2014 Sullivan-Gooley Award Nominations!!!

This is the third year I've done this without Mike and it's bittersweet every time. On one side, it's just not the same without Mike's intelligent insight and passionate reviews.  Mike didn't have a desire to make films or be a part of the business in anyway (Even though, I think he would have been an excellent cinematographer ). He just loved movies. He understood them and they understood him. He connected to the way a film tells a story. He understood and found meaning in all aspects of the way the movie was made.  He was a very astute critic whose opinion was honest and thoughtful. He reminded me of Roger Ebert in the way he would talked about film. We would talk for hours about different films and create Top Ten lists for all kinds of different subjects. However, The Sullivan-Gooley Awards was always my favorite and one of the main reason why I would see as many movies as I did (I am aware that I am obsessed.)  Mike was my movie soul mate and without him, it's hard to sit down and make this list because his passion for the movies would ignite mine and that excitement has faded since he passed away.
However, on the plus side, I always can feel his presence when I make these lists. It's fun to think of what he would have liked and where he would have ranked them. His picks would always fascinate me and make me second guess mine. Our top tens usually consisted of the same film but always in a different order. Ever since he died, I always wonder what he would think of certain films (Would love to hear his opinion on Inception) and it's fun to consider that when making the nominations. I also have a feeling he would be pissed at me if i didn't continue correcting all the mistakes the Academy makes every year.
2013 was the best year for film since 2007 and making this list was extremely difficult. This year brought so many different genres and represented excellent filmmakers at the top of their game  All these movies are excellent and I wish I could have had Sully's opinion on these nominations.  So, on that note, here is the nominations for the 2014 Sullivan-Gooley Awards (In no particular order).

Best Picture

1.       12 Years A Slave

2.       The Act of Killing

3.       Captain Phillips

4.       Gravity

5.       Her

6.       Inside Llewyn Davis

7.       Mud

8.       Nebraska

9.       Place Beyond The Pines

10.   The Wolf Of Wall Street

Best Actor

1.       Bruce Dern - Nebraska

2.       Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years

3.       Joaquin Phoenix - Her

4.       Leo Dicaprio – Wolf of Wall Street

5.       Matthew McConaughy – Dallas Buyers

6.       Oscar Issac   - Inside Llewyn Davis

Best Actress

1.       Amy Adams – American Hustle

2.       Brie Larson – Short Term 12

3.       Cate Blancett – Blue Jasmine

4.       Judy Dench – Philomena

5.       Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

6.       Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Best Supp Actor

1.       Ryan Gosling – A Place Beyond the Pines

2.       Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

3.       Jonah Hill – Wolf of Wall Street

4.       Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

5.       Matthew McConaughy – Mud

6.       Michael Fassbender – 12 Years

Best Supp. Actress

1.       Amy Adams – Her

2.       Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

3.       Julia Roberts - August

4.       Lupita Nyong’o – 12 YEARS

5.       Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

6.       Scarlett Johansson – Her

Best Director

1.       Alexander Payne  - Nebraska

2.       Alfonso Curon - Gravity

3.       Coen Brothers – Inside Llewyn Davis

4.       Martin Scorcese – Wolf of Wall Street

5.       Spike Jonze - Her

6.       Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay

1.      American Hustle

2.      Blue Jasmine

3.      Dallas Buyers Club

4.      Her

5.      Inside Llewyn Davis

6.      Nebraska

Adapted Screenplay

1.      12 Years

2.      Before Midnight

3.      Philomena

4.      Spectacular Now

5.      Wolf of Wall Street

Cinematography

1.      12 Years a Slave

2.      Inside Llewyn Davis

3.      Gravity

4.      Prisoners

5.      Nebraska

6.      Her

7.      Secret Life of Walter Mitty

8.      Conjuring

Score

1.      Nebraska

2.      Saving Mr. Banks

3.      Her

4.      Wolf Of Wall Street

5.      Gravity

6.      Philomena

Art Direction

1.      12 Years a Slave

2.      Great Gatsby

3.      American Hustle

4.      Inside Llweyn Davis

5.      Her

6.      Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Editing

1.      Wolf Of Wall Street

2.      Her

3.      Gravity

4.      Inside Llewyn Davis

5.      Rush

6.      12 Years

Sound Editing

1.      Gravity

2.      Rush

3.      Captain Phillips

4.      Inside Llewyn Davis

5.      Pacific Rim

6.      Hunger Games

Sound Mixing

1.      Gravity

2.      Captain Phillips

3.      Lone Survivor

4.      Pacific Rim

5.      Her

6.      Rush

Visual Effects

1.      Gravity

2.      Pacific Rim

3.      Iron Man 3

4.      Wolf Of Wall Street

Make-Up

1.      The Butler

2.      Dallas Buyers Club

3.      American Hustle

4.      Star Trek

5.      Rush

Costumes

1.      Her

2.      American Hustle

3.      Inside Llewyn Davis

4.      Dallas Buyers Club

5.      12 Years a Slave

6.      Great Gatsby

Foreign

1.      The Past

2.      Blue Is The Warmest Color

3.      The Silence

Documentary

1.      The Act Of Killing

2.      Stories We Tell

3.      We Steal Secrets

4.      A Band Called Death