Wednesday 23 July 2014

Alternate Best Actor 1997

And the Nominees Were Not:

Russell Crowe in L.A. Confidential

Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential

Ian Holm in The Sweet Hereafter

Philip Baker Hall in Hard Eight

Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco 

66 comments:

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Crowe
2. Hall
3. Pacino
4. Pearce
5. Holm

Matt Mustin said...

1. Crowe
2. Hall
3. Pearce
4. Holm
5. Pacino

Anonymous said...

1. Holm

2. Crowe

3. Pearce

4. Hall

5. Pacino

Also, thoughts/ratings on DiCaprio in Titanic?

Anonymous said...

(btw I know I'm anonymous, I'm just giving my two cents on how it'll all pan out lol)

GM said...

1. Crowe
2. Pearce
3. Hall
4. Holm
5. Pacino

Why did you considered Hard Eight a 1997 film?

Mark said...

1. Pearce
2. Holm
3. Hall
4. Crowe
5. Pacino

Also, what are your thoughts on Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as actors in general?

Luke Higham said...

1. Holm
2. Pearce
3. Hall
4. Crowe
5. Pacino

Anonymous said...

Louis, just been looking over your Best Actor rankings and saw that Cagney is above actors like Lancaster in Elmer Gantry and Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights, who got 5s. Does that mean Cagney's got his first 5 now?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings & Thoughts on Robert Carlyle in The Full Monty, Ray Winstone in Nil by Mouth, Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco, Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights & Samuel L. Jackson in Jackie Brown.

Kevin said...

1. Holm
2. Pearce
3. Crowe
4. Hall
5. Pacino

Also, what are your ratings and thoughts for Linus Roache in Wings of the Dove and Sylvester Stallone in Cop Land?

Kevin said...

Anyway Luke, I hope Louis will save Winstone and Carlyle for the bonus reviews

mcofra7 said...

1. Crowe
2. Pearce
3. Hall
4. Pacino
5. Holm

Michael McCarthy said...

1. Russell Crowe
2. Al Pacino
3. Guy Pearce
4. Philip Baker Hall
5. Ian Holm

This was tough to rank, and I'm planning on re-watching L.A. Confidential and Donnie Brasco before it's too late to change my predictions if I want to.

Anonymous said...

Let's give a try...
1. Crowe
2. Pearce
3. Holm
4. Pacino
5. Hall

houndtang said...

1. Hall
2. Holm
3. Crowe
4. Pearce
5. Pacino

Anonymous said...

Can I have your ratings and thoughts on:
-Frances McDormand in Almost Famous
-Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden
-Miyoshi Umeki in Sayonara
-Hope Lange in Peyton Place

Maciej said...

1.Hall
2.Holm
3.Pacino
4.Pearce
5.Crowe

Allen said...

I would have been curious to see your thoughts on Tony Leung in Happy Together. It's quite an amazing performance from '97.

RatedRStar said...

@Allen: I agree, its my fault I probably could have requested Tony Leung Chiu Wai for Happy Together at some point, but my role on this blog is essentially to get Louis to see unknown actors so that they get a chance to shine like Nicholas Tse, which Tony Leung was, before I suggested him so many times. Still there will be more Tony Leung Chiu Wai on this blog I assure you since he is of course the Clark Gable of Hong Kong =D.

RatedRStar said...

1. Hall
2. Holm
3. Pearce
4. Crowe
5. Pacino

RatedRStar said...

@Allen: I should also say I had a hard time deciding if to request Leslie Cheung and Chang Chen as well.

Anonymous said...

Louis, how close was Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident to be in your Top 10 Best Supporting Performances ever? I think that Andrews was amazing in it and also in The Best Years of Our Lives, I think it's a shame that he was almost never given good roles because I think that he was very talented.

moviefilm said...

1) Russell Crowe
2) Philip Baker Hall
3) Guy Pearce
4) Al Pacino
5) Iam Holm

Psifonian said...

1. Hall
2. Crowe
3. Pearce
4. Holm
5. Pacino

Anonymous said...

1) Crowe
2) Holm
3) Hall
4) Pacino
5) Pearce

JackiBoyz said...

1. Hall
2. Pearce
3. Holm
4. Crowe
5. Pacino

Michael Patison said...

Louis, I'm still confused. What would your ratings be for:
Claude Rains in Kings Row
Claude Rains in Moontide
Laird Cregar in The Black Swan
Otto Kruger in Saboteur
Pierre Larquey in The Murderer Lives at Number 21
Noel Roquevert in The Murder Lives
Jean Tissier The Murderer Lives

Would those all be 2.5s?

