Oscar Nomination Reactions

Oscar nominations were announced this morning.  Without further ado, here are the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards, along with comments. 




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

COMMENTS:  I guess I now have to go see 'Her' and watch 'Philomena' at some point.  Other than that this isn't all that surprising.  'Gravity', 'Nebraska', '12 Years A Slave' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' are all great.  'Captain Phillips' was okay.  Both 'American Hustle' and 'Dallas Buyers Club' shouldn't be nominated.  Sorry, but I didn't like those. 





BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

COMMENTS:  Looks like I wasn't nominated for my role as a college student who coincidentally starts a blog just after a break up.  I wrote a speech and everything.  Oh well.  In all seriousness  I've actually seen all of these.  Overall this isn't surprising.  McConaughey and DiCaprio may have won the Best Actor trophies at the Golden Globes, but I still feel that this one is all Ejiofor.  It would be awesome if Dern won, but that's not gonna happen.





BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

COMMENTS:  Also seen all of these nominees.  I guess the only surprising thing is the knowledge that the fat kid from 'Superbad' and the leader of the Wolf Pack from 'The Hangover' trilogy both now have two Oscar nominations under their belt (Hill previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 'Moneyball', Cooper previously nominated for Best Actor for 'Silver Linings Playbook'). 





BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August:  Osage County

COMMENTS:  I've only seen two of these (Amy Adams and Sandra Bullock).  Meryl Streep could be filmed sitting in a lawn chair, chugging Bud Light and still be nominated for an Academy Award, extending her record of 18 nominations.  And Amy Adams is a great actress....I just didn't like 'American Hustle'. 





BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'O, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August:  Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

COMMENTS:  Same nominees from the Golden Globes.  I've seen three of these (Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong'o, June Squibb).  Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress...but miscast.  Honestly, if she wins I'll be upset. 





BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

COMMENTS:  Pixar's not in the running this year.  Haven't heard much about 'Ernest & Celestine' or 'The Wind Rises'.  But this one is 'Frozen''s to lose.





BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

COMMENTS: ...um...okay?





BEST DOCUMENTARY - FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom

COMMENTS:  I've seen none of these.  Nor have I really heard all that much about these.  Moving on...





BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT SUBJECT
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady In Number 6:  Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal:  The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

COMMENTS:...moving on...





BEST SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION
Aquel No Era Yo ("That Wasn't Me")
Avant Que De Tout Perde ("Just Before Losing Everything")
Helium
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? ("Do I Have To Take Care of Everything?")
The Voorman Problem

COMMENTS:...moving on...





BEST SHORT FILM - ANIMATED
Feral
Get A Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

COMMENTS: ...moving...wait, I've seen one these!  'Get A Horse!' played in front of 'Frozen'.  A mix of 2D and 3D animation using recordings of Walt Disney himself as the voice of Mickey Mouse.  It started off great...than got a little long....and the 3D kinda ruined it....but still nice to see it nominated.





BEST SOUND EDITING
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

COMMENTS:  If you know the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing then you're a better person than I'll ever be.





BEST SOUND MIXING
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

COMMENTS:  Yep....I got nothing.....





BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 years A Slave

COMMENTS:  Old sport, it's good to see 'Gatsby' pop up in some of these technical awards. 





BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

COMMENTS:  I completely forgot about 'The Grandmaster'.  I remember seeing a few commercials for it but that's about it.  Other than that I do agree with the other nominees.  I didn't care for 'Prisoners' all that much but one of the few good things about it was it's cinematography





BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents:  Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

COMMENTS:  'Bad Grandpa' was nominated.  That is awesome.  And unexpected. 





BEST COSTUME DESIGN
12 years A Slave
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
American Hustle

COMMENTS:  Solid list of nominees...all though 'The Grandmaster' kinda came out of nowhere...





BEST FILM EDITING
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
12 years A Slave

COMMENTS:  Solid list of nominees.  You know, except for 'Dallas Buyers Club' and 'American Hustle'.  





BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

COMMENTS:  This is actually a great list.  But at the same time this is 'Gravity''s to lose. 





BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks

COMMENTS:  Good to see 'Saving Mr. Banks' get nominated for something. 





BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Alone Yet Not Alone" - Alone Yet Not Alone
"Happy" - Despicable Me 2
"Let It Go" - Frozen
"The Moon Song" - Her
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom

COMMENTS:  I've only heard 'Happy' and 'Let It Go'.





BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
Terrence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

COMMENTS:  Solid list of nominees...I guess. 





BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten and Melissa Wollack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle

COMMENTS:  Another solid list of nominees...except for 'Dallas Buyers Club'.





BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

COMMENTS:  Yet another solid list of nominees.




The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will be held on March 2.  I'll have picks up by then.