Monday, November 30, 2009

My top 10 Best Supporting Actress winners (as of now)

Note:I'm in the process of seeing most of the Best Actress winners so I can do a ranking like Sage (Again,thank you SO much for sending me the links for most of the Best Actress winners that I haven't seen yet!)did and what Fritz is doing right now,but I'l probably not do a Best Supporting Actress ranking anytime soon,so just enjoy this for now. Also,this list is different from the list that I originally had in mind and posted a while ago,both in new performances being added and others being taken out and the descending order.10.Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny: A terrific comic performance which is incredibly enjoyable. 9: Beatrice Straight in Network:In only 6 minutes of screen time,Straight is absolutely unforgettable. 8. Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show:Heartbreaking,powerful,and subtle portrayal. 7. Sandy Dennis in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf?:The transformation that Dennis goes through in this film is mesmerizing to watch. 6. Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener:Brilliant performance. Enough said! 5. Eileen Heckart in Butterflies Are Free:Heckart is just wonderful in this and becomes the center of the film. 4. Diane Wiest in Hannah And Her Sisters:I just LOVE,LOVE,LOVE,this performance and movie. 3. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago:The most hated performance that is in my top ten. But I was blown away by her. 2. Angelina Jolie in Girl Interupted: An incredible performance which dominates the entire film. And #1. Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry:When I first watched the video "My favorite Supporting Actress winners" that Sage posted on Youtube,Jones's clip struck a chord in me. After seeing Elmer Gantry last night,I was amazed by Jones. She delivers a stunning performance which I loved from her first scene to her last. So tell me,who are your favorites? Which of my choices do you like or dislike?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Films I've seen recently

The Heiress:I loved this film. Not only was I blown away by Dehavilland's performance,the script,direction,and the other performances were great as well. The Lion In Winter: Wow. I loved this movie as well!. Hepburn was AMAZING and she and O'toole have great chemistry.Hud:A very strong movie as well. Paul Newman was excellent and both Neal and Douglas completely deserved their Oscars. The Rose Tattoo: The 1st half was good,but the film fell WAY down in the 2nd half. Not only was Burt Lancaster terrible,but the relationship between his character and Anna Magnani wasn't conceived very well and it just didn't make sense. However,Magnani is able to rise above this and deliver a brilliant performance. The Good Earth: Didn't really like this movie. Not bad,but it just wasn't my type of film. A good performance by Louise Rainer,although I wish her character was a little more. The Country Girl: A movie that just didn't have much of a plot,in my opinion. Good,but not great performances by Bing Crosby and William Holden,but the film was just alright. Grace Kelly stole the movie with her knock-out portrayal and, in my opinion, deserved her Oscar. Which brings me too............... A Star Is Born: Both Judy Garland and James Mason are outstanding in this. And although,as I said above,I felt that Kelly was deserving,Garland was still incredible,especially when she sings "The man that got away". Note:I also saw Klute and Howard's End recently,but I don't want to include to many films in my post.Please comment! I hate it when I get zero comments.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

An Education review

After seeing An Education yesterday,I can say that the film was very good. Incomplete (for reasons that I can't say due to spoiler alert),but a strong movie none the less. Of course,the main reason I saw it was for Carey Mulligan's performance,which has been getting a lot of awards attention lately. But after seeing it,I can't honestly say that she's worthy of all the buzz she's been getting. Her performance was a strong one and probably nomination worthy,but win caliber? I don't think so. That said,everyone has gone gaga over her and she'll probably be nominated,but I think she'll need to be a sure thing to win. Anyone have any thoughts on this film or the Best Actress race this year?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Best Supporting Actress Analysis

I've decided to have an Analysis of sorts of each of the Oscar winners in the top 8 categories. Lets start with Best Supporting Actress. 2000: Marcia Gay Harden as Lee Krasner in Pollock: A fierce, masterful performance. Have no problem with her winning, although I think that Frances Mcdormand should have won for Almost Famous. 2001: Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind: Awful. Just awful. 2002: Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in Chicago: This is my opinion, but I just love this performance. I felt that she clearly deserved her Oscar. 2003: Renee Zellweger as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain: Ugh. What a bad performance. Zellweger delivered great, Oscar-worthy performances in Bridget Jones's Diary and Chicago, but the Academy decided to give her an Oscar for an over the top, mediocre effort in a flawed movie. 2004: Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator: Entertaining and wonderful characterization of Katharine Hepburn. But Virginia Madsen (Sideways) is my pick. 2005: Rachel Weisz as Tessa Quayle in The Constant Gardener: Beautifully layered, brilliant performance. A deserved win, although Amy Adams was great too. 2006: Jennifer Hudson as Effie White in Dreamgirls: Is there anything else that hasn't been said before? Just terrible. 2007: Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton: Terrific, superb performance. 2008: Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena in Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Cruz brings plenty of fire and life to her film and delivers a strong performance, but Tomei (The Wrestler), Adams (Doubt),and Davis (also from Doubt) were all superior to her performance. I will post my Best Picture Analysis soon. Comment!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Films I've seen recently

Rewatched films: Driving Miss Daisy: I love this movie and I loved it again when I saw it recently. And although I loved Michelle Pfeiffer inn TFBB, I have to stick with Jessica Tandy as my Best Actress selection. The Piano:Really liked this movie on 2nd viewing. The plot structure could be a little stronger, but it's superbly made and has amazing performances by Hunter and Paquin. The Graduate: A brilliant, classic film. Everything was pitch perfect. Films I saw for the first time: Sense And Sensibility: The story drags at times, but I thought it was really entertaining, with strong performances by Thompson and Winslet. Leaving Las Vegas: Wow. Just wow. What a great film. Brilliant acting by Cage and Shue with top notch writing and directing. Tell me your thoughts on these films!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys


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