Tuesday 23 June 2015

Alternate Best Actor 1989

And the Nominees Were Not:

Michael J. Fox in Casualties of War

Jeff Bridges in The Fabulous Baker Boys

James Spader in Sex, Lies, and Videotape

John Hurt in Scandal

Raul Julia in Romero

60 comments:

Michael McCarthy said...

1. Raul Julia (He has some moments where he arguably goes over the top in his anger, but his numerous quieter reactions I think make those parts work.)
2. James Spader (This performance gets more fascinating the more I think about it.)
3. Michael J. Fox (I think this could end up being a surprise 5, he's excellent at grounding the chaos of the film with his quiet but strong morality.)
4. John Hurt
5. Jeff Bridges

This is a tough one. I think it could go to any of the top 3.

mcofra7 said...

1. Spader
2. Fox
3. Julia
4. Hurt
5. Bridges
Decided to take a bit of a chance

Psifonian said...

1. Fox (NGNG)
2. Spader
3. Bridges
4. Julia
5. Hurt

Michael Patison said...

1. James Spader
2. Michael J. Fox
3. Raul Julia
4. Jeff Bridges
5. John Hurt

Calvin Law said...

I'll swallow my pride regarding Hurt, who's my #2 for the year:

1. Spader
2. Julia
3. Fox
4. Bridges
5. Hurt

Maciej said...

1. Spader
2. Julia
3. Hurt
4. Fox
5. Bridges

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm not going to swallow my pride.

1. Bridges
2. Fox
3. Spader
4. Hurt
5. Julia

Calvin Law said...

Robert MacFarlane: You're an honourable man.

I hope they all get 5's; I haven't seen Julia but I'm sure he deserves one too.

Also I hope Louis, you won't let Sean Penn's incredibly hammy performance detract from your experience of Causalties of War.

Anonymous said...

1. Bridges
2. Hurt
3. Fox
4. Spader
5. Julia

Robert MacFarlane said...

Oh yeah, I forgot, my request is Daniel Henshall in Snowtown (or The Snowtwon Murders if you so prefer) for bonus rounds.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: Thank You, we'll surely get 10 for 2011 now.

Luke Higham said...

1. Fox
2. Spader
3. Hurt
4. Bridges
5. Julia

John Smith said...

1.Spader
2.Bridges
3.Fox
4.Hurt
5.Julia

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Can I have your ratings & thoughts on your bottom ten supporting performances for 2007 and Robin Williams in August Rush.

GM said...

1.Spader
2.Fox
3.Hurt
4.Bridges
5.Julia

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Can I have an update on all of the remaining requests.

moviefilm said...

1) Raul Julia
2) James Spader
3) Michael J. Fox
4) John Hurt
5) Jeff Bridges

Thanks for the Travolta review. :)

JackiBoyz said...

My winning request is Daniel Auteuil in Caché

1. Raul Julia
2. James Spader
3. Michael J. Fox
4. John Hurt
5. Jeff Bridges

Calvin Law said...

Saw Mr Holmes. Probably my favourite film of the year so far, vying with Mad Max and Far From the Madding Crowd

Mckellen - 5 (PLEASE give him the Oscar nomination. May well be his greatest performance)
Linney - 4 (verging on a 4.5, inconsistent accent aside, an incredibly sensitive and moving performance)
Parker - 4 (few instances of amateurish bratty acting but overall very sweet, great chemistry with McKellen)
Morahan - 3.5 (verging on a 4, small role but pretty heartbreaking impact, liked how she played the different sides of the grieving 'mother' so well)
Sanada - 3 (small role but did well within these limits)
Kennedy - 3 (fairly limited too but does well to emphasise the emotional nature of the character)
De la Tour - 3.5 (entertaining cameo, could've gone for a lot more of her)

Calvin Law said...

Luke: That breakdown scene was amazing, and yes as you said very well earnt, I think despite the deconstructive take on the character and the quirky arc, McKellen was an incredibly convincing Holmes, in the flashback scenes despite his lack of the cap and pipe, he really evoked that Sherlock-ian intelligence.

Michael McCarthy said...

Ok I'm gonna change mine, I'm having some premonitions...

