86th Annual Academy Awards Recap

Ellen DeGeneres returning to host for the 86th Annual Academy Awards hands-down showed how to effortlessly wrangle a younger, wider audience, something the academy has been desperately trying to do since their ill-fated host selection of James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Well, this year without even meaning to, it's happened. (Or at least I'm assuming that is what the result will be.) And it all starts with that A-list selfie, featuring the glowing faces of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey, Lupita Nyong'o, Jennifer Lawrence, Jared Leto and more with Bradley Cooper holding out the phone in a moment of pure unadulterated fun. As was the goal, it has garnered the most retweets on Twitter of all time and, as Ellen later confirmed in the telecast, even momentarily crashed the social media site.

Ellen channeled the feel-good spirit of her daytime talk show, interacting with the audience, relating to celebrities -- who actually seem to really like her -- and strolling the seats with casual banter, even walking around with Pharrell's now-famous hat collecting money from the likes of Harvey Weinstein for the pizza she ordered. Yes, the pizza she ordered. The pizza that actually came, and which was eaten up by the likes of Harrison Ford and Martin Scorsese.

These two moments made her hosting gig actually memorable, and also proves that, really, no awards show nowadays is complete without the incorporation of social media. Cate Blanchett's acceptance speech even included the word "hashtag." Never in a million years, right? Ellen's opening monologue actually wasn't that strong but was totally compensated by her throughout-the-show bits. Most hosts do their monologue and then bow out for the rest of the telecast. Not Ellen.

Now to the awards. "Gravity" bordered on a sweep, nabbing all the awards it was nominated for except two, totaling in at seven. They were sound mixing and editing, cinematography, visual effects, score, editing (over "Captain Phillips") and then Alfonso Cuaron for best director, who delivered a heartfelt speech and a spout of Spanish. The only technical category it couldn't dominate was production design because Catherine Martin is an unstoppable force and flamboyancy never loses.

"The Great Gatsby" took home two awards for costume and production design. Also coming in at two was Disney's "Frozen" for best animated film and best original song, "Let It Go."

"12 Years a Slave" and "Dallas Buyers Club" tied for three wins each. "12 Years" topped the night with a best picture win; Brad Pitt introduced an exuberant Steve McQueen who ended his speech with a literal jump for joy in the air. Lupita Nyong'o beat out Jennifer Lawrence for "American Hustle," but even though she lost, J-Law still managed to steal the show. The girl tripped, yes, again, to the point where Ellen even made a crack about it in her opening. "I think we should bring you the Oscar" if she were to win.

John Ridley won best adapted screenplay for "12 Years," and then I was particularly elated when Spike Jonze won the sole award for "Her" in best original screenplay over "American Hustle."

"Dallas" took home two of the other acting awards for Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey, the former thanking his mom and calling out support to anyone who's ever felt segregated against while McConaughey went full McConaughey with a (lovable) rambling about goals and show business. Both speeches were great in their own ways, and Cate Blanchett also shined with her best actress speech for "Blue Jasmine," noting women empowerment in films. Nyong'o had the most gorgeous, tearful speech of them all. "No matter where you're from, your dreams are valid," she said.

The four nominated-song performances were all stand-outs and didn't slow down the show. The internet went into a frenzy when John Travolta absolutely butchered Idina Menzel's name. Adele Dazeem? Pharrell got Lupita Nyong'o, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep all to dance, an instantly GIF-able moment.

Eyeroll-inducing moments, though, were not absent. Instead of fading away to black and going to a commercial following the In Memorium segment, Bette Midler emerged and sang the bizarre and jarring song selection of "Wind Beneath My Wings." Also bizarre was the show's entire theme of heroes, a broad, sweeping theme that only existed to give us pointless, brainless montages. And while Pink's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was well-done in honor of the 75th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz," it felt like its sole purpose was to bloat the show. Yet, amazingly enough, the show clocked in right at time at exactly three hours and 30 minutes.

It's interesting we have a year where the film that won best picture didn't win either editing or directing, which are otherwise precursors to what takes the top honor. Yet "12 Years" coming out on top was more than fitting, and "Gravity" reaped what it needed to. And this left "American Hustle" perfectly left out and empty-handed. Isn't that justice, after all, for a movie that seduced critics for seemingly no reason? Sweet justice indeed.

