Oscar Nominations 2014 - Jacob Predicts...

The Golden Globes have been and gone, with the BAFTA jury out until the ceremony in February. You can eye roll. You can sigh. You can pfft all you want. The Academy Awards - presented by Ellen DeGeneres on Sunday 2nd March - are the master of them all. With Oscar nominations poised to be announced tomorrow, I assess the films, actors, actresses and directors I believe will come away with a chance at claiming a golden baldie come March.

Best Picture:

Get ready for a two-horse race with 12 Years a Slave currently edging Gravity, with help from its Golden Globe win on Sunday night. Coming up the outskirts though, we have American Hustle, building stead and proving itself as a worthy opponent. The other two dead certs for a nomination are Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street - no surprise considering one is an Alexander Payne film and the other a Martin Scorsese.

The Coen Brothers won in 2008 for No Country for Old Men, and every film of theirs since has featured in the extended nominations list. Inside Llewyn Davis will be no different. Expect to see Captain Phillips there also; it was nominated at the Globes, is up for a BAFTA and would be a damned worthy appearance. The nomination list doesn't necessarily have to be 10 films, but let's go under the impression there will be... Spike Jonze's latest Her will probably tail the nominations. The tough one is whose shoes will fill that final nomination. Will the Academy buckle and go with The Butler? Or will Philomena rear its British head? Other films that are sure to get Oscar recognition have a shot too (Dallas Buyers Club, August: Osage County).

My Prediction: American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street

Shock Omission: The Butler

Best Actor:
An extremely easy category to call, surely all of these are going to be nominated? Other surprising, but not unwelcome entrants would include Joaquin Phoenix (Her), Forest Whitaker (The Butler), Christian Bale (American Hustle) and Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis). In fact, don't be surprised if Bale makes it on there what with the glory American Hustle has been receiving. As for who he would replace, I don't even want to hazard a guess. The person who should be nominated - Robert Redford for his incredible, largely-silent performance in All Is Lost - will be snubbed.

My Prediction:

Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips, Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club, Bruce Dern - Nebraska, Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave, Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

Shock Omission: Robert Redford - All Is Lost

Best Actress:
We can probably call off all bets now, right? Cate Blanchett has this one (and so she should) - however, as for who will be set up for disappointment is another question entirely. Surely Meryl Streep is a nomination shoo-in because Meryl Streep has delivered a good performance this year, as is Sandra Bullock for carrying what many perceive to be 2013's greatest film. It would be nice for Judi Dench and Emma Thompson repping the British side of things for their fantastic appearances as Philomena Lee and Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, respectively. But American Hustle has something over voters, and this will trounce somebody's chance of a nomination - Amy Adams is in (especially considering her many nominations and Golden Globe win), and shockingly, I predict Streep will be out.  

My Prediction:

Amy Adams - American Hustle, Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine, Sandra Bullock - Gravity, Judi Dench - Philomena, Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Shock Omission: Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor:If American Hustle deserves one nomination, and I never thought I'd catch myself saying this, it's for Bradley Cooper who manages to steal every scene he's in. Jared Leto's Dallas Buyers Club Golden Globe win has just sealed the fact his name will be read by presenter Chris Hemsworth on Thursday, and these Supporting categories love a newcomer... so step forward, Barkhad Abdi who deserves some form of accolade for appearing unfazed opposite Tom Hanks, let alone his gripping performance as a Somali Pirate in Captain Phillips. I'm hoping that this is the year Michael Fassbender's incredible acting skills are rewarded with some recognition - delivering a harrowing performance in 12 Years a Slave. You'd be brave to not expect Jonah Hill to build on his former nomination (for Moneyball) in Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. Things appear clear-cut here, but could Steve Coogan pull a blinder for Philomena? Or will Daniel Brühl's portrayal of F1 racer Niki Lauda be lauded, despite a poor box office performance for Rush in the States? I'm discounting Tom Hanks' slim-pickings performance as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks right now, as well as a posthumous appearance from the late James Gandolfini (Enough Said).  

