Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2014: Results

10. John Cusack in Map to the Stars - Cusack might actually play his part too low key as he isn't able to overcome the weaknesses of his film.

Best Scene: Reaction to the fire.

9. Sam Claflin in Riot Club - Claflin is properly despicable but not much more than that.

Best Scene: Club at its worst.

8. Chris Pine Stretch in Pine is a whole lot of something, not quite sure what, but it is definitely something worth seeing.

Best Scene: Ending.

7. Irrfan Khan in Haider - Khan brings the right haunting quality and delivers the right impact in his brief screentime.

Best Scene: What happened.

6. Ricardo Darin in Wild Tales - Darin depicts an appropriate mental descent from dealing with the insanity of bureaucracy.

Best Scene: Losing it.

5. Taika Waititi in What We Do in the Shadows - Waititi gives an amusing performance by always being just so genteel as his vampire.

Best Scene: Wearing the pendant.

4. Michael Parks in Tusk - Parks is a far greater than his terrible film in his properly deranged turn as a walrus aficionado. 

Best Scene: Doesn't need a wheelchair.

3. Damián Alcázar in The Perfect Dictatorship - He manages to be both hilarious and menacing as a politician who in no way hides the shame of his corruption.

Best Scene: Threatening "suicide".

2. Matthias Schoenaerts in The Drop - Schoenaerts gives a terrific portrayal of a wannabe threat in more ways than one.

Best Scene: "I killed Richie Wheeling"

1. Shia LaBeouf in Fury - Good predictions Anonymous, Robert, Tim, Maciej, and Emi Grant.  LaBeouf delivers a performance worthy of a great war film. He's in Fury, but nonetheless LaBeouf gives it his all as a man scarred by war.

Best Scene: "Send me"

Updated Overall

Next: 1966 lead.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2014: Sam Claflin in The Riot Club

Sam Claflin did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Alistair Ryle in The Riot Club.

The Riot Club I suppose can make one truly appreciate the work of Martin Scorsese particularly Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street. I mention those somewhat randomly in that both films are absolutely captivating despite technically depicting despicable characters. The Riot Club is like this as well about a rich college fraternity, however unlike those films the company of these men becomes intolerable almost immediately. The film technically presents them as wrong, however it doesn't present any reason to spend more than a second with them.

Sam Claflin portrays one of the young men who is part of the titular riot club. I'll admit this is one performance that I don't have too much to say about. We see Claflin in the early scenes seemingly somewhat shy and slightly disinterested by visiting his accommodations at college. This shifts a bit though when we see the men actually getting into their activities. This is as Claflin keeps the general idea but speaks with cold overtones when anything turns political. Claflin's performance largely just emphasizes this idea of Alistair as an angry and privileged patrician. Claflin displaying certainly enough venom in his performance as he goes on and on about his low view of the working class. He delivers the needed insidious quality within his work in showing Alistair to be perhaps even more despicable as the group goes about being obnoxious louts. Claflin to his credit I suppose gets off the best of the riot club boys as his performance at being horrible is effective as is intended. There is no needed attempt of sympathy for Alistair, he's horrible and Claflin makes him as such. This with the unabashed ease in his aggressive and vicious manner though all with an ease as though the whole thing is still boring him a bit. Claflin gets off the best because at least his work basically doesn't hide his horribleness with any frat boy manner, he plays it as just an evil man.This doesn't make the character real any more interesting mind you but at least Claflin delivers on the needs of the role. The role in which we just see the man glorying in his own debauchery and cruelty. This is to the point that as soon as he's against the wall for his behavior his attitude stays the same though blames everyone else for his faults. His ending being just seeing a new path to be horrible, though I'll grant Claflin for doing a properly despicable smug smile at his seemingly never failing fortunes. This isn't a great performance, but a decent enough one in a film that doesn't appear to have any particular reason for existing.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2014

And The Nominees Were Not:

Chris Pine in Stretch

Matthias Schoenaerts in The Drop

Irrfan Khan in Haider

Taika Waititi in What We Do in the Shadows

Ricardo Darin in Wild Tales 

Predict those five, these five or both:

Sam Claflin in The Riot Club

Shia LaBeouf in Fury

Michael Parks in Tusk (Do not Watch)

John Cusack in Maps to the Stars

Damian Alcazar in The Perfect Dictatorship