Friday 19 December 2014

Alternate Best Actor 2006: Results

10. Matt Damon in The Departed - Damon actually is good being a despicable worm you want to see get his comeuppance, but he's never more and the potential seemed to be there in the role.

Best Scene: Sullivan and Costigan in the Elevator.
9. Hugh Jackman in The Prestige - The main reason he's so low is merely his extra character in the film where he goes a little too broad. He's great though in portraying his character's great showmanship and his underlying obsession.

Best Scene: Angier confesses the truth about his "trick".
8. Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies - This is just a really fun performance as Dujardin as he brilliantly replicates while satirizing 60's James Bond. 

Best Scene: The real version of his time with Jefferson .
7. Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly - Reeves gives a powerful depiction of a man who slowly loses his mind through his drug addiction while still trying to be an undercover cop.

Best Scene: Bob's break down.
6. Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley - Murphy gives a great performance not as a larger than life freedom fighter, but as an average man doing what he believes in.

Best Scene: The execution.
5. Ken Watanabe in Letters From Iwo Jima- Watanabe manages to show the commander of men, but as well the man behind the uniform.

Best Scene: The General and the Private meet for the last time.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed - DiCaprio gives a compelling portrayal of the intensity and pressure of an undercover cop.

Best Scene: Billy's visit to the psychiatrist.
3. Christian Bale in The Prestige - Christian Bale gives a memorable portrayal of a peculiar obsession and his duplicitous work makes the film's twist particularly effective.  

Best Scene: Borden meets Lord Caldlow.
2. Clive Owen in Children of Men - Clive Owen gives a powerful portrayal that makes his character's personal struggle resonate even though the film rarely focuses on that.

Best Scene: Theo watches his friend's execution.
1. Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others - Good Predictions Luke, Anonymous, Kevin, mcofra7, and  Psifonian. Mühe gives an exceptional performance as he so poignantly and convincingly portrays the transformation of a man from a heartless cog in a machine to a good man. 

Best Scene: The second interrogation.
Overall Rank:
  1. Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others
  2. Clive Owen in Children of Men
  3. Christian Bale in The Prestige
  4. Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland
  5. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
  6. Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland
  7. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
  8. Ken Watanabe in Letter From Iwo Jima
  9. Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley
  10. Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly
  11. Aaron Eckhart in Thank You For Smoking
  12. Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
  13. Hugh Jackman in The Prestige
  14. Adrien Brody in Hollywoodland 
  15. Josh Hartnett in Lucky Number Slevin
  16. Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond
  17. James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland
  18. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
  19. Edward Norton in The Painted Veil
  20. Peter O'Toole in Venus
  21. Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others
  22. Denzel Washington in Inside Man
  23. Clive Owen in Inside Man
  24. Hugo Weaving in V For Vendetta
  25. Edward Norton in The Illusionist 
  26. Greg Kinnear in Little Miss Sunshine 
  27. Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction
  28. Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III
  29. Matt Damon in The Departed
  30. Patrick Wilson in Little Children
  31. Richard Gere in The Hoax
  32. Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond
  33. Ryan Reynolds in Smokin' Aces 
  34. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa
  35. Luke Wilson in Idiocracy
  36. Kazunari Ninomiya in Letters From Iwo Jima
  37. Mark Wahlberg in Invincible
  38. Will Smith  in The Pursuit of Happyness
  39. Josh Hartnett in The Black Dahlia
  40. Hugh Jackman in X-Men: The Last Stand
  41. Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  42. Owen Wilson in Cars 
  43. Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights in The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
  44. Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd
  45. Brandon Routh in Superman Returns 
  46. Ben Stiller in Night At the Museum
  47. Tim Allen in The Santa Clause: The Escape Clause
  48. Robin Williams in RV
  49. Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Next Year: 2006 Supporting

28 comments:

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Recommendations:

Sergi Lopez in Pan's Labrinyth
Michael Caine in Children of Men
Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland

And yes, Bale. Crazy how strong this year is, fifth place Whittaker was still a very worthy Oscar winner.

Luke Higham said...

Yes, Muhe for the win.

Michael Caine in Children of Men
Sergi Lopez in Pan's Labyrinth
Steve Carell in Little Miss Sunshine
Mads Mikkelson in Casino Royale (My Winning Request, also I would prefer if you reviewed him seperately from the lineup, just to leave a bit more room.)
Robert Downey Jr in A Scanner Darly
Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland

Robert MacFarlane said...

