Tuesday 14 July 2015

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1989: Rick Ducommun and Bruce Dern in The 'burbs

Rick Ducommun did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Art Weingartner in The 'burbs.

The 'Burbs is an enjoyable comedy about a group of neighbors in a suburb who suspect their new rarely seen neighbors have a morbid secret.

Rick Ducommun seemed to specialize in slightly comic supporting parts in order to add just a bit of humor to the supporting cast, for example as one of locals in Groundhogs Day. Ducommun's most notable role perhaps came in this film as one of the neighbors of straight man on a stay at home vacation Ray (Tom Hanks). Ducommun plays Art Ray's best friend and the neighbor who is definitely the most sure that there is something going wrong at the home of the mysterious Klopeks. This technically speaking is a fairly standard role for a comedy like this being the far more excitable best friend to our more sensible lead, a mainstay although I do ponder what was the exact first version of it but I digress. Rick Ducommun offers importantly a good version of such a character. He brings a great deal of energy to his performance fitting to Art's obsession with Klopeks. Ducommun makes the enthusiasm feel natural though, and succeeds in making Art endearing rather than off putting which a character like this can easily become in the wrong hands.

Ducommun creates an enjoyable tone for his performance in the early scenes where they are simply examining the Klopeks from a distance and Ray is actually quite skeptical about the notion that there is anything suspect about whatever it is that they are doing in their basement at night. Ducommun keeps Art's manner almost curiously light as he espouses his thoughts on what they definitely are doing, according Art anyways, as though he is a boy who is telling his favorite ghost story. Well Art does basically that when he tells the story of a soda jerk who murdered his family which Ducommun delivers as Art being more than anything a bit excited by the prospect that such a story is going on right across from his house. Ducommun keeps Art as a constant source of a foolish interest in the morbid reality he's just so sure of. Of course one of my favorite moments of his performance is actually when Art kinda turns things on its head when they are actually digging to find something. Ducommun is great as he shows Art basically loses all interest once the fun of the project is lost because there is a requirement for him to do some actual work.

Of course the meat of his performance is with the direct hijinks involved with Art trying to find or witness something out of the ordinary along with Ray. Ducommun and Hanks are quite good together in portraying there various sense of curiosity which is always a bit stronger when it comes to Art's reaction. They are both equally adept though in portraying there freak outs when either something goes wrong or they have found something. The best moment of these of course being when they think they've discovered the femur of their elderly neighbor where both of them scream in a hilarious unison.  Ducommun manages just the right way to work his character though in that he keeps Art likable although he still also does make it so you quite understand why he'd eventually get on Ray's nerves particularly at the end when Ray's finally has had enough leading him to attack Art. Something I quite like the film actually though is that Art in no way learns a lesson by the end, and Ducommun expresses this so well in Art's final absurd monologue about how creeps should not mess with suburbanites. This a good sidekick performance, which I quite like, although don't quite love, unlike perhaps.....
Bruce Dern did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lieutenant Mark Rumsfield in The 'burbs.

Bruce Dern plays another one of the neighbors in suburb that being Vietnam veteran Lieutenant Mark Rumsfield. Well the moment he appears with the beginning from the theme of Patton playing in the background, you know that it's going to be something memorable. Rumsfield's whole presence in the film is really one of the best elements of the film. After all the hijinks perhaps could have been left to the straight man Ray and his goofy neighbor Art, but the 'burbs decides to throw in a third player into the proceedings. That player being Bruce Dern clearly reprising his Oscar nominated role in Coming Home, well not really, but Dern perhaps plays into that idea just a bit. I mean after all his entrance in this film is not too far from first appearance in that film as gung ho military sort. Bruce Dern is just terrific as he stops out with such unshakable pride to once again raise the American flag on his ground. He's a true soldier well that is until he accidentally steps into dog excrement from his obnoxious elderly neighbor leaving Dern to perfectly lose his resolve and gain the resolve to let the neighbor have it.

What's marvelous here really is that Dern does not really take many steps to adjust his performance for a comedy. Dern might as well be in Coming Home in a way because the intensity he showed in that performance can be seen here as well, although I would argue to a far greater effect. In just some of the early scenes where we get Rumsfield's reaction along with the rest of the neighborhood Dern always manages to come out on top in terms of amount of humor derived through just how intently he glares as a new development appears. Dern is consistently brilliant in his depiction of Rumsfield's whole approach to taking on the Klopeks as he plays it as though Rumsefield is basically getting ready for some sort of black ops mission in the way he watches with the other men, as well as his very serious uncertainty after the other men suffer a bee attack due to attempting to knock on the Klopeks's door. I particularly enjoy just how impressed he is with himself when he has removed a window to break into a house and proudly announces that he did it the "military" way.

The insanity of it all continues of course as the men proceed with their plans which eventually leads them to take the ultimate action which is for Ray and Rumsfield to visit the Klopeks with their wives. Dern is just amazing throughout this sequence because of just how insane he shows Rumsfield to be as he supposedly just hanging out with the Klopeks for a friendly visit. Well Dern makes nothing friendly whatsoever about Rumsfield manner. He's always twisted in some way or another as he seems to be examining every bit of the home as though he's looking for defensive weaknesses or something. Dern keeps the same sort of crazed manner in the way he seems to be as imposing as he can be towards every Klopek member, turning his head in psychotic bent as though Rumsfield seems as though he's going to be interrogating every one of the weird brood. Dern is magnificent as he does bring potent sort of madness he's rather well known for but ups it perhaps just a notch in his depiction of Rumsfield method, I especially like when he questions Ray's manhood, when it appears as though he's backing out on the whole idea.

What works so well about Dern's performance though is when there are the moments where the fact that Rumsfield is not exactly in the military still and for all we know he might not actually have ever seen any action. There's is something incredibly funny about Bruce Dern giving such a driven performance even when Rumsfield at one point with Art is basically asking Ray's wife if Ray can come out and play. The conviction Dern brings to the whole tough vet makes it some comic gold when it perhaps slips for a moment. There is one moment in particular where Dern reveals probably the more truthful side of Rumsfield when he espouses his rather pathetic fears about climbing up a power line because its rather high. Eventual the film leads to when all three of the men concoct their plan to go through the Klopek's entire house while they are out. I have to admit I can't help but laugh throughout the sequence any time the film focuses on Dern and whatever he is doing. He really does not get to say much but every little thing that he does is just a hoot. He also nicely gets to top it all off with his masterful delivery of the immortal line "Hey... Pinocchio! Where are you going?" just before running off to capture one of Klopek's "proving" his obvious military might. I love this performance of Bruce Dern's as he pretty much make use of every second of his screen time to make one memorable character out of Lieutenant Mark Rumsfield.

193 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ratings and thoughts on Hanks and the rest of the cast.

Psifonian said...

YO RUMSFIELD!

Psifonian said...

I have every one of Dern's lines memorized for any such occasion.

Calvin Law said...

I'm glad you liked them both, hilarious performances, Dern seems to have really grown on you as an actor.

With regards to your Departed choices, great selections. Which ending, The Departed or Infernal Affairs', do you think would've worked better? I think the latter actually, the more I think about that cast you selected the more I think about Angels with Dirty Faces, that reaction shot to Rocky Sullivan 'turning yellow', would be perfect already for a last scene of that film.

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: From 1989 Lead results page, Hanks - 4(Very good straight man work from Hanks here I particularly enjoy every reaction of his at the climax of the film.)

Psifonian said...

As for Ducommun, he wasn't quite on Dern's level, but he was still extremely good.

"Art?"
"Your wife's home..."
"... and your house is on fire!"
"MY WIFE IS HOME?!"

He will be missed.

Calvin Law said...

Also for the Fleischer Back to the Future:

Back to the Future
Marty: Dean Stockwell/Sal Mineo
Doc: Ralph Richardson
Lorraine: Natalie Wood
George: James Dean (I think his Method approach would actually work better for the mannered George McFly)
Biff: Neville Brand

As for the James Whale Blade Runner, can't think of anyone besides Peter Lorre as Gaff.

mcofra7 said...

Has anyone seen the Devil's Double? The movie was mediocre, but Dominic Cooper was pretty great.

Calvin Law said...

mcofra7: My thoughts essentially the same as yours, I thought he absolutely nailed an incredibly complex role and had he been in a better film, he might've been in awards consideration.

Michael McCarthy said...

It is nice to see Dern getting a lot of attention on this blog as of late. I kinda hope he gets bumped up to a 5 for The Cowboys, is that a possibility?

Calvin Law said...

You know who else I quite like here? Corey Feldman. I usually find him a bit annoying but here, though not as funny as Hanks, Ducommun, and Dern, I thought he added a nice bit of extra humour as well.

Anonymous said...

Ratings/thoughts on Marlene Dietritch in Touch of Evil?

Calvin Law said...

Also out of curiosity, what are everyone's ranking of David Lean's films.

1. Brief Encounter
2. Lawrence of Arabia
3. Dr Zhivago
4. Bridge on the River Kwai
5. Hobson's Choice
6. Ryan's Daughter
7. The Sound Barrier
8. Blithe Spirit
9. The Passionate Friends
10. Great Expectations
11. This Happy Breed
12. The Passionate Friends

Anonymous said...

@Calvin: I've only seen Brief Encounter, and I loved it. I'll see the others eventually, even if I have to admit I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to watch Lawrence of Arabia, I'm sure it's great but I don't know, I find the story not particularly appealing to me and the length of it is not very encouraging. But I'll see it of course.
@Louis: ratings/thoughts on Eileen Brennan in The Sting?

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: I would start off with Zhivago in terms of his epics, #6 - #12 are quite accesible in their own ways

moviefilm said...

Louis, can I request Michael Douglas in Behind the Candelabra for bonus rounds (leading actor 2013)? I know he won an Emmy for it and in the US it's considered to be a TV film, but it had the theatrical release in the UK and some other european countries, so technically by your rules it should be eligible.

Matt Mustin said...

No, it was on TV first, so I don't think it counts.

RatedRStar said...

Calvin Law: Was that Passage To India you ranked last because I had no idea you liked Passionate Friends so much to list it twice hehe =D.
From what I have seen

1)Lawrence Of Arabia
2)Doctor Zhivago
3)Brief Encounter
4)Ryan's Daughter (its a lovely experience)
5)Bridge On The River Kwai
6)Hobsons Choice
7)The Passionate Friends
8)Great Expectations
9)Blithe Spirit
10)Oliver Twist
11)Passage To India

I haven't seen it yet, but does anybody have any idea why The Burbs received a rather underwhelming critical response?

RatedRStar said...

Lawrence of Arabia is a film you sort of have to prepare for lol, you sorta go " I am ready lets do this" and then when you watch it, you cant take your eyes off it, it actually moves at a really great pace as well (unlike say EXODUS which was like pulling teeth)

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar: Oops lol, it was actually meant to be In Which We Serve, haven't seen Passage to India I'm afraid, I do quite like The Passionate Friends though haha

Calvin Law said...

And yes ugh Exodus.

Anonymous said...

Calvin:
1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai
3. Doctor Zhivago
4. Brief Encounter
5. Ryan's Daughter
6. Passage to India
7. Great Expectations
8. Robson's Choice
9. The Passionate Friends
10. Oliver Twist
11. Blithe Spirit
12. The Sound Barrier

Robert MacFarlane said...

To everyone: Name an actor or actress you'd like to hear as the voice of a Disney villain.

Anonymous said...

Robert: I think I would love to hear Sean Connery, but sadly he's retired.

Calvin Law said...

Donald Sutherland.

Calvin Law said...

I was about to say John Hurt, but then I remembered the Black Cauldron.

As for the ladies, I think Ruth Wilson or Robin Wright would be great Disney villanesses, live or animated.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your Top Ten Underrated directors with thoughts.

Robert: Tom Hardy, although it could probably end up being unintentionally hilarious. A more obvious choice would be Benedict Cumberbatch. I'd like to say Mark Rylance as well, but from what I've seen of him so far, his voice is a bit gentle.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm going with Danny Huston, who sounds more and more like his father each passing day. If we go with professional voice actors, Maurice LaMarche was BORN to play a Disney villain and should have had that opportunity by now.

Luke Higham said...

Didn't include Gary Oldman since he played the main villain in (Non-Disney) Quest for Camelot and Michael Fassbender played one of the main villains in Fable III (Video Game).

Calvin Law said...

Luke: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=up3M7WOPsg4, watch a clip of Rylance here in 'Jerusalem'. His normal speaking voice is very soft but as you can see here he can be one coarse, badass sounding fella.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: Okay, I've included Rylance as well.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: For each of the 4 acting categories, is this year going to be stronger, about the same or weaker than last year.
Male Lead: Weaker (12 is too big of a hill to climb, plus we had Hardy, Gleeson and Fiennes this time last year, whereas we only have McKellen in Mr. Holmes this year)
Male Supporting: Stronger (It's destined to be the best of the decade so far)
Female Lead: Stronger
Female Supporting: Stronger

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that Courtenay has "45 Years" and Caine has "Youth". Anyway, they should have 10 nominees for the acting categories rather than 5.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: In regards to Lead Actor, I agree with you. I didn't mention Courtenay and Caine, as their films have yet to be shown in the UK or the US.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: For the other 3, I'd stick with 5.

Anonymous said...

Bryan Cranston could possibly get a 5 from Louis for his performance in Trumbo.

Psifonian said...

And now... *sigh*... the "Joy" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN4MLMHET7w

Luke Higham said...

Psifonian: I'm willing to reserve judgement on this one, though Lawrence seems to be quite good.

Anonymous said...

How many films will Lawrence continue to do with that douchebag David O'Russell?

Anonymous said...

I bet that De Niro will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: An endless amount.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Some have said, that he might actually win, which would be a travesty, especially against the likes of Hardy and Rylance.

Robert MacFarlane said...

All movies are sight unseen. At least wait until release and ceremony to declare it a travesty. Besides, De Niro won't win.

Anonymous said...

What if they nominated Pacino for his new film Danny Collins?

Luke Higham said...

Robert: Well, by the end of the year, I don't expect him to be anywhere near my top ten. I'm not worried about De Niro winning either. Who's your prediction for supporting. I'm gonna go with Hardy.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm feeling Rylance at the moment. I think there'll be a "why haven't we heard of this guy before" narrative going on.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: And he's older too, which tends to be an advantage.

Anonymous said...

Well, I believe that the nominees for Best Supporting Actor could be:
Tom Hardy in The Revenant (Possibly a 5)
Robert De Niro in Joy (Due to his veteran status, he'll likely be nominated, much like Duvall last year) (Could get a 4)
Kurt Russell in Hateful Eight (5 or 4,5)
Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies (5)
Nicholas Hoult in Mad Max (4,5) (But I'm not expecting Hoult to be nominated since he's in an action film)

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous:
Hardy - The Revenant (5)
Rylance - Bridge Of Spies (5)
Del Toro - Sicario (4.5)
Gleeson - Suffragette (4 or 4.5)
De Niro - Joy (3.5)

RatedRStar said...

The Tonys will probably make a joke at next years ceremony regarding Rylances constant snubs by film and the academy.

I am very excited about the 2015 oscars, more so than any of the previous years, just because its the best chance to see some of our favorite young actors have a crack at Oscar, I have mentioned plenty of them of course, plus the chance that DiCaprio or Depp can return makes me very happy =D, plus underrated talent like Foster, Rylance, Whishaw, Gleeson could have chances.

Michael McCarthy must be begging for the 2015 Best Actor Winner to be someone special unlike last year of course eh Michael =D lol. I think quite a few people on this blog had a bit of a meh reaction to Redmayne winning last year, just because of who he beat =D.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: I think a 5 star performance should win every year. =) though I wasn't in a hissy fit when it came to Redmayne's win, since I liked his performance well enough.

Anonymous said...

If they extended the nominees for Best Actor to 10, I bet that they would nominate:
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant
Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs
Ian McKellen in Mr. Holmes
Ben Foster in The Program
Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw
Tom Courtenay in 45 Years
Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Johnny Depp in Black Mass
Michael Caine in Youth
Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: I'm really excited for the 2015 reviews, as it feels a bit like Christmas for cinephiles. As to the oscars itself, I really want first time nominations for Hardy, Rylance, Foster, Gleeson, Vikander and a career rejuvenation for Depp. I don't think Whishaw's gonna get in unfortunately, since Gleeson has the meatier role of the two.

Anonymous said...

Heck, there are many possibilities. Bryan Cranston will likely get his first nomination this year with Trumbo.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I would also add Tom Hiddleston as a possibility for I Saw The Light.

Anonymous said...

What kind of rating do you think Louis will give him, Luke?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Are you referring to Hiddleston.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Just watched the trailer for Joy. Eh, I didn't find it that bad. Could be okay.

Michael McCarthy said...

Daniel: Yeah Redmayne was a disappointment for me, but at least him winning this year kind of precludes him winning for The Danish Girl this year, which all things considered is probably gonna suck.

Anonymous said...

Luke: Yes.

Robert MacFarlane said...

HOOPEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

*fist to the sky, lightning strikes*

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'll go with a 4.5 for the moment.

Anonymous said...

Louis watched Breaking Bad? I've never saw him talking about it, rs.

About Joy trailer: Lawrence seems more quiet, now I have good expectations for her performance. But the film itself... well, it continues to be a mixed feeling to me.

My Oscar predictions at this point are:

Actor
Michael Caine - Youth
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Michael Fassbender - MacBeth
Jake Gyllenhaal - Southpaw
Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
> Ian McKellen - Mr. Holmes
>> Don Cheadle - Miles Ahead
>>> Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Actress
Cate Blanchett - Carol
Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
Jennifer Lawrence - Joy
Carey Mulligan - Suffragette
Zoe Saldana - Nina
> Lilly Tomlin - Grandma
>> Ellen Page - Freeheld
>>> Maggie Smith - Lady in The Van

Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard - MacBeth
Rooney Mara - Carol
Julianne Moore - Freeheld
Naomi Watts - Demolition
Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
> Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
>> Julie Walters - Brooklyn
>>> Helena Bonham Carter - Suffragette

Supporting Actor
Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation
Tom Hardy - The Revenant
Samuel L. Jackson - The Hateful Eight
David Oyelowo - Nina
Forest Whitaker - Southpaw
> Kurt Russell - The Hateful Eight
>> Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
>>> Harvey Keitel - Youth

Yeah, as I said before, I don't believe at all on Streep being nominated next year - only if Florence Foster Jenkins screen in time.

RatedRStar said...

Joy trailer looks fine enough, the music is a bit grading though lol.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Is Beasts of No Nation even going to be eligible? And what's there to stop them from pushing Elba Lead if it is?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Fassbender's more likely to get nominated for Steve Jobs than he would for Macbeth.

Anonymous said...

I think that The Revenant could possibly surpass The Wolf of Wall Street as DiCaprio's best performance.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: And I think the same for Hardy, Poulter and Gleeson.

Michael McCarthy said...

I love how everyone's calling DiCaprio and Hardy guaranteed fives for The Revenant even though there hasn't even been one trailer yet.

Luke Higham said...

Michael McCarthy: It's wishful thinking. :)

Anonymous said...

Has anyone here seen Metropolis (1927)?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Thinking over the Joy trailer, it got me thinking: Just HOW old does Russell think Lawrence is? This is the third role where he's cast her as a character almost twice her age.

Anonymous said...

Robert: I don't even understand that. He seems to believe that she is believable enough for an over 50 year old woman, despite being in her 20's.

Anonymous said...

Like SLP and Hustle, this'll be the biggest Oscar bait film of the year. I often think that Lawrence keeps working with Russell just to get another Oscar for Best Actress.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Let's just get our outrage over Mad Max getting across-the-board snubs out of the way preemptively so that when it happens, we don't care.

Anonymous said...

I think Mad Max is going to get nominated in the tecs, and (very) possibly in editing.

Beasts has the eligibility issue, that's true, but netflix made Virunga get nominated this year, I Project they're Gonna be able to do the same now. Elba's category I'm guessing - lead seems (as always) too competitive, while supporting is a safe choice for coleads (even getting them bigger chances of winning).

I know, everybody's saying that Fassbender has bigger chances for Jobs - I didn't buy at all the film by it's trailer, and I am not trusting a big deal in Fassbender there also. MacBeth has a bigger appeal, I think, adn fits better, at least in the concept, with Fassbender higlight characteristics (fisicality and portraying instability) and Weinstein is in it's back, don't forget it.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Weinstein, doesn't give a shit about Macbeth, he's had an agenda against Cotillard for awhile now, issues with Kurzel over the editing of the film and in interviews at Cannes, he talked only about Carol, Demolition and The Hateful Eight, when Macbeth was also competing for the Palme D'or.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: If it weren't for Studio Canal, Weinstein would've butchered Kurzel's vision for the film.

Anonymous said...

Anyway, the best 10 pictures of 2015 could be:
The Revenant
Joy
Bridge of Spies
Steve Jobs
Macbeth
The Program
The Danish Girl
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Southpaw

Anonymous said...

Weinstein seems to be one of those losers who will do anything to get an Oscar.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'd say no to Macbeth, The Program and Southpaw.

Anonymous said...

But you wish Foster, Fassbender and Gyllenhaal to get nominated, right?

Luke Higham said...

Harvey Weinstein's a dick, simple as that.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Did you mean the ones that would get nominated or Louis's top ten for the year.

Of course I want them to get nominated, but with Gyllenhaal, not for Southpaw, that film looks meh to me and should have his best performance in Demolition.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I was saying that those 10 movies are likely to be nominated for Best Picture, that's all.

Anonymous said...

Looks like McConaughey won't get a second Oscar nomination with the Sea of Trees.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'm sticking with those 3, plus with the current rules, we've yet to have 10 nominees, as well as Shakespeare not being to the academy's taste anymore, lastly I'm telling you now, Macbeth will get shafted apart from supporting actress and a couple of tech nods.

For example, with Coriolanus, everyone thought Redgrave was gonna get nominated and all she got was a satellite nod.

One more thing, Macbeth is also going to be too gritty for the academy's tastes.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Of course not, Sea Of Trees was booed the hell out of Cannes.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Though the reviews pretty much explicitly stated McConaughey was very good, it's just the film that sucks.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: I'm not denying that, but the audience sunk his chances right there and then.

Anonymous said...

Wait, wasn't Taxi Driver also booed at Cannes?

Robert MacFarlane said...

So are half of Malick's films. That being said, Sea of Trees does sound like garbage.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Taxi Driver, I'm kinda shocked that Louis bumped down De Niro's rating to a 4,5. :(

Robert MacFarlane said...

I need to re-watch that movie. I feel like I missed something.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: The French are always a fickle bunch, but Van Sant usually sucks and they only seem to love films made by their own like Godard and Truffaut.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: For Louis, it was a case of buying into De Niro and the hype for his performance, which is heralded as iconic by many.

Anonymous said...

Luke: He also gave a 4,5 for Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice and for Liz Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Many people would consider those ratings blasphemous.

Anonymous said...

Another rating that many people would consider blasphemous would be those of Bogart in A Lonely Place, which he gave a 2, even though many people state that's Bogart's best performance, along with Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Sierra Madre. He even gave Bogart a 4,5 instead a 5 for Casablanca. Luke, have you ever seen Bogart in A Lonely Place? And what did you think of him?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Well, he sure knows what's he talking about and his knowledge of film is beyond anyone on this blog. I will admit though, that If I was 16 again, I would've been annoyed by that, just as I was with Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (Thank you once again Louis for rectifying that, which also completely softened the blow with De Niro in Taxi Driver).

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Have not, and with that rating, I've no intention of doing so.

Anonymous said...

Luke: For some reason, there are many people who dislike Olivier with a passion and believe that he could never act naturally.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: It's their opinion, so whatever.

Luke Higham said...

Everyone: As of now, which review are you most looking forward too, mine is Malcolm McDowell in Caligula.

Luke Higham said...

If Louis's doing a Wiseau week, then it's a tie between McDowell and Nicolas Cage in The Wicker Man.

Robert MacFarlane said...

IF Louis is doing Wiseau week, Stallone and Assante in Judge Dredd.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Uh oh. Demolition's been pushed to 2016.

Luke Higham said...

Sigh! I doubt Gyllenhaal's getting nominated for Southpaw anyway. I'm sure Harvey is annoyed, which gives me great pleasure.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Man, I like Gyllenhaal, but that trailer gave me all kinds of bad juju.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: Agreed.

Luke Higham said...

Fuck me, I got this wrong, Weinstein has Southpaw instead of Demolition. That makes me even more pissed off.

Luke Higham said...

I take it back, he might get nominated for Southpaw.

Luke Higham said...

Although, reviews haven't been lavishing with praise.

Robert MacFarlane said...

He's pushing for it already, but it suffers from early release date and mixed reaction. It could only survive one of those, not both.

Anonymous said...

IThe film must be average, but I think that Gyllenhaal's performance would make it watchable. Hopefully, Gyllenhaal can be great just as he was brilliant in Nightcrawler.

Luke Higham said...

All I'm hoping for is that he overcomes weak material.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure he can. Gyllenhaal is always great.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Honestly he doesn't seem that good in the trailer for me. He seems to be one of dozens of actors doing this whole "Just like Brando" shtick that they seem to always do for prizefight movies.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Fisher - 2.5(She's fine here but she really does not get to get in on much of the fun)

Feldman - 3.5(He's technically doing his usual thing here, which can sometimes be annoying, but his doofy teen routine actually works quite well here. I particularly love his delivery of "Pizza Dude!" near the end of the film)

Schaal - 3(She also does not get too much to do, but she's does the ditzy blonde routine rather well)

Theodore - 3.5(Does an enjoyable one note of being an excessively grumpy curmudgeon.)

Gibson - 3.5(He's good at being quite suspicious as an obviously maniacal yet rather suave evil doctor. His reaction at the end when asked by the cops if the car in question is indeed his is absolutely hilarious)

Calvin:

The Departed after all I did include Dignam. Good choices for Back to the Future. Although I think I'd opt for Alistair Sim for Doc. I completely agree though that Dean would be more fitting for George than Marty.

Blade Runner 1949:

Deckard: Bogart
Gaff: Lorre
Bryant: Sydney Greenstreet
Leon: Boris Karloff
Zhora: Jane Russell
Pris: Shelley Winters
Tyrell: Claude Rains
Rachael: Lauren Bacall (Bogie would have insisted)
Sebastian: James Whitmore
Roy: Vincent Price

Michael McCarthy:

It's possible.

RatedRStar:

I don't know, in regards to The 'burbs reception, sometimes dark comedies(even though this isn't even that dark) sometimes rub critics the wrong way. Although there are many films from the 80's especially where you're surprised by their initial reception like this, Clue, and Thing. Although if you look all of Tom Hanks's films after his first Oscar nomination and until A League of Their Own got negative receptions, maybe there was a bit of backlash against him.

Anonymous:

Dietrich - (She's really quite good in just a couple of scenes particularly the relationship she establishes with Welles. She brings the right sort of acerbic exasperation fitting for a once glamorous woman past her prime, who's willing to point out when others are in the same boat. There is a certain tenderness she beautifully brings just below it all and she wordlessly suggests that her character really did love Quinlan)

Anonymous:

Brennan - 4(It's a nice bit of work that just sort of rounds out the colorful cast all the more. She's good in creating the same sort of street smart personality that matches Newman's work wonderfully well. Like the performance I mentioned above, it's another example where you completely understand and believe the relationship between the characters even though the film does not dwell upon it. She does not have too much to do in the scheme of things but she makes a nice impact nevertheless)

Robert:

Stephen Dillane.

Luke:

By the way how did I miss David O. Russell on the last list? Inconceivable as Vizzini would say.

Let me give you the that list now I'll get you the thoughts a little later.

1. William Wellman
2. John Carpenter
3. Kihachi Okamoto
4. Guy Green
5. Martin McDonagh
6. Alexander Mackendrick
7. James Whale
8. Martin Ritt
9. Joe Carnahan
10. Edgar Wright

Anonymous said...

Rating for Dietrich, please? Oh, and Louis, your Best Actress choices from 1930-1939.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: I actually think the strongest category this year will be Best Actress. Mulligan, Vikander × 2, are already 5's for me, add in Suffragette, Joy, Carol, Sicario, etc. and it looks like there's gonna be an awful lot of competition there.

As for Gyllenhaal's chances, I don't think he'll get in for Southpaw, if only because from what I've seen and heard so far, it's a fairly by the books sort of boxing flick and that Gyllenhaal is good, but not Nightcrawler or even Prisoners-level good.

As for the veteran nominations, my friend who's seen all 3 of 45 Years, Mr Holmes, and Youth, says Courtenay is at the biggest disadvantage since he has the less emotional role of the two leads, Charlotte Rampling has a much higher chance of getting nominated. Caine he says is very good and the film surrounding him has got quite a bit of post-Cannes hype, while we both agree that McKellen is exceptional and could pull off a Gods and Monsters if he's pushed for a nom. At this point though I think the only locks are Dicaprio, and Fassbender. I'm hoping McKellen takes one of the other spots.

Supporting Actor is definitely going to be pretty unpredictable as of now, but I'm guessing something along the lines of

Rylance
Hardy
Del Toro
Jackson
Kietel (for Youth, don't forget another veteran and arguably one of the more overdue ones. I choose him over De Niro because firstly, it's definitely the bigger role by all accounts, De Niro got his veteran nomination fairly recently while Keitel's only been nominated once before as a filler nomination)

Michael McCarthy said...

So I just watched The Mexican. It's a very meh film but please...PLEASE review James Gandolfini in the bonus rounds.

RatedRStar said...

Louis@ I remember Siskel and Ebert on one of their worst of the year shows (1985 when they did like a half term report) Siskel said that he thought Tom Hanks was a lesser Bill Murray lol.

I think Southpaw is doomed to be almost, and thank god lol, the release date doesn't help it, the Weinstein campaign is just idiotic, almost as bad as Chill Wills campaign, saying that this is Jakes year is a really bad thing to say.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Really? Joe Carnahan? I mean, The Grey is totally great, but mostly his films strike me as a lot of macho alpha=male posturing. Even Stretch, which while funny, went for that pretty hard by the end.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on David O. Russell as a director in general.

Robert MacFarlane said...

By the way, I'm watching The 'burbs right now on Netflix. I have to say that Docommun is annoying the shit out of me more than anything so far.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

1930: Marlene Dietrich - The Blue Angel
1931: Barbara Stanwyck - Night Nurse
1932: Miriam Hopkins - Trouble in Paradise
1933: Barbara Stawyck - Baby Face
1934: Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night
1935: Madeleine Carroll - 39 Steps
1936: Greta Garbo - Camille
1937: Irene Dunne - The Awful Truth
1938: Wendy Hiller - Pygmalion
1939: Vivien Leigh - Gone With the Wind

Luke: Trust me I'll get you those thoughts soon.

Robert: I would agree with that sentiment somewhat in regards to Smokin' Aces, and the A-Team (which I've seen parts of). I think he reigned in what he was going for with Smokin Aces with Stretch though. Then I would that's not true at all with his more dramatic works like The Grey and Narc which both I think show some great promise. I'd also argue it's pretty easy to say he's underrated when his last film had to go straight to video even though it had Captain Kirk in it.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Can I have ratings on your winners apart from Colbert, Garbo, Dunne and Leigh.

Anonymous said...

Whoa, Louis gave Stanwyck 3 Oscars...

Luke Higham said...

Calvin:
Legend Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey7S4hko_Mc

Anonymous said...

Hardy looks pretty good. By the way, I think Louis will give Sinatra a 4 or 3,5 while Harvey will get a 4,5 for The Manchurian Candidate.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Even in Narc there was some of the machismo woe, but yeah, I do think he shows way more talent as a dramatic director.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm still betting on Harvey getting a 5.

RatedRStar said...

The Manchurian Candidate, another reason to declare 62 as the best ever =D. Legend is just looking great, things are going according to plan =D as I said.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: I had no doubts at all. =)

Luke Higham said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Luke Higham said...

Yes! Rylance got nominated for an Emmy, alongside Damian Lewis. Pryce and Foy should've been nominated though. Dinklage was nominated again which I'm disappointed by, since Dillane, Allen and Pryce were the real standouts and boring Dany got in as well, though I'm pleased for Rigg and Headey.

Anonymous said...

I can't be pissed about Dinklage... Others were more deserving but I'm happy for him, he's such a great actor. So delighted by Headey's and Rigg's nominations, and I don't mind Clarke's. Louis, your rating on Marlene Dietritch in Touch of Evil, you forgot it.

Luke Higham said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'm still happy for Dinklage, but as I said the three cast members, that I mentioned were just better on the whole this season. I wish the academy members could think outside the box for once.

Anonymous said...

Well, I thought Weintein's agenda against Cotillard involved only The Immigrant, but, as you say, he had same kind of trouble with this one. I only hope Cotillard's credibility make people watch it and vote for her - from Cannes in this last four years, she got her best reviews and many critics pointing to her presence in awards season. And, oh, sure, it's necessary Weinstein not to srew things up releasing it with wrong timing.

Demolition being pushed to 2016 seems like an arrengement to benefit Gyllenhaal.

And agree with Luke - Any other supporting actress listed from GoT in the ballot deserved it more than Clarke, principally Williams. The thing about Dillane, Allen and Pryce is that they were not int he ballots - if anyone else could get the nod, it was Harington and Coster-Wajdau, and I'm pretty fine with Dinklage nomination.

Anonymous said...

This year the emmy accepted lots of new things - Maslany, Anderson, Tambor, Better Call Saul, etc. I mean, at least comparing with the emmy's standard posture.

Anonymous said...

Coster-Waldau and Harington were very good this season! Although Coster-Waldau should have been nominated for his best performances in season 3 (he should have WON) and also 4 (he was great there too). Anyway, I'm thrilled about American Horror Story's 6 acting nominations (Lange was amazing, so were Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates and Finn Wittrock, the others too were pretty great, so happy about the noms). Grace of Monaco's nomination for Best TV Movie was disgusting though, that movie was horrible.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: With Cotillard, let's hope so.

GOT/Emmys
In that case, I'm fine with it, but I'm getting a bit sick seeing just him in the field of nominees and no one else.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I completely agree with you on Coster-Waldau.

RatedRStar said...

Because of Demolition being pushed to April, I dont see what Weinstein is doing, if he had sense Demolition would be coming out September 2016, to qualify for next years Oscars and potentially give Jake two consecutive nominations, and how is this Jakes year Harvey!!!

If Jake gets nominated he will still have no chance of winning, if either one of DiCaprio or Depp gets nominated, he is toast in terms of winning,

Anonymous said...

Louis what do you think about Emmy's noms? And what are your thoughts on the three male performances in season 5 that were in the ballot (in short, your thoughts on Harington, Dinklage and Coster-Waldau in season 5)?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I honestly don't understand how Grace Of Monaco got nominated, it's not even a TV Film, although many said it's more of a Lifetime film than anything else.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I personally liked Harington alot this season, and if anyone had to have been nominated out of those three, it should've been him.

Michael McCarthy said...

I'm actually not that impressed with the lineup for Best Drama Series. I haven't seen Orange is the New Black or Better Call Saul yet, but the other shows had fairly weak seasons relative to their respective series as a whole.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: It's been a mixed day. Legend trailer was awesome. However, I'm appalled, that neither Foy nor Price, were nominated. I just rewatched Wolf Hall again, and I'd just bumped Foy up to a 5 as well. So yeah. Fuck.

Happy for Rylance though.

Anonymous said...

Michael: Mad Men included??

About Demolition - Gyllenhaal not winning this time will probably make the difference on changing its release date.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: Also, Lesser is now a 4.5 for me. And Episode 4 now my favourite episode of all.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Is anyone else mad over "Hardhome" being snubbed for best directing? Cause I am. I wish Coster-Waldau was nominated, he had an awesome character arc this season.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

A 4.

I'll admit I find Emmy not particularly interesting, it's hard enough to cover the films in a given year, but with television it's a ridiculous undertaking so the flaws with its systems are not surprising. Of course as usual I can only comment on what I've seen.

Any who in regards to Supporting Actor Drama all other nominees are usurpers and should relinquish their nominations or be destroyed. Seriously though the Dinklage nomination was lazy on the voters part, just like in Season 3. I fail to understand HBO submission policies as basically all of the ladies were covered, but they only submitted three men and not even Pryce even though he would have been in guest actor! Speaking of the ladies though Headey's nomination was deserved. Clarke, even though I suppose she's given her best work since Season one though that's not saying much, still should never have gotten in over Gwendoline Christie, Natalie Dormer, Maisie Williams, Carice van Houten, or especially Sophie Turner. Really the only supporting women she was better than were the awful Sand Snakes. Rigg's nomination at least was quite deserved. Of course the ridiculousness spreads past the acting when the series received two nominations for directing and neither one was for Hardhome, that's just ridiculous.

I have to say the other drama series I saw was Better Call Saul and its two acting nominations are very deserved, although I have to say like this season of Game of Thrones, it was a season with a lot of promise but ended up being a bit of disappointment. For comedy series I've only watched Silicon Valley, and its recognition was well deserved.

As for the three men submitted.

Dinklage - (I'd say his weakest season throughout the series. To be fair though he did not have the best material to work with this time, and when there were chances to shine he still managed to do so. I have to say though even in his own storyline I felt he was overshadowed by Conleth Hill at first then Ian Glen later on. I think he'd actually barely make it into my top twenty for the season.)

Coster-Waldau - (That season 3 snub really does sting. I'd say he had possibly even more problematic material to work than Dinklage this season. He still tried his best though and I'd certainly still describe him as good given what he had to work with. Even so I'd say he was also overshadowed in his storyline first by Jerome Flynn then later by Alexander Siddig)

Harington - (The only one who deserved to be on the ballot, and he should have gotten the nomination over Dinklage. Harington has managed to get better each season, although this is not just a positive thing since he was a bit weak in season one, but that has worked in the favor of the character of Jon Snow. The way Harington has improved as a performer has naturally went along with the maturation of Jon Snow. Harington once again did well to further the journey of Snow as he brings an even harder man than before, and was quite compelling in his depiction of the terrible stress of Snow's exceedingly tense situation. It was strong work, and I'd actually say his reaction at the end of the Hardhome had more of an impact than anything Dinklage did the whole season)

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Kit Harington would've had an excellent submission with "Hardhome." If he was nominated, he could've won. Same with Coster Waldau, who could've won with "Kissed By Fire" all the way back in Season 3.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I watch The Good Wife and find the nominations for Cumming and Baranski extremely lazy considering how little they had to do this season. Matt Czuchry is the one they should have pushed for.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Robert: The Emmys are known for being lazy, and redundant. For example: giving best comedy series 5 years in a row to Modern Family.

Anonymous said...

Do you think Coster-Waldau would have been deserving of a nod for Season 4? Because I liked him in that almost as much as I liked him in the third one. I think he's such a good actor, he should get more roles worthy of his talent. Even if you don't care much for either in Season 5, do you think that he would have been more deserving of Dinklage of the nod?

Michael McCarthy said...

Anonymous: The last season of Mad Men was far from bad, and like the other nominees it had its share of strong moments (like Peggy and Stan's last scene) but the ending I felt lacked the emotional punch it seemed to be building up too.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I don't think it needed the emotional punch. Plus the finale had its moments. Like Sally sobbing over Betty's letter and Don basically having once last conversation with her. Hell, January Jones was even great in that scene.

Anonymous said...

Not that big of a fan of the Emmys, either.

Michael McCarthy said...

Oh I thought the finale was perfectly fine and those moments were strong, but something really felt missing for me especially in Don's story.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: It's my favourite episode of the series. Lesser's great and I love Cromwell's outburst towards Thomas More's hypocrisies. My personal favourite scene of the episode is the execution itself, which is also intertwined with a flashback of the two in their childhoods and my favourite line is ''Words..., Words..., Just Words''.

RatedRStar said...

I just think Emmys dont mean anything, nobody in ten years time will talk about The Emmys of 2015, same as they dont talk about what happened in the 1965 Emmys or the 1990 Emmys, plus the fact that its mostly the same nominees every year is just pathetic and boring.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Yep.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: All I care about is Rylance winning. The Emmys bore the shit out of me too, At least with the globes and the baftas, we generally get different winners every year.

RatedRStar said...

Oscars are LIKEthe equivalent of Wrestlemania, The Superbowl, The Champions League final, watched all over the globe, trending worldwide, remembered for generations, , that are loved across the globe, and what do the Emmys have, um, Alan Cumming.

Anonymous said...

So the next year Louis will review is 1959, right? I'll bet that he'll finally give a 5 to Cary Grant in North by Northwest, but Stewart is likely 1#. I'd love to see Grant get a win.

RatedRStar said...

Theres like no excitement when the nominations are announced because its like, yep 5 of these are the same as last year, um yep thats gonna win again, BORING.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Tell that to the Americans, for as long as I remember the Emmys have beaten the oscars year after year in the ratings and lastly, apart from some of the winners and a obsession with Dicaprio actually winning one.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: It should be 1959, but I really want 1976 next and if Louis doesn't cover it before 1962, I'm gonna be in such a terrible rage, since we get a reveiw once every 2 or 3 days instead of 1, though I guess that's due to it being summertime and I'm sure Louis wants to relax a bit more.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I think that the internet would explode if DiCaprio ever got an Oscar. I think that he will get one when he's in his 60's or 70's, much like Paul Newman.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm already preparing my multiple DiCaprio Oscar memes out in case he loses, or (God forbid) get snubbed. I will have fun with this, dammit.

RatedRStar said...

Do the Emmys get more viewing figures than the Oscars, um I guess they do, maybe in America, definitely not worldwide though, they aren't as popular as The Oscars though but we know all that anyway.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Well, I hope he wins this year, So that I could finally hear the end of it.

Anonymous said...

I just hope that Depp can deliver something great with Black Mass.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps James Mason will get two fives for North by Northwest and Lolita?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I think everyone does, including Louis.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I think that's a certainty and will tie with Olivier on 8 fives.

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: Same. If he resists the urge to ham it out I can actually see him giving a chilling, terrifying performance.

1959 Lead, my suggestions:

Grant
Guinness (Our Man in Havana)
Cagney (Shake Hands with the Devil)

...and that's it. I would also put out Stockwell for Compulsion (I thought he was great but Louis might think otherwise), or Leaud for The 400 Blows

Anonymous said...

Do you think Louis will give Olivier a 5 for The Devil's Disciple?

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: Yes. I think Schildkraut (forgive me if I made a typo there), Boyd, Mason and Olivier are definite 5's.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Although I haven't seen it, the length of the film doesn't really do him any favours, so I'll go with a 4.5, but when it comes to Louis Morgan, anything could happen.

Anonymous said...

What kind of rating do you think Louis will give to Grant, Guinness, Cagney and Stockwell?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous:
Grant - 4.5/5
Guinness - 4.5
Cagney - 4.5
Stockwell - 4/4.5

Anonymous said...

Louis could possibly give a 5 to Guinness since he's one of his favorite actors.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: It's only a prediction, I just have a feeling that Louis's gonna find his performance as a lesser one, though by no means bad.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Then again, it is a spy film, which could work in his favour.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I think maybe we should try not to post as much now that we're coming up on page 2, guys.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: That's me done for the night anyway and hopefully Connery's review will be up by 00:00 (ET).

Louis: Can I have your ratings & thoughts on the cast of The Last Crusade, for the next review.

Anonymous said...

Very well then, Robert.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous: He was good in season 4 as well, Dinklage was very deserving that time though, and I would have opted for Rory McCann's work overall (which for whatever reason also was not submitted by HBO). I suppose I would have taken him over Dinklage this year, although I felt they were about on the same level, but hey it would at least seem like some consolation for Dinklage taking his nomination for season 3. Unfortunately they're on such autopilot with Dinklage I don't think any other supporting man can get in no matter how deserving.

Luke:

My delays I'm afraid don't have anything to do with a desire relax.

William Wellman - (I don't know how he does not come up more often when talking about the great directors from the 30's. He had a real eye for visuals, you'd think Battleground took place on a real battleground, but was so good at finding such powerful emotions in the film without ever seeming to force them on the audience. Anyone who made The Ox-Bow Incident deserves far more praise than Wellman is ever given)

John Carpenter - (It's shame apparently about his later work, but really he was never given enough credit for his earlier work. Halloween is such outstanding piece of work in terms of atmosphere and showed how to make a guy going around and killing people could be art. The Thing is a chilling horror to watch, but Carpenter never forgets to build character along with the film's palatable atmosphere. Carpenter's early work is that of a great director)

Kihachi Okamoto - (All praise to Japanese directors generally goes to Kurosawa, but hey don't forget about Okamoto. Although also working the subject matter of samurais Okamoto has his own style and creates a unique tone. Kill! is particularly interesting example of a director adapting something that was already made into a great film (Sanjuro, which also has Tatsuya Nakadai), and making a great film himself. That has similarities to be sure, but stands on its own while working in its own way)

Louis Morgan said...

Guy Green - (The tend nature of his cinematography seemed to seep into his style direction. He seemed to have such a delicate touch for a emotions and knew how to make a very moving story without feeling manipulative)

Martin McDonagh - (Yes his films are well praise, but not enough!!!! Also I constantly see people saying he's a better writer than director. Well I'd say he is a great writer, but also quite a good director as well. Both of films suggest he has real eye and understanding how how to bring his unique stories to the screen)

Alexander Mackendrick - (Sweet Smell of Success is often brought but I don't see his name often come up in this praise. He deserves mention in building that seedy New York so well through his vision. What's unexpected is he's also the guy who brought along the very enjoyable comedies of the Ladykillers and The Man in the White Suite)

James Whale - (He does receive praise, but not enough I would say. Gods and Monsters did not do enough for him. When so many directors were content to take just mid shots of actors, Whale expressed an actual vision. He gave the camera life and brought such visual splendor to his films)

Martin Ritt - (He does get praise, but again maybe not enough. Hud and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold are both masterful representations of pessimism. Beyond that he was kinda the subtle Stanley Kramer in that he knew how to bring his message naturally into a compelling story)

Edgar Wright - (Again he simple deserves more praise. Every one of this films have shown such a creative and ingenious spark to them, particularly in his visual sense)

Dietrich - 4(Now great work, I certainly preferred it over her similair turn in Morocco. She does the sultry night club entertainer well here but I like how she successfully bridges the character further than that to show she could change a man)

Stanwyck - 4.5(A fairly simple story, but Stanwyck does some strong reactive work as she pretty much just acts as a realistic woman engaging in a difficult situation. It's easy to see how a lot of the performers from the period would have seemed quite boring in the role, but Stanwyck brings so much life to it)

Miriam Hopkins - 4(It's an enjoyable little performance. Nothing too memorable about it but it works well for her film)

Stawyck - 4.5(It's an interesting performance when compared to her later work in Double Indemnity. Here she does not seem to playing that role in the least though. She gives a different sort of allure, where perhaps the point is more direct so she is as well. There is also a bit less soullessness to her and Stanwyck effectively conveys a less wholly sinister sort with her characterization)