Jared Leto Wins the 2014 Oscars

The 2014 Academy Awards have come and gone, and the clear winner of the night was Jared Leto (Who won the Oscar for Supporting Actor), for his outstanding speech which was given as a "thank you" to anyone who is struggling. First he thanked his mom, then went on to thank "all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight in places like the Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say we are here and as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible. We're thinking of you tonight."

He followed that up with, "This for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS and to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are or who you love. Tonight I stand here in front of the world with you and for you." It will truly go down as one of the best Oscar speeches ever.

Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the second time and did a fantastic job. She was surprisingly edgy with some of her jokes, though of course with her friendly delivery, and it all came together so well. She also got pizza for everyone, which was delivered by a real pizza delivery person, not an actor. The place has delivered to The Ellen Show, hence the connection. Then took a picture (with the help of Bradley Cooper) that was the most re-tweeted photo on Twitter ever:

Gravity was the big winner of the night, taking home the most awards by owning all the technical awards as well as Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron. Sandra Bullock didn't get Best Actress, with that going to Cate Blanchett. Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor and gave an "Alright Alright Alright" reminiscent of David Wooderson during his speech, which fans of Dazed and Confused love of course. 12 Years a Slave took home Best Picture, and Lupita Nyong'o won Best Supporting Actress, and she also gave a beautiful speech much like Leto.

"Let it Go" from Frozen beat out "Happy" by Pharrell and "Ordinary Love" by U2 for best song. John Travolta mistakenly pronounced Idina Menzel's name as Adele Nazim. Talk about butchering a name. Maybe Adele Nazim is her Scientology name? Jennifer Lawrence fell again, tripping over a cone on the red carpet. She laughed about it of course, like a champ.

'Desolation of Smaug' Trailer; 'Gravity' Reviews Are In

We enter the next wave of big 2013 movies this week with the release of the Oscar contender 'Gravity' starring Sandra Bullock & George Clooney. Following the May-July onslaught of Summer movies, October-December always provides another wave of films just in time for both the holidays and awards season. 'Gravity' is getting a ton of positive buzz all across the board from the story, to the special effects and performance of Sandra Bullock, which could net her another Academy Award. It currently sits at 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Alfonso Cuaron has done it again, and shown how to properly make a film in 3D, which amounts to much more than just a cash grab.

The latest commercials have been enough to show that the film does a great job showing the desperation and panic of astronaut Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) as she floats away into deep space. The 3D will only amplify this as you feel like you're stuck in the vast blackness of outer space with her. Cuaron stated, "We didn't want it to be 3D for the sake of fake excitement."

Possibly the biggest release after 'Gravity' and during the Holidays will be 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'. The full trailer has been released [watch below], and it gives enough to hold people over until the December 13, 2013 release date. The most impactful was hearing Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the dragon. You get a nice view of the precious ring, as well as the return of Legolas (Orlando Bloom) in action for his first time since 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

'Gravity' - Sandra Bullock Gets Detached

Alfonso Cuaron & Sandra Bullock were both at Comic-Con this week to discuss the ambitious upcoming film 'Gravity'. Now we have another clip of the film that is similar to the first trailer, but expands upon the actual destruction of the shuttle and offers longer glimpses at the outstanding work that was done in regards to the visuals. Earth has never looked so crisp and clean on film before.

The clip ends with Bullock's character, Ryan Stone, floating off into space away from George Clooney's character, Matt Kowalsky. There is clearly going to be many moments of terror in this movie beyond the actual destruction of the shuttle. Its going to put the viewer into the character's perspective, and the idea of floating around in the vast blackness and expanse of outer space with no connection to life is enough to terrorize any of us. Its a different kind of "horror movie" that we're used to seeing. I put that in quotes because this movie seems hard to classify. It has elements of suspense, horror, sci-fi, and drama.

Bonus for Harry Potter fans: besides being directed/written/edited by Cuaron, who directed 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban', it's also being produced by David Heyman, who produced all eight 'Harry Potter' movies. 'Gravity' is out on October 4, 2013, and will of course be in 3D and IMAX. It should be one of the better films released in 3D/IMAX recently.

'Gravity' Trailer & Poster Released

Gravity, the new film from Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban) starring Sandra Bullock & George Clooney, is one of my most anticipated movies of 2013. Its been in development for years, and now we finally have some footage and a poster to take in. Its expected that the visuals and special effects will be breathtaking. The film will be released in both IMAX & 3D, and based on Cuarón's previous films' attention to details, we should expect it to be worthy of those formats.

The teaser poster does a wonderful job showing off a cool image that makes you want to know what happened right before this to cause the destruction of the shuttle. Its exactly what a teaser should be. It gives little away yet draws you in. The teaser trailer has also been released, and it is safe to say the IMAX format was made for a movie like this. The visuals are breathtaking, & it looks as though it will live up to the hype. The Earth looks stunning in the footage, and if they do the 3D correctly, it will all really pop out. Then of course, the asteroids or whatever it is that destroys the shuttle will be enough to make the toughest person squirm in their seat. I got chills watching it, and seeing Bullock's character seemingly drift off into the eerie calm of space is proof that this entire film will be quite the ride. Watch it here:

Here is the official synopsis: Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone–tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth... and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.. The film will be released on October 4, 2013.

Sandra Bullock is in for another big year as her return to comedy with Melissa McCarthy, The Heat, is out on June 28, 2013.

Big in 2013 - Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock & Melissa McCarthy in 'The Heat'

Sandra Bullock returns with a vengeance this year. After reaching the biggest success of her long career in 2009, she took some time off and did just one film. She's back in 2013 though with two interesting films that could both be blockbusters for different reasons. First is The Heat, co-starring Melissa McCarthy and directed by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. Its the first R-Rated Comedy film of Bullock's career, and should be one of the biggest comedy films of the year.

Her other project which comes out this year is Gravity. This is directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the first film he has directed since the acclaimed Children of Men in 2006. Gravity is going to utilize IMAX and 3D to its advantage, considering it takes place almost entirely in outer space, it actually makes sense rather than just being a cash grab. Cuaron is taking his time to make sure it all looks right, so i'll just assume the finished product will be breathtaking considering the imagery he added to both Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men. Bullock is joined by George Clooney as astronauts who must find a way home after the space station is damaged. Rumor is Clooney's role is much smaller, so we'll see how this works out.

She also just won the first ever "Favorite Humanitarian" award at the People's Choice Awards. Great start to what should be another solid year by one of America's favorite actresses.