Wednesday 23 August 2017

Alternate Best Actor 1992: Results

5. Eric Stoltz in The Waterdance - Stoltz gives an effective performance that offers a rather low key and alternative take to the disabled man story.

Best Scene: Asking Anna to move on.
4. Benoît Poelvoorde in Man Bites Dog - Poelvoord's work does not just fit but also creates the chilling off-beat tone in his strange portrayal of a vicious serial killer.

Best Scene: Heart Attack murder.
3. Russell Crowe in Romper Stomper - Crowe gives a terrific initial indication to his considerable talent through his brutal portrayal of a neo-nazi where he grants emotional nuance to the character yet purposefully never makes him sympathetic while doing so.

Best Scene: Hando finds Davey and Gabrielle.
2. Peter Coyote in Bitter Moon - Coyote embraces yet also provides some needed depth to his lurid material in his terrific realization of a man slowly overwhelmed by bitterness.

Best Scene: Final remorse.
1. Willem Dafoe in Light Sleeper - Dafoe gives a powerful internalized portrayal of his drug dealer, showing the man attempting to find a new life after having already seemingly suffered through the worst.

Best Scene: Street Jumper. 
Update Overall

Next Year: 1992 Supporting

48 comments:

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the rest of the leading performances you saw, as well as Day-Lewis and Pesci.

Your Female Top Tens and other performances with a 4 or higher.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Tony Todd in Candyman is the only one I can think of.

Luke Higham said...

And I'm so happy with the upgrade for DDL.

Luke Higham said...

Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me cast
Graham Greene in Thunderheart
Tony Todd in Candyman
Wesley Snipes in The Waterdance

Robert MacFarlane said...

I was hoping Cruise would get upgraded for A Few Good Men, I consider it one of his best star turns.

Charles H said...

Louis: Your top 15 Robin Williams acting moments.

Omar Franini said...

Louis: your ratings and thoughts on:
Binoche and Richardson in Damage
Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil
Emanuelle Beart in A Heart in Winter
Sharon Stone in basic Instinct
Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Are Leung and Chow still 4s for Hard Boiled.

Charles H said...

Glad to see Pesci & Day Lewis get upgraded.

Anonymous said...

I thought Cruise was just acceptable in A Few Good Men, just like the film itself.

Anonymous said...

Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me cast

Anonymous said...

Luke: You know how you always seem to find comments on the blog from previous posts, how do you find them? because I have tried the ctrl F and it only finds the words and stuff from just the current page that you are on?

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Google search > site:actoroscar.blogspot.com > (e.g.) Day-Lewis - 4.5 The Crucible or Day-Lewis The Crucible then check each page in the search results, (Alternate Lead 1996 Lineup Page) and CTRL F > Day-Lewis or Day-Lewis - 4.5 which should lead me to Louis' thoughts on him.

Calvin Law said...

Looks like 1992 is the year of constant re-evaluation for Louis.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on Jody's story of the Scorpion and the Frog, Jody's death scene, the first scene at the bar between Jimmy, Dil, and Col the barman, the performance of the titular song, and the final scene, in 'The Crying Game'.

Anonymous said...

Louis: your top five Stephen Rea acting moments.
Excited to seeing Louis top ten movies of 1992 upgrade. I think and I hope that Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me will be in the top five.

Anonymous said...

So, they're making a Joker origin movie, huh? This feels unnecessary.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on the coffee scene in The Big Heat.

Luke Higham said...

Everyone: Your top 5 most irritating comments on Youtube.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Luke: Um, what?

Luke Higham said...

Robert: Comments like First, Who's watching in (insert year) etc.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Luke: In that case any sexist/racist/homophobic comment, which nowadays take up 80% of the comments section. I swear, if I see one more disaffected 16-year-old fuckboy whine that feminists ruined Star Wars, I will devour my own hand.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: I kind of wanted to bring it up as I've had times where I see comments like first and this sent me here annoy the shit me out of me as nobody gives a fuck about it.

Anonymous said...

Luke: Just ignore those comments.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I can ignore the minor troll-y things, but hateful stuff like that is the reason I never read the comments of most sites anymore.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I try my best to ignore them. :)

What are your top ten films of 2017.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: I don't like Xenophobia either.

Anonymous said...

Luke:
1. Dunkirk
2. Detroit
3. Logan
4. Wonder Woman
5. Baby Driver
6. Atomic Blonde
7. Your Name
8. Okja
9. The Big Sick

Anonymous said...

Louis: your top 20 michael douglas and don cheadle acting moments

Luke Higham said...

Louis: And your ratings and thoughts on The Last Of The Mohicans cast.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke:
Any sort of discriminatory language against any group
"Like if you're watching in [insert year]"
"Can I get likes for no reason"
"I'm first"
"Copy paste this message to 10 videos for good luck"

Omar Franini said...

Louis: What are your thoughts on Last Flag Flying trailer?

Luke Higham said...

Omar: I'm confident it'll be much better than Boyhood and thankfully Carell's performance seems to be more in line with Little Miss Sunshine than the majority of his work.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Carell looks really promising in it.

Calvin Law said...

Looks a bit run-of-the-mill but Linklater's films tend to not be best represented by their trailers (the trailers to Everybody Wants Some!! presented a less interesting film than what we actually got). All three principals look really promising though.

Mitchell Murray said...

(Last Flag Flying) - Seems kind of standard but Linklater is for nothing else a very human director. Of all the people that could make this movie affecting, he is most certainly one of them. As for the three leads, Carell finally seems to be toning himself down which hopefully will cancel out his "Battle Of The Sexes" performance. Cranston is one of our best actors working today, Fishburne seems solid.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your thoughts on the following performances in Game of Thrones-

Iwan Rheon
Tom Wlaschiha
Faye Marsay
Peter Vaughan
James Cosmo

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Irons - 4(Although as a film it was perhaps a bit distant for me overall mainly in one aspect, that being in the portrayal of the affair itself which always seemed to be missing an essential element for me, though it is explained why the affair exists I never quite felt that reason completely. Irons though is very good in portraying the state of the character in dealing with his son in particular his portrayal of his sense of guilt particularly at the end of the film. Although perhaps Irons's portrayal of the affair scenes are intentional as they do add to the moments where he explains his inability to really explain himself are quite effective as he shows a man stuck in a certain state that prevents him from being able to point to his passions but rather just experience his sorrows.)

Robbins - 4(I have to say I quite loved the film and Robbins's performance for the first two-thirds of the film. I felt it got lost though when it gets into the assassination subplot that loses any reality in the satire unfortunately. Robbins though is terrific the rest of the time in portraying almost this calculated homebody as he projects a sort of boring type of charm purposefully so. Although what he says is incendiary at times Robbins does so well in portraying the modest delivery fitting to the false politician hiding his true nature. He's though equally good in the few moments of revealing the far more desperate figure whenever he's called on his behavior and has no way to hide it. In those moments Robbins is great by showing the man without any facade who is as cutthroat as his managers.)

Auteuil - 4(Auteuil offers a very convincing portrayal of an introvert here as he manages to portray a certain manner in his performance in that he portrays the man as often distant and detached, but not truly so. Auteuil never makes this seem emotionless though but rather effectively internalizes it all within his character, in very subtle moments that tell the truth within his eyes even as everything else he does seems a lie to this. Auteuil effectively realizes this difficult dynamic that is often botched.)

Olmos - 3.5(This film was a bit of drudgery to get through at it is relentless in its viciousness yet never offers any real point to it. Olmos, who also directed the film, is good though in portraying his particular role by playing into the blunt brutality he depicts in his direction which is unrelenting in the callousness of the men which is also represented in his performance. There are a few hints of a bit of guilt which do provide a bit of substance though I found he often gave himself repetitive material to work with.)

Lithgow - 3.5(This performance is downright ridiculous as he's pretty over the top whether it as the evil doctor, the gangster brother, the quiet child, the caring mother, or the scared man at the center of it all. I would be lying though if I did not say I enjoyed though, since I did very much. Lithgow is a lot of fun to watch in the multiple personalities. It's not a great performance by any means, but it's a fun one.)

Scott - 3.5(Scott's performance was one of the highlights for me in the film as I found, along with Bridget Fonda, found the right tone for the material. In that Scott brings enough of a comedic bent in a moment, often from his hilarious deadpan delivery amplified by his unique voice, but without becoming a caricature. He finds some honesty in the relationship effective without overplaying that element either. He finds the right balance between the two.)

Haysbert - 3(Very much in his pigeonholed place in essentially playing the roles that Sidney Poitier was often accused of playing, though I'd say here's the real deal. In that his character is perfectly noble in every way, but Haysbert to his credit does this well managing to find at least some substance in a thin character. In that he does bring that respectability, but does offer at least a little nuance within that.).

Louis Morgan said...

Pitt - 3(Pitt still seems to be coming own a bit in the role yet he manages to capture the needed exuberance in life within the part, and might as well be supporting actor Pitt when compared to his excessively bland co-star. Seriously though Pitt is good here in capturing sort of the modest rebel as appropriate to the perhaps too respectful of material.)

DeVito - 3(A rather strange role in a many ways given he has so much focus despite only really existing to be this henchman for Hoffa. It's odd though in that they don't really develop him past a certain point yet his presence reduces how much we actually get to know about Hoffa. Anyways though as this vicious loyal henchmen DeVito is good though and more effectively through his emotional depiction reveals Hoffa's downfall more than we get from the man himself.)

Dillon - 3(Now unlike Scott Dillon veers far closer to ridiculous caricature in his portrayal of a rather thick rocker. Dillon thankfully though is reasonably entertaining in the role even though there isn't all that much variation within the part.)

Nicholson - 2.5(I'll admit part of the problem is the film itself which fails to really have its own take on Hoffa. I have no idea how DeVito felt about the guy at the end of the film. That doesn't mean showing him as all good or all bad, but Hoffa always is a strangely distant figure in his own film. Nicholson's performance though should not be left off as at times he's a full blown cartoon here. There are other times where his performance works, like when he takes on Bobby Kennedy, but those scenes are built more into his more overt take as the public figure. We don't get enough beyond that unfortunately both in terms of the writing and Nicholson's performance.)

Sheffer - 2(He's suppose to be the blander brother I suppose but he's just a bit too vanilla for his own good. There's just no real substance to his work, and it's truly forgettable performance.)

Nolte - 2(Well here is an accent that cripples any potential in a performance as he comes off as utterly ridiculous here, but to be fair he really doesn't provide anything beneath it. He leaves all the heavy lifting to Sarandon to a rather absurd extent.)

Day-Lewis - (Day-Lewis's performance is an excellent example of just how his physical performance comes into play as he is so of the moment in every action scene to a extent that you rarely see. Day-Lewis goes above and beyond with that. Furthermore though he is terrific though in just capturing the intensity of overall emotional connection to the plot and what it is he's fighting against. The "I WILL FIND YOU" moment has been parodied but really Day-Lewis delivers the hell out of that line, and it is his delivery that made it such notable moment that frankly is probably the most remembered thing from the entire film.)

Louis Morgan said...

Pesci - (Well in re-watching the film by chance, which I knew I already thoroughly enjoyed, I almost forgot how much I loved it. Part of that comes from Pesci doing this brilliant variation in his type in that this is not a complete departure but reworks it so effectively to create such a funny and likable guy in Vinny. Pesci makes the most out of every comedic situation and his approach makes the comedy really stand out in a unique way in the film. In addition his chemistry with Tomei is outstanding, their comedic timing together is flawless.)

I had already seen Might Ducks, Buffy, and Honey I blew Up the Kid, I had just forgotten to list them originally.

Studi - 3.5(He's quite effective realization of a man being pure vengeance. Studi does well in making the intensity so direct and narrow in revealing this man as essentially having focused upon a single thing in life though he carefully never feels as though this was all there was to the character. Studi finds the right type of anger that is raw that suggests a pain within it rather than just making him pure evil.)

Means - 3.5(He's good as sort of the opposite to Studi's character in portraying a man instead of a generous spirit and making the righteousness nature of his character something that feels wholly honest within the film.)

Schweig - 3(He's more than fine as just a stoic sort. He doesn't add too much to the role, but he suits it quite well.)

Stowe - 3.5(I'll admit there is something to Stowe's presence that just helps her stand out a bit, in there is just a naturally genuine quality that is quite helpful for her role here that is a tad simplistic overall perhaps.)

May - 3(She's often secondary to Stowe within the film yet she does make the most out of her final moments, and is very moving in portraying the realization of her decision silently through her performance.

