2014 Oscar Night proving that Gravity is more than just theoretical

Prologue:
This is taking it right down to the wire, but it just adds to the excitement, right? As of this afternoon, I have seen 57 of the 72 nominees. I'm not sure I can put together a good review(s) in the next 51 minutes, so I'd rather not try. I will say that I watched the five nominated animated shorts today and my personal favorite is Mr. Hublot from France and Luxembourg; if that doesn't win, I hope that Room on the Broom does. I also saw the nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer and while I found it interesting, I thought it would have been better as a documentary short film, and I don't think it will win. Star Trek: Into the Darkness was 20 minutes longer than it needed to be, in my opinion, and not my favorite movie ever. It was nominated in the visual effects category and if it wasn't for Gravity this year, it might win. It is visually impressive and has some great action; there is a reason it wasn't nominated for any acting awards.

Predictions:
This is more for fun since I have had a few people ask me. I won't do all the categories, but here are a few of my picks:

Best Picture: Twelve Years a Slave (I think the only thing that can beat it is Gravity)
Best Director: Steve McQueen (again, I think Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity is the only other movie that could pull it out)
Best Actor: I think it's between Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio, but I think Chiwetel Ejiofor should be getting talked about a lot more (I pick McConaughey)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyongo'o - Twelve Years a Slave, she was amazing in this role

I am now ready for the festivities to start. Just a warning, I will whine if it goes too long because I need to go to work tomorrow morning.

The countdown: four minutes to go.

And...we're off. Already it's less tense than the fiasco last year. No silly song and dance number (yet).

Best Supporting Actor is the first category. Jared Leto wins for Dallas Buyers Club. It was a great performance and a really great movie.

Jim Carrey is presenting for something. I'm not sure what yet; he's doing a Bruce Dern impression. He is pretty funny when he isn't obnoxious. Okay, so he wasn't actually presenting, but just did a bit on animated heroes. AND THAT'S why the Oscars go so long.

Pharrell Williams is performing "Happy" from Despicable Me in that ridiculous hat. The song is infectious, though. He even got Meryl Streep shaking it. That might have been my favorite part of the movie.

The award for costume design is next, being presented by Samuel L. Jackson and Naomi Watts. I think The Great Gatsby will win. And I was right. Two for two. The movie was terribly long and not very good, but it really looked good. I think I blogged about it, but for the life of me, I don't know where it is. Visually, it is incredible, full of color. Nice short speech.

Makeup and hairstyling is next. No commercials. Bad Grandpa winning would justify me seeing it in the theater. Dallas Buyers Club wins again. I think it was the transformation of Jared Leto (primarily), but Matthew McConaughey also did not look like Matthew McConaughey at all.

Harrison Ford is presenting the first three nominees for Best Picture: American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street (still haven't seen that one, but it's like 10 hours long).

Kim Novak and Matthew McConaughey are presenting for the Best Animated Short, which I just saw today. Mr. Hublot was my pick and it just won. They were all pretty good though and hopefully you can catch them in the theater. Now the Best Animated Feature film.....I think it's going to be one of the ones I have not seen yet. Frozen won; I'm surprised, but not surprised. I really thought The Wind Rises would win. Maybe Frozen will stay in the theaters a little longer so I can see it in the theater.

So now Sally Field is doing a tribute to the real, everyday heroes that have been portrayed in film. That's great, but there are still a lot of categories to go, so let's get to them please.

Visual Effects is the next category. I've seen everything except Gravity. Let's see who wins. I pick Gravity, just based on the buzz. Gravity wins. I think that was kind of a no-brainer.

Karen O is performing the song from Her, "The Moon Song", another one of the 'big' movies I haven't seen yet. Karen O performed a mind-blowing version of "The Immigrant Song" for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Ooh, the short films are next. I love them. Best Live Action Short Films are next. This is a tough call. I think Helium will win. And...Helium wins. Best Documentary Short Films are up. This is even harder than the Live Action category. I hope The Lady in Number 6 wins. And it just did. God bless Alice Herz Sommer. Please find some of her videos on youtube or see this movie. You will not regret it.

