Tuesday 26 January 2016

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2015

And the Nominees Were Not:

Stanley Tucci in Spotlight

Liev Schreiber in Spotlight

Michael Keaton in Spotlight


Nicholas Hoult in Mad Max: Fury Road

Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation

Emory Cohen in Brooklyn

Benicio Del Toro in Sicario

Josh Brolin in Sicario

Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight

Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight

Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina

Richard Jenkins in Bone Tomahawk

Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Michael Sheen in Far From The Madding Crowd

Matthias Schoenaerts in Far From The Madding Crowd

For Prediction purposes:

Tucci

Hoult

Elba

Cohen

Del Toro

and/or

Goggins

Isaac

Jenkins

Driver


Sheen

80 comments:

Luke Higham said...

1. Del Toro
2. Hoult
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Goggins
3. Driver
4. Isaac
5. Sheen

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Hoult
2. Del Toro
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Isaac
3. Goggins
4. Sheen
5. Driver

mcofra7 said...


1. Del Toro
2. Elba
3. Tucci
4. Hoult
5. Cohen

1. Jenkins
2. Isaac
3. Goggins
4. Sheen
5. Driver

Michael McCarthy said...

Shoot, I'll just rank them how I'd rank them:

1. Nicholas Hoult (dear Lord would I love if he won.)
2. Benicio Del Toro
3. Idris Elba
4. Emory Cohen
5. Stanley Tucci (though on rewatch, Schreiber was easily the MVP for me.)

1. Richard Jenkins
2. Oscar Isaac
3. Walton Goggins (loved him but thought Russell and Jackson were even better.)
4. Adam Driver
5. Michael Sheen

Michael McCarthy said...

I hope you watch Straight Outta Compton before you finish your rankings though. I think Hawkins, Mitchell and Jackson would be worthy of reviews in the future.

Matt Mustin said...

Not the best performance of this group (though certainly a great one) but I'm most looking forward to Adam Driver's review. There's a lot to talk about there.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'd argue the Compton 3 are all leads in that movie and would make a nice joint review for lead.

Anonymous said...

Have not seen al of these movies...

John Smith:

1.Hoult
2.Del Toro
3.Elba
4.Cohen
5.Tucci

1.Sheen (A masterclass in acting, he would be the most deserving out of all. Hope he wins the year...)
2.Goggins
3.Driver
4.Isaac
5.Driver

Luke Higham said...

John Smith: As much as I liked Sheen, there's no chance of that happening.

Anonymous said...

1. Hoult
2. Del Toro
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Goggins
3. Driver
4. Isaac
5. Sheen

Michael Patison said...

I'm guessing Louis agrees with Robert and that's why he's held off on Jason Mitchell, at least, considering that who most found the most "deserving."

Group 1:
1. Benicio del Toro
2. Nicholas Hoult
3. Idris Elba
4. Emory Cohen
5. Stanley Tucci (Brian d'Arcy James is my favorite, with Schreiber in 2nd followed by Tucci)

Group 2:
1. Richard Jenkins
2. Michael Sheen (Schoenaerts my male MVP, though I know I'm in the minority)
3. Walton Goggins
4. Oscar Isaac
5. Adam Driver

Anonymous said...

John Smith:

Michael:

Both are my mvps lol

I just can't choice just one, but if i had to with a gun against my head i would chose Sheen.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Seen any other 2015 films recently.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your Top Ten for Directing in 2015.

JackiBoyz said...

1. Hoult
2. Del Toro
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Goggins
2. Jenkins
3. Driver
4. Isaac
5. Sheen

Robert MacFarlane said...

For the record, I strenuously object to Jackson's placement here. The film literally begins and ends with him.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Another choice for Holden's role in The Wild Bunch was Mitchum. How do you think he would have turned out?

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

1. George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Alejandro G. Inarritu - The Revenant
3. Denis Villeneuve - Sicario
4. Justin Kurzel - Macbeth
5. Ryan Coogler - Creed
6. Steven Spielberg - Bridge of Spies
7. Quentin Tarantino - The Hateful Eight
8. John Crowley - Brooklyn
9. Joel Edgerton - The Gift
10. Todd Haynes - Carol

London Road
Irrational Man
The Intern
Trainwreck

Anonymous:

I believe I've already commented on that.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings & Thoughts on the casts and thoughts on the films in general.

I'm really interested in what you have to say about Hardy in London Road.

Anonymous said...

Louis: I believe you commentated on Marvin being considered for Holden's role in The Wild Bunch.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: If the second half of Beasts Of No Nation, was as good as the first, would Fukunaga have made the list.

Maciej said...

1.Hoult
2.Del Toro
3.Tucci
4.Elba
5.Cohen

1.Isaac
2.Goggins
3.Jenkins
4.Driver
5.Sheen

Louis Morgan said...

Ah London Road, if you did not like the talking through parts of the songs in Les Miserables here's a film entirely filled with it. The story about how the citizens react to a serial killer and how it brings together the community was potentially interesting. The songs sink it though as they almost all sound the same, and if you don't like that one song, which I did not, you're going to go crazy.

All the performances basically meld in together seeking to portray just the general feeling of the community rather than an individual character except for.....

Hardy - 3.5(He's only in one scene, and then again for like a split second. Hardy though actually tries to create a character in his sing songing as guy whose a bit off putting as he explains his personal knowledge of serial killers. Hardy treads the line well and creates an intriguing enigma in the taxi driver. The film does nothing with his character unfortunately, and it's not worth watching the film to see. Though you certainly could just watch his scene.)

Irrational Man is a terrible film as Woody Allen is doing just kind of a bland version of his extremely stale, older man/younger woman routine, then throws in a Crimes and Misdemeanors twist that is completely tone deaf, and makes the film collapse into a complete mess.

Phoenix - 2.5(He was more than decent in his early scenes in doing just basically his take on Woody Allen, which he thankfully did not do literally as an imitation. When the film took his dark turn his performance suddenly seemed extremely inadequate as Phoenix continued to play it in a casual way that was neither funny nor engaging. I can't help but feel Allen really sent him in the wrong direction, as if there was no twist his performance would have been completely fine if unremarkable)

Stone - 2(I could not help but feel that Stone was slightly personally embarrassed about being in this sort of role in an Allen film again. I did not believe in her relationship with Phoenix in the least, and it did not seem like Stone herself did)

The Intern I suppose probably is not that bad of the hokey light comedy its going for, a la The Devil Wears Prada, but it is most certainly not my cup of tea.

Most of those performances are pretty much in that a little too cartoony performance style, and Hathaway is pretty much doing exactly what she did in the aforementioned film.

De Niro - 3.5(Honestly one of his better post-Goodfellas performances. De Niro seems to actually be trying and even though his role is basically as "super older guy" De Niro does this gracefully enough. It's fine work, and I was surprised to see he actually seemed invested for once)

I gave Trainwreck a chance simply because the only other Apatow film I saw was Funny People, which I hated, but many said was his worse, so I gave this a chance. Well it's going to take a lot to get me to watch another one of his films. I don't know why it's two hours long, there's no reason for it. I did not find it funny, and though its more dramatic elements were all pretty standard, well except when they threw in some more obnoxious one liners in them.

Schumer - 3(Found her comedic shtick got old very quickly, but she was decent in the more serious moments she had)

Hader - 3(Found him to be completely serviceable as a straight man here, but nothing beyond that)

Larson - 3.5(The best performance in the film as she actually managed to avoid being a mere caricature and found a way to balance the conflicting tones of the film within her own work.)

Swinton - 2.5(Perfectly cast, but she did not knock it out of the park)

Quinn - 3(I'll admit I enjoyed his one note brashness)

Cena - 2(Eh found his shtick really got old quickly)

Miller - 2(The same goes for him)

James - 2(And him)

Lloyd - 3(And him... no wait I actually found him to be pretty amusing, the film needed more of him)

And a definite yes to your last question.