86th Annual Academy Award Nominations

This morning's announcement of the 86th Annual Academy Award nominations continued to confirm the three-way frontrunners in this year's race: "American Hustle," "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave." "Hustle" and "Gravity" led the pack with ten nominations each, while "12 Years" came in a close second with nine. While all three films landed the best picture precursor nomination for best editing, "Gravity" notably got left off the best original screenplay category.

The best picture nominations came in, for a third year now, at nine total. Among the nominees were "American Hustle," "12 Years a Slave," "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Her," "Gravity," "Nebraska," "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Philomena." This last entry comes as bit of a surprise over the likes of "Saving Mr. Banks" or "Inside Llewyn Davis."

And speaking of "Banks" and "Davis," both films were shut out in the major categories when it was widely expected Emma Thompson would get a best actress nomination for the former while perhaps the latter would at least get a nod for best original screenplay. Neither film went home empty-handed, though. "Banks" nabbed a nod for best score while "Davis" received cinematography and sound mixing.

The film that's completely absent? "Lee Daniels' The Butler," reflecting the HFPA's snub of the film. Not even Oprah Winfrey secured her nomination for best supporting actress.

Best director nominations went to frontrunner Alfonso Cuaron for "Gravity," Steve McQueen for "12 Years a Slave," David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Martin Scorsese for "The Wolf of Wall Street" and, a surprise, Alexander Payne for "Nebraska" over the likes of Paul Greengrass for "Captain Phillips" or Joel and Ethan Cohen for "Inside Llewyn Davis."

As Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" did last year, all four acting categories represent a nomination from "American Hustle."

The biggest surprise is by far the inclusion of Christian Bale in lead actor, who made it in over both Robert Redford for "All Is Lost" and Tom Hanks for "Captain Phillips." Joining him were Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club," Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Wolf of Wall Street," Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave" and Bruce Dern for "Nebraska."

With Emma Thompson out for the best actress category, Amy Adams made it in for "American Hustle" along with locked nominees Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine," Sandra Bullock for "Gravity" and Judi Dench for "Philomena." And yes, there's no denying the Academy's love for Meryl Streep, who got nominated in the category for "August: Osage County."

Now two-time Academy Award-nominated Jonah Hill for "The Wolf of Wall Street" made the best supporting actor category with Bradley Cooper for "American Hustle," Barkhad Abdi for "Captain Phillips," Michael Fassbender for "12 Years a Slave" and frontrunner Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club."

Jennifer Lawrence is now the youngest actor, at 23 years old, to have three Academy Award nominations, this year in best supporting actress for "American Hustle." She joins Lupita Nyong'o for "12 Years a Slave," Julia Roberts for "August: Osage County," June Squibb for "Nebraska" and the surprise of Sally Hawkins for "Blue Jasmine" over Oprah Winfrey for "The Butler."

Another notable snub: Pixar went without a nomination for best animated picture. The studio's "Monsters University" was bested by "Despicable Me 2," "The Croods," "The Wind Rises," "Ernest & Celestine" and of course "Frozen."

And while Hans Zimmer for "12 Years a Slave" got left off for best score, a noteworthy inclusion in the category was "Her," which also received a nomination for best song. The film came in at a total five nominations.

"Nebraska" also came out as quite the juggernaut with six nominations total, with each of its lead actors and director nabbing nods along with best picture.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards air live at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 2 at 8 p.m. on ABC hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Check here for a full list of nominations.

71st Annual Golden Globe Award Winners

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are, once again, undoubtedly the best hosts around and nailed their second annual gig with an opening monologue that, while not quite as on-point as last year, was nevertheless smart, funny, and every joke landed with perfect panache. Hats off to them. The 71st Annual Golden Globes telecast clipped along at a fine pace with even Diane Keaton's Cecil B. DeMille tribute to Woody Allen -- the biggest potential for a slowed-down slog -- staying upbeat and fast. The entire thing clocked it at one minute under three hours.

As for the winners, the love was spread around with "American Hustle" topping the night with three wins for best comedy/musical and wins for both Amy Adams in best actress comedy/musical and, surprise, Jennifer Lawrence once again for best supporting actress. David O. Russell is just directing that J-Law to awards gold, and she remains never not charmingly flustered and real. The girl on fire, folks.

"12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" saw a split with Alfonso Cuaron taking best director while Steve McQueen's slavery picture topped off the night with a best drama win. It's likely we could see this same split happen Oscar night, unless "American Hustle" sneaks in.

