Monday 10 February 2020

Best Actor Backlog Volume 1

And the overlooked performances are:

Nicol Williamson in The Bofors Gun

John Hurt in 1984

Claude Laydu in Diary of a Country Priest

Al Pacino in Scarecrow

Sean Connery in The Offence

135 comments:

Luke Higham said...

1. Connery
2. Hurt
3. Laydu
4. Pacino
5. Williamson

Luke Higham said...

Louis: And please do re-watches of Hopkins in The Remains Of The Day. Robert De Niro in Mean Streets and Barry Pepper in Three Burials.

Luke Higham said...

And it'll be nice to see all 5s in a lineup again.

Anonymous said...

1. Connery
2. Hurt
3. Pacino
4. Laydu
5. Williamson

Louis, have you settled on Hoskins rating for Felicia's Journey.

Mitchell Murray said...

1) Hurt
2) Connery
3) Pacino
4) Layda
5) Williamson

Jack Narrator said...

After 2019 the next years that I would like to see the analysis on the Louis blog in 2020 are: 1936, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2009 and 2016 .

Luke Higham said...

Jack: He's already done 1987.

Louis: Is there any chance you could watch Evil Dead II and Walker from 1987, I was a bit baffled that you didn't see them, especially the former.

Tim said...

i believe you wanted to update your review of Robert Forster?

Luke Higham said...

Tim: He'll update Forster's review during 1997.

Lucas Saavedra said...

1)Pacino
2)Connery
3)Hurt
4)Williamson
5)Layda

Razor said...

1. Hurt
2. Connery
3. Pacino
4. Laydu
5. Williamson

RatedRStar said...

1. Connery
2. Hurt
3. Laydu
4. Pacino
5. Williamson

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: Thoughts on the "You want your dad" scene from "Jojo Rabbit"? I know I really shouldn't be watching clips of the film in isolation, but I couldn't resist this time. Even still, the scene honestly moved me far more than expected, mainly thanks to Johansson's deft work.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

I have no idea how to rank these performances, as I love the three I've seen (Laydu, Pacino, Hurt) about equally.

1. Pacino
2. Connery
3. Hurt
4. Laydu
5. Williamson

Jack Narrator said...

Luke

Oh yeah. I forgot

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Connery
2. Laydu
3. Pacino
4. Hurt
5. Williamson

Maciej said...

1.Pacino
2.Connery
3.Hurt
4.Williamson
5.Laydu

ruthiehenshallfan99 said...

So it turns out Bong is the first since Walt Disney to win four Oscars in one night. Excellent job, there.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen anymore Deadwood or Sherlock.

Anonymous said...

And if you have time, could you watch Minnie & Moskowitz from 1971, The Last Of Sheila from 1973 and Return To Oz from 1985.

Anonymous said...

Can you please do some more Gene Hackman performances like Night Moves?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Could I have your thoughts on Paul Giamatti in these two scenes from Ironclad (2011).

Álex Marqués said...

Has anyone seen The Attorney (2013)? It apparently features another great performance by Song Kang-ho.

Calvin Law said...

1. Laydu
2. Pacino
3. Williamson
4. Connery
5. Hurt

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Now that the 2010s are in the books regarding Best Picture winners, where would the decade be in your Overall Best Picture Decade rankings? The ranking that’s in Alan Bates review for The Caretaker.

Also, your thoughts on the Oscar ceremony itself?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on how an It's Always Sunny version of The Lighthouse would play out:

Thomas Howard/Ephraim Winslow: Glenn Howerton AND Charlie Day
Thomas Wake: Willem Dafoe AND Rob McElhenney
The Mermaid: Danny Devito
The Seagull: Kaitlin Olson

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: Wouldn’t it be Dennis and Mac trading off the role of Winslow a la Lethal Weapon? Also, I think Charlie would’ve INSISTED on playing Wake. Dee as The Seagull sounds about right though.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Lastly, could you watch Ozu's Early Summer (1951) and Late Autumn (1960).

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Yes, was just a matter of placement, as I was a little too hesitant to break the 10 I had just created.

Luke:

I did see Evil Dead II, I might've forgotten to rank Campbell however. Walker was critically panned, so I was in no rush to see it, though there is some divisive praise for it, so maybe at some point.

Mitchell:

Johansson's scene that is wonderfully performed by her in managing roll a comic overture with a more poignant and somber approach. Just sweetness that largely exists through her work.

Anonymous:

A little more Sherlock, no more Deadwood, the somewhat mixed feelings to the TV movie kind of cut down my motivation, especially since I apparently didn't love the first season like most do.

Bryan:

Well due to that EXTREMELY strong finish, I'd probably put it at #4 overall now.

The overall wins is one of the very best, if Laura Dern's career win is the weakest choice, that's a great set.

