The Vern's 2014 Oscar Winning Predictions.

The nominations for the 2014 Academy Awards have been picked and the show is set to air on March 2nd.  There are a lot of speculations on who will win this year and my list of winners are very predictable.   I was pretty damn good at picking who would be nominated and I hope that my picks of the winners will be accurate as well, but as past awards have told me.  It's merely a guessing game at this point.  So without any further to do.  Here is my complete list of the top winners and loosers of the Oscars this year.

NOTE***  I'm not including many of the techincal ones since I don't know how many of them work.  Seriously, best sound mixing and best sound editing is still a foreign concept for me.

The Vern's Oscar winning Predictions

Best Achievement in Cinematography.

 Gravity -  Emmanuel Lubezki

Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel

Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael

Prisoners - Roger Deakins

The Grandmaster - Phillipe Le Sourd

***Winner*** Gravity

I'm predicting that "Gravity" will win this one, but I really want Roger Deakins to take home an award for "Prisoners".  The man has been nominated a bunch of times and hasn't won once.  I wish he would have won for "Skyfall" last year and to have him win this time, would be just a pitty one.  The look of both "The Grandmaster"and "Inside Llewyn Davis" are also good, and if they were not up against "Gravity" they could have stood a chance.  I will say that the black in white in "Frances Ha"  was better then "Nebraska" and should have been chosen instead.

Best Achievement in Hair and Makeup

Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee, Robin Mattews

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa - Steve Prouty

The Lone Ranger - Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua Casny

****Winner****   Bad Grandpa

I know that "Dallas Buyers Club" has a lot of going for it with how well it transforms Matthew McConnaughey and Jared Leto.  But I gotta go with "Bad Grandpa" as the winner.  I say this because it takes more work from makeup artists then the other noms.  It takes a lot of effort to make Johnny Knoxville into an older guy and have it be believable. The guy had to convince a lot of real people that he was this old character, and he does a good job at it.  Also this movie was co written and produced by Spike Jonze, and with "Her" being up for a few awards. Having another one of his films win another Oscar makes me very happy.

Best Original Song

Happy - Despicable Me 2

Let it Go - Frozen

Ordinary Love - Mandela: Long walk to Freedom

The Moon Song - Her

***Winner**** Let it Go

I'm not going to mention the removal of one certain song except to say good riddance.  I really want The Moon song to win, just because I'm a big Yeah Yeah Yeahs fan.  But seeing Karen O perform on stage will be a win enough for me.  I still have a feeling that the one used in "Frozen" will win  based on how popular this movie is.  I won't discount U2's song either because it has picked up a lot of awards already.  I won't be upset at who takes home the statue that night, but if Karen O doesn't sing
on stage.  I will be.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Before Midnight - Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklatter

Captain Phillips - Billy Ray

The Wolf of Wall Street - Terence Winter

Philomena - Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

12 Years a Slave - John Ridley

*** Winner***  12 Years a Slave.

The script for "The Wolf of Wall Street" is brilliant in the way it satirizes the behavior of Jordan Belfort and his cohorts. It doesn't damn him nor does it praise him either. Billy Ray's script for "Captain Phillips" shows the Somali pirates not just as villains but as desperate men.  Oh and the way that Linklatter, Delpy, and Hawke show the developing relationship of their characters in "Before Midnight" is remarkable.  This is a tough one to choose, but I will say that "12 Years a Slave" seems to be everyone's favorite to win.

Best Original Screenplay.

Her - Spike Jonze

Blue Jasmine - Woody Allen

American Hustle - Eric Warren Singer, David O Russel

Nebraska - Bob Nelson

Dallas Buyers Club - Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack

***Winner****   Her

"Her" is brilliant in the way it takes a very odd concept and  grounds it in reality.  It is a very accurate description not just about relationships with eachother,but about our dependence with technology too.  "Dallas Buyers Club" gives us a different perspective on the early aids crises and shows how it affected everyone.  Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" also  gave us a good look at a woman whose life of security and wealth(not to mention her sanity) falls apart

Best Animated Film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Frozen

The Wind Rises

Ernest and Celestine

***Winner*** - Frozen

I really want Miyazaki's "The Wind Rises" to take him the gold.  I won't be upset at all if my choice doesn't win because it's Hayo "fucking" Miyazaki.  "Frozen" however, does have a better chance of winning because it's the more well known of all the nominees.

