Best Scene: "We're dealing with science here"
Best Scene: A character conference.
Best Scene: Taking the stage.
Best Scene: Gazebos.
Best Scene: Final scene with Leia.
Best Scene: Coming to terms with tortoise loss.
Best Scene: The amputation.
Best Scene: Interrogation tactics gone wrong.
Best Scene: The most perfect night.
- Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Woody Harrelson in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Simon Russell Beale in The Death of Stalin
- Patrick Stewart in Logan
- Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project
- Will Poulter in Detroit
- Steve Buscemi in The Death of Stalin
- Romain Duris in All the Money in the World
- David Lynch in Lucky
- Jason Isaacs in The Death of Stalin
- Jerome Flynn in Loving Vincent
- Mark Hamill in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Tom Skerritt in Lucky
- Christopher Plummer in All the Money in the World
- Jack Dylan Grazer in It
- Michael Palin in The Death of Stalin
- Paul Dano in Okja
- Eric Tsang in Mad World
- Mark Rylance in Dunkirk
- Algee Smith in Detroit
- Richard Jenkins in The Shape of Water
- Michael Keaton in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Hugh Grant in Paddington 2
- Daniel Craig in Logan Lucky
- Bruce Greenwood in Gerald's Game
- Jason Mitchell in Mudbound
- John C. Reilly in Kong: Skull Island
- John Boyega in Detroit
- Brendan Gleeson in Paddington 2
- Rory Cochran in Hostiles
- Ray Romano in The Big Sick
- Paul Walter Hauser in I, Tonya
- Paddy Considine in The Death of Stalin
- Caleb Landry Jones in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Cillian Murphy in Dunkirk
- Bradley Whitford in Get Out
- Robert Carlyle in T2
- Rupert Friend in The Death of Stalin
- Ben Foster in Hostiles
- Armie Hammer in Free Fire
- Jeff Goldblum in Thor: Ragnarok
- Stephen Merchant in Logan
- Terry Notary in The Square
- Thomas Kretschmann in A Taxi Driver
- Sharlto Copley in Free Fire
- Michael Rooker in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
- Dave Bautista in Blade Runner 2049
- Michael Stuhlbarg in Call Me By Your Name
- Harrison Ford in Blade Runner 2049
- Clarke Peters in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Bruce Greenwood in The Post
- Carlos Sanz in Stronger
- Michael Shannon in The Shape of Water
- Idris Elba in Molly's Game
- Jaeden Lieberher in It
- Anthony Mackie in Detroit
- Kenneth Branagh in Dunkirk
- Bob Odenkirk in The Post
- Ewen Bremner in T2
- Gil Birmingham in Wind River
- Dave Bautista in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
- Michael Stuhlbarg in The Shape of Water
- Jon Hamm in Baby Driver
- Luke Evans in Beauty and the Beast
- Ian McShane in John Wick Chapter 2
- Ben Mendelsohn in Darkest Hour
- Buddy Duress in Good Time
- Lakeith Stanfield in Get Out
- Traci Letts in Lady Bird
- Peter Dinklage in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Bill Skarsgård in It
- Austin Stowell in Battle of the Sexes
- Jack Reynor in Free Fire
- O'Shea Jackson Jr. in Ingrid Goes West
- Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
- Jared Leto in Blade Runner 2049
- Jack Lowden in Dunkirk
- Danny McBride in Alien: Covenant
- J. Quinton Johnson in Last Flag Flying
- Ben Safdie in Good Time
- James Darren in Lucky
- Woody Harrelson in War for the Planet of the Apes
- Ryu Jun-yeol in A Taxi Driver
- Tom Hiddleston in Thor: Ragnarok
- Jamie Foxx in Baby Driver
- Jeremy Ray Taylor in It
- Graham Greene in Wind River
- Josh Gad in Beauty and the Beast
- Tom Hardy in Dunkirk
- Hugh Bonneville Paddington 2
- Mark Hamill in Brigsby Bear
- Gary Basaraba in Suburbicon
- Fionn Whitehead in Dunkirk
- Udo Kier in Brawl in Cell Block 99
- Jeffrey Tambor in The Death of Stalin
- John Hawkes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Ronald Pickup in Darkest Hour
