86th Academy Awards

It's that time of year again. Oscar time. Time for the best, brilliant and over rated films to be celebrated in Hollywood. This year I have watched all nine of the flicks nominated for Best Picture. All of which I have enjoyed immensely, there isn't a bad picture among them. Below I have noted my predicted winners in red and my star rating next can be seen next to the films name.

I believe that 12 Yeats a Slave will win for Best Picture yet I can only rate it 3 out of 5. This is a good film but for me it lacks pace and the direction is sloppy to say the least. There are some great performances, Lupita Nyong'o its utterly brilliant and I certainly hope she wins for Best Supporting Actress.

The Academy will vote 12 Years a Slave as the best film because of the historical context, the brutality it portrays and the importance of never forgetting the terrible suffering which slavery brought to so many. But this doesn't make it the best film. In my heart I would love to see Philomena take away the famous statue. Not only because it is a British film but also because it would be an amazing achievement for brilliant Steve Coogan who has gone a long way from the stand up comedy scene.

Ultimately which ever film wins (and it will be 12 Years) I can safely say that it has been a brilliant year filled with many brilliant films. Ok so my top film films, Safety Not Guaranteed, Mud and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty didn't get any nominations but I guess that just shows how competitive the last twelve months have been.

So sit back, drink lots of coffee and lets all stay up until 4am!!

Best Picture 12 Years A Slave *** American Hustle *** Captain Phillips ***** Gravity ***** Dallas Buyers Club ***** Her *** Nebraska *** Philomena ***** The Wolf Of Wall Street *****	Best Director Steve McQueen David O. Russell Alfonso Cuarón Alexander Payne Martin Scorsese
Best Actor Bruce Dern Chiwetel Ejiofor Christian Bale Leonardo DiCaprio Matthew McConaughey	Best Actress Amy Adams Cate Blanchett Meryl Streep Judi Dench Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor Barkhad Abdi Bradley Cooper Michael Fassbender Jonah Hill Jared Leto	Best Supporting Actress Jennifer Lawrence Julia Roberts Lupita Nyong'o Sally Hawkins June Squibb
Best Original Screenplay American Hustle Blue Jasmine Nebraska Dallas Buyers Club Her	Best Adapted Screenplay 12 Years A Slave Captain Phillips Philomena The Wolf Of Wall Street Before Midnight
Best Animated Film The Croods Despicable Me 2 Ernest & Celestine Frozen The Wind Rises	Best Foreign Film Broken Circle Breakdown The Great Beauty The Hunt The Missing Picture Omar
Best Production Design 12 Years A Slave American Hustle Her Gravity The Great Gatsby	Best Cinematography The Grandmaster Gravity Inside Llewyn Davis Nebraska Prisoners
Best Costume Design American Hustle The Great Gatsby The Invisible Woman The Grandmaster 12 Years A Slave	Best Sound Editing All Is Lost Captain Phillips Gravity The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Lone Survivor
Best Sound Mixing Captain Phillips Gravity The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Inside Llewyn Davis Lone Survivor	Best Visual Effects Gravity The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Iron Man 3 Star Trek Into Darkness The Lone Ranger
Best Film Editing American Hustle 12 Years A Slave Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity	Best Makeup Dallas Buyers Club Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa The Lone Ranger
Best Score Philomena The Book Thief Gravity Saving Mr. Banks Her	Best Song 'Happy' - Despicable Me 2 'Let It Go' - Frozen 'The Moon Song' - Her 'Ordinary Love' - Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom
Best Short Film Animated Feral Get A Horse! Mr. Hublot Possessions Room On The Broom	Best Short Film Live Aquel No Era Yo Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) Helium Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have To Take Care of Everything?) The Voorman Problem
Best Documentary Feature The Act Of Killing Cutie And The Boxer Dirty Wars The Square 20 Feet From Stardom	Best Documentary Short Cavedigger Facing Fear Karama Has No Walls The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall