Alex in Movieland

2012-02-01T01:55:00.000-08:00

Best Actress 2011

Since I’ve made my first predictions for 2011 back in April 2011, I guess you can say it was a 9 months journey till the nominations were announced. This sounds silly, but what can I do: I am devoted to Oscar. And for Best Actress 2011 we have big names competing, but we’ll get to the nominees in a moment. As of now, I’ve only seen 3 of the 5 nominated films and so far I am impressed (with the performances, not so much with the films). I’m anxious to see The Iron Lady and My Week with Marilyn, so I have now idea who my winner will be.

Let’s talk a bit about them. The 5 ladies that Oscar had chosen for 2011, in alphabetical order:

Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs, in Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark, in The Help

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, in The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, in My Week with Marilyn

Let’s analyze a bit how these ladies got nominated, starting with the 3 performances we knew for sure will show up in the line-up. Viola Davis receives her 2nd Oscar nomination for her performance in The Help; she was previously nominated as Supporting Actress for Doubt. In the spring, when most of us started doing very early predictions, there was a bit of confusion in what category will Viola be nominated, so for a couple of months people predicted her in Supporting Actress, next to Octavia. As it became clearer that she gives the best performance in the film, they started her campaign for Leading Actress. For this performance she has been nominated for the Golden Globe and BAFTA and she’s won the Critics Choice Award and the SAG. Her film is the only one from this line-up that’s nominated also for Best Picture and the SAG win makes her the front-runner to win on Oscar night.

Meryl Streep received a record-breaking 17th Oscar nomination, 14 of which are for Leading Actress, for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. For playing this controversial character, Meryl has already won the Golden Globe, is nominated for a BAFTA (which she’ll probably win), won the award from the New York Film Critics Circle and received nominations from Critics Choice Award and SAG. This is the performance that will give Viola a competition for the win, as Meryl is trying to get her 3rd Oscar (she’s been previously rewarded for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie’s Choice). She hasn’t won in 29 years and she’s been the obvious runner-up for all of her 4 previous nominations. This nomination was a lock, but a future win could be harmed by the bad reviews The Iron Lady has received.

Michelle Williams started the season on the right foot, as a sure thing for a nomination and a serious threat for the win. For her performance as icon Marilyn Monroe she’s won awards from plenty of critics’ groups: Boston, Dallas, Florida, Chicago, Toronto, Washington and Las Vegas. She’s also won the Golden Globe (strangely enough, for the Comedy/Musical category), and was nominated for Critics Choice Award, BAFTA and SAG. Lately nobody seems to be talking about this performance, which has probably dropped to an unthreatening 3rd place. This is Michelle’s 3rd Oscar nomination, she was previously nominated in Supporting for Brokeback Mountain and in Leading for Blue Valentine.

These 2 performances had a harder time getting here:

Glenn Close receives her 6th Oscar nomination, and her first one in 23 years; so it’s safe to call it a comeback. She has also co-written and produced Albert Nobbs, a small independent film that few people seem to like. This nomination (and the 2 others than Albert Nobbs received) are due to a very strategic & efficient campaigning and because actors know and respect Glenn’s efforts in making this happen. Prior to the Oscar nomination, Glenn Close only received nominations for the Golden Globe and for the SAG. She’s never won an Oscar, and it won’t happen now, given how few people have seen/enjoyed her film.

Rooney Mara was the real surprise of this category, managing to steal Tilda Swinton’s nomination. This is Rooney’s first Oscar nomination, which confirms my theory that you always need a newcomer in the Best Actress category. She plays the very popular character Lisbeth Salander in Fincher’s version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Prior to the nomination, she had only received a Breakthrough Award from the National Board of Review and a Golden Globe nomination.

Let’s throw in some names of other actresses that competed for a nomination. There were only 2 or 3 bigger threats, but plenty of potential dark horses:

Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (the clear runner-up and a surprising snub. She had won awards from the prestigious National Board of Review, Online Film Critics, San Francisco Film Critics and was nominated for Golden Globe, SAG, Critics Choice Award and BAFTA).

Charlize Theron for Young Adult
Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene
Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia
Felicity Jones for Like Crazy
Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids
Olivia Colman for Tyrannosaur

Also, why not:
Saoirse Ronan for Hanna
Keira Knightley for A Dangerous Method
Kristin Scott Thomas for Sarah’s Key
Mia Wasikowska for Jane Eyre
Michelle Yeoh for The Lady
Juliette Binoche for Certified Copy
Rachel Weisz for The Whistleblower
Anne Hathaway for One Day
Vera Farmiga for Higher Ground

I’ll start writing about the 5 nominees, though no hurry, given I still have to find two of the movies. I might start with Glenn Close...

2012-01-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

Updated January 24th - let's see how I did

And here they are: the final Oscar predictions

Less than 48 hours till the big announcement. For me, the nominations are way more fun than the actual winners. So here are my final predictions: the order represents their chance of getting nominated, NOT their chance of winning.

My predicted winners (if they get nominated) have this *** on the side.

[all 7 nominated; one of the other 2 was runner-up]
Best Picture:

1. The Artist
2. The Descendants
3. Hugo
4. The Help
5. Midnight in Paris
6. Moneyball
7. War Horse

if Oscar would've went with 10:
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. The Tree of Life
10. Drive

[5/5]
Director:
1. Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
2. Martin Scorsese – Hugo
3. Alexander Payne – The Descendants
4. Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
5. Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life

6. David Fincher – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7. Steven Spielberg – War Horse

[4/5]
Actor:
1. George Clooney – The Descendants
2. Jean Dujardin – The Artist
3. Brad Pitt – Moneyball
4. Michael Fassbender – Shame
5. Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

6. Michael Shannon – Take Shelter
7. Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar

[4/5]
Actress:
1. Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
2. Viola Davis – The Help
3. Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
4. Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
5. Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs

6. Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7. Charlize Theron – Young Adult

[4/5]
Supporting Actor:
1. Christopher Plummer – Beginners
2. Albert Brooks – Drive
3. Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
4. Nick Nolte – Warrior
5. Jonah Hill – Moneyball

7. Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
8. Armie Hammer – J. Edgar

[5/5]
Supporting Actress:
1. Octavia Spencer – The Help
2. Berenice Bejo – The Artist
3. Jessica Chastain – The Help
4. Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
5. Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs

6. Shailene Woodley – The Descendants
7. Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus

[3/5]
Original Screenplay:
1. Midnight in Paris
2. The Artist
3. Bridesmaids
4. 50/50
5. Young Adult

6. Beginners
7. Win Win

[4/5 + first runner-up]
Adapted Screenplay:
1. The Descendants
2. Moneyball
3. The Help
4. Hugo
5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

6. The Ides of March
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

[3/5 + first runner-up]
Original Score:
1. The Artist
2. War Horse
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. The Adventures of Tintin
5. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

6. Hugo
7. Jane Eyre

[1/2 but category was a mess]
Original Song:
1. The Muppets (Pictures...)
2. The Muppets (Man or Muppet)
3. Gnomeo and Juliet
4. Captain America
5. The Help

6. Hugo
7. Albert Nobbs

[5/5]
Cinematography:
1. The Artist
2. Hugo
3. The Tree of Life
4. War Horse
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7. Melancholia

[4/5]
Art Direction:
1. Hugo
2. The Artist
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
5. War Horse

6. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
7. The Help

[4/5]
Costume Design:
1. Hugo
2. The Artist
3. Jane Eyre
4. The Help
5. W.E.

6. My Week with Marilyn
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

[4/5 + first runner-up]
Editing:
1. The Artist
2. Hugo
3. War Horse
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
5. Moneyball

6. The Descendants
7. The Tree of Life

[3/5 - shame on me, my no. 1, Super 8, was not nominated]
Sound:
1. Super 8
2. Hugo
3. War Horse
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
5. Hanna

6. The Artist
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

[2/5 + first runner-up // but overall poor predictions]
Sound Editing:
1. War Horse
2. Super 8
3. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol
4. The Adventures of Tintin
5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

6. Hugo
7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[4/5]
Visual Effects:
1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
4. Hugo
5. The Tree of Life

6. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
7. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

[2/3 + second runner-up]
Makeup:
1. The Iron Lady
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
3. Hugo

4. The Artist
5. Albert Nobbs

[3/5]
Animated Feature:
1. Rango
2. Puss in Boots
3. The Adventures of Tintin
4. Cars 2
5. Kung Fu Panda 2

6. Arthur Christmas
7. Rio

[4/5 + first runner-up]
Foreign Language Film:
1. Iran
2. Israel
3. Poland
4. Canada
5. Germany

6. Belgium
7. Morocco

In case you want to see my previous Oscar predictions, just click on the date I've posted them:

APRIL 3RD, 2011

AUGUST 16TH, 2011

DECEMBER 31ST, 2011

You have to agree I haven't predicted anything outrageous. :) I'm going (mostly) safe.

2012-01-21T13:48:00.001-08:00

Celebrating 100 profiles

As you can see, this is a special post, dedicated to the achievement of writing here, on this blog, about 100 Best Actress nominated performances. There’s still plenty to go, that’s for sure. But I thought it’s a good time to name my favorite 5 performances that I’ve discussed here, and also remember the 5 that I thought least deserved their nominations.

It is also a good time to make some corrections in the number of stars I’ve given over the years. I feel I was too judgmental with 2 performances, and at the same time too generous with one other.

So here we go.

1. Top 5 performances from the 20 Best Actress years analyzed so far

They are in chronological order. Personally, I know which is the best so far (no, it’s not the one you think), but I’d rather keep that to myself as I truly LOVE all these 5 performances. There were plenty of runner-ups, but I’m confident I’ve chosen the ones I love the most:

Bette Davis, in All About Eve (from the Best Actress 1950 nominees)

Elizabeth Taylor, in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (from the Best Actress 1966 nominees)

Ingrid Bergman, in Autumn Sonata (from the Best Actress 1978 nominees)

Geraldine Page, in The Trip to Bountiful (from the Best Actress 1985 nominees)

Marion Cotillard, in La vie en rose (from the Best Actress 2007 nominees)

Not much to say about these performances, right?! One has been with me for most of my lifetime, one I’ve discovered while writing for this blog, but I really respect and admire all of them.

Now let’s go to the less fortunate:

2. Least deserving 5 performances from the 20 Best Actress years analyzed so far

The same, they are in chronological order:

Irene Dunne, in Cimarron (from the Best Actress 1931 nominees)
Jennifer Jones, in Love Letters (from the Best Actress 1945 nominees)
Vanessa Regrave, in Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (from the Best Actress 1966 nominees)
Gena Rowlands, in Gloria (from the Best Actress 1980 nominees)
Anne Bancroft, in Agnes of God (from the Best Actress 1985 nominees)

No mystery on who I think is the worst here, given that Anne Bancroft’s Agnes of God performance received the only 1 star I’ve ever given.
Also: Andrew, sorry for including Vanessa, I know you like her performance, but it just didn’t work for me. :(

3. Some corrections

Because it’s a milestone in my Best Actress series, I’m giving myself the chance to correct 3 of the ratings I’ve given for the past 3 years. These changes do not affect the rankings of the performances in their individual Best Actress years. I just think I should’ve given a different number of stars:

Moving up:
- Catherine Deneuve for Indochine (1992 race): from the current moving up to .
- Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008 race): from the current moving up to .

Going down:
- Ellen Burstyn for Resurrection (1980 race): from to .

And that’s about it.
Thanks for stopping by!
And the Best Actress discussions will continue!

2012-01-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Final Conclusions - Best Actress 1931

This was not a great year for the Best Actress category. I won’t regret writing about it so early, of course not: I’ll never will. But it needs to be said that, in my opinion, there’s nothing in this line-up to get excited about. Marie Dressler has her fans, no doubt about it, but to me it’s a flawed performance.

Deciding on a winner was not easy, but in the end I went with the performance I’ve enjoyed the most. I am happy with my #1, because from these 5 performances it’s probably the one that also showed most range. #2 was an easy choice, and so was #3. The next two I care little about, and my contemporaries seem to agree as nobody talks about them anymore.

Given how little impressed I was with this year’s performances, I won’t be giving the Best Acted Scene distinction, a tradition started 2 oscar-years ago.

And here is how I’ve appreciated and ranked the performances. If you want to go back and read more, just click on their names:

1. Norma Shearer, A Free Soul

I am not in a position to say this is not over-the-top, because Norma loves to cry and she’s often enough a spoiled diva in this film. But I like it and this girl was charming as hell: her presence lights the screen, her tears are very convincing and she gives a charismatic, emotional performance, both joyful & flirty, and adequately dramatic.

the highlight: The visit to the jail.

2. Marie Dressler, Min and Bill

I’ll give her credit for being, by far, the best thing about the film and you can tell she tries her best. Sometimes, when she remembers to be subtle, the acting works in her favor: she is convincing and creates an emotional connection with the audience. But often enough, she makes a mistake so often for performances of that era: acting too vividly, as if for audiences in the last row of the stage theatre.

the highlight: Pretending not to love Nancy, when handing her over to more fit parents.

3. Marlene Dietrich, Morocco

There is something really special about her performance here: her shyness, her quiet mysterious way – all these are fascinating and attractive. But how long can you play this card?! The answer would be: the entire film. It’s an interesting performance to study, but it lacks joy, excitement and… range. At times I felt she would’ve needed more acting experience, but I still like it a bit more than the rating suggests.

the highlight: Running away from her engagement party.

4. Ann Harding, Holiday

This is another theatrical performance, but the opposite of Dressler’s. If Marie makes way too many faces to the camera, Ann Harding has almost no emotion to sell: she uses big words, but the emotion is rarely there, on her face, in the performance. Her ghostly presence never bothers me, but once Mary Astor hits the stage, I’m all Ann who?!

the highlight: confronting her father in the party scene.

5. Irene Dunne, Cimarron

Cimarron is a sinking ship, that voters foolishly decided was the best film of its year. Does Irene Dunne survive this gigantic mess? Not really, though I have to admit: what more could she have done?! Her character is a cliché (the supportive wife, otherwise a strong woman), her storyline is a disaster, she’s given no opportunity to show any real charm. But still she’s Irene Dunne and even her worst scenes are easy to get through.

the highlight: As an old woman, giving a big acceptance speech.

Considering this ceremony was one of the first in Oscar’s history (only 4th, to be exact), it’s hard to guess what the few members of the Academy were going crazy for. But let’s try it anyway: I don’t think Marie Dressler’s win was so obvious as some might consider it today. In its previous ceremonies Oscar chose younger ladies to win the trophy, so this really was quite a change. On that note, I suspect the runner-up was Marlene Dietrich, given the incredible year 1930 was for her, with this PLUS The Blue Angel. Norma was 3rd, because of the success of her film, because of her husband, yet only 3rd, given she had already won the Oscar the year before. I guess Irene Dunne was 4th – it would’ve been very a unfair win, but she did perform in the Best Picture winner. And that leaves Ann Harding as 5th.

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

What’s next: For this weekend, a special post on me reaching profile number 100, which means about 25% of Oscar’s Best Actress nominated performances; but nothing fancy. And on Sunday or Monday I’ll post my FINAL Oscar predictions. The next Best Actress year to be discussed is, of course, Best Actress 2011.

2012-01-15T08:49:00.001-08:00

Golden Globe predictions...

Less than 12 hours till the big ceremony. And here are my predictions; I've also included the ones for TV, even though they are wild guesses, as I hardly watch anything these days.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Prediction: The Help

Alternative: Hugo

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: The Artist

Alternative: Midnight in Paris

Best Actor - Drama

Prediction: George Clooney - The Descendants

Alternative: Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Alternative: Owen Wilson - Midnight in Paris

Best Actress - Drama

Prediction: Viola Davis - The Help

Alternative: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Alternative: Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Best Supporting Actor

Prediction: Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Alternative: Albert Brooks - Drive

Best Supporting Actress

Prediction: Octavia Spencer - The Help

Alternative: Berenice Bejo - The Artist

Best Director

Prediction: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

Alternative: Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Best Screenplay

Prediction: The Descendants

Alternative: Moneyball

Best Original Song

Prediction: The Help

Alternative: Gnomeo & Juliet

Best Original Score

Prediction: The Artist

Alternative: War Horse

Best Animated Film

Prediction: Rango

Alternative: The Adventures of Tintin

Best Foreign Language Film

Prediction: A Separation

Alternative: In the Land of Blood and Honey

and now for the TV categories...

Best TV Series - Drama

Prediction: Homeland

Alternative: Game of Thrones

Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: Modern Family

Alternative: New Girl

Best TV Movie

Prediction: Downton Abbey

Alternative: Mildred Pierce

Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama

Prediction: Kelsey Grammer - Boss

Alternative: Damian Lewis - Homeland

Best Actor in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: Matt LeBlanc - Episodes

Alternative: Johnny Galecki - The Big Bang Theory

Best Actor in a TV Movie

Prediction: William Hurt - Too Big to Fail

Alternative: Dominic West - The Hour

Best Actress in a TV Series - Drama

Prediction: Claire Danes - Homeland

Alternative: Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical

Prediction: Zooey Deschanel - New Girl

Alternative: Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

Best Actress in a TV Movie

Prediction: Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Alternative: Romola Garai - The Hour

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a TV Series or Movie

Prediction: Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones

Alternative: Guy Pearce - Mildred Pierce

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a TV Series or Movie

Prediction: Jessica Lange - American Horror Story

Alternative: Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey

Anything too crazy? :)

2012-01-14T14:28:00.001-08:00

Marlene Dietrich, in Morocco

approximately 48 minutes and 14 seconds
53.4% of the film

The film

It's the story of a Foreign Legionnaire who meets and falls in love with a singer.

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

It’s a film with plenty of potential because of the exotic location and the charming persona of Marlene Dietrich. It does feel special, but ultimately fails because of the unconvincing love story. I didn’t feel the characters were motivated enough.

Marlene Dietrich as Amy Jolly

With this being Marlene Dietrich’s only Oscar nominated performance, I’m sure modern audiences put a lot of pressure on it and come in with high expectations. That’s not fair, given that she was still a young actress at that point and this happens to be one of her first English-language films. So it’s not a career best performance (from what I’ve seen, I’d give Witness for the Prosecution that honour), but it sure makes for a special nomination.

Marlene plays Amy Jolly, a singer that arrives in Morocco and starts working in a night club. It’s here that she meets a handsome legionnaire and falls in love with him. While she is courted by a rich older man, she simply can’t get over her feelings for the soldier. It’s not a very tragic role, but it does have its key dramatic moments; also, it gives Marlene the chance to sing, something that people from the era seemed to think she was good at.

Marlene creates the character as a quiet, solitary, almost mysterious woman; you won’t see her laugh and she almost never smiles. While this makes the character feel dull at times, it lets us believe that Amy has led a rich emotional life and it gives the impression she is an experienced woman who has seen plenty of things during her lifetime.

The main thing that defines the character throughout the film is her passion for the legionnaire, played by a gorgeous young Gary Cooper. While we can easily believe her crush on him, a complete love story feels unjustified and forced in by the poor writing. Unfortunately, this unconvincing romance is the foundation both for the film and Marlene’s performance, and it ends up affecting the performance.

Marlene tries her best: her desperation is played with a lot of talent and you can notice how she changes everytime he’s around, there’s no need for words. But while I appreciate Marlene’s effort, it’s all for an unconvincing cause: such an experienced, controlled woman would not lose her mind for a man she’s seen just once or twice.

But as I said: the vulnerability is beautifully played, with Marlene’s sad, expressive eyes as the winning element of the performance. To me, the overall performance lacks tears or it lacks joy, it’s too quiet to be considered a great one. The occasional levels of intensity do not help it rise to a fully satisfying level; during the whole film I still felt like something was missing.

I won’t spend time writing about the kissing scene, as it doesn’t define at all the performance; the musical numbers didn’t impress me either, and even those felt strange and restrained. It’s an unusual performance for Oscar to go for, a mysterious one that I will probably remember more fondly than my rating suggests: judging it as objectively as I can it’s a strong .

Talking about a diva was the way to go here: this is performance number 100 that I get to write about… After I write the Conclusions for 1931, there’ll be some short celebration remembering a couple of the first 100; nothing too fancy, but the number is respectable enough to require mentioning.

2011-12-25T12:46:00.001-08:00

Norma Shearer, in A Free Soul

approximately 66 minutes and 4 seconds

71.6% of the film

The film

An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.

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

A Free Soul is a nice melodrama, with an interesting story. While the screenplay has its obvious flaws, the acting goes from ok to impressive, with a lot of familiar faces giving enjoyable performances. It also has the advantage of not feeling so dated.

Norma Shearer as Jan Ashe

Call me subjective and given that this is the first Norma Shearer Oscar-nominated performance I see, I’m definitely not informed enough to give such verdicts: but, oh I like this lady. Maybe I’m seduced by her prettiness, her status as Hollywood royalty or that lovely smile… but it’s clear: I like her and everytime she came on screen in this 1930s melodrama I was either smiling or very moved by that emotional scene.

Norma plays Jan Ashe, the rich, free-spirited daughter of an alcoholic lawyer who breaks-up with her fiancé after she falls in love with a gambler that her father defended. Jan tries to save her self-destructive father, while also realizing the mistakes she’s making in her romantic life. It’s a role with plenty of drama attached to it, that becomes lighter and more romantic everytime Norma smiles and Jan starts flirting with one or another.

