Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Best Actress 2010


I’m not gonna comment too much on the overall nominations, even though there were many surprises and quite a few disappointments. In the Best Actress category, however, all went smoothly. 3 of the nominees were almost locked in, 1 seemed very likely and then there was the 5th slot – which we knew could go in many ways, but Michelle Williams or Hilary Swank were more likely.

It’s a group of performances that I admire, I have seen all 5 films and I think it’s safe to say each of them is a standout in that respective picture. 4 of the actresses are previous nominees, but only half in this category, and only one winner and, as usual, there’s always a fresh face around. It’s an exciting category to look at. Here we go:

The 5 ladies that Oscar had chosen for 2010, in alphabetical order:






Annette Bening as Nic, in The Kids Are All Right









Nicole Kidman as Becca, in Rabbit Hole













Jennifer Lawrence as Ree, in Winter's Bone











Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers, in Black Swan













Michelle Williams as Cindy, in Blue Valentine

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Final Oscar predictions...



More or less 48 hours till the Oscar nominations arrive... It seems like a good time to post final predictions, even though I still can't fully decide on the 5th Best Actress slot or the 3rd nominee for Animated.

And a bit OT: how about King's Speech winning the PGA? It's my least favorite of the 11 films in contention, but at least it makes the race more interesting. :) Though: had The Fighter won the PGA, it would've meant more.

The nominees are listed by their chances of getting nominated (not winning):



Best Picture:
1. The Social Network
2.
The King’s Speech
3.
The Fighter
4.
True Grit
5.
Black Swan
6.
Inception
7.
The Kids Are All Right
8.
Toy Story 3
9.
Winter’s Bone
10.
The Town

11. 127 Hours
12.
Shutter Island



Director:
1. David Fincher – The Social Network
2. Tom Hooper –
The King’s Speech
3. Darren Aronofsky –
Black Swan
4. Christopher Nolan –
Inception
5. David O. Russell –
The Fighter

6. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – True Grit
7. Danny Boyle –
127 Hours



Actor:
1. Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
2. James Franco –
127 Hours
3. Jesse Eisenberg –
The Social Network
4. Jeff Bridges –
True Grit
5. Robert Duvall –
Get Low

6. Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
7. Javier Bardem –
Biutiful



Actress:
1. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
2. Annette Bening –
The Kids Are All Right
3. Jennifer Lawrence –
Winter’s Bone
4. Nicole Kidman –
Rabbit Hole
5. Julianne Moore –
The Kids Are All Right

6. Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
7. Hailee Steinfeld –
True Grit





Supporting Actor:
1. Christian Bale – The Fighter
2. Geoffrey Rush –
The King’s Speech
3. Jeremy Renner –
The Town
4. Andrew Garfield –
The Social Network
5. Mark Ruffalo –
The Kids Are All Right

6. Michael Douglas – Wall Street 2
7. John Hawkes –
Winter’s Bone




Supporting Actress:
1. Melissa Leo – The Fighter
2. Amy Adams – The Fighter
3. Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
4. Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
5. Mila Kunis – Black Swan

6. Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom
7. Lesley Manville –
Another Year



Original Screenplay:
1.
The King’s Speech
2.
The Kids Are All Right
3.
Inception
4.
Black Swan
5.
Another Year


Adapted Screenplay:
1.
The Social Network
2.
Toy Story 3
3.
True Grit
4. Winter’s Bone
5.
127 Hours


Original Score:
1.
Inception
2.
The King’s Speech
3.
The Social Network
4.
Alice in Wonderland
5.
How to Train Your Dragon


Original Song:
1.
Tangled
2.
Burlesque
3.
Toy Story 3
4.
Waiting for Superman
5.
Burlesque


Cinematography:
1.
True Grit
2.
Inception
3.
Black Swan
4.
The Social Network
5.
127 Hours


Art Direction:
1.
The King’s Speech
2.
True Grit
3.
Alice in Wonderland
4.
Shutter Island
5.
Inception


Costume Design:
1.
Alice in Wonderland
2.
True Grit
3.
The King’s Speech
4.
The Tempest
5.
TRON: Legacy


Editing:
1.
The Social Network
2.
Inception
3.
Black Swan
4.
The Fighter
5.
True Grit


Sound:
1.
Inception
2.
True Grit
3.
TRON: Legacy
4.
The Social Network
5.
Black Swan


Sound Editing:
1.
Inception
2.
TRON: Legacy
3.
How to Train Your Dragon
4.
True Grit
5.
Toy Story 3


Visual Effects:
1.
Inception
2.
TRON: Legacy
3.
Alice in Wonderland
4.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
5.
Iron Man 2


Makeup:
1.
Alice in Wonderland
2.
The Wolfman
3.
The Way Back


Animated Feature:
1.
Toy Story 3
2.
How to Train Your Dragon
3.
Tangled


Foreign Language Film:
1. Incendies – Canada
2. Live, above All – South Africa
3. Biutiful – Mexico
4. In a Better World – Denmark
5. Even the Rain – Spain

Tuesday, January 18, 2011


Dear crazy (like me) Best Actress fans,

A couple of days ago I've posted Min and Bill (1930) on my Youtube channel. Of course, no need to say that it's Marie Dressler's Oscar winning performance and a film that is not easy to find.

So if there's anyone who was looking for it for years and was desperate to see it, you can go to this link:



You're welcome! :)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Why, Golden Globes, why?!


Just 3 short thoughts on the new state of the race:

1. I would like to apologize to fellow bloggers because when they made their Oscar winners predictions months ago and they had The Social Network up there (even before the crazy began), I told them: no way is that happening! And now, after even the Globes surrendered to Fincher’s work, I myself am jumping on its bandwagon (of predicting, just that). No way will it lose BP at the Oscars… So, guys, your instincts were better than mine and I’m just joining the dance a bit late.
But my point is still valid in a way: will Oscar voters Ernest Borgnine, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, Dame Judi Dench or anyone over 60 who doesn’t know what Facebook is or just doesn’t care vote for The Social Network or even put it high on the list?!

2. I saw the ceremony live and it was boring and filled with bad speeches. I don’t remember the last time I had so little anticipation for an Oscar ceremony… even the Best Supporting Actress seems quite settled, and I’m not satisfied, as I dislike both Melissa Leo’s and Hailee’s off-screen personas; fake fake fake.

3. The original score for Inception is the best I’ve heard in years. Waiting for a Train and Time are themes that I’ve listed to constantly in the past months and they always tear me to pieces; so moving, so deep, so important, so brilliant in my mind. So I hope Oscar voters don’t just go blindly for anything Social Network, like GG did, and they recognize Hans Zimmer’s deep, meaningful, heartbreaking music creation.


Thoughts on these 3 points?


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Golden Globe predictions


Film categories:


I'm still (foolishly) going with King for Golden Globes :) I really don't want a Social Network sweep.

Motion Picture – Drama: The King’s Speech (alternative: The Social Network)
Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical: The Kids Are All Right (alt: none)
Director: David Fincher, The Social Network (alt: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan)

Actor – Drama: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech (alt: James Franco, 127 Hours)
Actor – Comedy/Musical: Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland (alt: Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack)
Actress – Drama: Natalie Portman, Black Swan (alt: Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole)
Actress – Comedy/Musical: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right (alt: none)

Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter (alt: Michael Douglas, Wall Street 2)
Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter (alt: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom)

Screenplay: The Social Network (alt: The King’s Speech)
Original Score: Inception (alt: The Social Network)
Original Song: Burlesque – You Haven’t Seen… (alt: Tangled)

Animated Film: Toy Story 3 (alt: none)
Foreign-Language Film: Biutiful (alt: I Am Love)





TV categories:

something tells me Mad Men isn't winning this year (even though it's one of the few I still appreciate). My most unusual prediction is Jon Hamm for Best Actor (and not Buscemi); if they actually consider Hamm's brilliant acting in some of the episodes, justice should be done.


TV series – Drama: Boardwalk Empire (alt: Mad Men)
TV series – Comedy/Musical: Modern Family (alt: Glee)
TV movie: Carlos (alt: The Pacific)

Actor – Drama: Jon Hamm, Mad Men (alt: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire)
Actor – Comedy/Musical: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (alt: Steve Carell, The Office)
Actor – TV movie: Edgar Ramirez, Carlos (alt: Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack)

Actress – Drama: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (alt: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer)
Actress – Comedy/Musical: Laura Linney, The Big C (alt: Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie)
Actress – TV movie: Claire Danes, Temple Grandin (alt: none)

Supporting Actor – TV movie/series: Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family (alt: David Strathairn, Temple Grandin)
Supporting Actress – TV movie/series: Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire (alt: Jane Lynch, Glee)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Final Conclusions - Best Actress 1966



I’ve written too much already about how unusual this Best Actress line-up looks, even for the 1960s – when Oscar voters were actually quite charmed by anything foreign, including when it came to performances (the 1970s also). But because this year had such a clear winner when it came to Actress, the field of nominees can be considered as a weaker one. That could be argued: it’s definitely not one of the best, but 3 of the actresses manage somehow to (probably) give career-best performances.

My #1 was an easy call and I seriously suspected nobody would be able to top that performance. The next two performances charmed me, even though they are completely different; trying to choose which is #2 and which is #3 proved difficult, especially as I’m still under the spell of one of them. And finally the next two make for some serious debate: one it too low key in a film that I completely adore but which is a director’s film; the other one: at-that-time an inexperienced actress, counting too much on looks and style in a film that I found almost unwatchable.

Here is how I’ve appreciated them. If you want to go back and read more, just click on their names:



1. Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

It’s definitely easier to deliver an incredible performance when you have an incredibly well written character. This is the case here, but even so: it would be impossible not to be impressed, captivated, intimidated by what’s happening on screen everytime she shows up. Elizabeth perfectly manages the drunk, the funny and most of all the tragic side of Martha, giving us thrills to last for decades, in the best performance of her career.

the highlight: The emotionally charged last scenes, including the confession.







2. Lynn Redgrave, Georgy Girl

It’s possible that her biggest asset for this film is her youthfulness: you cannot fake such joy for life and how refreshing it is to see someone so real and a 22 year old playing a 22 year old with fun and without any vanity. Her charming way of being and her likeability factor create a strong bond with the audience and she somehow manages to do just the right job in the dramatic scenes also. I imagine this film would hardly function with another actress in the role.

the highlight: Learning Italian.










I’m still under the effect of this performance, because it’s easy to see why it’s a slow burner and I’m sure I’ll feel even fonder of it as the years will go by. I’ve thought a lot about it and I guess what I appreciate the most is how dedicated the actress seems to be to the performance, something not that unusual for the European style. It’s an extremely believable, touching performance, with both lighter and highly dramatic and meaningful moments!

the highlight: The joy of a song from the past.










It wasn’t easy for me to try to keep an objective eye on this performance, as A Man and a Woman is an alltime favorite film of mine. But I had to admit: this is a director’s effort and the actors are not the real stars of the film. Anouk is ok at what she’s doing, her performance is very natural, but unfortunately for her (and fortunately for the film’s seductive simplicity) the role is never too demanding. It is though a performance that I fully respect.

the highlight: Relieving the past in the love scene at the end.











If I’d jump to conclusions, I’d probably blame it all on the screenplay, which indeed does nothing for Vanessa. However, even though she’s great to look at on screen and her gorgeous smile makes the film turn watchable, she brings too little to make this underwritten character seem even slightly distinctive or significant. To me, it’s a lazy performance in a messy written film.

the highlight: Terrified by her husband while on the phone with the lawyer.





Elizabeth was the obvious Oscar favorite (ignore the Globe slip) and I think she probably won with more than 75% of the votes. The runner-up with a very small chance of a major upset must’ve been Lynn Redgrave who probably came second. From there on, I don’t think the 3 remaining ladies gathered altogether more than 5-10% of the votes. Of course, it’s just guessing, but I don’t see any of them with a slight change. Anouk was maybe third, Vanessa Redgrave fourth and Ida Kaminska must’ve had the smallest chance of winning.


To see other BEST ACTRESS years discussed so far, go to the column on the right:


What’s next: We’re more or less 10 days away from the announcement of the nominees for 2010. So that will be the next Best Actress year, but before that: some Golden Globe predictions early Sunday.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Ida Kaminska, in The Shop on Main Street
approximately 30 minutes and 56 seconds
24.9% of the film



The film

Slovakia during WW2. Tono lives a poor life, but the fascist authorities offer him the chance to take over the little shop for sewing material, belonging to an old Jewish widow.

You can read my short review of the film just by clicking HERE.

While I was watching the film again to count Ida’s screentime, I definitely found even more enjoyable elements to it. And that’s not surprising, because The Shop on Main Street is a well made, important film: the direction seemed even more precise the second time around and the original score sounds distinctive and is well used.




Ida Kaminska as Rozalie Lautmann


I have previously expressed my incapacity to understand 1966’s Best Actress line-up and how did they come up with this list. While in Vanessa’s case the film had exposure, was in the English-language, but I found the performance to be really underwhelming, in Ida Kaminska’s case it’s completely the opposite. While the film had won Best Foreign-Language film the year before, I don’t see how they could possibly remember a year later to put on their ballot an unknown actress from a Czechoslovakian film, delivering an unusual (but true: effective) performance. The Globes surely had something to do with it.


Ida plays Rozalie Lautmann, the Jewish owner of a confections shop, a quite senile old woman living in a small Slovakian town at the beginning of WWII. When Tono, a simple minded but good-natured man is sent to take over the shop, in the process of Aryanization, he is unable to give the news to this nice old lady, so he creates a bit of a different reality for her, trying to protect her, and the two become friends. But when the Fascist authorities begin sending the Jewish people to labour camps, Tono has a dilemma about what to do with Mrs. Lautmann, who is completely unaware of what’s happening around her.

While trying to form an opinion on Ida’s performance, I became quite curious about something. You see: we have a 60-something year old actress playing a 78 year old woman; Ida Kaminska, a theatre actress, had made just a handful of films in her career and it’s impossible to find online any kind of interview with her or footage other than this film. That being said: me not seeing the actress outside this performance makes me wonder how was she in real life, just so that I weight in on how much acting is she doing for this part.


It sounds silly, I know. Of course she’s acting, but I want to know how different the role was from her real life persona (remember all those jolly, happy interviews with Gabourey Sidibe that made her performance in Precious look even better because the girl was so different from the character? That’s what I mean). But moving on to the actual performance: I liked it and found it refreshing.

Because there’s something about a natural, character performance that always looks new to me, so different than what I’m usually seeing. Some might think that her performance in the more senile scenes in the beginning is a bit pushed, but I believed and, myself being from that part of Europe, found it completely believable and perfectly balanced.

I felt like I knew this old woman and Ida creates the character in such a way that it easily inspires kindness and good nature and makes it the most likeable character of the film. As we can easily anticipate that something bad will happen, I felt for her and it’s to Ida’s credit that she grabs the audience's attention even from her first scene (which comes half an hour into the film) and makes us care and anxiously wait for the verdict of the story.


While the dramatic scenes towards the end, when Mrs. Lautmann starts realizing what’s actually happening, can be seen by many as the most powerful part of the performance (and it is very well played: the scene where she’s looking through the window of the shop at the Jewish people lined-up, ready to be moved, is emotionally charged), I think I prefer her joyful side which makes the character more memorable.

The scene where she’s buying the goose and then carrying it in her purse is terribly funny and how could I not mention her musical moment, as she’s relieving the past listening to her husband’s favorite song and singing along. I smiled all throughout these scenes and I was charmed by her and wanted to see more from the character.

I honestly fell in love with the performance while writing about it now, because I am reliving all the great scenes from the film. At less than 25% of the film, it can be considered a supporting performance and I understand why it’s not for everyone’s taste. But I was captivated by it and I could notice the experience in her acting and how efficiently it’s being used: she’s great at showing all the gestures of a very old woman, making for a natural performance that’s both funny, endearing and very dramatic. I’ll allow myself this guilty pleasure of a .

Saturday, January 08, 2011




[this post is a part of Stinkylulu’s Supporting Actress Blogathon; to find out more about it or to participate click immediately on Stinkylulu]

There were at least three performances of Naomi Watts released in 2010, none of which gained too much love from the critics. However, I was completely captivated by her performance as a cold-hearted seductive lawyer in the fabulous indie film Mother and Child.



Naomi Watts, as Elizabeth in Mother and Child


One might actually argue that this is a leading performance, due to the three-separate-stories structure that dominates the first part of the film. Mother and Child is a story about adoption and talks about three different women, each of them representing a different perspective on the subject: a woman obsessing on a decision made years ago, the child she gave up for adoption who’s now a successful lawyer and a woman desperately trying to adopt.

Naomi plays Elizabeth, a beautiful, confident, seductive woman who’s made a great career for herself, but who decided on a rule of not getting emotionally attached to anyone, most likely due to the lack of love from her childhood. As a baby, she was given up for adoption, but her not-so-happy childhood made her become a woman who’s completely against the idea of a family or any kind of stability and long term commitment.

In the first part of the film we see her as a seductive woman, who plays with men and has no guilty conscience about destroying somebody’s marriage. She is determined, aware of her charms and finds pleasure in sexdates that always put her in a domineering, in control, situation. Naomi, of course, is great at playing this side of the character, combining both the flirtatious nature of Elizabeth and her coldness and distant way of treating those around her.

With one single look, she can easily turn into the bitchiest woman, yet always giving us the feeling there’s more to this character than we might’ve thought. Naomi creates her in such an interesting way, that I was constantly curious to see what’s gonna happen to Elizabeth, as I was anticipating a change in the character.

And the change does happen, as a completely unexpected pregnancy transforms Elizabeth into a totally different woman, liberating her in a way from her childhood trauma and finally giving her something/someone to love and to protect, someone who might love her unconditionally and become her reason for existing.


With great talent, Naomi makes the change completely believable and delivers an even more likeable Elizabeth. Because I don’t want to spoil the film for those who haven’t seen it, I’ll stop here with my writing. But I do have to give Naomi credit for her acting in what is by far the most touching, heartbreaking scene in a 2010 film for me: the elevator scene, with Elizabeth and a blind girl that she befriends – in a scene that lasts less than a minute, Naomi manages to gives us so much without saying a single word, making this film moment completely and undeniably heartbreaking.

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Meet me there on Sunday :D


... because it's Stinkylulu's Supporting Actress Blogathon!!!
So, if there was a Supporting Actress from a 2010 film that you'd feel like promoting or write about and such, write the profile on your blog and join us at stinkylulu.blogspot.com
I'm sure many of you know about it, so this is a reminder. :)

I won't be in town, but I'll definitely post my stuff by then.

Click HERE to read all about it!

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Happy New Year!


And it seems like the right time to remember the best I've seen in the last 365 days. It was all possible due to my other blog (My Latest Oscar Film), where I keep track of what I'm seeing.

The best film - already seen before: All About Eve


Because of my Best Actress series on this blog, I was pleased enough to find a reason to see All About Eve again last year. There was some real competition going on, but I feel confident to name it the best film I've revisited in 2010.






The best film - first time screening: the Toy Story series


I don't know why I've waited this long, but I was so happy to finally discover these 3 films. All of them are charming, well made, with great stories, quality humour and wonderful screenplays; and definitely with more emotional impact than you'd expect from such a genre.