The actual ceremony I was more mixed with too many musical acts, with the best one's being those that made sense (the song renditions) and in memoriam. Most presenter banter was weak.

Made up with some strong speeches, a great choice in making montages for the actors (they should do that every year from now on) and those winners.

Calvin:

In my mind it works too well. Though focal point would need to be Charlie as Thomas Howard who thinks he murdered his old boss Ephraim Winslow (Dennis), but he didn't. I don't think Mac (Wake) would be against sea bird (Dee) killing however in this instance, which Fake Winslow(Charlie) would refer to as Sea Rats of course.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Evil Dead II and rating & thoughts on Bruce Campbell.

Luke Higham said...

With the lineup we have, hope it'll be Williamson's first of 3 fives. (The others being The Reckoning and Excalibur) Connery getting into the 73 top 5 and Hurt giving his best work from 1984 (Year, not the film).

RatedRStar said...

Luke: If you were to make a very early prediction of some of the 2020 Oscar nominations, what would you predict? its always fun to look back on and see how right or wrong we got it.

Louis Morgan said...

No 2020 Oscar nom predictions until Cannes. That's a firm rule.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Well, this is all wishful thinking my friend but Nolan winning Best Director for Tenet, Fassbender coming back from a critical slump and receive his third nomination, Carey Mulligan making a long awaited return after 11 years with Promising Young Woman. My NGNG prediction is Edgar Wright receiving his first nomination for Last Night In Soho.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

I liked the Evil Dead II largely for the fun ideas of Raimi behind the camera that found so many creative ways to do a comic zombie picture. The story itself is pretty thin and even repetitive, but Raimi's directorial efforts keep it an entertaining affair.

Campbell - 3.5(I wouldn't say he is a great actor, but a great charisma he does have. That is the case here as he certainly knows how to say "Groovy" with the proper pompous bravado. His overall approach, which is more than a touch heightened, fits properly to Raimi's tone, that is more than slightly ridiculous, and Campbell's work plays well into that.)

Michael McCarthy said...

1. Pacino
2. Williamson
3. Laydu
4. Connery
5. Hurt

Anonymous said...

Anyone else STILL excited/shook/surprised about the Parasite wins? Best Oscar wins I've ever seen on TV! (Been watching for about ten years now)

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Yes, most definitely. Bong winning director was a surprise technically even greater than the Colman win (given he lost DGA and BAFTA in director), and just as pleasant. Also the greatness of his speech there was just a cherry on top.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I’m still in shock the Academy did something that cool only a year after Green Book.

Louis Morgan said...

Robert:

I'd say you'd have to go back all the way to Oliver!/Midnight Cowboy to find such an extreme shift in terms of the type of choice between two years.

Anonymous said...

Louis: your thoughts on this short https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fvp-REju-os

Anonymous said...

Louis, Your thoughts on a Robert Eggers directed 'Legend Of Sleepy Hollow'.

Aidan Pittman said...

1. Connery
2. Hurt
3. Laydu
4. Pacino
5. Williamson

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

I mean if that lark short you can see the Safdies eyes for creating eye popping visuals with no budget through the idea of the painted men. As a short funny little thing, though with a strange intriguing drama of the conflict between the same type of performers in competition. Also hope dearly that the Safdies will collaborate with Sandler again.

Anonymous:

Well only one clip can sum up my support for that idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4xIy1rlJKs

Although I would recommend an anthology film of Irving's tales, as Eggers would be equally ideal for a lurid The Devil and Tom Baxter, and maybe could stretch himself a bit through Rip Van Winkle.

Anonymous said...

Ya, Mendes winning literally every precursor (DGA, BAFTA, GG) and not winning the Oscar was hands down, the biggest surprise I've seen on Oscar TV. So happy for Bong tho!

Emi Grant said...

1. Hurt
2. Pacino
3. Connery
4. Laydu
5. Williamson

Bryan L. said...

Hey Louis, can I have your thoughts on these alternate casting choices for a couple of the Best Picture nominees?

-Emma Stone as Meg in Little Women (Although Watson needed this way more than Stone did)
-Tom Holland as Schofield in 1917
-Tom Cruise as Cliff in OUATIH (Kind of meta once you think about it)

GM said...

1. Pacino
2. Williamson
3. Laydu
4. Connery
5. Hurt

Calvin Law said...

Aw, Oliver is miles better than Green Book :( but I get what you mean!

Louis Morgan said...

Bryan:

Stone I do think would've been better, however the role might've been frustrating given its limited nature, so I don't begrudge Watson delivering a decent performance for once.

Would've been less supportive of Holland for Schofield as I don't think he's *quite* the right type, but I believe he was to play Blake, which I'd say he would have been equally ideal for (perhaps slightly more as he looks a bit more like Madden than Chapman, and the end of first act shift I think would've been more surprising.) Chapman was terrific though, so I obviously don't mind how things turned out.

Cruise as Cliff is something I'd like to see, but all I can say is it would've been wildly different, don't know exactly how'd it look, or if it would've been better or worse, but would've been definitely different.

Calvin:

Wasn't referring to quality, just tone, type of film and type of film-making.

Mitchell Murray said...

Bryan: In reference to Stone, as decent as Watson was in "Little Women", I would've payed good money to see her take on the character.

Bryan L. said...

Oh yeah, I should’ve looked a bit more into the 1917 casting, as the source I was reading just said “lead role” in regards to Holland being up for a part.

Honestly, I’m glad with Watson in Little Women, as her performance is at least a solid base hit after several strikeouts, whereas Stone has been hitting home run after home run and could have only done so much there anyways.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: thoughts on this article? https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/parasite-editor-jinmo-yang/

Pretty cool how they stitched together multiple takes to amp up the pacing in parts.

And yeah I'm sure Holland might've been great, but like you don't mind they went with someone a bit lesser known.

BRAZINTERMA said...

Louis and for anyone reading my comment ... A question I forgot to ask you: what are your 10 best blockbusters films of 2019?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on Deakins’ speech from the other night? Besides the Parasite quartet of speeches that and Dern’s speeches were probably my favourite ones.

Matt Mustin said...

Calvin: If nothing else, it gave us the extraordinary phrase "The pinball wizard of focus pulling."

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Aka why it should've won Editing without question, especially considering the night it had. This breaking down how his work went beyond just the final product, which is one of clearly genius editing, but just how great his details were within it.

Brazinterma:

I mean all my top ten did pretty, surprisingly well in some cases, but if we're talking more than a 100 million boxoffice:

1. Parasite
2. 1917
3. Little Women
4. Knives Out
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
6. Avengers: Endgame
7. US
8. Ford v. Ferrari
9. Rocketman
10. Toy Story 4

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Wonderful speech by Deakins in breaking it down in terms of the team effort so sufficiently as to be expected, with that rather wonderful voice of his.

Anonymous said...

Louis: I don't know if you've ever played Sonic CD, but even if you never played, could I have your thoughts on the Japanese soundtrack of the game?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCPOo3bQIO8&list=PLs7_awFaeFZFsfYIsuyBOmUQWcNEbiaP8

Mitchell Murray said...

So "Birds of Prey" has been officially renamed to "Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey", which is a more fitting title I feel, and frankly it's what they should've called the film to begin with.

RatedRStar said...

Mitchell: A bit late now lol.

RatedRStar said...

Hong Kong film award nominations announced, how did I do?

3/5 Best Actor (Bo and Yee are in, Koo gets in as well, Chu Pak Hongs Golden Horse nomination wasn't a fluke but how the heck does last years Supporting Actor winner Ben Yuen get snubbed for a Best picture contender in which he is co lead with Tai Bo, its ridiculous, I'm Livin it over performs and in comes regular nominee Aaron Kwok.

5/5 Best Actress (I knew they couldn't resist Stephy Tang)

1/5 Best Supporting Actor (wrong King of Comedy nominee, wasn't expecting I'm Livin it to do so well, got Philip Keung right though)

3/5 Best Supporting Actress (The 3 locks are all in, I'm Livin it appears again and then Fatal Visit gets an extra nom)

3/5 Best Director (Fagara was a possible surprise, did not expect Ip Man 4 to get in since it got no acting nominations or a BP nomination)

3/5 Best Picture (The over performing I'm Livin it gets in, as does Fagara which was a possibility)

RatedRStar said...

Parasite was not nominated for Best Asian film, either they are idiots or it wasn't eligible.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your updated top 15 performances in South Korean films?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: thoughts on the French Dispatch trailer?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Have you settled on Toshiro Mifune in The Bad Sleep Well and Billy Bob Thornton in The Man Who Wasn't There.

Louis Morgan said...

Tahmeed:

1. Choi Min-sik - I Saw the Devil
2. Yoon Jeong-hee - Poetry
3. Lee Byung-hun - A Bittersweet Life
4. Choi Min-sik - Oldboy
5. Song Kang-ho - Parasite
6. Lee Young-ae - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
7. Lee Byung-hun - I Saw the Devil
8. Cho Yeo-jeong - Parasite
9. Steven Yeun - Burning
10. Yoo Ji-tae - Oldboy
11. Song Kang-ho - A Taxi Driver
12. Choi Woo-Shik - Parasite
13. Park So-dam - Parasite
14. Yum Jung-ah - A Tale of Two Sisters
15. Song Kang-ho - The Age of Shadows

Calvin:

Well it looks exactly what I'd expect a film about journalism made by Wes Anderson would look like, and I like Anderson, so I'll take it.

Luke:

Mifune no, Thornton yes.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: You forgot about Lee Byung-hun in The Good, The Bad, The Weird.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Indeed, he'd be #14.

Álex Marqués said...

Kim Hye-ja is gonna get into that top 10 as soon as you watch Mother.

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Your past film projects for the Safdie brothers, Robert Eggers and Marielle Heller?

Louis Morgan said...

Bryan:

Safdies:

Taxi Driver
The Verdict
Marathon Man

Robert Eggers:

The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Night of the Hunter
Magic

Marielle Heller:

Broadcast News
The Front
Harvey

Calvin Law said...


2020s Taxi Driver directed by the Safdies
Travis Bickle: Rami Malek
Betsy: Lily James
Tom: Josh Safdie
Sport: Caleb Landry Jones
Palantine: Shea Wigham
Wizard: Macon Blair
Taxi passenger: Benny Safdie

2020s Marathon Man directed by the Safdies
Babe: George MacKay
Dr Szell: Gary Oldman
Doc Levy: Domhnall Gleason
Janeway: BJ Novak
Elsa: Alicia Vikander

2020s The Devil and Daniel Webster directed by Robert Eggers
Daniel Webster: John C. Reilly
Mr Scratch: Willem Dafoe (lazy but come on)
Jabez Stone: Zach Woods

2020s Harvey directed by Marielle Heller
Elwood P. Dowd: Bill Hader
Veta Dowd: Melissa McCarthy
Dr Sanderson: Austin Stowell
Dr Chumley: Richard E. Grant
Myrtle Mae: Anya Taylor-Joy

Matt Mustin said...

Calvin: Hader is an AWESOME choice.

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

I'd actually say have Dafoe play Webster (a perfect Scratch to be sure, but why not mix it up a bit) and Mark Rylance for Scratch.

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: Isn't Benny the Safdie that also acts?

The Verdict, directed by the Safdie brothers

Frank Galvin: Billy Bob Thornton
Ed Concannon: Anthony Hopkins (Yeah, I know it's obvious)
Laura Fischer: Kate Beckinsale
Mickey Morrissey: Brendan Gleeson
Judge Hoyle: Henry Winkler

Bryan L. said...

Wait, nevermind, I just noticed you cast him as the passenger haha

Bryan L. said...

Also, good God, that would be the perfect leading role for Hader...

Calvin Law said...

Louis: sure thing, I’m sure Dafoe could just as easily nail that side of things. And Thornton is an inspired choice, Bryan.

2020s Night of the Hunter directed by Robert Eggers
Reverend Harry Powell: Glenn Howerton
Willa Harper: Julianne Nicholson
Rachel Cooper: Jean Smart
Ben Harper: Armie Hammer

Alternatively: Rooney Mara as a gender-reversed Harriet Powell.

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: I thought of ol' Billy Bob because he was effective in his short screentime as a lawyer in The Judge, and he played a man who slowly gains redemption in Bad Santa, so I'd be interested to see if he could merge both of them.

Calvin Law said...

And lastly,

2020s Broadcast News directed by Marielle Heller
Tom Grunick: Michael B. Jordan
Aaron Altman: Shia LaBeouf
Jane Craig: Rachel McAdams

2020s Magic directed by Robert Eggers
Corky: Tom Hiddleston
Ben Greene: Frank Langella
Peggy Ann Snow: Rose Leslie

I also think Scarecrow would be really suited to Heller’s talents, with say Emily Blunt in Hackman’s role and Aubrey Plaza in Pacino’s.

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: A female version of Scarecrow would be pretty interesting, though I’d go with Theron for Hackmans equivalent (think North Country).

Bryan L. said...

Or since it’s Heller, probably just get Melissa McCarthy there

Charles H said...

One of the most difficult line-ups in a while

1. Laydu
2. Pacino
3. Williamson
4. Connery
5. Hurt

Anonymous said...

Louis: I didn't catch your thoughts on the music and animation style of this video? (I heard its planned to be released as a live action film btw): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_V-VJQT6pM

Anonymous said...

Also, your thoughts on the possible ideas it explores?

Anonymous said...

Louis: your thoughts on the trailer for The Green Knight?

Calvin Law said...

Here’s some other retros that came to mind:

2020s Psycho directed by Jordan Peele
Norman Bates: Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Marion Crane: Margaret Qualley
Lila Crane: Allison Brie
Sam Loomis: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Detective Arbogast: Bill Camp

2020s Elma Gantry directed by Greta Gerwig
Elma Gantry: Cate Blanchett
Father Falconer: Paul Dano
Sister Rachel: Bel Powley
Bill Morgan: Tracy Letts
Jim Lefferts: Owen Wilson
Lulu Bains: Florence Pugh

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: “Elma Gantry” Lol Nice one

Anyone here know of a good place where I can watch The Bofors Gun? It’s the only one I’m having trouble finding from this lineup (saw Scarecrow awhile back and the other three recently).