Best Foreign Language Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)

The Hunt (Denmark)

The Missing Picture (Cambodia)

The Great Beauty (Italy)

Omar (Palestine)

****Winner*** The Hunt

I have not seen any of these and am basing my predictions on the trailers alone.   I find "The Hunt" to be a very engrossing thriller about a guy accused of molesting a little girl.  "Broken Circle Breakdown" looks to be a very charming movie about blue grass folk singers, but I don't feel it packs the same punch as "The Hunt"

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

June Squib - Nebraska

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

Julia Roberts - August: Osage County

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

***Winner*** Jennifer Lawrence

I know that there has been a lot of backlash about Miss Lawrence and her performance.  Many say that it's overrated and that since she won last year.  She shouldn't win again this time.  What people tend to forget is that this is the category for the best character acting.  All the nominees here are good, but most of them just have only one scene to stand out.  Jennifer Lawrence stands out in every scene that she is in.  Is she over the top?  Absolutely, but so is her character.  Not only does she deserve those other wins.  She deserves the Oscar too.

Best Supporting Actor

Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Bradly Cooper - American Hustle

Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

***WINNER*** Jared Leto

Having fellow Minnesota resident Barkhad Abdi get nominated makes me incredibly happy. I hope he continues his career because he was really good in "Captain Phillips". Jonah Hill has proving her can take on more dramatic roles, and I hope to god he learns from last year and doesn't do another movie like "The Sitter" again.  Jared Leto in "Dallas Buyers Club" seems to bring out the most memorable and from what I read a pretty heartbreaking performance too.   Michael Fassbender should have been nominated for Steve McQueen's "Shame"  and now it feels like a pity one instead.

Best Actress

Amy Adams - American Hustle

Sandra Bullock - Gravity

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Judi Dench - Philomena

Meryl Streep - Augest: Osage County

****Winner***  Cate Blanchett

To be fair Sandra Bullock should have won for "Gravity" instead of "The Blind Side".  She is practically acting by herself through most of it  and does a great job. Judi Dench, Amy Adams, and Meryl Streep give all really good performances but the one that stand out is Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine".  Her role of a woman slowly falling apart is both funny and tragic.  In many scenes we laugh at her and then a second later feel really bad for laughing.  A really outstanding performance.

Best Actor

Christian Bale - American Hustle

Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

Bruce Dern - Nebraska

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

***WINNER***  Matthew McConaughey

Mr. Ejiofor gives an eletric, power house performance in "12 Years a Slave" and proves to be the front runner in this category.  Although I wouldn't dismiss Mr. DiCaprio or Mr. McConaughey from taking home the statue either.  Leonardo's Jordan Belfort  in "The Wolf of Wall Street" is both disgusting, and charming all in the same breath.  Same thing can be said Matthew's performance of Ron Woodroof in "Dallas Buyers Club".  His performance  has given him a lot of wins already and he could see the same thing on Oscar Night too.

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity

Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne - Nebraska

Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

David O Russell - American Hustle

****WINNER*****  Alfonso Cuaron

Mr. Cuaron gave us one of the most spectacular visuals ever released on screen.  How he was able to obtain the look of "Gravity" and make it believable was quite an achievement.   Martin Scorsese hasn't made a movie this fun in a long time, and I wish he would win for "The Wolf of Wall Street" instead of "The Departed".  Steve McQueen shows us the ugly side of slavery that we have tried our best to forget.  He should get the Nobel peace prize more then the Oscar.  I think both Russell and Payne are good directors, but it's not their time to win.  They have not given us their best films yet,





Alright Folks. Are ya ready?  Here we go.

Best Picture.

12 Years a Slave


The Wolf of Wall Street


Gravity


Nebraska


American Hustle


Captain Phillips


Her


Dallas Buyers Club


Philomena.

****WINNER**** 12 Years a Slave

Movies that bring to life a painful event in our history always seem to do good at The Oscars.  "12 Years a Slave" is no exception.  It's a movie that people can learn from and it shows that films don't have to exist for light entertainment.  I won't discount other nominees like "Gravity" and "American Hustle" for taking home the statue that night either.  Both were really popular and "Hustle" has already won some big awards already.  The fact that any movie is nominated up here should get a huge round of applause from everyone.  These are all good movies that deserve to be seen.



There you have it folks.    Those are my picks for the 86th Academy Awards.  Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with my choices.  Thanks for visiting.