5. Liu Kai-chi in The Stool Pigeon
- Kai-chi gives an over the top performance that keeps his character as mostly a ridiculous caricature.
4. Michael Lonsdale in Of Gods and Men - Lonsdale gives a quietly haunting portrayal of a modest monk willing to face his inevitable demise.
Best Scene: The last supper.
3. Armie Hammer in The Social Network - Hammer gives two great performances where he gives both a very entertaining portrayal of privilege, but also bothers to find proper nuance within characters while finding the differences between the two twins.
Best Scene: Meeting the president of Harvard.
2. Ben Kingsley in Shutter Island - Kingsley gives a great performance where he manages to amplify the film's stylistic tone while actually bringing a surprising degree of depth towards the film's twist through the way he builds towards the revelation.
Best Scene: The Lighthouse.
1. Taika Waititi in Boy - Good Prediction
Luke, Tahmeed, Omar, RatedRStar, John Smith, and
Matt Mustin. Waititi gives my favorite supporting performance of this year with his genuinely hilarious but also rather off-putting portrayal of a petulant father. He manages to find the complexity of his character with such ease never letting a single aspect of the role override his entire performance.
Best Scene: Demanding his coat back.
Updated Overall
Next Year: 1965 Lead
45 comments:
Louis: I won the contest as well. I switched Waititi and Kingsley on Waititi's review and had Hammer in 3rd and Lonsdale in 4th on the lineup page.
Louis: your ratings and thoughts on the cast of Little White Lies? And Yoong Jeong-hee in Poetry as well.
Louis: Ratings and Thoughts on the other Leading performances you saw.
All the supporting performances that got a 3.5 or higher.
And any other Female Performances that got a 4 or higher.
The casts of Tangled, The Way Back and How To Train Your Dragon.
Louis:
Your thoughts on Tangled, How To Train Your Dragon and The Way Back.
And has Cotillard gone up or remain the same for Inception.
And my suggestions for 1965 Lead are the same that I gave on Kingsley's review.
Welles
Heston
Cybulski
Wayne
and Kroner(Who'll most likely win the lineup)
Jeeez, I won. My request is Sharukh Khan in 'Dil Se'
Louis: your rating and thoughts on Gemma Aerton in The Disappearance of Alice Creed?
Glad to see Bale and Rush have been bumped up too.
Thoughts on the casts of The Wolfman and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
And Jason Patric in The Losers.
I'm happy that Mendelsohn went up. :)
Louis: One more thing, have you settled on Hawkes' rating.
Man, Ready Player One looks pretty generic and dull. I'll still watch it but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Yeah, I've rather lost interest. I wish Spielberg would've given us The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara instead.
Though obviously during the 18-19 awards season.
For 1965 I would suggest Lou Castel in Fists in the Pocket.
Giuseppe: He's my alternative pick.
The only one I can think of to add is maybe Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread. I'm more interested in the 1965 Supporting lineup, because I'd love to see reviews of some of the guys from The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Michael: Who'd you recommend from The Greatest Story Ever Told. I've got Robert Shaw in Battle Of The Bulge, Richard Harris in Major Dundee and Kirk Douglas in In Harm's Way.
And maybe someone from Samurai Assassin.
Luke: Claude Rains, Charlton Heston, and Donald Pleasence.
For 1965 lead:
Jean-Pierre Belmondo in Pierrot le fou
Eddie Constantine in Alphaville
Josef Kroner in The Shop on Main Street
Orson Welles in Chimes At Midnight
Charlton Heston in Major Dundee
Zbigniew Cybulski in The Saragossa Manuscript
Walmor Chagas in São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima
Raul Cortez in Vereda de Salvação
John Wayne in In Harm's Way
Antonio Pitanga in Ganga Zumba
John Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder
Leonardo Villar in The Hour and Turn of Augusto Matraga
Toshiro Mifune in Samurai Assassin
Also watch:
Repulsion (Catherine Deneuve)
Tokyo Olympiad
The Deceased (Fernanda Montenegro)
Viva Maria! (Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau)
The Knack …and How to Get It (Rita Tushingham)
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Anonymous: He might avoid both Godard films. I've heard Pierrot Le Fou is rather similar to Breathless, which he didn't care for though he should at least attempt to watch Alphaville.
Louis:
Darling (Julie Christie)
Loves Of A Blonde (Milos Forman)
Juliet Of The Spirits (Fellini/Masina)
Happiness (Agnes Varda)
Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors
I Knew Her Well
The 10th Victim
Story Of A Prostitute
Yoyo
Dr Terror's House Of Horrors (Lee/Cushing)
The Skull
Samurai Spy
The Moment Of Truth
Rapture
Forest Of The Hanged
The Secret Killer
Dr. Who And The Daleks (Cushing)
The Bedford Incident
I Am Twenty
Lord Jim (Peter O'Toole)
And there may be other Japanese films you could be interested in.
Louis: Surprise us I guess with 1965, there be some hidden gems you might know of, and
Isnt it typical I win the prediction in which my request was the worst reviewed ever lol heals the pain somewhat.
Louis: I would also suggest watching The Greatest Story Ever Told, if you have not seen it before.
Lou Castel, Fists in His Pocket
James Stewart, Flight of the Phoenix
Jozef Kroner, Shop in the Main Street
Orson Welles, Chimes at Midnight
Maximilian Schell, Return from the Ashes
Louis what would be your top ten scariest moments/scenes from the third season of Twin Peaks?
My request is Christian Bale in The Machinist.
Omar:
Cluzet - 3.5(He's effective in his role which is mostly reactionary towards his friends however he infuses these reactions quite effectively as his own actions. His major focus is on his relationship Magimel's character. Cluzet realizes sort of the arc of this quite well in portraying the gradual confusion changing towards a more overt bitterness but eventually settling on a level of empathy. He makes these transitions natural even while this is mostly in a non-verbal sense.)
Magimel - 3.5(He's quite in his initial scene of revealing his feelings as he brings the right awkwardness even as directs it with a proper earnestness. His performance works then as a counter of sorts to Cluzet as the two effectively portray the underlying tension just in their glances at times and then he is quite moving in his scene of explaining the meaning of the word to his son.)
Bonneton - 3(She's more than fine but just doesn't do that much on the whole.)
Lafitte - 3.5(He treads his line pretty well in that he manages to be insufferable however in a rather amusing way as his character asks far too much of everyone else. In addition he makes use of sort of the lighter moments quite well such just when they go shopping. He though still manages to be at least a little moving when he finally has to confront his situation.)
Lellouche - 3(Didn't feel he made too much of an impression overall. He's good in helping to create the sense of history and dynamic between the group. His individual scenes though never really stood out, as he keeps basically to similair tone throughout.)
Dujardin - 3(He really only gets to do a tiny bit more than Kevin Costner did in The Big Chill. He's though at least moving in his injured scene and of course a proper Lothario in his first scene.)
Cotillard - 4.5(The best part of the film for me, really though only because she's so good as per usual. Cotillard's terrific though in being a proper mess in creating the right sense of her constantly shifting view from one moment to the next even though she's not always thinking clearly. She brings the right false confidence along with a definite insecurity naturally together. In addition though she's great in all of the group scenes in just bringing so much to any singular reaction. She's particularly great in the final scenes in terms of delivering the strongest impact in her portrayal of grief.)
Yoong - 5(A rather brilliant performance especially given the considerable challenge presented to her given how much the film covers in regards to her character. There is no scene though that she fails to muster something special with in her dynamic portrayal of who on the surface appears to be the doddering old woman. Yoong is terrific in every respect of creating the sense of the woman attempting to relate to what she is doing yet struggling out of her depth in part due to her condition but also due to nature of her grandson's situation. Yoong never gets lost in this even within a character who is often lost. Yoong never falls upon this creating such a nuanced and so often moving portrayal of the woman trying to come to terms with so many things while still just trying to live her life. I love the few moments of genuine passion for the poetry that offset a bit of that overt anguish when she directly realizes what her grandson has done, or is ever directly told about her Alzheimer's. It's a wonderful performance that is at times charming and vibrant, other times such a rather harrowing depiction of a woman lost in the world slowly becoming lost in her mind. It's a great performance.)
Arterton - 4(She certainly delivers in terms of portraying the intensity of every scene, particularly in terms of the visceral physical reaction of every moment. In addition though she does go further in portraying the right mental degradation as well and confusion when dealing with the man she thought she knew. She's quite though in portraying the intensity of basically her will to live throughout the film, particularly in the ending. Although I think the film kind of rushes once we learn the two twists, and Arterton is frankly not given quite enough time to develop Alice beyond the situation she does absolutely realize the situation itself through her performance.)
Luke:
Marsan - 4.5(The best part of the film as he delivers such a viciousness needed for someone willing to be a killing kidnapper. He delivers in bringing the overarching tension of film by finding the right underlying potential for violence in every scene. He's great though in actually dissecting this initial perception by revealing the far more desperate lover later on. Marsan gives honesty to this twist though never overselling it but rather creating a genuine truth to the character's insecurities that drive him as the film proceeds. He's especially great in his final pleads as he makes the character who originally seems the overt villain to become rather sympathetic.)
Jones - (One of Jones's most lively performances of late as he actually does not go for his grumpy routine here, and effectively so. Jones delivers both in terms of his overtly passionate scenes of taking on the establishment but also bringing the right sense of somberness in the character as he attempts to come to grips with how the world has changed around him.)
Reynolds - 4(The film itself I think should have kept in mind Stephen King's logic for changing the ending of Misery, but nonetheless Reynolds is good in the role. He manages to pull off the one man show portraying the intensity of the emotional pressure of the situation in every way. He is able to be compelling enough to carry the film and does deliver in bringing the emotional anguish of it all with every phone call.)
Washington - 3.5(Typical Washington star turn, in a good way, from him as he carries the film quite well bringing his usual blend of charm and gravitas.)
Morgan - 3(I will say the film itself is kind of what I wanted the Expendables films to be. Morgan here doesn't have a particularly complex role however he delivers in bringing just enough charm and a definite presence as basically "team leader" man.)
Levi - 3(I don't think there's anything too notable about his voice work, however it's charming, and manages to help make the character likable who could easily have been very off-putting.)
Baruchel - 3(Baruchel at his most tolerable. Nothing too special about his performance here but he's good enough in doing a somewhat more substantive form of the "greasy teenager" from the Simpsons.)
Compston - 3(He's severely overshadowed by his two co-stars. He does have some good moments mainly in just creating enough of a believable chemistry with each of them. He doesn't really though make the impact he should given his character is the most duplicitous in the film.)
Laboeuf - 2.5(He's not horrible however he doesn't make anything compelling out of his arc at any point. There is nothing particularly interesting about it, and just sort of is there in an odd way. In addition he's overshadowed by both Douglas and Mulligan, which is particularly notable for Mulligan since she doesn't have much of a role.)
Del Toro - 2(Well he's no Lon Chaney but really he's just not very good in any way. This is just a very awkward performance from him which I suppose covers the film in every respect though. Del Toro is just as bad as the rest of it whether it is the terrible CGI or the surprisingly goofy looking makeup from Rick Baker.)
Winstone - 4(Just about steals the entire film as he creates such a captivating figure in scenes that are mainly exposition. Winstone though manages to convey a great deal in these margins in portraying the palatable undercurrent of sympathy, as well as his own inherent somberness that attaches to his moral code. Winstone though while doing this maintains a definite menace that creates such a believable sort of fixer character.)
Harris - 4(The stand out of the film to me, which struggled due to the writing from Weir but not his direction. Harris though makes the biggest impression quite honestly through his presence as actor. All of the actors frankly don't have quite enough character to work with Harris however makes the most out of every emotional moment though bringing the most to his portrayal of survival but also concern for others.)
Oldman - 3.5(Not Oldman's best villainous turn by any measure but he is quite a bit fun. There isn't anything particularly notable about his work but Oldman just manages to be entertaining in some fairly standard speeches and villain scenes.)
Farrell - 3.5(An effective wildcard, that should not have leaved the film when he did. Farrell though is quite good though in his limited screen time in bringing a genuine menace along with right energetic quality to his work. He finds the right unpredictability towards his work that leaves an extra urgency within the film that was certainly needed in the last act.)
Douglas - 3.5(A severely softened version of the character however I will say Douglas makes this softening at least feel natural to the original Gecko. Although the film is quite weak on the whole he does at least make Gecko switch to a sorta nicer guy at least slightly moving and somewhat believable. It's a better reprise than the film is a sequel, but then Douglas's performance was also better than the original Wall Street.)
Ferzetti - 3.5(It was a shame I felt that he was only in one scene as I did like the quiet intensity he brought the grandfather's will in his single scene. He brought the right duality of a certain warmth with a colder incisiveness being the truth behind it. The film really should have kept him around.)
Langella - 3.5(Often just the stern father type however he does do this well for much of the film. He's higher for his last scene though in actually finding something genuine in his confrontation with Gosling bringing a real needed sense of loss when his character explains his actions during his wife's suicide.)
Moore - 3.5(Her work is very good in that it just brings such an endearing energy to every scene she's in without going to far. She balances it well with the slightly dramatic moments that she helps to deliver quite effectively.)
Murphy - 3(She decent enough however her work lacks a certain bite to it that leaves Mother Gothel as not a particularly intimidating villain at any point, not even in the ending where she really should be.)
Sturgess - 3(He's good however he doesn't quite get enough focus to keep the urgency behind his story truly alive. I found the ending sort of moving but it wasn't devastating, despite a brilliant piece of direction by Weir. This isn't Sturgess's fault though but the motivation to return his wife just isn't established well enough throughout. He's good at just being the straightest hero of the group, but he just doesn't have enough material to work with.)
Strong - 3(He's pretty good in his few scenes and I wish the film had not just dropped his character. He's good though in portraying the unease of actual action against the confidence in speaking of theoretical action. In addition I like the minor bit of humor he brings in his delivering of explaining how he ended up in the gulag.)
Ronan - 3.5(Well she's just about always good so this is no surprise. Her role is limited like everyone else's but like Harris she manages to really bring such genuine quality to every surface description we are given of her past. In addition she brings a natural charm that makes her slow degradation all the more harrowing to watch.)
Butler - 3(Doing his usual thing but it works quite well for a cartoony boisterous warrior. In addition his slightly more subtle moments he does deliver with as well, but they are quite minor to say the least.)
Tangled - (I loved Maximus the horse everything involving him was pure gold. I also did like the general adventure between the two with the chemistry of the heroes working quite well. I do think the film runs out of steam though once they reach the city, and the climax is rather underwhelming.)
How to Train Your Dragon - (Just a lot of fun for the most part and its one where I think the "silent" moments work the best. Those being the genuinely thrilling action sequences or just the moments of bonding between Hiccup and Toothless.)
The Way Back - (Weir's direction is absolutely on point. He captures the scale of every moment of the adventure and that does carry the film up to a certain point. The problem is though there just is not enough development in the characters which is problem because we should be invested into them since we spend so much time with them. The film really fails to make anything out of the group dynamics and it never bothers to develop anyone past a certain point. It's a shame because it's great looking film, and there is a certain power just through what Weir does in staging the scenes, it's a shame his script is so weak.)
Blunt - 2.5(She at least tries but the role is simply "love interest". She doesn't go too far in making something out of nothing, but at least she's something. That better than what can be said for....)
