BEST PICTURE

The nominees:
’12 Years a Slave’
‘American Hustle’
‘Captain Phillips’
‘Dallas Buyers Club’
‘Gravity’
‘Her’
‘Nebraska’
‘Philomena’
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

Will win: ’12 Years a Slave’

Should win: ‘Her’

BEST DIRECTOR

The nominees:

’12 Years a Slave’ – Steve McQueen
‘American Hustle’ – David O. Russell
‘Gravity’ – Alfonso Cuaron
‘Nebraska’ – Alexander Payne
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ – Martin Scorsese

 Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Alfonso Cuaron

Should win: ’12 Years a Slave’ – Steve McQueen

BEST ACTOR

The nominees:

Christian Bale in ‘American Hustle’
Bruce Dern in ‘Nebraska’
Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’
Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Will win: Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Should win: Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’

BEST ACTRESS

The nominees:

Amy Adams in ‘American Hustle’
Cate Blanchett in ‘Blue Jasmine’
Sandra Bullock in ‘Gravity’
Judi Dench in ‘Philomena’
Meryl Streep in ‘August: Osage County’

Will win: Cate Blanchett in ‘Blue Jasmine’

Should win: Judi Dench in ‘Philomena’

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

The nominees:

Barkhad Abdi in ‘Captain Phillips’
Bradley Cooper in ‘American Hustle’
Michael Fassbender in ’12 Years a Slave’
Jonah Hill in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Jared Leto in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Will win: Jared Leto in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Should win: Michael Fassbender in ’12 Years a Slave’

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

The nominees:

Sally Hawkins in ‘ Blue Jasmine’
Jennifer Lawrence in ‘American Hustle’
Lupita Nyong’o in ’12 Years a Slave’
Julia Roberts in ‘August: Osage County’
June Squibb in ‘Nebraska’

Will win: Lupita Nyong’o in ’12 Years a Slave’

Should win: Lupita Nyong’o in ’12 Years a Slave’

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The nominees:

‘American Hustle’ – Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
‘Blue Jasmine’ – Woody Allen
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ – Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
‘Her’ – Spike Jonze
‘Nebraska’ – Bob Nelson

Will win: ‘American Hustle’ – Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell

Should win: ‘Her’ – Spike Jonze

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The nominees:

‘Before Midnight’ – Richard Linklater, Julie Deply, Ethan Hawke
‘Captain Phillips’ – Billy Ray
‘Philomena’ – Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
’12 Years a Slave’ – John Ridley
‘ The Wolf of Wall Street’ – Terence Winter

Will win: ’12 Years a Slave’ – John Ridley

Should win: ‘Before Midnight’ – Richard Linklater, Julie Deply, Ethan Hawke

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The nominees:

‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’ (Belgium)
‘The Great Beauty’ (Italy)
‘The Hunt’ (Denmark)
‘The Missing Picture’ (Cambodia)
‘Omar’ (Palestine)

Will win: ‘The Great Beauty’ (Italy)

Should win: ‘The Great Beauty’ (Italy)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The nominees:

‘The Act of Killing’
‘Cutie and the Boxer’
‘Dirty Wars’
‘The Square’
’20 Feet from Stardom’

Will win: ’20 Feet from Stardom’

Should win: ‘The Act of Killing’

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The nominees:

‘The Croods’
‘Despicable Me 2’
‘Ernest & Celestine’
‘Frozen’
‘The Wind Rises’

Will win: ‘Frozen’

Should win: Can’t comment yet, as I haven’t seen ‘The Wind Rises’; it opens in Toronto later this month.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The nominees:

‘The Grandmaster’ – Philippe Le Sourd
‘Gravity’ – Emmanuel Lubezki
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ – Bruno Delbonnel
‘Nebraska’ – Phedon Papamichael
‘Prisoners’ – Roger A. Deakins

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Emmanuel Lubezki

Should win: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ – Bruno Delbonnel

BEST FILM EDITING

The nominees:

‘American Hustle’ – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alen Baumgarten
‘Captain Phillips’ – Christopher Rouse
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ – John Mac Murphy, Martin Pensa
‘Gravity’ – Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
’12 Years a Slave’ – Joe Walker

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger

Should win: ‘Gravity’ – Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The nominees:

‘American Hustle’ – Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
‘Gravity’ – Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woolard
‘The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
‘Her’ – K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena
’12 Years a Slave’ – Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker

Will win: ‘The Great Gatsby’ – Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

Should win: ‘Her’ – K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The nominees:

‘American Hustle’ – Michael Wilkinson
‘ The Grandmaster’ – William Chang Suk Ping
‘The Great Gatsby’ – Catherine Martin
‘The Invisible Woman’ – Michael O’Connor
’12 Years a Slave’ – Patricia Norris

Will win: ‘The Great Gatsby’ – Catherine Martin

Should win: ‘American Hustle’ – Michael Wilkinson

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The nominees:

‘The Book Thief’ – John Williams
‘Gravity’ – Steven Price
‘Her’ – William Butler, Owen Pallett
‘Philomena’ – Alexandre Desplat
‘Saving Mr. Banks’ – Thomas Newman

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Steven Price

Should win: ‘Her’ – William Butler, Owen Pallett

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

The nominees:

‘Happy’ – ‘Despicable Me’ (Pharrell Williams)
‘Let It Go’ – ‘Frozen’ (Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez)
‘The Moon Song’ – ‘Her’ (Karen O, Spike Jonze)
‘Ordinary Love’ – ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ (Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson)

