My 2014 Oscar Predictions

Well....we're less than one week away from the biggest night in Hollywood. The 86th Academy Awards will air on Sunday March 2, 2014, and we will find out who wins the beloved statuette. After paying close attention to this year's race, here are my predictions (in blue).

Best picture
"12 Years a Slave"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
"Captain Phillips"
"Her"
"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Nebraska"
"Philomena"

 

 

Best director
Steve McQueen -- "12 Years a Slave"
David O. Russell -- "American Hustle"
Alfonso Cuaron -- "Gravity"
Alexander Payne -- "Nebraska"
Martin Scorsese -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"

 

 

Best actor
Bruce Dern -- "Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor -- "12 Years a Slave"
Matthew McConaughey -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
Leonardo DiCaprio -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Christian Bale -- "American Hustle"

Best actress
Amy Adams -- "American Hustle"
Cate Blanchett -- "Blue Jasmine"
Judi Dench -- "Philomena"
Sandra Bullock -- "Gravity"
Meryl Streep -- "August: Osage County"

 

Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi -- "Captain Phillips"
Bradley Cooper -- "American Hustle"
Jonah Hill -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Jared Leto -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
Michael Fassbender -- "12 Years a Slave"

 

Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence -- "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o -- "12 Years a Slave"
June Squibb -- "Nebraska"
Julia Roberts -- "August: Osage County"
Sally Hawkins -- "Blue Jasmine"

 

Best original screenplay
"American Hustle" -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
"Blue Jasmine" -- Woody Allen
"Her" -- Spike Jonze
"Nebraska" -- Bob Nelson
"Dallas Buyers Club" -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

 

Best adapted screenplay
"12 Years a Slave" -- John Ridley
"Before Midnight" -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
"The Wolf of Wall Street" -- Terence Winter
"Captain Phillips" -- Billy Ray
"Philomena" -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

 

Best animated feature
"The Wind Rises"
"Frozen"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Ernest & Celestine"
"The Croods"

 

Best foreign feature
"The Hunt" (Denmark)
"The Broken Circle Breakdown" (Belgium)
"The Great Beauty" (Italy)
"Omar" (Palestinian territories)
"The Missing Picture" (Cambodia)

 

Best music (original song)
"Frozen": "Let it Go" -- Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom": "Ordinary Love" -- U2, Paul Hewson
"Her": "The Moon Song" -- Karen O, Spike Jonze
"Despicable Me 2": "Happy" -- Pharrell Williams
"Alone Yet Not Alone": "Alone Yet Not Alone" -- Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

 

Best music (original score)
"Gravity" -- Steven Price
"Philomena" -- Alexandre Desplat
"The Book Thief" -- John Williams
"Saving Mr. Banks" -- Thomas Newman
"Her" -- William Butler and Owen Pallett

 

Best cinematography
"Gravity" -- Emmanuel Lubezki
"Inside Llewyn Davis" -- Bruno Delbonnel
"Nebraska" -- Phedon Papamichael
"Prisoners" -- Roger Deakins
"The Grandmaster" -- Phillippe Le Sourd

 

Best costume design
"The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin
"12 Years a Slave" -- Patricia Norris
"The Grandmaster" -- William Chang Suk Ping
"American Hustle" -- Michael Wilkinson
"The Invisible Woman" -- Michael O'Connor

 

Best documentary feature
"The Act of Killing"
"20 Feet From Stardom"
"The Square"
"Cutie and the Boxer"
"Dirty Wars"

 

Best film editing
"Gravity" -- Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
"12 Years a Slave"-- Joe Walker
"Captain Phillips" -- Christopher Rouse
"American Hustle" -- Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
"Dallas Buyers Club" -- John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

 

Best makeup and hairstyling
"The Lone Ranger" -- Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" -- Stephen Prouty
"Dallas Buyers Club" -- Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

 

Best production design
"12 Years a Slave" -- Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker
"The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn
"American Hustle" -- Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler
"Gravity" -- Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
"Her" -- K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena

 

Best visual effects
"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
"Iron Man 3"
"The Lone Ranger"

 

Best sound mixing
"Gravity"
"Captain Phillips"
"Lone Survivor"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

 

Best sound editing
"Gravity"
"All Is Lost"
"Captain Phillips"
"Lone Survivor"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

 

Best short film, live action
"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)"
"Helium"
"Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)"
"The Voorman Problem"

 

Best short film, animated
"Feral"
"Get a Horse!"
"Mr. Hublot"
"Possessions"
"Room on the Broom"

 

Best documentary short
"CaveDigger"
"Facing Fear"
"Karama Has No Walls"
"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"
"Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"

Oscar Best Picture Nominees 2014

Nine amazing films have been nominated for the prestigious honor of winning Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. I have seen all of them and would like to share my personal thoughts and ratings on each. Let's get started:

American Hustle

Pros: This film featured an amazing cast with incredible talent. Amy Adams delivered one of the best performances in her career thus far. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Christian Bale each did a fantastic job. The directing was superb and I cannot get over how well the shots were done in several key scenes. David O. Russell did a great job capturing the essence and beauty of these main characters. Whether it be Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams walking towards the camera, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale walking outside the diner, or Jennifer Lawrence walking down the hallway, these angles enhanced the storyline and overall flow of the film. I enjoyed the authenticity of the costumes, make-up, and music in the film as well.

Cons: The storyline seemed choppy at points. You almost got this feeling that the writers didn't know how to connect the dots. As a result, the film felt a lot longer, and made you wonder what the overall point was. Jennifer Lawrence impressed me with her performance, but she did not belong in the role. I felt that was a poor casting call as she looked too young to play the wife of middle-aged Irving (Christian Bale).

Captain Phillips

Pros: Tom Hanks!!!! The man, as usual, delivers an incredible performance playing the title character Captain Phillips. The last five minutes is the reason why this film is nominated for best picture. Tom Hanks draws you in on such an emotional level when you watch him try to comprehend his rescue. Absolutely amazing.

Cons: A little too long. While I enjoy suspense, it got to a point where you kept wondering, "when is this going to end?"

Dallas Buyers Club

Pros: Matthew McConaughey delivers a stunning performance and truly shows his passion and commitment to acting in this film. He lost 45-50 pounds just to get ready for the role which I greatly respect. Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner were my personal favorites to be honest. You feel more emotion for the supporting roles than you do for the lead. I also enjoyed how factual the film was, and how it opened your mind to the way our health care system operates in comparison to other countries.

Cons: While I felt Matthew did great in the film, I couldn't connect with his character as much as I did with Jared and Jennifer's characters. I felt the character was only interested in making money for himself, and when it got to the point of him changing his viewpoints towards gay people, I wasn't convinced. I felt Matt could have done more in his character development to show the audience that he had this change of heart towards the gay community and living with disease. Also, the film was way too slow for the subject matter. There were parts of the film that dragged and there were parts that could have used more emphasis. I felt him taking the FDA to court was done so fast. They could have spent more time on that as I was actually a little confused on the logistics.

Gravity

Pros: The filming. I was very impressed with how the director filmed this movie. You felt like you were in space with Sandra Bullock. Well done in cinematography and editing.

Cons: The story. It was very unrealistic for me and ruined the film. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for Sandra's character. It brought far-fetched to a whole new level, and I can't help but think the writers were just trying to make it a 90 minute movie. Sandra Bullock's performance didn't do much for me. I did not connect with her character at all and felt she was trying too hard to pull off the "I'm all alone for an hour scene", similar to Tom Hanks in Cast Away. It just ruined the movie for me. Not one of my favorites.

Her

Pros: Absolutely amazing!!!! This film connects with you on such an emotional level. It makes you think how close our society is to becoming 100% dependent on technology. I couldn't believe it when the film introduced us to a company that creates love letters for you, pretending to be you, to send to significant others. Where's the emotion? Where is the thoughtfulness and beauty in having a relationship? It was mind-boggling for me as I could definitely see us turning to something like this someday.  Of course, the main storyline is watching a man fall in love with an operating system. Sounds weird huh? There was no point when I thought it was crazy. The screenplay and directing is so well done that you feel there's nothing wrong with a man falling in love with his computer. It's actually quite natural how it was done and makes you understand. And then when the operating system gets recalled and he has to say goodbye to "her", you can't help but shed a tear or two. How is that possible?? Fantastic storytelling.