So for the most part it’s not a tense performance, and this fits Norma perfectly. Often enough she is radiant, elegant, joyous, as she charismatically nails both the aristocratic side of Jan, and also the down-to-earth happy girl, so easy to fall in love with. The film puts a lot of focus on the idea that Jan is a very strong minded, independent woman, given her more liberal education.

That doesn’t hurt the character, and again: it fits what Norma has to bring, as her own persona does give the impression of an emancipated, modern woman. The way Jan flirts is also well done, leaving the impression of a fun young woman, confident in her charms, playful but never too aggressive.

While this is all easy to admire, her best acting comes in her scenes with her father. The father-daughter relationship is the most emotional one in the film and it also feels unusually honest. Often enough, I don’t fall for this, but in the case of A Free Soul this family connection feels very authentic and it’s the emotional core of the film. There are plenty of scenes to prove it and in which to admire Norma’s more dramatic abilities, but the most impressive one has to be the final courtroom scene.

Jan taking the stand in the murder trial (which I won’t spoil) is probably the best scene in the film, with Norma equally great throughout; you’ll see tears, big revealing, shame and beautifully acted devotion and love towards her father. That scene is good, complemented by Lionel Barrymore’s impressive performance.

Norma gives a fine performance, ranging from flirtatious and fun to dramatic, teary-eyed and very emotional. I’m sure some would say she’s overacting at times, but I enjoyed it; it’s not the most challenging role ever, nor a masterpiece of a performance, but a damn good one. An easy from me.

2011-12-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

I know it looks like I've been lazy, but I'm still here. Best Actress 1931 WILL continue, but I also need to catch up with a lot of 2011 films.

Anyway, still a month or so till Best Actress 2011 line-up is announced and by that time I'll have finished BA 1931, did my 100th anniversary, updated predictions and so on.

I'm still here.

2011-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

Golden Globe predictions...

SAG gave us plenty of surprises today... and tomorrow is the day of the Golden Globes. So, just for the fun of it, here are my predictions (future winners marked with ***):

Best Picture - Drama:
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball
***War Horse
(alt: Extremely Loud...)

Best Picture - Comedy/Musical:
***The Artist
Bridesmaids
Carnage
Midnight in Paris
Young Adult
(alt: We Bought a Zoo)

Best Director:
***Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Steven Spielberg - War Horse
(alt: Clint Eastwood - J. Edgar)

Best Actor - Drama:
***George Clooney - The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
Woody Harelson - Rampart
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
(alt: Michael Fassbender - Shame)

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
Matt Damon - We Bought a Zoo
***Jean Dujardin - The Artist
John C. Reilly - Carnage
Christoph Waltz - Carnage
Owen Wilson - Midnight in Paris
(alt: Tom Hanks - Larry Crowne)

Best Actress - Drama:
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
***Viola Davis - The Help
Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
(alt: Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
Jodie Foster - Carnage
Julia Roberts - Larry Crowne
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
***Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet - Carnage
(alt: Kirsten Wiig - Bridesmaids)

Best Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks - Drive
Armie Hammer - J. Edgar
Nick Nolte - Warrior
***Christopher Plummer - Beginners
(alt: Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud...)

Best Supporting Actress:
***Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Shailene Woodley - The Descendants
(alt: Berenice Bejo - The Artist)

Well, that's it. :) I'm better I'm predicting winners than nominees. Hope I didn't make any mistakes in placing them in the right categories. We'll see how I did.

2011-12-13T11:08:00.001-08:00

New Set of Oscar Predictions

Tomorrow they’re gonna announce the SAG nominations and that’s a big deal. I wanted to get these predictions out before that; I actually update them at least once a week, I just don’t get to post them. Not much to comment on them. I’m going with The Artist, given the recent wave of love – I hope it doesn’t happen to me like in the previous season when I switched to Social Network (after cheering for King’s Speech for a long time) just because it won all those critics’ awards. I still feel like the race isn’t over and War Horse still has a shot.

Anyway, here they are: the predicted winners plus rest of nominees (in the order of their chances of getting nominated)…

Best Picture: The Artist

Nominees: The Descendants, War Horse, Hugo, Moneyball, Extremely Loud, The Tree of Life

Runner-ups: Drive, The Help, Midnight in Paris

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Nominees: Hugo, The Descendants, War Horse, The Tree of Life

Runner-up: Extremely Loud…

Best Actor: George Clooney – The Descendants

Nominees: Brad Pitt - Moneyball, Jean Dujardin – The Artist, Michael Fassbender – Shame, Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Runner-up: Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Best Actress: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Nominees: Viola Davis – The Help, Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn, Charlize Theron - Young Adult, Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene

Runner-up: Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Nominees: Albert Brooks – Drive, Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn, Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud, Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life

Runner-up: Patton Oswalt – Young Adult

Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus

Nominees: Octavia Spencer – The Help, Shailene Woodley – The Descendants, Jessica Chastain – The Help, Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids

Runner-up: Berenice Bejo – The Artist

Best Original Screenplay: The Artist

Nominees: Midnight in Paris, Margin Call, Young Adult, Win Win

Runner-up: 50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants

Nominees: Moneyball, Extremely Loud, War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Runner-up: The Help

Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life

Nominees: War Horse, Hugo, The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Runner-up: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Score: The Artist

Nominees: War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Extremely Loud

Runner-up: Hugo

Best Original Song: Gnomeo and Juliet

Nominees: The Muppets, The Muppets, Captain America, Cars 2

Runner-up: The Help

Best Editing: War Horse

Nominees: The Artist, Hugo, Moneyball, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Runner-up: Drive

Best Art Direction: Hugo

Nominees: War Horse, Harry Potter, The Artist, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Runner-up: The Tree of Life

Best Costume Design: Hugo

Nominees: The Artist, War Horse, Jane Eyre, W.E.

Runner-up: My Week with Marilyn

Best Sound: War Horse

Nominees: Hugo, Super 8, Transformers 3, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Runner-up: MI4

Best Sound Editing: War Horse

Nominees: Hugo, The Adventures of Tintin, Transformers 3, MI4

Runner-up: Super 8

Best Visual Effects: Harry Potter

Nominees: Transformers 3, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Hugo, The Tree of Life

Runner-up: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Best Makeup: The Iron Lady

Nominees: J. Edgar, Green Lantern

Runner-up: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Nominees: Arthur Christmas, Kung Fu Panda 2, Cars 2, Puss in Boots

Runner-up: The Adventures of Tintin

You can also check my previous predictions here:

August 16^th, 2011

April 3^rd, 2011

2011-12-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

Ann Harding, in Holiday

approximately 56 minutes and 32 seconds

63.1% of the film

The film

The story of two sisters and a young man who is torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family.

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

It's a light comedy, or better said a romantic film, that’s easy to watch but never truly smart or very engaging. I did appreciate the performances and Mary Astor’s beauty and attitude were mesmerizing to me.

Ann Harding as Linda Seton

It is a truth universally acknowledged that… that most people have no idea who Ann Harding is. I wouldn’t have known either had I not been a mostly-die-hard Best Actress fan; I don’t know any other films of hers, though she seems to have appeared in plenty of pictures. Based on her imdb page, this was one of her first film roles and she does get to give an interesting performance.

