I would not have gone to see 12 Years a Slave had I known how difficult it would be to watch. But I'm enormously grateful that I did see it. One of the very best movies I've ever seen.

Nebraska was excellent, and much more real than any movie I've seen in years. Osage County was excellent. Haven't seen Capt Phillips, but plan to. I refuse to see Wall Street, because of the every other "F-word" crap, and the way women are portrayed. I just can't see any redeeming value.

Oh ya I did see Nebraska too and that was kind of different but I really liked it.

I really liked Captain Phillips. Even though you know the story, it was fascinating.

I thought Blue Jasmine was OK, considering I do not like most Woody Allen movies. DH hated every minute of it.

We saw Dallas Buyers Club at the theatre. Probably my favorite. LOL on cattle buying!

Saw American Hustle on Christmas Day. Really liked that one, too. Great cast. Probably our favorite until we saw Dallas Buyers Club.

Gravity is on demand, so I may watch it since we are on spring break this week and DH is not interested.

Definitely the most Oscar movies we've seen in a long time!

How about American Hustle anybody? I enjoyed it. It was the "lightest" of the 4 that I saw.

Personally I was thoroughly entertained during The Wolf Of Wall Street. I was kind of ashamed that I must be so jaded that I am beyond shock value. The use of the "f" word didn't even register to me. Leonardo Dicaprio did such a great job in that movie, very believable. Regarding it being a true story, it is based on the book written by the guy who the movie was based on, he is a professional "salesperson" with quite a bit of con man thrown in. I am sure that there were some liberties taken with the story.

Dallas Buyers Club, I liked it but didn't love it. The movie was carried by the performances of Matthew M and Jared Leto, but I found my attention wandering in parts. 12 Years a Slave was great. I think it is a movie that really helps you understand the un-understandable. Such a different mindset. It's funny, my mom watched the movie (on my recommendation, she is a bit naive) and made a comment about how she was disappointed in main character during the one scene where you can see how "broken" he has become (I am keeping this vague to not spoil) and how her husband would never have done it. To me, that is just missing the point. I don't think you can compare looking through our eyes and the eyes of somebody who lived it. I actually enjoy movies that make me uncomfortable and make me think, so I liked it.

Blue Jasmine I refuse to watch because of Woody Allen. I'll try to catch a couple of the others though.

I saw all of the best picture nominees before the AA (one of my goals every year).

My opinions:

American Hustle was very overrated, did not care for it at all. I liked Gravity, except the ending was a bit weak. I really enjoyed Captain Phillips-thought Tom Hanks was robbed not to be nominated. I am embarrassed to say I really liked Wolf of Wall Street, even though I felt like I needed a shower after watching it! 12 Years a Slave was excellent, though very hard to watch and I was balling like a baby at the end. I thought Dallas Buyers Club was very well done, brought back many memories of the fear surrounding AIDS in the eighties (and I lived in Dallas then). I was glad to see Jared Leto and MM win. Philomena was beautiful, and oh so sad. Dame Judi was excellent, as always. I loved Her, it was so beautifully written, believable and sad. Glad Spike Jonze won for screenplay. DH and I both really liked Nebraska. June Squibb as Bruce Dern's wife is an absolute gem. I would actually watch it again!

I think that's all of them. I do not watch movies by Woody Allen, so won't be seeing Blue Jasmine. One of the most enjoyable movies I saw all year was Saving Mr. Banks, just a beautiful story. We also enjoyed Inside Llewyn Davis. Still need to see August:Osage County.

I only saw two of the documentary features: The Act of Killing and 20 Feet from Stardom. The Act of Killing was utterly horrific, so hard to watch. 20 Feet was wonderful, loved it.

I saw 12 Years a Slave in the theater and like so many others found it hard to watch. I did love the story and it just gets to you. I thought Blue Jasmine was a bust and I like most Woody Allen movies. I thought Dallas Buyers Club was good and the acting was superb. They both deserved the Oscars. I loved Phlomena and thought it was a beautiful movie also. Nebraska was a hoot. Next on my list is American Hustle.