Mitchell Murray said...

Well guys, I FINALLY saw “Jojo Rabbit” today after so much praise and anticipation….and I pretty much loved it. I really just found the film to be so effectively helmed, and so well realized given its extremely challenging, hot button premise. It works not only because Watiti goes all out (and rightfully so) in making the Nazi’s completely ridiculous, but also because he shows all of there inhumanity through the eyes of youth. By funneling its message through the nieve, impressionable mind of Jojo, the movie really makes the dangers of blind hatred all the more potent. Watiti goes even beyond this, though, by also crafting a genuine “coming of age” tale amidst the dark imagery. This by making Jojo’s childhood innocence completely palpable, through his struggles of peer pressure, bullying and simply finding himself in an environment of adults talking down to him. Now of course there are the expected flashes of Watiti comedy, and almost all of them work despite them seeming a bit jarring tone wise. They worked for me because, once again, they paint the fascist ideology in such a blatantly foolish, immature fashion, while also showing a similar but more accessible inexperience when it comes to Jojo’s antics/beliefs. (Also, I just really like Watiti’s brand of comedy as is, so that surely helped.) It’s all a rather unbelievable balancing act on Watiti’s part, which he fully earns by making the dramatic scenes downright heartbreaking. I was emotionally gutted by this movie, and I’m not afraid to admit that, and I’m also not afraid to announce my support of the film.

Davis - 5
Johansson - 5
McKenzie - 4.5
Rockwell - 4.5
Watiti - 4
Merchant - 3.5
Yates - 3
Wilson - 2.5

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Well reminded much of the style of a graphic adventure game in general design in particular, the music reminding of some sort death metal version of Blade Runner's score. Both not exactly anti-intriguing in itself but certainly a lot in terms of the intensity of it. So I'll say it somewhat intriguing, but not exactly sure what to make of it.

Anonymous:

Loved it for both the aesthetic and general feeling for it, I'm glad Lowery seems to be trying to do something completely different for each of his films, and found these two minutes mesmerizing as this truly mythical quest style, hopefully it works as a whole feature, however definitely a strong foot forward.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on this scene from Stranger Things?

https://youtu.be/IUXiDBSkcJ8

RatedRStar said...

What is everyones thoughts on the new Bond theme just realised by Billie Ellish?

Calvin Law said...

I like it quite a bit but I like Billie Eillish a lot anyway.

Mitchell Murray said...

I like it as well. It doesn't immediately scream "Bond", necessarily, but its still a well paced, fittingly somber track, and it will be interesting to see how it fits into the film.

Also, should recent trends hold, I think we could be looking at our best original song winner of 2020.

Mitchell Murray said...

Also, what does everyone make of this blooper reel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNjy3YvveQ8

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Your 80s cast and director for Bumblebee?

Anonymous said...

Michael J. Fox would be great as Bee. You could also have Dan Gilvezan reprise.

Bryan L. said...

Anonymous: Definitely. Maybe someone from the 80s action stars crowd for Cenas' part then?

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on the scene between Officer Olsen and Mr. Mohra from Fargo.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on Newton Thomas Sigel. as a cinematographer? Interesting in that most of his work in general has a bit of a bland palette, with Drive right in the middle of it all as one of the best shot films of all-time.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your top ten favourite Best Picture winners.

Mine would be-
1. The Godfather
2. Lawrence of Arabia
3. The Godfather Part II
4. Parasite
5. The Bridge over the River Kwai
6. Braveheart
7. The Return of the King
8. Amadeus
9. Gone with the Wind
10. Birdman

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

A fine scene, even if I'm coming to the conclusion that Finn Wolfhard is kind of a bad actor overall, however works as an emotional moment of really release after a season of buildup to the reunion, along with a nice comic moment between the two girls.

RatedRStar:

Good Bond song.

Bryan:

Bumblebee 1980's directed by Steven Spielberg:

Charlie: Laura Dern
Jack Burns: Sylvester Stallone
Memo: Ralph Macchio
Dr. Powell: Dan Hedaya
Sally: Diane Ladd

Anonymous:

I feel I gave those very recently.

Calvin:

I mean if you look at any of the work of almost all the cinematographers that work with Refn, their best work is usually with him, so one could probably say that it has a great deal to do with him. Although one shouldn't speculate too much in that regard, just the evidence supports that idea that Refn has an even greater influence on his own cinematography than already visually inclined filmmakers, since say what you want to about some of his films they always look good. Now let's compare that to Newton Thomas Sigel's typical work that isn't nearly as impressive. Take his work with Singer, who is not a director with a guaranteed visual panache, which is not nearly as notable. This isn't to say his work overall is bad, but it is largely serviceable, sometimes slightly under lit or oddly lit. This is never something atrocious, but remarkable it is not. This extends beyond his work with Singer that keeps that same sort of general attempt at pristine look, which again typically not bad, but never great. Does this change my opinion on the cinematography of Drive? Not one iota, but that is why collaboration is key, and Refn at the very least got the very best from him.

Tahmeed:

1. Amadeus
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Unforgiven
5. The Godfather Part II
6. The Last Emperor
7. The Best Years of Our Lives
8. Schindler's List
9. Parasite
10. Return of the King

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on the Bugsy movie as a missed opportunity and your choices for the director and a cast if that movie had been made in the 70's.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Schindler's List completely slipped my mind, it would be my #4.

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Speaking of Parasite, where would Bong Joon-Hos’ work there rank in your respective Top Ten Most Deserving Original Screenplay/Directing winners?

Bryan L. said...

I think my Top Ten would be

1. The Bridge on the River Kwai (Also my favorite film)
2. The Godfather
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Unforgiven
5. Amadeus
6. Braveheart
7. Parasite
8. Schindler’s List
9. The Godfather Part II
10. The Silence of the Lambs

Very honorable mention to Return of the King and Birdman

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Any great gangster story is a potentially great film. Bugsy has a great story to it, but is not a great film. It is a story with the potential right there, however it is film where you go "what's the point", and you end up going "I don't know". This is not in terms of lacking a message, but rather lacking any thematic sense to give the story depth. The elements are there, several different opportunities honestly, to name a few, that could've made a great film:

1. Wild gangster trying to break into the Hollywood scene (Friendship with Raft)
2. Hostile takeover over a new territory through wild card gangster (Mickey Cohen)
3. Searing but self-destructive relationship (Relationship with Virginia Hill)
4. Faulty, yet not entirely misguided ambition (Founding Las Vegas, Assassination of Mussolini)
5. Childhood friendships in the life of the gangster (Friendship with Meyer Lansky/Harry Greenberg)

Any of these ideas could've been turned into a great film, the seeds are there in that you can at least recognize the ideas there, but none of them are remotely explored with any depth. This is in part too much of a scatter shot (then this happened) approach, but really the script just failed to explore any element in any meaningful way.

Bugsy 1970's directed by Francis Ford Coppola:

Bugsy: Marlon Brando
Virginia Hill: Karen Black
Mickey Cohen: Harvey Keitel
Meyer Lansky: Paul Scofield
Harry Greenberg: Len Lesser
George Raft: Ben Gazzara

Bryan:

Directing:

1. David Lean - Lawrence of Arabia
2. Milos Forman - Amadeus
3. David Lean - The Bridge on the River Kwai
4. Lewis Milestone - All Quiet on the Western Front
5. William Wyler - The Best Year's of Our Lives
6. Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather Part II
7. Bernardo Bertolucci - The Last Emperor
8. Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven
9. Bong Joon-ho - Parasite
10. Steven Spielberg - Schindler's List

Original Screenplay:

1. Chinatown
2. Sunset Boulevard
3. Citizen Kane
4. Parasite
5. Pulp Fiction
6. Network
7. Fargo
8. On the Waterfront
9. Dog Day Afternoon
10. The Apartment

RatedRStar said...

Louis: I think one thing that hurts Bugsy even further is the over the top dialogue and acting, everybody in the film seems to be one upping each other like its some sort of Dean Martin roast.

RatedRStar said...

Louis: I would have been one of those in the audience barely applauding when Siskel chose Beatty as his Best Actor choice.

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: Well as someone whose watched "Bugsy" recently, those were pretty much my issues with the movie as well. It just lacked any real idea of how to approach its subject matter, despite there being plenty of juicy material to work with. The direction and screenplay never found the right connective tissue in tone/purpose, and consequently, the cast was hurt because of that.

Also, did Siskel really say that? Why? What did people find so impressive about Beatty's work that it should be lauded, let alone be recognized as one of the best of the year? He was just as confused as the film was in his portrayal of Bugsy, and like I said before, it resulted in a strange dullness in his turn. In my opinion, Beatty failed to truly find a great intrigue or charm in the role, and really didn't grant any credibility in his more challenging scenes.

On a similar note, my ranking of the 1991 best actor field would be as followed.

3) Beatty (2.5)
2) de Niro (3)
1) Hopkins (5)

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar:

Oh the acting doesn't help things at all, but James Toback's screenplay is the film's fundamental flaw among its many flaws.

RatedRStar said...

Mitchell: In the we pick the winners 1991 Siskel did choose Beatty, at the time he did not like Hopkins performance so he wouldn't have gone for him, he didn't seem glowing for Nolte or Williams either so it probably was between Beatty and De Niro.

RatedRStar said...

Louis: On that note I do have a followup question, firstly how familiar are you with the Siskel and Ebert site that has been up for about a year now?

RatedRStar said...

Louis: In terms of how many S&E episodes you have seen?

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar:

Quite familiar.

Uhh....I'm going to say a lot, to be as specific as possible.

Anonymous said...

Louis, when could we expect the first review to be posted.

RatedRStar said...

Louis: 1987 and 89 they had a We Pick the Winners, but 1988 did not, this is a pretty tricky question, what do you think Siskel and Ebert would have chosen as their choices for 1988 if they did the episode?

Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Worst Nomination

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: On that note, actually, what would be the times you've most disagreed with an Ebert review? I can think of plenty four star reviews to films that I think are quite flawed (Runaway Train, Million Dollar Baby, Avatar...Bugsy!, to name a few). On the flip side, I also can't really agree on his 1.5 star rating for "The Usual Suspects", but to each their own, right.

Also, you can tell in some video reviews that both Ebert and Siskel really didn't know how the movie would fare in the future ex. Alien and Aliens. Thankfully, the "Great Movie" label for the former makes up for that.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your 2010s cast for Spielberg's War Of The Worlds.

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar:

They did do it, I know this as I remember seeing their intro for it, where the video cut out just as they introduced the nominees for best actor, so it's one video that remains to be found.

If I had to guess however:

Best Picture: The Accidental Tourist (Siskel), Mississippi Burning (Ebert)
Best Actor: Gene Hackman (Siskel & Ebert)
Best Actress: Melanie Griffith (Siskel), Meryl Streep (Ebert)
Best Supporting Actress: Geena Davis (Siskel & Ebert)
Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Kline (Siskel & Ebert)
Worst Nomination: Total shot in the dark ("Two Hearts" - Siskle (They always hated the song nominees) & Willow (Visual effects, Ebert, to make funny of Willow).

Picture I'm probably accurate on based on their top tens.

They both praised Hackman a lot for "Burning", so I think he could've been the choice, more sure on Ebert. Also both were positive but not over the moon for Rain Man.

Complete guess on Actress.

Geena Davis, I think for both as they both loved the film, but I could see protest choice as I think mentioned they thought it was category fraud (which I don't really agree with).

Kevin Kline, (hopefully, but how could you resist?)

Mitchell:

Negative:

Scrooged (1-star?, though here's one where at least I see what he's saying regarding Murray's final speech, though I don't entirely agree.)

Clue (It's funny, but humor's particularly subjective so...but really he seems stuck on the multiple endings gimmick)

Elephant Man (Lynch in general, but this review in particular, he seemed aggressively cynical towards the film's inspirational stance.)

The Thing (though evidence later seems to suggest he might've seen his mistake)

Die Hard (A negative review just for Paul Gleason's character? He's really not even in the movie that much to begin with, and for a single element to sink the film seems like a whole lot, given all the lesser action films he gave a pass to)

To name a few.

Positive:

Home Alone 3 (Given he disliked the first one)
Million Dollar Baby
Space Jam (I get they were big Chicago Bull fans, but...come on)
The Cotton Club
Bugsy

Though what I loved about the combination of the two, was the other would force each other to really logically defend their choices, and really their passions so often (which occasionally backfired when they fell on the same "wrong page, Space Jam, Unforgiven). That which was sorely lost with Roeper, who could neither challenge Ebert, nor defend his opinions.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Well I would hope a better version...so with that in mind:

Man: Sam Rockwell
Man in basement: Kyle Chandler

RatedRStar said...

Louis: I had no idea that they did do one, shame, I reckon one day it will be found since that site managed to find 1979 episodes that I had no idea existed.

Your probably right on all of them, maybe one of them might have gone Alec Guinness, Siskel did quite like Little Dorrit.

One more thing, do you know if it was in front of a live audience like 1989 or just in a studio like 1987 and before?

Anonymous said...

Louis and what would be your "Worst Nomination" for the past decade?

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar:

Indeed, wonder if we'll ever find if they actually did review Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Yes, I definitely could see Siskel going for Guinness there.

As I recall it was a studio set-up. I also assume they did one for 94 which we haven't seen. I imagine Ebert skipped 98, since Siskel died right around the time the nominations were announced.

Anonymous:

2019: "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" - Toy Story 4 (Best Song)
2018: Vice (Original Screenplay, many dishonorable mentions that year)
2017: The Boss Baby (Best Animated Feature)
2016: Suicide Squad (Best Makeup)
2015: Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl (Best Actor)
2014: Boyhood (Best Original Screenplay)
2013: David O. Russell - American Hustle - (Best Director)
2012: "Suddenly" - Les Miserables (Best Song)
2011: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Best Picture)
2010: Alice in Wonderland (Best Art Direction)

Mitchell Murray said...