Hopkins - 1.5(Phoning it in hard as he can. I will say Hopkins can get away with it better than most as his voice has an effortlessness in at least being slightly captivating, but really it is obvious Hopkins couldn't care less.)
Weaving - 3(Best in show by far as he actually tries to find some sort of appealing tone for the material. He doesn't go over the top but at least tries to have a little bit of fun with it.)
Mulligan - 3.5(Far better than this role had any right for a performance to be in. Her role is extremely cliched however Mulligan manages to give it a bit of substance within that, and avoids becoming a caricature.)
Brolin - 3(As the evil businessman he actually does deliver despite having nothing to his role other than being the evil businessman.)
Wallach - 3(I wished he got a bit more to do as I do like the impact he manages to make as an older evil businessman.)
Patric - 1(Just awful but honestly I like that performances like these exist in that it shows having to play a "cool flamboyant villain" does need a performance to back it up. Patric does not deliver this performance though utterly failing to deliver at being cool, menacing or fun in any way.)
Cotillard's the same. I have to say re-watching Inception I really found the Mal story line bogged the whole thing down. Not because of her performance, but just it really did not need to be there. The dream heist was already more than enough, and Murphy's story provides more than enough emotional substance.
Yes in regards to Hawkes.
Could I also have your thoughts on the rest of The Losers cast? I'm glad you seemed to have liked the film.
Anonymous:
1. "This is the water and this is the well"
2. Monster in a glass box
3. "Got a light?"
4. Smiling face behind a face
5. Place above the convenience store
6. Doppel Cooper kills Darya
7. "What year is this?"
8. Figure in the morgue
9. Doppel Cooper visits the Sheriff Station
10. The woodsmen revive Doppel Cooper
Louis: Thoughts and ratings on The Company Men and the cast?
Louis: I'm so pleased you loved Maximus The Horse. Has to be my favourite Disney Non-speaking animal character.
Can I have a re-post of your Female Top 10s for 2010.
And any changes to your 2010 winners apart from the Production Design win for Shutter Island.
Louis: And could Mendelsohn move up in the ranking or have you settled on his position as well.
For 1965 Lead:
Orson Welles in Chimes at Midnight
Charlton Heston in Major Dundee
John Wayne in Harm's Way
Richard Widmark in The Bedford Incident
Josef Kroner in The Shop on Main Street
1965 Supporting:
Kirk Douglas in Harm's Way
Walter Matthau in Mirage
Robert Shaw in Battle of the Bulge
Richard Harris in Major Dundee
Claude Rains in The Greatest Story Ever Told
Calvin:
Evans - 3(It's a fun performance from him to be sure as he just tries to enliven every scene he's in. It definitely works particularly his Journey "don't stop believing" sequence. I wish they had given him someone more directly to bounce off of, but he's good doing his own thing.)
Elba - 3(He doesn't telegraph his actions too much however what he does do is make it a pretty natural transition by bringing the needed roughness to the role from the get go. In addition he carefully doesn't overdo once the switch happens bringing just enough of a minor sense of a reluctance rather than going purely the other direction.)
Saldana - 2.5(Saldana is never quite great. She actually does have enough of a natural presence to get by with however her she falters a tad in terms of balancing her character's more dramatic element with the breezy tone of the film. She's not bad at all, but she doesn't make the most out of the role either.)
Short & Jaenada - 2.5(Neither make too much of an impression however they are decent, and quite good when sort of compared to sort of the equivalent performances from the Expendables.)
Bryan L:
The Company Men is a watchable film however it never feels like it gets to any real depth in broaching the subject matter and seems somewhat shy in approaching the darker material. For example Chris Cooper's storyline is far too much of afterthought. The film is far more comfortable at basically a feel good movie about dealing with unemployment, and in that aspect it doesn't fail.
