How’d I Do on This Year’s Oscars?

With this year’s Academy Awards ceremony behind us, it’s time to take a look at how I did on my predictions for the winners in this annual competition, as first outlined in my previous blog, Who Will Capture This Year’s Oscars.

And the result? A perfect score! Out of the six major categories, I got them all!

Best Picture

Projected Winner: “12 Years a Slave”
Actual Winner: “12 Years a Slave”
Result: Correct call

This was the only major category that had any significant suspense associated with it, though “12 Years a Slave” was clearly one of the two frontrunners (the other being “American Hustle,” which, regrettably, was completely shut out on its 10 nominations). But, even though the film’s win wasn’t a surprise, it was not, in my opinion, the picture most worthy of top honors. My choice would have been “American Hustle.” I also would have been content with wins by “Nebraska,” “Philomena” or “The Wolf of Wall Street,” though they were all long shots at best.

Best Actor

Projected Winner: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Actual Winner: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Result: Correct call

This was a slam dunk. McConaughey swept the best actor category in every major competition leading up to the Oscars, so there was no reason to believe that the result was going to be any different this time. Thankfully, the strongest performance came up as the winner in this category; McConaughey was very deserving of every accolade bestowed upon him, though nearly all of his competitors would have made worthy winners as well.

Best Actress

Projected Winner: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Actual Winner: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Result: Correct call

This was another slam dunk. Blanchett swept the best actress category in every major competition leading up to the Oscars, so, again, there was no reason to believe that the result was going to be any different this time. Like McConaughey, Blanchett was very deserving of every accolade bestowed upon her, though nearly all of her competitors also would have made worthy winners.

Best Supporting Actor

Projected Winner: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Actual Winner: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Result: Correct call

Once again, there was no suspense in this category; Leto won every major award leading up the Oscars, so his win came as no surprise. He was the class of his field of contenders, and his win was well earned.

Best Supporting Actress

Projected Winner: Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Actual Winner: Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Result: Correct call

This was the only acting category in which there wasn’t a lock on the award, though Nyong’o was the favorite in a field packed with powerful performances. Despite Nyong’o’s win, I would have preferred it if the award had gone to Jennifer Lawrence for “American Hustle.” I also would have been content with victories by Julia Roberts (“August: Osage County”) or June Squibb (“Nebraska”).

Best Director

Projected Winner: Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
Actual Winner: Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
Result: Correct call

As in the acting categories, Cuarón was a lock on this award. In my opinion, however, this award would have been better suited to David O. Russell (“American Hustle”). I also would have been content with wins by Alexander Payne (“Nebraska”) or Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street”).

To find out more about what I had to say about some of this year’s winners and nominees, check out my reviews of them at the following links:

“12 Years a Slave”: Review, web site, trailer.

“American Hustle”: Review, web site, trailer.

“Nebraska”: Review, web site, trailer.

“Philomena”: Review, web site, trailer.

“Dallas Buyers Club”: Review, web site, trailer.

“August: Osage County”: Review, web site, trailer.

“Blue Jasmine”: Review, web site, trailer.

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Copyright © 2014, by Brent Marchant. All rights reserved.