I have seen most of the documentary films, except for The Square; they are an interesting collection, that's for sure. My personal favorite is Twenty Feet from Stardom, which just won. Twenty Feet from Stardom is about the back up singers that make pop and rock music hum. Darlene Love is on stage, finally getting her moment in the spotlight and she breaks into song, and gets a standing ovation. She only recognized the female back up singers, but there are some male back up singers that are in the documentary as well in the special features.

Kevin Spacey is talking about the Governor's Award recipients, including Angela Lansbury (who has done so much more than Murder, She Wrote); Steve Martin; Piero Tosi who is a costume designer; the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award to Angelina Jolie. The Governor's Awards were held a few months ago.

Best Foreign Film is up now and I have only seen one. Those are pretty tough. They're on my NetFlix list. The only one I saw is The Hunt, which was pretty good and a well-told story. The Great Beauty, from Italy, won. I saw a brief clip of that, but I have no idea what it's about. I think the director just thanked Diego Maradona who is a football/soccer player. Maybe I didn't hear that quite right.

Tyler Perry is introducing three more of the Best Picture nominees, Nebraska, Her, and Gravity. I don't think Nebraska will win any of the major awards, but it would be so cool if it did. There are still fourteen awards to go. Ellen just walked out in a bright white suit and introduced Brad Pitt. Brad is introducing U2 to sing "No Ordinary Love" from the film Long Walk to Freedom. I haven't seen the film or heard the song yet. I don't know if the original version is acoustic, but that's how they're doing it tonight. Larry Mullen is rocking it on the drums. I think this one will probably win, more because of the power of Mandela than it being the best song from a film (it's a good song, but I think "Happy" should win).

Ellen is walking through the audience and now trying to take a group photo including Meryl Streep, Julie Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and a bunch more. They are going to try to get it re-tweeted. Much funnier and less mean-spirited show than last year.

Sound awards are next, with Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Charlize Theron presenting, a little hitch in the cue cards (or the technical equivalent). Sound Mixing is first, then Sound Editing. Gravity wins for Sound Mixing. Sound Editing is the only nomination for All is Lost. Gravity wins again.

Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds), he practically ran out on stage, is presenting for Best Supporting Actress. My pick has been Lupita Nyongo'o since I saw 12 Years a Slave. Julia Roberts was really good in August: Osage County and Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine. Lupita Nyongo'o just won. Amazing, and she gets a hug from Liza Minnelli and gets a standing ovation. I think everyone was pulling for her, she's been so fun to watch on all the awards this year. It looked like Benedict Cumberbatch has tears in his eyes (he was also in the film). The theme from "Willy Wonka" is playing as she leaves the stage.

Ellen actually ordered pizza and is delivering it through the audience. There isn't going to be enough for everyone.

Amy Adams (love her) and Bill Murray (mostly love him) are presenting the Best Cinematography award; my pick is The Grandmaster but it will probably be Gravity again. And Billy Murray sneaks in a tribute to Harold Ramis who passed away this week. Guess who? Gravity. Damn, I kind of wish I had squeezed that in with all my frantic movie viewing the past months.

Film editing is the next category (my snarky favorite category because some movies are still too damn long). I picked Captain Phillips because I do feel that the editing really kept the guessing, especially at the end. Oh hell, it's Gravity again. Why bother? Alfonso Cuaron got cut off, but I'm sure he'll get another chance at some point tonight.

Oh, there is a tribute to The Wizard of Oz tonight by Whoopi Goldberg; it's the 75th anniversary of one of my childhood touchstones. There's a story to tell, but I'll save it for my memoir. Judy Garland's 'kids' are in the audience: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft. Pink is singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I love this movie. Might be time to see it again. Nice job. Judy would have been proud.

Nine awards to go (not to be a killjoy or anything) and it's 9:40 central time; tomorrow morning is going to come too soon.

Ellen just comes out as Glinda the Good Witch. Awesome.

I'm going to go on a limb and say that Gravity will win for Production Design. Just a guess. The other possibility is The Great Gatsby. Sonofabitch. It was The Great Gatsby.

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs - terrific movie and performance) is introducing the In Memoriam segment. Bette Midler singing "The Wind Beneath My Wings" after the montage. In a strange way, I like this part the best because it reminds me of contributions of people that sometimes have been forgotten or overlooked by newer audiences.

