The Oscars 2014 - Selfie, Pizzas, Ellen and a Good Time

Despite the few hiccups, I was able to watch this year's Oscars live. I didn't sleep, watched them early morning and it was raining here too. Anyways, it's always nice to see your favorite actors playing "dress up" and "guess the designer" on the red carpet while you nervously await for the actual ceremony to start. What I wished the most for this year beside the winners and losers was for it to be unlike the previous ceremony. I was underwhelmed by Seth MacFarlane as a host but his humor which I am used to didn't feel much flat. What I wanted here was less musical performances which overtook the entire thing last year, more delightful humor, for the host to keep it going smoothly and good pacing overall. The 86th Annual Academy Awards ceremony didn't disappoint me at all. I had a blast and liked almost everything about it. Ellen DeGeneres did a pretty good job as a host. The best thing about her is that even when she isn't hilarious, somehow she keeps it fun and joyful. And that she is actually a host, she knows how to handle it all. The pacing this time was really good unlike last year. The presentation for the nominees which I always look forward to was quite beautiful. The song performances never felt out-of-place or too much. The winners were very satisfying.

There was no big opening number but Ellen made jokes about actors and some films. Some good, some not so good. Though I love how she included slavery in her jokes routine which some people thought would be offensive. Ellen said:

"We should get started. It's going to be an exciting night. Anything can happen, so many different possibilities. Possibility number one: 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture. Possibility number two: You're all racists. And now please welcome our first white presenter, Anne Hathaway."

The 86th Annual Academy Awards - Winners

The 2014 Oscars were handed out in a glorious and entertaining ceremony which as always, I watched live on TV at 6:30 AM having slept not even for a minute. I just love the Oscars no matter what. Well, I correctly predicted 21 out of 24 categories which is a personal record. "12 Years a Slave" won the best picture prize and Alfonso Cuaron got best director for his work in "Gravity". This is the split which we came to expect eventually and it happened. Splits are a rarity in the kind of voting system they have now but this year was an exception. 2013 gave us such great films and honestly, either of these two would have been one of the best choices ever for the Oscars. For once, I am truly happy with these wins. So 12 Years a Slave only won 3 awards in total. Best picture of course, adapted screenplay and supporting actress for Lupita Nyong'o for which I genuinely applaud the Academy. It was Gravity that went away with a total of 7 awards which includes best director, editing, cinematography, visual effects, sound editing, sound mixing and original score. "American Hustle" walked away with 0 awards... while it was nominated for 10. "The Great Gatsby" won 2 awards for production design and costume design which many of us predicted. "Dallas Buyers Club" won 3 awards for makeup & hairstyling and other two for its actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Cate Blanchett walked away with an Oscar for her performance in "Blue Jasmine". "Frozen" won for animated film, "The Great Beauty" from Italy won for foreign language film and "20 Feet from Stardom" won documentary.

"Let It Go" won best original song for the Disney hit. And of course, pleased immensely to see Spike Jonze being awarded for his stellar, exceptional work in "Her". A great year for the movies, good winners, great time. I am already missing the awards season madness.

Here is a complete list of the winners:

Best Picture:
12 Years a Slave (Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Brad Pitt)

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

The 86th Annual Academy Awards - My Final Predictions

Well these are my final predictions for the Oscars. Just a few days are left and I am excited to see the ceremony hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. I am glad that two of my most favorite films of 2013 are among the frontrunners. Either "Gravity" or "12 Years a Slave" will get the big prize. Unless they want to award an even better choice that is "Her"! Anyways, my predictions states a split which I never get. One of the awards experts online pointed out this whole thing with movies dealing with race getting best picture while the more technically or artistically significant films getting director award. Not that the Steve McQueen masterpiece doesn't have artistic significant but you get the point. The examples includes Crash, In the Heat of the Night, Driving Miss Daisy. So beside the split which may or may not happen but its most likely that it will, there is a fair chance that supporting actress, editing and one of the sound categories might go to the spoiler picks that I have written down. Well, there is nothing else to say. A great year for films will end with Oscars awarding one of the two great films of 2013. Here are my predictions:

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave (Spoiler: Gravity)

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity (Spoiler: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave)

My Oscars 2014 Predictions (Pre-BAFTA)