1. Michael J. Fox
2. James Spader
3. Raul Julia
4. John Hurt
5. Jeff Bridges

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I'm glad you liked it. I'm very close to giving McKellen a 5 as well.

Calvin Law said...

What are everyone's top 10 films of 1989?

1. Field of Dreams
2. Henry V
3. The Last Crusade
4. Dead Poets Society
5. My Left Foot
6. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (party on dudes)
7. Crimes and Misdemeanors
8. Scandal
9. Casualties of War
10. The Abyss

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I'll go with a top 5 for now.
1. The Last Crusade
2. My Left Foot
3. Henry V
4. Sex, Lies And Videotape
5. The Little Mermaid

Robert MacFarlane said...

I can only do 5 at the moment:

1. Do the Right Thing
2. The Fabulous Baker Boys
3. The Last Crusade
4. The Little Mermaid (I'm *really* ignoring the questionable gender politics here)
5. sex, lies, and videotapes

Robert MacFarlane said...

Out of curiosity, does anyone other than me hate Heathers?

Luke Higham said...

GM & Calvin: I saw Come And See. For the first 30 minutes, it's fairly straightforward and it does take it's time getting to the real meat of the film, but when the tone completely shifts, it contains some of the most harrowing images ever committed to film. Three scenes in particular, the first taking place in a bog, the second within a church and the final scene is absolutely unforgettable. Aleksei Kravchenko's performance is effective enough for the first 30 minutes as a naive, enthusiastic teenager who's absolutely willing to fight alongside Soviet partisans but when he meets a strange, disturbing girl and a bomb attack ensues, from that point on his performance is absolutely amazing. His physical transformation is remarkable as he goes from the naive teenage soldier to a war torn, hollow shell of a human being, who we the audience fear for his sanity. His facial expressions, especially in the infamous gun photo scene and the ending are some of the greatest I've ever seen. I've no hesitations in calling it the best male child performance of all-time. The directing during the second and third acts is amazing as well. Overall, this is one of the all-time great war films, certainly the best I've seen depicting the Eastern Front (Haven't seen Ivan's Childhood or Stalingrad) and is a film, I won't soon forget.

mcofra7 said...

Yeah. I think part of it had to do with Christian Slater's Nicholson impression. Also pretty dull and depressing in my opinion

mcofra7 said...

That was in response to Robert

Robert MacFarlane said...

My issue with it stems from its mean-spirited, tone deaf "satire" more than anything. I don't consider Slater "the problem" so to speak.

mcofra7 said...

I wouldn't like the movie anyway but Slater certainly didn't help

Luke Higham said...

Come And See Ratings:
Kravchenko - 5
Mironova - 4 (She's quite disconcerting as a deranged girl, who's taken the brunt of a terrifying act)

Calvin Law said...

Luke: Sounds like you made a great choice then :)

Robert: I generally don't mind Slater, but I do hate Heathers because as you say, it's mean-spirited to no real ends. Also it tries to deconstruct the Brat Pack films of the 1980s while falling into the same cliches. And also I love the Brat Pack films so there. I hate Heathers.

Calvin Law said...

I actually like Christian Slater in True Romance, Pump Up the Volume, I generally find him an interesting if not incredibly talented actor.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Well, to be fair, I hate Brat Pack films of that era. River's Edge just deconstructed them a lot better.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I hope so.

Calvin Law said...

Robert: Don't you like The Breakfast Club? I recall you putting it on an honourable mentions list for your top 10 films...though I may be mistaken.

Calvin Law said...

Robert Downey Jr in Less Than Zero is a great example of a deconstruction of the Brat Pack, because he's so goddamn good.

Michael McCarthy said...

Calvin: That was me, not Robert. And even though I absolutely love watching it I accept that it's DEEPLY flawed.

Calvin Law said...

Michael: Can't argue you with that there. What are your thoughts/ratings on the cast? Some of the acting was indeed deeply flawed but I love the film anyway.

Nelson - 3.5
Ringwald - 3.5
Estevez - 2
Hall - 4
Sheedy - 3

Robert MacFarlane said...

Yeah, I actually despise Breakfast Club for admittedly selfish reasons. It's still leaps and bounds better than fucking St. Elmo's Fire.

Michael McCarthy said...

