Oscar Predictions 2014

The time has come again! The biggest award show in the movie business airs Sunday night and its going to be a good one! With Ellen DeGeneres hosting, musical performances by Idina Menzel and U2, and a Best Picture race that has not been so tight in years, The 86th Annual Academy Awards is promising to be an exciting night full of surprises. And as I do each year, it is time for me to make my predictions for the major categories. This year, as I've already said, it was extremely hard for me to predict the winner in a couple categories since some of the competition is just so close but here are my best guesses:

Best Animated Film

This is one of the easier categories. For almost everyone, Frozen, is the clear winner this year, and it should be. The film has had a run at the box office that is nothing short of incredible, the soundtrack has been at the top of the charts for weeks, and the consensus from critics was that this is Disney's best film since The Lion King. Like it or not, Frozen is a worldwide hit, Disney's biggest success in years, and so it should not have a problem walking away with the Oscar Sunday night. Its only competition is The Wind Rises which is the final film from acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki, who won an Oscar in 2003 for his film Spirited Away. If Miyazaki had not one an Oscar yet, then the chances of him receiving an award for his achievements would be much greater, but that is not the case, so it probably won't end up besting Disney's latest musical.

Who will win: Frozen
Who should win: Frozen
Possible Upset: The Wind Rises

Best Original Song

Much like the last category, at first glance this seems like a given. "Let It Go" is huge, even yesterday all of Times Square sang it together on Good Morning America. This song deserves the win, but there is also U2's new single "Ordinary Love" that surprisingly took away the Golden Globe last month. Sometimes the Academy favors big name artists like this, but I think "Let It Go" should be pretty safe.

Who will win: Let It Go
Who should win: Let It Go
Possible Upset: Ordinary Love 

Best Visual Effects

This one is pretty much a gimme. I expect Gravity to sweep all the technical categories this year (which is why I'm not going to go through all the categories like sound mixing, sound editing, etc.). Unfortunately for me, I have not yet seen the film (don't hate me) but I will be seeing it Saturday night and expect it to be visually and technically amazing...even if that's all that is good about it. Anyways...while The Hobbit boasts some amazing visuals, Gravity stood out this year as a unique piece of filmmaking, and many of the visual effects were created for the film.

Who will win: Gravity 
Who should win: Gravity  
Possible Upset: No

Best Costume Design

How in the world did Catching Fire NOT get nominated for this? Every time I see the film I am furious that the Academy totally snubbed that movie for Best Costume Design...but whatever. I'm picking American Hustle for this one. The costumes were diverse, colorful, and authentic. A possible contender for this one would be The Great Gatsby for all of those same reasons, but Hustle should pull out the win since it's a favorite for some of the major categories as well.

Who will win: American Hustle 
Who should win: American Hustle 
Possible Upset:The Great Gatsby 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Ok, this is when it starts to get a little harder to predict the winners, but this year, Best Adapted Screenplay is a little easier to pick than Best Original Screenplay. I'm giving it to 12 Years a Slave. Out of the five films nominated in this category, Slave is by far the frontrunner to win Best Picture, which gives it a major advantage. Its major threat is The Wolf of Wall Street, a film that can't seem to escape the bad press surrounding the overabundance of drugs, sex, and vulgarity that is packed into it, which is why Slave should come away with the win.

Who will win: 12 Years a Slave 
Who should win: 12 Years a Slave 
Possible Upset: The Wolf of Wall Street 

Best Original Screenplay

Will it be Her or American Hustle? That is the big question. One could look at the fact that Her has already won best screenplay at the Golden Globes and the WGA award (Writers Guild) and think that a win from the Academy would be obvious. But I wouldn't say this one is a gimme. The Academy is notorious for bringing it upon themselves to "correct mistakes" made by other award ceremonies (primarily the Golden Globes) and if they deem American Hustle superior, then they will be the ones to surprise people and ignore the awards given to Her already. And there is also Dallas Buyers Club to consider. The film has been getting more and more press since Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto have been sweeping the acting awards for the film. It could be a potential dark horse. I want to give this one to American Hustle, but I think that Her is still the frontrunner for this one.

