The Hot Shots of 2014

Man, 2014 was a pretty interesting year. From the Oscars to Serial, some exciting and great things happened. Here's a look at some Hollywood people who had a rocking year.

Amy Adams
The actress scored her 5th Oscar nomination for American Hustle and is finding herself in the awards discussion again for Tim Burton's Big Eyes. But Adams was involved in 2 news stories which showed what an awesome, classy lady she is. First she gave up her first class airplane seat to a man in uniform (and only got caught because a journalist happened to see her). Then when the Today Show tried to get her to talk about the Sony hack, she expressed her reluctance to spread gossip and got unceremoniously booted from the show when she stood her ground. Adams also got good notices for her stint as SNL host. Basically, I love this lady and her 2014 was a good reason why.

Blackish
With networks trying really hard to land a really great sitcom, ABC's Blackish is clearly the winner of the 2014 pilot season. Fresh, funny and poignant, the show chronicles the lives of an upper middle class black family in a predominantly white neighborhood. The show does a good job of balancing everyday family sitcom hijinks with exploring modern America race issues. The cast, especially Tracee Ellis Ross and the four kids, is remarkable. The show arrived with a unique--and fully formed--point of view and is a great addition to the family sitcom genre.

Sony Pulling 'The Interview' Affects Lizzy Caplan the Most

I'm not a fan of Sony pulling The Interview. While I can understand the fear of putting movie goers in danger, it sets a dangerous precedent. And I am convinced that that Sony and the movie theater companies were more afraid that scared moviegoers would steer clear of the theater right in the middle of the lucrative holiday movie season. The Interview was not supposed to be a blockbuster. The $44 million budget would have easily been recuperated during the long Holiday season as the go-to R rated bro comedy of the season. Also, the film would have made its profits from VOD/Redbox as well as television deals with channels like FX.

But now that the movie is cancelled, it's going to be a major loss for the production company especially considering marketing expenses (though releasing it amid the controversy would have made it a guaranteed hit). But it's okay for Sony--they will make back that money easily with their next franchise entry or what have you. I'm sure they fully analyzed their losses and will plan accordingly.

Oscar Predictions 2015, Part 2: Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

Last time, I discussed my picks and predictions for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Actor. Now I'll take a look at the Supporting Acting categories and Best Director. These categories are little easier to predict but only when it comes to picking the nominees. Finding the winner is a little tougher because there are solid reasons for each of the potential nominees. And we all know how much the Oscars love a good narrative. What's cool with these categories is that, save for a small number of repeat nominees, there are a good number of first-time nominees. Yum, fresh meat!

Best Supporting Actress
I think my pick for the winner is Patricia Arquette for Boyhood. Yes, the star of Medium is likely to be an Oscar winner. I can't pinpoint why Arquette is such a frontrunner except to say that a lot of people are recognizing how Boyhood is actually "Motherhood" in disguise. It's a role that could easily be forgotten among the "aw, look how much Mason has grown up!" but thankfully Arquette is getting her due. Jessica Chastain seems to be in the running for her 3rd Oscar nomination for A Most Violent Year. I am sure there is a "she's due for an award!" sentiment growing. I haven't seen the film but it's a wife role; I'd much rather see Chastain win for a role worthy of her talents (like, um, Zero Dark Thirty). Meryl Streep is in the running for Into the Woods but is that news to anyone?

I'd Rather Be a Forest: Reese Witherspoon's Revealing, Grueling Hike in 'Wild'

I really enjoy films about people on redemptive, spiritual journeys like 127 Hours or Wild Strawberries. There is something really terrifying but fascinating about people confronting their own inner demons, past mistakes, failures and reconciling those with what's good with their lives. I think they are great showcases for actors. Jean-Marc Vallee, director of the Oscar winning Dallas Buyers Club and the underrated The Young Victoria, brings his own take on the "redemption drama" with the funny and affecting Wild.

Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon, finally given a leading role after a number of years, stars and produces the film, along with Laura Dern (Jurassic Park), Thomas Sadoski (TV's The Newsroom), Kevin Rankin (TV's Breaking Bad) and Gaby Hoffman (Crystal Fairy and the Magic Cactus). The film is adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's autobiography. The sharp, textured script was written by screenwriter/author Nick Hornby.

'Mockingjay-Part 1' is Satisfying Buildup to Finale (Review)

A year long intermission.

That's what Hunger Games fans are in for as they wait for November 2015's conclusion to the series. Splitting a final book into 2 films seems to be a popular decision. Some see it as a blatant cash grab; others choose to think of it as a way to include some character beats that might get rushed in an ordinary 140-minute adaptation. The debate is meaningless, of course. Fans of the series will show up to see the movie regardless and Hunger Games is a reliable enough franchise with a terrific adult star cast to attract even casual fans.

Directed by Catching Fire helmer Francis Lawrence, the film stars Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Jeffrey Wright, Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland. The film is written by Danny Strong and Peter Craig, who are also writing Part 2.

Oscar Predictions 2015, Part 1: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor

Boyhood

I love the Oscars. Even though it's all political and predictable, it's still fun to discuss and analyze how the Oscar season shapes up. I love this time of the Oscar season because the frontrunners are starting to emerge but there are still a few wild cards out there just waiting to surprise everyone. I'm going to just do a short blurb about each of the major categories (Best Picture, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor and Director) and picking out the frontrunners and weeding out the wannabes.

Best Picture
The Best Picture race is funny; for a long time, there isn't any clear frontrunner and then all of a sudden one film becomes unstoppable. I've been right most of the time (and yet I somehow couldn't predict Argo's victory 2 years ago!). Right now my gut is telling the race will be between The Imitation Game and Boyhood. Imitation has Oscar juggernaut Harvey Weinstein, acclaimed perfs from stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley and a WWII biopic premise behind it. Boyhood is a universally acclaimed box office success and it balances being epic and slice of life quite well. Both films are "safe" choices, meaning Oscar voters will feel comfortable voting for them instead of voting for edgier choices (Gone Girl or Whiplash).