Oscar Nominations

Sorry this is a day later than promised, but as much as I wish I could watch movies for my full time job,  that is not the case. The combination of a late night at work and the Critics Choice Awards airing equaled this girl being too tired to type last night. However, the upside is I've had more time to think about the Oscar nominations and analyze how I feel about them.

I'm not surprised at all by the Best Picture nominees. So far it seems like this category will be a two way race between 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. It would be rather refreshing to have a Best Picture Oscar race that has some mystery to it. The last few years were so predictable from day one.

With Best Actor a lot of fuss has been made about Robert Redford and Tom Hanks getting snubs, but it's a stacked group this year. Which actor that was nominated should have been snubbed instead? I also think that Redford and Hanks may have "cancelled" each other out since both were featured in "lost at sea" movies. (I've yet to see either one, but I'm really not a fan of lost at sea/in the wilderness/in the arctic stories.)

Best Actress is another category that I'm not surprised about even though everyone seems to be shocked that Meryl Streep got a nomination. Really? The woman has more acting nominations than any other person in history. Clearly the Academy likes her and her work. I'm still rooting for Amy Adams in this race, but I think it's going to go to Cate Blanchett. And I have to say I'm tired of hearing people call her "Cate the Great". I think Blanchett is an amazing actress but "Kate the Great" is and always will be Katherine Hepburn. Even if their names are spelled differently.

Now, Best Supporting Actor had a genuine unexpected nomination; Jonah Hill. Hill hasn't been nominated for his role in Wolf of Wall Street in any of the other major Awards shows. I'm even more excited to see Wolf of Wall Street now. I sort of love the idea that the guy that played a puking demon earlier in 2013 (in This is the End) has now earned his second Oscar nomination.

Best Supporting Actress is another race I'm interested to see unfold. So far it seems like a two woman race between Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave and Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle. I've only seen Lawrence of the nominated performances so far and she did do a great job, but I've heard wonderful things about Nyong'o as well. Some people are predicting Lawrence will get her second win in a row, but only time will tell.

My biggest disappointment in the nominations comes from the lack of love for the movie Prisoners. It was the best movie I saw in 2013. The performances were all stellar, the direction was amazing and the cinematography was gorgeous. It's lone nomination was for cinematography. I'm also think Nat Faxon and Jim Rash should have gotten a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Does Woody Allen really need another nomination? No. He never shows up to the Oscars and he married his daughter. Why does everyone seem to forget that?

Yesterday the Critics Choice Awards also aired and they are always an interesting night. I like that they now air the night of the Oscar nominations because you get a candid view of the attendees views on the Oscar nominations. Last year, the beginnings of Argo's support in reaction to Ben Affleck's Directing snub began at the Critic's Choice Awards. Last night the biggest reaction seemed to be towards Tom Hanks' lack of Oscar love. The biggest theme of the night was winners who had won at the Globes on Sunday essentially continuing their acceptance speeches with thank yous to the people they forgot before. Both Amy Adams and Leonardo DiCaprio followed this line, including DiCaprio congratulating Jonah Hill on his nomination that morning. My favorite moment of the night though, was when Cate Blanchett accepted her award for Best Actress and told her small son in the audience that he was lucky she was his mother and not her character in a super creepy voice. My one complaint is that the CW took over airing the show this year and they clearly need to brush up on how to air a live broadcast. Twice the screen just went blank and almost every commercial break went over and cut into the broadcast, even completely missing the award for Best Action Movie.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. I'm doing a mini marathon tomorrow. I'm joining my mom (who instilled in me my love of movies and the Academy Awards) and her boyfriend in seeing August: Osage County, Dallas Buyer's Club, and Her. Then I''ll close out the evening by watching the SAG Awards on my DVR. Oh how I love Awards Season.

Goodnight!
MGG