5. Alan Bates in Whistle Down the Wind - Bates certainly makes an impression with a role that, much like the children, he causes you to perhaps put in more than what's there.
Best Scene: Before giving up.
4. Leo McKern in The Day the Earth Caught Fire - McKern grants a proper sense of character within a role that is often just used for exposition.
Best Scene: Reporting on what is really happening.
3. Nakamura Ganjirō II in The End of Summer - A delightful mischievous performance as an atypical Ozu patriarch.
Best Scene: "Argument" with daughter.
2. Murray Melvin in A Taste of Honey - Melvin delivers such humanity and heart to a role that was boundary breaking, but also just a, more importantly now, a memorable portrait of a caring human in a place where he received little care.
Best Scene: Watching in the dark.
1. Martin Stephens in The Innocents - Stephens gives one of the most confident child performances ever in creating the right ambiguity between a sinister child guilty beyond his years or perhaps just a boy broken by abuse.
Best Scene: Ending.
Next: 2009 Lead
32 comments:
I’m not even sure there’s room to suggest anyone for next round?
Louis: Your updated Female rankings.
Extremely looking forward to Tahar Rahim's review.
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on Anthony Quinn, Keiju Kobayashi, Masayuki Mori and Anil Chatterjee.
Ratings and thoughts on Hideko Takamine (The Other Woman and Happiness Of Us Alone), Chikage Awashima in The Other Woman, the cast of Mother Joan Of The Angels and Ayako Wakao in A Wife Confesses.
Louis: thoughts on the Fast X cast?
2009 Films To Watch
Red Riding Trilogy
The Take
Emma
Grey Gardens
Wuthering Heights
Prayers For Bobby
Public Enemies (Re-Watch for Marion Cotillard)
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Re-Watch for Michael Gambon)
Hamlet (David Tennant)
Caesar And Cleopatra (Christopher Plummer)
The Princess And The Frog
The Secret Of Kells
9
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
The Blind Side
Julie & Julia
The Hangover
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo/The Girl Who Played With Fire/The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest
The White Ribbon
Dogtooth
Broken Embraces
Ajami
Antichrist
Mother
About Elly
The Maid
Vincere
City Of Life And Death
Red Cliff Part II
OSS 117: Lost In Rio
Kaminey
Skin
Everyone Else
The Milk Of Sorrow
Where The Wild Things Are
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
World's Greatest Dad
The Young Victoria
Sin Nombre
Air Doll
Lebanon
Away We Go
Enter The Void
Drag Me To Hell
Looking For Eric
Goodbye Solo
Sugar
35 Shots Of Rum
Five Minutes Of Heaven
The Misfortunates
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Agora
Mr. Nobody
Black Dynamite
Polytechnique
Tetro
The Boat That Rocked
Cell 211
Adam
Police, Adjective
The Time That Remains
The Wind Journeys
Baarìa
Vengeance
Father Of My Children
The Vicious Kind
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Nothing Personal
The Limits Of Control
Undertow
Micmacs
Breathless
Adventureland
Whip It
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
It's Complicated
The International
I Killed My Mother
Orphan
Bunny And The Bull
Jennifer's Body
The Proposal
Observe And Report
Knowing (Ebert's #6 of the year)
I Love You, Man
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Bruno
Triangle
The House Of The Devil
Occult
Macabre
Merantau
Notorious
Fish Story
The Hedgehog
Lourdes
Louis, Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1961: Results instead of Alternate Best Actor 1961: Results.
Louis: Thoughts on the 3.5+ supporting performances and Alan Scott in Lola.
Louis: Your thoughts on the cinematography of Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy.
Luke: For the Films to Watch list, I’ve read positive reviews about Big Fan (also a showcase for Patton Oswalt).
Bryan: Shit, I meant to request Oswald years ago. But yes he is terrific.
Bryan: With that in mind, I'll repost on the lineup post.
Luke: Some female performances from 1956 to put in your list of female performances that Louis needs to watch.
Isuzu Yamada in Flowing and Shozo, A Cat and Two Women (She won the major Japanese film awards for those two peformances in 1957)
Hideko Takamine in A Wife's Heart
Setsuko Hara in Sudden Rain
8000S: Thanks though I've reverted to Films to watch and had to start over again because it was a massive chore looking for enough mentions in Letterboxd reviews.
8000S: I'll email them to everybody down the road if they like and they could always send them back with new edits. Reason I'm making them is to save Louis the bother of having to do it himself.
