Well it looks like href=http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2014/03/2014-oscar-predictions> all my predictions came true, feel free to send my cut of all office Oscar pool winnings. In what the Oscars were self-proclaiming as “the closest race in history” it ended up being completely devoid of shock and surprise. Sure, you can be mildly upset that your personal favorite movie or actors didn’t win but it isn’t as if there were any Oscar travesties this year.
12 Years a Statement
And so the academy got to make its statement by awarding 12 Years a Slave for its best picture of the year. Oscar gold usually comes in the form of not shying away from past atrocities and this year was no exception. In all its horrific splendor slavery was put on display for all to witness. This is not to say 12 Years a Slave was undeserving, the acting was very good as evidenced by its three nominations in the acting categories. But for history’s sake, Oscar history moreso than American history, there is no way the academy could have chosen a movie about a man who falls in love with a computer, or an old man’s journey to Nebraska for a prize he didn’t win over a fairly accurate depiction of the atrocities of slavery.
Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o was awarded for her supporting role in the film as well. Nyong’o outshined Hollywood darling Jennifer Lawrence, whose performance for American Hustle is widely overrated, making Nyong’o the deserving winner. The Oscars also made a statement by awarding Nyong’o by announcing her arrival to stardom. Expect Nyong’o’s sparse imdb page to fill up within the next couple of years.
The Dallas Redemption Club
While it didn’t win best picture, Dallas Buyers Club saw its lead actor and supporting actor take home the coveted statuette. The voters usually love flashy, physical transformations and both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto did not disappoint. More over McConaughey and Leto offer up an excellent come back narrative that the Oscars couldn’t pass up.
In the mid-2000s McConaughey was coming to the end of his rope after a string of inconsequential Rom-Coms and disappointing movies like Sahara. But lately McConaughey has gotten back in touch with his Texan roots and been a on a three year hot streak with supporting roles in critically acclaimed movies such as Bernie, Magic Mike, and a magnetic six minutes in this year’s best picture nominee The Wolf of Wall Street while also starring in fairly respected movies like Mud and The Lincoln Lawyer and HBO’s new hit show True Detective. And now his transformation from sexy doofus to still sexy and respected thespian comes full circle with the win for Dallas Buyers Club.
Jared Leto’s story might be a bit better. What’s the last movie you’ve seen Jared Leto in? Is it Panic Room? Or maybe you remember him in Lord of War as Nicolas Cage’s younger brother? Or probably not. Since the year 2000 when Leto was beginning to make a name with himself with roles in acclaimed movies like Fight Club, American Psycho, and Requiem for a Dream he has been in eight movies. That’s eight movies in thirteen years. Instead he has leant most of his focus to his band 30 Seconds to Mars. Leto, of course, underwent an even more shocking transformation than McConaughey with his stunning portrayal of a transgendered woman. Aside from Cate Blanchett’s win for lead actress, Leto’s win is the least stunning result of the night.
There is much less to say about Blanchett than McConaughey or Leto. Blanchett has been very present and very good for a decade now and earned her second Oscar for her role in Blue Jasmine. Instead of being Woody Allen by proxy, Blanchett added some nuance to Woody’s neuroticism fully fleshing out her character. She feels utterly lost from her recent fall from the top of the social strata and maintains that throughout the movie.
Issac Newton Rejoices
Newton’s third law of motion is proven once again. This year’s action comes from Gravity’s impressive haul of visual and technical awards: directing, cinematography, film editing, production design, visual effects, sound mixing and editing. But of course there is the (somewhat) equal and opposite reaction, which comes in the form of a best picture loss. Is it better to have seven Oscars that aren’t in the best picture or acting category or the one Oscar for best picture? Whatever the answer may be, the win for directing is certainly a very nice consolation prize for the science-fiction thriller.
Gravity’s most impressive win, aside from directing, may just be for music score. Nominated alongside movie composing greats John Williams, Thomas Newman, and Alexandre Desplat it was relative composing newcomer Steven Price who won for knowing when to be silent and quiet. Price’s score is the moody syntax of the thrilling Gravity and is definitely an interesting choice over the more usual fare. Still, it is fairly ridiculous that neither Desplat nor Newman have won an Oscar. Desplat has been nominated six times, five of the six coming since 2008. Newman on the other hand has been nominated a whopping twelve times, including for two different movies in 1994, but still goes without. Newman has scored movies for fan favorites movie such as The Shawshank Redemption, Finding Nemo, Wall•E, and my personal favorite score for American Beauty.
That wraps up what was a pretty good year for movies. While there wasn’t one movie that will go in the pantheon of greats such as The Godfather, Casablanca or Raging Bull, 2013 was probably the best year for movies since the 2010s began. Here’s hoping 2014 is just as good, if not better.