And the Nominees Were Not: Alain Delon in Red Sun Edward Fox in The Go-Between Elliott Gould in The Touch Ian McShane in Villain David Gulpilil in Walkabout
Calvin: If we both request our 2011 performances, then there will be either 8 or 9 2011 Lead performances depending on whether Louis allows the change from Gyllenhaal. I estimate that by putting Fassbender in Supporting where he rightfully belongs.
And just to reiterate Luke's question from last comments section: Where would you put Michael Smiley in Kill List? Lead or Supporting?
1. Delon (I hope you like him Louis though I think you'll end up preferring Mifune and Bronson since their relationship is the key aspect of the film) 2. McShane (he's a lot of fun) 3. Fox (surprisingly moving although a bit limited) 4. Gulpil (glad to see you're seeing your first Roeg film, will be interesting to see what you think of his style and the way performances in his films work. Can't wait till you get to 1973, 1976 and maybe 1980 for Sutherland, Bowie and Garfunkel. Anyway I really need to see this.) 5. Goulding (I've heard good and bad things about this performance)
Alex: Bruce Dern - The Cowboys Alan Arkin - Wait Until Dark Boris Karloff - The Criminal Code Boris Karloff - Bride of Frankenstein Edward G. Robinson - The Sea Wolf Roger Livesey - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Mercel Herrand - Children of Paradise Dana Andrews - The Best Years of Our Lives James Cagney - White Heat Charles Bronson - Once Upon a Time in The West Bruce Dern - Silent Running Sean Connery - The Offence Russell Crowe - Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Luke: 1951 would be interesting, because I want to see Trevor Howard and Michael Redgrave potentially reviewed for Outcast of the Islands or The Browning version. Although I don't mind waiting a bit longer for them so I can make a request for one of them by winning a preidction (which hasn't happened in ages :) )
1993 would actually be my choice, since I'm dying to know what Louis thinks of not only Jeff Daniels in Gettysburg, but Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough's best film IMO), Daniel Day-Lewis in The Age of Innocence, and Sean Astin in Rudy (amongst other potentials).
Luke: 5 (my #2 of the year after his performance in Remains of the Day. A powerful but also very charming portrayal of one of my favourite writers. He brings such tenderness and sweetness to his chemistry with Winger and makes the ending of the film every bit as heartbreaking as it should be.)
I'd say based on Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle could've probably done a superb job of doing the Ray Charles mannerisms (though we probably wouldn't have Miles Ahead). I do like Foxx a lot more than Louis though, would give him a 4 probably.
For Million Dollar Baby, I liked Swank fine but Charlize Theron would've killed it.
Luke: Bruhl's a great choice, and would've probably avoided the very minor issues Louis had with Bale's performance. I do think Bale was one of the best possible choices for the role though seeing as he was a big enough name whereas Bruhl was virtually an unknown in Hollywood (apart from those who possibly saw him in 'Goodbye Berlin!')
Robert: I disagree with you. I thought Foxx was trying too hard to capture Ray's personality and failed miserably. I could see always the wheels spinning.
I thought Foxx in his Oscar-winning year was better than DiCaprio, Eastwood and Depp, and those are three performances I do like. Cheadle was by FAR the best of the nominees that year though; he is such a criminally underrated and underused actor. Hopefully 'Miles Ahead' gains him awards traction.
I totally agree with Louis about Foxx in Ray. I think Cheadle was the only one who even deserved to be nominated that year, although I guess I also liked Eastwood.
Well based on the overall strength of the year, Cheadle was definitely the only Oscar-worthy one since Ganz, Cruise, Bardem and Carrey were all tremendous in films which did gain Academy Awards traction that year. Should've been:
Ganz Cruise (though based on how they focused all their campaigning on Fox, unlikely) Carrey (would've made so much sense seeing how they'd snubbed him for both Truman and Man on the Moon despite him winning the GG for both) Bardem Cheadle
Liv Ullmann - The Emigrants Vanessa Redgrave - The Devils Jessica Walter - Play Misty For Me Geraldine Page - The Beguiled Glenda Jackson - Mary Queen of Scots
Supporting Actress:
Cloris Leachman - The Last Picture Show Elizabeth Hartman - The Beguiled Eileen Brennan - The Last Picture Show Monica Zetterlund - The Emigrants Pat Haywood - 10 Rillington Place
Ann-Margret - 3.5(The film itself is probably my biggest problem with what she has to work with. In that I think she portrays her character's insecurities effectively but I feel the film forces her to only be able to portray that. It feels one dimensional in a frustrating way in that I feel that her performance seems capable of more, but the film never allows it)
Calvin:
A false nightmare, I think you and I are probably two of the biggest proponents of the film.
Luke:
That's one where I really need a re-watch.
Nicholson - 4(I actually do like much of his performance because that 70's charisma of his is on display and in certain moments there's that spark of his. Unfortunately the film hinders him as well as it puts his characters in various places without bothering to bring him to these places. Nicholson again is fine in these various phases, but it seems so restrictive for him, which seems wrong for this period of his work.)
I'm going to try to see it soon.
John Smith:
Edwall - 3.5(I rather liked his performance as he carries this interesting zealotry of sorts in his portrayal of a man with his own specific beliefs, that seem almost internalized even when he's trying to possibly convert others. He also works just in bringing the right naturalism, even if I don't think he makes as much of an impact as others in this regard)
Anonymous:
I think their problems stem far deeper than those underwhelming performances, though they don't help. Both have problematic screenplays, and in Million Dollar Baby's case in particular the direction only makes things worse.
I completely agree about the second draft on Ray and MDB, though for somewhat differing reasons. Ray is obviously much too long and unfocused and simplifies too many of the peripheral characters. MDB takes a potentially powerful story and screws it up with one-dimensional characters (and Swank, obviously).
I'm also in the boat that I don't dislike Foxx in the film. I dislike him in general, but I'd give him a 4. There was a time when he was my win and I'd have given him a 5.
Theron would've been a knock-out in MDB (pun most definitely intended).
On a sidenote, aside from the Asian children, the worst thing Chris Rock did while hosting was use Jamie Foxx as his example of a great, non-Denzel/Freeman black male actor. Don Cheadle gets no fucking credit. Sorry for the language, but I felt it necessary to get my exact sentiment across.
Louis: I think it's interesting that, in at least 3 different historical films about British royal history, you've preferred the secondary lead performance to the primary lead: Peter O'Toole (Henry II) over Richard Burton (Thomas Becket) in Becket Alec Guinness (as Charles I) over Richard Harris (as Thomas Cromwell) in Cromwell Glenda Jackson (as Elizabeth I) over Vanessa Redgrave (as Mary, Queen of Scots) in Mary, Queen of Scots
There may be others, but those were the ones I could think of off the top of my head.
Cheadle and Guy Pearce are in the exact same boat, but on different sides so to speak. Pearce keeps getting crazy villanous roles when what he's best act is understated, emotionally powerful toes. Cheadle keeps getting thankless supporting parts (in films at least) when what he's really best at are colourful and somewhat wacky fellas, or like Pearce reactive emotional roles. Miles Ahead and The Rover are two fantastic examples of how the talent that's rarely been utilised lately is still there.
Michael: It's funny you noticed that too, I remember watching Becket for the first time and thinking wow Burton's probably getting more screentime/focus than O'Toole.
@Calvin: I'd say Downey would be MVP, and I was really getting sick of him before this movie. But the whole cast was surprisingly on-point. Makes Age of Ultron feel like a distant memory.
Robert: Yes, Downey's schtick was really boring me before this and I'm still really impressed at the new direction he found with the character.
What did you think of the supporting cast and direction of Demolition by the way? I know we both agree on Gyllenhaal being fantastic, but I thought Judah Lewis was easily the weakest child performance I've seen so far this year, Watts was fine but the more I think about her work there was a cerain awkwardness to a few scenes (though she had some extremely good moments), Cooper was good but his character wasn't terribly well written, and the direction by Valle was incredibly problematic, not as bad as in Wild but not Dallas Buyers Club level.
Did Downey really grate on you guys that much in Iron Man 3? I recently watched it for the first time and was impressed by the new depth he added to the character. Granted, I had literally just finished watching the 1st and 2nd movies earlier that day.
I will agree, though, that prior to IM3, he wasn't bringing anything new at all to Stark regardless of whether it was in an Iron Man or an Avengers movie.
Calvin: I still haven't seen Demolition, but if Vallee's direction isn't up to his DBC level, then I'm kind of afraid to watch it considering I was completely underwhelmed by his direction of DBC.
There was a filmed musical version from the 80's or something wasn't there? I'll reserve judgement on it till it comes out.
Michael: Not so much grating as uninspired, also I much prefer Downey Jr. doing more character driven work than solely relying on his charm, for example, Chaplin, Tropic Thunder, Zodiac etc. In Civil War he did just that.
With regards to Demolition the direction is not workmanlike like it is in DBC but rather attempts to be quite daring, but ends up having a bit of a smarmy, pretentious vibe to it.
This year so far has been a lot weaker than 2015 which already had Ex Machina, Mr Holmes, and of course Mad Max: Fury Road by this point. Hopefully it'll pick up soon.
Calvin: This year has so much to live up to, that I personally couldn't be too hard on it. That being said, there's nowhere near as many films that I'm enticed by compared to last year. Silence and Rogue One are probably the only films that I'm absolutely dying to see. What hurts it even more is no Tom Hardy.
Her performance in Autumn Sonata is one of a few that I can really say is otherworldly. Almost all the time she keeps herself a strand of hair away from an (REALLY) over the top performance.
And about Cannes: do you think Cotillard will finally win there? She has two movies this year, one of them I have a big suspicion that her presence actually MADE it enter the list.
I think Hacksaw Ridge and The BFG are my most anticipated ones. The former I think has the potential to be amazing, the latter I have afeeling will be another hit for Speilberg, I like this new sort of streak he might be going on.
Donald Sutherland - (He can occasionally phone it in, though that's usually when he's cast as the standard establishment villain. However the majority of the time he's an engaging performer with what I would say is one of the more memorable, and rather underrated voices of cinema, that being in literal terms. In the roles that ask him to stretch himself in either terms of emotional range, or in terms of a different sort of character he almost always succeeds.)
Ralph Bellamy - (Will always be notable as a great hapless other guy, and really just a very able comedic performer. I have not seen much of his dramatic work though so I can't really say more for the time being)
Alan Arkin - (Arkin is these days best known for his angry old man routine, which he did well, but he's capable of far more as shown in his earlier roles where he seemed as though he was always trying to stretch himself. I won't say he was great in every role, but there was a definite daring about it which when it payed off was fairly substantial)
James Whitmore - (Honestly have only seen a few of his performances. All that I have seen though indicate his great ability as a particularly naturalistic performer. Well except for that somewhat curious second Oscar nomination of his)
I just watched Thief, and I have to say I don't understand how you could hate the synth score for that movie. I thought it was perfect for the tone it was going for.
Louis: Another choice for the role of General Savage was Dana Andrews. IMO, I think he could have pulled off that nervous breakdown. What do you think of this choice?
The Russo brothers really do have the best grip on the characters and material, and I feel confident that they will do a great job with the Infinity War films. Civil War also has some of the best action scenes of the MCU and probably has the best Marvel villain since Loki.
Speaking of Bruhl, he and Evans are probably my MVPs of the film, although Downey Jr and Boseman were really great as well. In fact, I think Civil War probably has the best ensemble out of all the Marvel films. Really interested to hear Louis's thoughts on the cast
Calvin: Yes the film is not great lol, I do kinda like Nicholas Tse, he is endearing enough although much much less than in Bodyguards, plus with Best Supporting Actor 2004 looking so thin I had to get an emergency HK performance in there.
Daniel Wu is an actor who often gets a lot of flak for being just dull, and not going for it, he is a much better actor when he plays high emotional characters like in this and That Demon Within, I feel he really does go for high emotional reactions in this film, I am actually a little surprised he did not win the Hong Kong Award that year as he seemed to be the favorite judging by the loud cheer at the ceremony when his clip was playing as well as his Golden Horse win.
Oh wait sorry, I actually meant Tse! I can't believe I confused the two of them. Wu was fine too but Tse was the highlight, but definitely co-lead of the film.
RatedRStar: Did you find last year in HK film as weak as I did? I thought Ip Man 3 was pretty dull (preferred it to The Grandmaster though), 10 Years I didn't take to at all, everything else was just bland. I did like Port of Call though it's a bit overrated and Taking of Tiger Mountain was fun enough I guess.
Port of Call Kwok: 3.5 (not the great performance some have made it out to be but he disappeared quite well into the role) Li: 4.5 (powerful performance and very well attuned to the dark nature of the film) Ning: 4.5 Lam: 4
As for Tiger Mountain Leung was fun but quite OTT and everyone else was a bit forgettable.
I actually liked Wu in One Nite in Mongkok and would give him a 3.5, him and Cheung aren't terribly convincing Mainlanders but they give strong emotional performances. Fong is definitely the best part of it though, would give him a strong 4 (he's co-lead for me though).
Calvin: I think the last couple of years of HK have been quite weak, I thought IP Man 3 was pretty poor for the most part, 10 Years is kinda interesting, I think instead of setting it in the future it should have been the present since it could have been very pitch black and truthful, I thought the EGG segment with Liu Kai Chi was probably the part I liked the most because of its simplicity, Port Of Call I did like for the most part, I certainly liked the performances, Tiger was very OTT indeed with some pretty laughable special effects but it was kinda fun, Tony Leung Ka Fai is quite amusing and hammy, no idea why he was nominated in the lead category at the HK awards?
Zhang Jin for some reason has 3 HK nominations, whereas Roy Cheung, Patrick Tam and Lam Suet have 2, just silly, but then again Gordon Lam has 3 nominations also for some reason.
Probably, its just so silly that Zhang Jin has been recognised for 3 very average performances, 2 of them in sequels in the same year (IP Man 3 and SPL 2)
The film basically says this is how it's done, to both Batman V Superman and Age of Ultron. I was excited for the film because after The Winter Soldier, and now this the Russo brothers are apparently masters of the genre. The action scenes are extremely entertaining, and importantly each set piece builds in a way in which to make it so it so it never seems just like noise, which is how I felt about Ultron. This is also helped by the fact that every one of them has a purpose, and this film above all other marvel films makes the most out of the extended universe. It utilizes what was set before as the conflict is sewn well into the relationships between the characters. I loved that it did not make one side wrong, and instead they succeeded in ensuring that you know where every character is coming from. On that point it also did a just about perfect balancing act as it felt like every one of their heroes their own purpose without anyone seeming shortchanged in some way. It's quite possibly the strongest marvel film, probably should give it just a bit more time for an official declaration though, as it is both enjoyable yet manages to carry a considerable emotional impact.
Cast:
I'm saving Downey.
Evans - 4.5(I have to give him so much credit in that he now simply is Captain America, and has become so comfortable in the role that I can't see anyone else even try. Again what I love about what Evans does with the Captain is make his morally uncompromising righteous attitude seem wholly honest. There is not a hint of ego that is pivotal as Cap's goodness can never be called in question for even a moment. Evans embraces this to the point that he manages to be quite moving by making the determination attached to it so genuine.)
Stan - 4(I thought he really delivered here in portraying so well the internalized pain in Bucky in just simply dealing with both what he has done as well as being in such a strange place mentally. Past that though even I loved his chemistry with Evans which I felt was far stronger than in the original Captain America. They both make the friendship absolutely work to the point that you have to believe that Cap would to whatever it takes to save him throughout the film)
Johansson - 3(I always sound the most negative about here in any given film I think. I did find she handled her arc well here, and certainly stayed consistent to the way her performances have been in the past films)
Boseman - 3.5(Very strong introduction to him as I found he really brought a unique sort of command and style to his character that made him stand out in a unique fashion. Past that though I found he did an excellent job, in mainly a few silent reactions, of portraying Black Panther's change in mindset.)
Holland - 3.5(The best Spider-man and Peter Parker ever. He actually manages to be properly nerdy and awkward as Peter, well extremely endearing and charming as Spider-Man. Even though we only got a bit of each I did feel he showed the difference in personalities by almost portraying Spider-Man as Peter being free to express himself. In addition his chemistry with Downey was exceptional. As with Boseman I'm very much looking forward to his solo film.)
Mackie - 3.5(Brings the needed energy to the role, and has great chemistry once again with Evans. What I liked even more though was his very entertaining dynamic he struck up with Stan, as the two almost work like buddy cop duo.)
Olsen - 3.5(Seems like she's working towards dropping the accent altogether, which is fine by me. I liked her performance a great deal because she adds this certain timid presence to the proceedings and offers a point of view of someone who far less comfortable being a hero than the rest of them. I found she established Wanda's motivations particularly well, which added much to the central conflict)
Bettany - 3(He again does well to stay consistent in portraying Vision essentially a constant in the conflict. This technically gives him a bit less to do, but I think it works well for the story.)
Renner - 3.5(Renner perhaps deserves the most credit for coming through in the clutch as Hawkeye's scenes could have seemed rush, but in like a manner of seconds you completely know where he's coming from in the situation, while once again bringing a particularly effortless humor to the proceedings)
Rudd - 3.5(Rudd completely goes with Ant-Man being the most light hearted of all and makes the most of it in just two scenes. I thought he was hilarious with just about every line he had)
Freeman - 2.5(He does not have a great deal to do. He's fine but it's really just a brief introduction.)
Cheadle - 3(Still underused unfortunately, he always seems like the edge of every action scene and every conversation. He's still does his best with what he had, and I especially enjoyed his final scene)
Hurt - 2.5(Not given much to do, but I thought he did just fine with what he had.)
Bruhl - 4(One of my favorite elements in the film was how Zemo was utilized. I loved that he was not the flamboyant show off type, but instead worked as an Iago sort of manipulator. Bruhl I found played his hand as well as Zemo by carrying the right sort of menace, but he almost did this through this curious underlying intensity that seemed to indicate something horrible about the man. When that is finally revealed I found Bruhl to be excellent as he not only gave a clear understanding to what compelled Zemo, but also managed to even be affecting)
I would go WAY higher for Johansson and let Boseman grow on you a little, you might find yourself pushing him up like I did. Glad you uniformly liked the whole cast though and I think I'll bump Cheadle up too, as he was very good with the incredibly little he had.
RatedRStar: I still think it's odd how Roy Cheung didn't get nominated for The Mission, he's by far the best of the whole cast and I LOVE that ensemble.
Also am going to bump Rudd up, you're right in how hilarious he was with every line delivery. Also more the direction than anything else, but what did you think of THAT scene with him (not going to say more in case anyone else hasn't seen it yet).
I would say he's supporting for me, though verging very closely on co-lead. What does put him into for supporting for me is the second act where we follow Captain America intently on his own whereas Stark sort of blends into the ensemble. Glad you're saving him though, easily his best performance as Stark to date.
Luke: I hope so though my expectations are quite low. Kind of hate how they've completely changed the dynamic of the series around Mystique and like someone on this board said (forgot who) Oscar Isaac is SO MUCH better at playing the understated than OTT villainy.
Looking forward to seeing how Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner acquit themselves too, and for Fassbender and McAvoy to deliver as usual.
I was the one who said that about Isaac. He was pretty dire in Robin Hood and Sucker Punch as villains, though in fairness both films are pretty dire themselves.
Luke, Calvin, Daniel, other Britons: I don't know how many of y'all have seen, are planning on watching, or have no interest in watching it, but I'd highly recommend watching Hillsborough tonight. I assume y'all will all know what it's about by the title, but I think it's such an important topic still today specifically because it's themes resonate so much outside of sports. Also I think it's the best documentary ever made about any subject. I bring it up because I just discovered that it's airing for (I think) the first time on British TV tonight at 9 on BBC2 after its British release was postponed because the inquest was ongoing.
Calvin & RatedRStar: Saw Henry VI Part I last night and it's a promising start to the 2nd Hollow Crown series. Sturridge - 3.5 Okonedo - 4.5 Miles - 4/4.5 Bonneville - 4/4.5 Hawkins - 4 Dunbar - 4 West - 3 Townsend - 3.5 Lesser - 3.5 Glenister - 3.5 Frances-Morgan - 3
Michael: My dad recorded it, ill definitely watch it in future.
Bafta TV awards are on tonight, I really dont have much hope after they gave the best actor last year to Jason Watkins, the worst performance by far and he wasnt even the third favorite to win, he was the 100 percent underdog, I could have won like 400 pound from betting on him lol.
Michael P: Will definitely check it out. Tragic and avoidable incident in history.
Just as a form of procrastination,
Mad Max: Fury Road (1940s directed by Powell and Pressburger) Max: Roger Livesey Furiosa: Wendy Hiller Nux: Richard Attenborough Immortan Joe: Roger Livesey (would just be a fun thing to do methinks) Slit: David Farrar Rictus Erectus: Rex Ingram Angharad: June Duprez Capable: Kim Hunter The Dag: Kathleen Byron Cheedo: Jean Simmons The People Eater: Sig Ruman The Bullet Farmer: Finlay Currie Keeper of Seeds: May Hallat Valkyrie: Flora Robson The Doof Warrior: Chuck Berry
I had a weird idea. How about a 30's version of The Avengers? Iron Man: Clark Gable Captain America: James Stewart Thor: Johnny Weissmuller Hawkeye: Errol Flynn Hulk: Lon Chaney Jr. Black Widow: Marlene Dietrich Nick Fury: Harry Carey Agent Coulson: Humphrey Bogart Don't know who to pick for Loki.
Calvin: If I had to choose, I'd go with Cooper and Schoedsack, with Willis O'Brien providing special effects. But the Chitauri would have been quite expensive to do in stop-motion, so extras in suits.
The Avengers in the 1940s Iron Man: Cary Grant Captain America: Kirk Douglas Thor: No clue. Hawkeye: Robert Ryan Hulk: Joel McCrae Black Widow: Kathleen Byron Nick Fury: Edward G. Robinson Agent Coulson: Edmond O'Brien Loki: Trevor Howard
The Avengers in the 1950s Iron Man: Burt Lancaster Captain America: Paul Newman Thor: Charlton Heston (maybe he could've done the 40's as well) Hawkeye: Robert Mitchum (yep this is a LOADED cast) Hulk: Montgomery Clift Black Widow: Capucine Nick Fury: Ray Milland Agent Coulson: Ernest Borgnine Loki: Alec Guinness
The Dark Knight in the 1950's Batman: Marlon Brando Joker: Jack Lemmon Alfred: Boris Karloff Two-Face: Montgomery Clift Rachel: Eva Marie Saint Gordon: James Stewart Lucius: Clarence Muse Maroni: Lee J. Cobb
Just watched Dredd. Baffles me how little love it got back in 2012. It's really quite a blast.
Urban: 4 (the perfect Dredd, one can only hope a sequel will come to frution) Dredd: 3 (overshadowed by Urban but I thought she was surprisingly convincing in being tough as nails and played nicely off Urban) Headey: 4 (a pretty great villain I have to say, not that much focus but I really liked her sheer presence) Harris: 3.5 (added a lot of character to the proceedings by depicting his character's less full-blown evil, more uncouth form of criminal mind)
It has a good enough main theme, if misused at times, but otherwise I don't find it particularly memorable.
Luke:
Mostly a setting up episode, though a fine example of such. I really liked the scenes with Varys and High Sparrow thanks to Pryce and Hill who were both amazing in their moments of persuasion. I rather enjoyed Arya's training montage, though it really could have used some 80's music. Jon's return I found to be well handled, though with one life back we got one rather sad death, poor Shaggydog. A good episode with what I felt only had a few minor hiccups, the Sand Snakes taking over Dorne does not make a lick of sense, and not Sean Bean left something to be desired.
Pryce and Hill were great, Maisie Williams too. I also really liked Anton Lesser in the scene with the "little birds" and Owen Teale in the final moment of Alliser Thorne.
Everyone: your top 10 (or 5 if you can't think of 10) actors (young or old) who you think/want to break out
1. John Boyega (yeah, I know there's Star Wars, but I think with that and Attack the Block we're only just beginning to see his range) 2. Elizabeth Debicki (also unsure whether she's truly broken out yet, anyway she's been the best thing about both films I've seen her have a substantial role in, and was pretty fantastic in Macbeth too, wouldn't be surprised if she does a Alicia Vikander soon) 3. Luke Treadaway (just an actor I really like in general, great both onstage and needs a big break on film) 4. Daisy Ridley (same as ol' John) 5. Ben Schnetzer (he was the best thing about Pride and the second-best thing about The Riot Club) 6. Walton Goggins (he may have a huge television fanbase but barely anyone I talk to knows him!) 7. Nicholas Hoult (has he broken out yet? Hard to say really) 8. George McKay (seen very little of him but want him to make him big. I know one should never compare film with stage but I thought his performance in Pride as a nervous young man struggling to come out when contrasted with his work as a violent madman in The Caretaker, is quite wonderful) 9. Chadwick Boseman (his work in 42 is very underrated, as is the whole film in general, but I think Black Panther is gonna put him on the map) 10. Rebecca Hall (hesitate to put her on here because she's fairly well-known, but she was great in The Gift, has consistently done good work in films for quite a while now, also btw Jason Bateman is my 7th in lead for 2015)
Hon. Mentions: Olivia Cooke (even the 99% of the population who hated Me and Earl and the Dying Girl must admit she was very moving), Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell (I love their teleivison work in Boardwalk Empire, and great performances in ROTPOTA and Dead Man's Shoes respectively, but Ben-Hur might be a damning nail in the coffin to some of their recent lacklustre work)
Louis: You already said that Beery and Wayne were two of the most polarizing actors of the Golden Age. What about other eight polarizing actors? I'd say Mickey Rooney is a very polarizing actor.
Anonymous: I was praying it was gonna be good, despite my middling expectations. I knew that yours and almost everyone else's expectations were lower than mine. Compared to the reactions to the last two films, it's deeply disappointing for me personally, as I'm a huge fan of the franchise.
It baffles me whenever that film is praised and he is not, what film were they watching.
Louis: where do you think he is more likely to be nominated at some point in the future, lead or supporting? Because although he's a great supporting actor his lead turns have tended to be in more Oscar-baity fare (The Messenger, you can tell The Program was trying to be this)
Hard to say since he's never gotten even close, only a few sparse critical mentions for 3:10 Yuma and The Messenger. Unfortunately at the moment I'd guess neither since he seems to be stuck in the Guy Pearce zone in more than one way.
Louis: thoughts on this cast for Mad Max in the 1960s
Mad Max: Fury Road (1960s directed by Sergio Leone) Max: Charles Bronson Furiosa: Anne Bancroft Nux: Tom Courtenay Immortan Joe: Gabriele Ferzetti Slit: John McEnery Rictus Erectus: Donald Sutherland The Splendid Angharad: Claudia Cardinale Capable: Geraldine Chaplin The Dag: Cheedo: Jean Simmons The People Eater: Sig Ruman The Bullet Farmer: Finlay Currie Keeper of Seeds: May Hallat Valkyrie: Flora Robson The Doof Warrior: Chuck Berry
Calvin: That Mad Max cast is amazing. I'll do an Exorcist retrocasting. (1940's version, by James Whale) Chris: Joan Crawford Regan: Elizabeth Taylor Father Karras: Lon Chaney Jr. Father Merrin: Boris Karloff Lieutenant Kinderman: Edward G. Robinson
1950s Exorcist directed by Kurosawa Chris: Yunosuke Ito Karras: Tatsuya Nakadai Merrin: Takashi Shimura Kinderman: Toshiro Mifune (one of his fun smaller roles)
Louis: Is there an actor you think could have played Arthiur Kennedy's role in Trial better than him? Or do you think Kennedy needed to be less obvious?
Well Kennedy almost always could have taken himself down a notch. However I'd say Richard Widmark, E.G. Marshall, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, Robert Ryan, and Gig Young, probably would have been better in the role just, to name a few.
189 comments:
1. Delon
2. McShane
3. Gould
4. Fox
5. Gulpilil
1. Delon
2. McShane
3. Gould
4. Fox
5. Gulpilil
1. Delon
2. McShane
3. Fox
4. Gould
5. Gulpilil
So what are your updated top 5s for Best Actress and Supporting Actress for 1971?
1. Alain Delon
2. Ian McShane
3. Elliott Gould
4. Edward Fox
5. David Gulpilil
Calvin: If we both request our 2011 performances, then there will be either 8 or 9 2011 Lead performances depending on whether Louis allows the change from Gyllenhaal. I estimate that by putting Fassbender in Supporting where he rightfully belongs.
And just to reiterate Luke's question from last comments section: Where would you put Michael Smiley in Kill List? Lead or Supporting?
1) Delon
2) McShane
3) Fox
4) Gould
5) Gulpill
1) Delon
2) McShane
3) Gould
4) Fox
5) Gulpill
Luke: I probably won't request Schoenaerts just to give flexibility to Louis.
1.Fox
2.Delon
3.McShane
4.Gould
5.Gulpili
1. Delon (I hope you like him Louis though I think you'll end up preferring Mifune and Bronson since their relationship is the key aspect of the film)
2. McShane (he's a lot of fun)
3. Fox (surprisingly moving although a bit limited)
4. Gulpil (glad to see you're seeing your first Roeg film, will be interesting to see what you think of his style and the way performances in his films work. Can't wait till you get to 1973, 1976 and maybe 1980 for Sutherland, Bowie and Garfunkel. Anyway I really need to see this.)
5. Goulding (I've heard good and bad things about this performance)
*Gould
Also had a nightmare last night that you downgraded Russell, Jackson and Goggins in The Hateful Eight to 4.5s :)
Louis: Can you switch Fassbender's placement from Lead to Supporting for Jane Eyre.
1. McShane
2. Fox
3. Delon
4. Gulpilil
5. Gould
Luke: He doesn't specify on the winning requests list who's lead or supporting so I wouldn't worry yet.
Calvin: OK. I'll ask him again, when we get there. :)
What year do you want after this.
Rating and thoughts on Ann-Margret in Carnal Knowledge?
Louis: Can I have your ratings & thoughts on Ledger, Bettany and Sewell in A Knight's Tale.
And your thoughts on the film as well.
Louis: Rating & Thoughts on Nicholson in Carnal Knowledge.
Louis: Thoughts on Carnal Knowledge and Nicholas and Alexandria?
1. Alain Delon
2. Ian McShane
3. Elliott Gould
4. Edward Fox
5. David Gulpilil
Louis: are there any performances that could go up to a 5 in your opinion?
Alex:
Bruce Dern - The Cowboys
Alan Arkin - Wait Until Dark
Boris Karloff - The Criminal Code
Boris Karloff - Bride of Frankenstein
Edward G. Robinson - The Sea Wolf
Roger Livesey - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Mercel Herrand - Children of Paradise
Dana Andrews - The Best Years of Our Lives
James Cagney - White Heat
Charles Bronson - Once Upon a Time in The West
Bruce Dern - Silent Running
Sean Connery - The Offence
Russell Crowe - Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Luke: 1951 would be interesting, because I want to see Trevor Howard and Michael Redgrave potentially reviewed for Outcast of the Islands or The Browning version. Although I don't mind waiting a bit longer for them so I can make a request for one of them by winning a preidction (which hasn't happened in ages :) )
1993 would actually be my choice, since I'm dying to know what Louis thinks of not only Jeff Daniels in Gettysburg, but Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough's best film IMO), Daniel Day-Lewis in The Age of Innocence, and Sean Astin in Rudy (amongst other potentials).
Calvin: 1993 could be next, since it came after 1971 in the alternates back in 2012.
Your rating and thoughts on Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands. (His best lead performance IMO) :)
Calvin: I currently have 18 winning predictions. :)
Luke: 5 (my #2 of the year after his performance in Remains of the Day. A powerful but also very charming portrayal of one of my favourite writers. He brings such tenderness and sweetness to his chemistry with Winger and makes the ending of the film every bit as heartbreaking as it should be.)
Also am re-watching Hail, Caesar! now and I think I'll bump it up to #1 of the year again :)
Louis, your thoughts and rating for Allan Edwall in The Emmigrants
Calvin & Louis: Do you think Daniel Bruhl would've been a good choice as Dieter Dengler in Rescue Dawn.
Louis: Are you seeing Captain America: Civil War tomorrow.
Louis: I think that Bruhl could have been just as great as Bale.
*Luke: I think that Bruhl could have been just as great as Bale.
Louis: How do you think Million Dollar Baby and Ray could have been much better? I'd suggest better actors for Swank and Foxx's roles.
I'd say based on Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle could've probably done a superb job of doing the Ray Charles mannerisms (though we probably wouldn't have Miles Ahead). I do like Foxx a lot more than Louis though, would give him a 4 probably.
For Million Dollar Baby, I liked Swank fine but Charlize Theron would've killed it.
What both of those movies needed to be better was a second draft.
Luke: Bruhl's a great choice, and would've probably avoided the very minor issues Louis had with Bale's performance. I do think Bale was one of the best possible choices for the role though seeing as he was a big enough name whereas Bruhl was virtually an unknown in Hollywood (apart from those who possibly saw him in 'Goodbye Berlin!')
Calvin: I agree with you, I don't think Foxx's performance is that bad.
Foxx is not THAT bad. I mean, he's better than DiCaprio in The Revenant by virtue of having a personality.
Robert: I disagree with you. I thought Foxx was trying too hard to capture Ray's personality and failed miserably. I could see always the wheels spinning.
*always see
I actually haven't seen Ray. I just like taking my potshots at The Revenant.
I thought Foxx in his Oscar-winning year was better than DiCaprio, Eastwood and Depp, and those are three performances I do like. Cheadle was by FAR the best of the nominees that year though; he is such a criminally underrated and underused actor. Hopefully 'Miles Ahead' gains him awards traction.
