TV on Those "Other" Channels

I confess to being old enough to remember when there were only three television networks (NBC, CBS, and ABC), and ABC really didn't begin to take hold until I was nine.  The entertainment world has changed at an exponentially faster pace since then, and now, you can watch original programming through hundreds of viewing options including:

• Broadcast networks like Fox and the CW.
• Pay stations like HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Starz, Encore, and Epix.
• Cable stations including TBS, TNT, USA, AMC, FX, Disney, ESPN, A&E, Nickelodeon, BBC America, and Comedy Central.
• Streaming video providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

Still, most Americans watch a majority of their weekly shows on NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox.  HBO's shows have been the most critically acclaimed, and every year win a majority of the Emmy Awards, and Showtime's original programming has also been quite successful.  But I believe that many of the shows on the "other" channels are on par with or better than their more commercially successful counterparts.  I won't include some very good shows that have concluded their run or have been on the air for several years like Breaking Bad (AMC), Mad Men (AMC), Covert Affairs (USA), Suits (USA), Falling Skies (TNT), The Daily Show (Comedy Central), or Justified (FX). 

Instead, I'll focus on shows that premiered in 2012 or later.  Most of these shows are available on demand and/or through streaming video, and they are all on non-broadcast networks/stations other than HBO.  They include (alphabetically):

• Graceland (USA): Starring a pair of actors who have also been successful on Broadway (Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit), this is a very good but dark show about a group of undercover agents from different federal agencies who all share a beach house in Southern California.  The acting is good, the writing is generally crisp, and they tackle difficult topics like addiction and human trafficking.  The show is about to finish its second season.
• House of Cards (Netflix): Yikes!  Kevin Spacey's character begins the series as an ambitious and ruthless US Congressman married to an equally ambitious woman played by Robin Wright.  What happens from there is a mostly believable examination of what goes on behind the scenes of American politics.  This is scarily good, and because it's from Netflix, they release each season (13 episodes) all at once.  You can't be blamed for locking yourself in a room for two days and watching them all in succession.  Of course, you're likely to emerge looking over your shoulder.
• The Knick (Cinemax): The first three episodes have all been directed by Steven Soderbergh, and they star Clive Owen and Andre Holland as New York surgeons in 1900 dealing with pre-modern operating conditions,  Owen's character is a very complex addict, and Holland's is an African American doctor at a time when such people rarely existed.  If you don't mind watching surgery performed with the most basic instruments, this series is quite engrossing, and deals head-on with racism and sexism.
• The Last Ship (TNT): This show takes place after most of the world's population has died from a virus.  The captain (played by Eric Dane), XO (played by Adam Baldwin), and crew of a battleship have not been infected, and they have in their company the doctor (played by Rhona Mitra) who may be able to find a vaccine.  Although occasionally a tad too military, this is a generally taut, involving, action series.  It is about to conclude its first season.
• Legends (TNT): This is a brand new show (I'm writing this after the first episode) that looks very promising.  It stars actors from other successful TV series: Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Ali Larter (Heroes), and Tina Majorino (Veronica Mars).  In it, Bean plays an undercover, FBI agent who is caused to question himself and his sanity.
• Masters of Sex (Showtime):  About to complete its second season, this show documents (and Hollywoodizes) the story of Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson as they developed their groundbreaking research into human sexuality.  Although it occasionally borders on soft porn, this series features excellent supporting performances by Beau Bridges, Allison Janney, Teddy Sears, Annaleigh Ashford, and Julianne Nicholson.
• Murder in the First (TNT): Created by Stephen Bochco (remember him?) and Eric Lodal, this crime drama focuses on one, season-long investigation/trial.  The first season, which just ended, stars Taye Diggs, Kathleen Robertson (also outstanding in "Boss"), Richard Schiff, Steven Webber, Tom Felton, James Cromwell, and others.  It is well-written and very engrossing, as the lead detectives  struggle with their own demons while attempting to nail a killer.
• Orange is the New Black (Netflix): Set in a women's prison, this show, created by Jenji Kohan (Weeds), stars Taylor Shilling as a middle class, white woman who got mixed up in a crime and lands in prison.  But the interesting aspect of this show is how each episode tells the backstory of one of the inmates.  As such, some episodes are better than others.  So far, two seasons have been released by Netflix.
• Orphan Black (BBC America):  Count me as one of those people who is addicted to this Canadian-made, scifi-action series, if for no other reason than to watch the amazing Tatiana Maslany playing multiple roles--clones all learning about themselves, each other, and the circumstances that led them to be.  With outstanding, supporting performances by Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Dylan Bruce, this show has concluded two seasons, and is as entertaining as it is interesting.
• Outlander (Starz): They have so far only shown the first episode of the series about  a married English combat nurse from 1945 (played by Caitriona Balfe) who suddenly finds herself in 1743.  I love these time-travel series, and this one seems smart and exciting.  It's set to record on my DVR.
• Perception (TNT): In this show, Eric McCormack plays a schizophrenic professor of neuropsychiatry who is enlisted by an FBI agent (played by Rachel Leigh Cook) to use his skills and knowledge to help solve crimes.  While the crime drama part is interesting, what works best about this show is McCormack's ability to put a human face on mental illness and the difficulties faced by people with such illnesses.  It is about to conclude its third season.
• The Strain (FX): Anyone familiar with Guillermo del Toro's work knows that he is comfortable with making his audience uncomfortable.  This show, which he co-created, is no exception, as a CDC investigator (played by Corey Stoll, who is also in the first season of House of Cards) teams up with a Holocaust survivor (played by David Bradley) to rid New York of a scourge that is part virus and part supernatural being.  Still in its first season, it is riveting, albeit very graphic.
• Tyrant (FX): This show is about a California-based doctor (played by Adam Rayner), the son of a middle eastern dictator, who returns to his home country, with his family, to attend his nephew's wedding.  Upon arriving, he is thrown into family turmoil and government upheaval and decides to stay to help work things out.  Rather than treating all Muslims as terrorists, this show intelligently illustrates all sides of an internal conflict.  It is about to finish its first season.

Well, those are the shows I'll include right now, but if you have others you think are good, please let me know.  In the meantime, let me leave you with this; if you haven't seen the last appearance of Robert Morse in Mad Men, please do so (you can see it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKgPTkIulEI).  I remember him as a younger man in Broadway musicals like "How to Succeed in Business," and this is a heartwarming revisit to those ageless talents.

Robin Williams

Last night, the world was saddened by the loss of Robin Williams.  I didn't know what to say about it until I read what my son, Gavin, posted on his Facebook page.  Here are his words, which are better than anything I could have written:

I know my voice is just one in a massive chorus this morning, but I wouldn't feel right if I didn't add it anyway. There are very few creative artists whom I would not even once hesitate to describe as geniuses. Robin Williams was one of them. He changed the face of comedy over and over again in things like Mork and Mindy, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, and even his tiny role in Nine Months, he brought tears to our eyes in mixed laughter and sorrow in brilliant masterpieces like Good Morning, Vietnam, Moscow on the Hudson, Dead Poets Society, and Good Will Hunting, he took us to magical worlds of imagination and wonder in movies like FernGully, Aladdin, Jumanji, What Dreams May Come, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and Hook, and he brought us to dark and uncomfortable places in risky endeavors like The Fisher King, One Hour Photo, Insomnia, Death to Smoochy, and World's Greatest Dad. In many ways, he defined a generation.

 

We've lost a gem, a star, a hero who's life and work had a staggeringly positive impact on the world around him, and we should not lose anyone the way we lost him. Today I'll add my voice to the thousands of others quoting Walt Whitman: "O Captain! my Captain!"

Vote at the Supermarket

Until recently, most of us never heard of Charles and David Koch (pronounced like coke), the billionaire businessmen who founded "Americans for Prosperity."  However, these two men have quietly been funding a variety of efforts that make most Americans (including mainstream Republicans) cringe.

Those efforts include:

• Spending 45 million dollars on political campaigns for extreme, right-wing and Tea Party candidates.
• Promoting legislation that:
• Helps companies avoid pollution-related fines.
• Makes it difficult for minority citizens to vote.
• Lobbying against universal health care and climate change legislation.

If you don't support these efforts (and most Americans do not), there are many ways to help, and various web sites have been set up to elicit your support.  However, the most basic, and easiest thing you can do involves something you already do on a regular basis--go to the supermarket.