Cons: A little slow-moving and quite controversial for my taste. Has this movie opened Pandora's Box for companies such as Apple and Google? Is it in our reach to create an operating system with artificial intelligence? It's scary when you think about the possibilities.

Nebraska

Pros: Another emotional film. It is so simple of a storyline, yet you feel so compelled and inspired by the end of the movie to appreciate your life and your family. The relationship and bond that is created by father and son is astounding and beautiful. The characters don't even realize what's happening, but they are spending time with one another. Sure it's the result of some crazy scam the father believes in, but would the events have happened would it not have been for that "winning" letter in the mail? The road trip to Nebraska meant so much more than for some old man to collect his winnings. It was so that his son can appreciate his father and make a memory with him that will last a lifetime. The ending ties it in wonderfully. All the father wants to do with the money he's "won" is buy a truck and an air compressor. The son eventually buys both those things for him so his father can feel complete. In the end, the son lets his father drive the new truck across town so all the townspeople that made fun of him can feel dumb and convinced that this man actually collected a million dollars. It was a beautiful story with some great comic relief given to us by June Squibb. An incredible actress that makes you think of that one family member we all have that just speaks her mind and airs out all the family's dirty laundry.

Cons: Bruce Dern getting nominated for his performance. While I enjoyed the film very much, I cannot understand why he was nominated. I can think of several other performances that trump his. Oh Oscar Academy..........

Philomena

Pros: A film that makes you think long and hard about religion and hypocrisy. A beautiful story about a woman trying to find her long-lost son no thanks to the convent she grew up in. This woman did nothing wrong but felt so little of herself for having the child out of wedlock. The convent sold her child to an American family and forced her to work day in and day out to "pay" for her sin. Are you kidding me?!?!?!? To say that this film made me angry is an understatement. It just showed me what I already knew - that people (key word there) hide behind their religious viewpoints to determine what is right and what is wrong, when in actuality, they are in no position to judge. Judi Dench  and Steve Coogan deliver exceptional performances that make us ponder how we would have handled the situation should we be in Philomena's shoes. I personally reacted the same way Steve did when he addressed the nuns at the end. A great and powerful film that brings out such raw emotion, it truly is deserving of the nomination.

Cons: Each of the actors had strong accents which made it difficult to understand at times. But overall, no cons.

Wolf of Wall Street

Pros: The acting in this film was incredible. Leo and everyone involved delivered superb performances that made the scenes and overall film great. While it was 3 hours long, the film flowed very well and kept me intrigued the entire time. I personally enjoyed Leo's acting and still can't believe how he did that "Lemon" scene. Another powerful scene was when Belfort and his wife are fighting in the house. It was a very raw scene for many people in the theatre, and quite edgy (as was the rest of the film). Jonah Hill did great and delivered some great comic relief for us. The quotes in the movie go down as some of the most outrageous film quotes I've ever heard. It definitely was my guilty pleasure for this year's Oscar season.

Cons: There was so much use of profanity, sex, and drugs in this movie. It got to a point where you thought, "ok is this necessary?"

12 Years a Slave

Pros: A very powerful film from the point of view of one man. It was amazing to hear this story and watch a free man go through all that suffering and pain. The filming was fantastic as it brought out the authenticity of pre-Civil War era. I loved the numerous shots of trees and plantations to get the full effect of the setting. I kept thinking to myself how wonderful the costuming was. There were some extraordinary costumes in this film.

Cons: The music. I was so disappointed in the score when I heard it. It was "Time" from Inception and I recognized it right away. Sure enough, Hans Zimmer was the composer of this film and I just thought, "Have we given up on originality?"  Also, the director spent way too much time on some scenes (10 minutes of the main character being hung from a tree is a little excessive). The ending was pathetic. He finally reunites with his family and we're going to pull a Sopranos finale and cut to black? This film definitely lacked some prioritization in screenplay.

MY RATINGS FROM BEST TO WORST!!

