Monday 3 March 2014

Oscars 2014: Winners and Losers



So the Oscars are all wrapped for another year. Whilst I didn't watch the ceremony, I have put together a quick column on my thoughts on this years winners (and of course, losers). 

What did you all think? What awards didn't go the way you hoped? Let me know in the comments section below!



Winners


Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor. Yep, never thought
you'd hear that sentence ever actually come true after
sitting through Fool's Gold and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
did ya?
First off, Gravity. As expected, Gravity raked in the awards on the night, mostly in the technical categories but also for Best Director. After being nominated for 10 awards, it went on to win 7, in everything from Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Editing and more. Was anyone surprised? Not really. Did it still deserve to win them? Hell yes. 

It isn't often that a sci-fi film (if you can even call it sci-fi, it's more sci-non-fi) wins big, but Gravity has done so.

Also, as many people had predicted, it was 12 Years A Slave that picked up Best Picture. Given its historical weight and importance, it was always going to be tough for any other movie to beat it. It's the kind of film that leaves a lasting impression, so I'm glad it won, along with Lupita Nyong'o, a relative newcomer also winning her category. 

Dallas Buyers Club was also a big winner, with both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto claiming the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards respectively. I thought this was really well deserved, as both of the guys put in memorable and defining performances. For McConaughey, the award will no doubt silence the doubters who still remember him as a bronzed surfie from Fool's Gold and haven't yet sat down to watch Mud or Dallas Buyers Club. Roll on Interstellar I say; I can't wait to see him team up with Christopher Nolan and tackle a big blockbuster. 

For animation, it was a good day for Disney, with Frozen winning both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (thank god that Pharrell Williams didn't win). I am kind of bummed The Croods didn't win though...


Losers


The Wolf of Wall Street lost out big-time
Well, well, well. It wouldn't be the Oscars without someone going home empty-handed, justified or not. This year, we saw some pretty big movies miss out, with American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street winning a grand total of zero statues combined. 

If you take a glance at Twitter immediately after the ceremony, you'd have guessed that the biggest loser this year was Leonardo DiCaprio. Having not won the Best Actor Oscar for the fourth time, Twitter pretty much exploded with memes and jokes at his loss. Within minutes, #poorleo had sky-rocketed to the top of the trending topics list. It wasn't too much of a surprise that he lost (McConaughey and Ejiofor were the real contenders), but it still caused a storm. 

The Wolf of Wall Street lost in all of the other categories for which it was nominated, with Jonah Hill and Scorsese losing out for their respective accolades. Given the R-rated nature of the films content, it isn't much of a surprise, but I half-expected an upset after the film's huge popularity. 

As did American Hustle
However, the biggest loser in my opinion was David O. Russell's 1970's crime caper, American Hustle. Nominated for 10 awards (yep, ten), American Hustle went home completely empty-handed, despite not doing too badly at the Golden Globes, the SAG awards and the BAFTAs. 

Behind The Turning Point (1977) and The Color Purple (1985), who were both nominated for 11 and won none, that's one of the worst losses in history. Ouch, that's got to sting a little? At least Silver Linings Playbook picked up Best Supporting Actress. 

Essentially, despite being a pretty good film that was good fun and full of great performances, I don't think it really excelled in any one aspect. Whilst Gravity was very much a directors film and Dallas Buyers Club had two amazing lead performances, American Hustle was all round a great, but not outstanding, film. 

Surely it should have won for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, what with Bradley Cooper's wonderful locks more than anything else. I would also have loved Amy Adams to have pipped Cate Blanchett for lead actress, but oh well. 



What were your thoughts on this year's Oscars? Happy for Dallas Buyers Club or devo for The Wolf of Wall Street? Let me know below!

2 comments:

  1. All in all, this is one of the rare years where I really have no complaints about the winners. Not a bad outing from the Academy for once. :)

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    Replies
    1. I feel that Wolf of Wall Street should have at least gotten something, even if it was just for best adapted screenplay. Gravity pretty much owned them all at the end of the day, and much deserved too. Thanks for commenting Chris!

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