Saturday 25 April 2015

Alternate Best Actor 1990: Results

5. Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild - Although the film under utilizes him Cheung strikes up the perfect note as the romantic/vapid dreamer.

Best Scene: On the train.
4. Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands - Depp artfully creates his artificial yet all too human portrayal of a "monster".

Best Scene: The Christmas present from his father.
3. Ray Liotta in Goodfellas - Liotta gives a great performance in realizing the exuberance of mob life along with its harmful and corrupting qualities.

Best Scene: The one day sequence.
2. Michael Rooker in Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer - Rooker gives a chilling performance by bringing out the harsh truths of his character who kills just because that's what he does.

Best Scene: Henry talks about his past.
1. James Caan in Misery - Well my single favorite leading actor performance from 1990 is the performance so often forgotten next to the praise of his co-star. Caan's work should not be forgotten though as his brilliant reactionary work amplifies Bates's performance as well as the film's horror, while giving a very moving and sometimes funny portrayal of a man in a horrible situation.

Best Scene: Burning the manuscript.
Overall Rank:
  1. James Caan in Misery
  2. Michael Rooker in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 
  3. Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune
  4. Ray Liotta in Goodfellas
  5. Gabriel Byrne in Miller's Crossing
  6. Mel Gibson in Hamlet 
  7. Nicolas Cage in Wild At Heart
  8. Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands
  9. Richard Harris in The Field
  10. Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future III
  11. Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III
  12. Ron Silver in Reversal of Fortune
  13. Clint Eastwood in The Rookie
  14. Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild
  15. Paul Newman in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
  16. Ben Mendelsohn in The Big Steal 
  17. Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone
  18. Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October
  19. Clint Eastwood in White Hunter Black Heart
  20. Robin Williams in Awakenings
  21. Christian Slater in Pump Up the Volume
  22. Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future III
  23. Jeff Daniels in Arachnophobia
  24. Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent 
  25. Sean Penn in State of Grace
  26. Andy Lau in Days of Being Wild 
  27. Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven
  28. Kevin Bacon in Tremors
  29. Alan Young in Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
  30. Alec Baldwin in The Hunt For Red October 
  31. Jeff Fahey in White Hunter Black Heart
  32. Bob Newhart in The Rescuers Down Under 
  33. Nick Nolte in Q & A
  34. Bruce Willis in Die Hard II
  35. Mel Gibson in Bird on a Wire
  36. Danny Glover in Predator 2
  37. Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac
  38. Robert De Niro in Awakenings
  39. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall
  40. Patrick Swayze in Ghost
  41. Josh Pais in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  42. Brian Tochi in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  43. Robbie Rist in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  44. Corey Feldman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  45. John Cusack in The Grifters 
  46. Charlie Sheen in The Rookie 
  47. Timothy Hutton in Q & A
  48. Bob Hoskins in Heart Condition
  49. Denzel Washington in Heart Condition
  50. Zach Galligan in Gremlins 2
  51. John Travolta in Look Who's Talking Too
  52. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop
  53. Bruce Willis in Look Who's Talking Too 
  54. Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights
  55. Rick Moranis in My Blue Heaven
  56. Warren Beatty in Dick Tracy
  57. Matthew Modine in Memphis Belle
  58. Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves 
  59. John Ritter in Problem Child
  60. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky V 
  61. Jim Varney in Ernest Goes to Jail
  62. Michael Oliver in Problem Child
  63. Bill Cosby in Ghost Dad
  64. Richard Gere in Pretty Woman
  65. Matt Salinger in Captain America
Next Year: 1990 Supporting

27 comments:

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings & Thoughts on the rest of your top 20.

Robert De Niro - Goodfellas
Gary Oldman - State Of Grace
Armand Assante - Q & A
Richard Farnsworth - Misery
Albert Finney - Miller's Crossing

Anonymous said...

Gary Oldman- State of Grace
Robert De Niro- Goodfellas
Albet Finney- Miller's Crossing
John Turturro- Millers Crossing
Vincent Price- Edward Scissorhands

RatedRStar said...

Robert De Niro - Goodfellas
Albert Finney - Millers Crossing
Armand Assante - Q and A
Raul Julia - Presumed Innocent
Gary Oldman - State Of Grace

I am still wondering if 1939 had any bad films, Juarez was probably my least favorite.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Jon Polito in Miller's Crossing (Am I really the only one who thought he was the best of the supporting cast?)
Raul Julia in Presumed Innocent
Robert De Niro in Goodfellas
Brad Douriff in Exorcist III
Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing

RatedRStar said...

@Koook160: I think he is great, not my personal favorite but he is great, I think this is a strong category.

@Donald: I have yet to see The Four Feathers, but judging from its trailer, it looks very promising, it doesnt look like it came from 1939 lol the colour looks so, crisp and clean =D.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Granted, I think Turturro is awful in it, but that's just me.

Anonymous said...

Ratings and thoughts on Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening in The Grifters, and thoughts on Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine in Postcards from the Edge, Woodward in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge and Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost?

Anonymous said...

Also, ratings and thoughts on Demi Moore in Ghost and both Juiia Roberts and Laura San Giacomo in Pretty Woman?

GM said...

RatedRStar: Share with us your TOP 10 of 39.

Psifonian said...

Harry Dean Stanton, Wild at Heart
Albert Finney, Miller's Crossing
Richard Farnsworth, Misery
John Goodman, Arachnophobia

moviefilm said...

Armand Assante – Q & A
Hector Elizondo – Pretty Woman
John Hurt – The Field
John Turturro – Miller's Crossing
Willem Dafoe – Wild at Heart

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

@RatedRStar: Tell me whenever you check it out, John Clements in the lead role is a bit bland and it's outdatedly racist in some respects (kinda like The Searchers), but it's beautifully shot, has some tremendously exciting war scenes, a good enough script and Richardson is amazing, I keep going between him and Rains for my 1939 winner.

Suggestions:
John Polito in Miller's Crossing
John Turturro in Miller's Crossing
Albert Finnet in Miller's Crossing
John Goodman in Arachnaphobia
Joe Pesci in Home Alone
Daniel Stern in Home Alone
Alan Bates and Ian Holm in Hamlet
Richard Dreyfus in Rosencrantz and Guildestern are Dead
Harry Dean Stanton in Wild At Heart (it's Psifonian's win so definitely check it out)

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

And of course Gary Oldman in State of Grace

RatedRStar said...

@GM: Ok I shall =D, I will mention some honorable mentions since 1939 is filled with wonders

Honorable Mentions
Gunga Din, Destry Rides Again, Golden Boy, Love Affair, Goodbye Mr Chips, Dark Victory and Ninotchka.

1) Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (Good old Rains =D)
2) Gone With The Wind
3) The Wizard Of Oz
4) Stagecoach
5) The Rules Of The Game
6) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
7) Wuthering Heights
8) Of Mice And Men
9) The Hound Of The Baskervilles
10) Young Mr. Lincoln

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Anyone know any good websites for 1940s and 1950s british films like The Winslow Boy, Heart of the Matter, Outcast of the Islands, they are so hard to find...

Luke Higham said...

GDSAO: Try http://www.alluc.com/

Keywords: 'The Winslow Boy', 'Outcast of the Islands' and 'Heart Of The Matter 1953'

You could only watch on Veehd for the latter two, but I don't think it should be a problem for Louis.

Luke Higham said...

GDSAO: If you haven't already, you'll need to download Divx software to access videos on Veehd.

GM said...

RatedRStar: Thank you so much, I really need to see Mr. Smith.

GDSAO: veehd.com has almost any film you can imagine. The Winslow Boy I torrented though, but loved it.

Halo_Insider said...

Louis, did you ever do a review for Richard Gere in Internal Affairs or Gabriel Byrne in Miller's Crossing?

John Smith said...

Stanton/Wild At Heart
De Niro/Goodfellas
David Suchet/A World Apart
Bruce Davison/Longtime Companion
Armand Assant/Q&A

Matt Mustin said...

Bruce Davison was nominated.

John Smith said...

That was embarasing...

Michael McCarthy said...