Louis Morgan said...

Ask me about the other lead performances after the ranking as I usually watch and re-watch some films while doing the reviews.

GM: I have found no proof that it ever got a public in release for 96. It appears it only had festival screenings that year which I don't count.

Mark: Neither make my list of favorite actors because I feel whenever it is a lesser project they don't really always put the effort in. I've never seen either of them give a Raul Julia in Street Fighter style of performance even though they've both have been in films on the same level. I also feel that when they are not on top of the material they tend to take a particularly boring approach. I should not be overly negative though as they both are capable of all-time great performances when they actually devote themselves into a role fully like they did for almost every performance back in the early years of their careers.

Anonymous:

Cagney is a five and I have to admit he always should have been a five for that performance.

Anonymous:

McDormand - 3(I usually like McDormand and she's charming and funny enough in the wacky mother role. I never there was anything that special about her work even though it is perfectly fine)

Jo Van Fleet - 3(She's playing a very juicy character and she has some good moments in there like when she finally has a conversation with Cal. I don't feel she quite understood her character as she seems like a wholly different person from seen to seen and not in a logical fashion)

Umeki - 2.5(I know some people who really hate this win, but for the performance itself I don't have a problem with her really. She smiles, she says Sayonara, but mostly I think the film almost uses her as a prop to be used from scene to scene until they decided to dispose of her. They really did not give her an honest character to work with, and it does not help that Red Buttons's character basically says most of her lines for her)

Lange - 4(The melodrama of this sort from this period is a great place to find over the top nonsensical emotions or just some general uninteresting blandness. Most of the performances fit one or the other. Not Lange though who I was surprised gave a rather honest and moving portrayal of her brutalized victim)

Anonymous: In retrospect he deserves to be in the top ten.

Michael Patison:

For some reason I thought you were asking for bottom ten of my list.

Claude Rains in Kings Row - 4
Claude Rains in Moontide - 4
Laird Cregar in The Black Swan - 4
Otto Kruger in Saboteur - 4
Pierre Larquey in The Murderer - Lives at Number 21 - 3.5
Noel Roquevert in The Murder Lives - 3.5
Jean Tissier The Murderer Lives -3.5

RatedRStar said...

Claude Rains getting 2.5 ratings, neverrrrr.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: I see you've moved Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight up to 8th on the all time list.

mrripley said...

1 - crowe
2 - pearce
3 - pacino
4 - hall
5 - holm

Anonymous said...

What are your ratings and thoughts on Ingrid Bergman in Autumn Sonata? I think it's her best performance and one of the all time best.

Anonymous said...

Louis, what do you think in general of:
Elizabeth Taylor
Ingrid Bergman
Ronald Colman
Dana Andrews
Isabelle Adjani
Paul Newman

John Smith said...

1.Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential
2.Philip Baker Hall in Hard Eight
3.Russell Crowe in L.A. Confidential
4.Ian Holm in The Sweet Hereafter
5.Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco

Anonymous said...

@RatedRStar: Since you have seen Locke and Calvary, would they possibly be on ur top 10 list of 2014.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: What are your top ten films of 2014 so far.

RatedRStar said...

Anonymous: I am not sure but they could very well be, ask me in about 5 months time.

Luke:

1. Locke
2. Calvary
3. Boyhood
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5. The Lego Movie
6. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
7. Edge Of Tomorrow
8. Begin Again
9. 22 Jump Street
10. How To Train Your Dragon 2

These will most likely change before the end of the year.

RatedRStar said...

I am sorry if my tastes arent up to par.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Your Ratings and thoughts on Ralph Fiennes in GBH & Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

RatedRStar said...

What have been your favorite films of the year so far, Louis, Robert, Patison, Luke and McCarthy.

Fiennes(5) I originally gave a 4.5 for Fiennes but I was foolish, Fiennes actually creates a very complex character who wants to be very controlling but also happens to be eccentric and quite caring, my favorite scenes of his happen to be when he defends his bellboy to the death showing a truly good side to his usually strict ways.

Serkis(4.5) I always enjoy a Serkis performance and this is no exception, he is commanding, 3 dimensional, and surprisingly likable as the leader, he always seems to have command of the screen as he may as well be the main character.

Kebbell (4) I was pleasantly surprised by Kebbell as he gave poor performances in films like Rock N Rolla, here however he was very chilling in his villainous role, maybe I am being to easy on him but I thought he was a memorable and intelligent villain.