Who will win: Her
Who should win: American Hustle 
Possible Upset: Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence or Lupita Nyong'o? This is another pretty close race. Both have won the award in various award ceremonies, but for the Oscars, I'm giving this one to Lawrence, who is already loved by the Academy. In the three years the Lawrence has been a star, she has been nominated for three Academy Awards, and has won once. Winning again would make her the youngest actress to receive back-to-back awards. Lupita Nyong'o gave a great/moving performance in 12 Years a Slave, but it wasn't close to Lawrence's scene-stealer of a character in American Hustle.

Who will win: Jennifer Lawrence 
Who should win: Jennifer Lawrence 
Possible Upset: Lupita Nyong'o 

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto! Jared Leto! Jared Leto! NO. Here's the thing with this one: Jared Leto is winning awards because of the character he is playing, not because of his performance. That is just how the Academy works sometimes and sure, it's pretty annoying, but what are you going to do. I think the true deserver of this award is Michael Fassbender, who managed to be one of the most chilling and evil villains in a long time with the twisted Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave. Now that was a terrific performance. But as great as it is, it will unlikely stop the awards train that is Jared Leto this year.

Who will win: Jared Leto 
Who should win: Michael Fassbender 
Possible Upset: Bradley Cooper

Best Actress

Two words...Cate Blanchett

Who will win: Cate Blanchett
Who should win: Cate Blanchett 
Possible Upset: No way

Best Actor

Can anyone stop Matthew McConaughey? I think so. In fact, I think there are a few others in this category that pose a threat to this actor's seemingly unstoppable sweep. First there is Chiwetel Ejiofor who was incredible in 12 Years a Slave, and frankly I'm pretty surprised that his name is not mentioned as much when talking about this category. With the film highly likely to take away Best Picture, it is very possible that the Academy will reward him with an award for carrying the great film on his shoulders. Then there is Christian Bale, who has started to become a favorite of the Academy during the last few years (he won best supporting actor for another David O. Russell film, The Fighter). While he has a lot of star power, and a terrific performance in American Hustle, I'm not sure he will be able to come out on top this year. I think the real contender is Leonardo DiCaprio. I think this category could be the one that is able to leap over the hurdle of Wall Street's bad press and score DiCaprio his first ever Academy Award (shocking to think he has never won). I'm not completely sure who will win, but I would be happy with any of the choices, all of these actors gave terrific performances.

Who will win: Matthew McConaughey 
Who should win: Chiwetel Ejiofor 
Possible Upset: Leonardo DiCaprio 

Best Director

As I will repeat in the Best Picture paragraph, I don't think Gravity has any real chance of taking away the big prize for Best Picture, however, I do think it's almost a given that Alfonso Cuaron will win for Best Directing. Some people may argue that the story and the logic of Gravity was nothing special, but the film was still a visual achievement, which is much of what got Ang Lee is Oscar for Life of Pi last year. However, it is also possible that the Academy may say it is time for David O. Russell to win after being nominated for three films in three years, and many would argue that American Hustle is indeed his best film yet. Steve McQueen could also deliver an upset for his real and gritty directing of 12 Years a Slave.

Who will win: Alfonso Cuaron
Who should win: David O. Russell 
Possible Upset: Steve McQueen 

Best Picture

Here we go. The big prize. The hardest decision. Like I said, the Best Picture race is incredibly close this year, and I have spent a lot of time debating which film I think has the upper hand. For me, the competition is between American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave, but I can't completely throw out Gravity either because of the awards it has already received.
First I'm going to look at this from the standpoint of past awards each film has already won. American Hustle took home the award for Best Film-Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, as well as the best acting ensemble award at the SAG Awards, Best Original Screenplay at the British Academy Awards,  and Best Picture at the AFI Awards. 12 Years a Slave took home Best Film-Drama at the Golden Globes, and Best Film at the British Academy Awards, those are two big wins. Gravity has only won awards in areas of directing in ceremonies such as The Golden Globes and the Director's Guild, which is why I think it's a lock for Best Directing, but not Best Picture.
Now here is what I think. American Hustle was as GOOD movie, with GREAT acting. 12 Years A Slave was a GREAT movie, with GREAT acting, that I found much better than the later film, which is why I want to think that it will surely win. But I can't help but think that the Academy will choose Hustle because of the big names like David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence (and it's screenplay). Plus, it's quite common for the Academy to award Best Picture to a film that is obviously NOT Best Picture. Great example: how in the world did Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan??? Yeah, exactly. I will probably never be confident in my choice with this category until I actually watch on Sunday Night and see which film is winning the big awards...but here is my best shot.

