Oscar Nominations are in....

The Oscar nominations are in.  Lets see how I did!

Best Picture:

My Picks: "12 Years A Slave," "American Hustle," "Blue Jasmine," "Captain Phillips", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Gravity," ""Fruitvale Station", "Nebraska," "Philomena," "The Wolf of Wall Street"

OSCAR:  "American Hustle," "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Gravity," "Her," "Nebraska," "Philomena," "12 Years a Slave" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."

*They only nominated 9 films this year.  I missed "Her" and my wild card was "Fruitvale Station". I think this will be a race between "American Hustle" and "12 Years a Slave".

Best Director:

My Picks: Alfonso Cuaron ("Gravity"), Alexander Payne ("Nebraska"), Steve McQueen ("12 Years A Slave"), David O. Russell ("American Hustle"), Martin Scorsese ("The Wolf of Wall Street")

OSCAR: Alfonso Cuaron ("Gravity"), McQueen ("12 Years a Slave"), Alexander Payne ("Nebraska"), Russell ("American Hustle") and Scorsese ("The Wolf of Wall Street")

*Nailed it!  Alfonso Cuaron won the Golden Globe, and I think he is the front runner here.

Best Actor:

My Picks: Christian Bale ("American Hustle"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Wolf of Wall Street"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years A Slave"), Tom Hanks ("Captain Phillips"), Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club")

OSCAR: Christian Bale ("American Hustle"), Bruce Dern ("Nebraska"), DiCaprio ("The Wolf of Wall Street"), Ejiofor ("12 Years a Slave") and Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club").

*There was no love for Tom Hanks this year.  Bruce Dern takes his place.

Best Actress:

My Picks: Amy Adams ("American Hustle"), Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine"), Sandra Bullock ("Gravity"), Judi Dench ("Philomena"), Emma Thompson ("Saving Mr. Banks")

OSCAR: Amy Adams ("American Hustle"), Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine"), Sandra Bullock ("Gravity"), Judi Dench ("Philomena") and Meryl Streep ("August: Osage County").

*I missed Meryl Streep. This is her 18 nomination!  She is the most nominated movie star in Academy history, with Katherine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson trailing behind with 12 nominations each.  Streep has won three Oscars - Best Actress for "Sophie's Choice" (1981) and "The Iron Lady" (2011) and Best Supporting Actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer"  (1979).  I don't think this will be her year for #4. Blanchett and Bullock have to be the front runners, with Amy Adams coming on strong.

Best Supporting Actor:

My Picks:  Barkhad Abdi ("Captain Phillips"), Jonah Hill ("The Wolf of Wall Street"), Michael Fassbender ("12 Years A Slave"), James Gandolfini ("Enough Said"), Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club")

OSCAR: Barkhad Abdi ("Captain Phillips"), Cooper ("American Hustle"), Fassbender ("12 Years a Slave"), Hill ("The Wolf of Wall Street") and Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club").

*I picked the late James Gandolfini because I still can't believe he is gone. Cooper takes his place.

Best Supporting Actress:

My Picks: Jennifer Lawrence ("American Hustle"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years A Slave"), Julia Roberts ("August: Osage County"), June Squibb ("Nebraska"), Oprah Winfrey ("Lee Daniels' The Butler")

OSCAR: Sally Hawkins ("Blue Jasmine"), Lawrence ("American Hustle"), Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave"), Julia Roberts ("August: Osage County") and June Squibb ("Nebraska").

*So why did I pick Oprah Winfrey?  I didn't even love "The Butler"!  Sally Hawkins takes her place. Should be an interesting race.

Overall, no huge surprises...