2013 Oscar nominated Picture

Since there are nine nominees in this category, I'm giving a brief synposis of each followed by my one-word gut reaction to each.
And the nominees are:

"American Hustle"
Two grifters are forced by the FBI to engage in ABSCAM. Entertaining.

"Captain Phillips"
A ship is captured by Somalian pirates. Harrowing.

"Dallas Buyers Club"
A homophobic AIDS victim teams up with a transgendered patient to bring medicine across the border from Mexico. Inspiring.

"Gravity"
Astronauts struggle to survive in space after an accident at a space station. Spectacular.

"Her"
A man falls in love with the operating system of his computer. Quirky.

"Nebraska"
An elderly man thinks he's won a million dollars. Hysterical.

"Philomena"
An Irish woman enlists the aid of a journalist to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years ago. Heart-breaking.

"12 Years a Slave"
A free black man is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the deep south. Brutal.

"The Wolf of Wall Street"
A self-made billionaire plunges into a hedonistic world of sex and drugs. Wild.

And the Oscar will go to:
"Gravity"
At first I was going with "American Hustle" since it won the ensemble cast award from the Screen Actors Guild, usually a precursor to who wins best picture. But in the past few weeks it has lost some momentum. "12 Years a Slave" may suffer from the "Saving Private Ryan" curse: an important movie that needed to be made, but is too brutal for mulitple viewings. I think the Academy will recognize that "Gravity" has taken film to the next level.

My pick:
"Nebraska"
A realistic slice of Americana that was beautifully filmed in black and white and beautifully acted.

Tomorrow night we'll see who will take home the gold. So let the countdown begin.....and remember to keep it reel!