Is BAFTA really going to tell us the potential winners or will it further confuse us? We will wait and see but at this point, all of us have theories and imaginable possibilities but we aren't sure. On one hand, a film about slavery made expertly in the most intimate and brutal way possible. These kind of stories, black filmmakers are rarely recognized. Academy has the best chance to do that right now. I mean the film itself is masterful so it deserves the accolades not just for the sentiments or anything. Then we have a film that perfectly shows where the future of films lie. Its a bold experiment on a big level with big studio and big bucks... and a female character leading the story. The story itself is quiet different, it has drama and it has thrills. Visual effects and technical brilliance vs an engaging thriller and affecting drama... how can you say no to that? Both of these are amazing films in their own right and both deserves recognition. Its just a matter of what the Academy would want to award. A brutal and disturbing film or a film they can comfortably watch and embrace for what it represents or is. I am still not sure how it is all going to turn out so I am still, in the pre-BAFTA phase, expecting a tie. If PGA can have a tie with preferential ballot system then why not Academy? This is a tough year and an even more exciting one.

Below are my Oscars predictions for now:

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave (Will Win)
Gravity (Could Win)
Her (Should Win)

The 86th Annual Academy Awards Nominations

So the nominations for 2014 Oscars Awards were announced a while ago. I sat down with much anticipation in front of my TV to catch the announcements live on CNN. I was both excited and nervous for the films and actors. For those who were supposed to get nominated and those who were supposed to get snubbed. I must say that as much as I was unhappy with a few snubs, this year's surprises felt more exciting than predictably bland. 2013 was a great year for films and specially performances. So Gravity and American Hustle got the most nominations with 10 while 12 Years a Slave got 9 nominations. For third time in a row, there were 9 nominees in best picture category. Other films that were nominated apart from the above mentioned three were Captain Phillips, Her, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club (which I knew was going to get in) and surprisingly, Philomena. Unfortunately, Coen Brothers' Cannes Grand Prix winning film, Inside Llewyn Davis got snubbed. That is something I feared during my predictions. What is really interesting is that the Academy did not nominate Saving Mr. Banks. I am happy they didn't! On the other Hand, Spike Jonze and the frontrunner Paul Greengrass were snubbed for much respected Martin Scorsese and surprisingly-but-not-so-surprisingly, Alexander Payne in the director category. On the acting front, the biggest snubs includes Robert Redford (considered to be a potential winner at one point), Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Emma Thompson and Daniel Bruhl for their respective films. Captain Phillips weirdly enough got the beating which is something I wasn't expecting. Lee Daniels' The Butler shut out isn't a surprise considering its recent set of snubs in major awards shows. One thing that was at the back of my mind was whether or not American Hustle will get nominated in all four acting categories just like Russell's previous film and it did. Amy Adams was predicted to make it but over Meryl Streep and not Emma Thompson. I was expecting Bradley Cooper to get in but not Christian Bale at all. On the other hand, it pleases me to see Leonardo DiCaprio getting nominated for one of his career best performances. And of course, the same thing can be said for Amy Adams. Among the supporting categories, Jonah Hill specially and Sally Hawkins somewhat surprised me with their inclusions.

If we talk about other categories then the lineup for Foreign Language is pretty good. Though I wasn't predicting Omar and The Missing Picture (which I removed for The Grandmaster last minute). Monsters University snub doesn't affect me in the animated feature category but it is nice to see two foreign animations in the list. For documentary and perhaps THE BIGGEST SNUB in my opinion has to be Sarah Polley's Stories We Well. It was highly acclaimed and rewarded but failed to make the cut. Another perhaps mainstream favorite documentary was Blackfish which wasn't nominated either. Dirty Wars getting a nod was a huge surprise for me. Finally if I can just go through the major snubs in technical categories then... The Wolf of Wall Street in editing, 12 Years a Slave in cinematography and original score would be the major ones along with a few others. At the same time, it is quite amazing to see The Grandmaster getting nominations in costume design and cinematography. I believe it also deserved to be in production design but I am not complaining. Now the film that I was championing was Spike Jonze's Her. My favorite film of the year made it in best picture (not director unfortunately), original screenplay, original score (wow), original song and production design (superb). The Lone Ranger made it in visual effects instead of Pacific Rim which I don't think it deserves. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug made it in a few categories as well. And even though I don't plan to see the film itself, I would like to congratulate John Williams who just keeps on adding nominations to his already giant list.

Below is the full list of the nominations:

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Predicting The 86th Annual Academy Awards Nominations

Well the Academy nominations are going to be announced in just 2 days so its time to finalize your predictions. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said but 12 Years a Slave, Gravity and American Hustle are the frontrunners. I don't think Martin Scorsese is getting in for The Wolf of Wall Street, neither do I think that either Leonardo DiCaprio for the same film or Amy Adams for American Hustle will. They both won Golden Globes I know but I don't see them kicking two acclaimed and well-regarded veterans out. For the picture category, Inside Llewyn Davis is on the brink of being snubbed. I am expecting an original score nomination for Disney's Frozen.

