Best Scene: His speech.
Best Scene: The Launch
Best Scene: His second talk with Sculley.
Best Scene: Glass discovers his son.
Showing posts with label Bryan Cranston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bryan Cranston. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Best Actor 2015: Results
Best Scene: His speech.
Best Scene: The Launch
Best Scene: His second talk with Sculley.
Best Scene: Glass discovers his son.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
Best Actor 2015: Bryan Cranston in Trumbo
Bryan Cranston received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo.
Trumbo is a watchable enough film about the trials and tribulations of a Hollywood screen writer during the blacklist.
Trumbo is a film that decides to give its story a certain style as though it is a film from the period in which the story takes place. Well this is somewhat misguided as it seems to believe that all films from the period were a bit overacted, which was not the case. Now we get a series of imitations throughout the film ones of very prominent actors including John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Edward G. Robinson. Michael Stuhlbarg as Robinson does the best job out of those by actually not focusing stiffly on imitating the man's mannerisms and voice. The imitations extend to somewhat lesser known figures like Otto Preminger and Hedda Hopper. Hey, even Alan Tudyk portrays Ian McLellan Hunter as though he's giving a bad imitation, even though most people probably have no idea what the real Ian McLellean Hunter was like. This choice extends to Bryan Cranston's leading turn as the titular Trumbo, which to be fair it is unlikely that one could wholly shy away from if they tried given his mustache, cigarette holder, and an apparent affection for working while bathing. Cranston does indeed embrace this, going head first in bringing to life Trumbo's particular way of speaking and his physical idiosyncrasies.
Now to Cranston's credit he actually does match Trumbo's real life ways fairly well, but dials them just a few notches past normalcy. I won't say he goes too far, since he very much goes for a comedic excess. This is understandable given that the film wishes to be a comedy some of the time. It's after all directed by Jay Roach who got his start in broad comedies, and you know when broad comedy directors...alright I won't go over again. Any who the film's tone tries to mix comedy with the drama of the situation, which does not work too well in about the first twenty minutes of the film. This extends to Cranston's performance where it seems a few slices of ham could be trimmed off of Trumbo as he flaunts his superiority of wit at his opponents, the problem is this also extends as he's just spending time with his family. Cranston's overt approach though does find its place when Trumbo is put in front of HUAC. His excess actually really works in the situation as he finds the right combination of humor and passion as Trumbo goes upon taking on the committee's questions by asking a few of his own. Thankfully after this scene Cranston also dials down his performance considerably, and seems to become far more comfortable in the role.
This is probably more likely a side effect of Cranston depicting Trumbo as his ego has been deflated somewhat due to legal defeats, and facing jail time, either way it's a good thing. It becomes far easier to accept Cranston in the role, and his performance grows far more effective. Cranston thankfully is not ruled by his mannerisms and is able to find what lies beneath it all to reveal actual human qualities in the man, not just being a caricature of him. After Trumbo is let out of prison the film basically jumps around, not necessarily in a bad way, as it follows Trumbo as he deals with the large number of different people in his personal and professional life. The film puts much upon Bryan Cranston as he basically must jump around the various hurdles placed in from him in order to match whatever tone is required for each character and situation. Cranston manages to balance it rather well in the lighter situation such as dealing with the schlock movie producers he goes to work for, where Cranston offers just enough of a sardonic touch while staying fairly dead pan in dealing with the men who are even more extreme than he is. He nicely plays it up just a bit more when Trumbo jokes about their situation with the other writer who have been blacklisted.
In turn when dealing with someone adamant about the blacklist, such as Hedda Hopper, Cranston brings the right quiet disdain and disgust as he almost tries to avoid a direct confrontation. Cranston is wise to contrast this in the scenes where he deals with people who have named names in order to avoid their own careers being ruined. Although Cranston still conveys a definite disgust, he carefully relays an undercurrent of sympathy in his condemnation that keeps his Trumbo from seeming overly self-righteous. Then there is Trumbo's most personal scenes with his family which are jumbled in a way, since we never are shown a natural flow from one scene to another. It's either Trumbo telling them a new plan of his, showing concern for them due to outside threats, or yelling at them for not doing exactly what he demands of them. Although we mostly get glimpses of each of these sides, Cranston performs each quite well. He brings the needed energy as he tries to almost boost the family's moral. When he sees the hardships of his family, as well as some of the other writers, Cranston is moving by earnestly depicting Trumbo's quiet empathy for others. Then in his most negative side Cranston is good in portraying a strong bluster, that he makes a bit thin, which actually effectively conveys the idea that it in part comes from the stress of his situation. Cranston's performance works in realizing the film's intent for Trumbo, which is as the triumph of an individual over some sort of establishment. It even ends with a speech to sum his whole journey up. But again to Cranston's credit he delivers it well by only ever bringing an emotional truth to his words. Though I do think he makes a few missteps in his performance, most of them being in the just the opening twenty minutes, Cranston delivers a fine leading turn that one would expect from this type of biopic.