Robert: Never an opportunity passed up, eh :)
I totally agree with Louis about Foxx in Ray. I think Cheadle was the only one who even deserved to be nominated that year, although I guess I also liked Eastwood.
Well based on the overall strength of the year, Cheadle was definitely the only Oscar-worthy one since Ganz, Cruise, Bardem and Carrey were all tremendous in films which did gain Academy Awards traction that year. Should've been:
Ganz
Cruise (though based on how they focused all their campaigning on Fox, unlikely)
Carrey (would've made so much sense seeing how they'd snubbed him for both Truman and Man on the Moon despite him winning the GG for both)
Bardem
Cheadle
It's such a shame Ganz wasn't nominated.
Giuseppe:
Actress:
Liv Ullmann - The Emigrants
Vanessa Redgrave - The Devils
Jessica Walter - Play Misty For Me
Geraldine Page - The Beguiled
Glenda Jackson - Mary Queen of Scots
Supporting Actress:
Cloris Leachman - The Last Picture Show
Elizabeth Hartman - The Beguiled
Eileen Brennan - The Last Picture Show
Monica Zetterlund - The Emigrants
Pat Haywood - 10 Rillington Place
Ann-Margret - 3.5(The film itself is probably my biggest problem with what she has to work with. In that I think she portrays her character's insecurities effectively but I feel the film forces her to only be able to portray that. It feels one dimensional in a frustrating way in that I feel that her performance seems capable of more, but the film never allows it)
Calvin:
A false nightmare, I think you and I are probably two of the biggest proponents of the film.
Luke:
That's one where I really need a re-watch.
Nicholson - 4(I actually do like much of his performance because that 70's charisma of his is on display and in certain moments there's that spark of his. Unfortunately the film hinders him as well as it puts his characters in various places without bothering to bring him to these places. Nicholson again is fine in these various phases, but it seems so restrictive for him, which seems wrong for this period of his work.)
I'm going to try to see it soon.
John Smith:
Edwall - 3.5(I rather liked his performance as he carries this interesting zealotry of sorts in his portrayal of a man with his own specific beliefs, that seem almost internalized even when he's trying to possibly convert others. He also works just in bringing the right naturalism, even if I don't think he makes as much of an impact as others in this regard)
Anonymous:
I think their problems stem far deeper than those underwhelming performances, though they don't help. Both have problematic screenplays, and in Million Dollar Baby's case in particular the direction only makes things worse.
Just saw Civil War, and I have to admit it was really great.
1) Fox
2) Gould
3) Delon
4) Gulpilil
5) McShane
Robert: Who were the MVP (s) for you? For me it's Evans and Downey Jr. but Boseman (who I've not bumped up to a 4.5) is amazing too.
I completely agree about the second draft on Ray and MDB, though for somewhat differing reasons. Ray is obviously much too long and unfocused and simplifies too many of the peripheral characters. MDB takes a potentially powerful story and screws it up with one-dimensional characters (and Swank, obviously).
I'm also in the boat that I don't dislike Foxx in the film. I dislike him in general, but I'd give him a 4. There was a time when he was my win and I'd have given him a 5.
Theron would've been a knock-out in MDB (pun most definitely intended).
On a sidenote, aside from the Asian children, the worst thing Chris Rock did while hosting was use Jamie Foxx as his example of a great, non-Denzel/Freeman black male actor. Don Cheadle gets no fucking credit. Sorry for the language, but I felt it necessary to get my exact sentiment across.
Louis: I think it's interesting that, in at least 3 different historical films about British royal history, you've preferred the secondary lead performance to the primary lead:
Peter O'Toole (Henry II) over Richard Burton (Thomas Becket) in Becket
Alec Guinness (as Charles I) over Richard Harris (as Thomas Cromwell) in Cromwell
Glenda Jackson (as Elizabeth I) over Vanessa Redgrave (as Mary, Queen of Scots) in Mary, Queen of Scots
There may be others, but those were the ones I could think of off the top of my head.
Cheadle and Guy Pearce are in the exact same boat, but on different sides so to speak. Pearce keeps getting crazy villanous roles when what he's best act is understated, emotionally powerful toes. Cheadle keeps getting thankless supporting parts (in films at least) when what he's really best at are colourful and somewhat wacky fellas, or like Pearce reactive emotional roles. Miles Ahead and The Rover are two fantastic examples of how the talent that's rarely been utilised lately is still there.
Michael: It's funny you noticed that too, I remember watching Becket for the first time and thinking wow Burton's probably getting more screentime/focus than O'Toole.
Although O'Toole does have the bookend scenes.
@Calvin: I'd say Downey would be MVP, and I was really getting sick of him before this movie. But the whole cast was surprisingly on-point. Makes Age of Ultron feel like a distant memory.
Robert: Yes, Downey's schtick was really boring me before this and I'm still really impressed at the new direction he found with the character.
What did you think of the supporting cast and direction of Demolition by the way? I know we both agree on Gyllenhaal being fantastic, but I thought Judah Lewis was easily the weakest child performance I've seen so far this year, Watts was fine but the more I think about her work there was a cerain awkwardness to a few scenes (though she had some extremely good moments), Cooper was good but his character wasn't terribly well written, and the direction by Valle was incredibly problematic, not as bad as in Wild but not Dallas Buyers Club level.
Honestly I was more or less indifferent to the supporting cast one way or another. Watts did her best with that wonky character, though.
Did Downey really grate on you guys that much in Iron Man 3? I recently watched it for the first time and was impressed by the new depth he added to the character. Granted, I had literally just finished watching the 1st and 2nd movies earlier that day.
I will agree, though, that prior to IM3, he wasn't bringing anything new at all to Stark regardless of whether it was in an Iron Man or an Avengers movie.
Calvin: I still haven't seen Demolition, but if Vallee's direction isn't up to his DBC level, then I'm kind of afraid to watch it considering I was completely underwhelmed by his direction of DBC.
Tom Hooper is going to direct the film version of Cats, oh dear this could go very wrong although a film version is overdue I think.
The tackiest musical of all time adapted by the tackiest living director. Fitting.
There was a filmed musical version from the 80's or something wasn't there? I'll reserve judgement on it till it comes out.
Michael: Not so much grating as uninspired, also I much prefer Downey Jr. doing more character driven work than solely relying on his charm, for example, Chaplin, Tropic Thunder, Zodiac etc. In Civil War he did just that.
With regards to Demolition the direction is not workmanlike like it is in DBC but rather attempts to be quite daring, but ends up having a bit of a smarmy, pretentious vibe to it.
I'd say that I liked Downey Jr.'s performance in Iron Man 3. He definitely did something new with Stark as a character.
Louis: What are your overall thoughts on Donald Sutherland, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Arkin and James Whitmore as actors?
The direction to Demolition bothered me less than the script, though Calvin is correct in how its flourishes do come off as self-important.
Louis: what other Liv Ullman's performances do you give a 5?
Gus B:
Persona
The New Land
Face To Face
He hasn't seen Autumn Sonata, Shame, The Passion Of Anna and Cries And Whispers.
I really want to see Autumn Sonata.
Yeah, the script to Demolition is really problematic too, but I felt Gyllenhaal managed to make something quite interesting out of it.
Saw I Saw the Light. Pretty terrible biopic overall. Hiddleston is quite good though, shame he barely had a film to work with.
Hiddleston: 3.5
Olsen: 2.5 (had very little screentime and pretty much nothing to do)
Everyone else is incredibly forgettable.
This year so far has been a lot weaker than 2015 which already had Ex Machina, Mr Holmes, and of course Mad Max: Fury Road by this point. Hopefully it'll pick up soon.
*weaker so far
Calvin: This year has so much to live up to, that I personally couldn't be too hard on it. That being said, there's nowhere near as many films that I'm enticed by compared to last year. Silence and Rogue One are probably the only films that I'm absolutely dying to see. What hurts it even more is no Tom Hardy.
I can very much live with a break from Mr. Hardy for a year.
Calvin: Yet, Cannes not far off now and I'm hoping for the best, especially with The Neon Demon and Loving.
Can't wait for the new Hollow Crown Series to start tomorrow night. :)
Luke, and what about Scenes of a Marriage?
Her performance in Autumn Sonata is one of a few that I can really say is otherworldly. Almost all the time she keeps herself a strand of hair away from an (REALLY) over the top performance.
And about Cannes: do you think Cotillard will finally win there? She has two movies this year, one of them I have a big suspicion that her presence actually MADE it enter the list.
I think Hacksaw Ridge and The BFG are my most anticipated ones. The former I think has the potential to be amazing, the latter I have afeeling will be another hit for Speilberg, I like this new sort of streak he might be going on.
Luke: Richard III will be great I hope, but as for the other two, ugh, Tom Sturridge, hopefulyl he proves me wrong.
Gus B: He'll get around to that eventually, though I'd rather if he watched the TV version instead of the shorter theatrical release.
Gus B: We'll see though I'm gob-smacked she hasn't won yet.
Calvin: I'm really looking forward to them, though the two that I mentioned are much higher on my anticipation scale.
Is someone missing from this blog? I cant recall who but it feels like 2 or 3 people haven't been here a while?
Anonymous: RatedRStar, Psifonian, Moviefilm and Matt Mustin.
*Just the first three actually.
Saw Miles Ahead. Wow, Cheadle was amazing.
He really was. I'm just hoping the early release date doesn't affect his awards chances...although it probably will.
Does anybody like the look of The Light Between Oceans Trailer?
Anonymous:
Donald Sutherland - (He can occasionally phone it in, though that's usually when he's cast as the standard establishment villain. However the majority of the time he's an engaging performer with what I would say is one of the more memorable, and rather underrated voices of cinema, that being in literal terms. In the roles that ask him to stretch himself in either terms of emotional range, or in terms of a different sort of character he almost always succeeds.)
Ralph Bellamy - (Will always be notable as a great hapless other guy, and really just a very able comedic performer. I have not seen much of his dramatic work though so I can't really say more for the time being)
Alan Arkin - (Arkin is these days best known for his angry old man routine, which he did well, but he's capable of far more as shown in his earlier roles where he seemed as though he was always trying to stretch himself. I won't say he was great in every role, but there was a definite daring about it which when it payed off was fairly substantial)
James Whitmore - (Honestly have only seen a few of his performances. All that I have seen though indicate his great ability as a particularly naturalistic performer. Well except for that somewhat curious second Oscar nomination of his)
Also saw Civil War, see that's why I had it on my most anticipated list.
I just watched Thief, and I have to say I don't understand how you could hate the synth score for that movie. I thought it was perfect for the tone it was going for.
Louis, what are your thoughts on Civil War, as well as ratings and thoughts on the cast
Louis: Another choice for the role of General Savage was Dana Andrews. IMO, I think he could have pulled off that nervous breakdown. What do you think of this choice?
I am interested to hear what you thought of this particular Marvel villain, Louis. I think Baron Zemo has a great deal of potential as a villain.
Also, his performance was basically how Lex Luthor should've been played in BvS.
Basically 90% of Civil War is what BvS should have been.
1. Delon
2. McShane
3. Fox
4. Gould
5. Gulpilil
RatedRStar: Good to have you back. :)
1. Delon
2. McShane
3. Fox
4. Gould
5. Gulpilil
Luke: Thanks lol
My winning request is Daniel Wu - New Police Story, gone for a risky performance this time.
The Russo brothers really do have the best grip on the characters and material, and I feel confident that they will do a great job with the Infinity War films. Civil War also has some of the best action scenes of the MCU and probably has the best Marvel villain since Loki.
Speaking of Bruhl, he and Evans are probably my MVPs of the film, although Downey Jr and Boseman were really great as well. In fact, I think Civil War probably has the best ensemble out of all the Marvel films. Really interested to hear Louis's thoughts on the cast
Wu is by far the best thing about New Police Story so good choice.
Although the rest of the film is a bit shit. Haha :)
Calvin: Yes the film is not great lol, I do kinda like Nicholas Tse, he is endearing enough although much much less than in Bodyguards, plus with Best Supporting Actor 2004 looking so thin I had to get an emergency HK performance in there.
Daniel Wu is an actor who often gets a lot of flak for being just dull, and not going for it, he is a much better actor when he plays high emotional characters like in this and That Demon Within, I feel he really does go for high emotional reactions in this film, I am actually a little surprised he did not win the Hong Kong Award that year as he seemed to be the favorite judging by the loud cheer at the ceremony when his clip was playing as well as his Golden Horse win.
Oh wait sorry, I actually meant Tse! I can't believe I confused the two of them. Wu was fine too but Tse was the highlight, but definitely co-lead of the film.
RatedRStar: Did you find last year in HK film as weak as I did? I thought Ip Man 3 was pretty dull (preferred it to The Grandmaster though), 10 Years I didn't take to at all, everything else was just bland. I did like Port of Call though it's a bit overrated and Taking of Tiger Mountain was fun enough I guess.
Port of Call
Kwok: 3.5 (not the great performance some have made it out to be but he disappeared quite well into the role)
Li: 4.5 (powerful performance and very well attuned to the dark nature of the film)
Ning: 4.5
Lam: 4
As for Tiger Mountain Leung was fun but quite OTT and everyone else was a bit forgettable.
I actually liked Wu in One Nite in Mongkok and would give him a 3.5, him and Cheung aren't terribly convincing Mainlanders but they give strong emotional performances. Fong is definitely the best part of it though, would give him a strong 4 (he's co-lead for me though).
Calvin: I think the last couple of years of HK have been quite weak, I thought IP Man 3 was pretty poor for the most part, 10 Years is kinda interesting, I think instead of setting it in the future it should have been the present since it could have been very pitch black and truthful, I thought the EGG segment with Liu Kai Chi was probably the part I liked the most because of its simplicity, Port Of Call I did like for the most part, I certainly liked the performances, Tiger was very OTT indeed with some pretty laughable special effects but it was kinda fun, Tony Leung Ka Fai is quite amusing and hammy, no idea why he was nominated in the lead category at the HK awards?
Zhang Jin for some reason has 3 HK nominations, whereas Roy Cheung, Patrick Tam and Lam Suet have 2, just silly, but then again Gordon Lam has 3 nominations also for some reason.
RatedRStar: I think you're taking that whole nomination thing a little too seriously.
Probably, its just so silly that Zhang Jin has been recognised for 3 very average performances, 2 of them in sequels in the same year (IP Man 3 and SPL 2)
So its so easy to see why HK cinema is so weak right now.
Kevin:
The film basically says this is how it's done, to both Batman V Superman and Age of Ultron. I was excited for the film because after The Winter Soldier, and now this the Russo brothers are apparently masters of the genre. The action scenes are extremely entertaining, and importantly each set piece builds in a way in which to make it so it so it never seems just like noise, which is how I felt about Ultron. This is also helped by the fact that every one of them has a purpose, and this film above all other marvel films makes the most out of the extended universe. It utilizes what was set before as the conflict is sewn well into the relationships between the characters. I loved that it did not make one side wrong, and instead they succeeded in ensuring that you know where every character is coming from. On that point it also did a just about perfect balancing act as it felt like every one of their heroes their own purpose without anyone seeming shortchanged in some way. It's quite possibly the strongest marvel film, probably should give it just a bit more time for an official declaration though, as it is both enjoyable yet manages to carry a considerable emotional impact.
Cast:
I'm saving Downey.
Evans - 4.5(I have to give him so much credit in that he now simply is Captain America, and has become so comfortable in the role that I can't see anyone else even try. Again what I love about what Evans does with the Captain is make his morally uncompromising righteous attitude seem wholly honest. There is not a hint of ego that is pivotal as Cap's goodness can never be called in question for even a moment. Evans embraces this to the point that he manages to be quite moving by making the determination attached to it so genuine.)
Stan - 4(I thought he really delivered here in portraying so well the internalized pain in Bucky in just simply dealing with both what he has done as well as being in such a strange place mentally. Past that though even I loved his chemistry with Evans which I felt was far stronger than in the original Captain America. They both make the friendship absolutely work to the point that you have to believe that Cap would to whatever it takes to save him throughout the film)
Johansson - 3(I always sound the most negative about here in any given film I think. I did find she handled her arc well here, and certainly stayed consistent to the way her performances have been in the past films)
Boseman - 3.5(Very strong introduction to him as I found he really brought a unique sort of command and style to his character that made him stand out in a unique fashion. Past that though I found he did an excellent job, in mainly a few silent reactions, of portraying Black Panther's change in mindset.)
Holland - 3.5(The best Spider-man and Peter Parker ever. He actually manages to be properly nerdy and awkward as Peter, well extremely endearing and charming as Spider-Man. Even though we only got a bit of each I did feel he showed the difference in personalities by almost portraying Spider-Man as Peter being free to express himself. In addition his chemistry with Downey was exceptional. As with Boseman I'm very much looking forward to his solo film.)
Mackie - 3.5(Brings the needed energy to the role, and has great chemistry once again with Evans. What I liked even more though was his very entertaining dynamic he struck up with Stan, as the two almost work like buddy cop duo.)
Olsen - 3.5(Seems like she's working towards dropping the accent altogether, which is fine by me. I liked her performance a great deal because she adds this certain timid presence to the proceedings and offers a point of view of someone who far less comfortable being a hero than the rest of them. I found she established Wanda's motivations particularly well, which added much to the central conflict)
Bettany - 3(He again does well to stay consistent in portraying Vision essentially a constant in the conflict. This technically gives him a bit less to do, but I think it works well for the story.)
Renner - 3.5(Renner perhaps deserves the most credit for coming through in the clutch as Hawkeye's scenes could have seemed rush, but in like a manner of seconds you completely know where he's coming from in the situation, while once again bringing a particularly effortless humor to the proceedings)
Rudd - 3.5(Rudd completely goes with Ant-Man being the most light hearted of all and makes the most of it in just two scenes. I thought he was hilarious with just about every line he had)
Freeman - 2.5(He does not have a great deal to do. He's fine but it's really just a brief introduction.)
Cheadle - 3(Still underused unfortunately, he always seems like the edge of every action scene and every conversation. He's still does his best with what he had, and I especially enjoyed his final scene)
Hurt - 2.5(Not given much to do, but I thought he did just fine with what he had.)
Bruhl - 4(One of my favorite elements in the film was how Zemo was utilized. I loved that he was not the flamboyant show off type, but instead worked as an Iago sort of manipulator. Bruhl I found played his hand as well as Zemo by carrying the right sort of menace, but he almost did this through this curious underlying intensity that seemed to indicate something horrible about the man. When that is finally revealed I found Bruhl to be excellent as he not only gave a clear understanding to what compelled Zemo, but also managed to even be affecting)
Louis: I'm pleased, you liked Bruhl as much as I did.
Louis: Is Downey Jr. Co-Lead or Supporting.
I would go WAY higher for Johansson and let Boseman grow on you a little, you might find yourself pushing him up like I did. Glad you uniformly liked the whole cast though and I think I'll bump Cheadle up too, as he was very good with the incredibly little he had.
RatedRStar: I still think it's odd how Roy Cheung didn't get nominated for The Mission, he's by far the best of the whole cast and I LOVE that ensemble.
Also am going to bump Rudd up, you're right in how hilarious he was with every line delivery. Also more the direction than anything else, but what did you think of THAT scene with him (not going to say more in case anyone else hasn't seen it yet).
Luke:
Co-lead for me.
Calvin:
I loved it.
I would say he's supporting for me, though verging very closely on co-lead. What does put him into for supporting for me is the second act where we follow Captain America intently on his own whereas Stark sort of blends into the ensemble. Glad you're saving him though, easily his best performance as Stark to date.
Calvin: Well maybe the HK commitee wanted to nominated Cheung since they happily nominated him the very next year lol.
Calvin: Hope X-Men: Apocalypse, will exceed expectations.
Louis: So, instead of Hitchcock for Mullholland Drive, maybe Kubrick?
Luke: I hope so though my expectations are quite low. Kind of hate how they've completely changed the dynamic of the series around Mystique and like someone on this board said (forgot who) Oscar Isaac is SO MUCH better at playing the understated than OTT villainy.
Looking forward to seeing how Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner acquit themselves too, and for Fassbender and McAvoy to deliver as usual.
RatedRStar: Or Ng for lead (which is where I'd put him and Wong, who I give a 4.5 now)
I was the one who said that about Isaac. He was pretty dire in Robin Hood and Sucker Punch as villains, though in fairness both films are pretty dire themselves.
X-Men: Apocalypse will probably be okay IMO.
Calvin Law: Francis Ng and Anthony Wong funnily enough were nominated at the HK 1999 award ceremony, unfortunately for different films lol.
Has anyone seen Suicide Room yet? I am really curious to see what others think of it?
Luke, Calvin, Daniel, other Britons: I don't know how many of y'all have seen, are planning on watching, or have no interest in watching it, but I'd highly recommend watching Hillsborough tonight. I assume y'all will all know what it's about by the title, but I think it's such an important topic still today specifically because it's themes resonate so much outside of sports. Also I think it's the best documentary ever made about any subject. I bring it up because I just discovered that it's airing for (I think) the first time on British TV tonight at 9 on BBC2 after its British release was postponed because the inquest was ongoing.
Calvin & RatedRStar: Saw Henry VI Part I last night and it's a promising start to the 2nd Hollow Crown series.
Sturridge - 3.5
Okonedo - 4.5
Miles - 4/4.5
Bonneville - 4/4.5
Hawkins - 4
Dunbar - 4
West - 3
Townsend - 3.5
Lesser - 3.5
Glenister - 3.5
Frances-Morgan - 3
Michael: My dad recorded it, ill definitely watch it in future.
Bafta TV awards are on tonight, I really dont have much hope after they gave the best actor last year to Jason Watkins, the worst performance by far and he wasnt even the third favorite to win, he was the 100 percent underdog, I could have won like 400 pound from betting on him lol.
RatedRStar: If Rylance loses, I give up on life. (Not literally of course)
Luke: Wow, looks like Sturridge finally gave a good performance.
Anonymous: Thankfully, he was good and thought he fit quite well with his weak-willed king.
Michael P: Will definitely check it out. Tragic and avoidable incident in history.
Just as a form of procrastination,
Mad Max: Fury Road (1940s directed by Powell and Pressburger)
Max: Roger Livesey
Furiosa: Wendy Hiller
Nux: Richard Attenborough
Immortan Joe: Roger Livesey (would just be a fun thing to do methinks)
Slit: David Farrar
Rictus Erectus: Rex Ingram
Angharad: June Duprez
Capable: Kim Hunter
The Dag: Kathleen Byron
Cheedo: Jean Simmons
The People Eater: Sig Ruman
The Bullet Farmer: Finlay Currie
Keeper of Seeds: May Hallat
Valkyrie: Flora Robson
The Doof Warrior: Chuck Berry
Actually switch out Simmons for Carol Marsh. Would be an interesting subversion of Attenborough and Marsh's dynamic in 'Brighton Rock'.
I had a weird idea. How about a 30's version of The Avengers?
Iron Man: Clark Gable
Captain America: James Stewart
Thor: Johnny Weissmuller
Hawkeye: Errol Flynn
Hulk: Lon Chaney Jr.
Black Widow: Marlene Dietrich
Nick Fury: Harry Carey
Agent Coulson: Humphrey Bogart
Don't know who to pick for Loki.
Robert Donat might make a really good Loki, in my opinion .
Black Panther: Rex Ingram
Scarlett Witch: Teresa Wright
Quicksilver: Marius Goring
Ultron: voice of George Sanders
Baron Zemo: Peter Lorre
Montgomery Clift as Spiderman IMO could work. Oh, and the film needs to be in glorious Technicolor.
Ddfinitely. Wonder who'd be a good director.
Calvin: If I had to choose, I'd go with Cooper and Schoedsack, with Willis O'Brien providing special effects. But the Chitauri would have been quite expensive to do in stop-motion, so extras in suits.
The Avengers in the 1940s
Iron Man: Cary Grant
Captain America: Kirk Douglas
Thor: No clue.
Hawkeye: Robert Ryan
Hulk: Joel McCrae
Black Widow: Kathleen Byron
Nick Fury: Edward G. Robinson
Agent Coulson: Edmond O'Brien
Loki: Trevor Howard
The Avengers in the 1950s
Iron Man: Burt Lancaster
Captain America: Paul Newman
Thor: Charlton Heston (maybe he could've done the 40's as well)
Hawkeye: Robert Mitchum (yep this is a LOADED cast)
Hulk: Montgomery Clift
Black Widow: Capucine
Nick Fury: Ray Milland
Agent Coulson: Ernest Borgnine
Loki: Alec Guinness
The Dark Knight in the 1950's
Batman: Marlon Brando
Joker: Jack Lemmon
Alfred: Boris Karloff
Two-Face: Montgomery Clift
Rachel: Eva Marie Saint
Gordon: James Stewart
Lucius: Clarence Muse
Maroni: Lee J. Cobb
Anonymous: Your Top 5 films of the year so far.
1. Captain America: Civil War
2. The Witch
3. Midnight Special
4. Eye In The Sky
5. Deadpool
Anonymous: My rating predictions for those that have been saved so far.
Ehrenreich - 4.5
Shannon - 4.5
Downey Jr. - 4.5/5
Luke: Probably the same top 5, yours.
*as yours.
Mark Won :) :) :)
Yes Mark.
My top 5:
1. Hail, Ceasar!
2. Captain America: Civil War
3. Midnight Special
4. Eye in the Sky
5. Deadpool
Louis: Your top 5 films of 2016 so far.
