 | | | Felicity Jones stars as Jane Wilde and Eddie Redmayne stars as her suitor, Stephen Hawking, in Academy Award-winning director James Marsh's "The Theory of Everything," a Focus Features release. Photo Liam Daniel/Focus Features | | | | | | The Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 15 and the awards will be presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb 22. The show will be televised live on ABC. Here are my favorite films of 2014:
#5 "Selma" - Director Ava DuVernay will receive an Oscar nomination for "Selma," which chronicles Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s epic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. David Ovelowo, who portrays King, should be receiving an Oscar nod on Jan. 15.
#4 "Birdman" - Michael Keaton plays a struggling actor who was once a huge box office draw as a cinema superhero who mounts an ambitious Broadway production to kick life back into his career. "Birdman" is a complicated roller coaster ride of life and the performing arts industry. This is Keaton's role of a lifetime and a sure nomination for Best Actor.
#3 "The Theory of Everything" - Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking will not only receive an Oscar nomination on Jan. 15, he should win the Oscar on Feb. 22. His performance was astonishing. The film deals with Hawking's relationship with his fellow collegian and future wife Jane Wilde. Felicity Jones gives a solid performance as Jane and should receive an Oscar nod. "The Theory of Everything" could be the big winner on Feb. 22.
#2 "Imitation Game" - In 1939, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), was a Cambridge mathematics alum hired by the British intelligence agency MI6 to crack Nazi codes. Turing's success makes him and his team national heroes, but he is imprisoned in 1952 when it is revealed he is gay. Cumberbatch is a strong second behind Redmayne for Best Actor.
#1 "St. Vincent" - This is a film that you probably will not hear being announced on the Oscar nomination list Jan. 15, which will be a disappointment. "St. Vincent" is the little independent film that receives my vote for best movie of the year because it is a surprise in so many ways. Based on the cast - Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts - one would expect a comedy, but "St. Vincent" is so much more. It's a life lesson about human behavior, companionship, friendship and love. If you haven't seen "St. Vincent," do yourself a favor and see it. You will be pleasantly surprised.
I would like to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2015.
Do you love movies? Watch Real to Reel every Sunday at 2:30PM on KOFY TV20, as Derek Zemrak and Leonard Pirkle talk movies and everything entertainment in the Bay Area.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA