Tadanobu Asano did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Yasaka in Harmonium.
Tadanobu Asano plays the role that one should always be suspicious of, the stranger who ingratiates himself in a family. Asano's performance suggests such concerns as he first appears with this very exact posture that suggests someone who has been through some rigorous experience for some time. Asano's manner crafts an innate tension about him even as he delivers his line with this humble calm of someone apparently just looking for some kind of charity, at least in the perspective of the wife Akie and daughter of the young family, less so the father who seems to know more than he's letting on in his way he just seems to accept Yasaka's presence. What the film does, and Asano does is initially subvert one's expectations of such a character as he begins to speak more with the family. When Yasaka asks the mother about her Christian faith, for example, something the father nor Yasaka share the former seems rather dismissive, Asano instead speaks with a kind of tenderness and interest. The speaking manner at the very least opens up a bit as he even smiles and there appears to be a bit of warmth in a man, even loving, and suggests perhaps this stranger isn't such a bad sort after all. We see Yasaka ingratiate himself further by helping the daughter with her playing of the titular instrument and just continuing to talk to the mother with an openness that her husband lacks. Asano's work creates an image of a man finding some loving expression even as he continues to reveal more about himself which perhaps should raise a few concerns. Yasaka reveals himself to have been recently released from prison, something that Asano's posture had alluded to by presenting a man within an institutionalized system of control, for murder specifically. This isn't as disconcerting as it should be because of Asano's presentation of it. He discusses it with this calm yet eagerness to quietly share his trauma it would seem. Although he speaks his reasons for the murder as almost this logical act of personal code Asano still projects it mixed with regret, allowing Akie to seemingly accept his crime as he speaks it with some sense that it was a crime, even if at the same time he expresses it as though not a crime at all. Quite the neat trick from both the character of Yasaka and Asano.
The character shifts to something else again, though again not as immediately disconcerting as it should be because of Asano's performance. He begins to romance Akie however even this initially Asano presents as though he is potentially the "romantic" other man who listens to her needs and presents his own plight with a willing sensitivity to share his past trauma and crimes. Asano frames all that should make Yasaka immediately suspicious as something that makes him oddly appealing and it is all in the exact manner of presenting with a willing attempt at sympathy and empathy. Asano shifts again to perhaps what we might've suspected from the initial idea of the mysterious stranger as he reveals his intention to the husband. There Asano is absolutely brilliant in suddenly this vile intensity he brings to every word as he speaks plainly to the husband, revealing all his hate for him and this vicious sense of jealousy in his eyes as he notes all the man has during the time in which Yasaka had been in jail for, a crime which is revealed to have been shared by both men. Suddenly now his moments of romancing the Akie take upon a different tone, Asano presenting them with a kind of attack, even if not overtly at first, but his eyes now filled with lust as he seems to not be trying to win the Akie over rather he wants to take her. Asano gradually becomes more chilling in each successive scene as Yasaka no longer hides his seemingly more nefarious purpose, leading to a moment of trying to rape the Akie where Asano presents a man with a destructive intensity in every motion and his eyes now filled with hate, not love. After successfully pushing him away we see another disturbing end as we see Yasaka standing over the injured daughter, and now Asano's very presence seems so chilling as this strange state of bitter vengeance before he disappears again. Yasaka leaving an impression on the family they will never forget and Asano leaving an impression on the viewer. Even after he no longer appears the slight hint of his possible return leaves a lingering paranoia. Asano gives an amazing haunting performance that crafts such a potent character who breaks your initial expectation only to then later fulfill it in such painful unexpected way.
99 comments:
I guess a Supporting lineup is definitely out of the question.
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the cast.
Excellent performance. I actually didn't think you'd give him a 5 because I feel this is a performance where it's easy to overlook everything he's doing.
Louis: Your thoughts on Tadanobu Asano as an actor?
Delighted that he got a 5. He's tremendous in this.
Louis: retro casting choices for Asano? Might sound weird but I kind of feel like he could pull off a great Harry Lime.
And though I actually consider him a lead in the sort of Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Waves kind of way, makes sense for you to have him in supporting.
Louis: your thoughts on the AFI Top 10.
