OSCARS
They're fun if you don't take them too seriously. Actually, a pretty good bunch this year.
12 Years a Slave-Haven't seen. See above for discussion.
American Hustle-Christian Bale AND Bradley Cooper?? No the fuck thank you. (Actually, this looks fun in an ARGO sort of way. Still.)
Captain Phillips- Thought it was racist the Somali pirates were black. Kidding. Don't fuck with USA!
Gravity- Epic but intimate. Neat.
Her- Manages to be original, thought-provoking and pretty tedious. I had to bump up the playback speed on this. Still, glad it exists.
Nebraska- I dunno. Not a huge Payne fan. Acting is great.
Philomena- Good. Not enough of Steve Coogan's ass, so I have to say Alpha Papa was better.
The Wolf of Wall Street- Sum not equal to parts. A number of great scenes, but even after three hours I thought, "That's it?" If Casino is a poor man's Goodfellas, this is the poor man's Casino.
Blue Jasmine and Inside Llewyn Davis not nominated? Weird.
And evollove's Oscar goes to:
DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB
I know. I'm as surprised as anyone. I assumed it would be a sappy Hollywood tear-jerker. It's not. At all.
SPOILER ALERT: A few characters have HIV/AIDS. So I figure there's got to be a scene where the character is dying in a hospital bed and in a weak voice gives a life-affirming speech while a dramatic orchestra plays on the soundtrack. This scene is NOT in the movie.
Also, there's a court battle in the plot. But no prolonged court room scene with high drama and lovely speeches. It's over in about thirty seconds.
Basically, this film is not at all what I thought it would be. It moves toward cliche, then quickly veers in another, more honest direction. Matthew McConaughey is clearly going to win, as he should.
I pre-judged this movie. Thought it was going to suck in 99 different ways. (Look at that poster. A slab of cheese.) I was so wrong. Best film of the bunch.