Anonymous:

Well Mitchum would have been great as well, but it still would've been hard to top Holden.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Did you hear that shatter? Michael McCarthy's heart just broke.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Ratings and thoughts on:
Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green
Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson in The Cincinnati Kid

Luke Higham said...

Louis: What are your favourite original songs of 2015.

Deiner said...

Unfortunately, I haven't seen all of them, but I'd rank the ones I've seen:
1. Walton Goggins -- The Hateful Eight
2. Samuel L. Jackson -- The Hateful Eight
3. Nicholas Hoult -- Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Emory Cohen -- Brooklyn
5. Matthias Schoenaerts -- Far From the Madding Crowd
6. Oscar Isaac -- Ex Machina
7. Michael Sheen -- Far From the Madding Crowd
8. Adam Driver -- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
By the way, I actually liked Tilda Swinton in Trainwreck. I thought her performance was very enjoyable.

Michael McCarthy said...

I get not liking LeBron and Cena, but it makes me sad that you disliked the film, I thought it was delightful.

Calvin Law said...

The existence of this lineup pleases me greatly. All is forgiven for Damon :)

1. Del Toro
2. Hoult
3. Elba
4. Cohen (pains me to put him this low and hopefully, hopefully, he'll prove me wrong and come out second)
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Isaac
3. Goggins
4. Driver
5. Sheen (again, pains me to put him this low, although Michael Patison you're not alone, Schoenaerts is my MVP too)

Calvin Law said...

I actually saw Trainwreck not too long ago and thought it was enjoyable enough, actually, not anything amazing but I certainly did not mind it.

Calvin Law said...

I also legitimately would not mind which of these performances won as I thought they were all great. Just as a prediction though, for ratings (won't bother with overall rankings as that'd be too hard):

Tucci: 4.5
Schreiber: 4.5
Keaton: 4.5
Hoult: 5
Elba: 5
Cohen: 4.5/5 (hopefully a 5)
Del Toro: 5
Brolin: 4.5
Goggins: 5
Jackson: 5
Russell: 5
Isaac: 4.5/5
Jenkins: 5
Driver: 4.5
Sheen: 4.5
Schoenaerts: 4.5

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: 12 Fives in Supporting would be Mind-Blowing. :)

I predict 8 (Hopefully 9) in Lead.

This maybe the first time, that I'm actually more confident in winning the top lineup, than the bottom.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'm going to say on Cohen's behalf preemptively: The fact that I missed him so much in the last third was proof enough for me that he did his job perfectly.

Calvin Law said...

Oh certainly. Though I thought it did work for the film, making the eventual reunion all the more powerfully joyous.

GM said...

1. Del Toro
2. Hoult
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Isaac
3. Goggins
4. Driver
5. Sheen

Luke Higham said...

3. Isaac
4. Driver

Michael Patison said...

Also, RIP Abe Vigoda

RatedRStar said...

1. Del Toro
2. Hoult
3. Elba
4. Cohen
5. Tucci

1. Jenkins
2. Goggins
3. Driver
4. Isaac
5. Sheen

Matthew St.Clair said...

From this lineup, my top 5 would look like this:

1. Cohen
2. Isaac
3. Del Toro
4. Tucci
5. Hoult

Psifonian said...

1. Hoult
2. Cohen
3. Tucci
4. Del Toro
5. Elba

1. Jenkins
2. Goggins
3. Isaac
4. Sheen
5. Driver

Robert MacFarlane said...

My own personal ranking (having not seen Elba yet) would be:

1. Cohen
2. Hoult
3. Sheen
4. Driver
5. Del Toro
6. Schreiber
7. Tucci
8. Keaton
9. Russell
10. Jackson
11. Isaac
12. Jenkins
13. Goggins
14. Schoenaerts
15. Brolin

Calvin Law said...

Guys, quick question: I'm doing my Makeup/Hairstyling rankings and am wondering, to what extent do you consider this aspect of Legend to be crucial to the 'two Tom Hardys' conceit? I thought it was well done but can't help but think it was more the way Hardy carried himself physically and through his facial gestures which made the two Kray brothers distinct.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I'm on the fence with that.

Luke Higham said...

I expect the Spotlight guys to be reviewed first, then either Driver or Schoenaerts/Sheen.

Anonymous said...

I'll just change something in my prediction.
1. Del Toro
2. Hoult

Anonymous said...

This is probably the best year for supporting.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: It's unquestionably the best ever. :)

I'm dying for Driver's review. I'm quite sure of everyone else's ratings, though Driver could surprise.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I can't see Driver getting a 5.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'd say there's a slim chance, though I won't get my hopes up, if he doesn't. :)

Anonymous said...

Luke: I hope that the Star Wars sequels will be just as good.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'm looking forward to Episode VIII, IX not as much.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I really hope that The Big Short doesn't win Best Picture.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: If it does, I'll riot. My choice is Mad Max: Fury Road, though I'll be happy with the other 6.

Alex Marqués said...

I agree on this past year being one of the best ones for supporting actors ever, if not the best one. I think it was also a terrific year for movies in general, one of the greatest years of this decade, at least in my opinion.

Luke Higham said...

Alex: For films, this year's been my favourite of the decade and this might well be the best year for acting in general, Rylance in Wolf Hall included. :)

Alex Marqués said...

Also, "Concussion" is being released this week in Spain and I haven't seen it, but I'm a bit sick of comments of people talking about how unfair it is that Will Smith wasn't nominated blah blah racial issues blah blah. I don't dislike him as an actor, but was he really worthy of a nomination? (I know Louis rating of his performance)

Alex Marqués said...

Luke: Still need to see that show....and at least twenty movies from this past year (I know I know...exams are hard).

Luke Higham said...

Alex: Not really.

Apart from Best Picture and Diversifying the voting members, the rumoured rule changes for the acting categories are bothering me.

Robert MacFarlane said...

There's no rule changes for acting nominees. The new rules are to cycle out Academy members who haven't been active in the industry for a decade or more. Winners are excluded.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: Thanks for Clarifying. :)

I read an article on Indiewire last week, about the academy expanding the acting categories, which felt like overkill to me.

Robert MacFarlane said...

It would have destroyed whatever credibility they had left.

Alex Marqués said...

"Expanding" in what sense? If it refers to a bigger number of nominations per category I'd be more than fine with that.

Luke Higham said...

Alex: It said in the article, that they could've expanded the acting categories to 10 nominees each, which I thought was too much. 6 or 7 I could deal with, but 10, ugh.

Alex Marqués said...

Well, in the page of nominations of this blog Louis uses that system :D
In my opinion, between 6 and 8 would be perfect

Robert MacFarlane said...

That's fine for a blog or a personal thing. The Academy already lost a lot of dignity with going to ten, and even more so with this silly "sliding scale" rule. If they did that with performances, there's no dignity left at all. Whether or not you think the Oscars live up to its reputation as an awards body, there has to be SOME level of exclusivity. Nor does it solve the diversity issue, since it would come off as condescending tokenism.

Luke Higham said...

Alex: Louis' probably gonna be torn on the issue, though from a personal view, I wouldn't be as excited for the alternates, if they decided to go down that road.

Alex Marqués said...

Well, I personally couldn't care less about the Academy's dignity. At the end of the day, we will all continue enjoying acting and movies in general, and the Academy has always been there to a lot of stupid choices for many, many years, and with 10 nominations they would still probably fuck it up, so...

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Heston - Apes(The man had screen presence which will always be my final statement on Heston, which he certainly utilizes here in the silent scenes. Then he really certainly did deliver his iconic lines in a memorable way. It's not altogether an engaging characterization but his performance works for the film certainly.)

Soylent Green - (I really like his scenes with Robinson as the two have some nice chemistry together as they make a genuine friendship that is endearing then eventually moving. Heston's a whole lot less interesting outside of that apartment though, but at least he pulls another epic line reading, maybe too epic, with his final scene)

McQueen - (McQueen's performance here, especially when compared to say Paul Newman in The Hustler, leaves something to be desired. He brings the cool to be sure but there's a desired lack of depth to his characterization to the kid. Not to mention he's quite overshadowed by...)

Robinson - (Robinson is in top form in that he really out cools the King of cool here. Robinson is so appropriately smooth, yet manages to make a certain cruelty to his smoothness. Robinson is really good in the way he never is actively menacing or mean yet, but you completely understand why everyone seems to hate his character due to just how sure he is of himself)

Luke:

In regards to song I suppose I liked the original one from Love & Mercy, and Four Doomed Men Ride Out. It's a pretty bad year for the category altogether though.

In regards to the talked about expansion of the acting categories, I would have been completely against it. One reason being that, unlike best picture, the supporting acting categories have always been five no reason to change it. The other reason being that they do filler nominations even with five, so it'd be even worse with 10. Sticking to five is the right way to go, besides even if they had expanded 10 for lead actress and possibly supporting actress they probably would not have gotten an Asian, African, or Latino person nominated in those categories. Six of lead could have easily been Johnny Depp, and supporting could have easily been Jacob Tremblay.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: I'm in complete agreement with you.

Your Top Ten for Production Design.

moviefilm said...

1) Del Toro
2) Hoult
3) Elba
4) Tucci
5) Cohen

1) Goggins
2) Isaac
3) Jenkins
4) Sheen
5) Driver

Alex Marqués said...

Yeah, I agree that they would give a lot of filler nominations, it would be a wasted opportunity anyway...

JackiBoyz said...

For the film thoughts Louis what are your thoughts and rating on these films?

Babel
Splendor in the Grass
McCabe & Mrs Miller
Klute
THX 1138

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Macbeth
3. Crimson Peak
4. Legend
5. The Revenant
6. Carol
7. The Hateful Eight
8. Bridge of Spies
9. Brooklyn
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

JackiBoyz:

Noted.

Calvin Law said...

Ooh Crimson Peak, yes should probably have that on my list eh. And Legend too.

Robert MacFarlane said...

No Ex Machina?!

Louis Morgan said...

Robert:

Knew I was forgetting something, it would be my #5.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Oh good, thought you went insane.

Michael Patison said...

I'll chime in on the Academy rule changes.

I essentially agree with Luke. The change to Best Picture would be the best change the Academy could feasibly make to the current setup. If I understand you, Robert, it seems like you not only dislike the sliding scale (which is monstrously stupid), but with the expansion to 10 nominees. I disagree and think that the only worse thing they could do is scrap the whole thing and go back to 5 nominees.

I also completely agree with the actions being taken to diversify the membership as well, but I don't really know anyone who doesn't.

But I also agree about the acting categories. In a perfect world, they would stick with 5 and not fuck it up year after year with bad and/or filler nominees. But expanding to 10 would ruin credibility. I mean, 10 deserving supporting female performances, especially when an actor is only allowed one nomination per category? Some of the nominations would end up being shockingly mediocre just by default, not by Academy stupidity. But I could live with an expansion to 6 like they do for the Critics' Choice.

Robson Nakazato said...

1-Hoult
2-Keaton
3-Del Toro
4-Elba
5-Cohen

1-Jenkins
2-Isaac
3-Goggins
4-Driver
5-Sheen

Robson Nakazato said...

16 - Cohen
15 - Sheen
14 - Schoenaert
13 - Schreiber
12 - Tucci
11 - Jackson
10 - Brolin
9 - Driver
8 - Goggins
7 - Isaac
6 - Russell
5 - Elba
4 - Del Toro
3 - Keaton
2 - Hoult
1 - Jenkins (WINS 2015)