My suggestions:

Steve Carell in Little Miss Sunshine (the real MVP)
Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland
Greg Kinnear in Fast Food Nation
Robert Downey Jr. in A Scanner Darkly
Paul Dano in Little Miss Sunshine

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Also, thoughts/ratings on:
Josh Hartnett in Lucky Number Slevin (and the rest of the cast, unless you're planning on one of them for supporting)
Denzel Washington and Clive Owen in Inside Man
Edward Norton in The Illusionist
Greg Kinnear in Little Miss Sunshine
Adrien Brody in Hollywoodland
Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction
Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III
Stallone in Rocky Balboa (and did you like the film)
Glen Hansard in Once

Matt Mustin said...

Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland
Michael Caine in Children of Men
Sergi Lopez in Pan's Labyrinth
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mission Impossible III
Mads Mikkelsen in Casino Royale

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings & Thoughts on:
Hugh Jackman in X-Men The Last Stand
Johnny Depp & Orlando Bloom in POTC: Dead Man's Chest
Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights
Brandon Routh in Superman Returns

Matt Mustin said...

You know, Once and 300 didn't get non-festival releases until 2007.

Anonymous said...

Sergi Lopez in Pan's Labrinyth
Paul Dano and Steve Carrell in Little Miss Sunshine
Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland

Louis Morgan said...

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar:

Hartnett - 4.5(Despite usually being bit bland Hartnett is a surprisingly endearing hero here. He actual creates a real charm in his particular style of delivery here. Along with someone else I'm usually not too much of a fan of, Hartnett gives quite the winning turn. When his performance does take a dramatic tilt Hartnett gives a fairly palatable sense of the hatred fueling the man)

Liu - 4(Speaking of the other person. Liu, who I also often find a bit bland or obvious in her acting, is both charming while giving a particularly natural performance. She does not try so hard for once, it seems, and here she's far more effective)

Willis - 2.5(Willis tries to play it a little too cool for his own good here. In turn I just found him to be the least interesting of the main characters)

Freeman and Kingsley - 3.5(Both carry enough menace while having just enough fun giving some slight peculiarities to their characters)

Washington - 3.5(A note of something someone said some reviews ago about the most charming actors, I don't think I ever said Washington wasn't really a charming actor, he is. This is simple but certainly good just straight forward leading man stuff. He brings the drama of the situation, he brings the humor and does it well)

Owen - 3.5(Purposefully one note, but a great one note. That one note being a deadly cool. Owen's great though as he blurs the line whether or not he's perhaps just a mostly slick guy, or an actually deadly criminal)

Edward Norton - 3.5(Ah yes the other magic movie. Norton's performance here is purposefully seen mostly from a distance. He's good though in creating a quiet emotionality with the mysticism he creates in his manner)

Greg Kinnear - 3.5(Kinnear usually good as the blindly upbeat sort. You just completely believe his optimism while also seeing why so many other people would not care for him in the least)

Brody - 3.5(He's overshadowed by the man who's death he's trying to solve, but Brody does a nice enough job as the classic gum shoe type. He's particularly good in naturally transitioning from a paycheck passion to a genuine one. A re-watch, which will be soon, may help him)

Ferrell - 3.5(A very much against type just because the guy he's playing is smart, and not at all loud. It's still not exactly what one might call the biggest challenge but Ferrell is good in the role. He's able to disappear into this more unassuming role and you do want him not to die)

Cruise - 3.5(Solid action style Cruise here. There's an extra bit of dramatics since this time it's personal and Cruise delivers in that aspect as well)

Stallone - 3(It may be blasphemous but I actually think this is his best performance as Rocky. He just brings a genuine sweetness here and becomes a gentle old man nostalgia kinda personified. Like the film itself it may be perhaps a bit slight, but it has a lot of heart making a proper sendoff t the character after the atrociousness of Rocky V)

Louis Morgan said...


