didn't get nominated,mostly for Brie Larson,Keith Stanfield and Michael B.Jordan but among the nominated,here is my list of favorites.
1.Best actress: absolutely Cate Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine".Among the nominated she is by far the best and even though I could have been subjective since I simply adore her,Jasmine French is a sure winner.
She has everything an Oscar winning actress should have:skill,talent,force,charisma,courage and humility.She is a generous co-star,a loyal part of the project,she is smart and realistic and never ever pretentious.Her PR is fantastic,she is mature and absolutely gorgeous.
Amy Adams was also very good but in a movie that lacked depth,so unfortunately her role followed this path.It was fun,it was original but it got sucked in the superficiality of the movie.I think Amy is an amazing actress but she still has to wait for that perfect role that will show all the opulence of her qualities.
Sandra Bullock wasn't even near the rest in her category.
Judi Dench is excellent and "Philomena" had one of the best casts last year so she would be my no.2.
Meryl Streep,still the greatest actress in the world,had one of her rare not-so-great moments in the neurotic and quite messy "August:Osage County".
2.Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 years a slave" or Leonardo Di Caprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street".
This is a tough one for me.As I have written on my blog,Leo Di Caprio has,after many years of stumbling,finally found his lost greatness in Wolf.He was simply brilliant.And I loved the movie so it should be easy to decide but Chiwetele Ejiofor had maybe a more difficult role,a role that showed a completely different range of emotions,skill and talent.Either way,I am thrilled with any of them winning.
This is a very hard category,the nominees were all excellent,McConaghey has already won all the pre-awards so he 'll probably win tonight but as great as he was in a very important movie I felt as if I have seen it all before.Still,he was brilliant and I won't be disappointed if he wins.
Bruce Dern was also fantastic in "Nebrasca" and he also deserves the Oscar as well as Christian Bale for "American Hustle".It is the most difficult category for me so I have to follow my gut since all the nominees were definitely brilliant.
3.Lupita Nyong'O in "12 Years a Slave".
Here,I have no doubts.Lupita Nyong'O is the discovery of the year or maybe even of the decade.The girl is so overwhelmingly talented and radiant that,in the category filled with exceptional actresses,she still stands alone.
She was lucky to star in a very complex and demanding role with a brilliant director who gave her the chance to shine.And she did and she continues to shine all through her campaing which was so professional that it should be an example for many experienced actresses and actors.
My only wish and hope for that amazing talent is that she continues to make smart career choices.
Jennifer Lawrence,well,yes,she was good and she is a very original talent but this year is Lupita's.
Julia Roberts,not even near.The movie was a mess.
June Squibb,very good in a strong competition.
Sally Hawkins,my no.2 for her excellent portrayal of a very demanding character,she was very good and I thought she was underrated in the awards season but Lupita is winning tonight.
4.Jared Leto for "DallasBuyersClub".He had a dreamy role for winning the awards and he nailed it.There is no doubt in my,or probably anyone else's mind, that the Oscar goes to Leto.He is a very complicated talent but capable of making miracles.This was one of his best miracles.
Michael Fassbender,one of the best European actors,had many great roles and this year it was simply not great enough to beat Leto.
Bradley Cooper is not good enough for my taste and his kind of neurotic gets quite repetitive.
Jonah Hill was exceptional and this ultra talented actor will win the Oscar some day.Not tonight.
Barkhad Abdi is a possible surprise,the story that Oscar voters like.Remotely possible.
In the best movie category,I would love to see "12 Years a Slave" or "The Wolf of Wall Street" winning the best movie.
Update:Some of my wishes were fulfilled so I am happy,especially for Lupita Nyongo,it was marvelous to see her win and she made a very nice speech.Cate is a queen,McConaghey gave a very strange me,myself and God speech and "12 Years a Slave" was the surprise I was hoping for.So all in all,a very good year for my favorites.
And I hope the young brilliant Lupita will chose her next roles very carefully.Till her next award.