Who will win: American Hustle 
Who should win: 12 Years a Slave
Possible Upset: Gravity 

"Fantastic Four" Reboot Finds Its Heroes

Next summer, director Josh Trank (who directed the found-footage super-hero hit, "Chronicle") will bring the rebooted Fantastic Four back to the screen. Why? Because if 20th Century Fox didn't make another Fantastic Four movie soon, then Marvel would have gotten the rights to the characters back in their possession. So yeah, this is kinda more like bad news because frankly, the first two "Fantastic Four" movies were not all that great, and Marvel could do much better job with them if they had full control (perhaps the most depressing thing of all is that Dr. Doom can never be the villain in an Avengers movie).

Anyways, the four actors who will be taking over the roles of the first super-hero family have been announced and frankly, all the choices are a little surprising. First off we have Miles Teller (whom I said was on the short-list to play Mr. Fantastic last August) as the leader of the group. Why is this surprising? Because in all the roles I have seen him in he has always played the dumb/ignorant best friend of the main character who makes jokes and is comic relief (except for in "The Spectacular Now"). He certainly does not seem to fit the bill to play the smartest man in the world/hero/really nice guy such as Mr. Fantastic.

Next is Kate Mara, who is still relatively unknown unless you watch "House of Cards" in which she plays Zoe Barnes (ok so maybe she is well known). After watching the entire first season of House of Cards this weekend, I'm not as surprised about this casting choice because Mara is a great actress with lots of power that I think could translate well to Susan Storm/The Invisible Women.

Jamie Bell (Jumper) has been cast as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Now...this is what I don't get...The Thing (not the scary monster) is essentially a giant rock-man, that is the same size as The Hulk. Jamie Bell is a short, scrawny guy. So why the heck is he playing this character? I haven't the slightest idea. This is probably the casting decision I have the hardest time with accepting.

Finally, Michael B. Jordan, who received many award nominations for his breakout role in last year's "Fruitvale Station," has been cast as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch/the fan-favorite character of the series that was brilliantly played by now Captain America Chris Evans. What surprised me about this choice was (no not that The Human Torch is white in the comics, after all several characters in Marvel Comics were of a different race across different interpretations) that Susan and Johnny are siblings in the comics, so I wonder what will be changed (will there be married in this version? was one of them adopted? Or are the not related at all but still have the same last name by coincidence?) But Jordan has proven himself a good actor so maybe...ok he's not going to do a better job than Chris Evans did, but good luck to him.

Overall, these casting decisions make me very pessimistic about how this film is going to turn out, but hey, this isn't the first time the quality of an actor for the role of a super hero/villain has been questioned (Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Jack Nicholson, ok why are these all examples from Batman). Maybe (and hopefully) the rebooted "Fantastic Four" will be a huge hit.

But seriously, if they don't cast an amazing A-lister as Dr. Doom I will be pissed.

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

Finally! The first trailer for Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" is here! The trailer is full of some really cool (and surprisingly funny) shots and it does a good job of introducing all these new characters to an unknowing audience. I also appreciate how this trailer doesn't try to bill "Guardians" as just another big, epic super hero movie. Instead it takes a more lighthearted approach that I think will pay off in the long run. I listed this film as my 3rd most anticipated film of 2014 and this trailer only increases my excitement. Check it out!

Finding God in Cinema: The X-Men Films

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

When thinking about the X-Men films, and how these films contain elements of truth that can lead to discussion among believers, this verse kept jumping out at me. Galatians 6:9 is my favorite Bible verse. To me it is so inspirational and encouraging. It is a constant reminder to not be discouraged by failure, or by the evil of the world around us, because there is something worth fighting for, and a reward, the reward (which Jesus Christ made possible to us) worth working for. And so this verse stuck out to me when I thought of the X-Men, a team of super heroes that continue to fight for humanity and save those in need, even though they are hated by society. Now in these articles, I am making my connections from the movies I am writing about, but in this case, there is a little bit of information that I am going to draw from the comic books that will help make things a little clearer.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the X-Men back in 1963 and the comic was partially inspired by the Civil Rights Movement taking place at the same time. The comic book (and modern movies) revolved around a group of individuals called “mutants”—super powered beings that were considered to be the next form of human evolution. The X-Men has almost always been centered on the conflict between two men, Professor Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr, who is probably better known by his mutant name, Magneto. Now these two men both want the same thing for their kind; they want mutants to be accepted by society. However, their methods for accomplishing this dream are very different (if this sounds familiar, it is possibly because Charles Xavier was partly inspired by Martin Luther King Jr, and Magneto by Malcolm X).

