Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice
Christian Bale in The Machinist
Gael García Bernal in The Motorcycle Diaries
Mads Mikkelsen in Pusher II
Paddy Considine in Dead Man's Shoes
nor
Irrfan Khan in Maqbool
Tony Leung Chiu Wai in 2046
Yuya Yagira in Nobody Knows
Shah Rukh Khan in Swades
Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Predict either set or both.
And an out of competition review of Daniel Brühl in The Edukators.
112 comments:
Catch Up Ratings:
Bob Trevino Likes It:
Saving Leguizamo.
Ferreira - 3.5
French - 2
Jones - 3
Spencer - 3
Eddington:
Phoenix - 3.5
Pascal - 3
Stone - 3
Butler - 3
Grimes - 2
O'Connell - 3
Ward - 2.5
Hoeferle - 2
Collins - 2.5
Hidaka - 2
Mann - 2
The Luckiest Man in America:
Hauser - 3.5
Goggins - 3
Strathairn - 4
Williams - 2.5
Anderson - 3.5
Geraghty - 2.5
Harrison - 2.5
Honey Don't
Qualley - 1.5
Plaza - 2.5
Evans - 2.5
Day - 1.5
Connolly - 2.5
Eichner - 2
Beans - 2
Ryder - 2
Sorry Baby:
Victor - 4
Ackie - 4
Hedges - 3
Cancelmi - 3
McCormack - 2
Lynch - 3.5
Freaky Tales:
Pascal - 4
Ellis - 3.5
Normani - 3.5
Thorne - 3.5
Mendelsohn - 3.5
Yoo - 3
Cloud - 3
Hanks - 3.5
The Ballad of Wallis Island:
Key - 3
Basden - 3
Mulligan - 4
Ndifornyen - 3.5
1. Considine
2. Mikkelsen
3. Pacino
4. Bale
5. Bernal
1. Khan (Swades)
2. Murray
3. Yagira
4. Khan (Maqbool)
5. Leung
1. Considine
2. Mikkelsen
3. Bale
4. Pacino
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. Leung
4. Khan (Swades)
5. Khan (Maqbool)
Louis: Could you see a film for me during 2004? no review of course as I know you obviously have a lot on, but you might be somewhat pleased when I tell you what its for.
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Bernal
4. Mikkelsen
5. Bale
1. Murray
2. Khan (Swades)
3. Leung
4. Yagira
5. Khan (Maqbool)
Louis: I would normally never ask this, but do you think you could consider writing up SRK's review before/by October 3rd (my birthday). Only if your schedule allows, of course.
1. Considine
2. Mikkelsen
3. Pacino
4. Bale
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. SR. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Hotel Rwanda (Re-watch for Cheadle)
The Woodsman (Re-watch for Bacon)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Re-Watch for Carradine if an upgrade’s possible)
Troy (Re-Watch/Director's Cut))
Spider-Man 2 (Re-Watch)
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (Re-Watch)
Dodgeball (Re-Watch)
Collateral (Re-Watch)
The Incredibles (Re-Watch)
Howl’s Moving Castle
Shrek 2
Alexander (Final Cut/Vangelis)
King Arthur (Mads Mikkelsen)
Hidalgo (Viggo Mortensen)
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (For Matthew Lillard’s performance)
Omagh
Something The Lord Made (Alan Rickman)
Hawking (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Man On Fire (Denzel Washington)
Bad Education (Gael Garcia Bernal)
In My Father's Den (Matthew Macfadyen)
Miracle (Kurt Russell)
The Assassination Of Richard Nixon (Sean Penn)
As It Is In Heaven (Michael Nyqvist)
Kings And Queen (Mathieu Amalric)
I, Robot (Alan Tudyk)
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Clive Owen/Malcolm McDowell)
Veer-Zaara (Shah Rukh Khan)
Tony Takitani (Issey Ogata)
Virumaandi (Kamal Hassan)
The Ladykillers (Tom Hanks/Coen Brothers)
The Terminal (Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg)
Friday Night Lights (Billy Bob Thornton)
De-Lovely (Kevin Kline)
Beyond The Sea (Kevin Spacey)
Enduring Love (Daniel Craig)
Undertow (Jamie Bell)
Stage Beauty (Billy Crudup/Rupert Everett)
Lost Embrace (Silver Bear Best Actor Winner)
Love In Thoughts (Daniel Brühl/August Diehl)
The President's Barber (Song Kang-Ho)
Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton/Phil Davis)
Maria Full Of Grace (Catalina Sandino Moreno)
Being Julia (Annette Bening)
Clean (Maggie Cheung/Nick Nolte)
A Very Long Engagement (Marion Cotillard)
Dear Frankie (Emily Mortimer)
Ladies In Lavender (Maggie Smith/Judi Dench)
My Summer Of Love (Emily Blunt/Paddy Considine)
Yesterday
The Bridesmaid
Intimate Strangers (Sandrine Bonnaire)
Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (Theo Angelopoulos)
The Chorus
The Bourne Supremacy
Mean Creek
Moolaadé
House Of Flying Daggers
The Hidden Blade
Kung Fu Hustle
3-Iron
Tropical Malady
The Taste Of Tea
Three... Extremes
A Moment To Remember
Life Is A Miracle
Head-On
Primer
The Consequences Of Love
Before The Fall
Wimbledon
In Good Company
Ella Enchanted
Starsky & Hutch
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
13 Going On 30
The Butterfly Effect
Cellular
Louis: I assume the Whannell review will be coming up very soon.
Thoughts on:
Garner, Brolin, Ehrenreich and Madigan in Weapons
Phoenix in Eddington
Strathairn in The Luckiest Man In America
Victor and Ackie in Sorry Baby
Pascal in Freaky Tales
Mulligan in The Ballad Of Wallis Island
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Mikkelsen
4. Bale
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Also, I'm OK being alone on this, but I kinda think William Hurt is lead in The Village.
1. Considine
2. Mikkelsen
3. Pacino
4. Bale
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. Shah Rukh Khan
4. Leung
5. Irrfan Khan
Also on the films to watch list: Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes
5º Gael García Bernal
4º Christian Bale
3º Al Pacino
2º Mads Mikkelsen
1º Paddy Considine
5º Irrfan Khan
4º Tony Leung Chiu Wai
3º Shah Rukh Khan
2º Bill Murray
1º Yuya Yagira
Thought The Long Walk was riveting, taken to the next level by two tremendous leading performances. Some brief, mostly spoiler free thoughts below:
Jonsson - 5 (my MVP if only because of how he technically has less direct focus, but is just as soulful, charismatic on his own and of course the incredible chemistry with Hoffman. Also, very challenging role in how the set-up could have lead to a very sanctimonious performance, but he never has a false note.)
Hoffman - 5 (he and Jonsson give a masterclass here on how give great reactionary and physical work, but also manages to properly subvert the 'wholly good lead' while very much being that too. He and Jonsson make the idea of resistance by decency and compassion so tangible and beautiful. He has a line delivery here that I won't spoil, but I think Louis and the rest of us would be be hit hard by.)
The rest of the cast is uniformly decent, and by the structure of the film, are designed to have a standout moment to themselves as you get to know them. I'd give a 2.5 to Wang and 4 to Plummer, but other than that, I concur with Louis's ratings.
Group 1:
1. Paddy Considine
2. Gael Garcia Bernal
3. Christian Bale
4. Mads Mikkelsen
5. Al Pacino
Group 2:
1. Bill Murray
2. Shah Rukh Khan
3. Irrfan Khan
4. Yuya Yagira
5. Tony Leung Chiu-wai
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Bale
4. Bernal
5. Mikkelsen
1. Yagira
2. Murray
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Tahmeed: I saw someone mention something about a line delivery on Bluesky that they said reminded them a lot of his old man. I guess I should see it now.
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Mikkelsen
4. Bale
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Nobody Knows is another excellent film from Kore-eda and it's getting a little reduntant to keep saying that.
Yagira-5
The rest of the kids-4
YOU-4.5
Louis: For tomorrow, can I have your updated Oscar predictions with thoughts on each category.
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Bale
4. Mikkelsen
5. Bernal
1. Murray
2. Leung
3. Khan (Swades)
4. Yagira
5. Khan (Maqbool)
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Very excited for this round. I have to think it'll go on for longer than usual - 12 reviews and a shit-ton of watching/rewatching.
Louis, which category are you putting Leguizamo in?
1.Considine
2.Pacino
3.Bernal
4.Mikkelsen
5.Bale
1.Murray
2.Leung
3. Yagira
4.I. Khan
5. S.R. Khan
1. Considine
2. Bernal
3. Mikkelsen
4. Pacino
5. Bale
1. Yagira
2. Shah Rukh Khan
3. Leung
4. Murray
5. Irrfan Khan
Calvin: Murray is a 5, Cal.
Hamnet won People's Choice. Surprisingly, both Frankenstein and Wake Up Dead Man are runners-up.
1. Christian Bale
2. Paddy Considine
3. Mads Mikkelsen
4. Al Pacino
5. Gael Garcia Bernal (The only one I haven’t seen, I may update this if I get to it in time)
Have only seen Murray from the bottom set.
1. Considine
2. Bernal
3. Mikkelsen
4. Pacino
5. Bale
1. Murray
2. Leung
3. Shahrukh Khan
4. Yagira
5. Irrfan Khan
I have only seen Considine and Leung here.
I will say given Louis liked Khan a fair deal in Dil Se, it makes me feel confident in him doing well here. Part of that is that he's actually very good in the musical sequences in Swades, instead of the performances being (purposefully) set aside in the former film.
Will get to performance thoughts soon but not yet.
RatedRStar:
Name the film.
Tahmeed:
I will try to do so.
Harris:
Supporting though he is on the border.
Luke:
Is Whannell lead?
Louis: Whannell and Elwes are the leads in Saw
Does that mean I have to finally watch Saw as homework?
Luke:
Best Picture:
One Battle After Another (Winner)
Hamnet
Sinners
Sentimental Value
A House of Dynamite
The Secret Agent
Wicked For Good
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Based on the early word One Battle may be PTA's Oppenheimer/No Country but we will see. At the very least sounds like it will definitely be in for the nominations. Hamnet with that Audience win has gone above and beyond, plus historical subject matter hard to deny. Sinners is trading focus for WB but obviously has all the early buzz to back it up. Sentimental Value still as Neon's likely best push. A House of Dynamite is Netflix's pony therefore will get many a nomination. The Secret Agent may get pushed out by US contenders but certainly has the potential. Wicked For Good as long as it delivers. Frankenstein thanks to the audience runner-up I think gets probably a Nightmare Alley like run. Marty Supreme just based on the trailer. Avatar will do absurdly well at the box office and will be there, even if it is more of the same.
Director:
PTA - One Battle After Another (Winner)
Chloe Zhao - Hamnet
Ryan Coogler - Sinners
Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
Kathryn Bigelow - A House of Dynamite
These seem like a representation of the top five, though probably a bigger director's branch swerve somewhere in there maybe Kleber Mendonça Filho.
Robert: It's actually not that bad. It's not great, but it's kinda just a C-grade Seven.
Actor:
Paul Mescal - Hamnet (Winner)
Timothee Chalamet - Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
Jeremy Allen White - Deliver Me From Nowhere
Jesse Plemons - Bugonia
Not an easy one to predict. Mescal evidently could campaign either way, but playing Shakespeare, in such a lauded performance, going through those events in his life sound ideal for a winning performance...the pause is his category/screentime then. Chalamet sure if Marty is a thing as he continues to have the buzz in general. Doesn't sound like DiCaprio will have the same degree of detraction this time so no reason to bet against if this is PTA's ticket. White as the standard biopic performance, which begin with a little bit of a boost. And Plemons just for his reviews, though it doesn't sound like Bugonia will do a Poor Things/The Favourite overall. But there's also Crowe with the great reviews, though the middling film reactions give me pause (if he was running supporting I'd predict him), Jordan as a top five lead makes sense. And Johnson or Fraser I could easily see getting SAG at the very least.
Jessie Buckley - Hamnet (Winner)
Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried - The Testament of Ann Lee
Cynthia Erivo - Wicked for Good
Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Buckley seems like she has it all so while I'll admit my bias, this has nothing to do with that, as she evidently has the film, the role, the performance. Reinsve seems logical though I could see her a SAG snub that comes back later. Erivo, sure though I wouldn't be surprised if she misses out. Seyfried has the reviews though it sounds like the film is the tougher sell, but playing a historical figure often helps. Byrne by the earliest buzz, but again sounds like her film might be a bigger sell. Something true with several potential contenders though like Lawrence, Roberts and Sweeney. Maybe I should throw in Stone but feel they may forget her this time, like Battle of the Sexes.
Louis: Is this your first exposure to the Saw franchise?
Supporting:
Stellan Skarsgard - Sentimental Value (Winner)
Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler - Jay Kelly
Delroy Lindo - Sinners
Jeremy Strong - Deliver Me From Nowhere
Skarsgard seems like an ideal potential winner. Penn seems primed for a nomination based on the strong word for him. Have Sandler just as general goodwill, and he got great reviews despite Jay Kelly not exactly getting the greatest notices. Strong to go with White plus his general buzz as a performer. Lindo I can buy missing easily but the category seems like there's enough room at the moment for him to make it.
Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value (Winner)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande - Wicked For Good
Gwyneth Paltrow - Marty Supreme
Emily Blunt - The Smashing Machine
Going with both Sentimental Value ladies. Grande sure, though I could see her miss as from my knowledge her arc was in the first. Paltrow sure if Marty is a thing. Blunt is one I think many will say is a package deal with Johnson, but there's times that's not the case (Hunt for The Sessions), where I could see this as "now you're in the club fully" nomination. Obviously not the most confident with this category. Waiting on slightly specific word on supporting ladies in OBAA. Madigan I think will be the favorite of many but not sure she can go the distance as a sole nominee...well maybe with makeup. Mosaku maybe if Sinners REALLY performs.
Emi:
In terms of actually watching one of the films, yes.
Tramell Tillman is the first black man to win an Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, which doesn't sound true, but apparently is.
1. Considine
2. Bernal
3. Mikkelsen
4. Pacino
5. Bale
1. Yagira
2. Khan (Swades)
3. Leung
4. Murray
5. Khan (Maqbool)
Incidentally, I will just tell you all, Pacino is pretty damn excellent in Merchant of Venice.
I'd hate to add more to your plate, but could you watch Red Lights before you finish Lead? Jean-Pierre Darroussin's lead performance is remarkable.
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Bale
4. Mikkelsen
5. Bernal
1. Yagira
2. Murray
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Robert: If it's the gore that throws you off, then I can say that the first Saw is fairly benign in that department, afaik they started "experimenting" way more with it from the 2nd movie onward.
Sort of surprising that Ben Stiller didn't win Directing for a Drama Series, I thought he was a sure thing.
Louis: Kung Fu Hustle, once you see it ill tell you.
Best Actor looks really crowded this year, hasn't been like that for a while.
Louis: I concur with Matt. Also, Elwes is definitely the better of the two.
Elwes is better, sure. I wanted to see Louis talk about Whannel because he makes a lot broader choices, resulting in both good and bad, and i just figured that would be more fun to read
Tim: Nothing against having some fun here.
1. Considine
2. Bale
3. Mikkelsen
4. Bernal
5. Pacino
1. Leung Chiu Wai
2. I. Khan
3. Murray
4. Yagira
5. S. Khan
Loved the wins for Hiller, Tillman, Lower and Einbinder last night.
Luke: Has our host ever confirmed that he'd upgraded Murray to a 5 at some point? I've noticed he's ranked above Carrey despite having been given a 4.5 in 2014.
Harris: From what I remember, he was about 5-7th initially when that year was completed and not long after I noticed he put him above Carrey and asked for confirmation then, which he said yes.
Harris: A lot has changed since the early years. I remember back when De Niro had 5s for both Taxi Driver and Once Upon A Time In America and Day-Lewis a 4.5 for There Will Be Blood (As a 16 year old at the time, I wasn't terribly happy about it).
Luke: I think DDL might take the win for 2007 when all is said and done.
Marcus: I would love to see that but I'm not getting my hopes up.
1. Considine
2. Pacino
3. Bernal
4. Mikkelsen
5. Bale
1. Murray
2. Yagira
3. Shah Rukh Khan
4. Leung
5. Irrfan Khan
Louis: Thoughts on the Emmy winners, I'm really pleased with how well Adolescence did in particular.
I'm so happy Tramell Tillman, Cristin Milioti and Stephen Graham are Emmy winners in particular. Just great work, great personalities, great speeches.
1. Considine
2. Bale
3. Bernal
4. Pacino
5. Mikkelsen
1. Yagira
2. Murray
3. S.R. Khan
4. Leung
5. I. Khan
Louis, could you elaborate a little on why you feel Stone could be forgotten? I don't see any particular similarities between this year's and 2017's Actress races that would lead to her missing.
Louis: thoughts on this 2020s retro cast of Boogie Nights?
Dirk Diggler: Harris Dickinson
Amber Waves: Amanda Seyfried
Jack Horner: Tom Waits
Reed Rothchild: Cooper Hoffman
Buck Swope: David Jonsson (perfection if I might say)
Little Bill: Benny Safdie
Rollergirl: Milly Alcock
Scotty J: Harvey Guillén
Todd Parker: Jack O'Connell
Rahad Jackson: David Krumholtz
Marcus: Affleck in The Assassination Of Jesse James is a personal favorite performance of mine, so I hope he stays the winner. Really like the graphic of number 1 next to that performance lol.
RIP Robert Redford
Goodbye Sundance Kid
RIP Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford, one of the strongest advocates for politically conscious filmmaking.
RIP Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford.
RIP Robert Redford.
Rest In Peace Robert Redford. 😢
Rest In Peace Robert Redford. 😢
RIP Robert Redford
Rest in Peace Robert Redford
Not giving a 5 for both performances is CRAZY
R.I.P. Robert Redford
RIP the legendary Robert Redford. All the President's Men is a perfect movie.
Butch and Sundance have reunited in Heaven.
RIP to the extraordinary Robert Redford, one of cinema’s most essential driving forces.
R.I.P. Robert Redford.
RIP Robert Redford.
Anonymous:
Dullea - (More like Dull eh? Am I right folks? Anyway, mostly looks around with a slight lustful creepiness, there’s a certain presence to this but there certainly isn’t any depth. He acts instead as just a force which would be potentially okay if his co-stars had a bit more complexity in their characters as contrast, but they don’t so his act wears pretty thin fairly quickly.)
Jackson - (Just a generic western performance, that unlike Orbison does not stand out due to the degree of being ill-fitting. Jackson is just rather forgettable.)
Andrews - (Very much like Star where the specific musical tone Andrews utilizes really is always very close to being cloying in some of her best work, but like this and Star it definitely goes over that line frequently. Where it feels like her work in Sound of Music and Mary Poppins was less good, and was a bit too much. It’s theoretically the same type of approach but it just works far less well.)
Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke and Sharon Tate - (I mean everyone is just doing a kind of variation on being either a bit stiff or falling into overemphasis theater. Where everything is emotional but the emotions don’t seem particularly well placed.)
Loren - (Has the tone down unlike Brando, but she doesn’t have anything to work with due to the lack of chemistry…combined with not terribly interesting scenarios. There’s no real sense of challenge for her and it shows in her fine but just not especially dynamic turn.)
Lucas:
Page -(Very much playing the madam type but effectively where that earthy directness of her character just feels innate to her performance and the very being of her character. Page embodies the history that has become this weaponized cynicism where there is an underlying danger within her moments of speaking her expectations. As you see while she’s welcoming enough there is the right sinister edge to her.)
Winwood - (Plays the horny old lady with proper lack of shame in her relatively quick bit but she goes for it quite effectively…even if she would later decry the film.)
Luke:
Garner - (The most I’ve gotten out of her where I thought she was effective in balancing the sides of the character from the moments of seeing her as the warm hearted teacher genuinely trying to support her students, then seeing her as a bit of an often drunken mess. I did like how she very much did not bring a dogged heroine quality rather played that aspect as more accidental of just trying to figure things out then someone with any specific passion beyond general care. And in doing so found she created a different kind of horror protagonist, where she screwed up elements where more of the definition of her character until the horror forces her to act any way she can. Where I did like how she made that a very human quality and kept her as normalcy within the abnormalities.)
Brolin - (On that same note Brolin plays the man who is investigating it but Brolin brings a great degree of sort of overbearing “dad” energy for the lack of a better word to all of it. Bringing constantly this not quite stupidity to his moments, but just a sledge hammer like touch to any time he posits his position. Adding to that though just great moments of natural reaction that are comical in the right way such as his reaction to the nightmare where he’s hilarious by just playing as how someone would to such a moment.)
Ehrenreich - (Ehrenreich I think effectively makes you think his character might be more important than he ends up being in many ways by very much being wholly convincing as the trying to be the loving friend, while also being the screwup husband where he brings nuance to the degree of shame of the character’s actions that make him far more than a type. Something that extends to his “dumb cop” moments where he always brings a very real emotional intensity in the sudden anxieties of his screwups, where there is certainly a comedic quality in his rash reactions, however Ehrenreich always emphasizes a reality as the core of it.)
Madigan - (I do think the praise I’ve seen I can’t quite get on board with as this is a case where I do think the look of her makeup does do quite a bit. But having said that she certainly is good in playing initially just the creepy notes with this extremely casual way of playing theoretically this over the top witch. Where it works in her moments of being the smiling evil just going about it with the same sweet smile she’d have at a parent teacher conference, or the moments of more severe evil where she’s just as relaxed as someone who this is just her second nature. It all works, and plus she is very funny in how she kind of drops it all in her last bit which is most satisfying.)
Phoenix - (Phoenix will always be talented. I just wish he had some better material to apply his talents to as again we have some terribly repetitive material. Phoenix does find his way in as he plays such overt stupidity with a twisted earnestness about his haplessness that is compelling to a degree. I don’t think the role asks him more than mainly playing this note, which I do think Phoenix hits, but it is not really the most dynamic thing for him to do. Worst yet though is despite that, he’s the best part of the film.)
Strathairn - (While the actual theoretical main character gets the short shrift, surprisingly the studio producer does not. But Strathairn does run with the bit of material he actually gets in playing effectively early on this certain foolhardy attempt at incisiveness, in thinking he has an idea before then putting on some genuine charm as he tries to get what he thinks will be an interesting contestant. Then when things go south for him, Strathairn is very effective in so naturally going from the confidence of the studio man happy with his success, to his own questioning nervousness and sloppy attempts to try to keep his power where it remarkable to see the often calm Strathairn lose his cool, then finally playing the sycophant himself to the man above him. Strathairn does it all so naturally that he delivers on every bit of crumbs he gets.)
Victor and Ackie - (Ackie maybe overshadows Victor a bit in their scenes together by the ball of energy quality that she brings, but she does so quite well. In bringing the best friend quality in all of her scenes with this innate warmth and eagerness to be present in every moment. Having the right sense of the connection between the two through the ease of the chemistry and specifically the way Ackie kind of goes up in terms of the energy as Victor plays the more subdued note. Victor on the other hand is more subdued though largely effective in playing the quiet quality of trauma and working within her performance as someone basically through a haze of that state. Giving moments of breaking through it in a moving way of playing the person that exists within a certain state, though doesn’t entirely thrive most of the time. Making those moments of thriving important within her performance.)
Pascal - (His best performance of the year of many performances and the most dramatic turn within the film. Effectively so though as Pascal within his segment internalizes a real dark intensity within his story, bringing the quiet emotional distress in a fairly potent way, but having moments of balancing the act particularly in his scene with Hanks where suddenly he becomes a comedic straight man which also works. Pascal has the most demanding part and he delivers on the swings to honestly create a bit more gravitas for his segment and create the most serious minded through line through the anthology.)
Mulligan - (As noted in my review does seem a bit overqualified for this particular film and even this role where she is to the side as a supporting feature. Having said that Mulligan does bring her talent regardless in creating a greater depth than really I think the film is really even going for. Not going for the easy choices herself in sort of doing the annoyed partner, rather showing within her performance greater sense of history between them with a mix between moments of genuine affection and those of a quiet betrayal, a reasoned and careful one where you see how she has sort of regulated her past in her mind. Mulligan explores a greater depth than the simpler mind of the film.)
Tahmeed:
I mean of what I’ve seen mostly good choices with wins, particularly Adolescence (which sometimes so many winners can be overkill but all three performers delivered great work). Great to see Lower, Milioti and especially Tillman win as well and nice to see Andor win writing. I would've gone elsewhere in comedy actor, but in terms of the competition that I’ve seen, it wasn't the worst year to reward a standard Rogen performance.
Harris:
It’s not about the specific year rather just the nature of the Academy where sometimes they’ll go “this person has enough” for a bit (like Hanks in the early 2010’s) and other times they’ll just keep nominating them. I mentioned that instance because even when the film was recognized at SAG where Carell got a nomination, Stone was left off and that SAG actress lineup had Dench for Victoria & Abdul, as though voters just bluntly didn’t consider her. Bugonia will be a test for Lanthimos to see if near universal acclaim of Poor Things and The Favourite is needed for his films to be a bigger player, as Bugonia was mostly acclaimed but not to the degree of those two. Within that situation it is believable enough that passion pushes for other performers (Seyfried, Byrne) or performers in likely stronger films overall nomination wise (Wicked, Hamnet, Sentimental) could overcome her. But obviously we’ll see, she could also just keep racking up nominations at this point as long as her film is contending at all. And perhaps I should predict her if I’m predicting Plemons, but the early word seemed to give him the most buzz to suggest he could potentially get in on passion even if his film doesn’t go all the way.
Calvin:
All great choices, particularly Hoffman (which I agree actually better fit for Reilly than his dad in this instance), Waits, Seyfried and of course Jonsson.
RIP legend Robert Redford
R.I.P. Robert Redford
RIP Robert Redford
Now my curiosity has increased when Louis analyzes his performances in Jeremiah Johnson and the Sundance Kid.
In somewhat softer news, I’m about a third of the way into my first watch of Nobody Knows. Shit, you guys were not kidding about this Yuya Yagira kid. Already a *tremendous* piece of acting.
R.I.P. Robert Redford.
A true legend.
Louis: Thoughts on...
Abrams, Christopher & Wong in Weapons
Pascal, Stone, Butler, Grimes & O'Connell in Eddington
Hauser & Anderson in The Luckiest Man in America
Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans and Charlie Day in Honey Don't!
Louis: Thoughts on the cast of The Long Walk, and if you've read the novel, what did you make of the adaptation's approach to the ending (disregarding the performances, of course). Because I have to say, I was surprised and I found it brilliant and earned.
Louis: What are your ratings for the cast of Nobody 2?
Judging from the reviews, PTA has another 2 wins in the bag.
I remember reading online that a lot of people weren't really expecting One Battle After Another to be a big contender, thinking that it would be a lesser film from PTA, but it seems like it is.
Abrams - (His is essentially a bit of a constantly frightened, high or money lusting junkie. I found his bit fairly broad, so when you go so broad it is kind of asking, does he work in the film’s tone, enough if slightly a bit much, and is he funny? I thought he was kind of amusing but didn’t love him.)
Christopher - (Christopher is good in terms of being believable enough in playing the more emotional notes, but I think this is where the film maybe could’ve brought me in even more. As I never felt fully absorbed in his personal story and maybe that is Christopher doesn’t quite have the presence to do that or it’s just how it was written. Either way that’s not quite there, though I do think he’s reasonably good in playing the directness of his troubled emotional reactions.)
Wong - (Always nice to see Wong and I liked his slightly comedic energy he brought to his scenes of bringing an appropriate exasperation with attempted professionalism. He doesn’t play it as just a jerk, rather maybe someone who is not perfect but is attempting it. Then he has his other scene where he is maybe the most impressive in terms of going “all in” with that aspect of the performance.)
Pascal - (I thought he was okay, the problem is his character ends up not being particularly relevant to the overall scheme of the thing. So just as he seems to be trying something it all drops so fast. Pascal is okay in playing the frustrated pseudo straightman but it never goes anywhere from that.)
Stone - (Baffling use of her given really she almost plays like a prop with how she’s utilized. Some source of obsession than a character who we actually get an insight into the behavior. Stone in turn only really gets to play into vagaries and makes very little use of her considerable talent.)
Butler - (Brief bit but he is charismatic so just playing that note of charisma does work for him.)
Grimes - (He’s there, not much else to say.)
O'Connell - (Mildly interesting as the puppet master type in bringing just a callous brazenness that seemed believable. But again like anything else there really isn’t a development beyond the setup in the film. She does that, and keeps doing that without really any material to make itself more compelling.)
Hauser - (Hauser brings an expected off-beat energy that matches a specific mania of Larson’s onscreen behaviors, but the film chooses to keep him too much of an enigma. Hauser at times alludes to some distress, some tenderness, some more duplicitous behavior, but it all doesn’t quite add up to a whole. This IS the writing because Hauser alludes to the notes effectively; he just isn’t allowed to explore them beyond an extremely cursory note.)
Anderson - (Bring a certain quiet incisiveness to his moment, playing well the moments of essentially trying to be a corporate hatchet man, but with certain moments of breaking that particularly when he is being put forth as the fall guy. Anderson brings more than just a type in those moments, finding the right sense of frustration in the moment revealing a bit of the man successfully fleshing out the role to something real.)
Qualley - (A performance that feels defined by the thick stilted accent she puts on in her performance. The problem is when a performance is mostly about the accent and the accent’s not good, there’s not much else there. And in this instance I think she was attempting to play deadpan hardened PI type, except it all just feels like a completely phony act that isn’t funny nor is it believable nor does it work as some stylistic nonsense piece. It just feels like an obvious performance that doesn’t work in any way which is a shame as I often like Qualley but Coen/Cooke are poisonous to her talent.)
Plaza - (Plaza keeps her head up the most out of anyone just because she can play random better than most. But even that random note is so meaningless in terms of actually creating a compelling character that she’s left nowhere to go except be a bit off-beat. Plaza does that and is more natural about it than Qualley and more compelling but at the same time it feels like hollow exercise with how random and underwritten her role is.)