Ann plays Linda Seton, a rich but down-to-earth, charming, romantic woman that falls in love with her sister’s fiancé, slowly realizing that she’s the right woman for him, and not her arrogant sister. It’s a role neither very dramatic, nor very comedic; what is does require is a lot of personality from its actress and some ability to deliver some very stagey lines. That being said, in my opinion there’s not enough strong writing to make this a great performance; but Ann handles well what she has to do.

The highest achievement in Ann’s performance is to make Linda very likeable and as honest as possible. There’s a fantastic kindness that Ann shows us that felt very natural to me, and beautifully contrasting Mary Astor cold, sharp performance as Julia. Ann understands the lightness of the film and doesn’t bother to get from the character more drama that it’s actually given.

The performance consists mostly of sarcastic lines that Ann delivers well, with touches of real emotion here and there. There’s a scene where

Linda confronts her father, it’s the most emotional one and it’s nicely played, but otherwise the screenplay is pretty dry and doesn’t give Ann anything too demanding or juicy enough to show real range.

Another plus is her chemistry with her co-stars, especially the actor who plays her brother; they have a couple of nice scenes together, and both acted like they knew each other well enough, therefore creating a nice emotional connection that the film could really use.

It’s a stagey performance, but how else could it be given the dialogue; Ann is what she’s supposed to be: charming, likeable, natural, sweet, but she doesn’t get enough chances to show real emotion and range. I’m not saying every performance must do that, but based on the way I judge them I tend to appreciate the difficulty of a role, which isn’t the case here. It’s a strong from me.

2011-12-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

National Board of Review predictions...

I'm posting some quick predictions for the NBR, as they're announcing in a couple of hours I think. We've started the week with the NYFCC awards, where, though I didn't write about it here, I correctly predicted wins for Artist & Meryl, though not for Brad. That Brad Pitt win was surprising to me.

Anyway, here's how I think NBR critics will vote:

Best Film: The Artist
alternative: The Descendants

Best Director: Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive
alternative: Terrence Malick - Tree of Life

Best Actor: George Clooney - The Descendants
alternative: Woody Harelson - Rampart

Best Actress: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
alternative: Charlize Theron - Young Adult

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks - Drive
alternative: Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain - The Help. Tree of Life, Take Shelter
alternative: Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus

Best Breakthrough Performance - Male: Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Best Breakthrough Performance - Female: Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Wow, I think they'll look very similar to the NYFCC... We'll see.

2011-11-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Irene Dunne, in Cimarron

approximately 52 minutes and 43 seconds

45.45% of the film

The film

A newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.

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

Well, the film is still one of the worst Best Picture winners, I’d say. I’ve first seen it 2 years ago, and I definitely didn’t find it better this time: it’s a naive, clichéd, unintentionally racist, silly written epic-wannabe film.

Irene Dunne as Sabra Cravat

I think most of us bloggers can find at least a film we’ve seen in which Irene Dunne was insanely charming, or funny, and definitely adorable. That’s easy; and I think she became even more popular years after her career ended, because she’s so easy to love. Cimarron doesn’t fall into that category of great Irene roles because… well, it was the beginning of her career and I’m sure she was taking whatever they were giving her: including this epic western, in which Irene gets to play the mostly-boring role of the devoted wife.

Irene plays Sabra, a wife and mother who adores her free-spirited justice-seeker husband, a newspaper editor that moves the family to the new land of Oklahoma. There, Sabra gets to
witness the birth of a town and has to deal with her husband’s independent nature and ideas. It doesn’t seem like much of a role, and it probably isn’t; but I did appreciate how Irene’s character slowly takes control of the film towards the ending; and Irene finally gets a couple of decent scenes.

In many ways, this is the typical role of the wife and it offers too little for Irene to work with. She’s nice to look at, investing a maternal, caring quality into the character, but the focus is almost never on her, at least in the first hour. The most she gets to do is to play the faithful wife, with plenty of resignation to her husband’s spirit of adventurer.

At the same time, she’s the one keeping the family together, so Irene does get to act a bit as the bossy woman, the one responsible character in the film, who ends up taking control of the family

business. As I said, she mostly walks around, with little range to be shown other than love & the occasional moments of anger; can’t really blame Irene for that, as the failure falls mostly on the director and the messy screenplay.

Where she does grab the attention is in the final chapter of the film, when the husband character seems finally out of the picture; the focus is now on her, and while the screenplay doesn’t suddenly become attractive, she does get to give a couple of speeches and shakes things up a bit (performance-wise) with the effective aging makeup.

Actually, that might be her best moment in the film: giving a believable performance as the old, wise Sabra who gets to deliver a speech while accepting an award. Irene does justice to the character by properly expressing regret and sadness, and actually making Sabra seem more interesting than she really was.

There isn’t much to say about this performance, given how dated it looks, the limitations of the screenplay and the overall quality of the film. While she doesn’t get to shine, Irene definitely gives the best performance from the cast, she is a calming presence throughout the film, and the one voice of reason that’s not completely annoying.

2011-11-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Guys, it's been more than a year since I've showed my face here; literally. Usually, it happens around my birthday. This year, as usual, I was in Athens with work on my birthday, but kept it a big secret, as I wouldn't have wanted any big fuss at work. Now, about a month later, I'm ready with some new pictures, in this yearly post.

These are 2 photos I've taken less than a week ago, from a shooting I like to call Tommy & I. :D 2 vanilla samples here.

Your Romanian blogger salutes you!! Have a nice weekend! :)

2011-11-13T13:47:00.000-08:00

Marie Dressler, in Min and Bill

approximately 45 minutes and 8 seconds

70.6% of the film

The film

Min, the owner of a dockside hotel, is forced to make difficult decisions about the future of Nancy, the young woman she took in as an infant.

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

Min and Bill has its fans, but it didn’t intrigue me that much; watching it from today’s perspective, it does look dated and it feels predictable more than not. Marjorie Rambeau is easily best in show, with a delicious supporting villain performance.

Marie Dressler as Min Divot

Not many people are talking about this performance nowadays, because I’m sure plenty of people from the movie world haven’t even seen it. I myself probably wouldn’t have rushed to it, had it not been 1931 the lucky year to be discussed next. It’s not that I had anything against, only that I suspected the film will be quite boring. What is interesting is that most, if not all, of those who have seen it and had expressed an opinion on Dressler’s performance seem to adore it.

Marie Dressler plays Min, a tough old lady who owns a cheap hotel near the docks. She saves all of her money dreaming of a nice house, while also keeping an eye on and protecting Nancy, a young woman she raised since she was a baby. But when Nancy’s real mother, a selfish alcoholic trouble-maker, comes to town, Min has to do everything she can to protect the future and the happiness of the girl.

The casting seems perfect and what I admired the most was Dressler’s intimidating presence throughout the film. She creates a great character that takes no nonsense, a strong woman with plenty of life experience, who doesn’t hesitate when she sets out to do something. Her one weakness is Nancy, though it’s not really a weakness: you can tell in fact Nancy is Min’s one pride & joy, even though she chooses not to share that with the girl.

Min keeps her tough mask on in front of Nancy, but Marie Dressler allows the audience to really notice how Min fells about the girl. It’s great that we get to see a human side of Min, though sometimes I wished the subtle wasn’t that obvious – that meaning that we could’ve noticed such feelings and nuances even with less acting & hints.