Affleck - 2.5(This is kind of an old fashioned Affleck lead performance which isn't a good thing. Affleck's performance doesn't really elevate the material at any point, and perhaps takes too breezy of a tone for it. Jones on the other hand manages to realize a hopefulness while keeping in mind darker elements, Affleck's work just never goes past a certain point.)
Cooper - 3(He actually is effective in his scenes unfortunately they are spaced in a way in which he can only offer the briefest of glimpses of his character's state. Cooper indicates that he probably could have given a moving performance but he just isn't given the time making his whole story oddly muted.)
Costner - 3(His part is pretty simple as the working class brother. Costner though doesn't overplay this aspect by any means never falling into just a caricature while also providing his sort of empathetic moments quite well. He properly keeps them very subtle but they are actually pretty affecting by just how quietly Costner handles them such as his slight sheepishness when telling his brother-in-law that he can't pay him for extra help.)
DeWitt - 3(Not given enough time really but she actually created the investment I had in the Affleck story as she manages to do more than Affleck in far less time. She bothers to portray the emotional difficulty of the moment never becoming melodramatic but properly infusing it into her work in an internalized fashion.)
Luke:
Makeup and Hairstyling to The Way Back.
Maybe in regards to Mendelsohn but not to the win. I'm quite settled on Waititi.
Actress:
1. Yoong Jeong-hee - Poetry
2. Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
3. Juliet Binoche - Certified Copy
4. Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
5. Emma Stone - Easy A
6. Sally Hawkins - Made in Dagenham
7. Naomi Watts - Fair Game
8. Lubna Azabal - Incendies
9. Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
10. Carey Mulligan - Never Let Me Go
Supporting Actress:
1. Jackie Weaver - Animal Kingdom
2. Lesley Manville - Another Year
3. Marion Cotillard - Inception
4. Dale Dickey - Winter's Bone
5. Olivia Williams - The Ghost Writer
6. Rosamund Pike - Barney's Version
7. Marion Cotillard - Little White Lies
8. Sissy Spacek - Get Low
9. Michelle Williams - Shutter Island
10. Ellen Wong - Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Louis: Your thoughts on the cinematography of Saving Private Ryan and Titanic.
Louis: I expect Waititi to keep his win no matter what though I'm rather hoping Mendelsohn can go up to 3rd, maybe even 2nd.
I hope you'll re-watch Animal Kingdom sometime soon to wholly decide on his ranking. Perhaps just before the oscar reviews along with the Mean Streets re-watch.
Anonymous:
Saving Private Ryan - (Well it should have never won the Oscar against the film with the greatest cinematography in any film, however I won't hold that against it. Although I do feel Kaminski's love for messing with the color saturation can be problematic, perhaps that's why Schindler's List is by far his best work, but here I do feel it works. It doesn't overdo the stylistic idea with the composition effectively evoking the old war photographs while also realizing an in general documentary style camera work. This is effectively realized that does amplify the visceral intensity as intended by Spielberg while still conveying a certain period element.)
Titanic - (Notable that despite James Cameron being known as a technical filmmaker his cinematography is very inconsistent as he rarely working with the same cinematographer. Russell Carpenter is a cinematographer of little note, and he should have never come close to an Oscar win, not this work. The lighting of the film is just fine, and emphasize the fine as hard as you can while reading this. The composition and framing is bizarrely inadequate honestly. They certainly are never particularly impressive and this is frankly the type of sweeping epic that should be filled with some great shots. Even the famous "King of the World" shot isn't very good. There is nothing particularly dynamic about its framing, but what's worse is the movement around it. The camera movements in the film are often are often pretty bad quite as they frequently have little sense, and are strangely messy at times. Although I will admit the editing of the sequence doesn't help. Now this might seem just me piling on from someone who has been described as Titanic hater, however just watch the "King of the world" clip and try to see what I'm talking about.)
Lou Castel, Fists in the Pocket
Claudio Brook, Simon of the Desert
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Pierrot le Fou
Jozef Kroner, The Shop on Main Street
Orson Welles, Chimes at Midnight
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