The 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 1 was a night to be remembered: host Ellen Degeneres ordered pizza for Hollywood\u2019s finest (which Brad Pitt served on paper plates), Meryl Streep set a record for most Oscar nominations (and for the most retweeted photo on Twitter), Whoopi Goldberg wore ruby red slippers (while P!nk wore a ruby red dress) and, unfortunately, Robert Downey Jr. was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n
The ballot for this year\u2019s Oscar nominations was as star-studded as it gets, from the aforementioned three-time Oscar winner Streep to Jennifer \u201cI-beat-Meryl-Streep!\u201d Lawrence to Rom-Com actor turned Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey to the 79-years-old Judi Dench. My ballot was barely finished in time for the Oscars, but it\u00a0didn’t\u00a0seem to matter much anyway: I only correctly guessed eight out of 18 categories I predicted. Not that each Oscar awarded on Sunday\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0well-deserved but some of the announcements left a bitter taste.<\/p>\n
Animated Feature<\/strong> Writing, Original Screenplay<\/strong> Writing, Adapted Screenplay<\/strong> Cinematography<\/strong> Costume Design<\/strong> Film Editing<\/strong> Makeup and Hairstyling<\/strong> Music, Original Score<\/strong> Production Design<\/strong> Sound Mixing<\/strong> Sound Editing<\/strong> Visual Effects<\/strong> Directing<\/strong> Supporting Actor<\/strong> Supporting Actress<\/strong> Actor<\/strong> Actress<\/strong> Picture<\/strong> The 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 1 was a night to be remembered: host Ellen Degeneres ordered pizza for Hollywood\u2019s finest (which Brad Pitt served on paper plates), Meryl Streep set a record for most Oscar nominations (and for the most retweeted photo on Twitter), Whoopi Goldberg wore ruby red slippers (while P!nk wore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[925,108],"class_list":["post-7034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","tag-oscars-review","tag-rachel-beard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSurprising to no one but disappointing to me, Disney\u2019s \u201cFrozen\u201d took home Best Animated Feature. \u201cFrozen\u201d was a cute children\u2019s movie, but it didn\u2019t offer anything new to the genre. My money was on Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s \u201cThe Wind Rises\u201d. I haven\u2019t seen the film, but everything Miyazaki touches turns to gold, and it\u00a0didn’t\u00a0feel like \u201cFrozen\u201d deserved the win.<\/p>\n
\nUnfortunately, this was the only Oscar win for \u201cHer\u201d, a touching film that reminds us what it is to be human. I\u2019m thrilled that \u201cHer\u201d took the Oscar. The writing in that film reflects natural dialogue almost perfectly without sacrificing the integrity of the movie. This was without a doubt the most deserved win of the night.<\/p>\n
\nThe Oscars were overflowing with adapted screenplays this year, including \u201cCaptain Phillips\u201d, \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d and \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d. But \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d took the win for this category, and rightfully so. Everything about this film\u2019s screenplay will move you to tears \u2013 not just the words, but the silence, too.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGravity\u201d swept the Academy Awards this year, taking home six Oscars, including Best Cinematography. My bet was on \u201cNebraska\u201d, since the Academy tends to favor black and white films in this category, but \u201cGravity\u201d earned its win. It was hands down the prettiest film to come out in the last year.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d took home the Oscar for Best Costume Design. I was surprised \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d\u00a0didn’t\u00a0get the win, but I\u2019m a little biased in that I just think \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d is a better movie period. This category tends to become a competition of which time period has the most elaborate costumes, and it seems the Roaring Twenties won out over the disco era.<\/p>\n
\nAnother statuette went to \u201cGravity\u201d for Best Film Editing, which I was sorely disappointed over. My money was on \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d. The editors did a great job of balancing scenes that showed the film\u2019s characters as empathetic and scenes that made them seem unfeeling, but I suppose \u201cGravity\u201d was just as good.<\/p>\n
\nAs I predicted, \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d won this category. It amazes me that the makeup department was able to turn McConaughey into an AIDS-stricken cowboy and Jared Leto into a cross-dressing HIV patient. The transformations are simply amazing and wholly deserving of an Oscar.<\/p>\n