This is probably my biggest issue with the performance, that it sometimes looks a bit too expressive; sure, the movie industry had just come out of the silent era, but to me those face expressions were maybe too much, too theatrical at times. Also, I have to be honest: in her scenes with Marjorie Rambeau, I couldn’t take my eyes off Marjorie, and neither could the camera.

Marie Dressler gives a solid performance, and I could recognize the talent. You can see the changes in the character and she has the strong presence that any leading actress should have. However, the role is not the most challenging, and while I respect it a lot, I was never too excited about the performance. To me, it’s a strong ; and who knows… I have yet to see the other nominees, so this rating might actually bring her my win.

2011-11-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

Best Actress 1931

The draw for the next Best Actress year took place before I left for Athens, and the result was announced on Twitter. This year is generally known as 1930-1931, but I always call it as Best Actress 1931. Being the 4th Oscar ceremony, I am not very familiar with this group, and, at the time of the draw, I had seen only Cimarron, the Best Picture winner for that year. So it will be nice to discover this Best Actress line-up that very few people talk about. That being said, I’m not expecting to be blown away by any of the performances. :)

The 5 ladies that Oscar had chosen for 1931, in alphabetical order:

Marlene Dietrich as Amy Jolly, in

Morocco

Marie Dressler as Min Divot, in Min and Bill

Irene Dunne as Sabra Cravat, in Cimarron

Ann Harding as Linda Seton, in Holiday

Norma Shearer as Jan Ashe, in A Free Soul

I cannot say if any of these were surprising nominations or not, as we’re talking about 1930-1931 films, I’m not familiar with the releases and anyway who knows what the voters were thinking back then, how they chose their performances. But even so, it’s worth going over the nominees, as 3 of these actresses are considered nowadays among the best of their generation.

Marlene Dietrich was already a silent-films star back in Germany, but 1930 was her breakthrough year in Hollywood, with Morocco and most importantly with The Blue Angel. The early 1930s turned her into an icon, but this was the only Oscar nomination she received during her career.

This was Irene Dunne’s second film and she would quickly become one of Hollywood’s most adored actresses, mostly due to her charming acting style, best used in screwball comedies and romantic films.

Norma Shearer was undoubtedly one of the biggest names in Hollywood at that time. She was the wife of Irving Thalbert, producer at MGM, already had an established career and was the Best Actress winner of the previous year. I suspect this nomination could’ve have been a surprise, given her popularity.

Marie Dressler, who ended up winning for Min and Bill, had a solid film career, but was best known for her theatre work and she was considered a major vaudeville star. I don’t know much about Ann Harding and people never seem to talk about her; she was a Broadway actress and also made plenty of films, but this would be her only nomination.

I’ll start with the winner, as usual.

It’s also worth mentioning that this will be the 20^th Best Actress year I write about, so I’ll get to do the 100th profile – given the year, I’ll celebrate with a diva, so Marlene Dietrich’s performance will be the last one reviewed.

And here’s the video proof that 1931 was drawn, in case you wanna waste 60 seconds :)

2011-10-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Final Conclusions - Best Actress 1985

I have loved The Color Purple for years, so starting Best Actress 1985, I thought Whoopi was gonna be my easy winner. Of course, I was wrong, and that’s why I love my Best Actress series, because the surprises keep on coming. When I started it, I also didn’t suspect 1985 will deliver the worst performance I’ve talked about on the blog so far and the first 1 star I’ve ever given. So it was a year full of surprises, both for me AND for the Academy – Whoopi had a real chance to become to first African American to win this category and it didn’t happen.

Judging by the number of stars I’ve given, no. 1 looks like an easy choice; and it was, in a way. I’ve noticed that those who see the performance are almost entirely charmed by it. no. 2 was also quite easy, given my love for the film and the difficulty of the role. no. 3 is also a performance I respect a lot, in a film whose revisit was completely charming to me. The number of stars is very relevant for the other two performances.

There’s a special award that I’ve included for Best Actress 1945, and continuing it now: Best Acted Scene award, which this time goes to:

Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful – the fantastic scene on the bus, when Carrie Watts confesses about never loving her husband and telling the young woman the story of the man she really loved. It’s an expected, emotional, heartbreaking moment and Geraldine is just devastating in it.

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

1. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful

To say that she is the heart of the film is a huge understatement. She takes the Geraldine-Page-style-of-acting to levels she’s never gone before by bringing incredible kindness, believability and life into such an emotionally-rich character. There’s no false note here, just a legendary actress doing her best work: a performance both entertaining and surprisingly heartbreaking.

the highlight: Her confession about not loving her husband.

2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple

It’s a performance that feels complete only after seeing it a couple of times. What I loved the most about it is the deep understanding of what Celie feels, always giving us the impression of a beautiful person hidden somewhere beneath fear and humility. Whoopi carefully follows the evolution of the character, building a believable emotional transformation.

the highlight: The dinner scene, when she finally speaks up.

3. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa

Meryl is so pretty in this I would’ve forgiven her anything. But as expected, to me there are no mistakes in this performance: I liked the accent and I loved that she made it look natural and simple… and even easy. It might not seem like a very challenging role, but that’s because Meryl is acting like a pro, making wise decisions when to act more and when to just sit pretty.

the highlight: for me, it has to be the voice-over that starts the film.

4. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams

I have confessed in the profile that I think Jessica Lange was way to sensual and sexy and gorgeous to take on such a role. I didn’t buy her as Patsy Cline and that Southern accent didn’t help either. But with all that against her, plus a terrible screenplay, her performance has two highlights: the emotions she tries to bring in the lip-synching scenes and the few scenes of more emotional depth.

the highlight: taking off the bandages after the car accident.

5. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God

Officially, the worst performance of the ones I’ve reviewed so far in the past 2 years. The role is incredibly juicy, but Bancroft has no idea what to do with it. Not only does she not do it justice, she sinks it, making it the most annoying character in a poorly made film. It’s a completely unbalanced performance, surprising only by the complete lack of inspiration in Anne’s acting choices.

the highlight: none.

Time to play the guessing game of who got more votes. I still believe Whoopi was a favorite before the final verdict, because of the Golden Globe support, and also because they had all seen Color Purple. However, how would they deny a win for Geraldine Page, considering it was her 8^th(!!!) nomination and she had never won. I agree with the Academy’s choice, which was partly honorary, partly based on the actual performance – but it sure wasn’t an easy victory to get. I’m quite sure Whoopi was a close 2^nd, but this only because Meryl already had 2 Oscars. I think Meryl was 3^rd; she was a threat considering her film ended up becoming the Best Picture winner. Jessica was probably 4^th, though not a big threat, and Anne Bancroft 5^th, as I like to believe extremely few voters would’ve given her the win.

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

What’s next: I have already held the draw on Twitter, before I left for Athens, for the next Best Actress year, from the 1930s. The year that won was 1931 (the one with Marie Dressler). I will make the official announcement soon.

2011-10-22T09:14:00.001-07:00

Whoopi Goldberg, in The Color Purple

approximately 58 minutes and 38 seconds
39.5% of the film

The film

The life and trials of a young African American woman.