- Taika Waititi in Thor: Ragnarok
- Jonathan Majors in Hostiles
- Oscar Issac in Suburbicon
- Pedro Pascal in Kingsman: The Golden Circle
- Cillian Murphy in Free Fire
- Mark Ruffalo in Thor: Ragnarok
- Barry Keoghan in Dunkirk
- Matt Walsh in Brigsby Bear
- Too Hae-jin in A Taxi Driver
- CJ Jones in Baby Driver
- Johnny Lee Miller in T2
- Gael Garcia Bernal in Coco
- Ian Hart in God's Own Country
- Wes Studi in Hostiles
- Ed Oxenbould in Better Watch Out
- Dwight Yoakam in Logan Lucky
- Jacob Latimore in Detroit
- Bill Pullman in Battles of the Sexes
- Domhnall Gleeson in American Made
- Jesse Plemons in Hostiles
- Tom Holland in The Lost City of Z
- Chosen Jacobs in It
- Steven Yeun in Okja
- Kevin Costner in Molly's Game
- Aneurin Barnard in Dunkirk
- Eddie Marsan in Atomice Blonde
- Robert Pattinson in The Lost City of Z
- Chris O'Dowd in Loving Vincent
- Josh Gad in Murder on the Orient Express
- Paul Scheer in The Disaster Artist
- Barry Shabaka Henley in Lucky
- Wyatt Russell in Ingrid Goes West
- Dallas Roberts in My Friend Dahmer
- John Goodman in Atomic Blonde
- Greg Kinnear in Brigsby Bear
- Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Boyd Holbrook in Logan
- Michael Smiley in Free Fire
- Stephen Henderson in Lady Bird
- Giancarlo Esposito in Okja
- Stephen Root in Get Out
- Stephen Dillane in Darkest Hour
- John Boyega in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Seth Rogen in The Disaster Artist
- Marcus Henderson in Get Out
- Harry Styles in Dunkirk
- Laurence Fishburne in John Wick Chapter 2
- Finn Wolfhard in It
- Toby Jones in Atomic Blonde
- Michael Sheen in Brad's Status
- Don Johnson in Brawl in Cell Block 99
- Barry Keoghan in The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- Sterling K. Brown in Marshall
- Willem Dafoe in Death Note
- Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name
- Tom Glynn Carney in Dunkirk
- Dwayne Johnson in Fast 8
- Jason Statham in Fast 8
- Ralph Fiennes in The Lego Batman Movie
- Kurt Russell in Fast 8
- Robert Downey Jr. in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Alex Lawther in Goodbye Christopher Robin
- Karl Urban in Thor: Ragnarok
- Glenn Fleshler in Suburbicon
- Carel Struycken in Gerald's Game
- Alan Cumming in Battle of the Sexes
- Rob Morgan in Mudbound
- Ben O'Toole in Detroit
- Brian Gleeson in Phantom Thread
- John Magaro in War Machine
- Alec Secareanu in God's Own Country
- Benjamin Bratt in Coco
- Jon Favreau in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Barkhad Abdi in Good Time
- Noah Taylor in Paddington 2
- James D'Arcy - Dunkirk
- Choi Woo-shik in Okja
- Eddie Izzard in Victoria and Abdul
- Bokeem Woodbine in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Morgan Spector in Chuck
- Anthony Hopkins in Thor: Ragnarok
- Peter Capaldi in Paddington 2
- Bobby Cannavale in I, Tonya
- Wyatt Oleff in It
- Derek Jacobi in Murder on the Orient Express
- Matvey Novikov in Loveless
- Adeel Akhtar in The Big Sick
- Jason Mitchell in Detroit
- Lakeith Stanfield in War Machine
- Colin Firth in Kingsman: The Golden Circle
- Donald Glover in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Brian Gleeson in Logan Lucky
- Jack Quaid in Logan Lucky
- David Thewlis in Wonder Woman
- Jake Gyllenhaal in Okja
- Kwon Hae-hyo in On the Beach at Night Alone
- Sam Riley in Free Fire
- Ron Perlman in Chuck
- Richard E. Grant in Logan
- Jonathan Pryce in The Man Who Invented Christmas
- Alex Wolff in My Friend Dahmer
- Samuel L. Jackson in Kong: Skull Island
- Nicholas Hamilton in It
- Marton Csokas in Mark Felt
- Jung Jae-young in On the Beach at Night Alone
- Michael Rapaport in Chuck
- Traci Letts in The Post
- John Goodman in Kong: Skull Island
- Colin Farrell in Roman J. Israel, Esq.
- Michael Cera in Molly's Game
- Mark Strong in Kingsman: The Golden Circle
- Lance Reddick in John Wick Chapter 2
- Christopher Plummer in The Man Who Invented Christmas
- Jim Gaffigan in Chuck
- Said Taghmaoui in Wonder Woman
- Matthias Schoenaerts in Our Souls At Night
- Jacob Batalon in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Bradley Cooper in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
- Willem Dafoe in Murder on the Orient Express
- Lucas Hedges in Lady Bird
- Bill Camp in Molly's Game
- Billy Crudup in Alien Covenant
- Timothee Chalamet in Lady Bird
- Ewan Bremner in Wonder Woman
- Michael Cera in The Lego Batman Movie
- Christopher Fairbank in Lady Macbeth
- David Cross in The Post
- Anupam Kher in The Big Sick
- Jon Bernthal in Wind River
- Paul Hilton in Lady Macbeth
- Tom Hanks in The Circle
- Domhnall Gleeson in Mother!
- Ezra Miller in Justice League
- Nick Offerman in The Hero
- Shea Whigham in Death Note
- Jacob Tremblay in The Book of Henry
- Michael McElhatton in The Foreigner
- Emory Cohen in War Machine
- Christopher Lloyd in Going in Style
- Ian McKellen in Beauty and the Beast
- Udo Kier in Downsizing
- Leslie Odom Jr. in Murder on the Orient Express
- Tim Blake Nelson in Colossal
- Lee Pace in The Book of Henry
- Dominic West in The Square
- Christopher Abbot in It Comes At Night
- Caleb Landry Jones in The Florida Project
- Noah Taylor in Free Fire
- Michael Stuhlbarg in The Post
- Christoph Waltz in Downsizing
- David Yow in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
- Jesse Plemons in The Discovery
- Sunny Suljic in The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- Arnaud Valois in BPM
- Caleb Landry Jones in Get Out
- Steve Zahn in War For the Planet of the Apes
- Owen Wilson in Wonder
- Ed Harris in Mother!
- Bradley Whitford in The Post
- Benicio del Toro in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Dustin Hoffman in The Meyerowitz Stories
- Garrett Hedlund in Mudbound
- Aleks Mikic in Better Watch Out
- Israel Broussard in Happy Death Day
- Jack Reynor in Detroit
- Aidan Gillen in The Lovers
- Brian Gleeson in Mother!