JackiBoyz said...

@RatedRStar: What are your thoughts and ratings for Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood.

RatedRStar said...

@JackiBoyz:

Cruise(4) I enjoyed his performance, he was easy to follow and sympathise with, he was also quite amusing such as whenever he would try to convince his superior of what was going on with no one believing him. It is refreshing to see him play a fairly cowardly character.

Coltrane(4.5) Anyone that has seen Boyhood will probably understand that it is quite hard to review this performance, as it is essentially, a human being going through life, it depends on whether you feel and and grow to like and understand this man, which I did, I thought he was charming and endearing, it helps that he is quite intelligent but also foolish just like a young kid should be, he is directed well and it never feels like an actor pretending to be a kid, it feels real, probably because it sort of is.

RatedRStar said...

Sorry if my review of Coltrane is a bit inconsistent, its quite hard to review his performance.

Michael McCarthy said...

Here are my top 10 right now Daniel:

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2. The LEGO Movie
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
5. Locke
6. 22 Jump Street
7. Edge of Tomorrow
8. Godzilla
9. How to Train Your Dragon 2
10. The Fault in Our Stars

I haven't seen Calvary, Captain America, or Boyhood.

Luke Higham said...

1. Locke
2. Calvary
3. Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
5. X-Men Days of Future Past
6. Edge of Tomorrow
7. How to Train Your Dragon 2
8. Noah
9. Godzilla
10. 300 Rise of an Empire

Guilty Pleasure
Pompeii

Haven't yet seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier or The Lego Movie.

Luke Higham said...

Lastly, I haven't seen Boyhood & 22 Jump Street or even 21 Jump Street for that matter.

RatedRStar: Rating & thoughts on Ethan Hawke in Boyhood.

RatedRStar said...

@Luke: hehe Pompeii as a gulity pleasure, I will be honest Kiefer Sutherland is entetaining in a silly way lol, I also havent seen Captain America or X Men.

Hawke(4) In a similar way to his performances in the Before series, he is very laidback but quite charming as the father, he isnt given as much to do as I thought, but I still found him believable as a father, and certainly charming enough.

RatedRStar said...

I remember on this blog when I criticised Hawkes performance in Training Day, my tone has changed on Hawke, I do quite like him as an actor, he certainly is a very interesting actor.

Luke Higham said...

Everyone apart from Louis: What are your top 5 lead & supporting performances of the year so far.

RatedRStar said...

@Luke

Lead:

1)Brendan Gleeson - Calvary
2)Tom Hardy - Locke
3)Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
4)Ellar Coltrane - Boyhood
5)Andy Serkis - Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

Supporting:

1)F Murray Abraham - The Grand Budapest Hotel
2)Andrew Scott - Locke
3)Dylan Moran - Calvary
4)Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
5)Chris O Dowd - Calvary

RatedRStar said...

Can I also say to Louis, thank you for giving James Cagney a 5 for Angels, it may be his best ever work =D xx.

RatedRStar said...

Can I also say to Louis, thank you for giving James Cagney a 5 for Angels, it may be his best ever work =D xx.

RatedRStar said...

Can I also say, I am sorry if I ever come across as an A hole on the blog I certainly dont mean to be.

Anonymous said...

Lol the only "a hole" I've ever seen on here was some bloke criticizing Louis for criticizing Clooney...god I hate Clooney. Just finished watching Intolerable Cruelty and he was AWFUL, like he was trying to be the modern day Cary Grant but failing very miserably.

Michael Patison said...

I haven't even seen 10 movies released this year. I'm doing a super job. Anyway, from what I've seen:

Boyhood-94
The Grand Budapest Hotel-93
The Lego Movie-85
22 Jump Street-84
X-Men: Days of Future Past-82
300: Rise of an Empire-55

Wow! I've only seen 6!? I had no idea the number was that low. That's really quite awfulIf you count Ida, which I don't because the Poles saw it last fall/winter, that'd be in between Grand Budapest and Lego at about a 90.

I know nobody asked me specifically, but I'd rate Ellar Coltrane a 4. I really couldn't go any lower as I agree with RatedRStar that he makes it all seem very natural, but I'd have trouble bumping him up as I just don't know how to judge the performance. It's just one of those movies I watch and think, "That's a really interesting character. As he gets older he begins to talk more and more because he can more fully understand what's in his head, other reasons, etc." but that's really all Linklater's doing, I think. That being said, Coltrane is NOT just a pawn as he did have to make the character the same for 12 years.

