Sunday 1 December 2019

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1999: Bryan Brown in Two Hands

Bryan Brown did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Pando in Two Hands.

Bryan Brown plays Pando the head local gangster, whom Jimmy (Heath Ledger) is attempting to get in the good graces of, though does anything but throughout the film. Brown's performance on the immediate surface seems to be right in the line of the mentor gangster characters. Of course Pando really isn't too much of a gangster, though seen by such as Jimmy, however Brown emphasizes this idea in his performance. This as even as we see him seemingly in his "might", Brown adds a bit of posturing in his manner of calling Jimmy for a job. Brown showing a man who certainly believes in his own power, though perhaps isn't so much if you scratch the surface at all. Brown emphasizes this furthermore as we see him in his place with his men, where he plays board games, rather than any typical gangster fair. Brown's portrayal of this though is just with the slightest bit of intimidation, as lightly as possible, and really not far off from a standard boss rather than a legitimate gangster. Brown portrays a rather casual manner, that effectively borders at first between a man just comfortable in his space, as questionable as that is, but also perhaps too comfortable in perhaps just being a layabout going in for easy money. The latter perhaps becoming the truth the more we get to see of Jimmy. After Jimmy accidentally fails his first mission to deliver 10,000 dollars, we begin to see the bad side of Pando. Although again Brown is hilarious by still keeping the same manner as really essentially just a lazy man, as he casually discusses needing to kill Jimmy with the same manner as he speaks to one of his kids.

Brown is terrific in that he does create a slight menace merely in that casual discussion of "doing" a guy, while still at the same time slowly revealing that Pando is far less than Jimmy had thought of him in more ways than one. What I like most of Brown's performance though that in the technically pathetic nature he brings out of Pando, he also does reveal a bit of humanity, even if misspent in a way. This in his delivery of treating Jimmy's girlfriend, even as he intends to murder Jimmy, with the absolute courtesy and even a bit of sadness at the whole thing. He emphasizes this all the better as he and his crew take Jimmy to be killed. This where Jimmy offers a real alternate, Brown expression of a real fear and worry, as though he may being doing the wrong thing. Brown in a sense portrays both how at the same time he's both a terrible gangster and human being, even though he is attempting to be both. That sequence opens the film, however we eventual return to it into a scene of wonderful dark comedy as Pando and his crew fail to kill Jimmy due to having only a corroded gun to use. Brown is hilarious in his delivery of his frustrations as he questions his men, again being so earnest in his concentration while also so lacking in any real menace. Brown portraying a man trying and really failing even to be a proper, non-gangster boss.The final nail of this though is in Brown's final scene where Jimmy comes back, with the money. This with Pando initially misunderstanding as an attack, and the all too weak delivery Brown offers as he tries to instruct his men to kill Jimmy before he pulls out the money. Brown's wonderful in the shift to overly accommodating in praising Jimmy for doing a job well done, and again the failure of the act is what makes Brown's performance works so well. This as we see nothing but a fool pretending to be so far more than he is, which is only confirmed when he finally has a gun in his face, and Brown shows only but petrified fear in his "cool" gangster. This all being one wonderful long act of Brown portraying his mob boss who the more we see of him, it all becomes an obvious act by Pando himself to be a mob boss.

67 comments:

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Oh and in regards to The Report, I guess Cousineaus “guidance” is finally paying off for Sally.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on Herzogs direction for Bad Lieutenant? I think it could be interesting to examine, since he’s out of his usual setting and takes on a dark comedic approach.

Calvin Law said...

Love a bit of Bryan Brown - got round to this and really enjoyed it. I imagine he’d have been a great Pope in a 1990s Animal Kingdom.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on Shaun Toub in Iron Man.

Jack Narrator said...

I just reviewed Magnolia. I think John C. Reilly will win 5 Robert Shaws and maybe even win the year, yes knocking down Tom Cruise and Sam Rockwell.

PS: This is just my comment and it's not an insult.

Calvin Law said...

Jack: I could see that happening. For what its worth he’s Psifonian’s win as well.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: It's very possible because Rockwell and Cruise already have wins.

Bryan L. said...

He probably wasn't far behind Gosling for the 2018 Win either

Bryan L. said...

Luke: BTW I requested some thoughts from you in the previous post, if it's not too much to ask

Luke Higham said...

Bryan: It's a film that I've seen over a 100 times since the age of 8, believe it or not and I just can't get enough of it. The score is one of my all-time favourites, As a star turn, Crowe is tremendous, especially in his Are You Not Entertained and My Name Is Gladiator moments where he's utterly magnetic, I actually like Phoenix a great deal as well as Oliver Reed and it's one of my top 5 revenge films.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Watchmen. Holy shit. What the fuck?

Michael McCarthy said...

I suppose I wouldn’t mind Reilly getting a 5, though I think Hall would have to be upgraded too if that happened. I still think Cruise is overall my favorite of the cast but Hall has gained on him quite a bit for me over the years.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Well, I really liked last night's Silicon Valley. It was great. Thomas Middleditch would be my MVP.

Louis: Your thoughts on the episode, and your MVP.

Calvin Law said...

Robert: What the fuck indeed.

RatedRStar said...

Saw Knifes Out with my parents today (they really wanted to see it), I loved it, virtually everyone is good, the mystery is great and makes sense, like all good mysteries do.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Are you ready to give thoughts on the Knives Out cast.

Bryan L. said...

Luke: Thanks. What’s your rating for Gladiator btw? And where would it rank in your 2000 Top Ten?

Bryan L. said...

I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see Louis say “On second thought, I’ll save...” lol

Luke Higham said...

Bryan: A 5 and my #3 behind Memento and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

BRAZINTERMA said...

Hello folks! Next Monday will be announced the list of Golden Globes nominees. So, let's talk about the possible nominees:

PICTURE (DRAMA)
• 1917
• The Irishman
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• The Two Popes
Surprises: Joker or Ford V Ferrari

PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
• Dolemite Is My Name
• Hustlers
• Jojo Rabbit
• Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood
• Rocketman
Surprises: Dolemite is My Name, Knives Out or Uncut Gems

DIRECTOR
• Sam Mendes (1917)
• Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)
• Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood)
• Joon-Ho Bong (Parasite)
• Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
Surprises: Fernando Mierelles (The Two Popes) or Lulu Wang (The Farewell)

ACTOR (DRAMA)
• Antonio Banderas (Pain & Glory)
• Robert De Niro (The Irishman)
• Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
• Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
• Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Surprises: Christian Bale (Ford V Ferrari) or Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell)

ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
• Daniel Craig (Knives Out)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood)
• Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
• Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)
• Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems)
Surprises: Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) or Chris Galust (Give Me Liberty)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
• Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse)
• Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)
• Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
• Al Pacino (The Irishman)
• Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood)
Surprises: Alan Alda (Marriage Story) or Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

ACTRESS (DRAMA)
• Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
• Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
• Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
• Alfre Woodard (Clemency)
• Renée Zellweger (Judy)
Surprises: Florence Pugh (Midsommar) or Lupita Nyong'o (Us)

ACTRESS (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
• Awkwafina (The Farewell)
• Ana de Armas (Knives Out)
• Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart)
• Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart)
• Constance Wu (Hustlers)
Surprises: Elisabeth Moss (Her Smell), Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose) or Julianne Moore (Gloria Bell)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• Annette Bening (The Report)
• Laura Dern (Marrige Story)
• Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
• Margot Robbie (Bombshell)
• Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell)
Surprises: Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) or Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)

SCREENPLAY
• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Marriage Story
• Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood
• Parasite
Surprises: Two Popes or Knives Out

ANIMATED FEATURE
• Abominable
• Frozen 2
• How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• Missing Link
• Toy Story 4
Surprises: Addams Family or Klaus

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
• Atlantics (Senegal)
• Bacurau (Brazil)
• The Farewell (China?)
• Pain and Glory (Spain)
• Parasite (South Korea)
Surprises: Les Misérables (France) or Monos (Colombia)

SCORE
• 1917
• Ad Astra
• Joker
• Little Women
• Marrige Story
Surprises: Ford V Ferrari or Harriet

SONG
• “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” - Toy Story 4
• “Beautiful Ghosts" - Cats
• “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” - Rocketman
• “Into the Unknown” - Frozen 2
• “Spirit" - The Lion King
Surprises: “One Little Soldier” - Bombshell or “Stand Up” - Harriet

Emi Grant said...

Brazinterma: Those are fairly accurate predictions, to be honest. I'm excited for this Awards Season to fully kick off.

What's everyone's NGNG predictions? Mine is that Dafoe sneaks up and wins the Oscar in the end. Perhaps in an Adrien Brody fashion.

Calvin Law said...

I’m gonna NGNG Song Kang-Ho to get in a la Marina de Tavira.

Bryan L. said...

Brazinterma: I think they're more likely to go for Pugh in Little Women, otherwise, pretty accurate I'd say.

Emi: Adam Sandler gets the fifth slot Best Actor nomination, and either Dicaprio or Phoenix miss out.

Bryan L. said...

Oh yeah, I'll also concur with Calvin regarding Kang-Ho.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Yeah, Kang-ho has been my NGNG pick for a month now. It helps he’s a member of the Academy.

Calvin Law said...

Also I’m beginning to fear Louis may be right about Zellwegger being the frontrunner.

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: To be fair, we were saying the same thing last year about Glenn Close and look how that turned out lol. Plus, I don't think Judy will get much love outside of Zellwegger, if any.

Calvin Law said...

Also with more thought I think my episode 7 MVP is one of Hong Chau, Jean Smart or Regina King.

Calvin Law said...

Bryan: Let’s hope.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Calvin: My choice for episode MVP was Valeri Ross.

RatedRStar said...

I thought Zellwegger was good enough, better than Close in The Wife, but still not really a great winner if she does indeed win.

My no guts no glory choice would be Eddie Murphy getting in Best Actor.

Calvin Law said...

Robert: She was great too. Damn that was crushing.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Also, this is ten years old now and still makes me laugh: https://youtu.be/YDDHHrt6l4w

Louis Morgan said...

Well to Watchmen, I'll give a hand there, I did not see that coming.

Bryan:

I wouldn't say Sally got that far with that role, would fit right into her demo reel if it were a little less prestigious.

Love Herzog's direction of Bad Lieutenant, however I would say it is fitting within his overall work given that Id factor that defines most of his protagonists, Terence McDonagh included. It's fascinating though that he manages to carry his common element of the wrath of nature in a completely unique way in the way he shows Katrina in a way through interiors, first through the filling up prison of the terror of nature situation, then for once, the potential beauty of it now controlled found in the final shot. Herzog though has little brilliant touches like that throughout the film, in what it is just extremely well mounted film in terms of realizing the off-beat comic tone, while maintaining an emotional undercurrent. I especially love his reserve though in sort of the madness, that is effective moments of sort of pure perspective of the lieutenant. It never gets in the way of the plot or the character exploration, it only amplifies it in just some fantastic flights of fancy, particularly the "dancing soul".

Regarding Zellweger it's not a great sign that she won both the Independent British film Award, and one critics group so far. That speaks to possible momentum, which Close didn't have any of until the televised awards. If Zellweger builds early should could become
"undeniable", which is how second Oscars are won.

Calvin:

Toub's performance is really an essential one for that film actually, in giving just the right bit of earnestness in those cave scenes, and providing a proper scene partner to Downey. Toub's work is terrific counter by presenting just this more honest sort doing his best to do the right thing, and manages to make a moving impression in a very short amount of time.

Tahmeed:

Thought it was a great episode, though Gavin Belson was missed in front of the camera he did a terrific job behind it. I especially loved the hilarious visual of the Russ hologram, in fact all of Russ's little asides were great. It was very much a Richard/plot centric episode, however it completely worked in that regard while still being funny in creating a certain tension. Also though loved Monica reacting to Jian-Yang, how I think many of us have felt towards the character. And yes, Middleditch was an easy MVP there.

Bryan L. said...

Louis: I meant more as in it takes place in a city, instead of the jungle...then again, it was New Orleans so yeah it makes perfect sense.

Also, your 2010s choice for that role? I’d like to see DiCaprio attempt the high-wire act, although Phoenix would be more of a guarantee I think.

Louis Morgan said...

Emi:

I'll stick with Pryce winning the whole thing, which might no longer be a NGNG, but I predicted early enough that'll keep to it.

Bryan:

Phoenix seems an easy choice for a reason, also he seems like a perfect leading man for Herzog.

Calvin:

Starting to have the feeling that Song will be the last minute nom as well, although if he gets in at any major precursor early I'd say he kind of turns into a lock.

Anonymous said...

Louis: your thoughts on the 'problem dog' scene from breaking bad

Bryan L. said...

I guess there’s at least one hit show on HBO that’s going out on a strong note this year...

Mitchell Murray said...

So I just watched "Runaway Train" for the first time tonight, and I probably wouldn't have been as entertained if I didn't watch it with my girlfriend - we had a good time laughing at its weakest scenes and supporting actors.

The movie itself is certainly not very good; It fails as a thriller in that none of its sequences are really all that exciting. More crucially, however, it also isn't that effective in terms of story, as much of its themes/dialogue are just very standard and surface level. It's ideas of morality and the brutality of man simply aren't presented in a very interesting way, and I think a lot of that really comes from the film's uneven tone. I do wonder how the movie would've fared with a more action oriented director, or more frankly, a film maker with more consistency/experience than who they got. As is, I wouldn't say the film is totally without merit, but its flaws definitely outweigh its strengths.

Voight - 3 (He really is the best part of the film which isn't saying that much, as even he has some excessive moments here or there. To his credit, though, Voight does bring the right presence to Manny and tries to make due with what he has. His accent is fairly consistent, and he has some good scenes where he shows some depth in his role. That said, the direction and script really hold him back in the end.)

Roberts - 1.5 (He's laughably over the top here and its no wonder the nomination has been given such pause over the years. Roberts is always off in his performance that tries to stand out far to much, and instead comes across as grating and hokey. Really his voice and mannerisms take so much away from his performance because there so distracting, and lessen anything else he's trying to do, which unfortunately is also overcooked. Honestly, I could imagine Bill Paxton being quite apt for this character, because even in his more annoying turns he can at least be enjoyably annoying, unlike Roberts whose just badly annoying in this film.)

De Mornay - 2.5/3 (She really is saddled with a thankless role and some incredibly weak writing. Nevertheless, I actually thought De Mornay gave a decent effort in her reactionary performance, in trying to sell the fear and personal aspects of her character. It never amounts to all that much but she does avoid the "over the topness" found sometimes from Voight, and all the time from Roberts.)

Bryan L. said...

Mitchell: Yep, you can see why the films' largely forgotten now. Could've used John Carpenter, Paul Verhoeven or John McTiernan as director. And Roberts really needs to be reigned in to give something effective; just ask Nolan & PTA.

Calvin Law said...

Don’t know how much Gotham Awards mean in the scheme of things but I’m glad Awkwafina got something at this stage.

RatedRStar said...

I had forgotten about Richard Jewell, its getting very good reviews, some have Rockwell as a potential nominee, could it really happen? 3 consecutive nominations.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Thoughts on the Black Widow teaser.

Calvin Law said...

I’m actually really excited by it. The action looks great.

Calvin Law said...

Also if Song becomes a thing then I can see the lineup being:

Pacino
Pesci
Pitt
Song
Hanks

Unfortunately getting a bit of a sinking feeling that Dafoe could miss out.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Dafoe in eXistenZ. It's a shame the film's so bad since Dafoe having a role in a Cronenberg film sounds like a great idea.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Could you put James Mason's performance in Charade in the 54 Lead Rankings.

Mitchell Murray said...

RatedRStar: I mean it happened with William Hurt, Renee Zellwegger, Bradley Cooper - its a rare thing, but it does happen.

Luke: Actually looks quite promising, so colour me surprised. Johansson herself looks pretty good and although I've been more critical of her action turns of the past, she's gotten progressively better as Black Widow, so this outing should be more of the same. Also intrigued by Pugh, Harbour and Weisz as they look similarly fitting as their characters.

Bryan L. said...

Black Widow seems pretty standard to be honest. Then again, so did the trailers for The Winter Soldier.

Calvin Law said...

NBR Top 10:

1917
Dolemite is My Name
Ford v Ferrari
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Richard Jewell
Uncut Gems
Waves

Zellweger and Pitt continue to make headway, Sandler is a surprise, wish Parasite made it in.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I saw Jojo Rabbit, and... I guess this is the one I heavily dissent on with all of you this year? It did not work for me at all. It’s not even gross enough to call problematic, just a limp mess. Johansson, McKenzie, and Rockwell were great, though.

Matt Mustin said...

Robert: I'm glad you liked Rockwell.

Calvin Law said...

Honestly I expected the film to be more divisive on here to begin with, I'm glad you liked the performances. The main takeaway I've gotten from discussing the film with others who have seen it is that regardless of opinions about the film the performances are generally acknowledged to be strong.

All those three are fantastic but honestly Griffin Davis is sitting so well with me - I'm almost considering breaking up the Dafoe and Pattison combination to place him as my number 2 of the year.

Calvin Law said...

Also some ideas I had from some of your comments on a previous post.

010s The Lady Eve directed by Edgar Wright
Jean Harrington: Emma Stone
Charles Poncefort Pike: Thomas Middleditch
Colonel Harrington: Stephen Root
Horace Pike: Jim Beaver
Muggsy: Eddie Marsan

2010s The Manchurian Candidate directed by Katherine Bigelow
Major Bennett Marco: Sterling K. Brown
Raymond Shaw: Will Poulter
Eugenie Rose Chaney: Kaitlyn Dever
Eleanor Iselin: Sigourney Weaver

2010s Black Narcissus directed by Martin Scorsese
Sister Clodagh: Saoirse Ronan
The Young General: Dev Patel
Mr Dean: Richard Madden
Sister Ruth: Elizabeth Debicki
Sister Phillipa: Julianne Nicholson

2010s Bad Day at Black Rock directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Macreedy: Frances McDormand
Reno Smith: Josh Brolin
Sheriff Horn: Steve Buscemi
Doc Velie: Martin Short

Mitchell Murray said...

Calvin:

Absolutely second Weaver for "The Manchurian Candidate"...in fact, why wasn't she cast for the Jonathan Demme version?

Also, love the inclusion of Beaver for "The Lady Eve"..I always like that guy.

Anonymous said...

Wow. We're in an awards season in which ADAM SANDLER is a critic's pick and might be a nominee at the Oscars, depending on how things go from here. I know the NBR is just the beginning of the whole picture, but I'm already more excited than last year's award season, especially since there doesn’t appear to be any Green Book-type of crappy Oscar-bait film that's gonna come in and ruin the fun.

Anonymous said...

I also really hope Sandler gets in. I've been hoping for years the guy would finally show his talents in another Punch-Drunk Love type of role, even if for one time, and actually get recognized for it, and this is his chance.
But, then, the NBR doesn’t mean anything for certain, remember Tom Hanks a few years ago? And even if Sandler gets most of the critic's groups awards, I fear it might end up being another Ethan Hawke, being completely snubbed in the televised shows, aside from the Critic's Choice. We'll see how it pans out.

Louis Morgan said...

Regarding NBR, which isn't a great metric, but can at least give a start of some feelings. There really weren't any major misses out of the top ten other than the Two Popes and Little Women, which I suspected could be a pass from voters even if it is good. Richard Jewell's inclusion isn't at all surprising as they LOVE Eastwood, however its reviews support it as a return to form for him so I do think it could be a contender. Have to say though the specific split of Irishman/Taratino seems an odd choice, but typical NBR weirdness. My thoughts on Zellweger yesterday continue to hold true, if she wins tomorrow at NYFCC, she could turn into a sweeper in the type of role that is frankly an even sweeter temptation for Oscar voters. Sandler seems like a strong non-televised contender anyways, but any win is a boost for him. Pitt's win here, actually doesn't say too much for him overall, other than he's a likely nominee. Bates is the major surprise, which again in no way means she'll be nominated as they love Eastwood, but given that Supporting Actress is a very open category, she's at least in the running for a nomination now.

Luke:

I really don't have a lot of interest in most Marvel films going forward, but that one looked more than decent, mainly because it looked more like a heightened Bond film than the extremely standard Marvel. I hope the heavy VFX later scenes don't speak too much to the overall film however, I also hope it isn't giving away too much as I expected Harbour, Pugh, Weisz to be more antagonistic, at least at first.

BFI lists it as 53, and the imdb date is for Australia only, so I'll need some better confirmation one way or another.

Anonymous:

Dafoe - 3(His performance is well performed for a few minutes of Dafoe crazy and a bit of menace. His role is far too limited for him to make a real impact, but he is good.)

Bryan L. said...

Calvin: For The Manchurian Candidate, I think Will Poulters' too young for Shaw. Maybe James Badge Dale?

Calvin Law said...

Bryan: could be a great choice, I just think Poulter would be a perfect choice for doing what Harvey did so incredibly well: create an off-putting and rather unlikeable man and then infuse him with such genuine menace but also so much pathos underneath.

Calvin Law said...

And Sandler is an interesting one since it genuinely seems like critics are adoring the film, let’s see if it translates.

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar:

I think Rockwell does have a good chance, though it seems a problem is potentially himself, in that he needs to set whatever his preferred nomination is given that both roles are relatively Oscar friendly (Jewell perhaps being a little friendlier), in potential contenders but at different studios.

Calvin Law said...

It’s crazy it feels like not too long ago we were talking about Rockwell being a consistently overlooked character actor, now he’s an Oscar winner, two-time nominee, perennial contender. It’s great but it’s a shame it’s taken this long.

Michael McCarthy said...

Off-topic, does anyone know a way to watch Uncle Vanya from 1963? I started getting into Chekhov shortly before Louis reviewed Redgrave and Olivier so I've been dying to see it, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I haven't even been able to find a hard copy for sale.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I also saw Waves, and while Shults overdirects the shit out of it, I ended up being very moved by the end. Harrison might be my Actor win, and I absolutely loved Taylor Russell.

Calvin Law said...

Robert: What about Sterling K. Brown?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Calvin: Also great! His scene with Russell near the end was the best in the entire film.

Calvin Law said...

That’s the scene I’ve heard a lot about. That’s one film that’s gotten very interesting reception, I haven’t talked to anyone who thoroughly loved the style but I also haven’t met anyone who didn’t love the performances.