My Prediction:

Bradley Cooper - American Hustle, Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips, Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club, Daniel Brühl - Rush, Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave   

Shock Omission: Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Supporting Actress:
Alongside guaranteed nominees - awards darling Jennifer Lawrence and beloved newcomer Lupita Nyong'o - expect appearances from some very credible actresses who delivered top-rate performances. June Squibb was electric, lighting up the black-and-white bleakness of Nebraska, whilst Sally Hawkins did an incredible job at playing the polar opposite to Blanchett's Blue Jasmine. Julia Roberts has stepped up to the plate in the Harvey Weinstein-produced August: Osage County, as has The Butler's Oprah Winfrey. Only five can be nominated however, and I'm saying Hawkins will wrongfully be ousted.

My Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle, Julia Roberts - August: Osage County, Oprah Winfrey - The Butler, June Squibb - Nebraska, Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave

Shock Omission: Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine   

Best Director:
Clear as day, the below five directors will be nominated come tomorrow. All displayed stellar work in fantastic films, and will continue to do so. Lee Daniels, Alexander Payne and the Coen Brothers have a slim chance of causing a shock announcement (remember that time Chris Nolan never got nominated for Inception?), but it's doubtful. 

My Prediction:

David O. Russell - American Hustle, Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips, Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity, Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave, Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Shock Omission: Alexander Payne - Nebraska  

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Golden Globes 2014 - The Predictions

Best Motion Picture – Drama

12 Years a Slave; Captain Phillips; Gravity; Philomena; Rush

Prediction: Discounting all but 12 Years a Slave and Gravity, the entire awards season truly is a two-horse race this year; Steve McQueen’s challenging film tackles slavery, whilst Alfonso Cuarón’s blockbuster embraces spectacle – you really couldn’t get two more different films, and it could go either way. Judging by the HFPA’s past winners, I predict Gravity will be the evening’s big winner meaning 12 Years a Slave will have to wait until March for its statuette

Who I Want: Gravity – an immersive rollercoaster ride of a film.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine; Sandra Bullock – Gravity; Judi Dench – Philomena; Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks; Kate Winslet – Labor Day

Prediction: The awards buzz has surrounded Blanchett since Blue Jasmine landed last summer, and although strong competition has manifested in Sandra Bullock and us Brits (with Judi Dench building prominence for her role in Philomena), it would be one hell of a shock if Cate Blanchett didn’t emerge victorious in a completely deserved win for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.

Who I Want: Cate Blanchett – her role in Blue Jasmine is one that will never be forgotten.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave; Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom; Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips; Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club; Robert Redford – All Is Lost

Prediction: As astounding as it would be to see Ejiofor finally recognised for the terrific actor he is, Tom Hanks put forward a true masterclass in Captain Phillips. Could he commandeer the win? It will be close, but I still think Chiwetel Ejiofor will come away with the win for his role as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave - with Matthew McConaughey the dark horse just outside the ring.

Who I Want: Tom Hanks for that final scene alone, although would be incredible to see acting legend Robert Redford take to the stage.

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
American Hustle; Her; Inside Llewyn Davis; Nebraska; The Wolf of Wall Street

Prediction: A category specific to comedy and musicals featuring no out-and-out comedies or musicals, it would be easy to assume this is American Hustle’s or The Wolf of Wall Street’s. Yet I’m putting my chips on Nebraska – Alexander Payne is an HFPA favourite.

Who I Want: Inside Llewyn Davis – the Coen Brothers have made a love-letter to 60s folk that rivals their back catalogue and veers towards perfection.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
Amy Adams – American Hustle; Julie Delpy – Before Midnight; Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha; Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Enough Said; Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Prediction: An understated output, Meryl Streep will win for no other reason than it’s another great performance from Meryl Streep…

Who I Want: Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha may not have been perfect, but her performance was one of the year’s most memorable.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Christian Bale – American Hustle; Bruce Dern – Nebraska; Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street; Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis; Joaquin Phoenix – Her

Prediction: A category filled with top rate performances and no clear favourites means this will be the exciting one; as great as Bale is in American Hustle, he has been better, and even though Oscar Isaac is incredible in the Coen Brothers’ entrancing Inside Llewyn Davis, it’ll be down to Dern and DiCaprio to truss this one out… Expect Bruce Dern to get the gold for his role as Woody Grant in Nebraska.

