A Little Late, But Still Worth Discussing:

THE OSCARS!!

Last Sunday was/is my favorite sunday of the entire year. Hands down. I always host a little Academy awards soiree with my family and close friends who appreciate good films and am completely entranced for 3+ hours. 

There's no talking allowed unless it's commercials.

This year, JP and I managed to watch all except one of the films that were nominated for "Best Picture" 

(The Wolf of Wall Street didn't quite make the cut... My reasons are my own, but it's probably fairly obvious why we opted not to view that one in theaters where we don't have control over mute and fast-forwarding capabilities haha) so we were able to have educated opinions about who should win best actress, actor, etc. and it really brought the whole Oscar-watching experience to a whole new level! 

I feel like the movie industry as a whole is moving back towards treating film-making as an art form rather than merely a form of entertainment and the movies are getting better every year. 

So, without further ado, here's a little round-up of my opinions about the Oscars! (If you follow me on twitter, you probably already saw most of these! Sorry.)

Best Dress:

Either Lupita Nyong'o or Cate Blanchett 

Best Speech:

Ooh it's a toss up, either Lupita's or Jared Leto's. Both were so inspiring and heartfelt, they are definitely worth a watch (or re-watch!). 

Most deserved wins:

12 Years a Slave for Best Picture 

and Matthew McConaughey for Best Actor for his performance in "Dallas Buyer's Club."

See the movies and you'll understand why. 

Worst Fail:

Definitely John Travolta's complete butchering of Idina Menzel's name. 

If you somehow haven't seen the clip, you can read about the online reaction and watch it here haha. So embarrassing. 

Also, the teleprompter was having timing issues and the writing must have been tiny because the actors and actresses presenting awards were seriously struggling trying to read their lines haha. 

I also think American Hustle got robbed of a few wins it definitely deserved... And I am of the opinion that Gravity is quite overrated. A good movie, but over-hyped. 

And then Ellen Degeneres just hit it out of the park with her hosting. It was perfect. Hilarious and professional without trying too hard or becoming the center of attention (the night really should be about the films!) I think she should host every year, truly. 

You can watch her highlights from the show here. 

So, I've been asked a few times which Oscar-nominated films I would recommend watching and here they are:

- Philomena. Phenomenal story, incredible acting, it's funny and heart-wrenching without being cliche. It's amazing and completely appropriate for all PG-13 audiences. 

- 12 Years a Slave.  Hard to watch, not quite as appropriate for all audiences but a film that needs to be seen and a story that deserves to be told again and again. 

- American Hustle. Definitely not for all audiences, but that being said - I think it's my favorite movie from 2013 and in my opinion it's Jennifer Lawrence's best performance!

What'd you guys think?! Any other Oscar fanatics out there?!