Oscar Picks

If you read enough of my posts then you'll know how good I am at procrastinating.  I could win the award for best lead procrastinator every year if there was such a thing.  Instead I'll just write down my picks along with maybe a sentence or two.  They'll be two rankings for each category.  The first is ranking of my favorite performances for each beacuse after all, this whole thing is about me.  The second is my prediction of who will win.  Pretty simple right?  Quickfire ranking time.

Best Picture                            

My favorites in order:
1. Her
2. Gravity
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. 12 Years a Slave
5. Dallas Buyers Club
6. Nebraska
7. Philomena
8. American Hustle
9. Captain Phillips

The good news for me this year was no musical to sit through out of the best pictures so I went into each movie giving it a chance.  After seeing all of them, Captain Phillips was the only one that I really wouldn't want to see again.  Now I have the same problem that I always have when rating things and that's deciding if how good something is compared to how good it is.  There were many things visually and soundwise that are better in Gravity compared to Her but look which one is up there with the top spot.

Best Picture Picks
1. 12 Years a Slave
2. Gravity
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. American Hustle
5. Dallas Buyers Club
6. Her
7. Nebraska
8. Captain Phillips
9. Philomena

That's how I see it playing out.  I'll be rooting hard for Her but final pick is 12 Years.

Changing things up.  2 rankings is stupid but I'm not going back to change the first paragraph.  Oh well.

Leading Actor
This is a tricky one because I could see either one of two people winning it.  Leo was great, especially while giving speeches or being high but McConnaughey was the only guy I saw disappear this year.  What does that mean?  Last year for Lincoln I thought D.D.L disappeared and I only saw some guy playing Lincoln.  Same for McConnaughey and the Aids patient this year.  Bale and the 12 Years guy were both good but I would say not close to the other two.  Bruce Dern was also good but I didn't even think he had a leading part.  Would've rather have seen Joaquin over him.  Anyway favorite and how I think they'll come out is the same this time.

1. Matthew McConnaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
2. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
3. Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
4. Christian Bale - American Hustle
5. Bruce Dern - Nebraska

Leading Actress

Not so tricky.  Blanchet played a character who is having a serious breakdown and did a really good job.  I spent most of the movie not liking her but only because her character was so annoying.  Same thing for Meryl Streep except she was just a bitter old B'.  Judi Dench was very likeable and Sandra Bullock did a good job at almost dying.  Amy Adams was just normal Amy Adams and would've rather seen Emma Thompson from Saving Mr. Banks here.

1. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
2. Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
3. Judi Dench - Philomena
4. Sandra Bullock - Gravity
5. Amy Adams - American Hustle.

Supporting Actor
Time is even shorter and I'm very sure about this one.  Again with the disappearing.

1. Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
2. Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
3. Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
5. Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Supporting Actress
This one comes down to two people and I'm picking Patsey

1. Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
2. Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
3. Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
4. June Squibb - Nebraska
5. Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

Best Director
Pretty confident about this one.

1. Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
2. Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
3. Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street
4. David O'Russell - American Hustle
5. Alexander Payne - Nebraska

Best Animated Feature Film
The first category where I haven't seen one of the movies.  Impressive right?  The Wind Rises only came out 2 days ago so I can't be blamed.  Also I didn't care for frozen but it's a big favorite and I'm no sucker so I'm going with it also. 

1. Frozen
2. Despicable Me 2
3. The Croods
4. Ernest et Celestine (really cool water color art.  way different the the first 3)
5. The Wind Rises (probably would be 2 if I saw it)

Best Cinematography
Prisoners only nomination but I liked it better than Captain Phillips.

1. Gravity
2. Prisoners
3. Inside Llewyn Davis
4. Nebraska
5. The Grandmaster

Best Costume Design

Didn't see the Invisible Woman so I'm up to 2 on that list.

1. The Great Gatsby
2. American Hustle
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. The Grandmaster
5. The Invisible Woman

Best Film Editing
The only category Captain Phillips has a chance

1. Gravity
2. Captain Phillips
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. American Hustle
5. Dallas Buyers Club

Best Sound Editing
This is making sound effects and the sound recorded sound nice among other things.

1. Gravity
2. All is Lost
3. Lone Survivor
4. Captain Phillips
5. The Hobbit 2

Best Sound Mixing
Taking everything the sound editors did and making it into a finished product

1. Gravity
2. Lone Survivor
3. Inside Llewyn Davis
4. Captain Phillips
5. The Hobbit 2

Best Music Original Score
A very important part of a movie

1. Gravity
2. Her
3. Saving Mr. Banks
4. The Book Theif
5. Philomena

Best Original Song
I didn't want to pick Let it Go but the lyrics are too simple in Happy for me to pick it.

1. Let it Go - Frozen
2. Happy - Despicable Me 2
3. Ordinary Love - Mandela Long Walk to Freedom
4. The Moon Song - Her

Best Make Up and Hair Styling
Bad Grandpa was my favorite but I'm picturing a lot of older people voting for these things.

1. Dallas Buyers Club
2. Bad Grandpa
3. Lone Ranger

Best Production Design
If The Great Gatsby was as good as it looked then maybe someone would've liked it.

1. The Great Gatsby
2. Gravity
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. Her
5. American Hustle

Best Visual Effects
Gravity and that's all

1. Gravity
2. Star Trek 2
3. The Hobbit 2
4. Iron Man 3
5. The Lone Ranger

Best Original Screenplay
Here is where Her wins one

1. Her
2. Dallas Buyers Club
3. Nebraska
4. American Hustle
5. Blue Jasmine

Best Adapted Screenplay
These people aren't original

1. 12 Years a Slave
2. Philomena
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Before Midnight
5. Captain Phillips

Best Foreign Film
This one is crazy close.  Only watched the three in contention.

1. The Hunt
2. The Great Beauty
3. Broken Circle Breakdown

Best Documentary
Don't see what is making people say 20 feet is a winner.

1. The Act of Killing
2. The Square
3. 20 Feet from Stardom
4. Cutie and the Boxer
5. Dirty Wars

Live Action Short Film

1. The Voorman Problem - wasn't amazing but Martin Freeman hype.
2. Helium - Good story and some cool fantasy effects thrown in
3. Aquel No Era Yo - I think it's spanish for "Don't go to Africa even if there is a fire"
4. Avant Que De Tout Perdre - was good but felt like the last 30 mins of a full length movie not a short
5. The Finnish one - I enjoyed it but it was way less than the other.

Animated Short
Only saw 2 because they're not available online

1. Get a Horse!
2. Room on a broom

Documentary Short
Like last year couldn't find these anyway.  Cave Digger sounds pretty close to Grave Digger and that is metal.  Rooting for that one but this category doesn't count.

14 Minutes to go.  Just in time again.