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

I’ve really liked the film ever since I first saw it, about 10 years ago. While my love for it isn’t as obsessive as it was back then, I still think it’s a wonderful drama, with a very emotional well-told story. The performances are terrific, most of them coming from actors without experience who offer career-best acting.

Whoopi Goldberg as Celie Johnson

Every article on impressive first-performances must include Whoopi Goldberg’s in The Color Purple. I think she was a comedienne by then, but this was her film debut, and it justifiably took Hollywood & the rest of the world by surprise. And this even more considering the difficult character she had to play, in a purely serious drama. Had she won Best Actress back then, she would’ve made history as the first African-American to do so. But what she did gain from it was a fantastic start of a very popular career.

Whoopi plays grown-up Celie, a young woman abused by her stepfather and sold for marriage to an even more abusive man, who forbids Celie from seeing her sister, the only person who’s ever loved her. The constant abuse turns Celie into a very humble person, who never dares to speak up. The unexpected presence of Shug Avery, the free-spirited mistress of her husband, brings a bit of hope into her life.

We don’t see Whoopi for the first 35 minutes of the film, but when she shows up it really changes everything, and finally we get to see something interesting and intriguing in Celie. Even so, I admit to have had some difficulty adjusting to the introductory shyness of the performance – but once I’ve finished the film, it felt complete and I realized the journey that the performance itself is.

And I see it now it couldn’t have been done differently, given the character and its emotional frailty. Though not the most exciting thing to watch, the quiet, shy, child-like Celie is what makes sense in the context of the film and Whoopi gets it right – her gestures and voice-acting, though not always perfect, leave the impression of a traumatized person, but also of a beautiful spirit hidden behind the robotic-behaviour of an abused person tragically finding normalcy in such a lifestyle.

It’s not a performance easy to judge, because it’s not flashy, but not subtle either. It’s a performance very dependent on the trajectory of the character, living little space for the actress to diversify. The character changes a lot during the film, both physically and emotionally, and Whoopi has to keep up by making the change visible, believable, in the spirit of the character.

Of course, I preferred the scenes from the second part, and the table scene is Whoopi’s great triumph, portraying Celie in a moment of her life when she’s had enough. She’s wants to get away regardless of the price and I felt for her more than in any other scene: the difficulty of having to speak up and confronting her abusive husband. You can feel how nervous she is with the perspective of finally letting all that hate out. Whoopi is fantastic in the scene, superbly demonstrating the emotional struggles of Celie.

It’s not a traditional character for this category, and I somehow feel it’s a performance hard to agree on, especially among bloggers. What makes even the performance a little unusual is that most of the emotions of the character are shut inside for at least half of the screentime; while staying faithful to the character, for a big part of it it seems like Whoopi is not doing enough, reacting too little. To me, that’s just being devoted to your character; sure, I prefer louder, more open performances, but I completely respect this one. I’ll go with a very strong .

Final verdict coming probably tomorrow.

2011-10-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Jessica Lange, in Sweet Dreams

approximately 79 minutes and 30 seconds

71% of the film

The film

Lange portrays Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country singer who died in a tragic plane crash.

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

No, I’m no fan of this film; even if I’d agree with the focus put on the relationship between Patsy & her husband, I still don’t like the way it’s done. The writing is bad, at one point even trying to justify his abusive behaviour. It should’ve been more about her love for music & her songs, and less about domestic violence.

Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline

It needs to be said that any Jessica Lange fan would probably rate this 3 stars or higher! It’s not that I dislike her, I’m actually quite inlove with her as a person & movie star & gorgeous woman, but I believe that her sensuality, her sexiness is so powerful that it often limits the area of roles that would fit her. Sometimes she’s perfectly cast, other times not so much… I think Jessica’s charm is so distinctive, especially in her younger years, that it makes it hard for her to sell some of the roles, let alone a biopic performance of legendary country singer Patsy Cline.

Jessica plays Patsy Cline, country music superstar, from her early days of anonymity to her successful years, up to her tragic death. The film is mostly focused on her relationship with her abusive husband and their bumpy love story. The role makes room for enough loud scenes & shouting, but such moments of domestic trouble weren’t so interesting to me. As for the scenes with singing, her lip-sync is… just ok; not the worst, but you could easily notice the difference.

As you can tell, my biggest trouble with this performance is that I didn’t see Patsy in it. Jessica surely tries and she is most effective in the quieter scenes, like the ones after the car accident or any other time when she gets to reflect on what’s happening around her. Sometimes, she fails: her loud southern style is unconvincing and often feels unnatural, as if she was trying just a bit too hard. Also, her scenes as younger Patsy are the weakest.

A good screenplay might’ve made the difference and would’ve allowed Jessica, if not to convince me this is biopic, at least to put in some depth into the character. However, as it is, the writing is very lazy, sometimes giving way too much explained emotion into the dialogue, when we should’ve actually seen that through Jessica’s acting. I didn’t feel a connection to the character, because most of it is laid just on the surface… Could Jessica have done better with an ok screenplay? Hard to say. What I do know is that I had almost no idea who Patsy was, other that some loud, abused wife.

And you know I cannot not mention that Meryl was up for this role and didn’t get it… While it doesn’t affect my judgment of Jessica’s performance, I suspect Meryl would’ve been more convincing even just by letting sensuality behind and losing herself in the character… Because Jessica’s performance has a bit too much sassiness in my opinion and not enough real emotion spread throughout the film.

Jessica is good, she’s ok, she’s gorgeous in the second half, but not convincing to me. And while I’ve clearly underlined the failure of the screenplay and the direction also is messy as hell, this shouldn’t influence my perception of the final result. Truth is, to me it’s an unsatisfying, incomplete performance; while I considered at one point to give it more, I must go with a strong . But seriously: love you, Jessica! It just wasn’t the role for you, also not the screenplay.

2011-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time to write more about dear Deborah Kerr, who would’ve turned 90 today… I said I was gonna post about her, and I’m keeping my promise by remembering a bit her Heaven Knows Mr. Allison performance.

While I’m not one of her most devoted admirers, and I still have plenty performances of hers to see, I surely think she hold her own place in film history and in Hollywood history, by inspiring a certain style: beautiful, delicate, sometimes mother-like figure, very elegant, and a lady to be respected, if there ever was one. She seemed to have lived her career with a lot of class, probably her most distinctive quality.

And it might be just the right time to throw in a fragment from my profile of Deborah Kerr in Heaven Knows Mr. Allison:

…Then it’s time for her acting skills to inject intelligence & emotion in this otherwise dull-written character. The result is a believable Sister Angela and although the performance doesn’t steal the show, it’s great subtle work. I also suspect it’s that type of actress-magic performance that grows with time. I truly believe Deborah had fun with it; a relaxed performance I have most respect for.

Happy Birthday, Deborah!

For more on this blogathon, go to Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, where Sophie is the expert.

2011-09-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I haven't posted in a week or so (or is it 2?) because I'm in Athens with work, lots'a of work I mean. I also have that annoying tonsillitis (3rd this year!!) with high fever and everything wrong, so that killed a big part of my mood for the past 2 days.

But I'm not taking a break from blogging, no way. I hope to feel better and have Jessica Lange's Sweet Dreams post ready this weekend.

Also, this Friday there's the Deborah Kerr blogathon I signed to. I'll probably show up here with a post on that.