I saw Gravity in 3-D in the theater. It's all about the special effects but I thought it was totally unbelievable.

Dallas Buyers Club had amazing acting performances by McConaughey and Leto. Truly amazing, but the story itself was just okay.

I could not stand the ending of Blue Jasmine and found the whole thing upsetting.

I also loved Philomena and Saving Mr. Banks.

I did not see 12 Years A Slave because I thought it would be too hard to watch. Others have said it is a must-see, so I guess I will.

We are going to see Grand Budapest Hotel this weekend. I am looking forward to it.

I've only seen Captain Phillips which I sort of enjoyed, my Dad liked it better than me. I haven't liked most Oscar movies for many years although I did like Argo.
Favorite recent movie was Rush
Worst ever recent : All is Lost
Favorite from 2013: Tie between Desolation of Smaug and Star Trek Into Darkness

I haven't seen Gravity, tried to see at the theaters and just missed it locally so now waiting for it to hit Redbox this month.

Probably won't watch 12 years a slave until it hits tv and is edited. Too brutal for me.

Like texanjana, this year I saw all the nominated movies. Hadn't planned to but by January realized I'd seen 7/9 so I caught Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave too. I quit paying Woody Allen years ago when he started sleeping with his stepdaughter but relented and saw Blue Jasmine, to my chagrin when Dylan Farrow came forward a few weeks later.

Anyway, my thoughts:

American Hustle was entertaining but I also don't quite get the critical acclaim; there just wasn't all that much to it. Thought Amy Adams killed it in her role, though.

Gravity was certainly entertaining, but again by the time I saw it I was expecting The Most Incredible Movie Experience of My Life. It wasn't all that.

"I really enjoyed Captain Phillips-thought Tom Hanks was robbed not to be nominated"

What she said. I hadn't seen it during its first run, thinking it just didn't sound entertaining. Boy was I wrong. Great film, how he didn't score a nomination is going to be one of those Oscar trivia 'stars who were robbed' entries for years.

"I am embarrassed to say I really liked Wolf of Wall Street, even though I felt like I needed a shower after watching it!"

Ok, still channeling Texan on this one too. I literally sat through much of the movie with my mouth open in shock and awe. I wasn't particularly offended either and as someone who lived in Miami during the 80s, the shenanigans weren't that unbelievable but it was sooooo over the top. Actually enjoyed Leo DiCaprio which is a first, as I really don't care for him usually.

12 Years a Slave - this one felt like a movie that was determined to hit every last stereotype about the evils of slavery. I know, I know, based on fact etc but it just didn't move me all that much.

Dallas Buyers Club did move me very much. Matt McConaughey was absolutely amazing in his role. Not a feel-good movie but it stayed with me for a long time.

"Philomena was beautiful, and oh so sad. Dame Judi was excellent, as always."

Texan is making my reviews easy :). I adored this movie too. Thought it was a perfect blend of drama, humor, and poignancy. Although I can't argue about Blanchett winning Best Actress, I was really rooting for Judi Dench.

Her was an odd movie for me. I suppose it was a success in that if the intent was give the audience two hours of watching a dysfunctional, sad person in a vaguely depressing near future setting pursue a fantasy that ended up leaving him more sad and dysfunctional--great job. I left feeling sad, if not dysfunctional. Side note: another Amy Adams role and she literally was unrecognizable as the same person who appeared in American Hustler. That woman really deserves to and I hope will someday win an Oscar.

Nebraska-was a nice indie picture. I am not sure I found it quite as moving and significant as many critics and viewers seemed to. Agree that June Squibb was a hoot.

I only watched a few minutes of August Osage County (peeked into the multiplex after seeing another film) because I just didn't feel like sitting through hours of Meryl and Julia chewing the scenery and the entire premise sounded utterly depressing. My 10 minute clip seemed to confirm that impression.

Just watched American a Hustle last night. Didn't care for that one all that much.