Oscars 2014: Immediate Reactions

So the 2014 Oscar nominations came out today. Obviously I'm going to have some things to say about them, because why wouldn't I? If anything is to be learned from this blog it's that I talk about movies way too much. So let's talk more about them shall we? Now this is just some immediate reactions. Not my most well-written work, and it's incomplete because I have yet to see some of the movies nominated, like Nebraska and Blue Jasmine. Working on it. But here's a discussion about the things I have seen, what surprises me, so on and so forth. Enjoy!

First of all, here is the list in case you haven't seen it: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Big Winners: 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Gravity
No big surprise from the first two, however Gravity received 10 nominations, including Best Picture. This is one of the big surprises of the list. Sure it's my current number one movie of 2013 (oh wait that list isn't out yet) but it's also sci-fi movie with a not-entirely-gripping story. We shall see if it sweeps its categories, but American Hustle is also poised to sweep. David O. Russell deserves a lot of credit, as his movies have come out of nowhere and are getting a lot of nominations over the last few years. Additionally I think 12 Years is going to be a big loser here. It will definitely win a few awards, but probably only two or three.

Leonardo DiCaprio and The Wolf of Wall Street
The hope that he wins Best Actor is alive guys. Definitely the number one performance from the nominations list, it's time to cross our fingers and pray that DiCaprio FINALLY wins his first Oscar. We'll see! Also kudos to the Academy throwing politics out the door and giving Wolf of Wall Street a deserving 5 nominations, including Best Picture. 


Big Losers
Saving Mr. Banks
Only one nomination for score? Wow. The Lone Ranger received more nominations than it. That's just laughable. What was in my opinion a dark horse to win best picture isn't even nominated for it. Without a doubt the biggest disappointment of this list.

Tom Hanks
Do we just expect him to be a phenomenal actor now? I predicted that he was going to be nominated for Best Actor for Captain Phillips and Best Supporting Actor for his role as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. And he gets neither. The Walt Disney role I can understand as it was a great year for the supporting actors, but Captain Phillips? He deserved it more so than Bale did for American Hustle at least!  We really do just expect greatness from him now.

Pacific Rim not nominated for Visual Effects
The Internet has already blown up over this one. This category is for sure Gravity's to lose no matter what, but Pacific Rim's effects were definitely the second best effects of the year. And Lone Ranger is nominated? Those effects weren't even all that good. Criminal.

The Lone Survivor
Kinda figured that it wasn't going to get much, but only two nominations? I mean for one, it too deserved to be nominated for visual effects over Lone Ranger. 


Big Surprises
Bad Grandpa earns a nomination
Kudos to the Academy for nominating Bad Grandpa for makeup and hairstyling! The best part of that movie was absolutely the job they did turning Johnny Knoxville into Zimmer, or whatever his name is. The grandpa! That guy. Not that it's going to win, as Dallas Buyers Club is a heavy heavy favorite to win that (at least) that category. 

THE LONE RANGER RECEIVES TWO NOMINATIONS
THE FREAKING LONE RANGER. One of the worst movies of 2013 has received two nominations, neither of which it deserved. Since it was one of the biggest box office busts of the year, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there is something under-the-table going on between Disney and the Academy to try to increase DVD sales and warrant a sequel. Not going to happen guys. But I guarantee you all of the sudden there's going to be a big marketing campaign for the movie as they say HEY LOOK! WE GOT TWO NOMINATIONS! GIVE US MONEY. An absolute travesty.

Finally, here's a bold statement: Martin Scorsese beats out David O. Russell for Best Director. Why? Because American Hustle is shot like a Scorsese film. Like Goodfellas or Casino. If Russell wins it's an insult to Scorsese because Russell borrowed so much from him. But we'll see! Anyway my actual predictions will be up soon!

Thanks for reading guys! It's an open discussion so feel free to comment and tell me that my opinions are bad and that I should feel bad etc. etc.


EDIT:
Another loser of the nomination list is The Butler. Not one nomination. Not one. Everyone clearly forgot about this movie. (myself included) But it is kind of a shame. The big loser from the movie is Oprah Winfrey. She was a favorite to receive a nod for Best Supporting Actress. Such a shame. I did have a feeling it was going to happen. Sure it was a good movie, but it was rather forgettable, and due to the fact that it came out in August, that's exactly what happened.