Her
Philomena
Wolf of Wall Street
Captain Phillips
American Hustle
Nebraska
Dallas Buyers Club
12 Years a Slave
Gravity

American Hustle

American Hustle is a 2013 film starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence. An A-list cast sets the bar pretty high for this film and it delivers and exceeds expectations. A fantastic film with heavy award potential.

***Spoilers Alert***

The movie begins with us meeting Irving (Bale) and his partner in crime, Edith (Adams). They are con artists who convince desperate people to hand over $5,000 in the hopes it will get them $50,000 in return. They seem to be quite successful, and even shocked, at how much people are willing to hand over money in the hopes it will make them profit. However, one con turns south pretty quick as they get caught by an FBI agent (Cooper). Edith is the one that accepts the check from the agent (major foreshadowing here), and is ultimately arrested for fraud. The FBI agent convinces Irving and Edith to work with him in taking down corrupt politicians in exchange for immunity.

Carmine Polito (Renner) is the mayor of Camden, NJ. He is hoping to rebuild Atlantic City after successfully legalizing casino operations in the state. He is known to be a very good person with great intentions, but has done some shady dealings to get genuine results. The FBI agent wants to ultimately pinch Polito, despite his wholesomeness. Irving and Edith are morally conflicted with taking down a good man and are even more upset when they realize the mob is now involved. The agent wants to use a fake beneficiary to lure in Congressmen and dangerous mob bosses from Miami who are all willing to get a piece of the Atlantic City pie. The main mob boss (Deniro) does not trust Irving and the group, but goes along with the agreement. Irving knows that once the mob gets conned and realizes this, him and his family are in life-threatening danger. Irving's wife (Lawrence) is a complete wild card in the film and almost ruins the entire operation when she reveals the plan to one of the mobsters she begins dating.

Irving and Edith are forced to make up a new plan and this time, they con the FBI agent to save themselves. They reveal the plan to Carmine and stop the flow of money before the mob dips in. They hire a friend to be the mob's "lawyer" and the agent is the one to give the account number to him (not Irving and Edith - remember from earlier). Since the money has gone missing now that the lawyer has been recognized as a fake, the FBI wants to know who has it. The agent quickly finds himself in hot water, because it was him who gave the account number. Irving and Edith ultimately have the money and offer to give it back so the FBI's image is preserved in exchange for immunity. They walk away from the situation, and the mob actually thanks them for stopping the exchange before they got pinched.

The acting in this film is incredible. Amy Adams, in my opinion, gives the performance of her career. Her British accent was very convincing, and I felt she was the most diverse out of the entire cast when it came to performance. The costuming in this film is brilliant, especially for the women. Amy Adams looks as if she was really in the 1970s as well as Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner. Some of the acting, on the other hand, was forced by supporting roles such as Jennifer Lawrence and Carmine's wife. Their impersonation of New Jersey residents did not impress me and at times I cringed.

The directing and filming in this film is extraordinary. The way the movie was shot was brilliantly executed. Some scenes that stick out for me are Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper walking towards the screen right before the party begins, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale walking towards the car (the angle was superb), and Jennifer Lawrence walking down the hallway to the bathroom. These shots alongside so many others were done so well, I am confident David O Russell will be nominated for his directing.

Another aspect of the film that was brilliant yet comedic relief was the Ice Fishing Story. Throughout the whole film, we are trying to hear the FBI agent's boss finish his story about the time him and his brother went ice fishing. It is so unrelated to the movie, yet we become so intrigued by it's plot. The FBI agent constantly interrupts him, assuming he knows the ending only to find out he's wrong. It was beautifully executed and left us wondering, "What the hell happens to his brother?!"

This is a film to watch out for when Oscars get close. I believe we will see nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Bale), and Best Actress (Adams). Definitely go see it.

My Rating: A  

Gravity

Gravity is a 2013 drama that stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. This film dives into the deep outskirts of space and showcases just how dangerously beautiful it is. While the film does not offer much of a story, it focuses much of it's energy on visual effects and edge-of-seat scenarios.