The Koch family owns Koch Industries, and while most of their subsidiaries sell products to other businesses, one of those subsidiaries is Georgia Pacific, which makes consumer-oriented paper products.  So, all you have to do to hurt the Koch Brothers and their efforts to subvert the American political process is to stop buying products made by Georgia Pacific.  Those products include:

• Brawny paper towels
• Angel Soft toilet paper
• Mardi Gras napkins and towels
• Quilted Northern toilet paper and paper towels
• Dixie paper plates, bowls, napkins and cups
• Sparkle paper towels
• Vanity Fair paper napkins, bowls, plates and tablecloths

This is not a major sacrifice, in that you can easily buy similar products made by Scott, Kimberly Clark (Kleenex), or a number of smaller companies.  Doing so is one way of helping America and yourself.

1968

During the past few weeks, CNN has been showing a series called "The Sixties."  If you ask many Americans today what images stand out to them about the 1960s, they'll cite flower children and psychedelic pictures.

 

But tonight, I watched the show about 1968, which many consider the most tumultuous year in American history.  I was 14 years old throughout most of 1968...an age in which many young people begin to achieve a level of consciousness of events outside of their own sphere of influence.  I was no different.

 

1968 is the year when CNN postures that the Vietnam war began to be viewed by most Americans as "unwinnable."  It was also the year in which I held signs and canvassed door-to-door for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential campaign.

 

I had grown up in a post-WWII America in which I was taught to revere the fact that we had always been on the "right" side of war, and we had always won.  That was what was so dismaying about Vietnam...we shouldn't have been there, it was wrong, and it was unwinnable.

 

1968 was the year when we watched Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy felled by bullets.  If JFK's assassination had signaled our end of innocence, then the loss of Martin and Bobby cemented that legacy.

 

Had I been older, I might have attended the protests outside of the Democratic convention in Chicago--protests that devolved into police violence unlike any of us had ever seen before.  But I watched it all on TV...that marvelous medium that had awoken us all from our collective, 50s slumber.

 

1968 also gave us President Nixon.  Those of you who have known me for long know that I've always thought of Nixon as our worst president, not so much because of his presidential actions, but because he caused so much irreparable harm to American politics and to the office.  I believe that today's lack of respect for the presidency, be it for Clinton, Bush, or Obama, is a direct result of Nixon's sordid political behavior.

 

So as I warily watched the CNN show about that year, I was thankful that I had lived through it, and indeed come of age around that time.  But I was sad that we had lost so much of our potential future and could only wonder, "what if..."

 

Looking back, the 1960s was no more about flower children than the 1970s was about disco.  Those are just images the media perpetuate--the same media that now bring us shows about those decades.  And as this particular show broke for an interim commercial break, I was jolted back to today's reality with the words, "The Sixties is sponsored by Koch Industries."

The Final Evolution?

OK, so the title of this article may be a little confusing.  After all, the very nature of evolution is that it's never final.  However, what I'm referring to here is an evolution of a much more finite nature...a car.

First introduced by Mitsubishi in Japan in 1992, the Lancer Evolution (known as the Evo) has gone through ten iterations since then, labeled by Roman numerals I through X.  Only versions V through X were imported into the US, with the Evo X being the most popular.  How this affects me is that I just picked up my third (and likely final) Evo X, because I've been told they are either discontinuing it or making it completely differently.

The beauty of the car has always been that it uses a small (2 liter), light aluminum engine, tweaked in a way to get maximum performance.  The Evo X features twin turbochargers, an aluminum body, and racing components including Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs, Brenbo brakes, Yokohama Advan 13 tires, and Recaro front seats.  Add to that all-wheel drive with advanced yaw control and a computerized engine that produces 320 HP and 300 foot-pounds of torque and you have a car capable of handling nearly any challenge, on or off the race track.

The quirkiness of driving a rally racecar extends to the trunk, where they put the battery and windshield washer reservoir (it helps balance the car's weight distribution, but it limits trunk space).  All of my Evos were either the SE or the MR versions, which use a very specialized transmission referred to as a "standard transmission with a dual, automatic clutch."  In other words, you don't have to shift it (although you can if you want), but you still feel the gears as you would with a standard.  Gears 1, 3, and 5 use one clutch while gears 2, 4, and 6 use the other.  What results is one of the few cars on the market where the automatic is faster than the standard in most road tests.

Prior to leasing a Lancer Ralliart and three Evos, I have had cars made by Nissan (then called Datsun), BMW (3 cars), Honda, Saab, Mazda, Acura, and Toyota.  I even owned (leased) the predecessor to the Lancer, known as the Mitsubishi Tredia Turbo.  Below is a picture of the 2014 Lancer Evoution X, which I just picked up on Friday.

Through it all, I have never had a car I enjoyed driving as much as I do the Evo, which makes its potential demise so much more distressing.  According to sources I've read, the Evo replacement will have an entirely new platform and architecture.  Supposedly, the car will use a hybrid of diesel and electric power (I applaud the effort to go green), will produce upwards of 500 HP, and will cost about $20K more than the current version, moving it squarely out of my price range and the range of most Evo enthusiasts.

And so I lament that this will likely be my final Evolution (at least from the perspective of a car name).  My lease is for three years, which will give me time to consider other options for 2017.  Until then, if you see me zipping by, be sure to wave.

Some Great Older Movies

In the pantheon of films over the decades, there is a general consensus about many of the all-time greats. Movies like "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather" (parts 1 and 2), "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "Schindler's List," "The Wizard of Oz," "Annie Hall," and "Some Like It Hot" are all perceived to be among the best films ever made.

But then there are other, lesser-known movies that touch each of us in ways that are specific to what makes us tick.  In my case, I like meaningful films that are well-written and in some way uplift me and/or help to clarify my life, while also entertaining me.  That's a lot to ask for, which is why only a few films meet those criteria.

I'll attempt to describe the ones I can think of right now, and I will add to this list as I think of others.  Those movies include:

Field of Dreams
Written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson from a book by W.P. Kinsella, this film stars Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, Burt Lancaster, Frank Whaley, and Timothy Busfield.  Of course, everyone knows the famous line, "If you build it, he will come," and the overall theme revolving around baseball, but this 1989 movie is really about the parent-child relationship and what it means to who we are and who we want to be.  I've seen it so many times that I know most of the lines, but my eyes still well up every time it ends.  It may be my all-time favorite movie.

Grand Canyon
Although more well-known for "The Big Chill" and "Body Heat," writer-director Lawrence Kasdan made an absolutely engaging film about life, change, and how our lives intersect with so many others.  Co-written by Kasdan's wife, Meg Kasdan, this 1991 film centers around a family, played by Kevin Klein, Mary McDonnell, and Jeremy Sisto who come into contact with a variety of people, some of whom are played by Danny Glover, Steve Martin, Mary Louise Parker, and Alfre Woodard.  The film intelligently explores these relationships in ways that even today seem fresh.

Moscow on the Hudson
In 1984, Paul Mazursky directed this seriocomic film, from a script he wrote with Leon Capetanos, about a Soviet Russian musician who defects in Bloomingdales.  Starring Robin Williams with supporting performances from Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, and Alejandro Rey, it puts a different spin on immigration and what it means to be an American, and it does so with humor and warmth.

Seabiscuit
Before he directed "The Hunger Games," Gary Ross wrote and directed this 2003 film, starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Tobey McGuire, and Elizabeth Banks about one of the most famous racehorses of all time.  However, the film isn't about horse racing--it's about redemption, in one way or another, for each of the main characters, and the importance of second chances.

American Beauty
Kevin Spacey laid the groundwork for his "House of Cards" character in this 1999 masterpiece, written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes.  With outstanding supporting performances from Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney, the film is alternately bleak and comic, and contains memorable scenes involving a long dinner table, rose petals, and dancing plastic bags.

October Sky
Directed by Joe Johnston based a book by Homer H. Hickham Jr., this 1999 film tells the true story of Hickham (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and three friends from a coal town in rural West Virginia who battle seemingly insurmountable odds to build rockets and eventually win the State Science Fair, thereby enabling them to go to college and avoid working in the coal mines.  The film features outstanding supporting performances by Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, and Natalie Canerday, and it is an uplifting example of triumph among hardships.

The Untouchables
For my money, this is Brian DePalma's best film--a 1987 fictionalized retelling of the story of how Elliot Ness and a small group of FBI agents brought down the criminal empire of Al Capone.  Starring Kevin Costner and co-starring Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, and Robert DeNiro, and written by Oscar Fraley and David Mamet, this is a tour de force of wonderful scenes, the most famous of which was the Union Station shootout, which was based on a scene from 1925's Battleship Potemkin.  The film also introduced several now-iconic lines like bringing "a knife to a gunfight," and "what are you prepared to do?"

