Wednesday, 14 April 2021

My Wins Montage & Final Oscar Predictions

 My Wins:
Final Oscar Predictions:

Picture: Nomadland
Director: Zhao - Nomadland
Actor: Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Actress: Mulligan - Promising Young Woman
Supporting Actor: Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah
Supporting Actress: Youn - Minari
Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman
Adapted Screenplay: The Father
Cinematography: Nomadland
Costume Design: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Film Editing: Sound of Metal
Makeup and Hair-styling: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Production Design: Mank
Score: Soul
Song: "Speak Now" - One Night in Miami
Sound: Sound of Metal
Visual Effects: Tenet
Animated Feature: Soul
Documentary Feature: Time
International Feature: Another Round 
Animated Short: If Anything Happens I Love You
Live Action Short: Feeling Through
Doc Short: A Love Song For Latasha

394 comments:

1 – 200 of 394   Newer›   Newest»
Louis Morgan said...

And really just an excuse for a new comments section, though I might start 1980 lead earlier than expected...maybe.

Luke Higham said...

For anyone who's still pessimistic about Youn winning, the last time anyone won both SAG/BAFTA and didn't go on to win was Daniel Day-Lewis and Christopher Walken in 2003.

Tim said...

I myself frankly have no definitive idea whom to predict for Lead Actress, but i honestly got something of a feeling that the Bafta win may have increased McDormand's chances.
It would be somewhat weird if Nomadland only won the Tree Of Life nominations really ...

Mitchell Murray said...

Very good vid, Louis, and the use of "Rain Song" was particularly fitting.

Also, I asked this on the last post, but what would be everyone's thoughts for the following OPs/Endings?

Braveshine - Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
Papermoon - Soul Eater
Mob Choir - Mob Psycho 100
Strength - Soul Eater
Hunting for Your Dream - Hunter X Hunter

Shaggy Rogers said...

Whether these will be winners are very satisfactory results since 2007 (No Country For Old Man, Coen Brothers, Day Lewis, Cotillard, Bardem and Swinton).

Does Louis have any predictions as to when the 1980 alternative will come out?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Mitchell: I'll give thoughts on the only one I know in context. 99 by Mob Choir is honestly one of my all time favourite openings, with such an atypical musical choice for an anime opening that really fits Mob. Other than that, it's just amazingly animated in every way, especially when it comes to Mob's mental state, and the character intros which are done better than in most other OPs. Also, I LOVE the foreshadowing with the broccoli.

Calvin Law said...

DDL and Walken both having that SAG/BAFTA combo and not winning that year, I will suppose that the reason was that both were previous winners already (I know DDL has won twice since, but I do think the support behind his performances in There Will Be Blood and Lincoln were even stronger). And like Louis I feel oddly comfortable predicting Mulligan a la Russell Crowe in Gladiator.

Louis: your thoughts on ‘Stand Up’ from Trial of the Chicago 7.

Ytrewq Wertyq said...

Louis,your top 10 Chevy Chase performances?

Mitchell Murray said...

Tahmeed: Completely agree. As far as openings go, I find both 99 and 99.9 to be wonderfully unique and catchy.

Calvin Law said...

Also have you been watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier? I’ve actually quite liked it, speaking as someone who just couldn’t get into Wanda/Vision at all (maybe I just prefer more accessible straightforward fare). Nice to see Daniel Brühl back.

Matt Mustin said...

Calvin: I like it too. Wyatt Russell MVP so far.

Matt Mustin said...

Most people seem to be predicting My Octopus Teacher to win Documentary Feature. Don't know why, but it seems to be the case.

Calvin Law said...

Matt: He’s fantastic. Reminds me of his work in Overlord a bit.

My Octopus Teacher has hit all the precursors so far pretty strongly but Time is so topical and timely and in my opinion much stronger, so I have a feeling it could win.

Aidan Pittman said...

Matt: It's mainly because of PGA and BAFTA wins, especially helps that it's a pretty accessible doc all things considered as I can see Time not working for a lot of Academy voters. Could still easily see either one taking it, though I'm leaning towards My Octopus Teacher taking it right now.

Calvin Law said...

I’ll admit I just really couldn’t get into Octopus Teacher beyond the nice nature footage. Wouldn’t mind The Mole Agent upsetting things actually.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on the 'What's Up Danger' scene from Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse and your ratings and thoughts for Jodie Foster for Inside Man (sorry, two random ones I've been meaning to ask for some time).

Anonymous said...

I still think Mulligan is winning actress. I find it hard to believe they will give Promising Young Woman best screenplay without awarding the main actress.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

I'm just worried that at this point, Mulligan winning might just be wishful thinking on our parts. But I agree, it would be strange for the film to have done so well with nominations without recognizing the driving force for its success.

Louis: Could I have your thoughts on this two minute clip from Community?

https://youtu.be/SHZfdMqvwlQ

Anonymous said...

My final winner predictions:
Picture: Nomadland.
Director: Chloe Zhao-Nomadland.
Actor: Chadwick Boseman-Ma rainey's black bottom.
Actress: Carey Mulligan-Promising Young Woman.
Supporting actor: Daniel Kaluuya-Judas and the black messiah.
Supporting actress: Yuh-jung Youn-Minari.
Original screenplay: Promising young woman.
Adapted screenplay: Nomadland.

John Smith said...

Louis, have you finishen succesion yet?

Matt Mustin said...

Tahmeed:I mean, they did it with Birdman.

Anonymous said...

Matt: I think the cinematography for birdman was just as much the reason for its success as Keaton was.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Matt: I guess what was different was that there was a genuine rival contender in Redmayne, who ended up winning it all. This year, with Actress being such a crap shoot, I can only hope for the connection between Louis's Actress win and the Oscar winner to give us a Mulligan victory.

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Listening to on its own, I think it is a little much as inspirational orchestral swells go, and actually they over emphasize the strings to begin with. Having said that, I think it could've been a fine orchestral swell in a film more befitting such a score, sounds like something straight from the 90's, and to be fair I love some good 90's swells, Dragonheart theme for example. It's not a great swell like those anyways, but what really hurts it is it is so over the top and ill-fitting to its films/scene. It bashes you with inspiration in a way that the film does not earn, and shows why context of a score matters as much as the separated quality of it. This on its own, not great, within the film, terrible.

Ytrewq:

Uhh that would be a bit of a stretch for me.

Matt & Calvin:

Yeah I'm a little confused by the Octopus Teacher's run, great nature footage, but the attempt to give it "gravitas" is thin at best. I also think Time is fundamentally flawed, but I think its subject matter will get it the win...but we'll see.

Also caught up with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, not by my own volition really, and I think it is a little sloppy a times, the Walker/Wyatt Russell stuff is the most interesting element, though I have enjoyed Bruhl getting to be a more overt and flamboyant Zemo as well.

Calvin:

What's Up Danger is decidedly "not my tempo", though even so I do like the build up in it.

Foster - (Her performance is basically the good version of what she later did poorly in Elysium. This in portraying the very exact and determined precision of a person through manner and delivery. Here though instead of over doing it, as she later would for whatever reason, she manages to make it natural while still conducting the sort of ultra professionalism that has its own kind of specified intensity.)

Tahmeed:

I enjoyed particularly the use of the Forest Whitaker eye for intensity, and the inability to change fight to a different word.

Matt Mustin said...

Louis: Can I ask what specifically your problem is with Time and why you think it's fundamentally flawed?

Louis Morgan said...

Matt:

Just regarding when it tries to be more specifically about the issue of over-sentencing, where it takes a rather intense approach that the true story doesn't justify. While I'm sure there are many stories where such anger would be justified on the issue, this one is not it. This is oddly enough presented itself within the film, when the mother notes that Rob Rich didn't take the plea deal for a crime that he admits to being guilty of. Further the film attempting to downplay the crime of armed robbery, which can easily result in violence, as some sort of "stealing bread" situation, rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think there is anything wrong still with focusing on the couple, even with that crime, however trying to treat the situation as some great injustice was not earned (Again, to emphasize, I'm sure there are many cases where there is such injustice, so focusing on one that doesn't fit the bill, is kind of insulting to the genuine articles.)

Calvin Law said...

Louis: Yeah I figured that would be it. I also feel torn on the film overall, but I guess it worked for me more in that my heart lay with Fox Rich and the kids more so. I get what you mean though, it’s tricky and it’s hard to separate the issue being discussed at hand which I feel very strongly about (the incarceration system) and how the example used might not be the perfect one.

Anonymous said...

Darlings, if Time's intent was to make us see how idiotic the parents were, it worked. Those poor children. The way they're trying to make us feel they're victims for committing armed robbery...

Anonymous said...

Louis if you finished season 1 of Succession at least can we get a cast ranking?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: do you feel like with a stronger campaign that A Sun could've gotten in for International Film? Because it does still baffle me how such an easily accessible film that would appeal to a lot of the voters, just going off historical trends in the past with the types of films they like to recognise (family dramas generally do well here), and Netflix could've even managed to scoop up a few inspired nods in the technical categories. The more I think about it Netflix really did that film dirty, credits to the critics who actively looked it up and promoted the film. If they really wanted another cinematography contender, this was right here.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Just season 1 (And please hold thought requests until I watch season 2):

1. Jeremy Strong
2. Matthew Macfadyen
3. Kieran Culkin
4. Brian Cox
5. Nicholas Braun
6. Sarah Snook
7. James Cromwell
8. Eric Bogosian
9. Alan Ruck
10. Peter Friedman
11. Harriet Walter
12. Hiam Abbass
13. Griffin Dunne
14. Arian Moayed
15. Natalie Gold
16. David Rasche
17. J. Smith-Cameron
18. Caitlin Fitzgerald
19. Mary Birdsong
20. Rob Yang

Calvin:

YES YES YES. It's not even on Netflix's FYC page...reasons unknown. I mean I only found out about it because it happened to make the longlist, the fact that it even made that was an accomplishment because Netflix buried it both in terms of a campaign and even on service. A proper push and I think it could've been a surprise cinematography nod in addition to getting nominated over Better Days. I mean I really think they just needed the word out as it's such an accessible film, even with its runtime, and it's a shame it didn't get that extra exposure from a nomination, as it so richly deserved it.

Calvin Law said...

Not even on the FYC page huh? Netflix's strategies baffle me sometimes.

In the Heights embargo lifting 2 months before release and the positive reactions has me excited for the film.

Aidan Pittman said...

Louis: What would you say are the 10 strangest acting Oscar nominees for films with great casts, as in the only performance(s) nominated from a film with a great cast wasn't among the best performances in the film?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Louis: Would "Running With the Wolves" be your Original Song win if it had originated from the film?

Matt Mustin said...

Aidan: Mark Wahlberg in The Departed was the only one nominated from that film and he's not even my 5th favourite in the cast.

Calvin Law said...

I was gonna say Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight, but then I remembered that Rachel McAdams, whose performance I liked a great deal, was also nominated.

Anonymous said...

L.A. Confidential is probably Top 5 (really? Basinger? the weak link of the movie?)

Matt Mustin said...

Anonymous: Oh yeah, that's the answer.

Matt Mustin said...

By the way, I watched In the Line of Fire, which I had some problems with (mostly with Rene Russo's character) but overall it's a pretty solid thriller.

Eastwood-4.5
Malkovich-4.5
Russo-3

Calvin Law said...

I like Basinger more than most but yeah, that was a curious one.

I guess Tommy Lee Jones for JFK as well? Not that he's terrible but there are plenty superior performances from that film.

Tim said...

I am going to include some that were not the only ones, but still baffle me

Weird to get picked:
Tommy Lee Jones in JFK
Mark Wahlberg in Departed
Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential
Michael Caine being the only male nominee for Hannah and her Sisters

Still very very good, not the best though:
Tom Courtney in Doctor Zhivago
Peter Ustinov in Spartacus
Alan Arkin over Steve Carell in Little Miss Sunshine

great in there own right:
Ian McKellan in Lord Of The Rings (prefer Bean in FOTR, Astin overall)
Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now (prefer Brando a liiiiiiiittle bit)




one where the best (Jack Lemmon) was actually nominated and i am just baffled by another category: Jack Krushen over Fred MacMurray in The Apartement. Why? Fucking Why?
The same ballpark would be The Caine Mutiny. Bogart is the best, got nominated. How about the supporting catgory? MacMurray? No. Van Johnson? No. Okay, then Jose Ferrer at least? NO, TOM TULLY!!!!
(that is one nomination i passionately hate)

Tim said...

your top 10 winners for Costume Design since '68?

Anonymous said...

Also, I wouldn't complain if the 62 and 65 Supporting Actor lineups were filled with just Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago actors, considering how great their ensembles were and how weak the lineups were outside of Sharif and Courtenay

Anonymous said...

Anonymous: Sharif was not nominated.

Tim said...

Anonymous: yes he was, for Lawrence

Anonymous said...

Annoymous: Sorry i thought he was talking about dr zhivago.

Louis Morgan said...

Aidan:

1. Albert Bassermann - Foreign Correspondent
2. Kim Basinger - L.A Confidential
3. Spencer Tracy - Captains Courageous
4. Ian Bannen - The Flight of the Phoenix
5. Spring Byington - You Can't Take It With You
6. Grayson Hall - The Night Of the Iguana
7. Ann Sothern - The Whales of August
8. Don Ameche - Cocoon
9. Don Murray - Bus Stop
10. H.B. Warner - Lost Horizon

Robert:

Probably.

Glenn said...

Luke, what's your prediction for the 1980 lead top ten.

Luke Higham said...

Glenn: I'll try and rank the possible 5s and 4.5s as well.
5
1. Hurt
2. Nakadai
3. De Niro
4. Woodward
5. Wilson (If he's Lead)
6. Quinn
7. Sutherland
8. Savage
9. Hutton
4.5
10. Thompson
11. Keach
12. Marvin
13. Hopkins
14. Morse
15. Scott
16. Shah (Tahmeed, am I underestimating him at all)
17. Kristofferson
18. Redford

John Smith said...

I truly believe Skarsgård can be top 5. His performance is brilliant 👏

Luke Higham said...

John: It's 1980, not 82. Skarsgard had no film credits for 80.

Glenn said...

Luke, and what about your supporting top ten prediction.

Michael McCarthy said...

I wasn’t crazy about Keach in The Ninth Configuration to be honest. That film for me is like The Greatest Story Ever Told where it’s largely the supporting cast that makes it worth watching, I’d love to see a bundle review of Scott Wilson, Jason Miller and Ed Flanders for 1980 supporting.

Luke Higham said...

5
1. Pesci
2. Yamazaki
3. Wilson
4. Walken
5. Reed
6. O'Toole
7. Kotto
4.5
8. Brown
9. Nielsen
10. Flanders
11. Miller
12. Ford

Aidan Pittman said...

R.I.P. Helen McCrory

Luke Higham said...

RIP Helen McCrory

Calvin Law said...

This one made me cry. RIP Helen McCrory. Far too young and once again, fuck cancer.

Anonymous said...

R.I.P. Helen McCrory
Poor Damian Lewis :(

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Rest in peace, Helen McCrory. Cancer is just a bitch.

RatedRStar said...

RIP Helen McCrory

Anonymous said...

Louis: Could I have your thoughts on this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ak7skwYdqs
RIP Helen McCroy

ruthiehenshallfan99 said...

Rest in peace, Helen McCrory

Tim said...

your thoughts on Gore Verbinski as a filmmaker?



R.I.P. Helen McCrory

Louis Morgan said...

R.I.P Helen McCrory, way too young.

Louis Morgan said...

Tim:

1. Amadeus
2. Ran
3. Bram Stoker's Dracula
4. Barry Lyndon
5. Phantom Thread
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
7. Mad Max: Fury Road
8. Romeo and Juliet
9. The Last Emperor
10. Star Wars

Anonymous said...

How would you rate Shelley Duvall in The Shining?

Luke Higham said...

Alfred Molina's returning as Doctor Octopus in No Way Home.

And I have some news that's going to piss everyone off here. The Original Song performances have been moved to the Pre-Show.

Luke Higham said...

Duvall is a 4.

Glenn said...

RIP Helen McCrory

Calvin Law said...

Luke: I’m not a fan of them doing that, but I’d rather that than them awarding some of the smaller categories pre-ceremony or in between commercials like they had a plan to do so a few years ago.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

It highlights well the great editing featured in this lineup, there isn't a rotten apple in the bunch, and you can see this well through the different examples of techniques you see here. The conflict through juxtaposition in trial, the time movement in PYW, the brilliance of the repetition in the Father that puts us directly in Anthony's headspace, and the time flow rhythm in Sound of Metal and Nomadland.

Overall though it goes through each film's merits well, and the particular style of each film, which each actually thrive with in this set of nominees.

Tim:

Gore Verbinski is a curious filmmaker in that I think the fact that Rango is probably his most personal film (he came up with the story) and his best film, says a lot. This as he perhaps is a filmmaker who wants to have more fun than he is pigeonholed into by the scripts he's working with, he typically isn't his own writer. This as Rango is fun, but also very silly, with a lot extravagance and wackiness in its visual designs. We get that as well in Pirates, which works best in the first film in a restrained fashion. The man actually has a definite creative bone in terms of visual action, however I think too often he is making films that don't really emphasize that. When he's being straight, it is a bit heavy handed, and a degree of silliness is where he seems to thrive, making him ideal for the first Pirates which maintained a consistent sense of fun and Rango. When he doesn't have that though he flounders.

Luke:

I don't mind that as long as it is consistent, when they cherry pick artists is what I find reprehensible.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: By the way, these are now my current 97 Lead suggestions.

Ray Winstone - Nil By Mouth
Stellan Skarsgard - Insomnia
John Cusack - Grosse Point Blank
Sam Lee - Made In Hong Kong
Takeshi Kitano - Fireworks (Hana-bi)
Bonus: Tony Leung - Happy Together (There's no way he's really the lowest 4.5 in the ranking. I've long thought Louis put him on the backburner)

And since you've seen Aaron Eckhart in In The Company Of Men, your rating and thoughts on him.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: I completely feel the same about Leung in Happy Together, I honestly think that has potential to go up to a 5.

And yeah Lee is probably going to be my next request to secure things.

Eckhart I’d give a 3.5, he’s good in it and I see why people took to him after that but I kind of just find it to be one of those films where I get the point, it makes its point but doesn’t do so in a way that makes me feel compelled by it.

Shaggy Rogers said...

Louis and guys: ay which 2020 films were postponed and could be favorites for Oscar 2021?

1. West Side Story
2. Dune
3. The Tragedy of Macbeth
4. Nightmare Alley
5. The French Dispatch
6. No Time to Die
7. Blonde
8. Last Night in Soho
9. Benedetta
10. Stillwater

Shaggy Rogers said...

Louis and guys: Which 2020 films postponed and could be favorites for Oscar 2021?

1. West Side Story
2. Dune
3. The Tragedy of Macbeth
4. Nightmare Alley
5. The French Dispatch
6. No Time to Die
7. Blonde
8. Last Night in Soho
9. Benedetta
10. Stillwater

Aidan Pittman said...

Louis: How do you rank the directing Oscar lineups of the 2010s?

Aidan Pittman said...

Also in regards to the Original Song situation, it's pretty lame that they won't be during the actual show this year, but hey, they gotta make room for that museum advertisement somehow.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I'm not bothered about that since I don’t really feel anything about this year's Song nominees. I mean, I liked Husavic and I thought Speak Now is decent (if overrated), but they won’t be songs I will be remembering in the future. Though the same could be said about last year's nominees too, but at least then we had Elton John. This year we have... H.E.R. I will say this: this year is much more fun to predict (I honestly think it’s one of the few categories where every nominee has a chance to win), while last year it was obvious Elton John was winning even before Rocketman was announced.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your top 5 performances in Aaron Sorkin films?

Calvin Law said...

Just watched The Courier and ended up liking it a lot more than I expected, Cumberbatch gives his best performance in ages.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: Could this be his first film '5' performance.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: I don’t think so, I’d give him a 4 or 4.5 (I should’ve specified film performance), but he’s really good. I’m interested to see how he’ll fare in The Power of the Dog.

Anonymous said...

Louis and all: What are some performances by actors you already found five worthy, but on a rewatch of the films they were in, the performances ended up impacting you even more/you ended up loving the performances more?

John Smith said...

Luke: I think shah is potential top 5 material.

Louis: Your thoughts on the ending to sound of metal. I found it incredibly moving and it really brought the film to a full circle

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: Happens to me every year, but with this year this happened with Ahmed, Yeun, Flanagan, etc.

Louis Morgan said...

Aidan:

2010:

1. David Fincher - The Social Network
2. Joel & Ethan Coen - True Grit
3. David O. Russell - The Fighter
4. Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
5. Tom Hooper - The King's Speech

2011:

1. Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
2. Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
3. Martin Scorsese - Hugo
4. Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
5. Alexander Payne - The Descendants

2012:

1. Michael Haneke - Amour
2. Ang Lee - Life of Pi
3. Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Steven Spielberg - Lincoln (The Screenplay carries the film)
5. David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook

2013:

1. Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
2. Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street
3. Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
4. Alexander Payne - Nebraska
5. David O. Russell - American Hustle

2014:

1. Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman
2. Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher
4. Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game
5. Richard Linklater - Boyhood

2015:

1. George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Alejandro G. Inarritu - The Revenant
3. Lenny Abrahamson - Room
4. Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
5. Adam McKay - The Big Short

2016:

1. Damien Chazelle - La La Land
2. Denis Villeneuve - Arrival
3. Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge
4. Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
5. Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea

2017:

1. Paul Thomas Anderson - Phantom Thread
2. Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
3. Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water
4. Jordan Peele - Get Out
5. Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird

2018:

1. Yorgos Lanthimos - The Favourite
2. Pawel Pawlikowski - Cold War
3. Alfonso Cuaron - Roma
4. Spike Lee - Blackkklansman
5. Adam Mckay - Vice

2019:

1. Bong Joon-ho - Parasite
2. Sam Mendes - 1917
3. Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
4. Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Todd Phillips - Joker

Anonymous:

1. Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
2. Mark Rylance - The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Christopher Plummer - The Social Network
4. Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
5. Anne Bancroft - Malice

Anonymous:

I mean it happens all the time, something about great films/performances is somehow there is always more to appreciate.

John Smith:

Great ending particularly as the rhyme to the opening, as noted in the aforementioned editing video, where we have Ruben seemingly weighed down within noise, rather than defying gravity within silence. In just the two pieces we see as a man who has managed to find comfort in himself, but basically finding comfort within a true moment of stillness.

Luke Higham said...

Christopher Plummer - The Social Network LOL

Tim said...

Could you also rank the Adapted Screenplay lineups of the 2010s?

Louis Morgan said...

Tim:

2010:

1. The Social Network
2. True Grit
3. Winter's Bone
4. Toy Story 3
5. 127 Hours

2011:

1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2. Moneyball
3. Hugo
4. The Ides of March
5. The Descendants

2012:

1. Lincoln
2. Argo
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Life of Pi
5. Beasts of the Southern Wild

2013:

1. The Wolf of Wall Street
2. Before Midnight
3. Captain Phillips
4. Philomena
5. 12 Years a Slave

2014:

1. Inherent Vice
2. Whiplash
3. The Imitation Game
4. American Sniper
5. The Theory of Everything

2015:

1. Room
2. The Martian
3. Brooklyn
4. Carol
5. The Big Short

2016:

1. Moonlight
2. Fences
3. Arrival
4. Hidden Figures
5. Lion

2017:

1. Logan
2. The Disaster Artist
3. Call Me By Your Name
4. Molly's Game
5. Moundbound

2018:

1. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
3. Blackkklansman
4. If Beale Street Could Talk
5. A Star is Born

2019:

1. The Irishman
2. Little Women
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. The Two Popes
5. Joker

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Petition to credit all of Spacey's and Hammer's overall ranks to Christopher Plummer.

Luke Higham said...

Tahmeed: I know you're probably joking but we can't change film history to make ourselves feel better. I can live with them being shit human beings but I'm not going to ignore their careers.

And on 1980, do you think I was underestimating Shah in my ranking prediction.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke: I was kidding, I tend to practice 'death of the author' with how I watch/read most things (Rowling being an exception, but I don't want to get into that.)

As for Shah, I happened to rewatch Sparsh today. While I love his performance and would give him a 5 for it, I'd be genuinely happy if he was a 4.5 and made Louis's top ten.

Tim said...

Tahmeed: you know what, i do want to get into that. I am honestly the same as you, when i look at a piece of art i can just see it in a vacuum, separated from the artist, but why do you make a difference with Rowling and noone else?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Tim: I should note she isn't the only exception, but I guess the difference with her has more to do with level of potential harm that can be caused by her sentiments and the statements she's made. I'm all for freedom of speech and difference of opinion on most things, but not at the cost of jeopardizing the dignity/safety of anyone else.

With that in mind, I can't in good conscience consume the art of someone, and give them even greater ability to cause harm to a group. She has her influence because of her success, and I just don't want to add to that.

Robert MacFarlane said...

^ What Tahmeed said.

Aidan Pittman said...

Louis: What are the 10 Oscar wins of the 2010s you would say were the most surprising?

Anonymous said...

Aidan: Olivia Colman would definitely be on that list lol.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Was she really? Don't get me wrong, It was easily my favourite win that year but she did have Globe and BAFTA wins under her belt and had the type of role that academy members would go for.

Aidan Pittman said...

Luke: I'd say it was a surprise if only because Close was sweeping almost everything and had an overdue narrative.

I'd say that Ex Machina's VFX win is definitely up there, given that it was up against three Best Picture nominees and Star Wars (which won BAFTA) and that it had zero nominations from VFX society.

Tim said...

i gotta say that Bong John-Ho winning Director was a surprise. As much as i had hoped for it, i really had not put my money on it really happening

Matt Mustin said...

I watched Thoroughbreds. I really liked it.

Taylor-Joy-5
Cooke-5(Also did anyone else think she looks exactly like Rose Byrne in this?)
Yelchin-4.5
Sparks-3.5

Anonymous said...

Luke: She was a surprise because close won globes, sag and critics choice and also people thought "Of course Colman won bafta she's British."

Matt Mustin said...

Luke: Colman was definitely a surprise, and I know that because I distinctly remember going "WHOAH!" when she won.

Luke Higham said...

Guys, back then I knew she had a good chance to upset Close and my reaction then was more of relief than shock. A massive surprise to me would be Adrien Brody winning for The Pianist when he won no important precursors and was going against Anti-Young Male bias.

And I was more surprised with Parasite winning it all.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Marion Cotillard beat Julie Christie (Won Critic's Choice, Globe and SAG) who was odds on favourite for the oscar and the hometown favourite at BAFTA during the 07-08 season so it's not always the case.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: I found out a while ago that Terence Stamp was offered to play Bond after Connery's retirement, but didn't get a callback because his take was considered too 'radical.' How do you think he might have fared?

Louis Morgan said...

Aidan:

1. Moonlight - Best Picture (Particularly due to the method)
2. Ex Machina - Visual Effects
3. Bong Joon-ho - Best Director
4. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - Costume Design
5. Olivia Colman - Best Actress
6. Skyfall & Zero Dark Thirty TIE - Best Sound Editing
7. Bohemian Rhapsody - Sound Editing
8. Hacksaw Ridge - Sound Mixing

Not sure any others I'd call truly surprising in the same way.

Louis Morgan said...

Tahmeed:

I mean I could totally see Stamp as a Craig style Bond, as a Moore style Bond, he would have been ill-fitting, comparatively the moments in the Dalton Bonds that are Mooreish, that seem completely out of place with Dalton's approach.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: I think Colman's placement on the list is as high as I would go considering the other factors I mentioned.

Anonymous said...

How would you rate Lisa Kudrow and Christina Ricci in The Opposite of Sex?

Calvin Law said...

Okay, so Chicago 7 won ACE (and Palm Springs for Comedy which is surprising), so I guess Editing is up in the air for the Oscars still.

Tim said...

watched Eastern Promises for the first time. I liked it a lot, but can't say i loved it. A little low-energy at times, but i can live with that.


Watts: 4
Mortensen: 4.5
Mueller-Stahl: 4.5
Cassel: 2.5

Robert MacFarlane said...

NGL, never got the appeal of Eastern Promises beyond Mueller-Stahl

Matt Mustin said...

Robert: Fair enough. I don't see the appeal of History of Violence.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Matt: Honestly I’m not huge on that one either beyond formal admiration.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Haven't seen it.

Calvin:

Honestly the ACE/BAFTA split I think even leaves the potential for a dark horse to take it at this point.

Anonymous said...

*Fingers crossed for that The Father surprise win*

Calvin Law said...

Interesting, could be where The Father takes it...

Mitchell Murray said...

So on a random note, I finally watched "La Confidential" after all this time, and I REALLY dug it. Simply a well done police thriller in almost every regard, with some superb direction and storytelling to support it's incredible cast.

Crowe - 5
Pearce - 5
Cromwell - 4.5
Plummer - 4.5
Strathairn - 3.5
DeVito - 3.5
Basinger - 3 (Have yet to see "In & Out", but the more I look into 1997 supporting actress, the more I feel Weaver was snubbed for "The Ice Storm")

Mitchell Murray said...

Also, to Robert's and Matt's comments about "Eastern Promises" - I happen to like the film quite a bit. The scenes without Mortensen are less compelling, of course, but I still find the overall movie to be interesting and effective.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Could I have your thoughts on these two opening sequences from the same anime? (Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan)?

https://youtu.be/aofWoj6nDRA
https://youtu.be/K7WVSvTdcos

8000S said...

Louis: I remember how you would have liked Lynch to have directed and write Naked Lunch. Would you keep the same cast from the Cronenberg movie?

Also, how about Lynch for director and writer for a 90s Black Swan?

Tim said...

your thoughts on Hans Zimmer - "Oogway Ascends"?

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your top 15 Daniel Kaluuya acting moments, and could I also have a top 10 for Lakeith Stanfield?

Louis Morgan said...

8000's:

Yes, as I'm actually rather fond of the cast.

I mean logical enough, though his film would be extremely different from that one.

Tim:

Robert Mitchum - Farewell, My Lovely

Anonymous:

Like the movement more than the exact style I think, which as typical for my anime intro thoughts results in a ?. Song is okay, though not particularly distinct.

As fr the second, it lacks actually as nice of detail in the frame rate movement. I actually think I like the partially English song far less actually, which sounds like exceptionally generic rock.

Anonymous:

Kaluuya:

1. "I Am A Revolutionary" - Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Hypnosis - Get Out
3. Going Bowling - Widows
4. Escape - Get Out
5. Meeting with the rival group - Judas and the Black Messiah
6. Rainbow Coalition - Judas and the Black Messiah
7. Listening to Rappers - Widows
8. First Speech - Judas and the Black Messiah
9. "Get Out" - Get Out
10. Meeting with his wife - Judas and the Black Messiah
11. Watching TV - Widows
12. The Keys - Get Out
13. Out of prison - Judas and the Black Messiah
14. Driving - Widows
15. Teaching - Judas and the Black Messiah

Stanfield:

1. Hot-wiring the Car - Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Meeting the "pimp" - Judas and the Black Messiah
3. Listening to his "opportunity" - Sorry to Bother You
4. Impersonation - Judas and the Black Messiah
5. Finding the workhorses - Sorry to Bother You
6. Phone call after gun fight - Judas and the Black Messiah
7. "Get Out" - Get Out
8. Interrogation - Judas and the Black Messiah
9. Learning how to "speak" - Sorry to Bother You
10. Interview - Judas and the Black Messiah

Anonymous said...

Mank won ASC. Did not expect that at all.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

The rules this season...there are no rules. However of late, if ASC/BAFTA split, go with BAFTA, so Nomadland still.

Anonymous said...

The thing is, ASC is probably the most accurate guild precursor as far as nominees go (they almost always are 4/5 on Oscars) but as far as winners go, they do their own things sometimes; in 2009 The White Ribbon won over Avatar, in 2016 Lion won over La La Land. Nomadland is very likely taking it.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Thoughts on the cast of Nobody.

Michael McCarthy said...

Ooo just remembered, I’d like to add Kurt Russell in Used Cars to my list of suggestions for Best Actor 1980. Very fun early performance of his.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: your thoughts on these 80s and 90s casts for Judas and the Black Messiah?

Fred Hampton: Forest Whitaker
William O'Neal: Don Cheadle
Roy Mitchell: Paul Reiser
Deborah Johnson: Lisa Bonet

Fred Hampton: Andre Braugher
William O'Neal: Bokeem Woodbine
Roy Mitchell: Cary Elwes
Deborah Johnson: Regina King

Matt Mustin said...

Finally after all these years saw Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I loved it, and I once again have to ask what the hell happened to Robert Zemeckis?

Hoskins-5
Lloyd-4.5
Fleischer-4 (It really wigged me out thinking of the guy from Zodiac doing this voice)
Turner-3(She's just fine, but she's not the reason that character is memorable)

Tim said...

Matt: ever seen Patrick Willems' video on him?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: thoughts on the Annette trailer?

HTT said...

Great choices Louis. I agree with most of them. I thinkl Nomadland will take home adapted screenplay, and Trial Of The Chicago 7 will take home editing, but I don't really know. It pretty hard to predict some of the categories.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

I'll admit I don't have to much to say, as the villain is generic, most of the supporting cast is wasted or not that good, besides Lloyd who is a lot of fun in his brief bits. I'll give Odenkirk on managing to deliver on the central idea, though a lot of that is more physical than anything else.

Calvin:

Excellent choices.

Well I'm more than interested, as Carax's style seems ideal for a musical, and the pairing of Driver/Cotillard seems most promising. Helberg, last so, but I'll give him a chance. Fingers crossed for a secret Denis Lavant dancing cameo.

Calvin Law said...

Okay that Shang Chi trailer has me SO excited. I’m not talking about the fights and everything but rather TONY LEUNG.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Tony damn Leung indeed. I was already hyped for Shang Chi because of Simu Liu (highly recommend Kim's Convenience to everyone), and that trailer definitely helped matters.

Luke Higham said...

After being so depressed with recent football news, I'm rather happy to see these trailers help take my mind off it. Annette looks great and Shang Chi has potential, especially with Leung's performance.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke: Yeah, never thought I'd be saying this, but... fuck Barcelona.

Calvin Law said...

Football news is so depressing, and to add insult to injury I'm a Hotspur fan, so...honestly couldn't help but laugh morbidly today at our expense.

Luke Higham said...

Tahmeed: I feel as if I've been stabbed in the heart by Chelsea going along with this bullshit that the owners of Real Madrid, Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal have spearheaded.

BRAZINTERMA said...

Louis: Which are the best: films, directions and performances from the A24?

Glenn said...

Luke Calvin and Tahmeed, I was a Man Utd fan and football is now dead to me.

Calvin Law said...

Brazinterma: I actually did a ranking of all the A24 films I've seen the other day but forgot to post it anywhere in particular.

Minari
Moonlight
The Lighthouse
The Farewell
Uncut Gems
Room
The Florida Project
The End of the Tour
Boys State
Lady Bird
Good Time
Saint Maud
Mississipi Grind
Locke
First Reformed
Ex Machina
20th Century Women
Swiss Army Man
First Cow
Amy
A Most Violent Year
Eighth Grade
Green Room
High Life
The Rover
Waves
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
American Honey
On the Rocks
Mid90s
Free Fire
The Witch
The Disaster Artist
A Ghost Story
The Lobster
Midsommar
The Souvenir
Under the Skin
The Spectacular Now
Hereditary
It Comes At Night
Ginger & Rosa
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Bling Ring
Tusk
Slow West
Spring Breakers

Anonymous said...

Brazinterma: My rankings

Best Films
1. The Lighthouse
2. Minari
3. Uncut Gems
4. The Farewell
5. A Ghost Story
6. Room
7. Ex Machina
8. The Disaster Artist
9. The Florida Project
10. The Lobster

Best Directors
1. Robert Eggers - The Lighthouse
2. Safdie Brothers - Uncut Gems
3. David Lowery - A Ghost Story
4. Lenny Abrahamson - Room
5. Lee Isaac Chung - Minari
6. Alex Garland - Ex Machina
7. Trey Edward Shults - Waves
8. Lulu Wang - The Farewell
9. Ari Aster - Midsommar
10. Andrea Arnold - American Honey

Best Performances
1. Willem Dafoe - The Lighthouse
2. Youn Yuh-jung - Minari
3. Robert Pattinson - The Lighthouse
4. Adam Sandler - Uncut Gems
5. Zhao Shuzhen - The Farewell
6. Morfydd Clark - Saint Maud
7. Ethan Hawke - First Reformed
8. Robert Pattinson - Good Time
9. Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
10. Annette Bening - 20th Century Women

Anonymous said...

Louis: Across all 4 acting categories, your top 20 film performances of this century so far?

Tim said...

could you rank the Editing lineups of the 2010s?

Anonymous said...

Louis: your thoughts on the Shang Chi trailer?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

10 is more easy to wield.

1. Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive
2. Anthony Hopkins - The Father
3. Marion Cotillard - The Immigrant
4. Viggo Mortensen - The Road
5. Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
6. Charlize Theron - Monster
7. Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges
8. Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
9. Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
10. Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Brazinterma:

Films:

1. Uncut Gems
2. The Lighthouse
3. Minari
4. Good Time
5. The End of the Tour
6. Ex Machina
7. The Farewell
8. Room
9. Moonlight
10. Boys State

Direction:

1. Robert Eggers - The Lighthouse
2. The Safdies - Uncut Gems
3. The Safdies - Good Time
4. Lee Isaac Chung - Minari
5. David Lowery - A Ghost Story
6. Rose Glass - Saint Maud
7. Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
8. Robert Eggers - The Witch
9. Alex Garland - Ex Machina
10. J.C. Chandor - A Most Violent Year

Performances:

1. Willem Dafoe - The Lighthouse
2. Robert Pattinson - The Lighthouse
3. Adam Sandler - Uncut Gems
4. Morfydd Clark - Saint Maud
5. Guy Pearce - The Rover (Most underrated performance of last decade)
6. Youn Yuh-Jung - Minari
7. Toni Collette - Hereditary
8. Tom Hardy - Locke
9. Ethan Hawke - First Reformed
10. Han Ye-ri - Minari

Tim:

2010's:

1. The Social Network
2. The King's Speech
3. The Fighter
4. Black Swan
5. 127 Hours

Louis Morgan said...

2011:

1. The Artist
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
3. Hugo
4. Moneyball
5. The Descendants

2012:

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Argo
3. Life of PI
4. Lincoln
5. Silver Linings Playbook

2013:

1. Gravity
2. Captain Phillips
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. Dallas Buyers Club
5. American Hustle

2014:

1. Whiplash
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. The Imitation Game
4. Boyhood
5. American Sniper

2015:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Spotlight
3. The Revenant
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5. The Big Short

2016:

1. Hacksaw Ridge
2. La La Land
3. Arrival
4. Moonlight
5. Hell or High Water

2017:

1. Dunkirk
2. Baby Driver
3. I, Tonya
4. The Shape of Water
5. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

2018:

1. The Favourite
2. Blackkklansman
3. Green Book
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Vice

2019:

1. Parasite
2. The Irishman
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. Ford V. Ferrari
5. Joker

Anonymous:

Well if it weren't for Tony Leung I probably wouldn't be that excited, but I am overjoyed to see him finally taking on that English Language role despite having always been fluent (which is obvious from his delivery here). The film otherwise looks fine, if nothing too notable, frankly I wish the wuxia influence was more overt in the visual style, since it honestly is an ideal fit for the superhero genre.

Anonymous said...

Louis what would be your most forgotten best picture nominees of the 90's and 80's?

Anonymous said...

As in per year.

Matt Mustin said...

There's people saying that Tony Leung is dubbed in the Shang-Chi trailer and I don't know what they're basing that off.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

1999: The Cider House Rules
1998: Life is Beautiful
1997: The Full Monty (Though As Good As it Gets isn't far behind)
1996: Shine
1995: Il Postino
1994: Quiz Show
1993: In the Name of the Father
1992: Howards End
1991: The Prince of Tides
1990: Awakenings
1989: Born on the Fourth of July
1988: The Accidental Tourist
1987: Hope and Glory
1986: Children of a Lesser God
1985: Prizzi's Honor
1984: Places in the Heart
1983: The Dresser
1982: Missing
1981: Atlantic City
1980: Tess

Worth noting this doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the film, though some are forgotten for not being very good, but others are sadly ignored for whatever reason.

Matt:

Certainly sounds like his typical English accent to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WdmNBOfuqk

Calvin Law said...

Matt and Louis: I'm thankful for sensible people like you guys, it sounds exactly like how he usually speaks. Does his pitch sound a bit different to interviews? Yes, because he's playing a villain, not promoting a film. It's like people have suddenly discovered the concept of I don't know, acting.

Anonymous said...

Would you really say Howard’s End is more forgotten than the Scent of a Women remake? It’s got a 4K re release and is still a highly regarded film being shown at Cannes Classic 2016

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

I wouldn't say any film from that lineup is that forgotten, however Scent of the Woman is more frequently referenced, if mostly due to "Hoo-ah".

8000S said...

Louis: Your cast for a 80s Trial of the Chicago 7 with Pakula directing and Goldman writing.

Tim said...

but how about 89? I would say My Left Foot instead of Born on the 4th of July. Both are not the most remembered, but gun to the head, i would say Foot was less remembered

Louis Morgan said...

8000's:

I believe I've given that before.

Tim:

I think over time My Left Foot has slightly bested by Born, by reputation of it being DDL's first win. Whereas, despite its director win, Born is forgotten over Platoon as Stone's Vietnam films go, and even is rarely mentioned as Tom Cruise's major attempt at a dramatic shift (that almost resulted in an Oscar win). I mean when was the last time you even heard the film associated with him or brought as part of his acting legacy? It is rather muted especially given all those factors, and where My Left Foot I think has stayed in its relative obscure prominence it originally had in 89, Born's trajectory has been one of falling more and more into obscurity.

BRAZINTERMA said...

Hello Louis and everyone on the blog!

I want to invite you to participate in my "2020 Brazinterma International" award. To participate, access the link I'm leaving and select your favorites in the form. Voting is free and you can vote multiple times, so your candidates are more likely to win.

LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMNaWeUQnxh2j2vkyejn63hqSy5RIjAqnjSl55m3uk-EyhIw/viewform

Mitchell Murray said...

So I just watched the original "48 hours" for the first time, and honestly - I don't get why it was so praised. It was frankly surprising to me how underwhelming I found the film, as I thought it was mildly enjoyable at best, and needlessly mean spirited at worse.

Nolte - 3
Murphy - 2.5 (His serious moments fall pretty flat, and I just didn't buy him as a street smart convict, but it also isn't a role that capitalizes on his full comedic range.)
James - 2.5
Remar - 2.5
McRae - 2

Mitchell Murray said...

And on another note, "Death Battle" released its newest episode yesterday: Heihachi Mishima (Tekken) Vs Geese Howard (King of Fighters).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVq2zIbEMfk

There next match up - in two weeks time - will be Blake (RWBY) Vs Mikasa (Attack on Titan).

JohnnyCarson said...

Love your work Louis. Any thoughts on Andra Day as Billie Holiday? Best

Anonymous said...

JohnnyCarson: Louis gave Andra Day a 4. Here are his thoughts:
(I can only give her credit for going for it every step of the way. This includes her particularly impressive re-working of her own voice to match Holliday's, which is absolutely convincing and lived in. Her performance goes for every sort of emotional low point. Whether this be the physical degradation of Holliday, or just her mental exasperation. This in moments of just outright anguish or lighter vulnerability seeking help. This though combined with a real sense of a star's charisma, particularly when she is singing. The film I'll say doesn't give her terribly interesting scenes to work with or to even truly develop the character beyond a kind of generalized symbol of the repressed/abused artist. Day though is good, and any emotion I felt from the film, as limited as it was, came from her.)

Anonymous said...

Louis: If you've seen He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, could I have your thoughts on John Erwin and Alan Oppenheimer's voice work?

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: Thoughts on the voice acting in this scene from "Castlevania" - courtesy of Graham McTavish (Dracula) and Peter Stormare (Godbrand)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9gJKiAoy4o

Aidan Pittman said...

Louis: What are your Top 20 film scores of the 2010s?

BRAZINTERMA said...

Louis and folks
I forgot to write at the end of the previous message:
- April 24 (Saturday) will be the last day of voting
- April 25th (Sunday on the day of the Oscar ceremony) the winners will be revealed on my blog and Instagram (@brazinterma)

Remember you can vote more than once

LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMNaWeUQnxh2j2vkyejn63hqSy5RIjAqnjSl55m3uk-EyhIw/viewform

Tim said...

your thoughts on the Screenplay and Direction of The Philadelphia Story?

Calvin Law said...

Louis: thoughts on Jasmila Žbanić's direction of Quo Vadis, Aida?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Referring to your earlier comment regarding Cruise's dramatic acting legacy, do you think that his acting ability is still underrated by the general public? Outside of this blog, the only 'great' performance people seem to think he had in him was Magnolia.

Mitchell Murray said...

Tahmeed: I would say his ability is underrated, but in a rather strange way. It's sort of the Brad Pitt thing where he's been labelled as a star more than a quote "thespian", but has also self imposed that limitation to a degree (Especially after 2010 where almost all of his outings have been action based). In my opinion, Cruise has always had the talent to justify his status, and his very best performances showcase that charisma and acting range. That being said, he's also someone who improved over time, such as when one looks at "Born on the Fourth of July" or "The Colour of Money", compared to his more assured turns of the 90s to early 2000s.

I'd also say, like Pitt, that his career best performance is one that's been celebrated yet oddly overlooked at the same time - "Collateral" and "Assassination", respectively.

Mitchell Murray said...

On another note, what would everyone's thoughts be on the following rock songs:

Last To Know - Three Days Grace
Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
What Lies Beneath - Breaking Benjamin
Dance With The Devil - Breaking Benjamin
Faint - Linkin Park

Tim said...

Last To Know - my absolute favorite of TDG and one of my favorite songs in general (maybe it hits a bit close to home for me also ...)
Here Without You - very good song, but not one of my favorites from 3 Doors Down
Dance With The Devil - absolutely fantastic, my second favorite by BB after Without You

no strong feelings on the other two

Tim said...

Regarding The Cruise, whenever i try to talk to the general moviegoing audience to him, they only speak about his personal life, nothing else. For me as a big fan of his work, i always feel cheated with that

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Mitchell: Love both Here Without You and Faint, but the latter isn't my favourite song by Linkin Park. Haven't heard the other three.

Emi Grant said...

Mitchell: Will give you more thoughts on some of the songs, but right out of the bat let me say I've always really liked Dance With The Devil. Just a few days ago I decided to look back on some of their songs and happened to forget that one. Love me some BB.

Oddly enough, despite liking LP, I've never happened to stumble upon Faint on my own. Same with Three Days Grace.

Emi Grant said...

Mitchell:

- Last To Know (Solid ballad with a nice build-up. This is the kind of singing teenage me always tried to replicate but never could.)

- Here Without You (Maybe a bit too ballad-ish for me)

- What Lies Beneath (Pretty much BB's wheelhouse right there, which is always nice as long as you dig it. I tend to be more of a fan of their faster songs, with a clear exception being...)

- Dance With The Devil (Love the ambience in this song and the chorus is one of my favorites from BB. Top 5 BB for me, perhaps.)

- Faint (Sounds about right with Linkin Park. Guess I've always been more of a Hybrid Theory than Meteora guy.)

P245RS said...

Luke: You must have really hated playing against those whiny Porto cunts.

Luke Higham said...

P245RS: I'd rather play them than spend anytime in that now defunct shithole of a league we put ourselves in.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

I have not.

Mitchell:

Kind of expected work from Stormare there, though good in his sloppy henchman styling. More impressive from McTavish whose work is more often a little brasher, yet he is impressive in doing both the cold sort of disinterest that switches to a clam yet notable menace.

Aidan:

1. Phantom Thread
2. Cloud Atlas
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. 1917
5. La La Land
6. First Man
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. The Social Network
9. Dunkirk
10. Only God Forgives
11. How to Train your Dragon
12. The Shape of Water
13. Jackie
14. I Saw the Devil
15. Inception
16. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
17. Mandy
18. The Artist
19. Gravity
20. Birdman

Tim:

The screenplay to the Philadelphia Story made great strides in the mistaken identity/love triangle mix up genre, I personally though just have never really come around to the film, and I suppose it is the script as I love the cast, even with James Stewart having one of the most baffling wins to his record to the point I always kind of forget he won for that film. The screenplay structurally is most sound in executing that setup with all the comic twists and turns, and there is a technical obvious wit. I for whatever reason though just am left cold by it, though I'll concede objectively there is merit there even if I don't quite like it.

George Cukor's direction might have something to do with it. This as I almost take him as someone who perhaps rested on the screenplay and acting...sometimes. This as there is a real inconsistency in his work almost like a choice he would make with material whether to be active or passive within his own work. This is largely the former in that regard seemingly to allow the strength of the material/performers to carry it, the latter being something he obvious payed attention to closely. Again though Cukor seemed capable of far more when he cared for it, and here though is an example of him more facilitating that dictating.

Calvin:

Žbanić's work is excellent example of really creating tension and emotional stakes through restraint. In fact there is something particularly potent in the way she directs in a way that sort of grants the impending threat however presents the progress of it as something casually coming upon the characters. There is an impressive quality within it, similar to Roland Joffe's work for the Killing Fields, in that you get such a sense for the chaotic atmosphere of the situation, that seems particularly tangible actually because it isn't always a constant. There are moments of calm in a way that create this juxtaposition in the UN forces mediating the situation against the impending doom of the hostile forces slowly working their way in. I think the final scene in particularly is haunting because again Žbanić's work is matter of fact, yet truly remarkable in showing clearly, yet without exploitation, the horror of it all. Fantastic work, well deserved for that BAFTA nom, and would be an easy personal winner for 2021 at the moment.

Tahmeed:

Yes I would, one I don't think Collateral gets enough credit in terms of his own work anyways, but even his work in Edge of Tomorrow shows his ability to wield his star persona, but also really bring it home with genuine acting talent. And really what too often is forgotten is his character range actually is WAY bigger than he's ever given credit for as evidence by Les Grossman and Lestat both performances that don't use his typical presence. I do kind of wish he had made it work with Tarantino for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, to give the public a reminder of that fact. Of course even something like American Made, which wasn't a great film, still showed he has that gear ready to go if he chooses to use it.

Anonymous said...

Louis what are your thoughts on Tye Sheridan as an actor?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

A talented and naturalistic performer in his youth. Such an understated power to his work, that just exuded emotional honesty. Un-fussy yet still so potent. Then he grew up....and a Irish doppelganger known as Barry Keoghan appeared seemingly from nowhere, slowly absorbing all his talent. The Keoghan's powers are slowly growing only stronger, while Sheridan is turning blander by the minute, till he is nothing but a dull husk...in the Twilight Zone.

Calvin Law said...

I'm not going to lie, looking at photos of Sergio Chamy visiting the States for the Oscar ceremony makes me REALLY want to predict The Mole Agent for a potential upset.

Louis: Žbanić is easily my personal winner for the year too as well, love the Joffe comparison because 'The Killing Fields' is a film that repeatedly came to mind when watching it.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: I have confidence in The Card Counter being a turnaround for him...hopefully.

Matt Mustin said...

So, I didn't know this, but apparently one of my buttons for things that really upset me is a character breaking down and reverting to childlike behaviour. Between The Father and Dead Ringers, which I just watched, apparently that messes me up.

Tim said...

let's start a little conspiracy theory discussion:

Do you all believe that a Munchkin killed himself on set while shooting Wizard of Oz?

Anonymous said...

Tim: That is 100% jmjust an urban legend. It was really just a bird.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: What are the cities/countries that you've wanted to travel the most after seeing a film?

For me, it'd be Bruges. It’s just a shame it’s in Belgium, really. But then you figure if it was somewhere good, there’d be too many people coming to see it. It would spoil the whole thing.

Mitchell Murray said...

Tim and Emi: Completely agree on Breaking Benjamin as a band and "Dance with the Devil", though I've probably listened to "What Lies Beneath" and "Had Enough" more often.

Tahmeed: Might I assume your favourite is "Numb", then?

Louis: I'll admit, I'm not overly familiar with McTavish's other work. His voice work as Dracula, however, is quite memorable, and one of the best aspects of a very good show.

Mitchell Murray said...

Also, in reference to Tahmeed's last comment - if Luca Guadagnino has done one thing, it's give me major incentive to visit rural Italy.

Granted, as someone who's never really travelled, there's certainly a number of countries in Europe and Asia especially that I'd like to see some day.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Mitchell: Either that or 'In the End'. Have to cosign with Emi on being a bigger fan of Hybrid Theory era Linkin Park, which is frankly one of the best debut albums out there.

Mitchell Murray said...

Lastly, as anyone else here seen Netflix's "Castlevania" series? Even as someone not familiar with the games, I really like the show for it's setting, animation, fight scenes and it's discussion of the cruelty/prejudice of human kind.

The show's fourth and final season is premiering May 13, and personally, I'm rather curious to see how things wrap up.

Mitchell Murray said...

Tahmeed: Yah, I feel a lot people would pick one of those two - myself included. Also, I own both the Meteora and Hybrid Theory albums, so whichever I like more really depends on the day.

Anonymous said...

How would you rate Catherine Burns in Last Summer?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Anonymous: Burns is a 4 for Louis.

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

I mean one can hope regarding Sheridan, but at this point it is becoming a trend for him.

Tim:

HD version severely debunks that.

Tahmeed:

I mean it's gotta be Bruges, it's a fairy-tale town isn't it? I mean how can all those those canals, bridges and cobbled streets and those churches not be somebody's thing?

David Jones said...

Your thoughts on Kevin Costner as an actor.

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