They Nominated What?! – 2014 Edition

We were up bright and early to hear the 2014 Academy Award nominations. Here’s a quick look at how CineSnob.net did in predicting this year’s categories. The Oscars air Sunday, March 2.

BEST PICTURE

CODY: Well, I got 7 of these 9. I correctly predicted that PHILOMENA would slide itself in (a decision I’m very happy about), but I thought it would be if there were 10 nominees. Those Weinstein’s know how to campaign. I’m pleased that DALLAS BUYERS CLUB made its way in. SAVING MR. BANKS lost a ton of steam towards the end of its run, which I’m more than okay with. I’m just surprised that it wasn’t a hit with Oscar voters. And finally, in an unfortunate trend for the day, the Academy was not in the least bit impressed with INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS.

KIKO: The Coen Brothers got no love Thursday morning. I went 7 for 9 here. Missed DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, but I’m happy it got in. Of course, I hate any of the 10 nominations AMERICAN HUSTLE got, this category especially. Glad to see PHILOMENA make the cut. HER deserves to win this in my opinion, but right now the real three-way race is between GRAVITY, 12 YEARS A SLAVE and the mediocrity that is AMERICAN HUSTLE.

BEST DIRECTOR

CODY: GAH! Should have known they’d go Scorsese, though to be perfectly honest, I thought it would be at the expense of Payne. Turns out that the lack of nominations for INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS was pretty telling. Even previous Coen love couldn’t get them in. This is one of those years where I could see a split with Cuaron getting the award and 12 YEARS A SLAVE or hell, at this point, AMERICAN HUSTLE taking home Best Picture. I was 4 for 5 here.

KIKO: Scratch Russell and give anyone else some love, please. No big surprises here. I though Paul Greengrass would make the cut for CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, but looks like Scorsese doing his best impersonation of Scorsese wins out this time.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

CODY: So DiCaprio in fact, does get in and Tom Hanks gets shoved out. Hanks is quite good in CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, but I feel that his only “Oscar” scene is the one near the end of the film. To be perfectly honest, I’m a little surprised that it was Bale that was the beneficiary of Hanks missing out, as I thought it would be Robert Redford, but today the Academy proved that they really like AMERICAN HUSTLE. If anyone is nominated from that movie, it should be Bale who gives the best performance, but I’d rather see Oscar Isaac here. This award is a 2-man race between McConaughey and Ejiofor. I’m really curious to see how the next couple of months pan out. 4 out of 5 here.

KIKO: The fact that Oscar Isaac for INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS is not here is a travesty. The fact that Christian Bale’s comb-over won over the Academy more than Tom Hanks’ best performance since Cast Away is a double travesty. How great would it be if AMERICAN HUSTLE went 0 for 10 Oscar night? I’d dance under a disco ball for that. 4 out of 5 here.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

CODY: Lesson learned. Never, ever bet against Meryl Streep. All week there was a discussion of who would get in, Amy Adams or Meryl Streep. Turns out they both get in and Emma Thompson was the latest, and biggest casualty of a lack interest in SAVING MR. BANKS.  Think people start running with that Streep on Thompson smear campaign? Regardless, I don’t think there’s any way that Blanchett doesn’t win this. 4 out of 5 here.

KIKO: AMERICAN HUSTLE continues to knock other nominees out. Amy Adams doing an on-again-off-again British accent is award worthy? Really? Surprised Emma Thompson didn’t get nominated for SAVING MR. BANKS. I should’ve known Meryl Streep gets nominated for everything. She’d be nominated for an Oscar if she starred in a 3 a.m. infomercial for the ShamWow. 3 out of 5 here.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

CODY: Hmm…I really thought Bruhl was going to make it in here. I’m not surprised that Cooper found a way in, especially since the industry loves AMERICAN HUSTLE. What I am surprised to see is that Jonah Hill is now a multiple Academy Award nominated actor. Jonah was fine in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, but I don’t think his performance is worth a nomination. I would have rather seen someone like Jake Gyllenhaal from PRISONERS here. 3 out of 5 here.

KIKO: So, an Oscar nomination for Jonah Hill in Moneyball was not a fluke after all! I thought Hill was going to be our next John Candy, but he could be a lot more than that when all is said and done. Screw you, Bradley Cooper. I nominate your hair curlers, not you. 4 out of 5 here.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

CODY: OPRAH MISSES! This is a good call. Good for Sally Hawkins for defeating the almighty Oprah. This is between Lawrence and Nyong’o. Given peoples obsession over AMERICAN HUSTLE, I think Lawrence has the inside track, even though she won last year. 4 out of 5 here.

KIKO: Looks like the most powerful woman in the entertainment and media industry, Oprah Winfrey, didn’t have enough pull after all. I am very glad Sally Hawkins made the cut. Very deserving. She’s an under-appreciated actress in my opinion. If Jennifer Lawrence, who I thought deserved her Oscar win last year for Silver Linings Playbook, wins back-to-back for playing dress-up, I’m going to blow up like a science oven. 4 out of 5 here.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

CODY: I’m extremely happy that GRAVITY was not nominated for best original screenplay here. I’m also very happy that my favorite film of the year DALLAS BUYERS CLUB was recognized. But how can you not give INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS a nomination here?

KIKO: Where. Is. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS? Scoff.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

CODY: The only major category we both went 5/5 in. No surprises here at all.

KIKO: Ladies and gentlemen, two-time Oscar-nominee Steve Coogan (he’s a producer for PHILOMENA, too). Has a nice ring to it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

CODY: Well, we learned a couple of things today. The Academy loves them some AMERICAN HUSTLE, and quite surprisingly to me, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. They also really didn’t like INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and SAVING MR. BANKS took a nosedive in popularity towards the end. The biggest snub of the day, in my eyes, is no inclusion of Oscar Isaac in the lead actor category, which was unlikely to begin with. Also I would put the 0 major nominations for INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS in the snub category as well. The fact that they have the same number of nominations as THE LONE RANGER is a disgrace. Other than that I think everything is pretty fair and expected, though I don’t agree with the love for THE WOLF OF WALL STREET or AMERICAN HUSTLE. I anticipate a big day for AMERICAN HUSTLE when the Oscars roll around. AMERICAN HUSTLE also has nominations in all 4 acting categories, which is the 2nd year in a row David O. Russell has accomplished this. He’s going to be able to work with whoever he wants in the near future. Also, as a quick note, what the hell happened in documentary feature? I thought that STORIES WE TELL was a lock for a win, and it wasn’t even nominated.

KIKO: Nothing really shocked me this morning aside from the fact that Tom Hanks and the Coen Brothers were shafted. For whatever the hell reason, AMERICAN HUSTLE is this year’s Academy darling and though it pains me to accept it, I must. Again, an 0 for 10 night for HUSTLE would make everything better, but that’s not likely to happen. Other thoughts: 1) Crazy documentary features line up! I interviewed two Oscar nominated doc. directors last year, which is cool 2) So glad THE WOLF OF WALL STREET wasn’t nominated for Best Editing, especially since, well, the editing was terrible 3) Go Denmark (THE HUNT) for Best Foreign Language Film! 4) Oscar nominated film JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA sounds hilarious to me 5) Double Oscar nominated film THE LONE RANGER sounds depressing to me 6) What the hell is ALONE YET NOT ALONE?

FINAL COUNT

CODY: 73-107
KIKO: 76-107

For a complete list of all Oscar nominations, visit www.oscars.com. The 86th Annual Academy Awards airs Mar. 2 on ABC.

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