State and Main
I've always enjoyed David Mamet's interesting screenplay choices, but this 2000 film, which Mamet also directed, is a perfect example of his subtle, sarcastic humor.  With an ensemble cast that includes William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Stiles, Clark Gregg, David Paymer, Charles Durning, and Patti Lupone, this film spectacularly ridicules Hollywood's attitudes toward small-town America.  Every time I watch this movie, I catch things I never noticed before.

Tootsie
You'd think that by this point, a film about a man dressing as a woman to land a TV role would be stale and dated, but that's not the case with "Tootsie."  In many ways, this 1982 Dustin Hoffman vehicle is as fresh today as it was then, because it wasn't cross-dressing that made it interesting, but rather the way that a man can better himself by exploring what women feel and have to deal with regularly.  Directed by (and co-starring) Sidney Pollack from a script written by Larry Gelbart and several others, this movie featured great supporting performances from Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, and Charles Durning.

The Whole Nine Yards
Jonathan Lynn directed this 2000 comedy, starring Bruce Willis as a hit man, whose life becomes intertwined with that of a Montreal dentist played by Matthew Perry.  Written by Mitchell Kapner, the film is a great vehicle for Willis's smug delivery and Perry's visual humor.  It also features a cast that includes Rosanna Arquette, Michael Clark Duncan, Natasha Henstridge, Kevin Pollack, and a scene-stealing performance from Amanda Peet.

Reid's 2014 Oscar Preview

Last year, I began writing an article similar to one in the Boston Globe in which critics preview the Academy Awards, using 4 categories:  “Will Win,” “Should Win,” “Shouldn’t Be Here,” and “Was Robbed.”  They follow each with a paragraph about the races.   I will use the same format this year to preview eight categories of the 2014 Academy Awards (movies from 2013).

Now, I should mention in advance that I usually give the Academy voters more credit than they deserve in picking the best picture.  I mistakenly assume that they watch the movies, like I do, and vote for the film that had the best script, direction, acting, filming, etc., when actually, they often vote for a director they like or want to work with, or for the movie that hired them or most of their friends.  As a result, you have results like “Argo” beating “Lincoln,” “The Hurt Locker” over “Avatar,” “The Departed” over “Letters from Iwo Jima,” and “Crash” over all of the other more worthy nominees.  But, just as often, they do end up picking a Best Picture that is at least one of the top three, so they deserve some credit.

So, here is my preview:

Best Picture

The Nominees: “American Hustle,” “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” “Gravity,” “Her,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” “12 Years a Slave,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Will Win: “Gravity”

Should Win: “Gravity”

Shouldn’t Be Here: “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Was Robbed:  “Saving Mr. Banks” 

A month ago, I would have said that “American Hustle” will win, but the trend seems to be moving away from that movie, which is mostly actor-driven, to the more worthy “Gravity,” which contains all of the elements of a great film.  “12 Years a Slave” has an outside chance, but because it is an American story with a British director and star, it is less likely to win.  DiCaprio’s performance in “The Wolf of Wall Street” is Oscar-worthy, but the movie itself is not. And I can’t understand how the voters passed up the beautiful “Saving Mr. Banks,” especially in a field where up to ten films can be nominated; maybe it’s some anti-Disney sentiment.

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 Buyer’s Club”

Will Win: Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyer’s Club”

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Shouldn’t Be Here: none

Was Robbed:  Tom Hanks in “Captain Phillips”

This is a tough category because all five actors deserve to be in it, but so does Tom Hanks for his riveting performance in “Captain Phillips.”  McConaughey’s performance was excellent, and he seems to have the voters on his side, but it’s a shame if DiCaprio misses winning the award for his amazing portrayal of real-life Wall Street entrepreneur Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which is the only reason to see the movie.

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: Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”

Shouldn’t Be Here: none

Was Robbed:  Brie Larson in “Short Term 12”

The Academy went big on this one, nominating five of its A-list actresses, all of whom submitted outstanding performances.  Cate Blanchett will likely win for her outstanding portrait of a once-wealthy woman who has lost everything, including her mind.  However, I wouldn’t be upset if they gave it to Judi Dench for her simultaneously forceful and subdued performance in “Philomena.”  And while Brie Larson deserves to be here because of her incredibly nuanced performance in “Short Term 12,” I have a feeling she’ll be getting plenty more opportunities as her career progresses.

