The 86th Annual Academy Awards Predictions

Oooh boy. As we approach the 86th Annual Academy Awards, I feel much less confident in my choices than I did last year. Why? Many of the categories feel very crowded, with stiff competition amongst a field high high-calibre talent. That said, I’ve seen a lot of films in 2013, and I’ve been keeping my eye on the buzz, and I think I have my predictions nailed down. So… who will win? Who got snubbed? I’ve got the answers!

…aaaaaand, unlike last year, I won’t recommend you put any money down in your office pool based on my predictions. These races are by and large too close to comfortably call!

 

12 Years a Slave – Review

Note: Very, VERY minor spoilers are contained within this film review, although nothing that isn’t shown in the trailers or heavily implied by the context of the film. Still, disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer. 

There really is no way around it; 12 Years a Slave is one of the most brutal, uncomfortable films I’ve seen in quite some time. This is by design. Director Steve McQueen aims to bring us a story of suffering and of helplessness in the pre-Civil War slave trading days, and boy, does he deliver.

The film follows Solomon Northrup, played expertly by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is a free black man living in upstate New York in the years prior to the Civil War. The film makes no illusions about him and his family having a status of equality within the Northern society, but compared to the scenarios Northrup finds himself in throughout the rest of the film, his life is about as ideal as could be imagined. After making a business deal with a pair of shifty men, Northrup finds himself drugged, kidnapped, and subsequently sold into slavery, where he spends the next 12 years of his life.

85th Annual Academy Awards Predictions

2012 was a helluva year for film.  I can’t remember the last year that there were this many deserving Oscar nominees.  With such a strong field, who should win?  Who should you put your money on in the office pool?  Who got snubbed?  Read ahead to find out my predictions and picks for the most popular Academy Award categories.