Evans - (Plays his jerk note here that he’s done better elsewhere though theoretically he doesn’t do it horribly here. Of course to guess what was even the point of his character is also a question but regardless of pretty forgettable work from him.)
Day - (Day always seems like a likeable guy so I get wanting to cast him but I’ve yet to see him really be particularly good outside of playing Charlie Kelly. In this instance he plays his role like Charlie Kelly playing the part of a PI, which would be funny as a IASP bit but as a film attempting some even slightly noirish tone, it just feels like a farcical character within this film.)
Tahmeed:
Wang - (For me I thought his performance boiled down to an accent. With too much hinging with his performance on that accent. Beyond that I didn’t find he really alluded to what was going on with his character, making that development impact less because of it. As Wang stayed very much within the type of the character in far too of an affixed way, where many of the performances I felt I got to know who they were a bit out of the contest, Wang to me felt far too defined by being a type within it, no more. And in this case the comedic sidekick of sorts, and given the level some of his co-stars were playing at, it stuck out in the wrong way for me.)
Nyuot - (Really liked the quiet positivity of his performance. Brings just an earnest warmth about him where every moment of struggle you believe his care for his friends each time over. Making it so his moments of challenge and physical struggle really hit harder because of the sense of exhaustion and anxiety was mixed in still with that believable positivity.)
Plummer - (Honestly I’d move him up to a 4 as he actually delivers twice over and I will say where I have felt Plummer overly passive in a lot of his performances, that is NOT the case here. As he comes in effectively initially as seemingly the villain where there is that hectoring smile and prodding that he doesn’t overdo, which usually it is often overdone. Plummer then though ends up being more surprising such as his reaction to his more egregious action, where Plummer really brings a visceral intensity that denotes the reality of the situation suddenly dawning on him. And he carries that quiet powerfully and potently until his big moment, where I thought Plummer wholly sold both the sudden other side where there is such a seething desperation that leads to what becomes an inevitability that hits surprisingly hard given where his character begins.)
Odjick - (He’s mostly there for some righteous intensity but he definitely delivers on each moment of that righteous intensity)
Wareing - (In it much as just seemingly this calm determination, that then is effectively shown to crumble as he becomes ill. Wareing’s performance brings the right sense of the cosmic joke on him within the situation at first, where he almost smiles as he bemoans his critically horrible luck. Leading to his final moment of revelation where he again absolutely delivers on the desperation behind it, but also suddenly this quiet sincerity about the man.)
Hamill - (One note, though purposefully so. It works as Hamill doing his evil voice certainly has the right grating quality here. But while he does make you hate him, I would say the character is never more than just a symbol.)
Greer - (Brings a believable sense of loving chemistry with Hoffman in their moments together. It is quick and to the point, but it works.)
Hamilton - (Fine but I didn’t think he left an impact where another performer might’ve been able to get a touch more out of the brief bit to be a bit more haunting.)
Davis - (SPOILERS tough luck Jojo).
*Spoiler alert* I loved the changes because it actually had a surprise to kind of your innate survival film where the lead is going to survive. But it actually went further than that because it wasn’t just the shock, loved also the specific execution of it, but also because it naturally forced each of the finalists to take on their separate values in their final actions. I'll have more to say on this scene though in a few months.
Lucas:
Odenkirk - 3.5
Nielsen - 3
Ortiz - 3
Hanks - 2.5(Truly thankless role)
RZA - 2
Lloyd - 3
Stone - 1
Munroe - 2.5
Hello people. I am a little new to this blog and the blogspot itself. I am still figuring out some things on here. Have to say, that your rankings and reviews are, for most part pretty apt. But I can't help but disagree with your 2000 rankings. Your top 6 are all good to great performances(stoked that Byunghun Lee's work in JSA is recognized), but Pearce in Memento is such an underwhelming winner and quite EASILY the least dynamic performance of that top 6. On the other hand, I have such massive reverence for all Bale's, Hanks', Leung's, Lee's, and Dafoe's performances. Kinda surprised that Christian Bale isn't in top 5. He would be my personal win at least because it's such an electrifying and iconic performance, and he hasn't topped his work there since.
Louis: Thoughts on this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpTTrP-srRM
Louis: What are your thoughts on Ferreira in Bob Trevino Likes It, Lynch in Sorry, Baby, Ellis, Normani, Thorne, Mendelsohn and Hanks in Freaky Tales, and Ndifornyen in The Ballad of Wallis Island?
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