Lead:

1. Sigourney Weaver - Alien 3
2. Sheryl Lee - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me - 5
3. Emma Thompson - Howard's End
4. Mary McDonnell - Passion Fish - 4
5. Alfre Woodard - Passion Fish - 4
6. Emmanuelle Beart - A Heart in Winter
7. Susan Sarandon - Lorenzo's Oil
8. Jacqueline McKenzie - Romper Stomper
9. Cynda Williams - One False Move
10. Bridget Fonda - Singles

Supporting:

1. Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny
2. Miranda Richardson - The Crying Game
3. Geraldine Chaplin - Chaplin
4. Sadie Frost - Bram Stoker's Dracula
5. Grace Zabriskie - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me - 4
6. Susan Sarandon - Light Sleeper
7. Frances Fisher - Unforgiven
8. Miranda Richardson - Damage
9. Jane Adams - Light Sleeper
10. Whoopi Goldberg - The Player

And:

Judy Davis - Husbands and Wives - 4

Charles:

Williams:

1. Explaining the murder - Insomnia
2. Breakdown - One Hour Photo
3. Meeting on ferry - Insomnia
4. Accosting the lovers - One Hour Photo
5. Police interrogation - Insomnia
6. First Awakening - Awakening
7. Apology to wife - The World According to Garp
8. Comforting Will - Insomnia
9. Entertaining the Troops - Good Morning Vietnam
10. Living life - Awakening
11. Meeting Stu - Mrs. Doubtfire
12. Stressed broadcast - Good Morning Vietnam
13. "chance" encounter - One Hour Photo
14. First Broadcast - Good Morning Vietnam
15. Genie's first scene - Aladdin

Louis Morgan said...


Omar:

Binoche - 3.5(I do like parts of her performance most notably the awkward scenes outside of the affair, particularly in the traded glances between the two as they maneuver around his family. There always seems something a bit missing though, although there is the explanation for her behavior Binoche never quite taps into it fully to make it something wholly vivid.)

Richardson - (She's fine for much of the film particularly in possibly suggesting some suspicion in the wife in just some key reactions. She's great though when she's finally given her scenes in her last two scenes, and she's terrific in revealing the intensity of her pain yet also anger that represents the sheer devastation of the moment.)

Beart - 4(I rather liked her performance particularly how she worked against her co-star in that she was the extrovert against him. She's terrific though in portraying the more exact depiction of affection though with the right sort of impatience in so many moments reflecting her character going just far enough yet still waiting for Auteuil's character just to give her a true response. She's brings such a warmth in this patience and eventually is quite moving in depicting the struggle as it wains over time.)

Stone - 2.5(Yeah I don't really care for Stone in general as an actress, and this performance is a case where iconic does not equal to good. Then again the iconic nature usually is about the interrogation scene which in turn is all about a single moment. I don't hate this performance yet as femme fatales go she very broad and frankly ridiculous at times. She more of a series of traits of such a character yet never truly stands out on her own.)

I'm going to try to re-watch Batman Return during the supporting round to give proper thoughts on Pfeiffer since I have not seen the film since I saw it in theaters.

Calvin:

Well Washington was less a re-evaluation, but more how I felt was the proper rating for his review as written.

the Story - (Well even though one must contend with Whitaker's Britush accent Rea more than makes up for any problems there through the meaning he amplifies already so well realized in the story.)

Death - (Love the scene as it is such an effective climax of the relationship as I love how Rea shows Fergus almost laugh when Jody starts running, yet there is still that moment of genuine fear when Jody turns around thinking Fergus may get over his nature to kill him. That moment is so well realized as you see the understanding between two people in that glance before Jody runs off and still dying in a brilliantly cruel twist of fate offered by the film.)

Bar - (The dialogue of the scene is just marvelous and Broadbent is such a memorable part of the film despite his minor screentime. The interactions though are so memorable, yet never feel overly stylistic. The back and forth in those moment feel just It's a great sort of meet-cute at first and could very well be the beginning of just a normal relationship one would think.)

Titular song - (Again another brilliant bit from old Col the barman in his moment of a brief down to earth straight forward moment from when he's about to warn Fergus, before backing down to give way to the performance in another great bit of dialogue to set up the switch of "She's what?", "She's on". Leading to the performance which is a fairly low key moment in terms of direction and the performance but there's something special about that approach.)

Louis Morgan said...

Final Scene - (Love the scene and it stands as one of a director who absolutely understands he's made a great film that he can leave on it. Now I really love that final conversation with Dill still treating it as though Fergus is the love of a life, which Rea's so good at still showing Fergus very much has no such delusions yet still stands by his nature to be courteous. I love his sheepish "stop it" at every "my love" from Dill, then his perfect yet low key delivery of "It's in my nature", showing Fergus has just accepted and will live that he's good man no matter leading him to repeat the fairy tale of the Frog and Scorpion which feels like the right place to exit, with "Stand by your man" being somehow just the right song as representation of Dill standing by Fergus, but also Fergus standing by his promise to Jody.)

Anonymous:

Rea:

1. The "execution" - The Crying Game
2. Being tied up - The Crying Game
3. Dill coming to the construction site - The Crying Game
4. Removing the hood - The Crying Game
5. The Ending - The Crying Game

Anonymous:

Perhaps the scene of Lang doing what he really wants to do as he finally seems like he's not holding back, it's a good moment though in revealing the nature of Marvin's villain, less as this criminal mastermind but rather of a randomly brutish thug.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Douglas:

1. "I did everything they told me to" - Falling Down
2. The end of the Game - The Game
3. Telling the truth - Wonder Boys
4. "Greed is good" - Wall Street
5. "Freedom of Speech" - Falling Down
6. Visiting his wife - The Game
7. Forgetting about the coat - Wonder Boys
8. "You missed" - Falling Down
9. After his "heart attack" - The War of the Roses
10. Infiltrating the organization - The Game
11. Finding his daughter - Traffic
12. Cheering on James - Wonder Boys
13. Preparing for "battle" - Wall Street
14. The Clown - The Game
15. Phone call home - Falling Down
16. Turning down the job - Traffic
17. Dog Meat - War of the Roses
18. James's potential - Wonder Boys
19. Under construction - Falling Down
20. First scene - Romancing the Stone

Cheadle:

1. Stumbling on a massacre - Hotel Rwanda
2. "Yes it hurts" - The Guard
3. Convincing the general to help - Hotel Rwanda
4. Drunk Mouse - Devil in a Blue Dress
5. Finding his family - Hotel Rwanda
6. Donut Stop - Boogie Nights
7. Drug dealer pictures - The Guard
8. Bribing the militants - Hotel Rwanda
9. Mouse appears - Devil in a Blue Dress
10. way to die - Hotel Rwanda
11. "Really dumb or really smart" - The Guard
12. Turned Down for a Loan - Boogie Nights
13. Phone call to the french - Hotel Rwanda
14. Showdown - Out of Sight
15. Preparing the staff - Hotel Rwanda
16. "No witnesses" - The Guard
17. A threat - Out of Sight
18. Meeting with the supplier - Hotel Rwanda
19. "Trees" - Captain Planet Sketch
20. Odd cameo - Rush Hour II

Omar:

Looks to be the right type of material for Linklater, as I expected, and I imagine the film will be all about the conversations and interactions between the three which it should be. Fishburne and Carell both look very promising. Cranston does not look bad from the trailer, but I will say he may be missing that pure id quality that was an essential part of what Nicholson brought to the role.

Omar Franini said...

Louis: Can i have your Ratings and thoughts on the cast of Husbands and Wives?
Could you watch Indochine and Single White a Female before you finish 1992?

Omar Franini said...

Also thoughts on Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil; Are Thompson and Tomei 5s or still 4.5s?

Anonymous said...

Louis: your top 20 tom hanks acting moments

Louis Morgan said...

Tahmeed, Omar, Anonymous:

I'll get to those on the next post.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Please make sure that you watch Tilda Swinton's performance in Orlando, as well as Catherine Deneuve in Indochine.

Thoughts on:
Sheryl Lee - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me
Mary McDonnell - Passion Fish
Alfre Woodard - Passion Fish
Susan Sarandon - Lorenzo's Oil
Cynda Williams - One False Move
Bridget Fonda - Singles
Grace Zabriskie - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me
Whoopi Goldberg - The Player
Judy Davis - Husbands and Wives