**Spoilers Alert**

The film begins with us meeting Rhian (Bullock) and Matt (Clooney) working on a project in space. Rhian is doing most of the work while Matt circles around the shuttle, making light of their mission. Matt is a very suave, confident man who's no newbie when it comes to space travel. It's revealed that this is his last mission before retirement. Rhian, on the other hand, is a new traveller who's on her first mission in space. We can quickly tell that she is nervous and feeling queezy trying to get used to the whole no-gravity environment. Within minutes, they are ordered to get back to the shuttle as debris from an exploding satellite is heading straight towards them. They don't make it in time and the debris destroys their shuttle. Rhian is tossed into space and is spinning continuously away from the shuttle. She cannot get a visual of anything and is all alone.

The point of view shifts immediately to Rhian, and there are points throughout the film when we see what she is seeing out of her helmet. Matt goes to rescue Rhian and together, they make their way to a nearby international space station using his jet pack. Unfortunately, they cannot grab a hold of the space station when they arrive, and are being pulled away. The jet pack is out of fuel and they have no source of power to control their movements. Rhian gets caught in the strings of a parachute, and attempts to hold onto Matt as he is being pulled away into space. Matt realizes she will go with him if they stay like this and as a result, he detaches himself and floats away from Rhian and the station. This inadvertently leads to his death. Rhian from this point on, is truly alone. 

The film did a great job capturing the scare and the anxiety that goes into this kind of situation. Sandra Bullock was fantastic in going through the emotions of someone completely trapped with no way out. You can definitely feel her panic, and are able to relate with it as she keeps pushing and pushing for way back to Earth. George Clooney, on the other hand, lacked depth and character development. He was in the film for a very short period of time and I was not able to connect with his character. I don't feel he did enough from an emotional standpoint to capture the audience's sympathy. This was very much all about Sandra Bullock. We learn a lot about her history and throughout the film, she shifts from  being this scared, depressed woman to a strong, ambitious survivor.

The storyline, for me, was a little far-fetched. At one point, I asked "Does Rhian just have a giant black cloud over her head?" Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. As soon as we thought she has a way out, something else happens (a fire in the station, no fuel, more debris, rocket is attached to the parachute and can't move, etc). It got to a point where you couldn't help but wonder if the director was just trying to drag this out as much as possible. Rhian finally manages to survive and get back to Earth (even that goes wrong when she lands in the water, but she ends up ok). The film ends with her standing up on land and walking towards a field.

The visual effects of this film are stunning. To be honest, that is going to be the biggest highlight of this production. When the action sequences took place and you followed the characters in space, the camera did a fantastic job in capturing the beauty of Earth and space, but also the danger that went into the situation. It was definitely made for 3D (similar to Avatar) once you saw all the debris come in. 

I don't think it's enough to win some of the bigger categories in next year's Oscars, but I am confident we will see Gravity on the nominations list for several of them. I definitely recommend seeing it regardless. It was an experience because you very much feel like you are in space with Rhian. However, that goes hand in hand with the visuals. The visuals definitely make this film.

My Rating: B+

Prisoners

Prisoners is a 2013 film starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. It is a crime drama that dives into the controversial question: How far would you go to protect your children? While I can appreciate and respect the message of parents doing anything for their family, I can't help but feel disappointed at how  much potential was lost in this film. I was even bothered by the film's progress emotionally and morally.

**Spoilers Alert***

The film begins with us meeting Hugh Jackman and his family. They live in the woods (poconos/upstate Pennsylvania), and are preparing to visit a friend's house for Thanksgiving. The two young girls of these families go outside to play while the parents laugh and share memories in the living room. Not that much time passes by before the parents wonder where their children are. They begin to search, and anxiety quickly settles in when all areas of the community are covered.

I will admit, I appreciated the film going right into the disappearance of these kids. Most films take a while to build up and they lose the audience's attention rather quickly. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was how long it took for the twist to come in and for the children to be found. Two hours and thirty minutes could have definitely been shortened.