Best Director

The Nominees:

• David O. Russell for “American Hustle”
• Alfonso Cuarón for “Gravity”
• Alexander Payne for “Nebraska”
• Steve McQueen for “12 Years a Slave”
• Martin Scorsese for “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón for “Gravity”

Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón for “Gravity”

Shouldn’t Be Here: Martin Scorsese for “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Was Robbed:  Lee Daniels for “The Butler”

Last year, the Academy inexplicably bypassed Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) in favor of Ang Lee (Life of Pi), so you never know what they are going to do, but as far as I’m concerned, this is the most clear-cut choice of the awards.  Cuarón created a drama that envelopes you in a three-dimensional vision of space while making you feel the way you might in zero gravity, and in doing so, he advanced the art of filmmaking.  And while I know it’s sacrilege to leave Scorsese out of a discussion of Best Director, this film didn’t deserve it, especially when you had Lee Daniels (The Butler) effectively chronicling the Civil Rights movement and its effect on the American presidency.

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 Buyer’s Club”

Will Win: Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyer’s Club”

Should Win: Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyer’s Club”

Shouldn’t Be Here: Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”

Was Robbed:  Will Forte in “Nebraska”

First, let me say that Jared Leto’s performance as a transgendering AIDS patient was brilliant, and he deserves to win the Oscar he almost certainly will receive.  I’d also like to say that I usually like Bradley Cooper, but this performance was awful and is in no way comparable to the other actors in this category.  Finally, although Bruce Dern is getting much-deserved praise for his role in “Nebraska,” the Academy should have also recognized Will Forte, who plays off Dern perfectly in a more nuanced role.  It reminds me of Tom Cruise in “Rain Man,” who deserved a nomination in support of Best Actor winner Dustin Hoffman.

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”

Shouldn’t Be Here: Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”

Was Robbed:  Julianne Moore in “Don Jon”

Lupita Nyong’o definitely earned and will likely receive this award for her performance as a slave in an awful situation in the excellent “12 Years a Slave.”  And while I really like Jennifer Lawrence as an actress, I felt that this performance was completely over the top, especially when compared to the beautifully subtle performance of Julianne Moore in “Don Jon.”

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Nominees:

• Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke for “Before Midnight”
• Billy Ray for “Captain Phillips”
• Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope for “Philomena”
• John Ridley for “12 Years a Slave”
• Terence Winter for “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Will Win: John Ridley for “12 Years a Slave”

Should Win: Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope for “Philomena”

Shouldn’t Be Here: Billy Ray for “Captain Phillips”

Was Robbed:  Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith for “Saving Mr. Banks”

John Ridley’s script for “12 Years a Slave” is excellent, but it was mostly written by Solomon Northup in his memoir of 1853, which recalled his own experiences.  Ridley himself has stated as much.  On the other hand, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope wrote a beautiful and heartwarming script around the book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith.  And while Billy Ray’s script for “Captain Phillips” was very straightforward, it lacked the depth and sensitivity of Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith’s script for “Saving Mr. Banks.”

Best Original Screenplay

The Nominees:

• Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for “American Hustle”
• Woody Allen for “Blue Jasmine”
• Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack for “Dallas Buyer’s Club”
• Spike Jonze for “Her”
• Bob Nelson for “Nebraska”

Will Win: Spike Jonze for “Her”

Should Win: Spike Jonze for “Her”

Shouldn’t Be Here: Woody Allen for “Blue Jasmine”

Was Robbed:  Destin Daniel Cretton for “Short Term 12”

 

The category is Best Original Screenplay, and there was little more original this year than Spike Jonze’s unsettlingly offbeat film, “Her,” about a man in love with an operating system.  While the script bogged down at times, it generally kept you thinking in a way most comparable to George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” which was as applicable to its time (1912) as this film is to the not-too-distant future.  And while “Blue Jasmine” is an interesting character study, it lacks the sparkle of Allen’s best scripts.   However, it would be remiss to not mention Cretton’s outstanding script for “Short Term 12,” which, from the opening scene, draws you into a world of at-risk teens and takes you realistically, and at times poetically, through the obstacles they face.