- Lucas Hedges in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Jason Momoa in Justice League
- Riz Ahmed in Una
- Jordan Rodrigues in Lady Bird
- Andy Serkis in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Lil Rel Howery in Get Out
- Ian Glen in My Cousin Rachel
- Matthew Rhys in The Post
- Jon Hamm in Marjorie Prime
- Tom Hollander in Breathe
- Robert Redford in The Discovery
- Ray Fisher in Justice League
- Adeel Akhtar in Victoria & Abdul
- Emory Cohen in Shot Collar
- Tim Robbins in Marjorie Prime
- Dan Stevens in Colossal
- Jim Belushi in Wonder Wheel
- Zach Efron in The Greatest Showman
- Austin Abrams in Brad's Status
- Jason Clarke in Mudbound
- Eugene Brave Rock in Wonder Woman
- Seth MacFarlane in Logan Lucky
- Ewan Mcgregor in Beauty and the Beast
- Jay Hernandez in Bright
- Johnny Depp in Murder on the Orient Express
- Oliver Platt in Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman
- Jeffrey Donovan in Shot Collar
- Dacre Montgomery in Better Watch Out
- Scott Eastwood in Fast 8
- J.K. Simmons in The Snowman
- Common in John Wick Chapter 2
- Edgar Ramirez in Bright
- John Ortiz in Going in Style
- Domhnall Gleeson in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- John Slattery in Churchill
- Jeremy Strong in Molly's Game
- Tyler Ross in The Lovers
- Toby Kebbell in Kong: Skull Island
- David Dencik in The Snowman
- Bo Burnam in The Big Sick
- Chris O'Dowd in Molly's Game
- Clancy Brown in Stronger
- Danny Huston in Wonder Woman
- Zack Galifianakis in The Lego Batman Movie
- Billy Magnussen in Ingrid Goes West
- Dean Norris in The Book of Henry
- Devon Graye in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
- John Krasinski in Detroit
- Ike Barinholtz in Bright
- Kurt Braunohler in The Big Sick
- Mike Colter in Girls Trip
- Jonathan Banks in Mudbound
- Jonas Karlsson in The Snowman
- Michael Mando in Spider-man: Homecoming
- Caleb Landry Jones in American Made
- Riccardo Scamarcio in John Wick Chapter 2
- Thomas Mann in Kong: Skull Island
- James Jordan in Wind River
- Elton John in Kingsman: The Golden Circle
- Ellar Coltrane in The Circle
43 comments:
Louis: Your rating and thoughts on good ol' Clancy Brown in Stronger.
Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049
Jeremy Renner in Wind River
Robert Pattinson in Good Time
Hugh Jackman in Logan
Those are all I'm really interested in.
Louis: Your top tens for Best Actress and Supporting Actress for this year?
Stanton (hope he wins)
Jackman
Pattinson
Gosling
Bale
Song
Hawke
Renner
Franco
Louis: your top 20 daniel craig acting moments
Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky
Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049
Robert Pattinson in Good Time
Hugh Jackman in Logan
Jeremy Renner in Wind River
Louis: Your lowest 4 and 3.5.
Thoughts on the rest of your 4.5, 4s and 3.5s.
Your Female Top Tens with ratings and other 4+ honourable mentions
Honestly I really don't think Franco is that worthy of a review. He's funny, but it's more of a glorified SNL impression.
Jackman
Stanton
Gosling
Renner
Pattinson
Bale
Franco
Hawke
Louis: Review any performance you'd give a 5 to, don't want there to be another Courtenay in 45 Years situation.
I'm actually totally onboard for 10 reviews now:
James Franco in The Disaster Artist
Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049
Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky
Christian Bale in Hostiles
Hugh Jackman in Logan
Song Kang-ho in A Taxi Driver
Jeremy Renner in Wind River
Sebastian Stan in I, Tonya
Robert Pattinson in Good Time
Ethan Hawke in Maudie
I get that it's gonna be Jane instead of (presumably) Stan, but this is who I'd choose.
Jackman
Stanton
Gosling
Renner
Pattinson
Bale
Franco
Song
Jane
and Hawke
Oh yeah, Stan in I, Tonya if you insist he's lead.
Oh, I forgot about Christian Bale.
Louis: Who's the lowest 3 or highest 2.5 on that list?
Love this list I have to say. All the nominees are in the top 20, which I think has only happened with 2014 before. And I know not everyone else agrees but I don't mind the three billboards men taking the top spots honestly.
Just a quick question, though. I realize I'm practically the only one on this blog who liked "Wind River", but someone is going to have to remind me who James Jordan was because I don't remember anyone in that movie being particularly bad.
Louis: your ratings and thoughts on Suburbicon, Wonder, God's Own Country, Marshall, Una and BPM?
RIP Reg Cathey.
Mitchell: He's the guy who Renner kills at the end who was the "main" culprit.
Robert: Even if you didn't think Franco was great in The Disaster Artist, can you deny what a fun review that would be to read? Especially from Louis.
Michael: Eh.
Louis: your top 20 Tim Curry acting moments
I'll give my Best Picture ranking, along with some brief thoughts.
1. Dunkirk- My #1 of the year, and I've already seen it four times. Terrific in every aspect, and I have gotten misty-eyed at "Home" each time.
2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri- Mature, yet hilarious at times. Mcdormand, Rockwell and Harrison deliver some of their finest work.
3. The Shape of Water- del Toro at his best.
4. Get Out- Very good, though a rewatch will help me formulate my thoughts.
5. Phantom Thread- PTA redeems himself for me personally after The Master. Splendid and if this is indeed DDLs' swan song, then it is a great one.
6. Lady Bird- Hits a personal note for me, since I too was a high school senior just five (5) years ago.
7. The Darkest Hour- Good, although kind of formulaic now that I think about it.
8. Call Me by Your Name- Eh. Just didn't care for this one.
Louis: Have you given your thoughts on James Jordan in Wind River?
I'm just now seeing that you saw Bright. Your thoughts on the greatest movie ever made.
Ryan Gosling is going to topple the competition. His performance is phenomenal.
Also:
Stanton
Renner
Pattinson
Bale
Song
Hawke
Louis, ypur thought and rating on the cast for 'Mad World'
Rajkumar Rao-Trapped (Pease review him)
Pattinson-Good Time
Gosling-Blade Runnder 2049
Fares Fares-The Nile Hilton Incident
Renner-Wind River
- James McAvoy in Split
- James Franco in The Disaster Artist
- Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky
- Jeremy Renner in Wind River
- Vladimir Brichta in Bingo: The King of Mornings
Louis: Thoughts on the lead performances and thoughts on any supporting performances that scored a 3 or higher from the casts of Mad World, Suburbicon, Wonder, God's Own Country, Marshall, Una, BPM, The Lego Batman Movie, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Our Souls At Night, The Foreigner, Going In Style, Colossal, Breathe, The Lovers, Professor Marston And The Wonder Woman and Bright.
May I also have quick thoughts on these films.
Louis: Just to be clear, thoughts on all the lead performances from those casts that I mentioned on the previous post.
Louis: Of directors today, who would you call the next Elia Kazan, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock?
Kazan: Michaël R. Roskam
Kubrick: Paul Thomas Anderson
Hitchcock: Hm.
Anonymous:
Brown - 2(Eh he's just there really to be a caricature in a few scenes, and there is no chance at depth or development of his character.)
Anonymous:
Actress:
1. Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
2. Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
3. Vicky Krieps - Phantom Thread
4. Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
5. Emma Stone - Battle of the Sexes
6. Sally Hawkins - Maudie
7. Dafne Keen - Logan
8. Florence Pugh - Lady Macbeth
9. Carla Gugino - Gerald's Game
10. Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
And (not in order):
Michelle Williams - All The Money in the World
Aubrey Plaza - Ingrid Goes West
Meryl Streep - The Post
Jessica Rothe - Happy Death Day
Nicole Kidman - The Beguiled
Jane Fonda - Our Souls At Night
Rooney Mara - Una
Ahn Seo-Hyun - Okja
Charlize Theron - Atomic Blonde
Daisy Ridley - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Brooklyn Prince - The Florida Project
Jessica Chastain - Molly's Game
Gal Gadot - Wonder Woman
Supporting Actress:
1. Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread
2. Ana de Armas - Blade Runner 2049
3. Tilda Swinton - Okja
4. Allison Janney - I, Tonya
5. Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
6. Sophia Lillis - IT
7. Tatiana Maslany - Stronger
8. Sylvia Hoeks - Blade Runner 2049
9. Holly Hunter - The Big Sick
10. Elaine Jay - Mad World
And (Not in Order):
Hong Chau - Downsizing
Beanie Feldstein - Lady Bird
Shirley Henderson - Okja
Elle Fanning - The Beguiled
Allison Williams - Get Out
Sally Hawkins - Paddington 2
Elisabeth Olsen - Ingrid Goes West
Kirsten Dunst - The Beguiled
Tessa Thompson - Thor Ragnarok
Catherine Keener - Get Out
Riley Keough - Logan Lucky
Bria Vinaite - The Florida Project
Anonymous:
1. Torture - Casino Royale
2. Vesper's Death - Casino Royale
3. Poison - Casino Royale
4. Trying Out Guns - Layer Cake
5. "We're Dealing with Science here" - Logan Lucky
6. Opening - Casino Royale
7. Fixing Everything - Layer Cake
8. "Cause it's all so fuckin hysterical" - Road To Perdition
9. Lost Hand - Casino Royale
10. Final Confrontation - Skyfall
11. Meeting Joe Bang - Logan Lucky
12. Unexpected Assassin - Layer Cake
13. Murders - Road to Perdition
14. "I'm about to get nekkid" - Logan Lucky
15. "Bond, James Bond" - Casino Royale
16. "With Pleasure" - Skyfall
17. Ending - Quantum of Solace
18. Killer - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
19. Killing the traitor - Elizabeth
20. Dealing with a first kill - Quantum of Solace
Luke:
4: Ryu Jun-yeol in A Taxi Driver
3.5: Ralph Fiennes in The Lego Batman Movie
Tsang - 4.5(I'll admit I would have included him in the reviews if I had seen the film before I had started the reviews. Although the film struggles with main character's story a bit, Tsang is the one consistently great element in the film. He's terrific in realizing this strange unsettled state of the man who reacts towards his son basically being unable to know how to react. He's great in creating the difficulty and complicated feelings that are entailed in every moment together as he portrays this attempt to be overt in his warmth yet with this confusion of a man who has no idea what to do. He's great then in the few moments where his son challenges and reveals the full extent of his heartbreak having no idea what he needed to in the past. Tsang is incredible in his breakdown scenes by show honestly revealing the vulnerability of the man who just had no idea what to do, and is trying to make things slightly better.)
Mad World - (Has good things in it but very messy in terms of the main character's journey. The best scenes are the ones squarely between him and his parents.)
Yue - 4(Although some of the developments are not well realized in his story Yue gives a consistently strong performance. He's great in showing the two states of the man. In flashback with his mother he's terrific in realizing the intensity of his mental decay through his interactions with her. He's great in portraying this specific type of frustration of a man who wants to love his mother yet can't help but hate her do to her treatment of her. He's great in his "present" scenes in portraying the man having become withdrawn as almost to avoid stimuli. When he occasionally does he's moving in showing that that intensity return again that is so raw and shows a man who really has not properly recovered.)
Jin - 4.5(Her performance is a very effectively portrayal of just a vicious insanity that is tearing her mind apart. Jin is great in presenting, without compromise, the sheer brutality that this entails as she constantly berates her son. She brings her own intensity that so effectively realizes the level of her own mental decay that is particularly unnerving because of how much of a mess of emotions she reveals as this person who obviously cannot think straight for even a moment at a time.)
Basaraba - 3.5(Needed a better film to be in since he's pretty moving in portraying so earnestly the one completely decent guy in the story. He brings his love and affection of his nephew so well to live in a slightly goofy yet honest way that makes his character endearing. It's a shame as in a good film this character with Basaraba in the role could have been something truly devastating as in the end it wastes him, yet he does his best with what he has to still make an impact.)
Isaac - 3.5(Isaac is one of the few people who captures what the film should be going for. In that he more or less is a Hume Cronyn in The Postman Always Rings twice. Isaac brings that sort of gleeful sleaze perfect for the James M. Cain world, it's a shame he's only a glint of the film going in the right direction.)
Tremblay - 4(Tremblay proves here that his performance in Room at the very least was not a fluke by any means, although I'll say the fact that he was okay in Book of Henry was also an indication. Tremblay though once again proves his ability to give such a naturalistic and sweet performance film. He anchors the film so well and manages to give a heart of authenticity within the film by his performance which is always consistently good even when the film overplays its hand a bit.)
O'Connor - 3.5(This is a good performance in portraying just this casually bitter man that randomly seems to find a deeper love by chance. O'Connor gives a devoted performance however his work never quite got me truly invested into the character beyond a certain point. That is in part of Secareanu's performance, which while fine, is almost a little too simplistic at times at being this "dream man" to Johnny. O'Connor's best scenes are with Hart as he is very moving in portraying the struggle to live up to his father's expectations and realizes those frustrations incredibly well.)
Hart - (An effective portrayal of the man slowly physically decaying in every scene he is in and he is terrific in bringing out that fervent attempt at the man trying to connect in his son in any way while trying to command him to follow in his footsteps. Hart realizes well this internalized attempt at strength basically reduced by the physical ailments befalling the man.)
Marshall:
Gad & Boseman - 3.5(Gad once again is proving to be a pretty decent dramatic actor and oddly enough I thought he kind of overshadowed Boseman in his portrayal of the guy slowly finding his strength in court. This is against Boseman, who is working with kind of a simplified character here in this Marshall, Boseman does manage to sell the character though who is almost written to be more of superhero than Black Panther at times. Boseman does his best even with the somewhat ridiculous writing, and is compelling largely through his considerable screen presence. The film kind of crams in the more emotional moments for both of them which both deliver rather well even if they are forced in within the narrative as written.)
Mendelsohn & Mara - 4(Again the film's style keeps this distant from both of them. Both though to their credit manage to get over the stagy quality of the material to a certain extent. Mendelsohn does well in creating this sense of frustration within the man that slowly goes from complete rejection to false introspection to slowly revealing this certain intrigue in towards the reappearance of his horrible past. Mara is also very good in playing, well never losing the character, with the idea of what the character's intentions are. As there are times it seems she's there to connect, others to accuse, others to destroy, but at times almost to seduce. Mara makes this work by showing to be this part of the woman's damaged state. Although I can't say either of them made the film work, both made it far more tolerable.)
Perez and Reinartz - 3(The two both have fine chemistry and create at least enough of a generalized investment within their plight. Although I don't think the film serves this part of the story all that well both deliver naturalistic and effective performances. They never quite take the next step into make their scenes build towards something truly devastating which is obviously the intention, and should be the intention by the final scene. It is more the film's fault though as these scenes seem afterthoughts at times even though the film decides to end on this rather the activist scenes.)
Lego Batman Movie - (It gets a little repetitive at times with how much it hammers in its theme of accepting help, but hey it's a kids movie. It has a lot of fun with the world though and manages to be pretty entertaining throughout. All except the Joker who I found intolerable here, which should never be the case.)
Arnett - 3.5(His Batman voice is hilarious to begin with and he has plenty of fun with the idea. He though does bring enough of nuance into that when he has to in order to deliver the emotional stakes of the story, and succeeds in that as well.)
Fiennes - 3.5(Looking forward to the live action Fiennes as Alfred since his voice work was perfect for the part at every level. He's entertaining but also manages to infuse a genuine heart into his work as well.)
Goodbye Christopher Robin - (This falls into the kind of new biopic where it tries to cram old biopic themes into the new way of trying to be historically accurate in the material. It tries to be inspirational but struggles when so much of the story suggests it shouldn't be.)
Gleeson - 3.5(Gleeson to his credit though does deliver in his role. He quietly charming in the writing scenes, and the actually creation of Pooh sequence is pretty great. The rest of the time though he is effective in his realization of the man's demons that constantly haunt him and only seem to burden him all the more when his scene comes to reject him and his stories. It's a good performance and he manages to maneuver the tone which never quite works for the film itself.)
Our Souls Night - (I have to say this was pretty genuinely sweet and managed to just create a likable low key story aided by the chemistry of the leads.)
Redford & Fonda - 4(The best both have been for a bit, perhaps in the low stakes nature of the story got both of them to relax. Fonda, now kind of doing her own On Golden Pond, and Redford find just a nice chemistry between the two that slowly grows in every scene together. They manage to really make the film work as it never seems hokey by just how well they interact in every scene. They make the friendship grow naturally and eventually to a romance in an unassuming yet moving fashion.)
Schoenaerts - 3(Quick word on him as he's basically doing his character from Rust and Bone just very much simplified.)
I think that's enough for now. I'll get you the rest on the next post.
Anonymous:
3: Nick Offerman in The Hero
2.5: Oliver Platt
Omar:
Suburbicon - 1.5(Clooney failing to do the Coens even with a Coen script in hand. Miserably bashing in what I'm sure was his own story that doesn't at all cohere. Even if the film was just the Coen scenes it would be a failure to realize that specific tone that makes their films work so well.)
Wonder - 3(More than a few notches above a lifetime. It's still fairly cheesy however its big heart goes enough of a way, amplified by the lead performance, to make it a decent enough film.)
God's Own Country - 3(For me it took a bit too long to get to where it was going. Another film that bases a lot of its central romance on long stares, though this time with some rather rough encounters thrown in. The best scenes were between O'Connor and Hart.)
Marshall - 3(The courtroom scenes are compelling enough to make up for the somewhat silly tone of "Thurgood Marshall, Badass, esq." scenes. It's nothing special, but it does get the job done.)
Una - 1.5(Faulty adaptation of a play. A film that screams "this was a play' at every point right down to the way each lead waits for the other to speak to ensure the audience can hear them. Elevated by the leads, but the film fails to be cinematic in any way.)
BPM - 3.5(As activist films go it suffers a similair problem to Selma where the activists are not all the well developed as characters, unlike say Pride which handled that aspect very effectively. The film though is effective in sort of its planning scenes which are rather engaging just through the material and the direction of these scenes that really give a dynamic energy to the acts of protest. Although I do think they could have established what it was that their "enemies" were doing wrong just a little more clearly. I know from historical knowledge what, but in the film itself it is somewhat vague particularly in regards to pharmaceuticals. I wish it had gotten into more of them as people, or if not I think the film could have been shorter. It suddenly introduces that there will be leads fairly late and that personal romance story isn't nearly as well done as the activist scenes. It's a film with a lot promise some of it which is capitalizes on, but some of it feels like a missed opportunity.)
Matt:
Jordan's performance is basically just one note "I'm a evil rapey hillbilly" until he gets taken out into the snow. See I often will praise great physical acting, this is an example of awful physical acting. Every moment he's in the snow he's just doing this ridiculous over acting as he walks in his attempt to portray a guy dying, it really hurts the dramatic impact of that scene by how bad he is.
Anonymous:
There is no Kazan in that there are not really the heralded adaptations any more. They still do adaptations but it's just not in the same way anymore. It isn't in the way in which Kazan specialized in that.
There is no one exactly like Kubrick. Nolan one could say is similarly an event filmmaker around simply his name as Kubrick was. In addition though both love a more clinical take to material.
No one is like Hitchcock in that there is rarely a Hitchcockian thriller these days.
Louis what's your lowest 3, 2.5, 2 and 1.5?
3: Offerman - The Hero
2.5: Platt
2: Clancy Brown
1.5: Caleb Landry Jones - American Made
What’s your lowest 4, 4.5,and 5?
What is your lowest 5, 4.5, 4, and 3.5?
5: David Lynch - Lucky
4.5: Brendan Gleeson - Paddington 2
The others have been listed in the above comments.
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