Will win: ‘‘Let It Go’ – ‘Frozen’ (Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez)

Should win: ‘The Moon Song’ – ‘Her’ (Karen O, Spike Jonze)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The nominees:

‘Gravity’ – Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Shrik and Neil Corbould
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
‘Iron Man 3’ – Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Dan Sudick
‘The Lone Ranger’ – Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ – Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Shrik and Neil Corbould

Should win: ‘Gravity’ – Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Shrik and Neil Corbould

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

The nominees:

‘Dallas Buyers Club’ – Adruitha Lee, Robin Matthews
‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’ – Stephen Prouty
‘The Lone Ranger’ – Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Will win: Dallas Buyers Club’ – Adruitha Lee, Robin Matthews

Should win: ‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’ – Stephen Prouty

BEST SOUND MIXING

The nominees:

‘Captain Phillips’ – Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro
‘Gravity’ – Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Tony Johnson
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ – Skip  Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland
‘Lone Survivor’ – Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro

Should win: ‘Gravity’ – Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro

BEST SOUND EDITING

The nominees:

‘All Is Lost’ – Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns
‘Captain Phillips’ – Oliver Tarney
‘Gravity’ – Glenn Freemantle
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ – Brent Burge
‘Lone Survivor’ – Wylie Stateman

Will win: ‘Gravity’ – Glenn Freemantle

Should win: ‘Gravity’ – Glenn Freemantle

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

The nominees:

‘Cavedigger’
‘Facing Fear’
‘Karma Has No Walls’
‘The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life’
‘Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall’

Will win: ‘The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life’

Should win: ‘Cavedigger’

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

The nominees:

‘Feral’
‘Get a Horse’
‘Mr. Hublor’
‘Possessions’
‘Room on the Broom’

Will win: ‘Get a Horse’

Should win: ‘Room on the Broom’

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

The nominees:

‘Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)’
‘Avant Que De Tout Perdre’
‘Helium’
‘Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?’
‘The Voorman Problem’

Will win: ‘The Voorman Problem’

Should win: ‘Avant Que De Tout Perdre’

It’s February, so of course we’re going to get movies like ‘That Awkward Moment’, ‘About Last Night’, ‘Winter’s Tale’, and ‘Endless Love’. Are any of these worth seeing? The trailers for all four made me cringe, but I was the most hopeful about ‘That Awkward Moment’ if only for its very appealing cast.

‘That Awkward Moment’ is a bromatic comedy about two confirmed bachelors (Zac Efron and Miles Teller) who agree to stay single to prove their solidarity to their married friend (Michael B. Jordan) whose wife is leaving him.  Of course, because this is a rom-com, the moment you make such a pact, the right girl comes along.

This is a very tame R-rated picture. All the profanity and sexual content is reserved for a scene in a stag shop where, ah, cover your eyes, we see dildos. This is followed by an “Oh, I thought you said was a costume party” running gag that first-time sitcom screenwriters would dismiss as too hackneyed.

I couldn’t wait for this movie to be over; even with a runtime of 94 minutes, the picture felt like it was 240 minutes long. The outtakes at the end (featuring scenes of actors fumbling their lines or unable to hold in their laughter) served as an act of desperation; it’s as if the filmmakers are saying “We’re not sure if we made you laugh during the movie, but, hey, we’ll have you laughing on the way out of it.” But, you probably won’t be laughing at that either, which brings us to the realization that the material on the cutting room wasn’t funny, and neither was the end product. 

Dude, where’s the comedy? I feel as though the screenwriters had a checklist of topics and assigned a running gag to each one without any thought or creativity – “Hey, let’s make a joke out of Miles Teller taking a dump in Zac Efron’s apartment. Not just once. Not just twice. How about the guys taking Viagra and having to urinate horizontally?” I’ll admit I laughed a few times, but for the most part, the filmmakers’ attempt to walk the line between bromantic comedy and ‘Animal House’-like humor falls completely flat. 

Almost every comic situation ends with a character telling someone else “You’re an idiot”, “You’re an a-hole”, “You’re a f***ing idiot”. This isn’t just lazy writing; it’s not even a joke because it’s entirely true.  The lengths to which these characters go to maintain this idiotic pact (which essentially functions as a device for such shenanigans to take place) is just cruel and nasty.  Their vow doesn’t bear enough weight to excuse these characters of some truly awful behavior.

The material is so shop worn. And what little precious insight it has to offer us – let’s see: men-are-like-this (say they don’t want commitment but they really do) and women-are-like-this (shoes are more important than anything else in life). Offensive stereotypes aside, countless other films have explored this in a more fully realized way – ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is a very good example of how such material has been handed well.

‘That Awkward Moment’ has a very charming cast, but they’re not given very much to do.  And that is why the picture is a wasted opportunity. Michael B. Jordan (‘Fruitvale Station’ – last year’s Sundance Audience and Jury winner) and Miles Teller (last year’s ‘Spectacular Now’ and whose movie ‘Whiplash’ won both the Audience and Jury awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival) have great acting careers ahead of them. ‘That Awkward Moment’ will not be of the entries included within their distinguished filmography. Zac Efron does have potential but is struggling to find the right vehicle to propel him from ‘High School Musical’ teen into a grown-up movie star. His previous attempt at this transition resulted in Nicole Kidman urinating on him in ‘The Paperboy’. At least this is a step up. Well, not really. QED.