2014 Oscar nominations + my thoughts

I had this really strange dream the other day. I dreamt that I was one of the people sorting the Oscar ballots. I was quite literally being handed slips of paper with people's names on them, and sorting them into piles. Then I had to count the piles when I was done to see who got the most. I kept getting Bruce Dern for Nebraska, and I was being totally smug about the whole thing. Like, "Oh Bruce Dern is getting nominated. derp de derrr." This makes zero sense because 1) I've never seen Nebraska. 2) Without looking at IMDB I couldn't name a single film Bruce Dern has been in, so why am I being such an asshole? and 3) Oscar ballots probably aren't hand sorted behind a cash register like I was doing. Anywho, I had to share that, here's a list of the 2014 nominees. My thoughts as always follow in green. 

Best Picture

"American Hustle"
"Captain Phillips"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Gravity"
"Her"
"Nebraska"
"Philomena"
"12 Years A Slave"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"

It drives me nuts when they only use 9 out of the 10 Best Picture slots. They could've thrown Prisoners in there.

Best 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"

I am SHOCKED that Tom Hanks got left out. I thought he was a lock. I guess my dream was accurate because there's Bruce Dern. This was a bloated category this year.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Judi Dench, "Philomena"
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"

I am so happy for Amy Adams.

Best 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"

JONAH HILL!!! Yes! I did my Hans Landa happy dance when I saw his name.

Best 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

I was hoping I wouldn't have to see Julia Roberts this season. I would've rather had Sarah Paulson get her spot.

Best Director

David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"
Steve McQueen, "12 Years A Slave"
Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf Of Wall Street"

I was really hoping Spike Jonze would've gotten a nomination for Her. I'm surprised they picked Payne over him.

Best Animated Feature

"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Ernest & Celestine"
"Frozen"
"The Wind Rises"

Best Foreign Language Film

"The Broken Circle Breakdown"
"The Great Beauty"
"The Hunt"
"The Missing Picture"
"Omar"

The Hunt!! That's all I care about.

Best Documentary

"The Act of Killing"
"Cutie & The Boxer"
"Dirty Wars"
"The Square"
"Twenty Feet From Stardom"

No Blackfish. That stuns and upsets me. It was one of the most powerful docs I've ever seen, and the publicity around it is insane. When They said 'Cutie and the Boxer' I was crushed because I knew it got skipped over.

Best Original Screenplay

"American Hustle"
"Blue Jasmine"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Her"
"Nebraska"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Before Midnight"
"Captain Phillips"
"Philomena"
"12 Years A Slave"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Original Score

"The Book Thief"
"Gravity"
"Her"
"Philomena"
"Saving Mr. Banks"

Best Original Song

"All Yet Not Alone" - Alone Yet Not Alone
"Happy" - Despicable Me 2
"Let It Go" - Frozen
"The Moon Song" - Her
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

I'm just psyched for Her.

Best Editing

"American Hustle"
"Captain Phillips"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Gravity"
"12 Years A Slave"

I thought Her would've gotten an editing nomination.

Best Cinematography

"The Grandmaster"
"Gravity"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"Prisoners"

I'm SO happy that Prisoners got in here. It is so deserving.

Best Production Design

"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"The Great Gatsby"
"Her"
"12 Years A Slave"

Best Costume Design

"American Hustle"
"The Grandmaster"
"The Great Gatsby"
"The Invisible Woman"
"12 Years A Slave"

I'm surprised Oz the Great and Powerful didn't make it. That's a shame.

Best Makeup

"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Jackass: Bad Grandpa"
"The Lone Ranger"

Jackass as an Oscar nomination....LOL

Best Sound Editing

"All Is Lost"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Lone Survivor"

Best Sound Mixing

"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Lone Survivor"

Best Visual Effects

"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Iron Man 3"
"The Lone Ranger"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"

Best Live-Action Short

"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)"
"Helium"
"Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)"
"The Voorman Problem"

Best Animated Short

"Feral"
"Get a Horse!"
"Mr. Hublot"
"Possessions"
"Room on the Broom"

Best Documentary Short

"CaveDigger"
"Facing Fear"
"Karama Has No Walls"
"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"
"Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"