OSCARS 2014: Know Your Nominees: Best Picture

2014 Best Picture NomineesIn the days leading up to the 86th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well know, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.

American Hustle

american_hustle_ver6_xlgProducers: Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon.

Release date: December 13, 2013

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014; $214,489,338 (Domestic: $142,203,597, Foreign: $72,285,741)

IMDB Synopsis: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 10 (Best Motion Picture of the Year;  Best Achievement in Directing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Costume Design; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Writing, Original Screenplay)

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.

Nominated, Best Film, 2014 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Capri Movie of the Year Award, Capri, Hollywood.

3rd Place, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Florida Film Critics Circle Award.

Won, Best Picture-Comedy or Musical, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

2nd Place, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Won, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award.

Nominated, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

NominatedBest Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.

3rd Place, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93% (224 Positive Reviews, 17 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Riotously funny and impeccably cast, American Hustle compensates for its flaws with unbridled energy and some of David O. Russell’s most irrepressibly vibrant direction.

Dissenting Opinion: “Russell is so enamored with the period pizzazz – the outrageous hairstyles and outfits, the strobe-lit clubs, the yellows and browns – that the movie flatlines.”–Robert Levin, amNewYork

Official Site: http://www.americanhustle-movie.com/site/

Captain Phillips

captainphillipsposterProducers: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca

Release date: October 11, 2013

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $217,585,664 (Domestic: $106,885,622, Foreign: $110,700,042)

IMDB Synopsis: The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 6 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Film Editing;  Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay)

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.

Nominated,  Best Film, 2014 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture-Drama, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Film, New York Film Festival.Nominated, Best Picture, Satellite Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93% (218 Positive Reviews, 16 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Smart, powerfully acted, and incredibly intense, Captain Phillips offers filmgoers a Hollywood biopic done right — and offers Tom Hanks a showcase for yet another brilliant performance.

Dissenting Opinion: “As cinema it plays a lot like a knockoff of “Zero Dark Thirty,” without the same ambition and scale and with dramatically lower stakes.”–Andrew O’Hehir, Salon

Official Site: http://www.captainphillipsmovie.com/site/

Dallas Buyers Club

dallasbuyersclubposterProducer: Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter,

Release date: November 1, 2014.

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $30,414,667 (Domestic: $24,414,667, Foreign: $6,000,000)

IMDB Synopsis: In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is himself diagnosed with the disease.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 6 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Film Editing;Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling; Best Writing, Original Screenplay )

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

NominatedBest Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Independent Motion Picture, Image Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 94% (203 Positive Reviews, 14 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Dallas Buyers Club rests squarely on Matthew McConaughey’s scrawny shoulders, and he carries the burden gracefully with what might be a career-best performance.

Dissenting Opinion: “This is all well-intentioned, but it’s still obnoxious hokum, an important story so distilled and stripped of its essence that by the end, it’s not about AIDS and the fight for new drugs at all.”–Will Leitch, Deadspin.

Official Site: http://www.focusfeatures.com/dallas_buyers_club

Gravity

Gravity-2013-Movie-PosterProducers: Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman.

Release date: October 4, 2013.

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $700,945,782 (Domestic: $268,345,782, Foreign: $432,600,00)

IMDB Synopsis: A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 10 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Achievement in Visual Effects)

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.

Nominated,  Best Film, 2014 BAFTA Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

NominatedBest Picture-Drama, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

2rd Place, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. [TIE]

3rd Place, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award. [TIE]

Nominated, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

NominatedBest Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 97% (290 Positive Reviews, 9 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that’s masterfully directed and visually stunning.

Dissenting Opinion: “”’Watching Gravity often feels like watching an especially long prep reel for Star Tours, without ever being allowed to board the ride.”–Ben Kenigsberg, AV Club

Official Site: http://gravitymovie.warnerbros.com/#/home

Her

her_xlgProducers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay.

Release date: December 18, 2013

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $27,612,468 (Domestic: $23,519,327, Foreign: $4,093,141)

IMDB Synopsis: A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 5 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Writing, Original Screenplay)

Other honors for this film:

Won, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

NominatedBest Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture-Musical or Comedy, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. [TIE]

Won, Best Picture, National Board of Review, USA.

3rd Place, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics Awards. [TIE]

3rd Place, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award. [TIE]

Nominated, Best Film, New York Film Festival.

Nominated, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 94% (201 Positive Reviews, 13 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Sweet, soulful, and smart, Spike Jonze’s Her uses its just-barely-sci-fi scenario to impart wryly funny wisdom about the state of modern human relationships.