And Goldie Hawn is now introducing the last group of Best Picture nominees, Philomena, Captain Phillips, and 12 Years a Slave. These are some good movies, and good books, too.

John Travolta introducing Idina Menzel ("Wicked"), but I didn't understand what he said at all. She is singing the song from Frozen, "Let it Go". Man, she's got a set of pipes. I heard her sing in "Chess", but wow, she's incredible. With someone like her who can actually sing, how come there are so many crap performances out there with people who can't sing worth beans? Just a random question.

The Original Score is being presented by Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel, I'm not sure what is happening. If Jamie is ad-libbing or what. I picked Gravity just because that seems to be the trend. And Gravity wins. Saving Mr. Banks was nominated, and I feel that film kind of got the shaft, but I think that may be because Mary Poppins is one of my favorite movies. I haven't seen The Book Thief which was also nominated. It's on the list though.

Now we finally come to the Original Song; who will win since Gravity isn't nominated? dun-dun-dun: "Let It Go" from Frozen, I did not see that coming, and yet after Idina's performance, totally deserved.

I am getting a cramp in my fingers. My left hand is starting to turn into a claw. Six more awards. This is not going to be over before 11:00. Ellen, I love you, but please wrap this up. I really should have taken tomorrow off.

The writing awards presented by Robert DeNiro and Penelope Cruz; first is the Best Adapted Screenplay, and my pick is 12 Years a Slave but Philomena could win too, and I'd be happy. 12 Years a Slave won. I am trying to find the book and I believe it's available online but I would like to actually read the hard copy. As I mentioned, Philomena is a book and it actually tells a different side of the story than the movie does, so it's well worth reading. For the original screenplay I picked Dallas Buyers Club, and since Gravity isn't nominated, it's possible. Nope, Her by Spike Jonze won. Before Midnight was also nominated and I had every intention of watching that this weekend, but it didn't happen. I felt bad, and then I remembered, I hated the two earlier movies in this trilogy and got over my angst pretty fast. I hope this is the last one, although as my friend and I were joking, they could do 'Before Daylight Savings Time' and variations on that theme.

Angelina Jolie and Sidney Poitier get a standing ovation as they present Best Director. He is wonderful, if you have not seen him in To Sir, With Love, The Heat of the Night, Guess Who is Coming to Dinner and so many others, you really should try. Best Director I have as Steve McQueen, but Alfonso Cuaron wins for....Gravity. He had a great acceptance speech, I think from either the Golden Globes or SAG awards.

(sigh) Daniel Day-Lewis is presenting Best Actress, and he's doing it as himself, not as Abraham Lincoln, although that would be kind of cool. I think Cate Blanchett is going to win for Blue Jasmine based on the previous awards; Meryl Streep was powerful as Violet in August: Osage County, but I don't think this will be her fourth Oscar, and I think Judi Dench is in a category with some great actresses in great roles this year. Sandra Bullock is nominated for Gravity, but strangely there hasn't been a lot of chatter around that. Cate Blanchett wins. I did like Blue Jasmine and she captured the essence of a narcissistic clueless woman of 21st century financial greed. Great speech from Cate on the power of women in cinema, but it's late and I want to go to bed.

Three hours and counting. Jennifer Lawrence will present the Best Actor award. Christian Bale should win for the risks he took with his hair, but I don't think that's going to happen. It's Leo or Matthew, I think. Chiwetel Ejiofor is great in 12 Years a Slave and if you can, try and see Kinky Boots. And Matthew McConaughey wins. He reminds me of someone every time I see him, but for the life of me I cannot put my finger on it. Very cool speech.

Ok, so we are now waiting for the Best Picture. Gravity? 12 Years a Slave? or a dark horse? I guess Will Smith, from that blockbuster, Razzy Winner, After Earth is presenting the award. The timing is ironic, I think. YES!! 12 Years a Slave wins for Best Picture! Super awesome! Wonderful. Steve McQueen didn't win Best Director. I think we'll see more from him.

That's it. We made it. Three and a half hours later, 72 films. See you next year.