The primary suspect, Alex Jones, is a mentally unstable young adult who is found alone in his RV the night the children go missing. It was noted that the same RV was parked on the street the girls were playing on. We are led to believe Alex is the kidnapper but his inability to comprehend any question that comes his way causes us to doubt the accusation. Most of the film is seen through the point of view of Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) who also cannot hold any further evidence on Alex. He completely checks out and is clean. He is let go and Dover (Jackman) is not pleased. He confronts Alex in front of the police station and violently shakes him to demand where his children are. Alex makes a comment "They cried when I left them" which makes Dover go completely over the top. The police grab a hold of him and Alex continues on his way.

Dover does not approve of the way Loki is handling this case and so he takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps Alex. He beats Alex throughout two thirds of the film to the point we cannot recognize the character anymore. He even locks him in a shower and shoots scolding hot water at him in order to make him speak. Now we know from the beginning Alex is mentally challenged , and cannot speak and/or comprehend. As a result, this torture is just continuing and continuing and continuing because Dover is convinced he knows where the children are. The other Father (Terrence Howard) helps him in this torture, but is morally conflicted at how horrible this is.

I was morally and emotionally bothered by how much attention to detail went to the torturing of Alex. While I understand parents will do anything to get their children back, this was not the answer. The film took a turn to us hating Dover and feeling terrible for Alex instead of focusing on the children and the case at hand. By the time the children are found and it is revealed that Alex's Aunt is the true kidnapper, I was so disgusted that I didn't care about the ending at all. Because now I say to myself, "All that torture for nothing." It is also revealed that the Aunt kidnapped many children years ago alongside her husband and Alex was ONE OF THOSE KIDS. She did so much damage when he was a boy that he grew up to be challenged. The same thing happened to another suspect we met later in the film. He ends up committing suicide when the police question him since they are convinced he's the kidnapper at the end (complete waste of a storyline). It turns out he was a victim of the Aunt as well. My question is, How did the Aunt get away with all this for so long? No one put two and two together? And when Alex went missing, no one thought to question Dover - the insane "I hate Alex Jones" person?

While the cinematography and filming was perfect in this film (shots were done very well), the acting was pitiful. I'm sorry but Hugh Jackman screaming every five seconds does not convince me that he is a parent fighting for his daughter's safekeeping. And Jake Gyllenhaal was as monotone as they come. No emotion. No passion (except for a brief "let's smash every office supply on our desk moment" cliche). I was very disappointed by these actors as they are Academy Award nominees. I expected so much better from two of my favorite actors.

It was quite a shame and honestly, I was so bothered by this film that I do not recommend it to anyone. Sorry but this one failed to meet the expectations of a dramatic crime thriller.

My Rating: C-

jOBS

jOBS is a 2013 biopic film based on the life and success of Steven Jobs - founder of Apple. Steve Jobs was and still is one of the greatest visionaries of our time. He revolutionized the way we live thanks to his creations of the Apple Computer, Mac, iPod, iPad, etc. This film does a great job in letting the audience see exactly what kind of man and businessman Steve was.

***Spoilers Alert***

The film opens with Steve Jobs in 2001 speaking to his staff. He is talking about the future and what it's like to change the world. He claims he's been working on something so big...it will change everything. He soon reveals the first of it's kind - the iPod. This is the one we all remember being so bulky and so big, but could hold 1000 songs. 

The film immediately goes back in time to the 1970s where we see a young Steve. He is very arrogant and just goes with the flow in life. He travels the world (mainly India) with his good friend Daniel, and just lives a carefree life. He soon works for Atari but quickly realizes he cannot work well with bosses. He needs to be his own boss. One night, after visiting his good friend, Steve notices a work-in-progress. His friend is working on a home style computer and Steve wants in. Together, they finish the product and sell it to a buyer of a local computer parts store. Upon receiving initial success, Steve knows they have something big and so they call for investors. After many failed attempts, Steve finally gets a bite and with that....Apple is born.

The film does a great job showing us how low Apple began. That it all began in a garage. Steve truly had to work his way from the bottom up. Him and his friend hire employees to assist in the making of Apple II. This product brings Apple Inc to incredible success, and we see that Steve is now running a large building with many more employees.