I'll be honest...I kind of like "Suddenly". It wasn't all that needed, per say, but I did at least enjoy Jackman's cover of the song.

Can't really argue against your other mentions, though.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: retro directing films for Bong Joon Ho, Panos Cosmatos, Paddy Considine, and Greta Gerwig?

Louis Morgan said...

Mitchell:

As a big fan of the music from the musical, that is an egregious Oscar bait add on for me.

Calvin:

Bong Joon-ho:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
High and Low (Excellent double feature with Parasite by the way)
Escape from Seoul (New York)

Panos Cosmatos:

The Company of Wolves
Ravenous
El Topo

Paddy Considine:

This Sporting Life
The Caretaker
The Angry Silence

Greta Gerwig:

The Women
All About Eve
The Purple Rose of Cairo

RatedRStar said...

Mitchell: Siskel and Ebert both made poorer choices in the 1985 Best Actor races, the two worst in fact lol.

Louis: 1996 as well, the thing is in regards to Kiss of the Spider Woman, just before they revealed their 1985 Best Actor choices, I'm sure you as well was desperately hoping that Hurt be their choices or maybe Ford, I just had a feeling that Hurt wasn't going to be chosen simply because it wasn't on either of their top ten.

I actually thought that one of them would choose Harrison Ford simply because of how much they liked Witness.

Calvin Law said...

Here’s some of the Bongs to begin with:

2020s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre directed by Bong Joon Ho
Fred C. Dobbs: Adam Driver
Bob Curtin: Choi Woo Shik
Howard: Peter Mullan

2020s High and Low directed by Bong Joon Ho
Kingo Gondo: Lee Sun-Kyun
Inspector Tokura: Gong Yoo
Reiko Gondo: Jung Yu-mi
Kawanishi: Han Jin-won (yeah he’s a screenwriter I know but at the Oscars noticed that he fits the profile of the character perfectly)
Bos’n: Ma Dong-Seok
Detectives Arai and Nakao: Kim Roi Ha and Park Myung Hoon
Takeuchi: Park So Dam

Escape from Seoul
Snake Plissken: Lee Byung-hun
Bob Hauk: Kurt Russell
Cabbie: Byun Hee-Bong
The President: Conleth Hill
Duke: Nonso Anozie
Brain: Tilda Swinton
Maggie: Cho Yeo-Jeong

Bryan L. said...

2019 Ravenous, directed by Panos Cosmatos

Captain John Boyd: Robert Pattinson
Colonel Ives/F.W. Colqhoun: James McAvoy
Private Cleaves: Nicholas Hoult
Colonel Hart: Tracy Letts

2020 All About Eve, directed by Greta Gerwig

Margo: Jessica Chastain
Eve: Saoirse Ronan
Karen: Sarah Gadon
Bill: Bill Hader
Lloyd: Finn Witrock
Birdie: Melanie Lynskey
Addison: Paul Bettany

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: Perhaps its to soon to really ask this question, but what are your thoughts on Gal Gadot as an actress?

Me personally, I would not hesitate to say Gadot has charisma, and even a certain presence as shown by "Wonder Woman". In terms of her dramatic range, though, she's not always rock-solid, and sometimes her inexperience can come through in some off deliveries/reactions here or there. Still, that can usually be explained by her lack of proper acting education, as well as the paper thin nature of some of her characters, because she's actually overcame such obstacles before. A good testament to this might be the 2016 film "Criminal" (a rather inept movie, I assure you), in which Gadot has a standard role as the grieving widow, yet honestly manages to give a fine amount of pathos to the part. She really has come much farther and is much more assured than a lot of models turned actresses, and I'm hopeful that she will find opportunities beyond Diana Prince, as the potential is definitely there with her.

Lynn Bracken said...

Louis: What is your ranking of the 1997 supporting actresses? Thanks.

Louis Morgan said...

Mitchell:

I'd say a bit early as right now we haven't really seen her tested beyond variations of the "star" performance. Wonder Woman is obviously highlight where she did well, aided I would say greatly by her chemistry with Pine, who also I do think helped to carry her in many moments, along with a director who clearly cared. This as you take her work, even in that role, she is able to show a degree of charisma to, however seemed far more out to sea with Zach Snyder, one of the worst directors of actors around. Beyond that we have her Fast performances, which were pretty forgettable in the scheme of those films, that weren't exactly known for their acting. Otherwise you have Triple 9, which was barely a role, so I can't fault her either way. So really, more evidence is needed.

Lynn:

Well, sorry, but you're not first.

1. Julianne Moore
2. Kim Basinger
3. Gloria Stuart
4. Minnie Driver

Lynn Bracken said...

Oh, that's quite surprising. I'd be very much interested in why do you appreciate Basinger so much. Usually, she is considered a poor choice. Thank you. Love your work.