Who I Want: Leonardo DiCaprio – this is one actor who deserves to be rewarded, especially for a performance such as this.

Best Animated Feature Film
The Croods; Despicable Me 2; Frozen

Prediction: Quite a tough one to call, but Disney’s Frozen will come away with the win here – despite fierce competition from those Minions

Who I Want: No preference really –Despicable Me 2, because it was my little brother Isaac’s favourite film of last year. Yep. I'm a good bro.

Best Foreign Language Film
Blue is the Warmest Colour; The Great Beauty; The Hunt; The Past; The Wind Rises

Prediction: Upon first look, this appears a straight forward category. What with Blue Is the Warmest Colour being winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes. All of the other nominated films have critical acclaim behind them however - especially Sorrentino's The Great Beauty - meaning this is one of the evening’s tougher ones to call. Still, I’m opting for Blue Is the Warmest Colour.

Who I Want: The Hunt – a mesmerizing film, with a jaw-dropping performance from Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine; Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle  ; Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave; Julia Roberts – August: Osage County; June Squibb – Nebraska

Prediction: Some great performances in yet another category with no clear frontrunner, June Squibb should win for her show-stealing role in Nebraska. However, awards darling Jennifer Lawrence – fresh from her Silver Linings… success – has gained heat as the night has crept ever closer.

Who I Want: June Squibb for taking a character and transforming her from frustrating matriarch into one of the most heart-warming roles of 2013.

Best Performance in an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips; Daniel Brühl – Rush; Bradley Cooper – American Hustle; Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave; Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Prediction: It’s really great to see newcomer Barkhad Abdi recognised amongst these other terrific performances, but I can see all being trounced by Jared Leto’s appearance in Dallas Buyer’s Club.

Who I Want: Michael Fassbender or Daniel Brühl, for his fantastic portrayal of FL legend Niki Lauda.

Best Director – Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity; Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips; Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave; Alexander Payne – Nebraska; David O. Russell – American Hustle

Prediction: It will be damned difficult to beat Alfonso Cuarón, who I am assuming is a shoo-in for his fascinating work on display in the ground-breaking Gravity. In many ways, it should be his.  

Who I Want: I believe that Cuarón deserves every accolade laid upon him; an extraordinary filmmaker who delivered a show-stopping film.

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Spike Jonze – Her; Bob Nelson – Nebraska; Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena; John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave; Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell – American Hustle

Prediction: I’m going to opt for Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell’s American Hustle screenplay – their re-telling of the ABSCAM operation back in the 70s (albeit with caper twist) seems like a script that would take the gong.

Who I Want: Philomena – seeing Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan scooping the award for their heartfelt re-telling of Martin Sixsmith’s account would be a great moment.

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American Hustle

15, 2014, Directed by David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

  

American Hustle's tone is set from the opening caption, citing the events of the film as 'mostly true'. David O. Russell's 70s-set caper - which is, yes indeed, loosely based on the FBI ABSCAM operation which saw a pair of con artists forced to set up a sting corruption in order to frame several politicians - is the follow-up to his adorned Silver Linings Playbook (2012), recasting both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in roles secondary to The Fighter's (2010) lead talent, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. With the zaniness amped up, here they play the con artiste counterparts Irving Rosenfeield (complete with hilariously terrible toupee) and Syndey Prosser (complete with hilariously terrible English accent), with Lawrence impressing (who'd have thought it...) as the former's erratic wife, and Cooper slipping into the shoes of undercover agent Richie DiMaso - damn near stealing the film from under everybody's wigs..

Throughout, however, O. Russell distractingly conveys the feel of a picture attempting to capture Scorsese movie magic, instead lacking the required punch that pushes that filmmaker's features towards modern classic status. The whole aesthetically-charged setting of the decade is realised well, with each actor throwing themselves into their assigned role with aplomb. Bale and Adams both impress, dealing with quite a script that captures screwball wit well - most brilliantly utilised by Cooper, his scenes with comedian Louis C.K. reigning most supreme in the membrane. As is the norm ever since her role as Ree Dolly in Winter's Bone, no review would be complete without talk going the way of Lawrence, proving as firecracker Rosalyn that comedy still remains no biggy.

