Friday 17 April 2015

Alternate Best Actor 1990

And the Nominees Were Not:

Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands

Michael Rooker in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Ray Liotta in Goodfellas

Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild

James Caan in Misery

63 comments:

Luke Higham said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Cheung
5. Depp

Louis: Ratings & Thoughts on Mel Gibson in Hamlet, Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder, Gabriel Byrne in Miller's Crossing, Sean Connery in The Hunt For Red October and Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.

GM said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Cheung
4. Caan
5. Depp

Anonymous said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Cheun
4. Caan
5. Depp

Michael Patison said...

1. Michael Rooker
2. Ray Liotta
3. James Caan
4. Leslie Cheung
5. Johnny Depp

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Winning predictions or not, I must support one of my top 10 lead performances of all time, Depp. Hence:

1. Depp
2. Rooker
3. Liotta
4. Cheung
5. Caan

JackiBoyz said...

1. Michael Rooker
2. Ray Liotta
3. James Caan
4. Leslie Cheung
5. Johnny Depp

Deiner said...

I'm really looking forward to your review of Johnny Depp, because besides Ed Wood and Donnie Darko you don't seem to be a huge fan of him. I do like his performance here but I think that also depends on whether you enjoyed the film or not.

Luke Higham said...

Deiner: Brasco, not Darko.

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Cheung
4. Caan
5. Depp (I actually hope I'm wrong about this one. I think he's brilliant.)

JamDenTel said...

1. Liotta
2. Rooker
3. Cheung
4. Depp
5. Caan

Anonymous said...

Ray Liotta and Johhny Deppare the only ones I am interesting in reading , what a shitty list .

Robert MacFarlane said...

You must be new. And judging by your attitude, 16.

Deiner said...

lol yes yes Brasco, not Darko. I don't know what I was thinking hahaha

Psifonian said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Cheung
5. Depp

mcofra7 said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Cheung
5. Depp

John Smith said...

1.Rooker
2.Caan
3.Liotta
4.Depp
5.Cheung

RatedRStar said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Depp
5. Cheung

Maciej said...

1. Liotta
2. Rooker
3. Cheung
4. Caan
5. Depp

Connor Olen said...

1.) Depp
2.) Liotta
3.) Rooker
4.) Cheung
5.) Caan

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your Ratings For Gene Hackman in The Firm and Donald Sutherland in Eye Of The Needle.

Kevin said...

1. Rooker
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Cheung
5. Depp

RatedRStar said...

I know it was briefly mentioned, what is everyones thoughts on the new Star Wars trailer?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Meh. It was okay, I guess. Better than that lousy Batman v. Superman grimdark bullshit.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: It was a great trailer, that was sparse on plot details, the visual effects were great and childhood memories of the originals had flood back to me, with the appearances of Han Solo and Chewbacca. My anticipation has risen substantially for the film and is my No. 4 behind Macbeth, The Revenant and Spectre.

I'm also relieved with Macbeth, being in competition for the Palme D'or, since I haven't heard much about it since Last May.

Finally, Chelsea, Champions Of England.

moviefilm said...

1) Michael Rooker
2) Ray Liotta
3) Johnny Depp
4) Leslie Cheung
5) James Caan

Scott Gingold said...

1. Liotta
2. Rooker
3. Caan
4. Cheung
5. Depp

Why is Rooker not being considered 1986?

Louis thoughts and ratings on Christian Slater in Pump Up the Volume and Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven?

Luke Higham said...

Scott Gingold: By Louis's Rules, he goes by the original theatrical release date, which was 1990 instead of its initial festival showing in '86.

RatedRStar said...

Louis I just remembered something, from over half a year ago, from Alternate supporting 1979, how could you =(, fifth from bottom, didnt you find him likable or lovely in the slightest =D lol.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: For this post or the next, can I have your thoughts on the latest episode of Game Of Thrones.

Michael McCarthy said...

1. Michael Rooker
2. Ray Liotta
3. James Caan
4. Johnny Depp
5. Leslie Cheung

I'm with Robert on Depp, I still love that performance and would love to see it win. Caan would be my second favorite of the lineup and I think he's a likely 5, I'm quite tempted to switch him with Liotta. I also think there's a good chance people are overestimating Rooker, his film puts a lot more emphasis on his day to day, routine interactions than his killings, which I can see Louis seeing as either bland or strangely intriguing.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Wait on a few of those for re-watches.

Gibson - 4.5(Gibson actually proves himself quite capable in the language but further than that his take on Hamlet is an intriguing one. Where Olivier portrayed the flamboyancy of the character as that of the heroic, and Branagh as the purposeful theatrics, Gibson instead portrays it as not at all purposeful. Instead Gibson presents Hamlet very bluntly is bi-polar as his performance goes from the extreme of an outgoing happiness to an extreme sorrow in the matter of seconds. It's an effective performance and Gibson's especially makes sense out of his treatment of Ophelia. The stringing her along in his bouts of joy to the cruelty in the bouts of sorrow)

Culkin - 4(It is a performance that is easy to take for granted but Culkin really is quite good in the film. He gives a very assured performance but never becomes too much that it feels cloying. He really goes just enough and carries the film with an ease not often seen in child performances)

Sutherland/Hackman - 4

Scott:

Slater - 3.5(I'll admit to not being much of a Slater fan to begin with. Nonetheless I really liked the first third of his performance. He brought the needed acerbic energy to the shock-jock scenes, while I felt he played the reserved type rather well in the public scenes where he can barely speak. My problems come in later where the film takes its potentially interesting concept and turning it into a pretty lame good vs evil battle of wills. That principal character particularly poorly written. Anyway I do feel Slater is able to stay above the film just enough, but I still felt as though he never takes the character anywhere particularly interesting. In addition when the two sides meld Slater's performance is a bit underwhelming. He never becomes bad though and with a better a script and direction I think this could have been something special.)

RatedRStar:

Well that's one where my bottom five weren't all that weak when compared to other years.

mcofra7 said...

1. Liotta
2. Rooker
3. Caan
4. Depp
5. Cheung

RatedRStar said...

@Louis: Ahh I see, so what would your rating and thoughts be on Marcelino?

Matt Mustin said...

Louis, what's your ratings and thoughts on Tony Shalhoub in Barton Fink and The Man Who Wasn't There?

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

I really liked the episode as I found the pacing to be much more refined this time. Which is funny considering they handled even more plots than last time. I felt it handled the set up well while giving the characters their time. I particularly liked the introduction of Doran Martell, and is it just me or does Alexander Siddig look a whole lot like Raul Julia in this? Also I have to say Emilia Clarke gave her best work at least since the first season, although again she's best when playing into the vulnerability of her character rather than her strength.

Matt:

Barton Fink - 3.5(Shalhoub is quite enjoyable in tapping into the fast talking producer type, that seems like out of a 40's movie. He's few scenes are all quite entertaining but I also like when he grounds his character ever so slightly when he quietly pleads with Fink to come up with something)

The Man Who Wasn't There - 4(He seems particularly good at connecting with the unique style Coens go for with their films. Once again he seems completely in tune with the idea tapping into the absurdity without ever over stepping the reasonable bounds of it. In this case he's again very entertaining in portraying the flamboyancy of the hot shot lawyer while still realizing the character's abilities in an effective way)

moviefilm said...

Michael: I am with you, guys. Loved him in this!

Luke Higham said...

Moviefilm: I'm in complete agreement with everyone who liked Depp's performance in the film, and is my personal favourite, from his entire career. I expect a 4 at best from Louis, but then again he gave McKellen a 5 for Apt Pupil, so god knows what'll happen.

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

I have faith in Depp winning. Well, blind faith. I mean, stranger things have happened on this blog and as I said, I'll always support a performance that's one of my all time favourites.

Luke Higham said...

GDSAO: Also, from my resources, Louis hasn't seen the film in nigh on 20 years now, so I do think Depp has a good enough chance to get a great rating, although not the win, but I'm not willing enough to take the risk on placing him any higher than last place, considering his opinion on him as an actor overall.

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

@Luke: That is true as well.

The more I think about it, Caan is actually a great choice, his role is arguably the most limited out of these five nominees and consistently runs the risk of being overshadowed by Bates yet still excels and is incredibly memorable. You know what?

1. Depp
2. Liotta
3. Caan
4. Rooker (I know I'm crazy)
5. Cheung

mcofra7 said...

What's with the love for Depp's performance? Nothing against the performance,(I haven't seen the movie in such a long time) just wondering if a rewatch is a good idea.

Luke Higham said...

Mcofra7: I'd certainly give it a chance, since for me, it's Burton's best film after Ed Wood, plus he's a very strong 4.5 for me.

mcofra7 said...

What are your thoughts on Depp's performance?

Luke Higham said...

Mcofra7: I found Depp's performance to be very effective in it's gentleness and from what I could remember, his silent approach to the character, I found to be quite endearing.

Anonymous said...

Louis what are your ratings and thoughts for Jennifer Jones in The Towering Inferno? I liked her in that, and I only ever liked her in three movies (that, The Song of Bernadette and Since You Went Away)

John Smith said...

When is the review up?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating for Christopher Walken in True Romance.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: And Philip Seymour Hoffman in Hard Eight.

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

I know the next post may be coming soon and this may well be swept away, but what are everyone's (aside from Louis as he has not covered these years yet) Best Picture, and actor/supporting actor choices for 1939, 1940, and 1962?

1939
Goodbye, Mr Chips
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (winner)
The Wizard of Oz
The Roaring Twenties (I should note I still haven't seen Gone With the Wind)

Robert Donat for Goodbye Mr Chips (winner)
James Cagney for The Roaring Twenties
James Stewart for Mr Smith Goes to Washington
Charles Laughton for The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Ralph Richardson for Q Planes

Claude Rains for Mr Smith Goes to Washington (winner)
Cecil Hardwicke for The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Ralph Richardson for The Four Feathers
Ray Bolger for The Wizard of Oz
Lee J. Cobb for Golden Boy

1940
The Shop Around the Corner (winner)
Rebecca
The Great Dictator
Pinnochio
The Thief of Bagdad/Foreign Correspondent

James Stewart in The Shop Around the Corner (winner)
James Stewart in The Mortal Storm
Charlie Chaplain in The Great Dictator
Laurence Olivier in Rebecca


George Sanders in Rebecca (winner)
George Sanders in Foreign Correspondent
Herbert Marshall in Foreign Correspondent
Frank Morgan in The Mortal Storm
Conrad Vedit in Thief of Bagdad

1962
To Kill a Mockingbird (winner, controversial I know)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Lawrence of Arabia
The Miracle Worker
Billy Budd
Close Runner-Ups: The L-Shaped Room/Lolita

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (winner)
Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird
Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia
James Mason in Lolita
Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses
(I hate to leave Terrence Stamp, Alan Bates, James Stewart, and especially Ralph Richardson out of the top 5)

Robert Duvall in To Kill a Mockingbird (winner)
Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia
Anthony Quayle in Lawrence of Arabia
Peter Sellers in Lolita
Brock Peters in To Kill a Mockingbird
(Again, I hate to leave Robert Ryan, Alec Guinness, Michael Redgrave, and especially Claude Rains off the list)









GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

I used to think, before watching some of their best work through Louis' blog, that Claude Rains and James Cagney were overrated, gosh how the times have changed :D

Robert MacFarlane said...

What, you never saw Manchurian Candidate?

Anonymous said...

I'll just give you my winners for picture and the four acting categories of those years.

1939
Gone with the Wind
Clark Gable, Gone with the Wind
Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind
Thomas Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
Olivia DeHavilland, Gone with the Wind

1940
Rebecca
Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath
Joan Fontaine, Rebecca
George Sanders, Rebecca
Jane Darwell, The Grapes of Wrath

1962
To Kill a Mockingbird/Days of Wine and Roses
Jack Lemmon, Days of Wine and Roses
Lee Remick, Days of Wine and Roses
Ed Begley, Sweet Bird of Youth
Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate

(I still have many movies to see, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Lawrence of Arabia)

Anonymous said...

@GDSAO: How about you for the female categories?

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Also if people don't mind, your Best Picture, and acting winners for the 1940s, I'm actually doing a survey here :D

1940
The Shop Around the Corner
James Stewart in The Shop Around the Corner
Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
George Sanders in Rebecca
Jane Darwell in The Grapes of Wrath

1941
Ball of Fire
Joel McCrea in Sullivan's Travels
Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire
Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon
Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon

1942
Saboteur
James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy
Bette Davis in Now Voyager
Claude Rains in Now Voyager/Kings Row/Casablanca (I actually am cheating a bit by adding Casablanca in, he would actually be #2 for me in 1943)
Celia Johnson in In Which We Serve

1943
Shadow of a Doubt
Joseph Cotten in Shadow of a Doubt
Theresa Wright in Shadow of a Doubt
Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident
Googie Withers in The Silver Fleet

1944
Double Indemnity
Fred Macmurray in Double Indemnity
Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity
Clifton Webb in Laura (this is such a tough choice to make between him and Robinson and Lorre)
Renee Asherson in Henry V (based on Louis' critera)

1945
Brief Encounter
Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend
Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter
Trevor Howard in Brief Encounter
Margaret Rutheford in Blithe Spirit

1946
It's a Wonderful Life
James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life
Olivia De Havilland in The Dark Mirror
Henry Travers in It's a Wonderful Life (sorry Harold Russell, Claude Rains and Lionel Barrymore)
Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life

1947
Odd Man Out
Richard Attenborough in Brighton Rock/Trevor Howard in They Made Me a Fugitive
Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus
F. J. McCormick in Odd Man Out
Kathleen Byron in Black Narcissus

1948
The Fallen Idol/The Winslow Boy
Ralph Richardson in The Fallen Idol
Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda
Alec Guinness in Oliver Twist
Claire Trevor in Key Largo

1949
The Third Man
James Cagney in White Heat
Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress
Orson Welles in The Third Man/Ralph Richardson in The Heiress/Trevor Howard in The Third Man (this is a three-way tie, though if I had to pick I would go for Welles)
Alida Valli in The Third Man (I see a lot in this performance that most people don't seem to think much of)







GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

@kook160: I need to re-watch it. I thought it was decent enough when I first watched it 4 years ago, I remember being impressed by Sinatra and Lansbury and being a bit distracted by the accent Harvey uses, but I really need to check it out again. I can guarantee you when 1962 comes round I will most certainly be re-watching the film.

Anoynmous: Haven't seen enough for nominations lists, but now that you ask:

1939
Bette Davis in Dark Victory
Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr Chips

1940
Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
Jane Darwell in The Grapes of Wrath

1962
Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker (although Leslie Caron is not far behind)
Shelley Winters in Lolita (although as I said, I do need to re-watch The Manchurian Candidate)

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Anonymous: Also, you seem to like Gone With the Wind a rather lot :)

Robert MacFarlane said...

Harvey was actually my favorite performance in the film, even with the shaky accent. He more than made up for it in every other area.

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

@kook160: Well then, you know what Robert I may actually re-watch it over the next few days since I have liked Harvey in mostly everything I've seen him in besides The Alamo and Darling (and even then he wasn't bad just a bit bland)

GM said...

@GDSAO:
1940 (His Girls Friday, Cary Grant - HGF, Roz Russell - HGF, George Sanders - Rebecca, Jane Darwell)

1941 (Citizen Kane, Joel McCrea, Bette Davis - TLF, Walter Huston, Patricia Collinge)

1942 (Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Jules Berry - The Devil's Envoy, Agnes Moorehead)

1943 (Shadow of a Doubt, Pierre Fresnay - Le Corbeau, Theresa Wright, Dana Andrews, Gladys Cooper - Bernadette)

1944 (Double Indemnity, Fred Macmurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien - Meet Me in St. Louis)

1945 (Brief Encounter, Jean-Louis Barrault, Celia Johnson, Pierre Brasseur, Margaret Rutheford)

1946 (It's a Wonderful Life, James Stewart, Joan Crawford - Humoresque, Claude Rains)

1947 (Black Narcissus, Richard Attenborough, Joan Fontaine - Ivy, Richard Widmark, Kathleen Byron)

1948 (Letter from a Unknown Woman, Bogart, Joan Fontaine, Huston, Margaret Leighton - The Winslow Boy)

1949 (Late Srping, Edward G. Robinson - House of Strangers [Haven't see many], Havilland or Setsuko Hara, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins [maybe I'm the only one who think she's perfect])

Anonymous said...

@GDSAO: I love Gone with the Wind, I just think it's brilliant.
@GM: I actually really liked Miriam Hopkins in The Heiress. She'd be my second for 1949, after Deborah Kerr in Edward, My Son (she's supporting for me and, although flawed, she really moved me, although I know you don't like her performance)

Anonymous said...

@GM: I just saw Trevor isn't in your Supporting Top 6 for Key Largo! Don't you like her in that? She was amazing for me.
@GDSAO: My Best Picture winners for 1940s.

Rebecca
The Little Foxes
Casablanca
The Ox-Bow Incident/Shadow of a Doubt
Double Indemnity
Brief Encounter
The Best Years of Our Lives
Black Narcissus
Letter from an Unknown Woman
The Heiress (haven't seen The Third Man)

GM said...

Anon: She used to be my winner until I decided Leighton can be considered supporting, I think Trevor is the best thing about Key Largo (hate that movie).

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Jones - 4(It's kinda reason I hate the film. Jones brings such a great deal of warmth with her performance bringing some genuine feeling to the film while having such charming chemistry with Astaire. That's why it is absolutely unforgivable what the film does to her. It's far too cruel especially how sudden it is)

Luke:

Walken - 4
Hoffman - 3.5