Nelson: 4
Ringwald: 3.5
Estevez: 2.5
Hall: 4
Sheedy: 4
Gleason: 3.5

I don't really have a problem with the acting. My problem comes from how hypocritical and filled with stereotypes the whole film is. I also don't believe for one second that any of those characters would stay friends.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I usually get annoyed by how in every teen movie John Hughes made, there's this weird reversion to status quo by the end after preaching against it. Granted, I only seem to like Hughes when he had John Candy front and center.

RatedRStar said...

1. Spader
2. Julia
3. Fox
4. Bridges
5. Hurt

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar: Random question, what ratings would you give Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson and Miranda Richardson in The Crying Game?

Calvin Law said...

Robert: I see what you mean (i.e. Pretty in Pink)...I would consider Ferris Bueller's Day Off to be an exception. Though feel free to disagree.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Well, Ferris Bueller's Day Off also has a future serial killer/Wall Street banker as a protagonist.

Anonymous said...

Louis , Nicholson lead or Supporting ? Are you going to put him in supporting?

Matt Mustin said...

Anonymous: I'd say Nicholson is lead. The movie's actually more about The Joker than it is about Batman.

Michael McCarthy said...

I'm not sure I agree with that placement. The Joker has a lot of focus because they wanted to give Jack a lot to do, but I never felt like he was leading the story. The film always felt to me like at its core, it was about Batman trying to stop the Joker.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm with Matt on this one 100%.

RatedRStar said...

Calvin Law:

Rea:4
Richardson:4.5
Davidson: 4.5

Anonymous said...

What are everybody's ratings and thoughts on Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut? I think Cruise is rather great and Kidman is downright amazing (although easily supporting). I also LOVED the movie.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'm currently doing a Kubrick Marathon (The Shining), so I'll see it soon enough.

Calvin Law said...

New Legend trailer:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yI3v6KfR9Mw

I LOVE the voice he's using for each of the brothers.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I'm completely sold on Hardy's performance, the voices are great, especially for Ronnie. I feel that this is gonna be an easy 5 for Hardy.

Michael McCarthy said...

...I hate to be that guy, but I'm not sure I'm sold on this quite yet. I actually think Hardy looks great as Reginald, but his characterization of Ronnie seems a bit cartoony. Who knows though, it may fit the tone of the film quite well, I sincerely hope to be proven wrong.

Calvin Law said...

Michael McCarthy: Fully understandable. Hopefully Hardy will be a pleasant surprise for you :)

Michael McCarthy said...

It might be the case that the intensity he gives to Ronnie might be to give his interactions with Reg more humorous. I can see a lot of ways that that approach might actually work, but for me it just doesn't come off in the trailer.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Williams - 2(It's all just a bit much in terms of the character that goes from typical cheery inspirational Robin Williams, to over the top psychotic, to very jokey in such a weird way that does not work)

Evans - 2(The part does him no favors and Evans seems to embrace the obnoxiousness of the character too much. Although this is one I'm guessing had more to do with direction and writing.)

Chiklis - 2(Same as Evans really)

Duhamel - 2(Less annoying than our lead, but kinda a bland secondary lead for the most part. Then really falls flat in the "comic" scenes)

McMahon - 1.5(You know something is wrong when the guy in the Robert Corman version (which was strictly made just to hold on to the rights) does a whole lot better of a job than you.)

Anderson - 1.5(Over the top and unfunny pretty much sums it up)

Turturro - 1.5(Same)

Grace - (He's quite unfunny in his early scenes as Eddie, failing to build anything with his character. His role as Venom is not helped by the immediate change, or his goofy teeth, but his manic attempt at something menacing does not work)

Santoro - 1(I'll admit the whole visualization of the character is one of the films worst aspects. It does not help with his over the top, but without any grandeur take on the role)

Bentley - 0(Not worthy of a Wiseau. Blackheart does not suck out souls he sucks out every bit of life in a scene, its really something. The whole performance is just so bad. He's probably one of the most embarrassing cases of an attempted menace that is anything but. On top of that he's over the top in the worst sort of way, and just gives a horrible performance)


Robert:

Ferris would never become either of those things.....since he's clearly Cameron's personal Tyler Durden.