.   Unbroken

Football Preview 2014

The time has come to put my NFL predictions on the record again!

First a recap of last year:

What I got right: I predicted the Eagles would win the NFC East at 10-6-NAILED IT EXACTLY, I predicted the Packers would win the NFC North and they just barely did, I had the Pats in the AFC East at 11-5 and they actually did one game better, and even though they didn’t win the division as I predicated the Chargers did make the playoffs and had a hell of season!

What I got wrong: Pretty much everything else, I drastically underestimated the Seahawks and Broncos as I had neither of them making the playoffs…oops, I overvalued the Jets, Texans, and Falcons, but injuries played a part there as well.

Well no need to cry over past failures, time to move on to 2014 and welcome back America’s Game…FOOZBALL!!! Here are my 2014 predictions (I am not liable for any money you lose gambling based on these predictions!):

AFC East: Patriots 12-4-well last year 11-5 was too low, now give me back Gronk hopefully healthy for um like what 12ish games please? Add a great shutdown corner in Revis (who only has to be 3/4ths as good as he was to be exactly what we need (and not leave every big game like Talib did!) and you have an angry Brady led squad primed to make one more big run at a title!

AFC North: Bengals 10-6-I want to give them 11 wins but they will lose at least 3 in the division and likely 3 more out of division, they are great defensively and good enough offensively, but Dalton to me is still just slightly above average so don’t go buying Superbowl tickets yet Bengal Nation.

AFC West: Broncos 11-5-I like the Chargers and don’t hate the Chiefs but the Broncos still on paper look too good to lose more than 5 games, but don’t worry Charger fans you get in the dance as well! Losing Welker won't hurt em much and even though Manning won't go nuts again, he will still be real real good...concerns  about the running game are worrisome and also (see above) Talib has got to stay on the field for that secondary to be any good. 

AFC South: Titans 9-7-Tough division to figure out, I hate a lot of the Colts defense and the offense got a little worse losing Donald Brown, maybe a touch better getting Wayne back…and even though Andrew Luck is great…he isn't that great…8-8 looks about right as they will lose at least 1 each to both the Jags and Texans who are better than people think. Titans have a sharp looking young squad, Hunter and Sankey will contribute and Jake Locker might fend off Zach Mettenburger for a year. 

Wild Cards-Chargers 10-6, Dolphins 9-7

AFC round 1:Chargers over Titans, Bengals over Dolphins

AFC round 2:Pats over Chargers, Bengals over Broncos

Title game-Pats over Chargers

NFC East: Cowboys 11-5-How bout them Cowboys! I am a pretty avid Cowboy hater but something just tells me they will have a 5-1 run sometime near the end of the season and secure this division just barely inching out a 10-6 Eagle team.

NFC North: Packers 11-5-A healthy Rodgers, a great RB in Lacy, a healthy Cobb…maybe even a surprise TE in Richard Rodgers (Rodgers to Rodgers Touchdown!!!...Phil Sims is in heaven!)   

NFC West: Seahawks 11-5-They will come out of the gate a little sloppy maybe 3-2, 3-3, but will get it together…11 wins is enough in a very competitive division.

NFC South: Saints 12-4-A reunited Sean Payton and Dree Brees offense will tear up records like they were nothing, but they will scuffle a bit late and hang on to the number 1 seed just barely.

Wild Cards-Bears 10-6 Falcons 10-6 (Sorry Lions, Bucs, and 49ers I had you all at 9-7)

NFC round 1: Packers over Bears, Falcons over Cowboys

NFC round 2: Packers over Seahawks, Falcons over Saints

Title game: Packers over Falcons

Superbowl: Patriots over Packers (redemption for 96…damn you Desmond Howard!!)

MVP:Rodgers

Defensive MVP: J J Watt

ROY Offense: Justin Hunter

ROY Defense: Jadeveon Clowney

COY: Sean Payton

Good Luck to all!

Academy Awards 2013...Oscar Oscar!

As Oscar time rolls in, it’s time (and again, only in the interest of maintaining my own personal score sheet) to break down what’s going to win, what should win, and what was ignored unfairly. First and foremost the Top Ten list of 2013: Solid year again full of summer garbage and big explosions, back loaded with all the heavy Oscar hopefuls. Hollywood should really consider spreading it all out more…those who come out early seem to be at a disadvantage…Fruitvale Station anyone?...what’s that you thought about it back in the summer but decided to see Iron Man 3 again…hmm, maybe you should rethink some of your life choices!