Trumbo is a film that decides to give its story a certain style as though it is a film from the period in which the story takes place. Well this is somewhat misguided as it seems to believe that all films from the period were a bit overacted, which was not the case. Now we get a series of imitations throughout the film ones of very prominent actors including John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Edward G. Robinson. Michael Stuhlbarg as Robinson does the best job out of those by actually not focusing stiffly on imitating the man's mannerisms and voice. The imitations extend to somewhat lesser known figures like Otto Preminger and Hedda Hopper. Hey, even Alan Tudyk portrays Ian McLellan Hunter as though he's giving a bad imitation, even though most people probably have no idea what the real Ian McLellean Hunter was like. This choice extends to Bryan Cranston's leading turn as the titular Trumbo, which to be fair it is unlikely that one could wholly shy away from if they tried given his mustache, cigarette holder, and an apparent affection for working while bathing. Cranston does indeed embrace this, going head first in bringing to life Trumbo's particular way of speaking and his physical idiosyncrasies.
Now to Cranston's credit he actually does match Trumbo's real life ways fairly well, but dials them just a few notches past normalcy. I won't say he goes too far, since he very much goes for a comedic excess. This is understandable given that the film wishes to be a comedy some of the time. It's after all directed by Jay Roach who got his start in broad comedies, and you know when broad comedy directors...alright I won't go over again. Any who the film's tone tries to mix comedy with the drama of the situation, which does not work too well in about the first twenty minutes of the film. This extends to Cranston's performance where it seems a few slices of ham could be trimmed off of Trumbo as he flaunts his superiority of wit at his opponents, the problem is this also extends as he's just spending time with his family. Cranston's overt approach though does find its place when Trumbo is put in front of HUAC. His excess actually really works in the situation as he finds the right combination of humor and passion as Trumbo goes upon taking on the committee's questions by asking a few of his own. Thankfully after this scene Cranston also dials down his performance considerably, and seems to become far more comfortable in the role.
This is probably more likely a side effect of Cranston depicting Trumbo as his ego has been deflated somewhat due to legal defeats, and facing jail time, either way it's a good thing. It becomes far easier to accept Cranston in the role, and his performance grows far more effective. Cranston thankfully is not ruled by his mannerisms and is able to find what lies beneath it all to reveal actual human qualities in the man, not just being a caricature of him. After Trumbo is let out of prison the film basically jumps around, not necessarily in a bad way, as it follows Trumbo as he deals with the large number of different people in his personal and professional life. The film puts much upon Bryan Cranston as he basically must jump around the various hurdles placed in from him in order to match whatever tone is required for each character and situation. Cranston manages to balance it rather well in the lighter situation such as dealing with the schlock movie producers he goes to work for, where Cranston offers just enough of a sardonic touch while staying fairly dead pan in dealing with the men who are even more extreme than he is. He nicely plays it up just a bit more when Trumbo jokes about their situation with the other writer who have been blacklisted.
In turn when dealing with someone adamant about the blacklist, such as Hedda Hopper, Cranston brings the right quiet disdain and disgust as he almost tries to avoid a direct confrontation. Cranston is wise to contrast this in the scenes where he deals with people who have named names in order to avoid their own careers being ruined. Although Cranston still conveys a definite disgust, he carefully relays an undercurrent of sympathy in his condemnation that keeps his Trumbo from seeming overly self-righteous. Then there is Trumbo's most personal scenes with his family which are jumbled in a way, since we never are shown a natural flow from one scene to another. It's either Trumbo telling them a new plan of his, showing concern for them due to outside threats, or yelling at them for not doing exactly what he demands of them. Although we mostly get glimpses of each of these sides, Cranston performs each quite well. He brings the needed energy as he tries to almost boost the family's moral. When he sees the hardships of his family, as well as some of the other writers, Cranston is moving by earnestly depicting Trumbo's quiet empathy for others. Then in his most negative side Cranston is good in portraying a strong bluster, that he makes a bit thin, which actually effectively conveys the idea that it in part comes from the stress of his situation. Cranston's performance works in realizing the film's intent for Trumbo, which is as the triumph of an individual over some sort of establishment. It even ends with a speech to sum his whole journey up. But again to Cranston's credit he delivers it well by only ever bringing an emotional truth to his words. Though I do think he makes a few missteps in his performance, most of them being in the just the opening twenty minutes, Cranston delivers a fine leading turn that one would expect from this type of biopic.
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Best Actor 2015
Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant
Matt Damon in The Martian
Bryan Cranston in Trumbo
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2011: Results
- Mark Strong in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Albert Brooks in Drive
- Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life
- Brian Cox in Coriolanus
- Bryan Cranston in Drive
- Tom Hardy in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
- John Hurt in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Don Cheadle in The Guard
- Benedict Cumberbatch in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Sam Worthington in The Debt
- John Hawkes in Martha Marcy May Marlene
- Ben Kingsley in Hugo
- Kevin Spacey in Margin Call
- Gerard Butler in Coriolanus
- Gary Oldman in Kung Fu Panda 2
- Tom Hiddleston in Thor
- Colin Firth in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Headhunters
- Oscar Isaac in Drive
- Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn
- Max Von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Bill Nighy in Arthur Christmas
- Corey Stoll in Midnight in Paris
- Patton Oswalt in Young Adult
- Shahab Hosseini in A Separation
- Jared Harris in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Toby Jones in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Bobby Cannavale in Win Win
- Jeremy Irons in Margin Call
- Christopher Plummer in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
- David Dencik in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II
- Ron Perlman in Drive
- Liam Cunningham in The Guard
- Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas
- Paul Bettany in Margin Call
- Kevin Bacon in X-Men First Class
- James Cromwell in The Artist
- Hugh Laurie in Arthur Christmas
- Mark Strong in The Guard
- Ben Foster in Rampart
- Bill Nighy in Rango
- Eddie Marsan in Tyrannosaur
- James Hong in Kung Fu Panada 2
- Kiefer Sutherland Melancholia
- Kevin Spacey in Horrible Bosses
- Jesper Christensen in The Debt
- Krzysztof Pieczyński in Suicide Room
- Jeremy Renner in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
- Stephen Fry in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Paul Giamatti in The Ides of March
- Stellan Skarsgard in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Laurence Fishburne in Contagion
- John Slattery in The Adjustment Burea
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Ides of March
- Philip Quast in The Devil's Double
- Chris Cooper in The Muppets
- Matt Damon in Contagion
- Terence Stamp in The Adjustment Burea
- Christopher Plummer in Beginners
- Matthew Lewis in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II
- Ciaran Hinds in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Jeffrey Wright in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Robert Forster in The Descendants
- Anthony Mackie in The Adjustment Burea
- Nick Frost in Attack the Block
- Jan Cornet in The Skin I Live In
- George Clooney in Ides of March
- Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
- Yorick van Wageningen in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Nick Nolte in Warrior
- David Wilmot in The Guard
- Dustin Hoffman in Kung Fu Panda 2
- Stanley Tucci in Margin Call
- Burt Young in Win Win
- John Hurt in Melancholia
- Toby Jones in Captain America
- Eric Bana in Hanna
- Jamie Bell in Jane Eyre
- Ned Beatty in Rango
- Jeffrey Wright in Source Code
- Anthony Hopkins in Thor
- Ciaran Hinds in The Debt
- Ned Beatty in Rampart
- Stellan Skarsgaard in Melancholia
- Brian Cox in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Sam Rockwell in Cowboys & Aliens
- Stellan Skarsgard in Thor
- Zachary Quinto in Margin Call
- Dwayne Johnson in Fast Five
- Sacha Baron Cohen in Hugo
- Tom Wilkinson in The Debt
- Vincent Cassel in A Dangerous Method
- Tom Hiddleston in War Horse
- Sean Penn in The Tree of Life
- Matthew Lillard in The Descendants
- Jonah Hill in Moneyball
- Jude Law in Contagion
- Tom Hiddleston in Midnight in Paris
- Tom Felton in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Anton Yelchin in The Beaver
- Michael Nyqvist in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in Moneyball
- John Goodman in The Artist
- Philip Baker Hall in 50/50
- Bryan Cranston in The Lincoln Lawyer
- Beau Bridges in The Descendants
- William H. Macy in Lincoln Lawyer
- Josh Lucas in J. Edgar
- Michael Sheen in Midnight in Paris
- Tom Hanks in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Tommy Lee Jones in Captain American
- Jamie Foxx in Horrible Bosses
- Nicholas Hoult in X-Men First Class
- Dominic Cooper in Captain America
- Donald Sutherland in The Mechanic
- Seth Rogen in 50/50
- Ralph Fiennes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II
- Colin Farrell in Horrible Bosses
- Hugo Weaving in Captain America
- Armie Hammer in J. Edgar
- Hugh Dancy in Martha Marcy May Marlene
- Peter Mullan in War Horse
- David Thewlis in War Horse
- Nick Frost in Paul
- Jim Broadbent in The Iron Lady
- Marton Csokas in The Debt
- James Badge Dale in Shame
- Joaquín Cosio in A Better Life
- Niels Arestrup in War Horse
- Ryan Phillipe in The Lincoln Lawyer
- Michael Arden in Source Code
- Robert Alamo in The Skin I Live In
- David Oyelowo in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Goran Visnjic in Beginners
- Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk About Kevin
- Nick Krause in The Descendants
- Matt Milne in War Horse
Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2011: Bryan Cranston in Drive
Bryan Cranston did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Shannon in Drive.