However, Steve begins to get lost in his own world and the company starts to fall. Not by much but enough to worry the shareholders. Steve must step aside and allow a new CEO take over. This CEO, while close to Steve Jobs in the beginning proves to not share the same interest as Steve and their partnership fails. With this failure, Apple begins to lose even more as competitors are starting to step over them.

My challenge with the film is how much time they spent on showing Apple's failure and the build up to Steve's eventual take over and reunion with his own company. While this is very important to the film, I felt more could have been done in showcasing Steve as a human being. What made him tick? Why did he do the things he did? Steve drops his first employees and friends like hot potatoes. He refuses to acknowledge his daughter and kicks his girlfriend out of the house. But then we see them together later on with a new child and the daughter from earlier in the film. How did that happen? I felt so much attention went into Steve's relationship with John Sculley that they didn't dive more into his personal relationships.

However, I enjoyed the film and felt it was very entertaining. I do enjoy how it ended with Steve taking over and it ending right at that point. We know from that moment on...Apple became one of the greatest companies around. They didn't need to show us that part. Ashton did a great job and I was very pleased with his performance. I could tell in some scenes, Ashton was trying VERY hard to be serious. But overall, I felt Ashton had the look and overall posture down. 

I would recommend this film to anyone who appreciates the Apple products today. It's a very good film to see. 

My Rating: A-

The Butler

The Butler is a 2013 drama based on a true story. It stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil, the butler who served several presidents during the civil rights movement. This film delivers a high-performing A-list cast and an incredible story. I would not be surprised should this make at least a few Oscar ballots.

***Spoiler Alert***

The film opens up with Cecil as a young boy. He is picking cotton in the fields alongside his dad. It is mid 1920s and we are still in the age of slavery. His mom is also a slave and is soon whisked away by the plantation owner for a rendezvous in the shed. Cecil pushes his dad to do something about this occurrence, and when the father acts, the owner shoots him dead. The old woman who is also an owner of the plantation, takes Cecil and trains him to become her butler. When Cecil grows older and slavery truly becomes obsolete, he leaves the plantation and strives to become his own man.

Since serving is all he knows, Cecil gets a job at a local restaurant/hotel, and is mentored by the senior butler. He grows into a great butler and eventually gets a job at the luxurious Excelsior in D.C. A White House representative is at the hotel one night and spots Cecil. Impressed with Cecil's work ethics, he recruits him to become one of the White House's distinguished butlers. And so it begins...

The film brings us into the world of civil rights through the perspective of one man. Even though he did not have any direct say in the movement, his service and relationship with all the presidents paved the way in how African American people were treated. In the beginning, we see Cecil and his family struggle with prejudice and segregation. However, as the years progress, his family seems to find it easier to live life to the fullest. Cecil's relationship with the president seems to grow more in depth as time goes on. We only see a few interactions that are more professional between him and the first president, Dwight Eisenhower. On the other hand, Cecil has almost a solid friendship with the last president he serves, Ronald Reagan.

Each actor delivers a stunning performance and never once does one outshine the other. With an all-star cast, you sometimes fall into the trap of them trying to take the scene. Forest Whitaker did an amazing job since he had the most emotional role to play. He is trying to protect his family and provide for them all while keeping his nose clean as the White House butler. He can't control his son's actions as a member of the Black Panther Party, but does all that he can to preserve the innocent foundation he built on his family's name. You can see that this character wants to take action and deep down strives to rebel like his son. However, he remembers that fateful day when his dad took action and died for it. As the film progresses, you watch this character go through several emotions and can't help but understand his conflict.

Opera Winfrey does an amazing job playing Cecil's wife. I don't think it's enough to get the oscar, but she certainly knew how to own a scene. Major kudos to the make up team for making each actor look like their respective presidents. I must say that Alan Rickman made a great Reagan. He was by far my favorite with James Marsden just second by a margin as JFK.

Overall, I thought the film was great. It flowed very well and never did I get bored. It is a film you have to concentrate since the timeline is very long and there is so much to cover in 2 hours. But I appreciate the intensity and authenticity of the events that are portrayed throughout the film. It really gave you a fond understanding and appreciation for the history and milestone that was civil rights.

I definitely suggest seeing this film. I feel you would enjoy it as much as I did.

My Rating: A