Quick Reviews: 2014 Best Picture Nominees, Part 1

In what has basically become a self-imposed tradition, it is now time for Tableau Your Mind to review the nine films up for Best Picture. I did this mostly for you – I didn't want to watch half of these movies. When the Academy first opened up the Best Picture race to (up to) 10 nominees, it seemed like a good idea. Movies that would have previously been relegated to other categories or completely forgotten were given a chance to shine. Last year's Beasts of the Southern Wild and Amour come to mind, as well as the heartbreaking Toy Story 3 a few years prior. But this year, with a few exceptions, it seems like the Best Picture race is almost completely full of the kinds of movies that are 'supposed' to be in the race, and very few of them feel fresh at all. In a year teeming with innovation and beautifully told movies, a lot of these nominees just feel silly. Why are we even looking at Captain Phillips while Frances Ha and The Kings of Summer are completely out of the race? Still, each of the nine movies nominated do contain moments of quality, and some are legitimately great movies. So, let's take a look at four  of the movies up for Best Picture (Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena, American Hustle, and Her) with a quick list of Pros, Cons, and my guess as to whether Best Picture is in their grasps (some minor spoilers, but nothing you wouldn't get from the trailer):

Things That Are Not Slavery: A Post For David O. Russell

Jennifer Lawrence: Not a Slave

In a recent interview with New York Daily News, director David O. Russell talked about Jennifer Lawrence, one of the stars of his recent movie American Hustle (and last year's Silver Linings Playbook). Speaking about her contract with The Hunger Games franchise, Russell said, "I'll tell you what it is about that girl — talk about 12 years of slavery, that's what the franchise is. And I'm going to get in so much trouble for saying that." Thankfully, the internet exploded in rage, calling out Russell for the ridiculousness of that statement. Jennifer Lawrence was, after all, paid $10 million for being in the second Hunger Games film. Even with inflation, that's $10 million more than almost all slaves were paid during the entirety of slavery in the United States COMBINED (not just the hilarious '12 years' timeline that Russell posits, which is a nod to another film possibly up for Best Picture).

Also, unlike slaves, Jennifer Lawrence is able to make films in between being shackled to her oppressors (who are, again, paying her a relative ass-ton of money to put on costumes and pretend to be someone else when it isn't her stunt double's time to pretend to be Jennifer Lawrence pretending to be someone else). Ultimately, Russell apologized for his comments, saying that it was a poor attempt at humor. Oh, humor, that nebulous region that can excuse all faux pas, a region that, with his film winning Best Comedy at the Golden Globes, Russell knows all too well.

Now, David O. Russell, I'd like to talk directly to you.

We Should All Be More Like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

I love many things in this world: the laughter of children, the laughter of adults when they're taunting children, the fact that only an apostrophe separates "man's laughter" and "manslaughter," and other non-laughing things. Two of those non-laughing things are David O. Russell films and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. And now, through the power of my mind, those two things are one.

Let me explain:

[Spoiler Alert] Best Picture Nominees #5: The Fighter

One Big Happy, Dysfunctional Family

Of the films nominated for Best Picture this year, The Fighter stands out as the one where great acting stands way above the actual film.  Performances from Christian Bale and Amy Adams stand out, and quiet performances from Mark Wahlberg and the supporting cast provide a great backbone. The powerhouse performance of Christian Bale, who should deservedly is the front-runner for the Oscar, is certainly a sight to behold. Bale is known to morph physically and mentally for his roles, and here is no exception. Melissa Leo, whose strange antics and awkward off-screen persona (her hands in perpetual