Following "Hustle" for most awards was "Dallas Buyers Club" with two wins, each for its leading men. Matthew McConaughey took best actor drama while Jared Leto won best supporting actor. While Leto is full steam ahead for his Oscar win, it's more and more looking like McConaughey could be, as well, provided we see what happens at the SAG awards.

While it was widely assumed Lupita Nyong'o would take home best supporting for her turn in "12 Years," Jennifer Lawrence swooped out from below and snatched it, putting Oscar chances for Nyong'o in jeopardy.

Amy Adams rounded out the "Hustle" wins, a triumph allowed through the categorical split putting her out of contention with front-runner Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine" who took home best actress drama and will repeat Oscar night.

Also reaping the benefits of the categorical split was Leonardo DiCaprio who won best actor comedy/musical for "The Wolf of Wall Street." While he's likely looking at a nomination come Thursday morning's announcement, he'll probably be bested by his competition for the win.

"Her" won itself a best screenplay award for Spike Jonze against the likes of "12 Years" and "Hustle," a welcomed surprise win for the film. "Hustle" and "Her" will have to battle it out for the best original screenplay award at the Oscars.

In the world of television, a few notes: big congratulations to Amy Poehler on finally winning for "Parks and Recreation," and who saw "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" winning best TV comedy? HFPA sure does like to award shiny, new things. And thank goodness "Breaking Bad" took best drama. No riots necessary.

Plenty of GIFable moments from the night, as well, from double-nominated Julia Louis-Dreyfus smoking an e-cigarette and eating a hotdog to Emma Thompson carrying her Louboutins in one hand and a martini in the other. What a party! Check here for a full list of winners.

Stay tuned for the next step in awards season, the nominations announcement for the 86th Annual Academy Awards on Thursday, Jan. 16.

The Best Films of 2013

10. Spring Breakers (tie) The Bling Ring

Harmony Korine and Sofia Coppola's dark meditations on girls gone wild are kindred spirits. In each of their own uniquely stylistic ways -- Korine's hyper-fantasy spring break turned nightmare and Coppola's deceptively vapid fact-based retelling -- these auteur writer/directors hold a microscope up to a youth culture gone mad. And there's no denying the performances from James Franco as the dread-locked, gun-toting rapper Alien ("Look at my shit!") in the former and "Harry Potter" alum Emma Watson's scalding queen bitch in the latter.

9. This Is the End

The flat-out funniest movie of the year. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's raunchy mix of comedy and horror is delirious, outrageous and smart about its obvious stupidity. Chock full of actors playing themselves and more uproarious cameos than you can shake a stick at, these guys even squeeze in something to say about the status of celebrity and the nature of faith.

8. Short Term 12

Brie Larson is an absolute break-out in this heartrending powerhouse, among the most emotionally raw films of the year. Dustin Cretton's debut surprises with unexpected moments of poignancy and, even in the darkest moments, bursts of humor in an unflinching look inside the staff of a youth-at-risk center.

7. Enough Said

The most commercial effort from writer/director Nicole Holofcener also happens to be her best. The romantic comedy starring the delightful combination of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini is witty and compassionate, diving into truths about adult relationships, trusting one's instincts and having faith in love. Holofcener's biggest concern with the film was making sure the plot twist didn't come across as "stupid." Rest assured, it plays out smart as can be.

6. Gravity

Alfonso Cuaron's masterful space odyssey is a film that commands audiences back to the movie theater. It simply cannot be seen any other way, in full glorious 3D, easiest the most groundbreaking visual landmark since James Cameron's "Avatar." The stunning cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki transports viewers into space with the characters (namely Sandra Bullock in a career-best performance), floating adrift in the inky black expanse filled with existential dread.

5. Nebraska

Alexander Payne delivers another masterwork with his funniest film to date. "Nebraska" is a fable of middle America that finds absurdity and poignancy in the mundane of the everyday, in large part thanks to a first-time screenplay from Bob Nelson. June Squibb is an absolute hoot playing the wife of bitter, drunk and possibly senile Woody Grant. Both she and Bruce Dern give career-topping performances in a film that puts on grand display Payne's trademark commitment to both drama and comedy.

4. Blue Is the Warmest Color

Adele Exarchopoulos gives the performance of the year in Abdellatif Kechiche's intimate three-hour saga. She plays Adele, a young lesbian who blossoms into her sexuality and sense of self through a passionate but tumultuous relationship with the blue-haired Emma, played by Lea Seydoux. It's enthralling stuff and plays out like reading a rich novel, dense with themes on female sexuality and gender norms. Lingering in the mind long after the credits roll, you don't just watch these characters; you live and breathe them.