Louis: Are you going to see Aftersun or the whale any time soon?
Louis, thoughts on the casts of Emancipation and Pinocchio.
Was delighted to see Nope on the AFI Top Ten. Definitely in the minority here but I'm quite certain it's my favourite Peele, and it's nice to see it getting a bit of a resurgence to hopefully get momentum for a Score or Sound Design nom.
Louis: If Leaud is a 4 or lower, I don't mind if you decide to skip to the results.
Luke:
Tsutsui - 5(The first half of her performance and the second of her performance are very different and more than anything illustrate seemingly the central idea of the film. In the first half, she presents a largely dutiful wife who is just going about her life in a pleasant enough way. She reacts to Asano's character as such and presents just comfort as a reaction towards someone showing interest in her interests. Then a natural sympathy towards it leads towards the moments of romance which seem as such at first until he pushes it and she presents quite effectively the blunt horror of the moment. The jump then i is very much sold by her performance that creates the impact of their lives being forever changed. There is a harshness to her performance a close of quality and naturally paranoia within her work that is innate to her character now. We see the defensiveness and the coldness even when guarding her daughter it is with bitterness. Despite no obvious physical differences she presents a stark difference in the nature of the woman now forever broken by her prior experiences, so powerfully portraying this isolated state of fear.)
Furutachi - 4(His performance is certainly overshadowed by Asano in the first half, though I would definitely say this is intentional, as he presents a man who basically is almost ignoring both the old "Friend" and family as he interacts with them with only a cold distance. He is effective in presenting the change that actually for him is positive to a degree in showing a man now actually engaging with his family, unfortunately, it is for rather negative interactions. Fururatchi though is effective in revealing the emotional vulnerability of the man as he struggles to try to get his family to move on and consistently fails from doing so.)
Taiga - 3.5(He's effective in just being nothing like Asano, and does bring the right sort of bright optimism that contrasts well against all the other performances in the second half.)
Oliver:
I would say from what I've seen he does struggle outside of speaking Japanese, though he's great in Silence, when working with a less stellar script and director, he does seem a bit stiff (Thor movies, Mortal Kombat). From Silence and the relatively few Japanese films I've seen him in, he's got a very dynamic presence that cuts through the screen in a rather fascinating off-kilter way. In particular, he has this particular ease of intensity that comes to great use, here in particular.
Calvin:
And yes I could see Lime.
Ginjirô Takeuchi
The Samurai in Rashomon
Japanese Jack Carter
Anonymous:
When they are available to me.
Anonymous:
Smith - (He does a little bit of those Smithism that I do think holds back his dramatic work consistently with the same pout and the accent just being a bit too thick. Having said that he is very good at portraying each step of the journey, even as Fuqua foolishly keeps cutting away from him. Smith though silently is able really to bring out the moments of tension just through his performance. While also conveying the same emotional determination that always keeps his motivation alive, and also just a fitting sense of exhaustion. Smith is compelling in the role, and I only wish that Fuqua had a bit more faith in him to just carry the film, as frankly, I think it should never have left his perspective, then I think could've been something quite special...and lose the distracting cinematography of course.)
Foster - (He's intense, which is something, but that's about it. The only scene that asks for more of him, I'm pretty sure the writer saw the cave scene from Tom Hardy in The Revenant and said I'll try that and failed miserably to replicate it. Foster tries but the writing doesn't support him.)
Mann - (Overdoes it a little at times, yet still I think overall gives a nice youthful spirit to the whole thing.)
Bradley - (Just really heartfelt work from him consistently, where you get such a powerful sense of every emotion that he is conveying in a given scene with his voice. There is a tangible sense of the warmth he feels early on and you get such a sense of a loving father. He's genuinely heartbreaking every time he needs to evoke the despairing pain of his loss. He thought also balances that with the more comic moments of reaction to his new "boy" at first and everywhere in between with some of the stranger moments. He never loses a beat with his performance that consistently grants humanity to every bit of animation you can hear his voice come from.)
McGregor - (A nice-spirited turn that brings the right optimistic quality within the scheme of things.)
Swinton - (Potently ethereal.)
Perlman - (I mean innately tremendous presence as to be expected.)
Wolfhard - (Eh)
Blanchett - (I mean I certainly believed it, also hilarious casting nonetheless.)
Waltz - (Brought the right sleazy zest to every one of his lines.)
Anonymous:
I guess the notable miss is the Glass Onion (which I think could do exactly what Knives Out did its season) and Babylon (which is looking more like a First Man in terms of nominations).
Good for EEAO, The Fabelmans, Nope, Tar, Top Gun, Woman King I can very easily live with them as Best Picture nominees, and love seeing Banshees get the special award. I don't even hate Elvis, really the worst choice for me is She Said, which I hate to say it, but only the degrades the more I think about it as a film.
Avatar is definitely going to be a big player it seems at this point, and Cameron probably should be expected to contend in director. Side note: my expectations haven't change one iota as I expected it to get the raves.
Louis: What do you think of the "Blow-Up" scene (for lack of a better descriptor) in The Fabelmans? I think that's one of my favorite scenes of the year.
Flawless performance. Every single thing he did was absolutely amazing. Also though I will say, I think he's definitely lead, in the same way that Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines or Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Waves are.
I'm late on the Bones and All discussion, but I think I'm gonna be on the more negative side of its reception, including Rylance's performance. I didn't hate it like Robert, but I did find it highly distracting.
I feel like I also really didn't gel with whatever Guadagnino was going for in his direction. Both in terms of camera work and editing the whole thing felt pretty scattershot and even on the nose at times.
Chalamet: 4
Russell: 3.5
Rylance: 2
Stuhlbarg: 3.5/4 (biggest surprise for me in the cast)
Gordon Green: 3 (WTF was he doing there?)
Holland: 3
Sevigny: 3
Harper: 2.5
Cobb: 3
Robert:
Loved it and I think it is always an achievement in filmmaking whenever a director can make a task with a whole lot of boring minutia (editing in this case) and make it absolutely captivating. Spielberg shoots it brilliantly in just slowly uncovering the mystery, here a personal mystery, and finding so many ways to repeat the examination that just keep you engaged while never seeming gimmicky. That with the whole idea, which I think is a key to the film, in that you get kind of a merging of loving nostalgia with a painful truth in the discovery. Exceptional visual filmmaking and honestly could become one of my favorite bits of directing from Spielberg. And also credit to LaBelle who I think does some very strong silent reacting throughout the sequence.
Matt:
He was supporting to me because the story ends up being about how he influenced the family, not about him. If Tsutsui and Furutachi had been absent in the first half I'd probably put him in the lead, however it ends up being their story. I view Asano closer to Walter Huston in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Lee Van Cleef in TGTBTU or even Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, who set the plots off, however in the end we don't follow their story for most of it, making more so about their impact on others in the end. Although I think either category for him is fair.
Louis: Another thing about The Fabelmans (that I doubt you agree on); I've moved from negative on Williams' performance to... agnostic. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that her overt stylization is actually on par for the character's myopic selfishness. Did she overplay it? Kind of. But I get it more than I did a week-and-a-half ago.
Thanks to everyone on the blog for their lovely comments in previous posts, I am OK, yes I am now unemployed, I was struggling in 2019 if you read some comments from that year and I would have been unemployed in early 2020 but weirdly the pandemic and especially the lockdown bizarrely saved me from getting made redundant, but my luck ran out in November 2022, since 2014 I was in the same Admin job but its now over.
I am here and ready for the new Oscar season =D.
Daniel: Great to have you back man. :)
Robert:
I think I mentioned in my original thoughts, I don't think the approach is wrong, it's the lack of modulation that I took issue with. It should be an attention seeking performance, because it is an attention seeking character, I just think she starts so big it leave her almost nowhere to go. Although I'll admit my ire probably has lessened a bit, perhaps just because the film overall is sitting so well with me.
Daniel:
Great to see you.
Lovely to see you all too.
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on Plaza and Rossi in Emily the Criminal.
Louis: Thoughts on the trailer for "Suzume", Shinkai's latest film?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfKNOUUtyCA&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection
Of all the things to have on my bingo card, Louis liking a Theo Rossi performance was certainly not on there.
Great to have you back, Daniel!
Louis: Your category placements for David Bradley and Ewan McGregor in Pinocchio.
Louis: Your cast & director for…
1970s Bones and All
1960s The Banshees of Inisherin
1950s See How They Run
Anonymous:
Plaza - (Plaza expectedly delivers a good performance. She innately has a dynamic presence that is used particularly well here. Her performance manages to give a degree of 1/8 character regardless of the writing often enough. We certainly see that here as she is able to convey so much of the character so quickly. I think two of her key scenes are her to interview seems that collapse so quickly. her performance shows in the built-up frustration in the scenes and they Duval's in such a natural way with in Plaza perform. She create such a palpable sense of her very emotional desperation to be accepted Beyond her past yet falls into the same trap every time. In the criminal world we see a interesting combination in her performance. On one end she conveys effectively the natural sense of uncertainty and fear that would come from a seemingly average person getting involved in such a world. She manages within hierarchical to convey the growing comfort of sorts as she finds she has some natural ability with in this world. She creates an effective add believable change as Emily goes from just someone looking to find money to finding a legitimate way out of her situation in a less than legitimate way.)
Rossi - ( I will say I actually did not recognize him right away and this performance partly because he's doing an accent but also because he's so convincing that actually. I loved it I actually thought they had an actor who might have been lately had that accent before I noticed it was him. This is very impressive for Rossi because usually I find him to be a very unimpressive performer who sticks out like a sore thumb and here off. not only does he not stick out in that way he actually thrives here and even makes good with what is really a challenging accent to begin with. He owns that but he also just as successful in this part. In a way giving the contrasting are to what Plaza is doing. In that when we first see him Rossi exudes this innate confidence of someone who is comfortable in his world in such a way that he doesn't even think twice. When he gets closer with Emily though Rossi naturally he's is back on this to bring a greater Humanity in a way that feels earn. The two of them actually share at times kind of a sweet chemistry that is rather endearing and Rossi takes what seems like a characters are going to be one thing and makes you kind of like it oddly enough. It's a good performance and just shows to that actors can basically always surprise you.)
Luke:
Both supporting.
Tahmeed:
Uhhh, I mean beautiful animation, hard to tell what it is about, as Weathering With You suffered from the story, so hope the script is here this time.
Bryan:
1970's Bones and All directed by Nicolas Roeg:
Maren: Jenny Agutter
Lee: Don Johnson
Sully: Jason Robards
Leonard: William Daniels
Jake: Warren Oates
Brad: John Cassavetes
Barbara: Agnes Moorehead
Janelle: Cloris Leachman
1960's The Banshees of Inisherin directed by Billy Wilder:
Pádraic: Robert Mitchum
Colm: James Cagney
Siobhán: Kathleen Byron
Dominic: Richard Harris
See How They Run 1950's directed by Robert Hamer:
Inspector Stoppard: Charles Laughton
Constable Stalker: Maureen O'Hara
Leo Köpernick: Ralph Bellamy
Richard Attenborough & Shelia Sim as Themselves
Agatha Christie: Margaret Rutherford
Louis: What are your ratings for Plaza and Rossi.
4.5/4
Just watched Decision to Leave. Gutted. Just totally gutted. I don't think anything will top this for me for the rest of the year/season.
Louis: Thoughts on the Lightyear cast.
Hey guys
Tell what the winners of the 2016 Louis will be.
Picture: Silence
Director: Martin Scorsese - Silence
Actor: Andrew Garfield - Silence
Actress: Emma Stone - La La Land
Supporting Actor: Ben Foster - Hell or High Water
Supporting Actress: Taraeh Alidoosti – The Salesman
Ensemble: Silence
Production Design: The Handmaiden
Sound Editing: Arrival
Sound Mixing: Silence
Score: La La Land
Editing: Hacksaw Ridge
Visual Effects: Doctor Strange
Costume Design: The Handmaiden
Cinematography: Silence
Makeup and Hairstyling: Silence
Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water
Adapted Screenplay: Silence
Song: "Audition" - La La Land
Ops, my mistake. In place of Foster replaces the new winner Asano.
Luke:
Everyone is fine though just fine, Peter Sohn is a little better, though I still wouldn't say substantial.
I still think Foster will keep the win. It had a more profound impact on him at a more personal level than it did for the majority who either picked Neill or Ali.
Hi guys. It's been a while since I've been on. What are your Golden Globe nominee predictions.
Stephen: Same stance as last year, fuck the HFPA.
The HFPA can burn to the ground for all I care.
Looks like I called Quan sweeping the critics awards rightz
Not a sweep because Gleeson's gotten more than one as well but Quan's doing pretty well.
Interesting how the critics are shaping out so far. Seems like Yeoh and Blanchett will be trading off, Farrell will dominate (with Nighy being the first non-Farrell winner with LA), Quan will get the most with Gleeson being a defined runner-up (where I think he may pull a Sam Rockwell depending on how the Academy responds to EEAO on the whole), and Supporting Actress is all over the place (which I honestly love to see).
Don't have much to say about the LAFCAs for the most part. Not a Nighy fan but his win was an interesting surprise. As great as Blanchett is in Tar, I have to admit I'm hoping NSFC will award someone else as to make the race more competitive like the last couple years. I still have a feeling Michelle Williams will win, though.
Louis: I'm sure you've been asked this before, but which widely-hated films have you unironically liked?
Now that I’ve seen The Whale, I can say A24 would have to massively fuck up for Hong Chau not to get in. Both the quality of the performance and the nature of the character are SUCH easy sells to awards bodies.
Michael: It feels like all their energy is being spent on hyping Fraser though.
Wish Park was making an impact with critics (inspired editing win at BSFCA though), feeling like Decision to Leave isn't being pushed like I thought it would be. But I can't complain about Field collecting directing awards and RRR getting momentum for sure.
Calvin:
Yeah leaning away from Decision being the "Drive My Car" this year, because it needed the critical awards push which it is not getting. It does seem however that RRR might be in the cards if it can keep the momentum going, as Netflix certainly knows how to get nominations (even if it often struggles with wins).
Tony:
Live by Night
Ravenous (though I think consensus has swung its way).
Louis: thoughts on the costume design of Nope?
Finally caught up with Everything Everywhere All at Once, which I absolutely loved. One of the most fearlessly original and creative films I've ever seen, and it's also funny, thrilling and touching. It lives up to the title. I will say I find some of it leans a bit too hard into the ridiculous but everything else is balanced so well and is so effective that I don't even care. Hard to believe the guys who made this also made Swiss Army Man, which I despise.
Yeoh-5(I've always loved her, but this is something else.)
Ke Huy Quan-5(Don't think anyone will beat him as my Supporting Actor win.)
Hsu-3.5(HUGE mixed bag for me)
Hong-4(Always great to see him, and he has probably one of my favourite line deliveries of the year.)
Curtis-4(Plays into the style just the right amount without ever overdoing it. The push to get her nominated is a bit much though.)
Louis: Your thoughts on the production design, costume design and makeup of Rashomon.
Louis, any thoughts on the Golden Globe nominations.
Stephen:
Not really, because they're slowly moving towards the level meaninglessness they deserve and I don't think this is any death knell for Deadwyler or Buckley's chances at winning for example.
I do think though it shows potential trends in films that were given support. In that Keoghan may have enough passion to get in with Gleeson, whereas with The Fabelmans in Supporting Actor, one may need to move ahead in terms of support or else both may miss. Curtis seems favored over Hsu (which like Matt I do favor Curtis, but that is one category I don't think the film needs recognition in). The love for Maverick may be just for film and techs, and Cruise (if one group should've gone for Cruise it should've been the Globes) and Kosinski may be pipedreams (which for the latter is a little strange).
RIP Angelo Badalamenti
RIP Angelo Badalamenti
RIP Angelo Badalmenti, perhaps the great composer to have never received an Oscar nomination.
Calvin:
Great modern costuming, as it does what is always should, speaks to character just in the costume, from Otis's whatever ware befitting a man fine with just tending stables, Em's more flamboyant ware, the highlights though are Yeun with his over the top cowboy ware that is ridiculous in just the right way, with his hate being great foreshadowing and the kid ape suits that were essential in what is, for me, the most effective scare scene in the film.
8000's:
Rashomon's costumes are a kind of cinematic perfection in terms of the ideal in the art form, in creating character, period and an iconic look with such ease. Each piece of clothing adds so much. Whether that be how overly proper the samurai is in contrast to Mifune's minimal but absolutely perfect clothing, every piece of cloth there is such brilliance as the bandit's look is unforgettable despite wearing so little. The wife's hat is ideal in crafting this personal shield that is taken away, and suddenly there is such a great intimacy. The medium's costume that flows with the wind is just amazing direction and costuming together. Then the three men all distinct, even less showy still, the commoner slovenly, the woodcutter minimal but proper looking the priest modest but appropriate.
I mean Rashomon is key in it isn't the amount of production design but the greatest of what there is. As every single location and set is so remarkable. The broken down temple is perfection in itself as suggesting the duality of the story that may be optimistic or nihilistic. The forest, while a forest, is why location scouting is part because every location, aided of course by the masterful cinematography, is so distinct. Then the trial locale, which such a simple yet so perfect in crafting such a fascinating frame.
The makeup is great work in crafting such distinct facial features on the wife and medium especially. However even the way they made up Mori adds to the way he seems so dissimilar to other performances of his.
Calvin: Saw your letterboxd list in a while... MAN Ahmed winning over Hopkins and Yeun was SOOOOOO unexpected. WOW. So glad that someone is on board with me on that.
Calvin: Unless it's an error, would it be an all timer performance for you???
R.I.P. Angelo Badalamenti
R.I.P. Angelo Badalamenti. "Today, no music."
Awww no. No no no no.
RIP Angelo Badalamenti
Louis: Ratings and Thoughts on the cast of X.
2022 (Forgot to add Return To Seoul)
Films To Watch
Babylon
The Whale
Avatar: The Way Of Water
Thirteen Lives
The Pale Blue Eye
Living
The Son
I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Women Talking
A Man Called Otto
Return To Seoul
Corsage
Close
Bardo
Holy Spider
Saint Omer
X
Pearl
Hustle
Aftersun
God's Country
God's Creatures
Ali & Ava
The Stranger
The Lost King
The Inspection
White Noise
Empire Of Light
The Survivor (Ben Foster)
Emily
Turning Red
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
Kimi
Enola Holmes 2
Stars At Noon
Black Adam
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore
Jurassic World Dominion
Spiderhead
Operation Mincemeat
You Won't Be Alone
Matilda The Musical
Call Jane
Don't Worry Darling
My Policeman
Dead For A Dollar
Fresh
Scream
The Adam Project
Master
Fire Island
The Lost City
Father Stu
Funny Pages
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
The Bad Guys
The Sea Beast
My Father's Dragon
On The Count Of Three
The Forgiven
Montana Story
Emergency
Watcher
Rise
Breaking
Mr. Malcolm's List
Barbarian
Confess, Fletch
Anything's Possible
Vengeance
Honor Society
Bodies Bodies Bodies
The Silent Twins
Smile
Bros
Rosaline
The Swimmers
Raymond & Ray
Spirited
Nanny
Aisha
Alice, Darling
They Cloned Tyrone
RIP, Angelo.
With regards to Hsu/Curtis, I'm the staunchest supporter of a Hsu nomination here I think, but I liked Curtis a lot too. I think this will be a category the film will struggle a bit in, though, especially when the same studio has a clear figure in Hong Chau to push in the same category.
I'm delighted for Dolly de Leon's recognition overall. As someone who didn't care much for the firs two acts of the film, she singlehandedly makes the final act great for me. She would be such an inspired win.
Perfectionist: My top 4 of Yeun, Ahmed, Hopkins and Boseman are fairly interchangeable, but with time Ahmed has stayed with me the most.
My top 10 prediction.
1. Garfield
2. Bridges
3. Mortensen
4. Edgerton
5. Washington
6. Hosseini
7. Abe
8. Gosling
9. Pine
10. Affleck
Louis: Your top 15 Tom Hiddleston acting moments.
Louis: Your thoughts on this interview with Tatsuya Nakadai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X99EYhiN8k
Luke: My prediction
1. Garfield
2. Hosseini
3. Bridges
4. Abe
5. Mortensen
6. Washington
7. Edgerton
8. Asano
9. Pine
10. Affleck
Louis: ratings and thoughts on the cast of X?
your 90s and 2000s Casts and Directors for The Menu?
Calvin: Absolutely, man. 2020 is truly one of the most epic years indeed.... When talking about performances. I am just glad to see that someone on this blog is with me on Ahmed as the top pick. I also mentioned it on the blog here months ago as an unpopular opinion. Yeun and Hopkins are tied for me next.
Shaggy: I am genuinely hoping that Washington stays at least in top 5 here. In fact I want him to move few ranks above.
Louis: So I watched Inisherin (which I adored) and I have to say, did Ryan's Daughter come to mind for you when watching?
Calvin: Ratings on the cast of The Banshees of Inisherin
Also feels like this is the film which most distinctly merges his earlier sensibilities as a playwright (Siobhan's plot feels like a more sensitive and tender retelling of The Beauty Queen of Leenane which was something I adored) but also some of his inclinations as a filmmaker.
I don't think Louis is going to do a 2016 supporting review. If he did, he would have saved the Asano post for later. So I'll get ahead of myself and talk about my prediction:
1. Asano (Harmonium)
2. Foster
3. Neil
4. Ogata
5. Neeson
6. Kubozuka
7. Ali
8. Skårsgard
9. Asano (Silence)
10. LaBeouf
Loved Banshees, my favorite film of the year easily.
Farrell - 5 (should easily sweep Lead Actor in an ideal world, his greatest work)
Gleeson - 5
Condon - 5
Keoghan - 5
Shortt - 3.5
Kenny - 3.5
Lydon - 3.5
Flitton - 3.5
Pearse - 2.5
Monaghan - 3 (special mention because he probably had one of my favorite line deliveries in the film)
Tahmeed: Is Gleeson lead or supporting?
Anonymous: Farrell is sole lead, Gleeson is undeniably supporting.
Heavily disagree there. Gleeson is most certainly co-lead.
Louis: Thoughts on the trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?
Also, I guess I’m the only one here who thought Keoghan wasn’t that great? Granted, I HEAVILY dislike the Village Idiot archetype, so I guess I found that thread the weakest part of the script regardless.
Robert: He has a lot of screentime, but I think Condon has just as many if not more scenes solely from her perspective/arc. All of Gleeson's scenes are about Padraic in one way or another, which is why it's difficult for me to consider him a co-lead.
Luke:
Goth - 4.5(One half crafts an appropriately stylized performance that I don't think goes over board with playing the porno star. She balances it well with bringing a certain comic energy along with some genuine honesty to moments as well. She then makes it natural as becomes the "heroine" of your horror movie where she is quite effective in bringing the horror alive via her reactions throughout the film. Her other performance though is a hoot of mania to be sure playing well sort of the ethereal creep in her earlier scenes and slowly building up towards just an intense derangement. She goes bonkers in the right way to be both entertaining while still being properly disturbing as well.)
Ortega - 3.5(Brings enough of a realization of her arc from slowly disgusted towards slowly intrigued to not make it all seem forced in this regard. She then effectively switches to straight up horror reactions quite effectively.)
Snow - 3.5(Liked her performance in bringing the right bad porn acting, while also outside of that playing up the part of the "sexpot" before her brief switch towards horror.)
Mescudi - 3(Mostly there for the bad porn acting, but thought he handled that well enough.)
Henderson - 3(Kind of funny though I would say maybe just a bit too much.)
Campbell - 2(In a certain sense I think had the most to work with but didn't really like his basically creepy style approach. To the point I didn't feel a rug pull with him which I think could've been realized if he got a better sense of him as a protagonist.)
Anonymous:
Hiddleston:
1. Finding the murder - The Night Manager
2. Allowing Falstaff to take the credit - The Hollow Crown
3. Seeing his death - Loki
4. Loki reveals his plan - Thor
5. Getting caught - The Night Manager
6. Speech - The Hollow Crown
7. Final talk before eating - Only Lovers Left Alive
8. Watching Mobius disappear - Loki
9. Loki brokers a deal with Thor - Thor: The Dark World
10. Saying what he wants - The Night Manager
11. After being beaten - The Avengers
12. Final argument with Sylvie - Loki
13. Reacting to Hulk v. Thor - Thor Ragnarok
14. Seeing his father - The Hollow Crown
15. Being broken down by Mobius - Loki
Tim:
The Menu 1990's directed by Robert Altman:
Slowik: Max von Sydow
Margot: Marisa Tomei
Tyler: Edward Norton
Elsa: Michelle Yeoh
Lilian: Diana Rigg
Diaz: Edward James Olmos
Richard: Robert Wagner
The Menu 2000's directed by Spike Jonze:
Slowik: Rutger Hauer
Margot: Samantha Morton
Tyler: Heath Ledger
Elsa: Sophie Okonedo
Lillian: Isabella Rossellini
Diaz: Luis Guzmán
Richard: John Lithgow
Calvin:
Yes very much so.
8000's:
I mean Nakadai, like any great actor, speaks with such intelligence about his craft with an understanding of what he needed to do as a performer but also in terms of speaking to what he saw that Naruse specifically brought with his more subdued approach as a filmmaking with an intensity of intimacy.
Louis: Do you intend on giving Weaving a write-up.
So, either because of long time curiosity or a peaked interest from recent events (probably both), I started watching "The Crown" tonight.
I'll offer thoughts with each complete season, but for the moment I have to say...Jared Harris has been delivering with each performance I've seen of his. That man is a truly fine actor, and his TV/series output arguably displays that more than his film roles.
Mitchell: Couldn't agree more.
Louis are you going to watch Avatar this weekend?
Ytrewq:
I mean can't derive much story, but looks fun and amazing in terms of the animation.
Anonymous:
No definitely not. There's a theater that has cheap showings on Thursday the week after release, I *may* watch it then just for the sake of its eventual Oscar nominations. Not looking forward to it given that now that the full reviews are out it seems like its a repeat of the original where people being wowed by the visuals causes them to ignore a weak story. Given I didn't even like the visuals in the last one (and still have a physical aversion to the Na'vi) I'm not looking forward to it.
I'm basically of the 'happy to have him in either category' with Gleeson, as I see both sides. I think the way the final act leans me towards co-lead, but a lot also supports a case for supporting.
I'm leaning towards supporting with Gleeson, but I'm kinda waiting on a screen time count
Love that Paterson is a 5 for you now, Louis.
Louis: Thoughts on the production design, editing and score of Stray Dog. The editing in that montage of Mifune walking through Tokyo is particularly fantastic.
Louis: Thoughts on the Critics Choice nominations.
Avatar: The Way Of Water ... you grew up hearing about it .. but i never thought i'd actually be seeing that ...
I'm just gonna say it, if you don't like the first one, this one is probably not going to turn you over. If you like the first one, you will most likely enjoy, though probably a little less than the first one.
First, the story. It's not really a repeat of the first one as some have said, i'd rather say it rhymes. George Lucas would love it. The story overall i thought worked fine, though some characters like the youngest daughter and some of the soldiers brought back from 1 seemed unnecessary, or didn't really find a lot of time, like Kate Winslet. Maybe those will be used in the sequels.
Only two little problems: Jake has to make a pretty big decision at the end of the first act, which is handled in a bit of a rushed manner. That decision has pretty big consequences, especially considering the first movie, and it's done wihtin like 30 seconds. The movie is 3 Hours long, nobody would have minded a minute more i think.
Also, late in the movie the biggest emotional moment is based on a character who didn't have the biggest connection to any of the leads. He didn't have nothing, but not a lot.
Visually speaking the trailers didn't really hide anything, so you can probably estimate what will expect you on that front.
And on Cameron's actual metier, the Action: it's pretty good (Duh). This film feels smaller and has lower stakes than 1, which is why the finale doesn't feel as epic, but it's still better than most CG antion scenes of the past years.
Overall, it feels a bit like a linking piece, like it will feel a lot more complete if you see the whole picture. Especially what the character Spider did towards the end very much feels like just the beginning of a character arc, not really conclusive in this movie alone.
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