Shaggy:
Lead:
1. Deborah Kerr - The Innocents
2. Emmanuella Riva - Leon Morin, Priest
3. Jitsuko Yoshimura - Pigs & Battleships
4. Lea Massari - A Difficult Life
5. Lucyna Winnicka - Mother Joan of Angels
6. Hideko Takamine - Happines of Us Alone
7. Ruby Dee - A Raisin in The Sun
8. Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast At Tiffany's
9. Jeanne Moreau - La Notte
10. Hideko Takamine - Immortal Love
11. Columba Dominguez - The Important Man
12. Harriet Andersson - Through A Glass Darkly
13. Geraldine Page - Summer and Smoke
14. Haley Mills - Whistle Down the Wind
15. Hideko Takamine - The Other Woman
16. Ingrid Bergman - Goodbye Again
17. Ayako Wako in A Wife Confesses
18. Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass
19. Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits
20. Anouk Aimée - Lola
Supporting:
1. Pamela Franklin - The Innocents
2. Rita Moreno - West Side Story
3. Michiyo Aratama - The End of Summer
4. Claudia McNeil - A Raisin in the Sun
5. Aparna Sen - Teen Kanya
6. Nancy Kwan - Flower Drum Song -
7. Tamao Nakamura - The Human Condition III
8. Hideko Takamine - The Human Condition III
9. Kyoko Kishida - The Human Condition III
10. Betty Lou Gerson - 101 Dalmatians (since I forgot her)
11. Chikage Awashima - The Other Woman
12. Flor Silvestre - The Important Man
13. Dolores Dorn - Underworld U.S.A
14. Yoko Tsukasa - The End of Summer
15. Maria Schell - The Mark
16. Daniela Rocco - Divorce, Italian Style
17. Gita Dey - Teen Kanya
18. Judy Garland - Judgment At Nuremberg
19. Setsuko Hara - The End of Summer
20. Patricia Neal - Breakfast At Tiffany's
Luke:
Quinn - (An interesting performance of his as essentially a brute lead where in many ways Quinn plays into the brute qualities quite bluntly early on that make for a rather atypical lead because in some ways he makes you immediately not really care for him. His performance in doing so though creates the real sense of the character's journey that begins really in darkness but doesn't ever entirely escape him. Bringing these bawdy braggadocious qualities that only really change in very subtle ways. Subtle ways that Quinn portrays rather pointedly because in these moments he conveys such a strong sense of genuine contemplation for the titular character, and while it isn't exactly the obvious growth you might expect the man does grow in some ways if perhaps not enough.)
Kobayashi - (Just a super charming performance by actually just being incredibly low-key in his portrayal. He is an extremely modest deaf man and Kobayashi brings such sincerity in the warmth of the character that makes him rather effortlessly endearing. It helps greatly that he has such loving and really uncomplicated chemistry with Takamine that makes them such a winning pair, particularly as usually you only see her in the most complicated of relationships.)
Mori - (I mean the most impressive part of his performance is that Mori once again just seems like an entirely different actor once again and always seems so disparate from his other performances even though they aren't necessarily these major swings. However this time he is just as convincing as this long-standing adulterer who is just going about his life as he sees it with a bit of blithe disregard for whatever in particular gets in his way.)
Takamine (Other Woman) - (A variation on a theme to be sure, but an effective variation on that theme nonetheless. She always makes it look easy in terms of portraying the sort of complex state of anxiety of her characters stuck within these not quite relevant places of the society, and once again makes it look easy, which is itself such an accomplishment.)
Takamine - (Happiness) - (Okay now this is special because it is such a departure from the majority of her performances where she portrays again much more damaged individuals. Her character, despite being an outcast due to her disability, Takamine brings such pointed optimism here that is especially striking in contrast to her other work which tends to be a bit more pessimistic if not nihilistic. The more simplistic emotions theoretically she is just as effective with because she makes them as honest and here particularly moving in just portraying every moment of her work with such direct sincerity. While I wouldn't say this is probably the most accurate portrait of deafness, it nonetheless delivers on the specific sense of alternate communication in what is a particularly joyful way, even as the film certainly never shies from tragedy. The big reason why are the leads though who make the central romance pure in just the right way and have such overpowering chemistry.)
Winnicka - (Her performance really you could say is likely influential on portraying the "possessed" extreme, as in the scenes of the hysteria she is tremendous in presenting such an extreme demented state with such power and such intensity. In every one of those scenes, she is absolutely captivating and also wholly chilling. The rest of her performance is too effective in creating this quieter sense of unsure anxiety that grants some sense of what might be going on beneath it all, bringing a bit more to every step in a most effective way.)
Wakao - (It's a good performance even if, much like the film, I only connected with it up until a certain point and perhaps it was maybe everything was *too* expected. She certainly hits the marks of desperation that slowly boils over while still creating empathy within her work, even if there is only so much due to the film's overly basic way of presenting everything.)
Calvin:
Out of the main crew, I'd say everyone is operating on the better side of things, which I think always goes hand in hand with the film's exact tone which this one has closer to being not *too* serious nor *too* silly than is closer to five/six/seven which helps them.
Cena - (Far better use of him than in the previous film where he really was underdeveloped as a villain in several ways. He's far more effective here in playing up more of the manchild Uncle in a way that is genuinely fun and actually a bit heartwarming. All his stuff I think could've been cloying but I think Cena hits just the right notes to be endearing instead.)
Melchior - (Not too much depth there as a character, but I've liked her general presence here once again, which is basically all this role is asking for.)
Ritchson - (Works as being just a straightforward sort of "tough guy", not anything special but works.)
Momoa - (Ahh the shadow of Heath Ledger still is large, as here is another blockbuster villain attempting to be him, and not hitting that mark. Momoa here kind of flipped-flopped for me with the flamboyance menace attempt, which when pulled off is cinematic gold. I thought there were times it worked, other times it felt a bit much but I guess, unlike say Chris Evans in Grey Man, there were times it worked, and when it didn't, I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love it. Though side note: I must say that corpse scene seemed wildly out of place tonally with the film/series.)
Larson - (Once again the blockbuster just doesn't really seem to suit her strengths, which is for more low-key or really just off-beat work. Once again I thought she came off as fairly stiff here and certainly didn't fit right into the series by any means.)
Theron - (The first time I liked her in this role was because she actually doesn't deliver every line with as much darkly serious emphasis as possible and was actually a bit more arch in the villainy, which is much more befitting the series. She actually does that and in turn, has fun it would seem, and also makes her actually fun to watch.)
Louis: Where would you rank Rita Tushingham and Dora Bryan.
Ratings for Anthony Quinn in Barabbas and Hideko Takamine in The Other Woman.
Anonymous:
Pitoeff - (The most "acted" performance in a way though his work too is all about presence, his presence being this quietly nefarious quality that is enigmatic in a most effective way, as there seems to be much going on yet, also nothing at the same time.)
Rabal & Rey - (Both give sort of two sides of the coin of sort of the contrasting non-saintly man. Rey more initially humble about it but in the end far more nefarious in his casual way of committing heinous crimes. While Rabal is blunter but far more honest in the end when going about his own sort of "corruption" of the titular character.)
Randall - (Doing his typical thing and enjoyable comical timing on his part.)
Tono - (A charming sort of hapless performance as someone who isn't quite as in charge of any situation and a good comical kind of observer.)
Thring - (Great biblical epic energy so I can see why he was used as Herod this time around and brings the right kind of slimy energy needed for the part.)
Keith - (The most I've liked him as I think he does find the right sort of goofy charm in the part and makes enough sense of the character's poor decisions by just playing into that sort of harmless haplessness.)
Randell - (Kind of a interesting performance if a bit half realized. I kind of ponder if he was the main character in an earlier treatment because he seems like he should be and the perspective of a Roman soldier observing Jesus's rise could've been something. As it is Randell is kind of interesting in a half developed role.)
Scott - (I always ponder the random "American" actors used in some foreign productions as often they seem like they pulled some random guy from the street, and Scott falls into this category. He's not bad but he certainly stand out in perhaps not a great way, however perhaps that was the intention, when compared to his French co-stars.
8000's:
Beautiful work that very much evokes the Hollywood technicolor in some ways particularly as that film contrasted against the largely black and white samurai Japanese films of the era. It is gorgeous work because it very much emphasizes the power of the color and what can be done with it. Whether it is accentuating the clothes, the sets or something more dramatic such as the whole sun final duel which is simply amazing work. Every film in the trilogy is well shot as such and distinctive particularly when compared to the common aesthetic of the period.
Luke:
Tushingham #4, Bryan #5. 4.5's
Killers of the Flower Moon just casually getting standing ovations at Cannes and a 95 on RT, ye this is getting about 10 Oscar nominations at least.
Looking forward to De Niro giving one of his very best performances according to the reviews and DiCaprio & Gladstone.
I mean if DiCaprio got Bafta and Globe nominations for Don't Look Up, what is he gonna get for this?
Anonymous: I mean, you're right, but let's not forget they give standing ovations to everything.
Depends on the length of the ovation as well, 9 minutes is pretty good.
I don't think Pan's Labyrinth record will be broken but it won't matter, I have every confidence that this will be at least a near masterpiece.
No, it's gonna be amazing, I just hate Cannes and don't take the audience reactions there seriously at all.
I'm rooting for Gladstone and DiCaprio to take the #1 overall.
I think Cillian Murphy is the early favourite for the Lead win.
Yah, small note for Brie Larson since Louis mentioned her in "Fast X"...
She is starring in an Apple+ series this year called "Lessons in Chemistry". I don't know the source material, but it could offer a chance for her tap into that off beat/indie energy again.
Personally I hope she does find her footing again there, because I just don't think she connects as an action lead, and I'd hate to see her skill being wasted/miscast in the genre further.
Luke: As sure as I am that the film will be great, I wouldn't put too much stock into how long the standing ovations are if I were you.
Louis: Your top 10 funniest moments in dramatic TV shows?
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