My older son Jett says Dallas Buyers Club is at the top of his list so far, and he’s seen Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, All is Lost, etc. Will Jean Marc Vallee‘s film become the little Best Picture contender that could? What seems clear, I regret to say, is that a lot of older viewers I’ve spoken to are sneering and grumbling about Slave‘s brutality. Steve McQueen‘s film is a grand-slam stone classic in my book, but I keep hearing pushback sentiments. That leaves Gravity as the consensus fallback, but shouldn’t a Best Picture contender be about more than just wowser “ride” movie visuals, however brilliantly rendered by the great Alfonso Cuaron? This is where Dallas Buyers Club comes in. It tells an inspirational, true-life, indomitable-human-spirit story, and it’s got the craft, the performances (McConaughey, Leto, Garner), the brass balls, the social conscience, the eff-the-FDA attitude. What’s not to vote for?