3. Her

In his fourth feature, writer/director Spike Jonze has taken a surrealist dystopian gimmick and finessed it into a deeply romantic and sad film. Through a seemingly impossible relationship, Jonze makes us believe and turns it into a meditation on how we look to find connections with each other, what keeps us from it and how we live today. Joaquin Phoenix gives a grand performance of pure isolation while an entirely off-screen Scarlett Johansson is inspired and soulful.

2. Frances Ha

Writer/actress Greta Gerwig and real-life boyfriend writer/director Noah Baumbach have proved a dynamic dream team in the independent film realm. Their "Frances Ha" is honest and telling, funny and smart, wry and sad, effervescent and fulfilling. The story of Gerwig's bumbling heroine Frances paints themes of post-college anxiety and the complexity of female friendship, which combine to draw even deeper meaning about coming-of-age at a time when someone's supposed to have already come of age.

1. 12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's harrowing and wrenching slave drama is the very best film of the year, an instant American classic. Against the backdrop of our nation's darkest chapter in its history, McQueen and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt -- coupled with an equal parts blistering and moving score from Hans Zimmer -- find absolute beauty and poetry within the ugly, brutal horrors. Not to mention extraordinary performances across the board from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson and first-time actress Lupita Nyong'o (on her way to an Oscar) in the year's best ensemble.

GRAVITY Review

What more is there to say about "Gravity," director Alfonso Cuaron's diamond of a film? It is a masterpiece, boldly announcing the future of cinema and literally like nothing else we've seen before in the history of the medium. It rewrites the rules right before our eyes, managing to show us something that makes the power of filmgoing awe-inspiring all over again. It thrills us, challenges us and is hands-down one of the most visceral and stressful 90 minutes you'll ever experience.

In an age where we consume media everywhere but inside a movie theater, Cuaron's harrowing space journey demands audiences back. One of the film's greatest features is simply existing as a film that must be viewed in a large-screen format in a dark room with a full audience. The power in the filmmaking, especially the stunning cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki (of Cuaron's "Children of Men" and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life"), is that it literally transports audiences into space with the characters. For once, 3D feels necessary for a film. Even better than the milestone-setting "Avatar" and then "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Life of Pi" to follow, it's undeniably suitable to the zero-gravity setting where traditional horizontal and vertical planes are rendered irrelevant creating a free-standing inky black landscape.

Speaking of "Avatar," that is the easiest comparison in terms of groundbreaking visual landmark. James Cameron was a large supporter of Cuaron during the early stages of this film, a whole seven years ago back when the technology used to make his project wasn't even invented yet. "Gravity" is also a movie about impossibility. A bleak phrase appears on the screen before the first shot begins: "Life in space is impossible." Years ago, this film was impossible. And going back further decades ago, space travel was impossible. Cuaron dares us to see what impossible can achieve.

It all starts with a gorgeous 17-minute shot that establishes medic Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) in the vast expanse of space inside their suits on assignment to repair Hubble. "You can't beat the view," Kowalski says, gazing down at the blue earth. He's not kidding. That is until a storm of catastrophic debris destroys their spacecraft and sends them adrift with no easily feasible way of getting back home. Terror sets in for both them and us.

Though epic in scope, Cuaron's film is simple at its core. It's about high-powered technology going wrong, like a shipwreck movie in space. (Which is curious because Robert Redford's literal shipwreck movie "All Is Lost" comes out later this year.) Apart from the visual wonderment, the sound design in "Gravity" is equally astonishing: the contrast created from loud, overwhelming bass crescendoing into absolute, pure silence. And even the sound from the perspective of the characters where voices come through over radio and the muted thumping of all other sounds, it's like we're right inside the suit with them.

The dialogue is one thing of note. Why is Kowalski so jokey and chipper? Why is Ryan egging herself forward with motivational cliches? Because if not for their own voices, there is only stark silence. It's that terrifying thought of loss of self and affirming one own's tiny existence in the universe that establishes Cuaron's humanism. For any step into sentimentality, however, there's a constant undertone of existential dread. There's really only so much that can be said about "Gravity" because here's a film that says it all for itself. Never have the words "you have to see it to believe it" meant more. Go see it.