Best Scene: Ending.
9. Paul Giamatti in Cold Souls - Paul Giamatti as himself is an idea with potential, but really doesn't add up to too much. He's good as himself but it isn't something special.
Best Scene: Feeling too much.
8. Hal Holbrook in That Evening Sun - Holbrook is consistently honest, despite working with a very weak script.
Best Scene: Reconciling with his son.
7. Ben Whishaw in Bright Star - Whishaw unsurprisingly brings a natural ease and power to a poet, both in words but also hidden longing.
Best Scene: Last meeting.
6. Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy - Taylor-Johnson gives a terrific depiction of John Lennon, by not playing to the icon, but rather finding the young man before it all.
Best Scene: Reacting to his uncle's death.
5. Stephen McHattie in Pontypool - McHattie rather wonderfully sells every extreme turn the film sends him in, going through unscathed even when the films gets ridiculous.
Best Scene: Heroic broadcast.
4. Ben Foster in The Messenger - Foster gives a striking depiction of self contained PTSD and the potent struggles of the man dealing with home and the memories of war.
Best Scene: Second report.
3. Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man - Stuhlbarg gives a hilarious but also very human depiction of a man falling apart.
Best Scene: Breaking in front of his lawyer.
2. Tahar Rahim in A Prophet - Rahim gives a brilliant portrait of the slow adaptation of a young man lost, to finding his way to survive in a horrible situation and then mastering it.
Best Scene: The murder.
1. Ricardo Darin in The Secret in Their Eyes - Good predictions Luke, Perfectionist (x2),Bryan, Omar, Calvin, Emi Grant (x2) & RatedRStar. Darin gives an absolutely wonderful performance that makes every disparate tone and story element cohere but also amplifies them into a performance that is so much all in one performance.
Best Scene: The train.
Next: 2009 Supporting
30 comments:
Melamed and Arkin in a Serious Man
Schneider in Bright Star
Brühl in Inglourious Basterds
Hollander and Rasche in In the Loop
Gandolfini in Where the Wild Things Are
Louis: Ratings and Thoughts on the rest of the lead performances.
Your Female Lead and Supporting top 20s with ratings and other 4+ honourable mentions.
Paul Schneider - Bright Star
Fred Melamed - A Serious Man
Adel Bencherif/Niels Arestrup - A Prophet
Pablo Rago/Guillermo Francella - The Secret In Their Eyes
James Gandolfini - Where The Wild Things Are
Alt. Won Bin - Mother/Takeshi Kaneshiro - Red Cliff Part II
Bonus: Boman Irani - 3 Idiots
Barbie is fun. Nothing great, but fun. Gosling is a riot.
Robbie - 4 (Almost exactly the same performance she gives as Harley Quinn, weirdly, but it works here.)
Gosling - 4.5(He TRULY goes for it, and I found him consistently hilarious, particular his *spot on* Rob Thomas impression.)
Ferrera - 4
McKinnon - 3.5 (Her usual thing, but I like that thing.)
Liu- 3 (Eh, whatever. He's fine.)
Ben-Adir - 3.5
Cera - 3.5
Greenblatt -3.5
Perlman -4
Mirren -3(I almost thought the narration was unnecessary for the most part until one *fantastic* joke. Anyway, fine delivery, nothing more nothing less.)
Ferrell -2(I do like him generally, actually, and I laughed a *couple* times, but I kinda feel like the whole approach to this character was wrong.)
Louis: My request is Marlon Brando in Burn! (Best Actor 1969)
LET'S GO!!!! My first prediction win on the blog..... And I got both lineups right!!!! Does the (X2) means I get 2 requests???
Perfectionist: Yes it does.
My request is John Lone in Shadow of China for 1990 Lead Actor.
For Supporting I'd like to see the Prophet and Secret in Their Eyes boys.
Louis: Lowest 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5 and 1 on this list?
Louis: I believe I got both sets right. My predictions are under Holbrooks' review.
As for Supporting:
Paul Schneider - Bright Star
Fred Melamed - A Serious Man
Pablo Rago, Guillermo Francella - The Secret In Their Eyes
James Gandolfini - Where The Wild Things Are
and maybe Jin-Goo in Mother?
Louis: Say your TOP 7 of 2009 in the categories:
- Song
- Score
- Poster
- Editing
- Screenplays (original and adapted)
- Cast
- Characters
- Blockbuster
Matt Mustin: I wasn't aware someone could do an impression of Rob Thomas lol
Louis: Thoughts on the scores for Where the Wild Things Are, Guy and Madeline & Up?
Oh, and Tucci in Julie and Julia.
Adel Bencherif and Niels Arestrup in A Prophet
Boman Irani in 3 Idiots
Paul Schneider in Bright Star
Fred Melamed in A Serious Man
Pablo Rago and Guillermo Francella in The Secret In Their Eyes
Hello Louis and folks!
Continuing my marathon of Academy Award-winning films... below is my mega-ranking of Best Supporting Actor Oscar winners, from worst to best:
87º Frank Sinatra
86º George Chakiris
85º Cuba Gooding Jr
84º Jim Broadbent
83º George Clooney
82º John Houseman
81º Don Ameche
80º Dean Jagger
79º Jack Palance
78º Jared Leto
77º Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules)
76º Martin Balsam
75º Morgan Frreman
74º Jack Nicholson
73º Edmond O'Brien
72º Melvyn Douglas (Being There)
71º Red Buttons
70º Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
69º Tommy Lee Jones
68º Ed Begley
67º Jason Robards (Julia)
66º Troy Kotsur
65º Walter Brennan (Come and Get It)
64º Tim Robbins
63º Sean Connery
62º Robin Williams
61º Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters)
60º Donald Crisp
59º Christopher Plummer
58º Louis Gossett Jr.
57º Chris Cooper
56º Hugh Griffith
55º Joseph Schildkraut
54º Edmund Gwenn
53º Denzel Washington
52º Anthony Quinn (Viva Zapata!)
51º Walter Brennan (Kentucky)
50º James Coburn
49º Brad Pitt
48º Jason Robards (All the President's Men)
47º Alan Arkin
46º George Kennedy
45º Christian Bale
44º John Mills
43º Anthony Quinn (Lust for Life)
42º Charles Coburn
41º Benicio Del Toro
40º Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
39º Van Heflin
38º Peter Ustinov (Spartacus)
37º Barry Fitzgerald
36º Joel Grey
35º Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
34° Burl Ives
33º John Gielgud
32º Mark Rylance
31º George Burns
30º Harold Russell
29º Peter Ustinov (Topkapi)
28º Walter Brennan (The Westerner)
27º Ben Johnson
26º Thomas Mitchell
25º Timothy Hutton
24º Daniel Kaluuya
23º Walter Matthau
22º George Sanders
21º J. K. Simmons
20º Kevin Spacey
19º Gig Young
18º James Dunn
17º Jack Lemmon
16º Javier Bardem
15º Robert De Niro
14º Sam Rockwell
13º Melvyn Douglas (Hud)
12º Karl Malden
11º Kevin Kline
10º Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Bastards)
9º Ke Huy Quan
8º Jack Albertson
7º Gene Hackman
6º Walter Huston
5º Heath Ledger
4º Christopher Walken
3º Joe Pesci
2º Haing S. Ngor
1º Martin Landau
Louis: My requests from Brazil are:
- Leonardo Villar in The Given Word for 1962 Lead Actor;
- VinÃcius de Oliveira in Central Station for 1998 Lead Actor; and
- Wagner Moura in Elite Squad (2007) and Elite Squad - The Enemy Within (2010) for Lead Actor both.
R.I.P. Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens
RIP Paul Reubens.
Luke:
Oswalt - 4.5(As much as the film didn't add up to much, I think he was consistently compelling in creating a man who is based upon his singular fixation. Oswalt shows so purely the delusion of this fascination that also is so empty. Presenting just the pathetic state but with a genuine sense of the arrested development within it all. He doesn't make him too much of a pathetic creature nor does he portray him sympathetically, rather he makes the delusion very pure and effective in creating the man who only cares about one thing, even when that one thing is destroying him.)
Ruffalo - 4(Ah back when I could still like Ruffalo more consistently. Even though he's playing the magician, he's actually far less mannered here playing very much instead towards charisma and being quite effective at this approach. This is particularly in the moments of the more wiley and even nefarious qualities. He manages to balance effectively to make you second guess if he is true to caring about his brother or the manipulator, with the ending being particularly strong work in this regard in playing both the height of the brother as the conman and as the caring brother.)
Tosar & Ammann - 4(Both are very effective in playing the bluntly emotional intensity of their roles, even if the film I don't think really takes either particularly interesting. Tosar though is strong as creating just the dominating presence, though with the right sense of genuine empathy at times. And Ammann does well in the "undercover" role, even if the film forces him to switch his position far too quickly, even if he does what he can with the switch.)
Huberdeau - 4(Just realistically effective work in the shooter scenes in showing just the average man's fear then guilt within the situation, while being before that being the right kind of normal guy just hanging out as he can and being friendly. Then his later scenes, he is very moving in showing a man basically petrified within his sense of guilt and oozing this kind of depression.)
Williams - 4(Again the switches in the third act really feel forced and not all do they feel as life-affirming as the film wants them to be. Williams though is effective with the sardonic and pathetic energy he brings. Granting the right sense of satire but with enough humanity within that to not make it feel inhumane. Although I wish the film was better for him, he does what he can with what he has.)
Gaudette - 4(Quite effectively chilling in showing the narrow psychotic focus of the man with no bells or whistles rather than just this clear understanding of his mentally ill intention.)
Brody - 4(The less showy role, but I did enjoy him being the straight man for the film, and thought he brought an endearing chemistry with Weisz.)
Kapoor - (I think quite the challenging role in that this character could've been completely intolerable very easily, I think he manages to play the selfishness honestly without being completely alienating by having enough basic charm to give us the anchor as we approach him in his transformation towards something more.)
Dafoe - (He is completely fine if definitely overshadowed here by a co-star here, which feels kind of rare for Dafoe, but as Dafoe performances go, he delivers to the extent he needs to but you don't really carry him away from the film.)
Leung - 3.5(Not his best performance, but completely reliable here. Particularly in the way of playing the final emotional recognition of the losses for both sides.)
Plummer - 3.5(I think part of the problem with the film is he is only kind of the lead, though I think Ledger's character was obviously supposed to be the true lead, which we, unfortunately, didn't get. Plummer brings a gravitas as to be expected, but kind of this low-key eccentricity. Not enough is there for him to work with, but I did what he did with the little he had.)
Records - 3.5(Very convincing in just being straightforwardly a boy at play. I wouldn't say it is much more than that, but he is very much that with the right sincerity.)
Nyqvist - 3.5(I don't mind saying it, I preferred Craig. Nyqvist is fine, but I don't love his chemistry with Rapace, nor do I find him overly captivating here as the investigator either. I think he's mostly just fine.)
Cenac - 3.5(Indie lead of this ilk, where he's not quite a star, but he has a nice enough energy to his work.)
Flores - 3.5(Not quite there which holds the film back a bit. He's completely fine, but that's kind of the problem. You want more from him than just fine, but that is all you get.)
Homar - 3(I didn't bother to review it because it just would've sounded like a repeat of my typical Almodovar review. Homar I think is maybe part of the problem for me, in that, I think he's just kind of there rather than truly haunting in his performance.)
Palmer - 3(Like Cenac, but there is less of him.)
Friend - 2.5(Kind of dull but not terrible.)
Cage - 2(Going full Cage, but in the wrong direction so it gets more comical than anything here.)
Lead Actress:
1. Kim Hye-ja - Mother - 5
2. Carey Mulligan - An Education
3. Golshifteh Farahani - About Elly - 4.5
4. Rachel Weisz - The Brothers Bloom - 4.5
5. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Antichrist - 4.5
6. Gabourey Sidbe - Precious
7. Noomi Rapace - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - 4.5
8. Sophie Okonedo - Skin - 4.5
9. Abbie Cornish - Bright Star
10. Catalina Saavedra - The Maid - 4.5
11. Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones
12. Audrey Tatou - Coco Before Chanel - 4
13. Tracey Heggins - Medicine For Melancholy - 4
14. Bae Doona - Air Doll - 4
15. Helen Mirren - The Last Station
16. Karine Vanasse - Polytechnique
17. Paulina Gaitan - Sin Nombre - 4
18. Katie Jarvis - Fish Tank
19. Emily Blunt - Young Victoria - 3.5
20. Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia - 3.5
Supporting Actress:
Monique - Precious /Soledad Villamil - The Secret in Their Eyes (Figured since I haven't seen Precious since 09, a re-watch is in order to properly decide.)
3. Marion Cotillard - Public Enemies
4. Melanie Laurent - Inglourious Basterds
5. Blanca Portillo - Broken Embraces - 4.5
6. Anne-Marie Duff - Nowhere Boy
7. Alice Krige - Skin - 4.5
8. Taraneh Alidoosti - About Elly - 4
9. Kim Ok-bin - Thirst
10. Lisa Houle - Pontypool
11. Diane Kruger - Inglourious Basterds
12. Zhao Wei - Red Cliff Part 2 - 4
13. Samantha Morton - The Messenger
14. Mariana Loyla - The Maid - 4
15. Gao Yuanyuan - City of Life and Death - 4
16. Rana Azadivar - About Elly - 4
17. Kristin Scott-Thomas - Nowhere Boy
18. Lin Chi-ling - Red Cliff Part 2 - 4
19. Merila Zarei - About Elly - 4
20. Cara Seymour - An Education
Brazinterma:
Song:
1. "The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
2. "Boy in the Park" - Guy and Madeline On A Park Bench
3. "All Is Love" - Where the Wild Things Are
4. "Wake Up Sid" - Wake Up Sid
5. 'Down in New Orleans" - The Princess and the Frog
6. "Almost There" - The Princess and the Frog
7. "Other Father Song" - Caroline (Yeah it's super short but I love it)
Score:
6. Coraline
7. Thirst
Poster:
1. The House of the Devil
2. Thirst
3. Moon
4. Inglourious Basterds (Helmet Bat)
5. The Brothers Bloom (Drawn)
6. District 9 (No Aliens)
7. Up
Good movie bad poster award: Bad Lieutenant
Editing:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. District 9
3. A Serious Man
4. Mother
5. Bad Lieutenant
6. Moon
7. The Secret in Their Eyes
Original Screenplay:
6. Moon
7. The Brothers Bloom
Adapted Screenplay:
6. Coraline
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cast:
1. The Secret In Their Eyes
2. About Elly
3. A Serious Man
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. In the Loop
Characters:
Kind of a weird year to consider what the public took to character-wise, as either the films have been oddly forgotten or I rarely see them talked in character terms (Avatar).
Blockbuster Over 100 million:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. District 9
3. Red Cliff II
4. Up
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
6. Star Trek
7. Sherlock Holmes
Razor:
Where the Wild Things Are is a great challenge for Burwell, while also being definitely very Burwell. It's a fascinating combination with sort of his more foreboding often kind of that Americana that is also in his work, that is fashioned here through a childlike wonderment fusion that makes for a most unique blend, that naturally also segues between the songs, that together form to be a unique kind of children's score, that is both serious yet silly at the same time.
With Guy and Madeline Hurwitz is basically fully formed, unlike Chazelle, and you already get his very distinct sound for musical scores, that once again is just winning. It is very much him working out what he will do in La La Land, but it isn't a lesser copy, it is still it's its own thing, and wonderfully its own thing at that. Bringing such a different distinct style to a film his very first time out, and even when the film isn't always great, it is always great to listen to.
Up of course is a film that is so much defined by its first 10 minutes to the complete detriment of the rest of the film, perhaps unfairly, but such is the case. Part of that is certainly the score with Married Life being such a pitch-perfect piece that sells every moment of that great first ten minutes so warmly, yet also heartbreakingly. It is wonderful to work all on its own. Now after that point, like the film, the score is theoretically less amazing, or at least less aggressively distinct and great as the opening, but it is still wonderful work in the Pixar style.
Louis: Your rating for Kapoor in Wake Up Sid, and rating and thoughts on Konkona Sen Sharma?
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