86th Annual Academy Awards

The Oscars are the biggest event of the awards season, or as movie-lovers know it the biggest night of the year! Ellen returns, for a second time, to host the Academy Awards.  Her opening monologue was filled with jokes about the nominees but none of them quite crossed the proverbial line which was quite impressive (and Jared Leto really is the most beautiful).

The telecast also did a great job of working in the theme of heroes without being obnoxious or too in-your-face about it.  When they first announced the theme I was nervous, but it didn't deter from the actual awards process.

Some of the more interesting events that took place during the awards included: incredibly unnecessary singing from the winners of 20 Feet From Stardom, Zac Efron losing his place on the teleprompter or forgetting how to read, the tribute to The Wizard of Oz by Pink!, and one of the most anticipated performances of the night: Idina Menzel singing "Let It Go" from Frozen!! And while it would have been nice had she not performed with less than 30 minutes left to the broadcast, it was well worth the wait (although you could understandably tell she was nervous, and I'm sure Jorn Tromolto grossly mispronouncing her name didn't help her nerves)

The awards of course ran thirty minutes over the allotted time, but it nonetheless flowed much better than in previous years.  Ellen was a great host, and it would do the awards justice to have her back next year (plus third time's the charm).  Let's just hope that the nominees are as incredible next year as they were this year.

The Night's Winners

Complete List of Winners 

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role went to Jared Leto, for his portrayal of Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  This came as no surprise, as he and his amazing ombre have won virtually every award his portrayal in the film has garnered him.    Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in 12 Years a Slave.  While she didn't necessarily run away with it, had she not won there would have been a large amount of upset, and she truly deserves the award! Cate Blanchett won an Oscar for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, and she deserved it! She gave an impeccable speech as well, proving that you can say "suck it" and remain classy. Matthew McConaughey won Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, which was to be expected based on his performance so far this awards season, but it would have been nice for Leo to leave with a little something, maybe next year.

Frozen won for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, and in all honesty it was the only choice.  It received more praise than any other film this year and lead box office sales and the Billboard charts for weeks following it's release. "Let It Go" won for Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) giving Bobby Lopez an EGOT!

Adapted Screenplay went to John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave, while Original Screenplay went to Spike Jonze for Her.  The consensus was that Her's win was an upset, but it was a great screenplay and deserving of the award.

Gravity garnered awards for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Film Editing, Cinematography, and Directing.  While 12 Years a Slave took home the biggest award of the night, Best Motion Picture of the Year.

Fashion

There were so many amazing fashion choice this year! It was hard to narrow it down to a mere few to post here.


Cate Blanchett looked stunning in a nude embellished Armani Privé.  She complemented the dress with jewels by Chopard. She looked fabulous from head to toe.  The Blue Jasmine star arrived at the awards as one of the night's top contender's and the results of her category did not disappoint.







The 12 Years a Slave star has stunned in various colors all season and the Oscars were no exception.  Lupita Nyong'o shined in a pastel blue by Prada.  This gown gave off a more princess type vibe than some of her other gowns this season, making it a perfect Oscar gown, especially in which to accept an award.








Anna Kendrick looks fabulous in a black J. Mendel.  She looked amazing as she walked the carpet.  The gown was sexy with a strappy back and front slit.

A pregnant Olivia Wilde stunned in a black gown by Valentino.  It should be illegal to be this pregnant and still look that gorgeous! She and husband Jason Sudeikis were adorable together as they walked the carpet.












Idina Menzel looked impeccable in an emerald Vera Wang gown.  She was one of the more highly anticipated Oscar guests and her rendition of "Let it Go" was one of the best moments of the night!








Photo Source and Alternate Source

Oscar Nominations and the Critic's Choice Movie Awards

Oscar Nominations

Watch the nominee announcement here or read the list of nominees here.
The nominees for the night's biggest category are:

This past year was a difficult year to be an excellent movie because there were so many amazing films that many were lost in the shuffle and did not receive the recognition that they deserved, but it is important to remember that accolades do not singularly determine a film's worth, and many great films have gone, and will go, unrecognized. Many wonderful and amazing films were made and many of them were well represented and garnered already this awards season.

Everyone's first question when nominees for anything are announced is "who is missing?"  This year, as is the case every year, some films are snubbed because there just aren't enough spots for every great film.  Tom Hanks, or Tam Honks if you prefer, did not receive nominations for either of his major roles this year as Captain Phillips in Captain Phillips and his role as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks.   Emma Thompson was also left off the list for her role in the latter. Lee Daniels' The Butler was also left out of all major categories, most notably lacking nominations for Oprah Winfrey in the Best Supporting Actress category and Lee Daniels for Best Director.  All is Lost was all but shut out of the race, receiving only one nomination for sound editing.  Ron Howard's film Rush was completely shut out of the nominations,however, due to it's poor overall box office performance it is not an incredible shock.  Her received five (well deserved) nominations, but did not earn a nomination for the film's star Joaquin Phoenix.  Blue is the Warmest Color was shut out of the race entirely (although it was not eligible for Best Foreign Film, it was eligible for other categories).  Enough Said  was shut out, which registers on a different level of hurt given that it was James Gandolfini's final performance and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' first major role in years.  Inside Llewyn Davis was completely shut out as well which is particularly surprising given that it was thought to be one of the best films of the year by many.  This is by no means all of the snubs (and a more complete list can be found here) but the aforementioned problem of the sheer volume of amazing films made this year has made it an equally big year for snubs.  Leonardo DiCaprio, however, DID receive a nomination and if he wins for Wolf of Wall Street it will be his first Academy Award, because of this and many other deserving nominations, one should keep in mind that snubs do not take away from deserving nominations.

Another interesting aspect of the Oscars will be the award show itself.  This year they, the executive producers, have decided on a superhero/movie hero theme for the show.  It will be interesting to see exactly what this entails and whether it adds to or takes away from the show itself.  Another interesting aspect will be Ellen DeGeneres as host of the show.

Watch the Oscar race conclude on Sunday, March 2nd.

19th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

The Critics' Choice Movie Awards have more specific categories than many of the other award shows, such as the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes.  The awards therefore lend themselves to honoring stars who may otherwise miss out in more general categories. One example of this is Mark Walberg's win for Best Actor in an Action Movie for Lone Survivor.  At one of the larger awards shows he would likely have been lost in the shuffle of bigger films that have had larger numbers at the box office, bigger stars, or more well-known stories, but the Critics' Choice Awards gives him a chance to be recognized.  They also recognize younger talent with the Young Actor or Actress Category which this year saw a win for Adèle Exarchopoulos for her role in  Blue is the Warmest Color.

The cast of American Hustle won Best Ensemble of the night, an award many hoped would go to the cast of The Butler given that it was shut out of the Oscar nominations.  Best Supporting Actress went to Lupita Nyong'o, a very deserving and talented actress who played such a great part in 12 Years a Slave.  Best Director was given to Alfonso Cuarón  for Gravity.  Many other wonderful talents were also awarded with well deserved awards at the show (a full list can be found above).

One of the wonderful things about this award show is giving filmmakers, actors and other people responsible for aspects of filmmaking to be honored.  It takes so much  work to make a movie and so many people give up their time and temporary sanity to make films something worth watching.  Even with all of the talent and effort in the world, it is difficult to make a film that will do well at the box office, resonate with viewers, AND be met with critical acclaim.  When a team is able to make a film that meets all of these criterion it deserves, more than anything else, to be recognized for its achievement.