Just watched Dredd. Baffles me how little love it got back in 2012. It's really quite a blast.
Urban: 4 (the perfect Dredd, one can only hope a sequel will come to frution)
Dredd: 3 (overshadowed by Urban but I thought she was surprisingly convincing in being tough as nails and played nicely off Urban)
Headey: 4 (a pretty great villain I have to say, not that much focus but I really liked her sheer presence)
Harris: 3.5 (added a lot of character to the proceedings by depicting his character's less full-blown evil, more uncouth form of criminal mind)
Anonymous:
Yeah Kubrick or perhaps a French version by Clouzot.
Luke:
1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Deadpool
3. Hail, Caesar
4. 10 Cloverfield Lane
5. Midnight Special
Louis: Aside from the ridiculous heroic music for the villains, any thoughts on the score of The Big Country?
1. Ian McShane
2. Alain Delon
3. Edward Fox
4. David Gulpilil
5. Elliott Gould (but honestly please review von Sydow instead, he was miles better.)
1. McShane
2. Delon
3. Fox
4. Gulpilil
5. Gould
Louis: Your thoughts on Oathbreaker. (GOT)
Anonymous:
It has a good enough main theme, if misused at times, but otherwise I don't find it particularly memorable.
Luke:
Mostly a setting up episode, though a fine example of such. I really liked the scenes with Varys and High Sparrow thanks to Pryce and Hill who were both amazing in their moments of persuasion. I rather enjoyed Arya's training montage, though it really could have used some 80's music. Jon's return I found to be well handled, though with one life back we got one rather sad death, poor Shaggydog. A good episode with what I felt only had a few minor hiccups, the Sand Snakes taking over Dorne does not make a lick of sense, and not Sean Bean left something to be desired.
I'm never going to stop being amused by everyone mourning for Shaggydog over Olly.
Pryce and Hill were great, Maisie Williams too. I also really liked Anton Lesser in the scene with the "little birds" and Owen Teale in the final moment of Alliser Thorne.
I'm still here, even reading the comments, I just have so little time to comment. Hoúe to get back since June.
For my money the episode MVP was Harrington.
Robert: I Agree. :)
Louis: Could any of Charlie Chaplin's performances be upgraded to a 5?
So I watched The Babe Ruth Story (1948). Poor Bendix.
Everyone: your top 10 (or 5 if you can't think of 10) actors (young or old) who you think/want to break out
1. John Boyega (yeah, I know there's Star Wars, but I think with that and Attack the Block we're only just beginning to see his range)
2. Elizabeth Debicki (also unsure whether she's truly broken out yet, anyway she's been the best thing about both films I've seen her have a substantial role in, and was pretty fantastic in Macbeth too, wouldn't be surprised if she does a Alicia Vikander soon)
3. Luke Treadaway (just an actor I really like in general, great both onstage and needs a big break on film)
4. Daisy Ridley (same as ol' John)
5. Ben Schnetzer (he was the best thing about Pride and the second-best thing about The Riot Club)
6. Walton Goggins (he may have a huge television fanbase but barely anyone I talk to knows him!)
7. Nicholas Hoult (has he broken out yet? Hard to say really)
8. George McKay (seen very little of him but want him to make him big. I know one should never compare film with stage but I thought his performance in Pride as a nervous young man struggling to come out when contrasted with his work as a violent madman in The Caretaker, is quite wonderful)
9. Chadwick Boseman (his work in 42 is very underrated, as is the whole film in general, but I think Black Panther is gonna put him on the map)
10. Rebecca Hall (hesitate to put her on here because she's fairly well-known, but she was great in The Gift, has consistently done good work in films for quite a while now, also btw Jason Bateman is my 7th in lead for 2015)
Hon. Mentions: Olivia Cooke (even the 99% of the population who hated Me and Earl and the Dying Girl must admit she was very moving), Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell (I love their teleivison work in Boardwalk Empire, and great performances in ROTPOTA and Dead Man's Shoes respectively, but Ben-Hur might be a damning nail in the coffin to some of their recent lacklustre work)
Calvin: I think Rebecca Hall could get an Oscar nomination for Christine.
Luke: Yep, I hope she gives a great performance. Seems like a role right up her street.
Louis: You already said that Beery and Wayne were two of the most polarizing actors of the Golden Age. What about other eight polarizing actors? I'd say Mickey Rooney is a very polarizing actor.
Anonymous: X-Men: Apocalypse appears to be incredibly disappointing and as bad as BVS.
:( :( :(
Luke: Well, I didn't think it was going to be great or anything like that.
Tahmeed: The great Dictator possibly.
Calvin: BEN FOSTER!!!!!!!!!!
Luke: Reviews don't appear to be THAT negative, more mixed between positive and negative whereas with BVS it was basically negative or less negative.
Anonymous:
In terms of modern perspective? I'd throw Mickey Rooney and Paul Muni onto the list.
Anonymous: I was praying it was gonna be good, despite my middling expectations. I knew that yours and almost everyone else's expectations were lower than mine. Compared to the reactions to the last two films, it's deeply disappointing for me personally, as I'm a huge fan of the franchise.
Louis: What about Peck? I'd call him polarizing, although I love his performance in TKAM and like some others.
Louis: OK, I may be overreacting a tad, but I've read a few, saying it's almost, if not as bad as Batman Vs. Superman.
Louis: I keep forgetting Ben Foster hasn't broken out yet. Yeah he'd be on the top of my list.
Really strange, I think in his case it's completely due to his films underperforming in the box office.
Although Lone Survivor was kind of a hit wasn't it?
Calvin:
It was, but he was not the lead. Besides pro-soldier films that are critically well received tend to do well.
It baffles me whenever that film is praised and he is not, what film were they watching.
Louis: where do you think he is more likely to be nominated at some point in the future, lead or supporting? Because although he's a great supporting actor his lead turns have tended to be in more Oscar-baity fare (The Messenger, you can tell The Program was trying to be this)
Calvin:
Hard to say since he's never gotten even close, only a few sparse critical mentions for 3:10 Yuma and The Messenger. Unfortunately at the moment I'd guess neither since he seems to be stuck in the Guy Pearce zone in more than one way.
Unfortunately I have to say I agree.
Louis: thoughts on this cast for Mad Max in the 1960s
Mad Max: Fury Road (1960s directed by Sergio Leone)
Max: Charles Bronson
Furiosa: Anne Bancroft
Nux: Tom Courtenay
Immortan Joe: Gabriele Ferzetti
Slit: John McEnery
Rictus Erectus: Donald Sutherland
The Splendid Angharad: Claudia Cardinale
Capable: Geraldine Chaplin
The Dag:
Cheedo: Jean Simmons
The People Eater: Sig Ruman
The Bullet Farmer: Finlay Currie
Keeper of Seeds: May Hallat
Valkyrie: Flora Robson
The Doof Warrior: Chuck Berry
I need someone for The Dag.
Louis: Who would you say was last night's GoT MVP?
Oops I messed up from Cheedo onwards:
Cheedo: Elizabeth Hartman
The People Eater:
The Bullet Farmer: Ron Moody
Keeper of Seeds: Jo Van Fleet
Valkyrie:
The Doof Warrior:
Calvin:
Like em, though I think I'd go Richard Kiel for Rictus. Mario Brega for the organic mechanic, and Ingrid Pitt for the Dag.
Robert:
I'd go Harington as well.
Calvin: That Mad Max cast is amazing.
I'll do an Exorcist retrocasting.
(1940's version, by James Whale)
Chris: Joan Crawford
Regan: Elizabeth Taylor
Father Karras: Lon Chaney Jr.
Father Merrin: Boris Karloff
Lieutenant Kinderman: Edward G. Robinson
Karloff as Merrin? Inspired.
1950s Exorcist directed by Kurosawa
Chris: Yunosuke Ito
Karras: Tatsuya Nakadai
Merrin: Takashi Shimura
Kinderman: Toshiro Mifune (one of his fun smaller roles)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTEa5VQLwYo
Not sure what to make of it overall, but Ben Foster looks like he could give a scene-stealing performance.
I hope he does good. He is so underused in movies it's almost infuriating.
Louis: Is there an actor you think could have played Arthiur Kennedy's role in Trial better than him? Or do you think Kennedy needed to be less obvious?
Oh, another Ron Howard movie. Hanks and Foster deserve way better than this.
Louis: Will we get the first review this Friday?
Anonymous:
Well Kennedy almost always could have taken himself down a notch. However I'd say Richard Widmark, E.G. Marshall, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, Robert Ryan, and Gig Young, probably would have been better in the role just, to name a few.
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