Judging vs. Evangelism

Xavier insists on peace in order to accomplish mutant equality, Magneto insists on violence. He believes that mankind will never accept them, and so mutants should use their power to assert their dominance. Now the anger and vengeance that fills Magneto’s heart is rooted in his childhood. As a boy, he grew up in a German concentration camp and witnessed the shooting of his parents. Because of the things he had to endure as a child, Magneto refuses to see the humans as anything but a mindless threat that fears what they do not understand. In 2011’s X-Men: First Class, Charles speaks to Magneto (before he becomes “evil”) and tries to explain to him that there is hope that mankind will accept mutants.

Xavier: “We have it in ourselves to be the better men”

Magneto: “We already are”

When I think of this conflict, a conflict between two individuals who both want the same thing, but go about it in different ways, I think of the modern Christian church. I think of how the Church is held in a negative light by much of society. And then I think of how the Church has failed society. And if you think I’m crazy, and you think that the Church would never do anything negative to unbelievers, then take a good, long look at this picture:

I know that America is not full of churches like Westboro Baptist Church, but there are plenty of churches that see themselves as “the better men,” just like Magneto. There are plenty of people, who claim to know Christ, yet refuse to believe that there is any hope in society, and so they turn to hate and judgment.

“God hates Gays”

“God hates Democrats”

“God hates Republicans”

“God hates Pro-Choice people”

It breaks my heart whenever I see the latest pictures on the Internet or signs like these being paraded down the highway. It breaks my heart that “Christians” are spreading these senseless lies, which are not in any way grounded in Scripture. It is wrong, it is sinful, and it is not evangelism. Yet, the people holding up these signs think it is evangelism. Just as Xavier and Magneto want the same thing for their people, to be accepted, those claiming Christ want the same thing... for the glory of God and the good news of Jesus Christ to be known over all the Earth. The problem is that there are some of us that go about evangelism the right way, and some of us that go about evangelism the wrong way.  There are those that think that because they are Christians, they are so much better than the “sinful” unbeliever.

Judging others, it is something that we all struggle with because in our sin, we try to make ourselves feel better by telling ourselves things like, “Oh I am so much better than that woman who had an abortion,” or “Oh, well I am nothing like that man who was responsible for the school shooting—THEY are much worse sinners than I am.” We focus too much on other people’s sin and not enough on our own sin. So often we forget that we have the same exact capacity for sin that every robber, murderer, and adulterer has. And it is this aspect of sin that leads to people holding signs on the side of the road, and hurting the witness of God’s Church. They forget that God sent his only Son to die for robbers and murderers and adulterers. In Matthew 7:3, Jesus speaks on judging others and says this:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye, and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" 

We want to spread the Word of God to others. But if we decide for ourselves that there is just no hope, and that some people are just “too sinful” to deserve being ministered to, then we become Magneto’s, we become people who have given up hope and turn to judgment and anger, and what it really comes down to is that we don’t have any faith in the power of God to transform an individual (a theme that I explored earlier in Pulp Fiction). On the opposite side of that, if we remember that even though we are full of sin God chose to save us, and that He has the power to save anyone He wants to, then we can move forward with healthy evangelism. We can be followers of Christ that never give up hope, just as Xavier never gives up hope on his mission…which brings me to my second point.

Doing Good Amidst Persecution

The X-Men are a team of heroes who never give up hope on the mankind. Through thick and thin they stay true to the belief that one day they will accomplish their mission, and that they will be accepted. But they still struggle with the idea that maybe they are wrong. Maybe what they are fighting for is not worth it. In the first X-Men released back in 2000, Wolverine is struggling with where he stands in the whole mutant debate. He doesn’t know whose views make more sense, Xavier or Magneto’s. So in his time of doubt, he says this to Storm when she asks him to help the X-Men on their quest:

“You're a mutant. The whole world out there is full of people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time trying to protect them? I've got better things to do!”

This line is key. It is one of the big lines in all of the X-Men films that sums up the ongoing theme—a theme of never giving up amid persecution. Now when I read this line, I re-imagined it with a few words being replaced with other words and this is what I got:

“You’re a Christian. The whole world out there is full of people who hate and reject you and you’re wasting your time trying to minister to them?”

Now I can see someone, believer and unbeliever alike, asking this exact question to me (or anybody). And on some days, it would be hard for me to answer this question. Because some days when I turn on the news or read the headlines of the Internet, it’s very easy for me to say to myself, “There is no hope.” It is very hard for Christians to look into the face of modern society and not question what God is doing. And because of that, we doubt. We struggle with why we are trying to evangelize what we deem as a “hopeless nation” because we cannot even begin to comprehend God’s plan.

                  
When Wolverine is struggling with his doubt that there is any hope for him and for mutants, Xavier takes him into a room with a machine called Cerebro. This machine allows Xavier to see and track the whereabouts of any mutant. So at first, Wolverine sees all of the humans on Earth, projected in the room as white dots on a map, but then he sees all of the mutants, projected as red dots, and he is amazed at just how many there are. And then Xavier tells him, “You see, Logan (Wolverine’s alias)? We’re not as alone as you think.”

                  
And that’s what I say to myself, and what I would say to other Christians when we struggle with doubt and hopelessness regarding our world and our mission of evangelism. We are not as alone as we think. Sure we can turn on the news and see the terrible things happening but not everything is bad. Whether we see it or not, God is constantly working in our lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the lives all around the world. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan. He tells us this in Jeremiah 29:11:

                  “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God is working all around us. Even in my first semester at Florida State University, a public university that many would dismiss as a place of sacrilegious activity and secular pleasure, I felt the presence of God around the campus. I can see the many Christian organizations around campus and recall all of the fellow believers I have met and say to myself, I am not as alone as I think. That is something we all need to remind ourselves of.

Conclusion

Now you can say to me, “How can you try to relate us to X-Men? They have all of these powers that make them stronger. We don’t have any powers.” Yes, it’s true, we don’t have the power to walk through walls, or read people’s minds, or bend metal to our will. We don’t have any superpower. But we have a power living within us that is greater than any superpower—the power of God. A power that no Earthly thing can overpower, not even death. A power that God has granted us through the death of His only Son. And he has given us tools to channel this power through. He has given us the Church, where we can gather to worship and glorify him. He has given us the Bible, His holy word through which we can become closer to Him, and seek to show others about God’s grace, mercy, and love. And he has given us the Holy Spirit, the changing agent within the world that convicts the sinner and gives the Christian power to overcome the mastery of sin in their lives. So with these things in mind read Galatians 6:9 again.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

I have said before that movies are modern-day parables. Pieces of art that can contain hints of truth that can reach to Christians and Non-Christians alike. In the X-Men films, we see a group of heroes that continue to fight for a people that hate them. We see two men, one who is determined not to be weary of doing good because he has faith that they will succeed. And then we have another man who has given up hope on doing good, and turns to hatred and judgment as his tools to get what he wants. And through these stories we can take the example of what the X-Men stand for and apply it to our own lives.  God has a plan, and we will never fully understand it, but that is no reason to doubt the goodness in it. We cannot grow weary of doing good, because we know that God has a reward in store for us, a reward of an eternity with Him, made possible through Christ, and the reward of knowing that we have accomplished our mission as Christians, to bring other lost souls into a relationship with our Lord through evangelism. And that…is a reward worth fighting for. 

Super Bowl Movie Trailers

So uh, how about that rousing game huh? Pretty suspenseful stuff! Well thanks to the Denver Broncos for giving us what was probably the most boring game of football ever BUT not everything is bad. There were a lot of new movie trailers for some of this summers big blockbusters. So check out our first look at Transformers 4, as well as new trailers for Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Muppets: Most Wanted, and Noah.

Transformers: Extinction

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Muppets: Most Wanted

Noah

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Also, here are my two favorite Super Bowl commercials that I recall seeing (they are actually both car commercials).