James Gandolfini and the rest of the vocal cast in Where The Wild Things Are Ledger, Garfield, Waits, Farrell, Depp and Law in The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus Takeshi Kaneshiro and Chang Chen in Red Cliff Part II Won Bin and Jin Goo in Mother Peyman Moadi in About Elly Stanley Tucci in Julie and Julia Christian Friedel in The White Ribbon
Remaining Films To Watch Public Enemies (Re-Watch for Marion Cotillard) The Secret Of Kells The Blind Side The Hangover Mr. Nobody (one of Leto's better performances) OSS 117: Lost In Rio Kaminey Everyone Else Lebanon Away We Go Enter The Void Drag Me To Hell Looking For Eric Goodbye Solo Sugar 35 Shots Of Rum The Misfortunates My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Agora Black Dynamite Adventureland
1. Melamed 2. Francella 3. Schneider 4. Bencherif 5. Irani (him being a high 4 or 4.5 will depend on how much Louis likes the film, but he's the best part of it for me)
Luke: I'm assuming I missed something; did Louis indicate elsewhere that he's now seen the films on your original 2009 list that you haven't listed there and he has neither referenced on this blog nor logged on LB? I'm thinking of stuff like Jennifer's Body and Whip It specifically.
Louis: Your longer thoughts on Antichrist and TGWTDT?
Tony: No, I slimmed it down to films I'd like Louis to see before he finishes the year. It would've been impossible to watch the entirety of that list.
Also I've watched The Quick and the Dead. If you're looking for a fun Raimi flick, this is definitely the best choice.
Stone-4.5 Hackman-5 Crowe-4.5/5 (I'm glad that he was requested, beacuse even though he's slightly less effective than Hackman, he'll make for a more interesting review) DiCaprio-4 Hingle-3 David-3 Henriksen-3 Bell-2.5 Blossom-3 Sinise-2 (is overshadowed quite a lot by other, more flamboyant cast members)
Quite Enjoyed TMNT. Other than the origins of Ninjutsu for the main characters which seemed a little overly simple and nonimportant, for such an essential aspect of the Turtles, really have no complaints. The choice to make everyone younger or at least act like genuine teenagers, and really less serious for the most part, I thought worked (though I do think I prefer sage Splinter rather than Archie Bunker Splinter) in giving this story a unique energy that is often comedic, but the film finds the right balance in never going too far to lose its stakes. The stakes aren't super deep, yet are more than enough in the film's overall rather light approach to the franchise, and do give genuine emotion kind of behind all those references and more overtly comic moments. Also greatly helped by having a lot of very engaging and creative action sequences, as aided by the animation style, which of course holds a big debt to Into the Spider-Verse. But I'm so glad that it has that debt, and along with Puss in Boots, Spider-Verse has don't a great service to the animation genre and perhaps illuminated how stagnant basic CGI animation had become.
Hello Louis and folks! In my penultimate part of my Oscar-winning movie marathon... below is my mega-ranking of Best Animated Feature Film Oscar winners, from worst to best:
25º Big Hero 6 24º Brave 23º Shrek 22º Encanto 21º Toy Story 4 20º Frozen 19º Zootopia 18º UP 17º Coco 16º Wallace & Gromit 15º Finding Nemo 14º The Incredibles 13º Happy Feet 12º Rango 11º Soul 10º Inside Out 9º Ratatouille 8º Pinocchio 7º Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 6º Toy Story 5º Toy Story 3 4º WALL·E 3º Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2º Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1º Spirited Away
PS: Who was surprised by the inclusion of Snow White, Roger Rabbit and Toy Story; because the Academy itself considers them to be category winners.
Except for Broken Embraces and The Blind Side (which I forgot I watched), I reviewed everything I watched.
Kim - (Her performance is so much of the film in terms of really in many ways cultivating some of the mystery within her own performance. Initially though she just effectively exudes the combination of love and exasperation in her ways towards her son who obviously isn't always easy to deal with. She grants the sense of the years of dealing with him, yet only presents the utmost conviction in showing concern every time. When the mystery begins, she's great in showing bluntly the disbelief in the charge but also the emotional turmoil of having the rug pulled out from her even more than before. And she's also very entertaining in being an unlikely private investigator, where she manages to bring this certain nearly wacky, but not quite energy, that makes her extremely endearing initially. Making the mother very likable, when the first rug pull comes, Kim is particularly impressive in showing in her reaction the horror of being reminded of what she did, but while at the same time evokes the human desperation that would've created such an act. The next one though is even more surprising, but in a way, Kim completely sells and earns what happens through her performance, by making all part of that same conviction towards her son, and her sort of more off-kilter behavior comes to the forefront in such a surprisingly intense scene. And Kim is great in presenting really the sense of the weight of what happens so powerfully but also with such complication. She doesn't simplify the mother rather always makes her love the most painful and most complex. Sort of separate from all this though is her dancing scenes, which are just amazing bits of physical performance on their own that are just wonderful but also speak to her character's unorthodox ways.)
Farahani - (As with basically all Farhadi films there is going to be great naturalistic work and this is no exception. Farahani's performance for the first third of the film actually is pretty low key though effective in subtly showing sort of her plans without overtly stating them. She is also just very honestly normal in a way that is compelling in creating a sense of the group's dynamic. Farahani's performance really begins when the plot truly does, and her performance becomes this powerful dissolution of real stature and confidence in herself. A seething state of constant anxiety of guilt that only grows more and more as she goes along. Her performance brings you into her thought process so emotionally and grants such a potent sense of good intentions that go in the wrong way, and the societal expectations that only make that pressure all the more damaging.)
Weisz - (Weisz in my preferred habitat for her, which is having fun in one way or another, as for me, when she's having fun (this, The Mummy, The Favourite) it loosens up her performances and she really comes to life for me. That is the case here where she does awkwardness with such confidence to the point of becoming this awkwardly confident. She's just extremely endearing in playing into the fun of it all and it is hard not to have fun with her. She also just has lovely genuine chemistry with Brody that grows throughout the film, and creates an honest investment.)
Gainsborough - (Obviously it is the von Trier way to put his actresses through the wringer, and as per usual that is the case. Gainsborough is the most compelling part of the film because she throws herself into this depiction of grief that isn't at all simple or even necessarily simplistically human. In that Gainsborough is going in every direction all at such short notice and I will say she is quite effective in this. Now this didn't make me love the film anymore, but I did find her consistently captivating.)
Rapace - (Better accent than Mara, but that just goes to show, accents are overrated to a degree. Because otherwise, I think Rapace's performance just is less interesting overall in terms of the sort of edges of the character whether it is the intensity or the vulnerability. She doesn't go as deep with either and isn't as innately captivating. Having said all that, she is good still at delivering more of a straightforward badass quality with her work and does absolutely work. And to be sure Mara could fly perhaps by kind of taking the baseline of Rapace's work then doing her own thing to a more interesting degree.)
Okonedo - (Well I pretty much always like her, her weird Viola Davis impression in Death on the Nile notwithstanding, and this time is no different. She brings such honesty as per usual with her performance which is really needed given that she is just put through the wringer through every situation and Okonedo manages to not just seem like the crying victim. As horrible as she treated Okonedo consistently finds variation in the moment and in the emotion. She manages to bring a lot of life even more than was always forced within the somewhat constrained narrative.)
Saavedra - (A very particular performance that is almost for the lack of a better word, creaturesque early on where she is almost this figure going around the house in her own way. Her performance then really is this gathering humanity back as her extreme sort of settled exasperation slowly recovers itself. Her performance manages to find this recovery that goes from kind of a more mannered turn to a more open one that is rather moving just in the way she changes that state.)
Tatou - (Stilted film, but Tatou I think consistently gives life to the character and manages to switch between the different emotional and sort societal statures of her character quite effectively. The film sadly never lets her get into anything too interesting, but she is consistent even though the film never comes to life.)
Heggins - (Limited within the style, but brings a real nice honesty to her performance in the moments of pure romance but also in the sort of vulnerable hesitations as well. She brings a consistent depth within her work that never simplifies the notions around her character.)
Bae - (Utterly ridiculous character to play but Bae does actually manage to give some genuine life to the whole thing, and I liked her even when I hated everything around her.)
Vanasse - (Doesn't have an overly complicated role but does give real honesty and empathy to every moment we see her. She grants the sense of a full person, even if we don't see all of her.)
Gaitan - (The best part of the film is that she is consistently honest and earnest as the caring "innocent". I'd say she is held back just a bit by not having amazing chemistry with her co-star, but I consistently liked her presence.)
Blunt - (Like Tatou, but less.)
Streep - (Doing her typical thing in terms of focus on the accent and the mannerisms to kind of a fault, but I think it works better here with the overall tone of the material than some of her other performances.)
Portillo - (Part of my typical Almodovar review is considering one great or at least very good female performance ought to be in there, and here she is. While I didn't find the overall film always captivating, I thought her work was in terms of balancing the different sides of the story, and her own character. Being able to seemingly be the more stoic sort that slowly reveals her own very specific emotional needs that powerfully come out. She manages to play on the subtle nuances of each relationship most effectively to the point I kind of wish she just had been the main character.)
Krige - (Great to see her in a more substantial role as I'll always stump for my Chariots of Fire Alumni. Anyway, I think she manages to effectively create the natural sense of the loving mother, who unfortunately still falls into racism. And manages not to overplay these swings rather showing sort of the flaws with her better side in a measured way, that in a way makes the former moments all the more painful. She's particularly affecting near the end where you see the festering sense of guilt but the earnest hope for any kind of reconciliation.)
Lin & Zhao - (Both are effective in bringing just kind of their individual kind of "adds" to the force, and having wonderful moments of more emotional weight that add just a bit more to the narrative.)
Alidoosti - (What she does is manage to make an impact quickly and consistently that you remember her very much, despite not having a great deal of screentime. She gives you a lot of subtle indicators and creates a real sense of someone who has a lot more going on in such a brief time. Wonderful work that makes you remember her Elly in the right way.)
Loyla - (Offers sort of the right sense of fresh air in showing just an easy-going energy that has real power to her character by just being so carefree in the right way.)
Gao - (Very powerful emotional reactions throughout, particularly towards the end of her performance where she creates the right blend of dogged conviction with an internalized sense of horror.)
Azadivar & Zarei - (Each deliver a particularly naturalistic sense of the ensemble, as even though they aren't the focus you are granted a real sense of who they are and where they're coming from. Again on the focus, but illustrate the strength of the ensemble in just how you sense there is more to every person by how rich their work is.)
Cruz - 3.5(Her performance in this instance is more so about
Let's hold off on the supporting actors until we get to the results.
Anonymous:
I didn't watch it yet. Song is the one category I will include things from films I haven't watched just because while implementation can influence my choice when it comes to razor margins, the basic quality of the song is the most important part.
Tony:
As brief as my thoughts were, they summed up my feelings.
I will be trying to check out a few more films I haven't seen, though I intend to focus more on re-watches during supporting, so we'll see.
Tahmeed:
Sen - 3.5(Like her co-star, found her quite charming in a low-key way, though she has less "to sell" so to speak, I did find her endearing with what she had with a winning general presence that added a lot to a relatively limited role.)
Shaggy:
6. Werner Herzog - Bad Lieutenant (though the dancing soul bit, really made it tempting to put him in the top five). 7. Neill Blomkamp - District 9 8. Henry Selick - Coraline 9. John Hillcoat - The Road 10. Asghar Farhadi - About Elly
Renner would be #9 (He's my favorite part of the film). But the film would be near the end of the top 25 for me, it's one I admire well enough but have never fully connected with it.
Oh, just that it is a performance just more about presence than anything, and she certainly leaves a mark in that regard, however there's not much depth beyond that.
No, not really, von Trier in "geek show" in my view, as just images for the sake of it and trauma for the sake of it, without really any measured moments to create any genuine nuance. The fixation is on the grotesque or the exploitative, not on any human factor. And very clear he wants you either to be disgusted by it or find it profound and personally just found it not terribly interesting either way.
Rosebud - (Just a constantly hilarious episode, from Burns's Citizen Kane intro (along with George Burns as his brother), to the failure of his birthday party particularly the biggest bringdown before Homer's comedy or the Ramones's very threatening performance, and then the whole fallout of Homer holding out on giving up Bobo, particularly Barney's threat failure, or the town bemoaning the fact that they gave an angry mob a "bad name". Bad as is common, Homer doing it all for Maggie is the needed heart essential for it to be just that much more of an episode.)
Bart of Darkness - (For the simple premise of getting a swimming pool they get much hilarity out of it, from accidental barn building, to the blob, to Lisa losing all intelligence to be the Queen of summer. And then everything with Bart's rear window experience is great from classic Krusty and my favorite bit of Jimmy Stewart being afraid of the sinister looking kid. An episode that thrives on just being consistently and naturally hilarious, but effectively tells its plot as well.)
Bart's Comet - (Another hilarious episode, from Bart's evidence on himself when making the Skinner Weather Balloon, to Skinner's noting his vengeful ways against someone stealing his earlier sky discovery. But then is genuinely compelling plot in uncovering the danger of the Comet, and the hilarity as well in the town's failure to destroy it from Moe's terror at Moe's always being destroyed to Reverend Lovejoy declaring "it's all over people". But the highlight of the episode is the parody of the Twilight Zone shelter episode that is pitch perfectly hilarious, while actually being kind of moving at the end of it all.)
Luke:
Bullock - 3(I theoretically could go harder on her, because the film is terrible, but I think she sells the shlock as best as she can, even if she should've been far away from any nomination let alone a win...particularly since if they waited four years she would've been very deserving. The role though is all about "gotcha" and I'm a "southern badass" moments, yet "I have a big heart". And it is forced as all hell, but I think as bad as the sell is, she sells it as she can, and someone easily could've been much worse.)
Louis: Since I know you take recommendations for miniseries in January, how do you feel about being rec'd shows cancelled after 1 season (if the number of episodes is reasonable)?
Also, have you been noticing any recurring themes or interesting similarities in the 2009 films you have watched so far?
I notice you didn't mention Crudup in your Public Enemies Letterboxd reassessment. Is he getting a surprise review? Because I meant to mention him in the last thread.
I just revisited "Castaway" yesterday. Hadn't watched it in years..... AND MY GOD, Hanks is utterly brilliant. Powerful stuff. Almost miraculous, how he is consistently entertaining and entrancing throughout. Easily my win for 2000 now(used to be Bale for American Psycho) by a considerable distance. Just wanted to see if someone shares similar sentiments.
Louis: Thoughts on this combined cast for 1990s Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For?
Denise Richards as Nancy Callahan Brian Dennehy as Ethan Roark Sr. Nicolas Cage as Lt. Jack Rafferty Tony Todd as Manute Marisa Tomei as Lucille Robert Blake as Cardinal Roark Michelle Pfeiffer as Goldie/Wendy Tim Roth as Dwight McCarthy Kurt Russell as Dwight McCarthy (in sequel) Michael Ironside/Ron Perlman as Marv (I'm a bit conflicted about this, since I like Ironside as a less obvious choice, but I think Perlman would be more likely to relish in the role like Rourke did) Stephen Dorff as Ethan Roark Jr. Harvey Keitel as John Hartigan Steve Zahn as Kevin Linda Fiorentino as Ava Lord Edward Norton as Johnny Martin Landau as Dr. Kroenig Charles Durning as Alarich Vallenquist Michael J. Anderson as Klump Sid Haig as Schlubb Bob and Mort: unknowns, beacuse these characters are completely worthless anyway
Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (still)
Never really did this here but my updated picks for favorite lead actor performances for 2000s decade. Also because Louis wrapped up on 2009 lead so.....
2000: Tom Hanks in Cast Away 2001: Tom Wilkinson in In The Bedroom 2002: Nicolas Cage in Adaptation 2003: Russell Crowe in Master And Commander 2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 2005: Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain 2006: Christian Bale in The Prestige 2007: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Before Devil Knows You're Dead 2008: Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges 2009: Sam Rockwell in Moon
Mine: 2000: Christian Bale in American Psycho (although Pearce could take it on rewatch) 2001: Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums 2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York 2003: Choi Min-sik in Oldboy 2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote 2006: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed (although Bale could take it with another rewatch) 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood 2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges 2009. Viggo Mortensen in The Road
2000: Guy Pearce in Memento 2001: Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums 2002: Ray Liotta in Narc 2003: Russell Crowe in Master And Commander 2004: Tom Cruise in Collateral 2005: Byung Hun Lee in A Bittersweet Life 2006: Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood 2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges 2009. Viggo Mortensen in The Road
2000: Guy Pearce in Memento 2001: Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko 2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York 2003: Johnny Depp in Curse of the Black Pearl (close between him and Crowe, could see Bettany in Dogville surpassing either on rewatch.) 2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2005: Ray Winstone in The Proposition 2006: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed 2007: Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges 2009: Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man
2000: Lee Byung-hun - Joint Security Area (have to admit Hanks and Pearce are close) 2001: Tom Wilkinson - In the Bedroom 2002: Adrien Brody - The Pianist 2003: Choi Min-sik - Oldboy 2004: Shah Rukh Khan - Swades 2005: Lee Byung-hun - A Bittersweet Life 2006: Christian Bale - The Prestige 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood 2008: Colin Farrell - In Bruges 2009: Sharlto Copley - District 9
Finished season 3 of The Americans which continues to do what most of the great shows do, which is take what was great before and progress. Loved it.
Cast ranking: 1. Matthew Rhys 2. Keri Russell 3. Lois Smith (probably the most heartbreaking one episode performance I've ever seen. Should've won the Emmy EASILY over Martindale who is in one short scene this season where she's good but not particularly notable.) 4. Noah Emmerich 5. Frank Langella 6. Holly Taylor 7. Alison Wright 8. Annet Mahendru 9. Richard Thomas 10. Costa Ronin 11. Jefferson Mays 12. Lev Gorn 13. Kelly AuCoin 14. Julia Garner 15. Susan Misner 16. Keidrich Sellati (not even bad, he just barely exists)
even though 2000 was actually the last year of the 90s, screw it
2000: Tom Hanks - Cast Away 2001: Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko 2002: Robin Williams - One Hour Photo 2003: Russell Crowe - Master And Commander 2004: Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 2005: Viggo Mortensen - A History Of Violence 2006: Christian Bale - The Prestige 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood (I was soooooo close to giving this to John Cusack in 1408, but there were some odd some little moments where he didn't really know how to work with the camera which led to some awkward faces, to a degree i honestly cannot objectively ignore, despite absolutely loving him otherwise. And no, i don't expect Louis to go higher than a 4.5 on him either; maybe even a 4, even though that would make me very sad) 2008: Colin Farrell - In Bruges 2009: Viggo Mortensen - The Road 2010: Choi Min-sik - I Saw The Devil
2000: Guy Pearce - Memento 2001: Tom Wilkinson - In the Bedroom 2002: Hiroyuki Sanada - The Twilight Samurai 2003: Choi Min-sik - Oldboy 2004: Paddy Considine - Dead Man's Shoes 2005: Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain 2006: Ulrich Mühe - The Lives of Others 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood 2008: Johannes Kirsch - Revanche 2009: Sam Rockwell - Moon 2010: Lee Byung-hun - I Saw the Devil
Calvin: GLAD to see someone on the Brokeback Mountain team. An all time great performance by Ledger in my opinion. I hope more people come around to it.
Regardless, all of you have some really inspired choices.
2000: Lee Byung-hun in Joint Security Area 2001: Jim Carrey in The Majestic 2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York 2003: Choi Min-sick in Oldboy 2004: Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman 2005: Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence 2006: Christian Bale in The Prestige (rewatch of The Host could change that) 2007: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead 2008: Colin Farrell I’m In Bruges 2009: Viggo Mortensen in The Road (rewatch of A Prophet could change that)
So random viewing update here...finally got around to watching the "Ms. Marvel" series. After episode one, I'll say that I'm cautiously optimistic going forward. It's strange to say that so early, because I understand most of the choices they're making visually and structurally. I'm just worried I'll see through the technique too much, or it will feel like too much of a good thing.
Some general positive notes, though... -Iman Vellani seems quite well cast as Kamala, right out the gate -I'm quite envious of Saagar Shaikh's beard -The show will be a chance for me to learn some Urdu (I have some Pakistani co-workers, and I think they'd appreciate me trying that)
Wow...I guess I just had the time/energy to blast through all of "Ms. Marvel" today. And to remove any suspense, I largely enjoyed it. Although I didn't find the humour particularly laugh-out-loud, the general tone/visuals still managed to be rather funny and energized. It even served as a lesson of Pakistani history, language and culture, which I felt was incorperated well, and always appreciate as a fan of those fields. By contrast, however, the villains were very weak; Neither antagonist group was especially memorable IMO, and I must say Alysia Reiner was distractingly bad as the head of "shadow government group #140". Thankfully, there not enough to sink the show, which still surprised me with how much I liked it.
And yah...Iman Vellani fit the role of Kamala swimmingly; There's a brevity and enthusiasm to her performance that really complements the character. I likewise think she needs to star in a comedy duo with Hailee Steinfeld...somebody get on that.
Louis: What do you think of this cast for an 80's Spider-Man trilogy, directed by Robert Zemeckis?
Peter Parker/Spider-Man: Michael J. Fox Mary Jane Watson: Lea Thompson Harry Osborn: Eric Stoltz Gwen Stacy: Elizabeth Shue J. Jonah Jameson: Ned Beatty Robbie Robertson: Ernie Hudson Betty Brant: Annie Potts Ben Parker: Carroll O'Connor May Parker: Jean Stapleton Flash Thompson: Thomas F. Wilson Norman Osborn/Green Goblin: Martin Sheen Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus: Christopher Lloyd Eddie Brock/Venom: Val Kilmer Flint Marko/Sandman: Ron Perlman
Aaron - 1.5(More than anything just a lifeless performance, that is the biggest problem with the film really is he feels more like the vaguest idea of a person. This is partly the script, but also Aaron's performance which is so simplistic that he exacerbates the problems already inherent in it. Like the idea that he has no idea how to play football, which was not surprised to learn it was inaccurate, just makes such an absurd idea, made more absurd by just how aggressively simplified the character is on every front.)
Tahmeed:
McGraw - (I actually think he falls more so towards the Bullock territory in that I don't think he makes what's there any worse, but doesn't overcome what's there.)
Tony:
I'd certainly consider it.
Themes:
Oppressed by a regime or maybe just fate (Basterds, Secrets in Their Eyes, A Serious Man, Mother, District 9, Mother, Moon, The Road, City of Life and Death, About Elly, A Prophet)
Child/youth's perspective v. reality (Mary and Max, Coraline, The Road, Where the Wild Things Are, An Education, Nowhere Boy, The White Ribbon, Mother, Fishtank)
Survival - (Basterds, The Road, A Prophet, District 9, City of Life and Death, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mother, Bodyguard, and Assassins)
Robert:
Probably not, but I do love how you can see Crudup completely own DiCaprio when delivering the exact same dialogue with the Senate hearing scene.
Matt:
I mean I could just say the basement, enough said, but it is a fundamental design aspect in creating the desolation and horror of the piece. Except when in the basement, the sound use creates the sense of something eerie and uncomfortable. Worse is the overt horror, which is often used through sound rather than graphic depiction, such as in the basement sequence, which is partly shown but also just the sounds of the wailing, and putting you within such a truly horrific environment. It is even in the allusion to the apocalypse which is of the sound of some unrecognizable horror going off.
Bryan:
1. Road to Perdition 2. 1917 3. Skyfall 4. Jarhead 5. Spectre 6. Empire of Light 7. Revolutionary Road 8. Away We Go 9. American Beauty
And the point is consistent, Mendes should only direct epic-scope films, the more intimate, the worse he is.
McHale - (Super brief, but really quite effective to the point I was not sure that was him, because of how genuinely intimidating he is in that brief moment. You instantly understand the menace of his character and he's immediately such a striking presence.)
Jacobs - (I liked her naturalistic chemistry with Moss-Bachrach, where you got both a sense of where they connected but also where they were also off-key. I really like that she didn't at all play into the typical kind of "ex" type in any of her scenes, playing instead for more of a straight honesty where even in her breakup moments with Ritchie she doesn't make it this overly intense thing rather a quieter sense of the disconnect.)
Poulter - (Brings a nice sense of quiet warmth in his performance and just a generally naturalistic supportive manner as the chef sees the importance of what he's doing.)
Curtis - (One of her best performances honestly, as she manages to do a "hot mess' pitch perfectly without going overboard, which is quite a trick. She instead plays so well on this constant accentuation of an edge, where she seems nice enough one moment but her turns are so violent yet vulnerable at a moment's notice, yet Curtis makes them these easy swings that in turn make them particularly unnerving. Unnerving however wholly convincing at the same time in creating every such moment. In her work you get a sense of the fundamental mental break of the character who seems to be looking for a reason to fall apart at every point and creates this perfect sense of a taut string always ready to snap.)
Odenkirk - (Thought he was quite effective here in being the guy who just has one thing too many to say and inserts himself. Managed I think to be more annoying by not really playing it up, rather just showing the natural way he inserts himself that makes him all the more off-putting. Bringing this sort of petty quality that is less emotional overtly, but becomes as such and is particularly good with Bernthal in creating the contrast between the two.)
Colman - (Brings a strict sincerity in her scene that is just wonderfully handled on her part, as she manages to say so much while keeping such an overall reserved manner.)
Ytrewq:
A few thoughts, I'm not sure we need a bad performance as Nancy. Otherwise some fine choices, particularly Dorff as the Yellow Bastard, Fiorentino as Ava Lord, and Todd as Manute.
Marcus:
Shia LaBeouf, Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, and Robert Pattinson all come to mind.
8000's:
I mean big yes on Fox, Sheen, Perlman, Lloyd, Thompson, and Stoltz in particular.
As much as I like him typically, I don't quite see Beatty as I think you want someone with a more innately aggressive presence for J.J., and would recommend Dean Stockwell or Jerry Orbach as alternatives.
1. .The Immigrant 2. La Vie en rose 3. Two Day, One Night 4. Rust and Bone 5. Public Enemies 6. Macbeth 7. Inception 8. Allied
Tony:
I mean the episode really is all about the hit scene, the rest of the episode I think is more or less fine beyond that in fairly low key character interaction moments, including some that don't really go anywhere like Artie being interested in Adriana other than the continued idiocy of his character I guess.
The though is an amazing scene in terms of the execution (no pun intended) where you see Bobby's father being this combination between high proficient and incompetent due to his health issues. Young frankly gives his best performance in the scene, because you get a sense of his old school manner, you REALLY get a sense of his illness, but what's most amazing is when you see perhaps the most brutal gangster of all. Like when you see the true professional come in for the kill, even when it becomes bungled, particularly when he kills Sally's friend, the glint of sadism in Young's eyes is bone chilling because he shows that Sr. wasn't just good at killing, he relished in it, before going back to being a completely utter physical wreck which Young makes rather painful to watch in a great way.
105 comments:
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
Louis: Has Cotillard gone up to a five or do you still need to give Public Enemies a Re-Watch.
Thoughts on the Female performances + Cruz in Broken Embraces.
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on:
James Gandolfini and the rest of the vocal cast in Where The Wild Things Are
Ledger, Garfield, Waits, Farrell, Depp and Law in The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Takeshi Kaneshiro and Chang Chen in Red Cliff Part II
Won Bin and Jin Goo in Mother
Peyman Moadi in About Elly
Stanley Tucci in Julie and Julia
Christian Friedel in The White Ribbon
Louis, your thoughts on The Princess & The Frog and its songs.
Remaining Films To Watch
Public Enemies (Re-Watch for Marion Cotillard)
The Secret Of Kells
The Blind Side
The Hangover
Mr. Nobody (one of Leto's better performances)
OSS 117: Lost In Rio
Kaminey
Everyone Else
Lebanon
Away We Go
Enter The Void
Drag Me To Hell
Looking For Eric
Goodbye Solo
Sugar
35 Shots Of Rum
The Misfortunates
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Agora
Black Dynamite
Adventureland
Louis: If you find a copy of Vincere with English subs, Giovanna Mezzogiorno might be a potential runner-up in Lead Actress.
1. Melamed
2. Francella
3. Schneider
4. Bencherif
5. Irani (him being a high 4 or 4.5 will depend on how much Louis likes the film, but he's the best part of it for me)
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Irani(I think he's great.)
5. Bencherif
Luke: I'm assuming I missed something; did Louis indicate elsewhere that he's now seen the films on your original 2009 list that you haven't listed there and he has neither referenced on this blog nor logged on LB? I'm thinking of stuff like Jennifer's Body and Whip It specifically.
Louis: Your longer thoughts on Antichrist and TGWTDT?
Tony: No, I slimmed it down to films I'd like Louis to see before he finishes the year. It would've been impossible to watch the entirety of that list.
Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Konkona Sen Sharma in Wake Up Sid?
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
1) Schneider
2) Francella
3) Bencherif
4) Melamed
5) Irani
1. Schneider
2. Francella
3. Melamed
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
Also I've watched The Quick and the Dead. If you're looking for a fun Raimi flick, this is definitely the best choice.
Stone-4.5
Hackman-5
Crowe-4.5/5 (I'm glad that he was requested, beacuse even though he's slightly less effective than Hackman, he'll make for a more interesting review)
DiCaprio-4
Hingle-3
David-3
Henriksen-3
Bell-2.5
Blossom-3
Sinise-2 (is overshadowed quite a lot by other, more flamboyant cast members)
Ytrewq Wertyq: Is Hackman Lead or Supporting.
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
Luke: Lead.
Luke, rating predictions
Schneider - 5
Melamed - 5
Francella - 4.5
Bencherif - 4.5
Irani - 4/4.5
1) Melamed
2) Francella
3) Schneider
4) Bencherif
5) Irani
Your thoughts on the screenplay and Direction of The Brothers Bloom?
Louis: Your #6-#10 for Director in 2009.
1. Schneider
2. Francella
3. Melamed
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
Louis, rating and thoughts on Shahab Hosseini in About Elly.
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Bencherif
5. Irani
Quite Enjoyed TMNT. Other than the origins of Ninjutsu for the main characters which seemed a little overly simple and nonimportant, for such an essential aspect of the Turtles, really have no complaints. The choice to make everyone younger or at least act like genuine teenagers, and really less serious for the most part, I thought worked (though I do think I prefer sage Splinter rather than Archie Bunker Splinter) in giving this story a unique energy that is often comedic, but the film finds the right balance in never going too far to lose its stakes. The stakes aren't super deep, yet are more than enough in the film's overall rather light approach to the franchise, and do give genuine emotion kind of behind all those references and more overtly comic moments. Also greatly helped by having a lot of very engaging and creative action sequences, as aided by the animation style, which of course holds a big debt to Into the Spider-Verse. But I'm so glad that it has that debt, and along with Puss in Boots, Spider-Verse has don't a great service to the animation genre and perhaps illuminated how stagnant basic CGI animation had become.
Abbey, Brown, Cantu & Noon - 3.5
Buress - 3
Byrne - 3
Cena - 3
Chan - 3.5
Ice Cube - 3.5
Demetriou - 3.5
Edebiri - 3.5
Esposito - 3
Rogen - 3
Rudd - 3.5
Rudolph - 2.5
Louis: Thoughts on the TMNT cast.
1. Schneider
2. Francella
3. Bencherif
4. Irani
5. Melamed
Louis: If you were to consider The Hurt Locker as a 2009 film, what would your positions be: in your Top25, Bigelow and Renner?
Louis: Thoughts on the voices of Michiyo Aratama and Yoko Tsukasa.
Louis: Do you plan to get to these 2009 films? I'd be interested to get your takes on them.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Police, Adjective
Whip It
Jennifer's Body
Observe and Report
Fish Story
have you rewatched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet?
1.Schneider
2.Melamed
3.Francella
4.Bencherif
5.Irani
Louis: I posted my predictions some time ago, but they got deleted.
1. Schneider
2. Melamed
3. Francella
4. Irani
5. Bencherif
5º Boman Irani
4º Fed Melamed
3º Adel Bencherif
2º Guillermo Francella
1º Paul Schneider
Hello Louis and folks!
In my penultimate part of my Oscar-winning movie marathon... below is my mega-ranking of Best Animated Feature Film Oscar winners, from worst to best:
25º Big Hero 6
24º Brave
23º Shrek
22º Encanto
21º Toy Story 4
20º Frozen
19º Zootopia
18º UP
17º Coco
16º Wallace & Gromit
15º Finding Nemo
14º The Incredibles
13º Happy Feet
12º Rango
11º Soul
10º Inside Out
9º Ratatouille
8º Pinocchio
7º Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
6º Toy Story
5º Toy Story 3
4º WALL·E
3º Who Framed Roger Rabbit
2º Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1º Spirited Away
PS: Who was surprised by the inclusion of Snow White, Roger Rabbit and Toy Story; because the Academy itself considers them to be category winners.
Luke:
Except for Broken Embraces and The Blind Side (which I forgot I watched), I reviewed everything I watched.
Kim - (Her performance is so much of the film in terms of really in many ways cultivating some of the mystery within her own performance. Initially though she just effectively exudes the combination of love and exasperation in her ways towards her son who obviously isn't always easy to deal with. She grants the sense of the years of dealing with him, yet only presents the utmost conviction in showing concern every time. When the mystery begins, she's great in showing bluntly the disbelief in the charge but also the emotional turmoil of having the rug pulled out from her even more than before. And she's also very entertaining in being an unlikely private investigator, where she manages to bring this certain nearly wacky, but not quite energy, that makes her extremely endearing initially. Making the mother very likable, when the first rug pull comes, Kim is particularly impressive in showing in her reaction the horror of being reminded of what she did, but while at the same time evokes the human desperation that would've created such an act. The next one though is even more surprising, but in a way, Kim completely sells and earns what happens through her performance, by making all part of that same conviction towards her son, and her sort of more off-kilter behavior comes to the forefront in such a surprisingly intense scene. And Kim is great in presenting really the sense of the weight of what happens so powerfully but also with such complication. She doesn't simplify the mother rather always makes her love the most painful and most complex. Sort of separate from all this though is her dancing scenes, which are just amazing bits of physical performance on their own that are just wonderful but also speak to her character's unorthodox ways.)
Farahani - (As with basically all Farhadi films there is going to be great naturalistic work and this is no exception. Farahani's performance for the first third of the film actually is pretty low key though effective in subtly showing sort of her plans without overtly stating them. She is also just very honestly normal in a way that is compelling in creating a sense of the group's dynamic. Farahani's performance really begins when the plot truly does, and her performance becomes this powerful dissolution of real stature and confidence in herself. A seething state of constant anxiety of guilt that only grows more and more as she goes along. Her performance brings you into her thought process so emotionally and grants such a potent sense of good intentions that go in the wrong way, and the societal expectations that only make that pressure all the more damaging.)
Weisz - (Weisz in my preferred habitat for her, which is having fun in one way or another, as for me, when she's having fun (this, The Mummy, The Favourite) it loosens up her performances and she really comes to life for me. That is the case here where she does awkwardness with such confidence to the point of becoming this awkwardly confident. She's just extremely endearing in playing into the fun of it all and it is hard not to have fun with her. She also just has lovely genuine chemistry with Brody that grows throughout the film, and creates an honest investment.)
Gainsborough - (Obviously it is the von Trier way to put his actresses through the wringer, and as per usual that is the case. Gainsborough is the most compelling part of the film because she throws herself into this depiction of grief that isn't at all simple or even necessarily simplistically human. In that Gainsborough is going in every direction all at such short notice and I will say she is quite effective in this. Now this didn't make me love the film anymore, but I did find her consistently captivating.)
Rapace - (Better accent than Mara, but that just goes to show, accents are overrated to a degree. Because otherwise, I think Rapace's performance just is less interesting overall in terms of the sort of edges of the character whether it is the intensity or the vulnerability. She doesn't go as deep with either and isn't as innately captivating. Having said all that, she is good still at delivering more of a straightforward badass quality with her work and does absolutely work. And to be sure Mara could fly perhaps by kind of taking the baseline of Rapace's work then doing her own thing to a more interesting degree.)
Okonedo - (Well I pretty much always like her, her weird Viola Davis impression in Death on the Nile notwithstanding, and this time is no different. She brings such honesty as per usual with her performance which is really needed given that she is just put through the wringer through every situation and Okonedo manages to not just seem like the crying victim. As horrible as she treated Okonedo consistently finds variation in the moment and in the emotion. She manages to bring a lot of life even more than was always forced within the somewhat constrained narrative.)
Saavedra - (A very particular performance that is almost for the lack of a better word, creaturesque early on where she is almost this figure going around the house in her own way. Her performance then really is this gathering humanity back as her extreme sort of settled exasperation slowly recovers itself. Her performance manages to find this recovery that goes from kind of a more mannered turn to a more open one that is rather moving just in the way she changes that state.)
Tatou - (Stilted film, but Tatou I think consistently gives life to the character and manages to switch between the different emotional and sort societal statures of her character quite effectively. The film sadly never lets her get into anything too interesting, but she is consistent even though the film never comes to life.)
Heggins - (Limited within the style, but brings a real nice honesty to her performance in the moments of pure romance but also in the sort of vulnerable hesitations as well. She brings a consistent depth within her work that never simplifies the notions around her character.)
Bae - (Utterly ridiculous character to play but Bae does actually manage to give some genuine life to the whole thing, and I liked her even when I hated everything around her.)
Vanasse - (Doesn't have an overly complicated role but does give real honesty and empathy to every moment we see her. She grants the sense of a full person, even if we don't see all of her.)
Gaitan - (The best part of the film is that she is consistently honest and earnest as the caring "innocent". I'd say she is held back just a bit by not having amazing chemistry with her co-star, but I consistently liked her presence.)
Blunt - (Like Tatou, but less.)
Streep - (Doing her typical thing in terms of focus on the accent and the mannerisms to kind of a fault, but I think it works better here with the overall tone of the material than some of her other performances.)
Portillo - (Part of my typical Almodovar review is considering one great or at least very good female performance ought to be in there, and here she is. While I didn't find the overall film always captivating, I thought her work was in terms of balancing the different sides of the story, and her own character. Being able to seemingly be the more stoic sort that slowly reveals her own very specific emotional needs that powerfully come out. She manages to play on the subtle nuances of each relationship most effectively to the point I kind of wish she just had been the main character.)
Krige - (Great to see her in a more substantial role as I'll always stump for my Chariots of Fire Alumni. Anyway, I think she manages to effectively create the natural sense of the loving mother, who unfortunately still falls into racism. And manages not to overplay these swings rather showing sort of the flaws with her better side in a measured way, that in a way makes the former moments all the more painful. She's particularly affecting near the end where you see the festering sense of guilt but the earnest hope for any kind of reconciliation.)
Lin & Zhao - (Both are effective in bringing just kind of their individual kind of "adds" to the force, and having wonderful moments of more emotional weight that add just a bit more to the narrative.)
Alidoosti - (What she does is manage to make an impact quickly and consistently that you remember her very much, despite not having a great deal of screentime. She gives you a lot of subtle indicators and creates a real sense of someone who has a lot more going on in such a brief time. Wonderful work that makes you remember her Elly in the right way.)
Loyla - (Offers sort of the right sense of fresh air in showing just an easy-going energy that has real power to her character by just being so carefree in the right way.)
Gao - (Very powerful emotional reactions throughout, particularly towards the end of her performance where she creates the right blend of dogged conviction with an internalized sense of horror.)
Azadivar & Zarei - (Each deliver a particularly naturalistic sense of the ensemble, as even though they aren't the focus you are granted a real sense of who they are and where they're coming from. Again on the focus, but illustrate the strength of the ensemble in just how you sense there is more to every person by how rich their work is.)
Cruz - 3.5(Her performance in this instance is more so about
Let's hold off on the supporting actors until we get to the results.
Anonymous:
I didn't watch it yet. Song is the one category I will include things from films I haven't watched just because while implementation can influence my choice when it comes to razor margins, the basic quality of the song is the most important part.
Tony:
As brief as my thoughts were, they summed up my feelings.
I will be trying to check out a few more films I haven't seen, though I intend to focus more on re-watches during supporting, so we'll see.
Tahmeed:
Sen - 3.5(Like her co-star, found her quite charming in a low-key way, though she has less "to sell" so to speak, I did find her endearing with what she had with a winning general presence that added a lot to a relatively limited role.)
Shaggy:
6. Werner Herzog - Bad Lieutenant (though the dancing soul bit, really made it tempting to put him in the top five).
7. Neill Blomkamp - District 9
8. Henry Selick - Coraline
9. John Hillcoat - The Road
10. Asghar Farhadi - About Elly
Renner would be #9 (He's my favorite part of the film). But the film would be near the end of the top 25 for me, it's one I admire well enough but have never fully connected with it.
Louis: What did you mean to finish typing for Cruz?
Could I get your thoughts on von Trier's direction of Antichrist, if you have any more to say about it then "eh"?
Louis: Your thoughts on Rosebud, Bart of Darkness, and Bart's Comet?
Louis: Rating and thoughts on Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side.
Louis: While you write the reviews for 2009 Supporting, could you watch these French crime flicks from the 60's?
The Hole (1960):
https://ok.ru/video/2105904007707
Any Number Can Play (1963):
https://ok.ru/video/1307546094105
Louis: Oh, make sure you also watch this one:
La Vérité (1960):
https://ok.ru/video/1445847960133
1. Schneider
2. Francella
3. Bencherif
4. Irani
5. Melamed
John Smith:
1. Melamed
2. Francella
3. Irani
4. Bencherif
5. Schneider
Tony:
Oh, just that it is a performance just more about presence than anything, and she certainly leaves a mark in that regard, however there's not much depth beyond that.
No, not really, von Trier in "geek show" in my view, as just images for the sake of it and trauma for the sake of it, without really any measured moments to create any genuine nuance. The fixation is on the grotesque or the exploitative, not on any human factor. And very clear he wants you either to be disgusted by it or find it profound and personally just found it not terribly interesting either way.
Rosebud - (Just a constantly hilarious episode, from Burns's Citizen Kane intro (along with George Burns as his brother), to the failure of his birthday party particularly the biggest bringdown before Homer's comedy or the Ramones's very threatening performance, and then the whole fallout of Homer holding out on giving up Bobo, particularly Barney's threat failure, or the town bemoaning the fact that they gave an angry mob a "bad name". Bad as is common, Homer doing it all for Maggie is the needed heart essential for it to be just that much more of an episode.)
Bart of Darkness - (For the simple premise of getting a swimming pool they get much hilarity out of it, from accidental barn building, to the blob, to Lisa losing all intelligence to be the Queen of summer. And then everything with Bart's rear window experience is great from classic Krusty and my favorite bit of Jimmy Stewart being afraid of the sinister looking kid. An episode that thrives on just being consistently and naturally hilarious, but effectively tells its plot as well.)
Bart's Comet - (Another hilarious episode, from Bart's evidence on himself when making the Skinner Weather Balloon, to Skinner's noting his vengeful ways against someone stealing his earlier sky discovery. But then is genuinely compelling plot in uncovering the danger of the Comet, and the hilarity as well in the town's failure to destroy it from Moe's terror at Moe's always being destroyed to Reverend Lovejoy declaring "it's all over people". But the highlight of the episode is the parody of the Twilight Zone shelter episode that is pitch perfectly hilarious, while actually being kind of moving at the end of it all.)
Luke:
Bullock - 3(I theoretically could go harder on her, because the film is terrible, but I think she sells the shlock as best as she can, even if she should've been far away from any nomination let alone a win...particularly since if they waited four years she would've been very deserving. The role though is all about "gotcha" and I'm a "southern badass" moments, yet "I have a big heart". And it is forced as all hell, but I think as bad as the sell is, she sells it as she can, and someone easily could've been much worse.)
8000's:
Seems more appropriate for January.
Nice lists BRAZINTERMA!
What are your top 25 losses in the four acting categories, animated feature, song, picture and director?
Louis: Rating and thoughts on Quinton Aaron in The Blind Side.
Louis: Could I have your thoughts on Tim McGraw from The Blind Side as well?
Louis: Since I know you take recommendations for miniseries in January, how do you feel about being rec'd shows cancelled after 1 season (if the number of episodes is reasonable)?
Also, have you been noticing any recurring themes or interesting similarities in the 2009 films you have watched so far?
I notice you didn't mention Crudup in your Public Enemies Letterboxd reassessment. Is he getting a surprise review? Because I meant to mention him in the last thread.
Louis: What are your thoughts on the sound mixing of The Road?
Has Marion Cotillard been upgraded.
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
R.I.P. Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis
RIP Mark Margolis.
Louis: Your updated Sam Mendes ranking?
RIP Mark Margolis
Louis: Could I have your thoughts on these performances from The Bear?
Joel McHale
Gillian Jacobs
Will Poulter
Jamie Lee Curtis
Bob Odenkirk
Olivia Colman
I just revisited "Castaway" yesterday. Hadn't watched it in years..... AND MY GOD, Hanks is utterly brilliant. Powerful stuff. Almost miraculous, how he is consistently entertaining and entrancing throughout. Easily my win for 2000 now(used to be Bale for American Psycho) by a considerable distance. Just wanted to see if someone shares similar sentiments.
Louis: Thoughts on this combined cast for 1990s Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For?
Denise Richards as Nancy Callahan
Brian Dennehy as Ethan Roark Sr.
Nicolas Cage as Lt. Jack Rafferty
Tony Todd as Manute
Marisa Tomei as Lucille
Robert Blake as Cardinal Roark
Michelle Pfeiffer as Goldie/Wendy
Tim Roth as Dwight McCarthy
Kurt Russell as Dwight McCarthy (in sequel)
Michael Ironside/Ron Perlman as Marv (I'm a bit conflicted about this, since I like Ironside as a less obvious choice, but I think Perlman would be more likely to relish in the role like Rourke did)
Stephen Dorff as Ethan Roark Jr.
Harvey Keitel as John Hartigan
Steve Zahn as Kevin
Linda Fiorentino as Ava Lord
Edward Norton as Johnny
Martin Landau as Dr. Kroenig
Charles Durning as Alarich Vallenquist
Michael J. Anderson as Klump
Sid Haig as Schlubb
Bob and Mort: unknowns, beacuse these characters are completely worthless anyway
Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (still)
Never really did this here but my updated picks for favorite lead actor performances for 2000s decade. Also because Louis wrapped up on 2009 lead so.....
2000: Tom Hanks in Cast Away
2001: Tom Wilkinson in In The Bedroom
2002: Nicolas Cage in Adaptation
2003: Russell Crowe in Master And Commander
2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2005: Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
2006: Christian Bale in The Prestige
2007: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Before Devil Knows You're Dead
2008: Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges
2009: Sam Rockwell in Moon
Mine:
2000: Christian Bale in American Psycho (although Pearce could take it on rewatch)
2001: Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums
2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
2003: Choi Min-sik in Oldboy
2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
2006: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed (although Bale could take it with another rewatch)
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges
2009. Viggo Mortensen in The Road
Perfectionist: Mine
2000: Guy Pearce in Memento
2001: Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums
2002: Ray Liotta in Narc
2003: Russell Crowe in Master And Commander
2004: Tom Cruise in Collateral
2005: Byung Hun Lee in A Bittersweet Life
2006: Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges
2009. Viggo Mortensen in The Road
Mine:
2000: Guy Pearce in Memento
2001: Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko
2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
2003: Johnny Depp in Curse of the Black Pearl (close between him and Crowe, could see Bettany in Dogville surpassing either on rewatch.)
2004: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005: Ray Winstone in The Proposition
2006: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
2007: Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2008: Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges
2009: Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man
Here's my picks:
2000: Lee Byung-hun - Joint Security Area (have to admit Hanks and Pearce are close)
2001: Tom Wilkinson - In the Bedroom
2002: Adrien Brody - The Pianist
2003: Choi Min-sik - Oldboy
2004: Shah Rukh Khan - Swades
2005: Lee Byung-hun - A Bittersweet Life
2006: Christian Bale - The Prestige
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
2008: Colin Farrell - In Bruges
2009: Sharlto Copley - District 9
Finished season 3 of The Americans which continues to do what most of the great shows do, which is take what was great before and progress. Loved it.
Cast ranking:
1. Matthew Rhys
2. Keri Russell
3. Lois Smith (probably the most heartbreaking one episode performance I've ever seen. Should've won the Emmy EASILY over Martindale who is in one short scene this season where she's good but not particularly notable.)
4. Noah Emmerich
5. Frank Langella
6. Holly Taylor
7. Alison Wright
8. Annet Mahendru
9. Richard Thomas
10. Costa Ronin
11. Jefferson Mays
12. Lev Gorn
13. Kelly AuCoin
14. Julia Garner
15. Susan Misner
16. Keidrich Sellati (not even bad, he just barely exists)
Actually, put Michael Aronov between Mahendru and Thomas and put Svetlana Efremova in between Garner and Misner.
Louis: Your past roles for Bob Odenkirk, Jesse Plemons, and Aaron Paul.
R.I.P Mark Margolis
even though 2000 was actually the last year of the 90s, screw it
2000: Tom Hanks - Cast Away
2001: Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko
2002: Robin Williams - One Hour Photo
2003: Russell Crowe - Master And Commander
2004: Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2005: Viggo Mortensen - A History Of Violence
2006: Christian Bale - The Prestige
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood (I was soooooo close to giving this to John Cusack in 1408, but there were some odd some little moments where he didn't really know how to work with the camera which led to some awkward faces, to a degree i honestly cannot objectively ignore, despite absolutely loving him otherwise. And no, i don't expect Louis to go higher than a 4.5 on him either; maybe even a 4, even though that would make me very sad)
2008: Colin Farrell - In Bruges
2009: Viggo Mortensen - The Road
2010: Choi Min-sik - I Saw The Devil
2000: Guy Pearce - Memento
2001: Tom Wilkinson - In the Bedroom
2002: Hiroyuki Sanada - The Twilight Samurai
2003: Choi Min-sik - Oldboy
2004: Paddy Considine - Dead Man's Shoes
2005: Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
2006: Ulrich Mühe - The Lives of Others
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
2008: Johannes Kirsch - Revanche
2009: Sam Rockwell - Moon
2010: Lee Byung-hun - I Saw the Devil
Calvin: GLAD to see someone on the Brokeback Mountain team. An all time great performance by Ledger in my opinion. I hope more people come around to it.
Regardless, all of you have some really inspired choices.
Louis: Who are some actors that you thought you would never give 5's to when you started this blog?
2000: Lee Byung-hun in Joint Security Area
2001: Jim Carrey in The Majestic
2002: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
2003: Choi Min-sick in Oldboy
2004: Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman
2005: Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence
2006: Christian Bale in The Prestige (rewatch of The Host could change that)
2007: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
2008: Colin Farrell I’m In Bruges
2009: Viggo Mortensen in The Road (rewatch of A Prophet could change that)
Michael: What did you think of Song in The Host.
So random viewing update here...finally got around to watching the "Ms. Marvel" series. After episode one, I'll say that I'm cautiously optimistic going forward. It's strange to say that so early, because I understand most of the choices they're making visually and structurally. I'm just worried I'll see through the technique too much, or it will feel like too much of a good thing.
Some general positive notes, though...
-Iman Vellani seems quite well cast as Kamala, right out the gate
-I'm quite envious of Saagar Shaikh's beard
-The show will be a chance for me to learn some Urdu (I have some Pakistani co-workers, and I think they'd appreciate me trying that)
Wow...I guess I just had the time/energy to blast through all of "Ms. Marvel" today. And to remove any suspense, I largely enjoyed it. Although I didn't find the humour particularly laugh-out-loud, the general tone/visuals still managed to be rather funny and energized. It even served as a lesson of Pakistani history, language and culture, which I felt was incorperated well, and always appreciate as a fan of those fields. By contrast, however, the villains were very weak; Neither antagonist group was especially memorable IMO, and I must say Alysia Reiner was distractingly bad as the head of "shadow government group #140". Thankfully, there not enough to sink the show, which still surprised me with how much I liked it.
And yah...Iman Vellani fit the role of Kamala swimmingly; There's a brevity and enthusiasm to her performance that really complements the character. I likewise think she needs to star in a comedy duo with Hailee Steinfeld...somebody get on that.
Louis: What do you think of this cast for an 80's Spider-Man trilogy, directed by Robert Zemeckis?
Peter Parker/Spider-Man: Michael J. Fox
Mary Jane Watson: Lea Thompson
Harry Osborn: Eric Stoltz
Gwen Stacy: Elizabeth Shue
J. Jonah Jameson: Ned Beatty
Robbie Robertson: Ernie Hudson
Betty Brant: Annie Potts
Ben Parker: Carroll O'Connor
May Parker: Jean Stapleton
Flash Thompson: Thomas F. Wilson
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin: Martin Sheen
Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus: Christopher Lloyd
Eddie Brock/Venom: Val Kilmer
Flint Marko/Sandman: Ron Perlman
Luke:
Aaron - 1.5(More than anything just a lifeless performance, that is the biggest problem with the film really is he feels more like the vaguest idea of a person. This is partly the script, but also Aaron's performance which is so simplistic that he exacerbates the problems already inherent in it. Like the idea that he has no idea how to play football, which was not surprised to learn it was inaccurate, just makes such an absurd idea, made more absurd by just how aggressively simplified the character is on every front.)
Tahmeed:
McGraw - (I actually think he falls more so towards the Bullock territory in that I don't think he makes what's there any worse, but doesn't overcome what's there.)
Tony:
I'd certainly consider it.
Themes:
Oppressed by a regime or maybe just fate (Basterds, Secrets in Their Eyes, A Serious Man, Mother, District 9, Mother, Moon, The Road, City of Life and Death, About Elly, A Prophet)
Child/youth's perspective v. reality (Mary and Max, Coraline, The Road, Where the Wild Things Are, An Education, Nowhere Boy, The White Ribbon, Mother, Fishtank)
Survival - (Basterds, The Road, A Prophet, District 9, City of Life and Death, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mother, Bodyguard, and Assassins)
Robert:
Probably not, but I do love how you can see Crudup completely own DiCaprio when delivering the exact same dialogue with the Senate hearing scene.
Matt:
I mean I could just say the basement, enough said, but it is a fundamental design aspect in creating the desolation and horror of the piece. Except when in the basement, the sound use creates the sense of something eerie and uncomfortable. Worse is the overt horror, which is often used through sound rather than graphic depiction, such as in the basement sequence, which is partly shown but also just the sounds of the wailing, and putting you within such a truly horrific environment. It is even in the allusion to the apocalypse which is of the sound of some unrecognizable horror going off.
Bryan:
1. Road to Perdition
2. 1917
3. Skyfall
4. Jarhead
5. Spectre
6. Empire of Light
7. Revolutionary Road
8. Away We Go
9. American Beauty
And the point is consistent, Mendes should only direct epic-scope films, the more intimate, the worse he is.
Tahmeed:
McHale - (Super brief, but really quite effective to the point I was not sure that was him, because of how genuinely intimidating he is in that brief moment. You instantly understand the menace of his character and he's immediately such a striking presence.)
Jacobs - (I liked her naturalistic chemistry with Moss-Bachrach, where you got both a sense of where they connected but also where they were also off-key. I really like that she didn't at all play into the typical kind of "ex" type in any of her scenes, playing instead for more of a straight honesty where even in her breakup moments with Ritchie she doesn't make it this overly intense thing rather a quieter sense of the disconnect.)
Poulter - (Brings a nice sense of quiet warmth in his performance and just a generally naturalistic supportive manner as the chef sees the importance of what he's doing.)
Curtis - (One of her best performances honestly, as she manages to do a "hot mess' pitch perfectly without going overboard, which is quite a trick. She instead plays so well on this constant accentuation of an edge, where she seems nice enough one moment but her turns are so violent yet vulnerable at a moment's notice, yet Curtis makes them these easy swings that in turn make them particularly unnerving. Unnerving however wholly convincing at the same time in creating every such moment. In her work you get a sense of the fundamental mental break of the character who seems to be looking for a reason to fall apart at every point and creates this perfect sense of a taut string always ready to snap.)
Odenkirk - (Thought he was quite effective here in being the guy who just has one thing too many to say and inserts himself. Managed I think to be more annoying by not really playing it up, rather just showing the natural way he inserts himself that makes him all the more off-putting. Bringing this sort of petty quality that is less emotional overtly, but becomes as such and is particularly good with Bernthal in creating the contrast between the two.)
Colman - (Brings a strict sincerity in her scene that is just wonderfully handled on her part, as she manages to say so much while keeping such an overall reserved manner.)
Ytrewq:
A few thoughts, I'm not sure we need a bad performance as Nancy. Otherwise some fine choices, particularly Dorff as the Yellow Bastard, Fiorentino as Ava Lord, and Todd as Manute.
Marcus:
Shia LaBeouf, Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, and Robert Pattinson all come to mind.
8000's:
I mean big yes on Fox, Sheen, Perlman, Lloyd, Thompson, and Stoltz in particular.
As much as I like him typically, I don't quite see Beatty as I think you want someone with a more innately aggressive presence for J.J., and would recommend Dean Stockwell or Jerry Orbach as alternatives.
Louis: What are your top 8 Cotillard performances.
Louis: Your thoughts on The Sopranos' "Another Toothpick", particularly Burt Young's performance and the hit on Mustang Sally.
1. Schneider
2. Francella
3. Bencherif
4. Irani
5. Melamed
RIP William Friedkin
RIP William Friedkin
RIP William Friedkin
Too bad he couldn't make another picture after KIller Joe, but at least he ended his career with a decent movie.
RIP William Friedkin
RIP William Friedkin
Shaggy:
He did The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, it's premiering at Venice. Hopefully it's great.
RIP William Friedkin
Luke:
1. .The Immigrant
2. La Vie en rose
3. Two Day, One Night
4. Rust and Bone
5. Public Enemies
6. Macbeth
7. Inception
8. Allied
Tony:
I mean the episode really is all about the hit scene, the rest of the episode I think is more or less fine beyond that in fairly low key character interaction moments, including some that don't really go anywhere like Artie being interested in Adriana other than the continued idiocy of his character I guess.
The though is an amazing scene in terms of the execution (no pun intended) where you see Bobby's father being this combination between high proficient and incompetent due to his health issues. Young frankly gives his best performance in the scene, because you get a sense of his old school manner, you REALLY get a sense of his illness, but what's most amazing is when you see perhaps the most brutal gangster of all. Like when you see the true professional come in for the kill, even when it becomes bungled, particularly when he kills Sally's friend, the glint of sadism in Young's eyes is bone chilling because he shows that Sr. wasn't just good at killing, he relished in it, before going back to being a completely utter physical wreck which Young makes rather painful to watch in a great way.
Louis: Your cast and director for a modern non-Shakespearean Julius Caesar biopic?
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