Bryan Cranston who is currently giving one of the greatest continuing performances as chemistry teacher turned meth dealer Walter White in Breaking Bad, plays a very different character here in Drive. Cranston portrays Shannon a car mechanic and a man who organizes stunt cars for movies. Shannon has a limp, and just seems to be a bit of a sorry sort to say the least. One positive thing in his possession of sorts seems to be that of the driver (Ryan Gosling) who works at his car garage as well as does stunt work for Shannon.
Cranston portrays Shannon as really a likable loser. Shannon repeatedly and unrepentantly remarks about how he really does use the driver for his own exploitation, but Cranston portrays the technically speaking less than positive aspects of Shannon with a certain warmth and smile. It is easy to see why he could so easily take money from the driver, as well even from gangster Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), becuase Cranston has a genuine though low key charm in his performance. Rose states that he liked having Shannon around, and Cranston makes it believable that he would say that.
Cranston very effectively acts as a bright spot in this film which is filled with very seedy characters throughout. Cranston does it well with a great deal of enthusiasm, and more importantly he is able to do this despite that Shannon really is not entirely not a bit of a seedy sort himself. Cranston though is consistently jovial in the seedier qualities found in Shannon, even in the moment where he tries to convince the driver to share the money from a botched money Cranston still makes Shannon likable in that he shows that really Shannon can barely contain his understandable self interest.
The big reason that Cranston makes Shannon's self interest understandable is that he is able to portray a tragedy within Shannon, as Rose says in the film that Shannon never had a lot of luck. These are subtle, and short moments in Cranston's performance but are quite powerful when they do come about. These are mostly in small reactions like when Rose's partner mentions Shannon legs, and in just brief moment Cranston portrays a far deeper sadness within him. Cranston plays it well portraying that his more seeming overt happiness in the other moments, although while not a facade, is very much a way of him trying to overcome his troublesome past.
Shannon really is a fairly small role in the film, and he comes in and out, but Cranston makes an impact within the film whenever he does appear. He creates Shannon into an endearing character, as well as heartbreaking in the end of the film. He combines the various elements into making Shannon a compelling character that adds well to his film. Cranston makes what happens to Shannon in the end not just something that is part of the film, but instead makes it so the Driver's final actions all the more poignant and powerful. Cranston works extremely well with his somewhat limited screen time and turns Shannon into far more than he would have been in lesser hands.
Cranston portrays Shannon as really a likable loser. Shannon repeatedly and unrepentantly remarks about how he really does use the driver for his own exploitation, but Cranston portrays the technically speaking less than positive aspects of Shannon with a certain warmth and smile. It is easy to see why he could so easily take money from the driver, as well even from gangster Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), becuase Cranston has a genuine though low key charm in his performance. Rose states that he liked having Shannon around, and Cranston makes it believable that he would say that.
Cranston very effectively acts as a bright spot in this film which is filled with very seedy characters throughout. Cranston does it well with a great deal of enthusiasm, and more importantly he is able to do this despite that Shannon really is not entirely not a bit of a seedy sort himself. Cranston though is consistently jovial in the seedier qualities found in Shannon, even in the moment where he tries to convince the driver to share the money from a botched money Cranston still makes Shannon likable in that he shows that really Shannon can barely contain his understandable self interest.
The big reason that Cranston makes Shannon's self interest understandable is that he is able to portray a tragedy within Shannon, as Rose says in the film that Shannon never had a lot of luck. These are subtle, and short moments in Cranston's performance but are quite powerful when they do come about. These are mostly in small reactions like when Rose's partner mentions Shannon legs, and in just brief moment Cranston portrays a far deeper sadness within him. Cranston plays it well portraying that his more seeming overt happiness in the other moments, although while not a facade, is very much a way of him trying to overcome his troublesome past.
Shannon really is a fairly small role in the film, and he comes in and out, but Cranston makes an impact within the film whenever he does appear. He creates Shannon into an endearing character, as well as heartbreaking in the end of the film. He combines the various elements into making Shannon a compelling character that adds well to his film. Cranston makes what happens to Shannon in the end not just something that is part of the film, but instead makes it so the Driver's final actions all the more poignant and powerful. Cranston works extremely well with his somewhat limited screen time and turns Shannon into far more than he would have been in lesser hands.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2011
Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Bryan Cranston in Drive
Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life
Mark Strong in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Hawkes in Martha Marcy May Marlene
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