With every character untrustworthy up to their eyeballs, it doesn't prove teeth-sinking material, one questioning whether you would gladly decide to spend time in their company for a rewatch once the screen fades to black. The hard irony O. Russell befalls is that American Hustle would probably benefit from such a rewatch, it's sprawling tangential editing not as slick as all involved believe it to be. But with many a laugh-inducing moment, and a neatly played cameo (that adds to the earlier Scorsese theory), American Hustle is perhaps a bit too ahead of the curve for it's own well-being, but still exists on a scale above most films released this January.

3.5/5

 

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The World's End

2013, 15, Directed by Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike

Teased for what feels like an age, the final slice of Edgar Wright's genre-juggling 'Three Flavours: Cornetto' trilogy (kick-started with the near-decade old Shaun of the Dead, followed four years later by the somehow superior Hot Fuzz) arrived this summer amongst a wave of superhero sequels and animated minions. All it takes is a few short scenes to settle into the company of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the remainder of the ensemble before realising the territory is identical to those previous yarns, allowing the viewer to approach the entire thing as comfortably as a catch-up down the local with your pals. The World's End is almost identical in tone to the films that have launched the careers of all three to heights they'd have never expected sat on that Spaced apartment circa '99: both zombie horror of the 60s and buddy cop actioners of the 70s have come before, with attention now fixed upon 80's sci-fi. The plot sees Gary King (a never better Pegg, on dickhead form) beg his former teenage beer-guzzlers to reunite in their old sleepy town of Newton Haven. Why? Well, to neck a pint in each of the 11 pubs that make up 'the golden mile,' beginning with 'The First Post' and culminating at 'The World's End'. The more boozed up the gang get, the more awry things becomes - largely thanks to the strange beings that seem to have occupied the sleepy town's residents.

The screenplay, as you'd imagine, is filled with dialogue placed to destroy you with laughter, and each amassed cast member (Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman) ensures their character could stagger about on their own two legs in their personal sitcom.  But this is Pegg's moment. In an at-first alienating switcheroo with the former catalogue of Frost, everybody knows a Gary King (read: annoying 'mate' you'd like to punch in the jaw but can't help but greet with laughter.) The quickfire montages - long since a trademark that sets these comedies apart - take tongue-in-cheek form here, becoming neat visual gags (4 pints and a tap water), repeated but never repetitive, wittily-choreographed sequences that would've made Chaplin chortle, the aesthetically-pleasing 90s soundtrack: these are five ordinary guys doing something ordinary, but it's the talent, not the budget around them, that makes the whole thing extraordinary. 

Between this and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, the magic of British comedy shines oh-so brightly.

 4/5

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

12, 2013, Directed by Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Sean Penn

 

       

Not a remake of the 1940's Danny Kaye classic, but a re-imagining of the short story that inspired it, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty bounced from hand-to-hand before settling in Ben Stiller's mitts. An actor/director not known to take the understated approach (he struck a pose in Zoolander and shot a war flick in Tropic Thunder), here he does just that both behind and in front of the camera; astounding for a film that features an outlandish sequence involving the central character daydreaming himself as a Benjamin Button figure, cradled in the arms of his 'young' love.

Stiller juggles most of the elements carefully, introducing characters to root for (the voice of Patton Oswalt's eHarmony customer rep pre-empts his later appearance) and others to boo at (step forward Adam Scott, clearly having a chuckle playing cocky company man Ted Hendricks) whilst providing genuine awe. Setting off around the world to find a missing negative taken by Sean Penn's mysterious photographer, Mitty - aloof daydreamer of elaborately heroic scenarios (segued into seamlessly) - begins an adventure of his very own. Tone-juggling, genre-shifting and with a finale that'll leave your heart warmer than a summer's day, this film could be Ben Stiller signalling to us all how he his career path is headed in an unexpected direction, and one tinted with intrigue.

4/5

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Saving Mr. Banks

2013, 12, Directed by John Lee Hancock
Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell

 

One of the most frustrating factors in biopics are usually the wasted opportunity to explore the most interesting of characters. 2013 was the year of Diana, remember. Conversely, there are those that present us with a blurred real-life figure who is shifted sharply into focus by an enthralling piece of cinema (George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind springs to memory.)

It's something of an alarm to realise that somebody whose life hasn't been placed under microscope and in front of camera is one whose very influence still shapes cinema today - Walt Disney; a powerhouse historical figure, who audiences would gladly delve into a film of... But be sure, Saving Mr. Banks is not it.

Instead, John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) opts to show us the fortunately screen-friendly story of the legendary Mary Poppins' journey from the English page of P.L. Travers to the Hollywood studio of the moustachioed mouse-creating maestro. Uppity tea-sipping author Travers is played by Emma Thompson, an actress so adept at doing pretty much anything and achieving the desired response - here, she frustrates at her refusal to give up her novel to a bunch of savages who she's convinced would rip the pages to pieces and destroy the character she so lovingly crafted. Sitting in on - and recording every word of - the read-throughs with producer Don DeGradi (Bradley Whitford) and composing Sherman brother duo (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman), these scenes shine with an air of irrationality, and will glisten with your giggle (ironic, considering their later assurance of hatred for Travers.) Thompson takes the irrefutably tough-to-like and difficult to encrypt author, and turns her near-stereotypically fuddity into a comedic flourish.

Yet this is very much a film of two halves. Providing context behind the creation of Mary Poppins ('never ever just Mary,' she scolds at one stage) and her longing to preserve the beloved character from becoming just another pretty woman who sings, are childhood flashbacks. Travers grew up on a ranch in Australia, where her father Mr. Banks (Colin Farrell) fed her fairytales and fantasies, whilst swigging bottles of alcohol and destroying his family on the sly. There's hints to quite a tragic upbringing, and moments in the film's present that correlate with specifics of the past, yet whenever we flit back to that ranch, the film loses the very magic ole' Walt would have ensured was there. They seriously endanger the fluidity of Saving Mr. Banks, despite some pleasant performances from Farrell and child actor Annie Rose Buckley.

Much like a Beatles fan gets joy from hearing original recordings of classic tracks, Mary Poppins fans can revel in seeing the creation of now-familial tunes. With much to love on the surface - genuine laughs, and a charmingly sweet appearance from Paul Giamatti as Travers' driver - and the closest the film allows her to have as a friend - the structure is toppled by the tedious reversion to backstory. Omitting these would have done the film some saving.

3.5/5

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World War Z

2013, 15, Directed by Marc Forster

Starring: Brad Pitt, Meirelle Enos, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox

The cinema incarnation of the zombie has seen radical changes since George A. Romero’s ground-breaking Night of the Living Dead crawled it's way onto screen. With every new zombie film comes the sniffy critics, microscopically analysing all elements - with the agility of the killing machines as much the focal point as the political subtext they inevitably must convey (not to mention what the characters brandish them - something TV show The Walking Dead deals with whilst pressing tongue firmly in cheek.) World War Z, based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks (son of Blazing Saddles director, Mel,) takes an interesting stance on the genre; the film – after a heart-pumping opening montage sequence - begins in Philadelphia, introducing us to the Lane’s, comprised of Gerry (Brad Pitt,) Karin (The Killing’s Meirelle Enos) and their two children. Within ten minutes, hell is breaking loose, cities are being overrun, and it is the double helping of Marc Forster’s snappy direction and Roger Barton and Matt Chesse’s quick-fired editing that will leave you questioning the image you’re sure you’ve just witnessed…this causes an unsettling air to descend upon the film, the slots falling into place for what is to come.

...It's unfortunate then that World War Z dips in a second act which sees Pitt’s former UN employee reluctantly agree to scale the world in hope of finding the source of the outbreak. Lazily structured, Forster relies upon striking imagery and standout set-pieces to ensure the film remains watchable – with not enough made upon the novel’s commentary on overpopulation. You may have heard about the whole thing somehow ending up in Cardiff, yet these are the scenes where the tension of the opening segment is thankfully restored in an extended set-piece captured so annoyingly well that taking a few ‘hold-your-breath’ lessons wouldn’t have gone amiss. Save for these solid moments, World War Z remains largely unremarkable, falling short of the promise conveyed in act one.

3/5

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