As for my Oscar wish, Spike Jonze's Her should get at least 10 nominations.

The most nominated films based on my predictions are 12 Years a Slave with 11, Gravity with 10 while both American Hustle and Captain Phillips with 9 nominations each. Below is the full list:

Best Picture:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4) Captain Phillips
5) Nebraska
6) Her
7) The Wolf of Wall Street
8) Saving Mr. Banks
9) Inside Llewyn Davis
10) Dallas Buyers Club

Mid-December Academy Award Nominations 2014 Predictions

With nominations for SAG and Golden Globes recently announced and the ongoing slew of critics awards happening, I guess it has become a bit clearer now. Still there is no formed consensus or a linear path. The nominations and wins are all over the place. Things are quite uncertain which is exactly how I love it. Looking at all the wins, "12 Years a Slave" and "Her" have dominated in the main category. Alfonso Cuaron won the most in director category so far with Steve McQueen not far behind. Some acting categories have scattered wins except for lead actress and supporting actor. The frontrunners seems to be "12 Years a Slave", "Gravity" and "American Hustle". "Her" from the critics side. Anything can happen! This is my second last attempt at predicting the Oscars nominations. The next time I will post these would be a week before the nominations are announced.

Best Picture:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4) Inside Llewyn Davis
5) Her
6) Captain Phillips
7) Nebraska
8) The Wolf of Wall Street
9) Saving Mr Banks

November Update - Oscars 2014 Nominations Prediction

Time for my end of November Oscars prediction update. Nothing much have changed to be honest. Some of the categories have become a bit clearer though nothing is really assured at this point. We have yet to hear anything about Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street". "American Hustle" however got a screening for some selected critics and the word is that it is good. Jennifer Lawrence got the best praise so she is in. Supporting actor/actress category is as usual, a fine mess. The last two picks in both I am not sure of. The leads seems to be staying the way I have predicted here. Original Screenplay category is too overwhelming. I have also predicted all the technical categories. The three shorts (live action/animation/documentary), I just could not. Also as the Academy releases the lists of its finalists and eligible contenders in such categories as foreign language, documentary, original songs etc, I will then have some assured choices to make. Just a few days left for the critics to start announding their winners. Here is hoping for a good Awards season.

Below are my predictions for every category except the three shorts with one alternative choice for each of them.

Best Picture:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) Inside Llewyn Davis
4) Captain Phillips
5) American Hustle
6) The Wolf of Wall Street
7) Nebraska
8) Saving Mr. Banks
9) Lee Daniels' The Butler

October Update - Oscars 2014 Nominations Prediction

It is best I guess to do these at the end of every month. You never know when or where the abundance or lack of "Oscar buzz" takes a movie away. While there is still not much clarity in terms of the race because the critics awards and the major guilds have a lot of time left to start the whole mania, I have simply tried to go with the buzz, track record and my personal opinion. So, The Wolf of Wall Street is indeed in. Foxcatcher and The Monuments Men are going to be released in 2014. The Counselor got bad reviews, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty wasn't well received, the buzz for Labor Day has died. Then there are some significant and worthy indie titles from earlier this year which people are forgetting. Some 'significant' movies with awards favorite directors/actors/technicians which have yet to be seen by the masses. Too much confusion but still, here are my (end of October) Oscar nominations predictions.

Best Picture:-

Frontrunners

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4) Inside Llewyn Davis
5) Captain Phillips
6) The Wolf of Wall Street

First Attempt at Predicting Oscars 2014 Nomination

                   It is that time of the year....... yes it is! As much as I end up disappointed at the end of every Oscar Year, I still can't help but get excited for the next year and how it will all shape up. Throwing off predictions in the air is always a fun thing. These are my first predictions in a few categories (Picture, Director, 4 Acting categories, Original/Adapted Screenplay). The fall film festival season is already underway, some responses from Telluride specially are noted. Most of all I am relying on my instincts and the Oscar history. So far, Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis, Lee Daniels' The Butler etc have been seen and loved. There are some movies by major names that are included, some for their name and others for the whole "they are due" thing so I have basically covered all the criteria here. My next and full predictions will be posted at the end of November from then on I will weekly update them till the nominations are announced.

Best Picture:-

Frontrunners

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) American Hustle
3) Inside Llewyn Davis
4) The Wolf of Wall Street
5) Gravity
6) Captain Phillips
7) August: Osage County
8) Lee Daniels’ The Butler
9) Foxcatcher