Oscar 2014 Wrap Up and Review

This past Sunday's 86th annual Oscars was a pleasant and entertaining, yet predictable show. Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the second time, and jokingly said it only took 7 years. She was a delightful host who succeeded at making the show engaging. Ellen was constantly in the crowd playing around with the stars. This really made the night more interactive. In fact, she made history with the most re-tweets in Twitter history (photo below). And it's not every year a host can get celebs to eat pizza right in the middle an award show. Ellen amusingly wanted to feed the starving stars by ordering a few pies from LA's famous Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria, only to later collect money from Harvey Weinstein and Brat Pitt to pay the tab.

Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey's wins for Supporting Actor and Lead Actor, respectively, were the big stand outs of the night. Each played a role that was culturally timely and pushed the limits of acting. I think they both take home the title of 'best acceptance speech' also. It's hard to believe a rock star and the man who brought us Failure to Launch could be Oscar winners but every year we see unlikely surprises. I don't understand all the Leo DiCaprio sympathizers who think he deserved to win. While I agree he's a great actor, his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street was in no way comparable to McConaughey's portrayal of an AIDS victim in Dallas Buyers Club. Recently someone sarcastically joked, 'Leo's many roles playing a rich white guy is a far stretch from his real life.'

I was personally hoping Her would have won more awards but was glad to see Spike Jonze take home Original Screenplay. For all the hype American Hustle gathered over the months, it was happily surprising (for me) to see them with no wins. Gravity took home a few awards to for it's excellence in technical fields like Best Director and Cinematography. 

The Great Gatsby won awards for Costume Design and Production Design, although the film didn't garner any recognition in acting and directional work. Lupita Nyong'o won for Supporting Actress which was really no big surprise, but that doesn't make it any less worthy. As an alumnus of Yale University School of Drama, Lupita moved us not only with her acting in 12 Years a Slave but her real-life poise and heroism. Bill Murray's impromptu and off-the- record tribute to the late Harold Ramis was a great treat as well. Those unexpected moments are what I enjoy and remember the most.

All four nominees for Original Song performed, which really added entertainment value to the show. Otherwise we'd just be looking at John Travolta's horrible head of hair and Leonardo DiCaprio's sour face. Most the performances were beautifully sung, but Pink's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" paying tribute to the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz really blew everyone else out of the water. Surprisingly the worst performance was the actual winner, Idina Menzel's "Let it Go" from Disney's Frozen. I think she was just having an off night. Menzel was great on Glee, but last night was not her best work. Bette Midler made an unexpected yet welcoming appearance singing her classic Beaches song "Wing Beneath My Wings" following the in memoriam video.

The big award of the night went to 12 Years a Slave for Best Picture. While I don't think it was best picture worthy, I do agree that it was the standout film of 2013. It surpassed all other nominees in depth of acting and range of content. Overall another great year in movies. Let's see what this year has in store for us. Make sure to follow me at @MattMovieGuy for more reviews and maybe we can shut down Twitter again.

My Best Picture Winner 2013: Her

My favorite film this past year was Her, brought to us by visionary filmmaker Spike Jonze who you may know from Being John Malkovich. Her was hands down the most exhilarating eye-opening original film of the year. It takes place in an unknown distant future in an almost unrecognizable skyscraper-filled city of Los Angeles. Theordore, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is a lonely writer who is battling a divorce and trying to find himself in the lost and lonely world created by technology. He’s introduced to Samantha, a new OS (Operating System), voiced by Scarlett Johansson, and soon forms a relationship with her. The viewer is taken through a whirl-wind journey as real life emotions are formed between human and artificial intelligence. Her takes a new yet simple look at what the future could hold for us. 



I really enjoyed how it took place in an unknown future that wasn’t quite identified. We never know what year it is but can still recognize some subtleties. In fact, present-day Shanghai was used as the backdrop of a futuristic Los Angeles. But beyond the sweeping visuals there are meaningful life messages imbedded in this film that are monumental and timely. Theodore’s relationship with an OS may be considered taboo or odd, to the modern day viewer, but is surprisingly easily accepted. I felt it mirrored a prominent social issue we face today in our world of unconventional relationships, gay marriage. Although not identical, there were moments of similarity that made you think, no matter what time period we live in there will always be social changes we need to accept.


On a larger scale Her hits home with our dependance and obsession with technology. Funny enough, seconds after the film I checked my iPhone and instantly felt a chill through my body. One day the lines of real versus artificial will become blurred. I definitely could understand how Theodore formed a romantic relationship with Samantha. She gave him something that was more concrete than just the physical, she touched him intellectually by stimulating his thoughts and feelings. In a sense, we are all in some kind of relationship with our devices; whether it’s checking Facebook every thirty minutes or constantly tweeting our daily activities. Her takes this current reality one step further and gives us a look into what can become of our future. 


The cast is star-studded with great actors like Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, and Ronney Mara. Joaquin Phoenix played astonishingly as the awkward, but fun-loving guy. Although we physically see no signs of Scarlett Johansson, she was perfectly casted. She really gave a humanistic feel and form to the character. Ultimately, you couldn’t help but root for this unlikely love story. Their relationship made you feel all the ups and downs that come with the journey that we call love. If there is any movie you see this award season, make sure you check out Her. You’ll be glad you stopped tweeting for a couple hours.