I'd give Hawke a 4.5 as I felt his character transformation was natural despite the fragmented nature of the movie. After the transformation, he manages to be noticeably the same man Patricia Arquette divorced and almost the complete opposite of him at the same time. The more I think about it, the closer he gets to a 5.

Michael McCarthy said...

No one asked me, but I'd give Andy Serkis a 5 for DOTPOTA. I'd give Kebbell a 4.5, but he's right on the edge and I could bump him up at any time.

Lead:
1. Ralph Fiennes-The Grand Budapest Hotel (5)
2. Andy Serkis-Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (5)
3. Tom Hardy-Locke (5)
4. Tom Cruise-Edge of Tomorrow (4.5)
5. James McAvoy-X-Men: Days of Future Past (4.5)

The top 2 are absurdly close and I may switch them.

For supporting, I haven't seen quite as many true contenders.

1. Toby Kebbell-Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (4.5)
2. Evan Peters-X-Men: Days of Future Past (4)
3. Willem Dafoe-The Grand Budapest Hotel (4)
4. Anthony Hopkins-Noah (4)
5. Bryan Cranston-Godzilla (3.5)

Robert MacFarlane said...

I've seen 14 movies so far this year. Not sure how I'd rank the individual movies, but I know my favorite this year is Begin Again. Here's my actor lineups so far:

Lead:

1. James McAvoy in Filth - 5: I go by Academy ruling. I actually dislike the movie the more I think about it, but I will defend his performance 100%. He hits the notes that the film misses entirely.
2. Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel - 5: Great tragicomic performance. Excellent with the physical comedy and spot-on line delivery. Easily the draw of the movie.
3. Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow - 4.5: I like this one the more I think about it. He has one of the most satisfying and resonant character arcs I've seen all year, and uses his screen persona in the most interesting way since Magnolia.
4. Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street - 4.5: Sue me, I laughed with almost every one of his scenes. The lug won me over with the Jump Street movies (and to a lesser extent Magic Mike).
5. Andy Serkis in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - 4.5: I'm not quite sure if I put Caesar on the same pedestal as others, because at times he's almost *too* human-like. I know that's their intention, but it's just a little nitpick I can't seem to get over. Nevertheless, Serkis is still great and gives a rather nuanced performance under mounds of CGI.

Supporting:
1. Toby Kebbell in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - 5: I actually think Koba is a better character than people give him credit for. Not only is he given an arc (a rarity for a villain), but a unique take to boot. Kebbell is almost entirely unique in the way he plays Koba, especially the voice. He sounds more like a monster than ape, which makes it more unnerving. His handling of Koba's descent into madness is arguably some of the best parts of the movie.

And not much else for Supporting at the moment. Yeah, I haven't been impressed that much so far. Maybe Will Ferrell's hybrid voice/live action work in The Lego Movie comes closest. I was also pleasantly surprised by Kit Harrington's voice work in How to Train Your Dragon 2. Really that's all that comes to mind.

Michael McCarthy said...

I think I'll move Kebbell up to a 5.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Elizabeth Taylor - (She did have plenty presence, and could deliver when the parts called for it. I do feel however when the role was boring she did not really mind being boring right along with it)

Ingrid Bergman - (She had plenty of talent and charisma and when she was good she was great. I do feel she sometimes had a tendency to overplay certain roles trying to put on too much emotion in every word making her lesser performances feel a bit overblown)

Ronald Colman - (One of the best actors from the early days of film. He had so much charm and knew how to energize almost any film with his presence. Where so many actors from the period would give dull frankly boring performances Colman always managed to be on another level since he seemed to know that maybe you need to relax a little while acting)

Dana Andrews - (Andrews was too often given the dull leading man role, and he really is not able to do too much with those type of roles. When he was allowed to show an emotion he carried a tremendous punch)

Isabelle Adjani - (Haven't really seen enough of her to really have an opinion)

Paul Newman - (One of the all time greats. Newman managed to be one of the most charming stars of old yet had plenty of natural talent to back it up)

I've only seen nine films but here's how I'd rank them.

1. Calvary
2. Locke
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Edge of Tomorrow
6. X-Men Days of the Future Past
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
8. Muppets Most Wanted
9. Godzilla

Robert MacFarlane said...

Oh, you liked Calvary, huh?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: What are Gleeson's chances for a review & your ratings & thoughts for the rest of the cast.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Thoughts on the film as well.

Anonymous said...