THE TOP TEN! (as seen through the eyes of Nick, who again really doesn’t know anything about…well anything)

1. Philomena 2. Fruitvale Station 3. Dallas Buyers Club 4. The Way Way Back 5. 12 Years A Slave 6. Lone Survivor 7. Kings of Summer 8. Secret Life of Walter Mitty 9. Inside Llewyn Davis 10. Warm Bodies

Runners up: Drinking Buddies, Nebraska, Star Trek: Into Darkness, American Hustle, Mud, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Don Jon, Out of the Furnace, All is Lost, Gravity, Man of Steel, The Great Gatsby, Blue Jasmine, Oblivion, Rush, Pacific Rim, Anchorman 2, The World’s End, World War Z, and White House Down.

Disappointments (had some good moments but just not executed well enough overall): Iron Man 3, Elysium, The Butler, The Wolf of Wall Street, Oz The Great and Powerful, Olympus Has Fallen, and August Osage County.

Best Picture: What will win: 12 Years a Slave (pretty sure on this, it is full of great performances and enough powerful moments that it should prevail). What Should win: Philomena (just a wonderfully constructed screenplay, a compelling story, and perfectly acted). Ignored: Well as usual indie movies get no credit with the Academy, 2 perfect coming of age tales in Kings of Summer and The Way Way Back could’ve at least been chatted about, maybe a shout out to a smart and honest little film called Drinking Buddies, and both The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Inside Llewyn Davis were executed better than American Hustle (and I love David O’Russell), but the real victim here is Fruitvale Station…everybody in the Academy should go back and watch that one more time.

Best Actress/Actor: Actress-Who will win: Cate Blanchett (seems to be written in stone), Who should win: Probably Blanchett (cause after seeing Blue Jasmine I actually think she may be that crazy in real life and that means she did a fine job), that said Judi Dench warmed my heart in Philomena…it should at least be a race and it doesn’t seem to be. Ignored: Hollywood doesn’t write women all that well these days but I can live with this top 5 list although Streep chewed up August Osage County so much that my TV still has bite marks…settle down Meryl you’re not auditioning you got the part!. I might’ve put Scarlett Johansson in there as she made HER pretty much watchable, that movie could’ve been great but falls short because Phoenix’s character is such a sensitive sack that he reminded me of the Brendan Frasier's character in Bedazzled (2000), you know the sensitive guy who couldn’t stop crying, I just wanted Johnansson to reach out of the phone and smack him once!. It would’ve never happened because not one person in the Academy even bothered to watch Drinking Buddies but both Anna Kendrick and Olivia Wilde had two of the most personally real performances of the year.
Actor-Who will win: Alright Alright Alright…Wooderson…wait not a Dazed and Confused fan?…let’s try this again…Who will win: Rust Cohle the psycho introspected detective that has built up a tolerance to crack like no human ever has…wait not a True Detective fan?...jeez ok then it’s the guy from all those silly rom-coms, you know How to lose a ghost girlfriend who has fool’s gold in her pocket while failing to launch…the one and only Mathew McConaughhey, what a year this guy had (see Mud if you haven’t yet!). Who should win: Yea no question its Matty McConaughey, if your gonna give one to Nic Cage for being Nic Cage (and doing it well mind you), and your gonna nominate Leo for being Leo over and over again (and yea again doing it well), then not only do you nominate this guy, you give him the award which btw is a statue of a shirtless dude, perfect! Ignored: He wouldn’t win but how does Robert Redford not get nominated here? All is Lost may not be an easy watch but it is very good, and Reford is terrific in it. Shout Out to Chiwetel Ejiofer (chewy-tell, you-g-a-four, your welcome) and Bruce Dern…no hard feelings men, you went out there, you played hard, but you got beat.

Supporting Actor/Actress: Actor-Who will win: Jerod Leto. Who should win: Leto (no question here) but Fassbender is so disturbingly good in 12 Years a Slave. Ignored: Jonah Hill could have been crossed off this list and you could’ve added John Goodman who was great in Inside Llewyn Davis, or maybe Will Forte from Nebraska, I would also cross off Bradley Cooper for Ben Foster (from Lone Survivor), but I think I’m alone on that one.
Actress-Who will win: Lupita Nyong’o (she has all the momentum now). Who should win:I have a soft spot here for Julia Roberts who did a fine job in August Osage County (a bad film, but not because of the acting), but in the end though it’s close, I wanna give it to June Squibb of Nebraska…she really steals every scene she is in, that said Nyong’o is very good and deserves it as well, so I am happy with her.
The Rest: Best Director: Will win: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity), Should win: Steve McQueen (12 Years) Original Screenplay: Will win: American Hustle, Should win: Dallas Buyers Club
Adapted Screenplay: Will win:12 Years a Slave, Should win: Philomena

Enjoy the Oscars 2013!!! Nick (hey come find me if you wanna do my Oscar pool)

Getting into Oscar Bait Time...good can Lincoln beat Batman?

So Killing them Softly and Flight are probably the 2 best acted films thus far...but are they best? Many more movies to go as 2012 rounds out into a more balanced film year rather than a superhero film year.