Movies of a Petite Aspie

A disappointing Oscars for American Hustle.  A terrific Oscars for Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, and the poorly-reviewed The Great Gatsby.  Here's the winners' round-up, in which I compare nominees and winners -- the cast and crew of Hustle now have reason to say "it's an honor just to be nominated."  I'm listing the films in order of the number of nominations they received.   American Hustle: 10 nominations - 0 wins Gravity: 10 nominations - 7 wins 12 Years a Slave: 9 nominations - 3 wins Captain Phillips: 7 nominations - 0 wins Dallas Buyers Club: 6 nominations - 3 wins Nebraska: 6 nominations - 0 wins Her: 5 nominations - 1 win The Wolf of Wall Street: 5 nominations - 0 wins Philomena: 4 nominations - 0 wins Blue Jasmine: 3 nominations - 1 win The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: 3 nominations - 0 wins August: Osage County: 2 nominations - 0 wins Despicable Me 2:  2 nominations - 0 wins Frozen: 2 nominations - 2 wins The Great Ga...

So, Entertainment Weekly posted its ranking of last night's Oscar acceptance speeches, many of which I disagreed with (apologies for ending with a preposition) -- see how my ranking is different: 1. Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o -- 12 Years a Slave 2. Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey -- Dallas Buyers Club 3. Best Picture: Brad Pitt & Steve McQueen -- 12 Years a Slave 4. Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron -- Gravity  5. Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto -- Dallas Buyers Club 6. Best Actress: Cate Blanchett -- Blue Jasmine 7. Best Documentary Feature: Morgan Neville (& Darlene Love) -- 20 Feet From Stardom 8. Best Original Song: Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez -- Frozen 9. Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley -- 12 Years a Slave 10. Best Documentary Short Film: Malcolm Clarke & Nicholas Reed -- The Lady in Number Six: Music Saved My Life  11. Best Foreign Language Film: Paolo Sorrentino -- The Great Beauty 12. Best Animated Film: Chris ...

12 Years a Slave: A 20 Feet From Stardom: B The Act of Killing: B All is Lost: B- American Hustle: A- August: Osage County: B+ Before Midnight: A- Blue Jasmine: A- The Book Thief: B The Broken Circle Breakdown: B Captain Phillips: A- CaveDigger: B+ The Croods: B- Cutie & the Boxer: A Dallas Buyers Club: B+ Despicable Me 2: B Dirty Wars: B Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?: C Ernest & Celestine: B+ Facing Fear: B Feral: A- Frozen: A- Get a Horse!: A The Grandmaster: C+ Gravity: A The Great Beauty: B The Great Gatsby: C Helium: A- Her: B+ The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: B- Inside Llewyn Davis: B- The Invisible Woman: B Iron Man 3: B+ Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa: C+ Just Before Losing Everything: B+ Karama Has No Walls: B+ The Lady in Number Six: Music Saved My Life: A The Lone Ranger: C- Lone Survivor: B Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: B The Missing Picture: B+ Mr. Hublot: A- Nebraska: B+ Omar: B+ Philomena: A-  Possessio...

Best Picture Should/Will Win: 12 Years a Slave Possible Winner: Gravity Long-Shot Winner: American Hustle Best Actor Should Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor -- 12 Years a Slave Will Win: Matthew McConaughey -- Dallas Buyers Club Possible Winner: Chiwetel Ejiofor -- 12 Years a Slave Long-Shot Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio -- The Wolf of Wall Street Best Actress Should/Will Win: Cate Blanchett -- Blue Jasmine Possible Winner: Amy Adams -- American Hustle  Long-Shot Winner: Sandra Bullock -- Gravity Best Supporting Actor Should/Will Win: Jared Leto -- Dallas Buyers Club Possible Winner: Michael Fassbender -- 12 Years a Slave Long-Shot Winner: Barkhad Abdi -- Captain Phillips Best Supporting Actress Should/Will Win: Lupita Nyong'o -- 12 Years a Slave Possible Winner: Jennifer Lawrence -- American Hustle Long-Shot Winner: June Squibb -- Nebraska Best Director Should Win: Steve McQueen -- 12 Years a Slave Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron -- Gravity Possible Winner: Steve McQueen --...

Just hours before the Super Bowl aired the Sunday before last, I was shocked -- as was all of Hollywood -- to hear of Philip Seymour Hoffman's sudden death, which was deemed a heroin overdose.  Instead of mourning his death, let's celebrate his work in movies (and this is a movie-related blog, anyway). I'm going to list his best-reviewed movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes, as well as, in my opinion, his best film roles (there are many of his movies I haven't seen, of course, so excuse me for leaving them off that list).   Best-Reviewed Movies 1. Mary & Max (2009) -- 95% 2. Moneyball (2011) -- 94% 3. Boogie Nights (1997) -- 92% 4. Nobody's Fool (1994) -- 91% 5. A Most Wanted Man (2014) -- 91% 6. Capote (2005) -- 90% 7. The Savages (2007) -- 89% 8. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) -- 89% 9. Almost Famous (2000) -- 88% 10. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) -- 88% Best Film Roles 1. Doubt -- Father Brendan Flynn 2. The Master --...

Well, the 86th Academy Awards ceremony -- hosted by the sure-to-be-stupendous Ellen DeGeneres -- is only five weeks away.  Here, I'm going to rank the nominees, from most likely to take home one-fourth of an EGOT to least likely, using my miraculous powers of ESP that have yet to surface.   Actor in a Leading Role 1. Matthew McConaughey -- Dallas Buyers Club 2. Chiwetel Ejiofor -- 12 Years a Slave 3. Bruce Dern -- Nebraska 4. Leonardo DiCaprio -- The Wolf of Wall Street 5. Christian Bale -- American Hustle Why: Until the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards, and SAG Awards, I thought that Ejiofor was the front-runner, which his heart-wrenching performance that moved me to tears.  But, after McConaughey picked up all three awards, things have changed drastically.  Ejiofor still has a decent shot, but McConaughey is now the clear favorite, for having transformed himself -- physically and emotionally -- in his role as an emaciated AIDS patient.  He h...

The 2014 Academy Award nominees were announced last Thursday morning, and shortly afterwards, my mind was reeling with disappointment -- edging on sadness, but not quite there, seeing as it is only an awards ceremony (but not really, for me, at least) -- regarding the nominees.  There were many happy surprises, such as the inclusion of Amy Adams ( American Hustle ) in the Best Actress category and Sally Hawkins in the Best Supporting Actress category ( Blue Jasmine ), among others.  However, I cannot help but be frustrated with a number of snubs, which are listed below.  I am also listing those performances/films that were more of a long-shot, but they still hold places in my heart, and in others' hearts (seeing as I have yet to see all of these films).  Oh My God (I Think I Just Had a Heart Attack) Snubs Captain Phillips -- Best Actor (Tom Hanks) Saving Mr. Banks -- Best Actress (Emma Thompson) Flabbergasting, Headscratch-Inducing Snubs 12 Years a Slave -- ...