Luke:

Jackman - 2.5(I'll give him credit he tries to keep his terrible film together better than most of the others actors, but it pulls him down just the same)

Depp - 2.5(Standard character reprise. Does not go anywhere new with it, and in fact is a bit more indulgent this time around. Although this one's got nothing on his third go around when it comes to that)

Bloom - 1.5(He's just very bland here not much more to say. Although he has been blander. To be fair his character is purposefully a bit bland but a better actor probably could drummed up some emotions in his scenes with Skarsgard)

Ferrell - 2(I've never been a big fan of man child Ferrell and this is no different. I found him mostly obnoxious here which is too bad as I do think he's got a lot of genuinely funny performances around him)

Routh - 2(Really an ill conceived film when you think about. I mean why sorta remake the first film but make it sequel? It just doesn't make any sense. Routh is the problem as they picked someone who looked like Reeve I guess, I mean he really doesn't all that much. Anyway though his Clark Kent is not nearly as endearing in his wholesomeness and his Superman does not have that good old fashioned charm. Plus no Superman could make creepily spying on Lois Lane seem right)

Robert MacFarlane said...

I still can't believe Routh was Todd Ingram in Scott Pilgrim. I can't decide if that meant his calling was comedy or it was just a fluke.

Louis Morgan said...

Perhaps. Although that was the film that proved to me Chris Evans had potential.

Matt Mustin said...

I agree with Louis, I liked Chris Evans more than Routh. Although my favourite performance in the film is Jason Schwartzman.

Psifonian said...

Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland
Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, Lucky Number Slevin
Michael Caine, Children of Men

Robert MacFarlane said...

My favorite of the Scott Pilgrim cast was Kieran Culkin, full stop.

Michael Patison said...

Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland
Michael Caine in Children of Men
Mads Mikkelsen in Casino Royale
Brad Pitt in Babel

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

What are your thoughts/ratings on the cast of Scott Pilgrim? And everyone else's, while we're at it.

Like kook160, Culkin is my favourite of the cast.

Cera-3.5 (so sue me, I've always found him quite likable, if not particularly talented, and the role fits him like a glove)
Winstead-4 (close to a 4.5)
Culkin-4.5
Wong-3.5
Pill-3
Webber-3.5 (I was so impressed how they managed to find someone who looked EXACTLY like the comic counterpart)
Simmons-3
Kendrick-3
Larson-3.5
Plaza-3
Bhabha-3.5 (close to a 4)
Evans-4
Routh-3.5
Whitman-3.5
Saito+Saito-N/A
Schwartzman-4


Matt Mustin said...

Scott Pilgrim
Cera-2.5
Winstead-4
Culkin-3.5
Pill-3
Webber-3.5
Evans-3.5
Routh-3.5
Larson-3.5
Schwartzman-4 (VERY tempted to go higher. He's a blast.)

Maciej said...

Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Michael Caine - Children of Men
Steve Carell - Little Miss Sunshine
Paul Dano - Little Miss Sunshine
Sergi Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth

Anonymous said...

What are your thoughts and ratings on Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain and Billy Bathgate and Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

John Smith said...

Alex Angulo-Pans Labyrint (It Is a very overlooked performance please review it!!!)

Ben Afflec- Hollywoodland

Robert MacFarlane said...

Cera - 3
Winstead - 4.5
Wong - 3.5
Culkin - 4.5 (tempted to go 5)
Schwartzman - 3.5 (a little overpraised, to be honest)
Webber - 3
Simmons - 2.5
Bhabha - 3.5
Evans - 4
Routh - 4
Whitman - 3.5
Kendrick - 3
Plaza - 3
Larson - 2.5 (pains me to go low)

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Cold Mountain - (She's maybe a little overshadowed by those coming and going in the film, but she's effective does the transformation from pampered Southern Belle to a desperate woman enjoying what she has left. She's certainly no Vivien Leigh so to speak, but she does a decent job)

Bathgate - (To be honest I was just trying to fill out the list, and I really don't remember her that well in this since I have nose seen since the 90's)

Blanchett - 4.5(The only part of the film that I actually liked. Where Pitt stared forward for the majority of the film Blanchett actually conveyed the transformation of a woman throughout a series of events in her life from the brashness of youth to the regrets of old age. Although I do have to say I've found her old age makeup surprisingly poor in the present day scenes)

Unknown said...

This best actor list is very good but my favorites one is Chuck Norris: the most talented among all christian celebrities. Can you please update his movie lists here as I was looking to some of his movies

TParker said...

I think Song Kang-ho in 'The Host' deserves a mention.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Malith said...

How about Robert Duvall in Broken Trail (2006)?I know it is a TV show but it is released as a 184 minute feature length film on Bluray.Duall is great in it.

maorimbr said...

idk why but for me one of the best lead performances of 2006 is the a comedic unusual one of Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat.