The Academy Award nominations were announced today!
And I saw two movies this week!
So it’s time for a little movie chat!

Nominated for BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR:
- American Hustle – I saw this the Monday before Christmas instead of seeing Anchorman 2, which everyone went to, but I’d already seen. I’m glad I saw this. I thought that the performances by the four leads were incredible. Christian Bale’s hair should get an award all by itself! I’d like to see this one again!
- Captain Phillips – This was an incredible movie. It’s a shame that Tom Hanks wasn’t nominated, because his performance was incredible – especially at the end. It was tense and frightening and even though I knew the outcome, it was an amazing ending. Probably my favorite of the movies on this list that I have seen.
- Dallas Buyers Club – Incredible performances (wow, I keep saying that!) by the two leads, discouraging story about the FDA and pharmaceutical companies and their snail pace progress in approving drugs.
- Gravity – Another tense movie! Saw it in 3D and the visuals were spectacular, the storyline was so nerve-wracking, and the performances were very good.
- Her – Saw this today! I was super sleepy and we were the only people in the theatre for the first matinee. My eyes closed a few times (gasp!) and we were able to talk through the movie, because of having the theatre to ourselves. It was thought-provoking and I thought Joaquin gave a great performance, again with no nomination. The depiction of the not-so-distant-future was fascinating and disturbing.
- Nebraska – Didn’t see this one – yet. 🙂
- Philomena – Really liked this little gem of a movie. Love British movies, love Judi Dench, love Steve Coogan, love the premise. Not a happy story, but a real-life story. No Hollywood ending here.
- 12 Years a Slave – Haven’t seen this one – yet!
- The Wolf of Wall Street – Haven’t seen this one yet, either!
The other movie I saw this week was Inside Llewyn Davis – the story of a folk singer down on his luck. It’s a week-in-the-life, and comes full circle. It is another non-Hollywood ending, I loved the music and the 1961 era. It was anticipated to be a big nominee but it wasn’t nominated for anything big. The main man had quite a beard!
Performance by an ACTOR in a Leading Role
- 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
Performance by an ACTOR in a Supporting Role
- 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
I haven’t seen all of the movies that the men are nominated for, but I did think that Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey were both very incredible in their roles – and both had major physical transformations for their roles. I thought that Jared Leto was beautiful as Rayon in the Dallas Buyers Club, as well.
Performance by an ACTRESS in a Leading Role
- Amy Adams, AMERICAN HUSTLE
- Cate Blanchett, BLUE JASMINE
- Sandra Bullock, GRAVITY
- Judi Dench, PHILOMENA
- Meryl Streep, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Performance by an ACTRESS in a Supporting Role
- Sally Hawkins, BLUE JASMINE
- Jennifer Lawrence, AMERICAN HUSTLE
- Lupita Nyong’o, 12 YEARS A SLAVE
- Julia Roberts, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
- June Squibb, NEBRASKA
This is tough. I’ve seen four of the roles nominated in the leading actress category and would have a very difficult time picking one. Cate Blanchett’s Jasmine in Blue Jasmine is most memorable – she plays someone who is chemically dependent and mentally ill very well. It was quite the role in quite the movie.
So I have some movies to see if I want to see them all before March 2 – how about you? Have you seen many of the nominated films or roles? Who will you pick? What are your favorites?
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