Dissenting Opinion: “We need more subplots. (Even just one.) Instead we get a life sentence of staring at Phoenix’s face while the actor, as skilfully as he can, goes through the 12 steps of disenchantment in his one-man LA therapy classes.”–Nigel Andrews, Financial Times.

Official Site: http://www.herthemovie.com/

Nebraska

NebraskaProducers: Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa.

Release date: November 15, 2014.

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $16,029,372 (Domestic: $16,029,372, Foreign: N/A)

IMDB Synopsis: An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 6 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Writing, Original Screenplay)

Other honors for this film:

NominatedBest Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

NominatedBest Picture-Musical or Comedy, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Feature, Independent Spirit Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Film, New York Film Festival.

Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

NominatedBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 92% (183 Positive Reviews, 16 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Elegant in its simplicity and poetic in its message, Nebraska adds another stirringly resonant chapter to Alexander Payne’s remarkable filmography.

Dissenting Opinion: “A rank exercise in hicksploitation sentimentalism.”–Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

Official Site: http://www.nebraskamovie.com/

 

Philomena

philomenaposterProducers: Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward.

Release date: November 22, 2013.

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $78,058,428 (Domestic: $31,334,395, Foreign: $46,724,033)

IMDB Synopsis: A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman’s search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 4 (Best Motion Picture of the Year;  Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score;  Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay)

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Film, 2014 BAFTA Awards.

NominatedBest Picture-Drama, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

NominatedBest Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 92% (155 Positive Reviews, 13 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Based on a powerful true story and led by note-perfect performances from Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, Philomena offers a profoundly affecting drama for adult filmgoers of all ages.

Dissenting Opinion: “Repeatedly chastises Sixsmith and his kind for packaging human tragedy … the irony is that Frears’ entertaining but thoroughly unchallenging film isn’t doing anything remotely different.”–Guy Lodge, HitFix.

Official Site: http://philomenamovie.com/

 

12 Years a Slave

12yearscover-webProducers:Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas.

Release date: October 18, 2013

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $109,691,211 (Domestic: $48,491,211 , Foreign: $61,200,000)

IMDB Synopsis: In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 9 (Best Motion Picture of the Year;  Best Achievement in Directing; Best Achievement in Editing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role;  Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay;Best Achievement in Costume Design; Best Achievement in Production Design)

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.

Won, Best Film, 2014 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Motion Picture, Black Reel Awards.

Won, Best Film, Boston Society of Film Critics.

Won, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

NominatedCapri Movie of the Year Award, Capri, Hollywood.

Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Florida Film Critics Circle Award.

Won, Best Picture-Drama, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Film, Gotham Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Motion Picture, Image Awards.

Nominated, Best Feature, Independent Spirit Awards.

Won, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

3rd Place, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics Awards. [TIE]

2nd Place, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award.

Won, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

NominatedBest Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.

WonBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Best Picture, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Picture, Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Won, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 96% (244 Positive Reviews, 9 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: It’s far from comfortable viewing, but 12 Years a Slave‘s unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant — and quite possibly essential — cinema

Dissenting Opinion: “Aside from a characteristically nuanced lead performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor… it’s a picture that stays more than a few safe steps away from anything so dangerous as raw feeling.”–Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice.

Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/12yearsaslave/

 

The Wolf of Wall Street

wolf_of_wall_street_ver3_xlgProducers: Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and Emma Tillinger Koskoff.

Release date: December 25,2013

Box office gross as of February 19, 2014: $336,824,533 (Domestic: $111,363,533 , Foreign: $225,461,000)

IMDB Synopsis: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Number of Oscar Nominations: 5 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay).

Other honors for this film:

Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.

2nd Place, Best Film, Boston Society of Film Critics.

NominatedBest Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Picture, 2014 Critic’s Choice Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture-Musical or Comedy, The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

NominatedBest Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.

NominatedBest Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 77% (181 Positive Reviews, 55 Negative)

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Funny, self-referential, and irreverent to a fault, The Wolf of Wall Street finds Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their most infectiously dynamic.

Dissenting Opinion: “Various Cheech-and-Chong-style slapstick scenarios play out repeatedly, just with different props.”–Mark Jenkins, NPR.

Official Site: http://www.thewolfofwallstreet.com/

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About Bill Gatevackes 2070 Articles
William is cursed with the shared love of comic books and of films. Luckily, this is a great time for him to be alive. His writing has been featured on Broken Frontier.com, PopMatters.com and in Comics Foundry magazine.
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