Louis, can I have your ratings and thoughts on:
-Laura Linney in The Truman Show
-Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls
-Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago
-Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction
-Meryl Streep in Ironweed
-Saoirse Ronan in Atonement
-Teresa Wright and Patricia Collinge in The Little Foxes

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

The film itself I think is actually the weakest of the collective efforts of the McDonagh brothers, but since I love the other three films in that cannon I still quite liked this film. My major problem with the film was that it tried to achieve basically an all-time great sort of grandeur and it does not quite meet it's ambition. Having said that though I still love the tone of their films and I found it still quite entertaining and rather moving.

Gleeson's chances are highly likely.

The rest of the cast:

Chris O'Dowd - 3.5(O'Dowd I do think kinda gives it away more than he should from the get go, but I still thought he was rather effective in showing the intense damaged state of his character particularly in the final confrontation)

Kelly Reilly - 3.5(I rather enjoyed her performance as she had a strong chemistry with Gleeson and I felt together they authentically created the relationship between the two. I don't feel her impact ever becomes that strong but she certainly adds nicely to the film)

Aidan Littlefinger Gillen - 4(My favorite supporting performance. Gillen makes the doctor as evil as Gleeson makes the priest good. What I like about his performance is that Gillen so effectively makes the doctor such soulless man, particularly in the speech about the person made both death and blind, yet manages to do it in such a curiously casual fashion)

Dylan Moran - 3.5(He's a pro at being the enjoyably self-indulgent jerk wad, but here I thought he actually managed to give a dramatic element by making the hollowness of his character rather palatable)

M. Emmet Walsh - 3(It's always great seeing Walsh. He does a great job of naturally and fairly poignantly progressing from the depressed old man in his early scenes, to the somewhat hopeful man in the later scene)

David Wilmot - 3(A McDonagh regular, and he's pretty good in being the counterpoint to Gleeson's performance by showing a man with absolutely no honesty in his attitude whatsoever)

Anonymous:

Linney - 4(She's pretty enjoyable in her constant falseness with just the right bits of honesty thrown in the right moments. I particularly like that she actually has a sort of anti-chemistry with Carrey as they just seem like they should never be together)

Bergman - 2.5(She really goes over the top here as every facial gesture and line delivery just seems more than it needs to be. Her character is suppose to traumatized, but Bergman just piles it on too thickly in this one)

Zeta-Jones - 2.5(I don't hate this performance as some do, but this is just a pretty hollow work. She performs well enough but I feel she always is trying to make her character a scene stealing character rather than realize her character in an honest fashion while still being scene stealing character)

Close - 4.5(I really need to re-watch this as it's been some time and her rating could easily improve or go down. As I recall though I thought her performance had the right visceral effectiveness as the psychopath while still grounding her character. I could be remembering incorrectly though)

Streep - 2.5(An overdone tic filled work and she just tries to pile on one too many things here all at once. She's dying, she has an extreme accent, she's got waspy mannerisms I guess, it's all too much at once and Streep does not make it seem effortless here. I also thought she was completely overshadowed by Nicholson)

Ronan - 3(As child actors go Ronan hits the right marks in that she comes off as a real and does not have any of the precociousness that can be annoying. Past that I felt she met the needs of the character, but not in anyway that was especially memorable for me)

Anonymous said...

Can I have your ratings and thoughts on Ingrid Bergman in Anastasia, The Bells of St. Mary's, Joan of Arc, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness and Murder on the Orient Express?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Anatasia - 3.5(She sometimes again might go a little too much in the opening scenes, but once she relaxes afterwards I think she gives a reasonably effective work in portraying her damaged character)

The Bells of St. Mary's - 4(This sequel has no Barry Fitzgerald but Bergman is not a terrible substitute. She knows how just to be nicely charming in a relatively simple part without going too breezy in the way that Crosby does with his character)

Joan of Arc - 2.5(I could perhaps use a re-watch but I really felt he work was lackluster her. She lacks the needed drive and command for Joan. She just seems to average, and too boring. It does not help that at the end of the film she once again goes to her worst tendencies as an actress)

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness - 4.5(I really liked her performance in this one. She brought so much life and charm into her role and made me care actually care about the film's story. I like also that when bad things begin to happen she does not become overly dour, but stays rather subtle in portraying how the war affects her character)

Murder on the Orient Express - 3(She's completely fine in suggesting perhaps either the guilt or the innocence of her character. She's stands out well enough in the cast, but as Agatha Christie supporting performances her's is not especially memorable)