TheRetroCritic

So the Oscars happened. And, barring a couple of slight surprises, it pretty much went down as you'd expect. On that note, let's take a look at the main winners of this year's ceremony as I share my thoughts about the Academy's decisions with y'all: BEST PICTURE 12 YEARS A SLAVE Not a huge surprise but it's good to see 12 Years A Slave win for Best Picture nonetheless. Gravity winning this one would have really been a kick in the pants for a superior film that was actually about something. Steve McQueen's film was one of the best of last year, for sure, and, although it was a tough watch, it was so well made and performed that it never got preachy or dull, instead keeping us captivated throughout, worried for Solomon Northup's (and Patsy's) well-being. Powerful, brilliantly acted, boldly directed, 12 Years A Slave contained some of the most powerful images in any film from last year and the raw cruelty depicted certainly got it

After popping up in The Wolf Of Wall Street and just before ruling the HBO airwaves with hypnotic new show True Detective , Matthew McConaughey appeared in the Oscar-nominated Dallas Buyers Club and, once again, knocked it out of the park. The film follows a Texan rodeo cowboy/electrician, Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), as he is diagnosed with AIDS and has to deal with the reality set by his doctor that he might only have 30 days to live. The film is set at a time when new experimental medication was being introduced to treat the disease by the FDA but there were doubts about the best approach to take. Woodroof is a dude that's hard to warm up to seeing as he's pretty homophobic and at times even racist. That said, the movie manages to still make you like the guy as he slowly educates himself about the disease and eventually becomes friends with Jared Leto's transgender woman Rayon, who is also HIV-positive. The change in Woodroof's character is one you'd expect