Best Scene: Health check-up.
4. Austin Butler in Elvis - Butler is working within a better film than Fraser, though still flawed in the limitations it puts upon Butler's work. Butler though is consistently impressive in portraying the onstage personas of Elvis through the year that goes beyond simple impersonation and becomes embodiment. Along with also granting humanity to the icon, even if these aspects are slightly limited by the script.
Best Scene: Seeing Priscilla for the last time.
3. Paul Mescal in Aftersun - Mescal's nomination made this the best-case scenario for this category, and I am overjoyed he managed to get the nomination over the other better-known actors vying for that fifth spot. Mescal gives an understated but extremely potent portrayal of a man trying to fulfill his role as a dad while going through so much personal turmoil.
Best Scene: Just before "Under Pressure"
2. Bill Nighy in Living - Nighy's performance doesn't quite reach the all-timer status of Takashi Shimura's original performance but the fact that it comes close is quite an achievement on its own. Nighy gives a deeply moving portrayal of a man going from idly wasting away, to finding meaning near his last moments.
Best Scene: "The Rowan Tree" the second time.
1. Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin Good predictions Tim, Calvin, Lucas & Aidan. I will first say even while this isn't the greatest lineup of all time, it is a great lineup, and particularly exciting lineup since the academy shirked potentially tired choices for five previously unrecognized actors. No performance was more deserving of this recognition in this five than Colin Farrell's for his pitch-perfect performance that manages to give a completely heartbreaking performance, a completely hilarious performance, and a completely dynamic portrayal of a "nice man's" whole world becoming shattered through one fundamental shift.
Best Scene: Niceness Argument.
Next: 2022 alternate supporting.
34 comments:
Dano (The Fabelmans and The Batman)
Schuch
Hoult
Hopkins
Redmayne
Bonus:
Rylance
Moura
And congrats to Farrell for winning the overall.
OHH NO... LMAO. Was literally the first one to point out the possibility of Butler taking over Fraser when I mentioned it to Luke, but stuck with Fraser as 4th. It's only been Ls for me ever since I came on this blog 😂😂.
Louis, your combined ranking of this year's and last year's Best Actor lineups?
ANYONE but Rylance. I will pay you whatever ransom you wish.
Unless it's a 1, in that case go for it.
Also: Louis, your ranking of the twenty nominated performances this year?
Dano, Rogen and the Greatest Director - The Fabelmans
Schuch - All Quiet
Redmayne - The Good Nurse
Moura - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Hoult - The Menu
I still haven't seen Hopkins, but it does sound like a performance up my alley. Anyway, from whom I have seen:
Dano
Hoult
Redmayne (never thought I'd see the day)
Moura
Maron (hot take: I though he was better than Risenborough)
Andrew Bennett - The Quiet Girl
Albretch Scuch - All Quiet on the Western Front
Marc Maron - To Leslie
Paul Dano - The Fabelmans
Wagner Moura - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Albrecht Schuch-All Quiet on the Western Front
Paul Dano-The Fabelmans
Wagner Moura-Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Eddie Redmayne-The Good Nurse
Anthony Hopkins-Armageddon Time
If there’s 10, I’d also love to see:
Mark Rylance-Bones and All
Nicholas Hoult-The Menu
John Turturro-The Batman
Julian Glover-Tár (even when I first watched this and had mixed feelings, I thought he did a LOT with his brief screen time, and he’s absolutely held up for me)
Paul Dano - The Fabelmans
Steven Yeun - Nope
Albrecht Schuch - All Quiet on the Western Front
Nicholas Hoult - The Menu
Andrew Bennett - The Quiet Girl
As for my request, I'll have a think, but I don't know if I remembered to mention that my request for winning the Supporting Actor lineup was Aldis Hodge in Clemency (2019 Supporting).
2007 Lead: my request is John Cusack in 1408
Paul Dano-The Fabelmans/The Batman/John Turturro-The Batman
Nicholas Hoult-The Menu
Eddie Redmayne-The Good Nurse
Albrecht Shuch-All Quiet on the Western Front
Mark Rylance-Bones and All (probably an interesting review if nothing else)
Matt: My thoughts exactly re: Rylance
Paul Dano - The Fabelmans
Anthony Hopkins - Armageddon Time
Steven Yeun - Nope
Albrecht Shuch - All Quiet on the Western Front
Wagner Moura - Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish
Bonus: Carlos Francisco - Mars One
Have to admit I started taking Rylance's performance a lot less seriously once I realized he was channeling Herbert from Family Guy. It definitely was a choice.
Tahmeed: Yeah, I'm sure he watches Family Guy all the time.
-Paul Dano in The Fabelmans/The Batman
-Nicholas Hoult in The Menu
-Mark Rylance in Bones and All (even if he'll get a low rating, it'd be a funny review)
-Wagner Moura in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
-Albrecht Schuch in All Quiet on the Western Front
Tahmeed: That is literally the specific reason I despise the performance so much. Herbert is one of the single worst fictional characters in any medium, so having a performance that is basically 90% channeling him was going to earn my eternal, unforgiving scorn.
Also, I love how all of us just admit Wagner Moura's vocal work was special. Rare to get a voice performance with that level of consensus.
I don't think I see what everyone else saw with Moura, but admittedly I'm probably the least passionate about the film on here.
As for Rylance, I liked him a lot more on rewatch. Far from perfect, but I *got* more of what he was going for and think his last scene is particularly great.
For the first time since 2014, Oscar nominees for lead and supporting Louis #1 are in the same center position.
Dano & Co. - The Fabelmans
Hoult - The Menu
Redmayne - The Good Nurse
Moura - Puss In Boots 2
Oh, and Dano in The Batman. Why not?
Honestly I could live without Dano in The Batman. I'm in the minority here in thinking he was the weak link and that his approach was derivative and broad.
Louis: Do you intend to see Knock At The Cabin anytime soon. I've been hearing that its Bautista's best role to date.
Robert: Tbh, even though I loved him in it, I could live without it too, but if it comes down to him or Rylance, well...
Louis: How difficult is it generally for you to rank performances in a category where multiple performances have the same rating? When was the most you've ever struggled over how to rank a category?
Also, do you have any plans to see M3GAN or 80 For Brady?
And finally best director ranking:
Director:
1. Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans
2. Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin
3. Todd Field - Tar
4. The Daniels - EEAO
5. Ruben Östlund - Triangle of Sadness
Spielberg proves that he hasn't lost a bit of his magic as a filmmaker with his work in The Fabelmans, of course, he did that last year either, but he does it again. With a story that I honestly had hoped for but might've second-guessed at the potential for really playing too hard into the nostalgia. And to be fair there is nostalgia here, though beautifully done nostalgia in that regard. From taking and leading us into a child eye's view into the first cinematic experience, the grandeur of it, the size of it, the potential terror of it, and successfully making something as silly, if not outright bad, as The Greatest Show On Earth seems some colossal achievement to the young Sammy/Steven it was. The interior of the home is exceptionally done work that I think in a way can be easy to overlook, however, is absolutely splendid in how vibrant and really tangible it all is. From the specific manner of interactions of the family to the seemingly random idiosyncrasies, Spielberg depicts them in loving but also humorous detail that lets us in rather than making it feel like some museum piece we are observing. The same is true in depicting every one of Sammy's student films which are brought to the life of course with so much energy and such a love of the idea of filmmaking in every frame. Spielberg though also at the same time brings the hapless moments, taking just enough out of the process, while still adoring the process. I think takes how Spielberg directs the Lynch/Ford scene, and you see a brilliant approach to the idea of the clashing that wholly works. We first see the great films of John Ford with befitting music to the legend, which Spielberg subverts with a literal comedic record scratch to the old man stumbling through with the lipstick, and everything that follows is hardly simply inspiration. Although one more tangent the sloppy horizon switch, recognizing Ford's lesson, is one of my favorite random bits of the direction of the year. Of course, as much as the two sides of that are more fun in a way, Spielberg takes a more serious juxtaposition between that sense of love for family with also with the mixtures of the harsh truths of what that I can mean at times. There are wistful moments such as the camping at first, and Spielberg depicts that with affection, however, what is as tangible, realized through just the idea of editing, the sense of this sort of isolating realization when there is a break in what family seems as a child to what it becomes. Spielberg's work often is little touches, yet brilliant touches, of mixing moments, there's silliness but there's also leaning towards mental illness. And Spielberg successfully mixes the emotion successfully, really tones successfully, because there is an appreciation for what he had, but doesn't hide the struggle of it. The latter I think in lesser moments of his career he might've fallen into accentuating the positive even in the negative, but Spielberg lets those moments actually be painful. Like the moment of seeing the new house that he depicts in a dreamlike way, but paints the right degree of melancholia that subverts the joy of the "new house" as the reality of the truth is within his presentation and music choice within it. Altogether great work by Spielberg and shows that he's still got it.
I am told that I should be more dismissive of McDonagh's work as a director, but somehow I just never agree. I certainly don't agree when I've heard his direction compared to the works of other writers/directors with the emphasis on the former, such as say, Joss Whedon, which I think is more than a little insulting. It is true in conversation scenes that McDonagh isn't reinventing the wheel, however, I'd argue he rightfully has confidence in his actors and his dialogue to carry these scenes. Having said that, a dialogue-driven scene isn't always about fancy staging or extremely innovative blocking of actors. Sometimes more basic moves can work if they work. Usually, here it is one character facing another talking in these scenes, and as contrasting points that work, with again the right detail to capture reaction with the conversation, to know to not overcut or undercut, rather allow all to be together in the dialogue. For moments of drama and comedy, McDonagh knows how to break down between shots, not extremely imaginative, but in a way that in totality works. There are visual choices though in general that I do have a great affection for regardless, and that is his choice to very much make the mountain out of the molehill in his presentation of the smallest of small-scale conflicts it would seem with a certain grandeur. That grandeur is specific in the setting itself of the island which he consistently frames in showing the greatness of the environment in that he sets his stage. There's one choice early on in this regard that is almost like a kind of duel, as he cribs the shot of the town in Once Upon a Time in The West, however instead of the green island of Inisherin. Another aspect, that makes his comparison to Sorkin in particular outrageous to me, is his use of music, which I really adore in all his films, but this one might be the most. His suggestion already to Burwell isn't at all the simple Irish tunes you'd expect for such a film, and something more melancholic. His use of it as these interludes, with other songs, I think bridge mood gaps wonderfully. And I will say I must also mention the specific direction of his animals, which I love throughout, and are the one part of the island that lives up to the expectation of the idyllic island, and have so much personality in how he uses them throughout the film.
Todd Field's direction of Tar is very unexpected despite having the veneer of the expected. His previous two films were domestic dramas both directed in a way fairly direct way that focused upon that drama for better or worse, I'd say for the better for In the Bedroom, for the worse with Little Children. Tar seems like it may be in a similar vein but it ends up not being. The expectation though is something that Field seems to play with and purposefully makes grandiose as a director. One would argue most directors set out to make a great film, however in this instance Field seems to be purposefully establishing this film as great, playing with the idea of greatness within the presentation of the film. Take the opening which in a way is similar to the introduction to Tar herself by the New Yorker moderator. It takes a long time and presents a whole of information with the presentation of prestige, where prestige is a given. From the music below to the credits, to the number of credits, rare for a film to include everything at first, however, in this instance, it establishes Tar from the outset as a "great". This choice, which is supported by his more generalized prestigious cinematography, and in general production design, allows for a far greater subversion than if Field had begun to deny Tar's greatness. He presents Tar as great. And just think about the opening as opposed to the ending. Field presents both with the same sort of grandiose reverence making it all the greater subversion and really punchline when it occurs. Field undercuts by giving the same delusions of grandeur to Tar that she herself likely feels. Field's choice to present this as a prestigious reality also plays into his subversion of real reality, something that is particularly potent because of that approach. The Tar waking up scenes, along with the ghost moments, the desolate apartments, or the scream from the forest, is a different kind of horror. As they unexpected within this film that seems of a different design, a different ilk, yet are particularly striking because Field executes them in a way that you truly don't expect these moments, yet they still feel natural to his form. The choices Field makes as a director here are truly unexpected more often than not, because he leads you in with genuine expectation, yet consistently breaks that expectation in truly unexpected ways.
Daniels's direction is a whole lot of many different things, and choices throughout the film that is a lot of a lot, purposefully a lot of a lot. That a lot of a lot, I think is to the film's benefit though occasionally not. Because what is it? In parts, it is a family drama which it depicts with a Safdiesesque intensity of the constant movement which they direct as such, with even the key piece of the apartment being attached to the laundromat that makes it so they are in constant flow, and just the editing reinforces this idea. Within that, they adhere, even in the "real" scenes, to a certain surrealistic edge that makes the jump, still a jump but not too much of a jump. When the jump happens though they pull out several stops in playing into the insanity of it with crazy kung fu action scenes, that are both compelling in themselves but off the wall in a way befitting to the madness of the set-up. This is also the Daniels themselves playing around with the idea of the multi-verse in their direction. I think this is probably where the direction is slightly more mixed for me just because of how much they own up to the juvenile such as not only having the hotdog fingers but also having them spew ketchup and mustard in such a way, although it is the same sort of choice that makes Racocooie an extremely funny moment the same. So in a way, it's throwing all the darts. What I think is the most impressive muti-verse is their success in changing their tone and cinematography in the In The Mood For Love moments which are especially well done. The same is true for the sort of stream-of-consciousness moments of all the different quick bits of insanity we get that in itself build towards emotional catharsis such as how they depict Waymond's big speech has so much around in a choice of colors that it is both just what he is saying but everything around him. Their direction very much is a whole bunch of different choices in a blender by the randomness of the tone and styles squeezed together, and while I don't think this juggling is faultless the fact that it is overall successful is quite an achievement in itself. They do belabor some points, but some points that are given such focus also sing. They are very entertaining in their fights, even if some moments go on for just a bit too long in that regard. It is almost their choice that they are not going to be for everyone in their choices, and not all are for me, however, enough of it does for me to call them very deserving nominees even if I may prefer technically safer, though in my view more concise visions. Still not every choice hit for me, but the choices that hit, hit HARD.
Anonymous:
1. Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin
2. Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog
3. Bill Nighy - Living
4. Denzel Washington - The Tragedy of Macbeth
5. Paul Mescal - Aftersun
6. Andrew Garfield - Tick Tick...Boom
7. Austin Butler - Elvis
8. Brendan Fraser - The Whale
9. Will Smith - King Richard
10. Javier Bardem - Being the Ricardos
Anonymous:
1. Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin
2. Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All At Once
3. Brendan Gleeson - The Banshees of Inisherin
4. Cate Blanchett - Tar
5. Bill Nighy - Living
6. Kerry Condon - The Banshees of Inisherin
7. Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once
8. Paul Mescal - Aftersun
9. Barry Keoghan - The Banshees of Inisherin
10. Hong Chau - The Whale
11. Brian Tyree Henry - Causeway
12. Judd Hirsch - The Fabelmans
13. Austin Butler - Elvis
14. Brendan Fraser - The Whale
15. Ana de Armas - Blonde
16. Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie
17. Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once
18. Angela Bassett - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
19. Stephanie Hsu - Everything Everywhere All At Once
20. Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
Luke:
I'll probably see it at some point.
Tony:
Depends on the year, 73 lead for me is notorious and I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with my ranking there. It's where splitting the atom, and even beyond what I already think was great, what performance left the even greater impact or did I feel in some way was an even greater achievement. That will be different every time, sometimes though that will be easy to decide, sometimes it will be very difficult regardless if I consider all the performances to be great.
I'll probably see M3GAN at some point, I think I'll pass on the latter, just as I have every film of its ilk.
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