Every year I say I am going to do it and this year I actually succeeded: I have watched every movie nominated for Best Picture and every movie with an actor or actress nominated in all the major acting categories.
Here are miniature reviews for all the movies nominated for Best Picture.
American Hustle: Tied as my favorite film of the year, this is a fun, eccentric, probably less than half-true take on the Abscam case of the 1970s. With incredible acting and directing that shows David O Russell is really hitting his stride, it is no surprise that this film is nominated in all the major categories. It's category with the strongest chance? Best Supporting Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence.
Captain Phillips: If Gravity did not exist, this movie would have been one of the most stressful thing I had seen in years. Tom Hanks gives a performance that makes you question the voters' sanity when he was not nominated for Best Actor, but it was newcomer Barkhad Abdi that stole the show and made the Somali pirate seem almost like the one to cheer for.
Dallas Buyers Club: This is the movie that will probably earn Matthew McConaughey an Oscar win. If you told me there was even a chance of this a few short years ago, I would have said that you were crazy. With this intense and beautiful movie, it is extremely likely that we will here "alright, alright, alright" out of his mouth on Oscar night.
Gravity: I still cannot quite fathom how this movie was made. If Alfonso Cuaron does not win for Best Director, it will be a travesty on par with Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain. It also has a strong chance of becoming an Oscar winner for Best Picture.
Her: Out of all the nominated films, this is probably the most heartwarming and adorable of the bunch, which I never thought possible from a Joaquin Phoenix film. It also has the most original screenplay and is a strong contender in that race.
Nebraska: Bruce Dern and breakout actress June Squibb make this movie the masterpiece that it is. Sure, it has a great script and the overall acting by other characters is great, but without these two, the movie would not be nominated in this category.
Philomena: This movie will wreck you more than you think. I will be honest, I was not looking forward to this one. However, the depth of passion that Judi Dench brings to the title role make it obvious why so many thought this little film deserved a nomination. Unfortunately for it though, this is too strong a year for movies that it is highly unlikely that it will win any awards come Oscar night.
12 Years a Slave: There is no more intense and devastating movie this year, or maybe even in a few years, than this one. Due to it's historical significance and sensation acting by Lupita Nyongo, Michael Fassbender, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, this film is a major favorite to bring home the little gold man statuette.
The Wolf of Wall Street: Also tied for my favorite movie of the year, Leonardo Dicaprio brings out his wild side in one of his best performances of his career (and that's saying something with a resume like his). It is no wonder that Jonah Hill worked for only $60,000 on this crazy, over-the-top, drug-addled Scorsese masterpiece.
So what will win the Oscar this year? Really, it is anyone's guess.
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