I mostly don't care who you end up reviewing, but if you review someone from Hamlet PLEASE review Ian Holm and not Alan Bates.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Lloyd - 4(It's interesting that as the series goes on Doc almost seems more important than Marty. He certainly is given the better character arc than Marty in having to deal with the negative results of time travel, as well as a love story. Lloyd again brings the similar qualities that made his original performance so great, although he does not quite reach those heights here. Still he's certainly good in expressing the subdued conflict in Doc over the time machine's problems, and brings a nice warmth and sweetness in the portrayal of Doc's romance)

Silver - 4(An underrated performance as the film goes as he does play off Irons quite well in playing up the down to earth guy against the odd socialite. He's good at playing up the differences by portraying Alan as very straightforward and direct that contrasts well against Irons's devious portrayal)

Newman - 4(Newman gives a good performance that purposefully stays to a very refined character. His Mr. Bridge is steadfast in all of his beliefs and Newman shows this sort of man well through a quiet yet constant command along with just a certain sturdiness in regards to his refusal to break his reserve)

Mendelsohn - 4(It's fun to see Mendelsohn as bright young man rather than the seedy characters he is best known for today. His role here's pretty simple about the young man who just wants the girl and a great car. He does that well being quite endearing and enjoyable in portraying the character's adolescent awkwardness)

Connery - 4(Well he's not very Russian but that's just fine here. Connery delivers what's important which is a powerful command and understated passion that makes the character's actions believable)

Williams - 3.5(Williams gives a mannered sort of performance in his usual style, and I won't say he completely disappears into the role, he comes close. He creates his nebbish scientist rather well, and handles his slight character arc effectively enough. He certainly gives a far more assured performance than De Niro in this case, and does not rely needlessly on his standup routine here)

Fox - 3.5(Although I liked the sequels to Back to the Future they are a major step down from the original, but then again that's my favorite film of all time. Unfortunately I'd say some of its weakest elements involve Marty as I really don't care for his Chicken character arc, and Fox isn't exactly Peter Sellers when it comes to playing the multiple characters, that act is always a tad on the obvious side of things, perhaps more so than intentioned. He's still appealing to be sure. He does not come close to his heights from the original, but it's good work)

Daniels - 3.5(It's an enjoyable and likable performance from him. There's nothing too complicated about it, but it's just a good standard sort of performance)

Ford - 3.5(He finds the right sort of tone in which to play the part as he's reserved and hesitant although he effectively keeps it a mystery exactly why that is. It's not one of Ford's best by any means, and I'd say he's a bit overshadowed by one co-star when they share scenes, but its a solid leading turn from him)

Louis Morgan said...


Anonymous:

Huston - 2.5(I have to admit I did not care for the Grifters. I found it did not have enough character too be aimless yet it's one of those films wants the plot to be important yet never bothers to give it the time to be interesting. This performance left me cold, but not in a good way. I just did not get much of anything out of it as I felt she failed to make her character compelling as a mother, as a temptress, or a victim of abuse. She ended up as a big nothing for me.)

Bening - 2.5(Well she's no Gloria Grahame even though she's certainly naked a lot here. That's all I can really say as I never found her imitation of Grahame all that appealing, and she really failed to find the motivation within her character's actions)

Streep - (Seems almost unStreep like as there are no mannerisms or accents to be found here. It's a nice enough performance by Streep as she brings to life her character's emotional volatility in an effective though lighthearted way while maintaining the somewhat comedic nature of the film)

MacLaine - (I really liked her here as she did the Debbie Reynolds type particularly well as she basically always performs to a certain degree, and handles the passive aggressive style of the character incredibly well within that "performance". I love her last scene though as she portrays the real vulnerability, behind her act, in quite the moving fashion)

Woodward - (She's much like Newman in that she finds the very specific sort of person and stays with it. She's does well in creating the structure of the society, but also shows the little glimmers of her dismay with this structure in little well handled bursts of discontentment. As though she does break out for a moment only until she actively puts herself back in her own place)

Goldberg - (She is indeed the best part of ghost and its a fun performance. I don't love her but she brings the needed humor to the film quite well)

Moore - 2.5(Well she's great at that one tear look. Like Swayze in the film I don't mind her performance but I certainly don't love it)

Roberts - 2(Pretty Woman I find such a bizarre experience since it really was not rewritten enough from the dark drama it clearly was suppose to be. So many of those elements are still so prevalent that it's romcom style seems so weird. Well Roberts is a direct part of this and she does not connect the tonal problems at all. Although at least she chooses a side and just goes full romcom. Of course you'd have to find Roberts appealing as a performer which I don't)

Giacomo - 2.5(She perhaps does try to connect the sides, and does not fail. Of course there's not much of her either)

Louis Morgan said...

Keith: No I haven't.

BRAZINTERMA said...

IN THE LEAD ACTOR REVIEW:

Jacky Cheung - Bullet in the Head
Wojciech Pszoniak- "Korczak"
Christopher Walken - King Of New York
Tim Robbins - Jacob's Ladder
Danny Glover - To Sleep with Anger