\nThe Best Original Score was a hard pick this year, with Thomas Newman (\u201cSaving Mr. Banks\u201d) and John Williams (\u201cThe Book Thief\u201d) both in the running. Apparently, my guess on Thomas Newman\u2019s soundtrack for \u201cSaving Mr. Banks\u201d was wishful thinking: \u201cGravity\u201d got another win for Steven Price\u2019s soundtrack.<\/p>\n
\nBest Production Design was one of the most disappointing categories for me. I was holding out for the futuristic but down-to-earth and completely conceivable setting of \u201cHer\u201d to win this easily, but \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d got the win. I\u2019m sure the Oscar\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0undeserved, but it unsettled me to see the film win two Oscars over the single win of \u201cHer\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nSound mixing, as opposed to sound editing below, is the way in which the audio producers put the audio to the film. Unsurprisingly, \u201cGravity\u201d stole this category, too. One of the highlights of \u201cGravity\u201d for me was watching Sandra Bullock careen through outer space with the harsh sound of her gasping for breath the only noise in the theater. It was definitely one of the most deserved Oscars this year.<\/p>\n
\nSound editing is often confused with sound mixing, but this category rewards individual sound effects as opposed to the overall audio of the film. In other words, sound editors prepare the audio for the eventual mixing. \u201cGravity\u201d unsurprisingly took this one, too, but I was holding out for \u201cCaptain Phillips\u201d. Getting the sound of a Somalian dingy hitting a freight ship must have been a challenge (though coming up with the sound effects for blowing up the International Space Station was probably a challenge, too).<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGravity\u201d was an easy choice for Best Visual Effects. If you haven\u2019t read any interviews with Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n, the film\u2019s director, you might want to: they had to invent technology to make this movie work. The effects are phenomenal, and \u201cGravity\u201d was the most beautiful movie I think\u00a0I’ve\u00a0ever seen.<\/p>\n
\nSpeaking of Cuar\u00f3n, he won the sixth Oscar for \u201cGravity\u201d when he won Best Director. I\u2019m still miffed that Steve McQueen\u00a0didn’t\u00a0get the win for \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d. It would have been nice to see him be the first African American to win in this category.<\/p>\n
\nThe first Oscar of the night went to Leto for his role as a cross-dressing AIDS patient in \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d and rightfully so. If you only watch \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d for one reason, make it Leto\u2019s heart-wrenching performance.<\/p>\n
\nIf you haven\u2019t seen Lupita Nyong\u2019o\u2019s acceptance speech for her win in this category, look it up. She dedicated her performance to Patsy, the real slave woman she portrayed in the film based on a true story, \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d. Her speech \u2013 and her performance in the film \u2013 moved even Brad Pitt to tears.<\/p>\n
\nI was rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio in this category for his performance in \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d, but it\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0meant to be: McConaughey took the win for \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d. Not that it\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0well-earned \u2013 he lost nearly 40 pounds for the role \u2013 but it hurt to see DiCaprio get passed up for an Oscar win for the fourth time.<\/p>\n
\nThe Best Actress category had an older cast this year that included stars like Streep and Dench, who I had cast my vote for. But Cate Blanchett took the win for her role as a newly divorced woman in Woody Allen\u2019s \u201cBlue Jasmine\u201d. Blanchett\u2019s an excellent actress, and I\u2019m sure the win is well-deserved.<\/p>\n
\nAnd finally, as everyone predicted, \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d walked away with first place: the Oscar for Best Picture of the year. The film definitely earned the win, but don\u2019t pass up the other nominees just because they\u00a0didn’t\u00a0catch the final prize: \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d, \u201cCaptain Phillips\u201d, \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d, \u201cGravity\u201d, \u201cNebraska\u201d, \u201cPhilomena\u201d, \u201cThe Wolf of Wall Street\u201d and \u201cHer\u201d are all stellar films worth taking the time to watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"