Sunday, May 16, 2010

Best Supporting Actress 2008



1. Marisa Tomei as Cassidy/Pam in The Wrestler: Tomei delivers a gutwrenching, beautiful performance which is very authentic. She and Rourke have brilliant chemistry and she never let her role become a stereotype.

2. Amy Adams as Sister James in Doubt: Adams gives a subtle, fantastic performance which might be her best. I thought she gave the strongest performance in Doubt and she really showed the internal battle going on inside her character.

3. Viola Davis as Ms. Miller in Doubt: Davis adds a lot to the film and steers the story in the right direction. She is heartbreaking and totally makes us understand Ms. Miller's actions.

4. Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena in Vicky, Cristina Barcelona: Cruz was the only reason that I didn't completely like V.C.B. Her presence drives the film and I really felt the passions of her character.

5. Tarajii P. Henson as Queenie in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: Henson has a nothing role that is a complete caricature. There is nothing Oscar-worthy in this performance and there were more worthier performances that should have been nominated.

I thought this was a really strong year for this category. Except for Henson, everybody deserved their nominations and would have been worthy winners. My own personal choice though is Rosemarie Dewitt for Rachel Getting Married and I don't understand how she wasn't nominated. So, who is your choice for this year and what did you think of this lineup?

16 comments:

Louis Morgan said...

An okay line up Henson and Cruz are the weak performances. My pick would probably be Adams.

Fritz said...

Did you mean that Cruz was the only reason that you didn't completely DISlike the movie?

Anyway, I have seen three of them so far (Cruz, Davis and Adams) and at the moment, I couldn't chose...they're all somehow even...

joe burns said...

Louis Morgan: What did you think of Tomei and Davis?

Fritz: Yeah, that's what I meant, lol. But wait, I'm confused! I thought you didn't like Cruz and that you had seen Tomei?

Louis Morgan said...

I thought they were both very good.

Anonymous said...

Penelope Cruz simply never impresses me....her win is bottom of the barrel for me. I'd say my pick is between Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei, but Amy Adams was stellar as well.

Brandon said...

Davis and Adams both give dedicated, memorable performances and more than deserved their nominations. I might give Davis the win, but then, Tomei....

Robert said...

My favorite in the lineup is Adams! Davis is quite good, but just such a small part. I also really like Cruz, it's a really fun role that does save the movie. Haven't seen Tomei though :)

joe burns said...

Sage: I like all her nominations! I hope you like her more in Volver, Do 2006 soon!

Twister: What did you think of Cruz?

Robert: See The Wrestler! It's not a perfect film, but worth seeing for Rourke and Tomei.

Malcolm said...

I have seen everyone except Tomei and all were well-functioning.

Henson was stuck with a paper thin character, and didn't elevate much.

Cruz was given a stereotype, but was able to bring it on a higher level.

Adams is given enough drama for her to be great in the movie.

Davis has the opportunity of having a very meaty and interesting role in the movie.

I would have filled the two slots with DeWitt (Rachel) and Olin (Reader).

joe burns said...

Who would be your pick, even though you haven't seen Tomei?

Fritz said...

I think I've warm up to Penelope a bit...
And I have seen Tomei but not in the original English version so I don't count her yet...

Malcolm said...

I'm really with Davis. I don't know. She was just the most impressive of the year, for me.

dinasztie said...

I agree with you. Marisa Tomei was really gutwrenching and so was Rourke and both of them managed to create a memorable, truly human character. I would have given them the Oscars. I think both of them were runners-up (although they say Davis was behind Cruz, Tomei was the critic's darling along with Cruz after all).

Nigel Maruva Chikukwa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nigel Maruva Chikukwa said...

I'm behind Taraji all the way. The "grandmother" has always been a caricature on and off film.

I mean, Grandmothers are just those stereotypes that have a grain of truth to them. I'm just speaking from personal experience here. My grandmother's mannerisms echo those donned by Taraji in the film.

So, no, I have absolutely no problem with Taraji because she mirrored what is true in our society, at least the black community. She, to me, was the heart of that film---or rather, Brad Pitt's conscience.

I was especially impressed by the scene she tells Brad Pitt, "so, you've seen pain huh." I love it because Henson managed to convey that aged maturity/wisdom we see in our nanas. That, to me was her way of bringing emotional depth to the facade (make-up etc) she had to wear.


Bravura performance....This is just my opinion btw, please argue against it objectively without passing judgmental comments

joe burns said...

I just didn't think she did anything to get past the stockness of her character or did anything Oscar-worthy. But to each his own!