In the meantime, I'm quite active on twitter, my account being @AlexInMovieland

To learn more about the Deborah Kerr blogathon, click HERE.

See ya.

2011-09-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Meryl Streep, in Out of Africa

approximately 100 minutes and 51 seconds*
66.7% of the film

The film

In 20th century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with a free-sprited hunter.

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

It’s a film I like, because it’s so pretty and relaxing, a simple but interesting story to watch. The actors are fine, the direction is beautiful, the cinematography is dreamy and the original score is perfection, magic to my ears. And what a start for the film… Memorable.

Meryl Streep as Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke

Meryl will benefit from a lot of things while I write this, mostly generosity, because how can one really resist her charms, even when she’s not even trying… I favour her because she’s probably in my Top 3 favorite actresses, because she is so impressive & intimidating in her Oscar record and because I like Out of Africa quite a lot. And look at the screentime, there’s plenty of Meryl in it, and even more than the numbers would suggest.

Meryl plays Baroness Karen Blixen, a Danish woman who impulsively marries a man she doesn’t love, for his title, to spite her lover & looking for an adventure. They settle in Africa just before WWI and they keep a farm. As she becomes more disappointed with the marriage, she starts an affair with a very free-spirited huntsman. The film is all about her, and while she doesn’t get to cry or scream, it’s quite an emotional role.

As I said, this is not a flashy role, even though there could’ve been opportunities. This might be because the film is so quiet, there’s a certain tranquillity to it, so any unexpected burst of tears & shouting would’ve damaged the balance. In many ways, I appreciate that, it’s like a small sacrifice Meryl has to do, settling for a less demanding, more subtle part. By keeping it natural and flowy, she makes it look so damn easy.

Thankfully, I’ve seen it 3 times now, and I could tell this wasn’t as plain as some might find it. I was ok with the accent and I admire Meryl’s love for the camera and the camera’s love for Meryl, how she gives the right look, the right expression, the right body movement at the right point. She’s delicate, feminine but strong in that feminist way, and as always gave me the impression of a deep understanding of the character.

She’s rarely been so beautiful in a mature way, and brings something warm and likeable to Karen, something any central character should have. And she manages to keep the likeability even in such scenes at the end where Karen is jealous and possessive. With the help of good a screenplay, she keeps it human, playing it in a subtle way, as if arguing in favour of her character’s constant need for possession and security.

It’s certainly not the most challenging role she’s ever had to play, but she is the one mostly carrying the film. While she rarely gets a more volcanic scene, she’s constantly great throughout, slowly building a character that’s both convincing & likeable, even when not hiding from showing us Karen’s flaws. It looks easy because it’s Meryl doing it, and good acting from Meryl definitely gets a from me.

***the screentime was difficult to count, because of the voice-overs and mostly because of shots from long distance, where I wasn’t sure if a body double was used. I expected more screentime, as she is in almost every scene; however, in dialogues, the camera is not always on her, which takes away from the overall screentime.

2011-09-04T02:30:00.001-07:00

Anne Bancroft, in Agnes of God

approximately 31 minutes and 17 seconds
33% of the film

The film

When a naive novice nun is discovered with a dead newborn in her conventquarters, a court appointed psychiatrist investigates her case.

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

A mess of a film, with overall uninspired writing, terrible dialogue and ridiculous screenplay solutions. Most of the performances are all over the place, and it sure lacks some strong directorial guidance.

Anne Bancroft as Mother Miriam Ruth

I’m gonna change a bit the regular structure of my Best Actress profiles, as I’ll give the rating right now, in the first paragraph. To justify it, I’ll keep it short. From the 90-something Best Actress performances I got to write about so far, THIS is the worst. Elizabeth Taylor, at least, had some insanity spark going on and nailed the bitchiness in Raintree County. Vanessa Redgrave had nothing to do in Morgan!, but at least she was charming enough to barely make it watchable and almost funny. These ladies had SO few to work with. I have nothing against Anne Bancroft’s acting in general, but when you get a juicy dramatic role and fill it with the most uninspired, awful acting choices, without any understanding of the character or sense of direction… then I have to call you out for this. It’s the first time I’m using this rating, as it’s undoubtedly the WORST performance I’ve written about since starting the series. So, Anne, it’s a .

Anne plays Mother Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior at a Canadian Convent. When one of her nuns kills her newborn, she tries her best to protect the young woman, while also having to deal with a very persistent psychiatrist, willing to find out the whole truth. Sure, the dialogue in the film is messy, but otherwise it should be

the most interesting character in the film, as she is, in some measure, the puppet-master. The unfortunate result: the most boring, confusing performance.

Both times I saw it I tried to figure out what was wrong with the performance, why isn’t it glued at all, what is Anne trying to tell us… My conclusion is that she isn’t telling us anything, she’s just terribly confused, changing the character’s attitude from one scene to another, sometimes from one line to another, without making it cohesive or even define it as a characteristic of Mother Miriam.

The role was created on stage by Geraldine Page, and I don’t even wanna imagine what such a

creative actress might’ve done with it. It’s a role that allows the actress to play around, and it could work so easily IF you make up your mind on how to act it. Bancroft goes for nun-next-door, creating a character that’s neither smart, nor funny, even though the dialogue wants us to believe that. She goes for a type of character that cracks jokes, tries to be funny, keeps a surprised dumb look on her face and ultimately creates the dullest character in the film.

There’s one scene where she rushes into the psychiatrist’s office, with some energy and fury, and it’s maybe the one decent acting moment because she manages the shouting, but all this with the help of the editing and very often cuts to Jane Fonda. Beyond that there’s nothing but confusion, lazy acting, uninspired line readings, failure to express real emotion or to explore the potential of the character.

There was no acting plan to this performance, no perspective, no angle, just poor, very poor choices. When an actor manages to sink the character even lower than the screenplay had planned for it, than I’m just fine with my 1 star rating. Giving it anything more than that wouldn’t be fair to all those ok performances that received 2 stars from me.

2011-08-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

Geraldine Page, in The Trip to Bountiful

approximately 72 minutes and 44 seconds
69.3% of the film

The film

Set in the 1940s, it tells the story of an elderly woman, Carrie Watts, who wants to return home to the small town where she grew up.

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

It wouldn’t be much of a film without Geraldine Page in it. The supporting actors deliver boring, uninspired performances, the screenplay loses its track towards the ending, so it’s up to Geraldine to pick up the pieces. Should only be recommended as a study of master class performance.

Geraldine Page as Carrie Watts

When remembering great actress from the old days, not enough people mention Geraldine Page, who seems to have had a great career in theatre and definitely a splendid one on screen. Just by looking at her Oscar nominated roles you can see some incredible diversity in the roles played. She received her 8th Oscar nomination for The Trip to Bountiful, 32 years after the first one, and her final nomination as she died in 1987. It’s a fantastic performance to end an impressive career.

Geraldine plays Carrie Watts, a widow living with her son and a very dislikeable daughter-in-law in a small apartment in Houston. She has a very cheerful, lively personality and all she dreams of is to escape that place and go back to her home town of Bountiful, to her house that she hasn’t seen in 20 years. She manages to get away and sets on a trip that will bring back a lot of memories from the past. It’s a very dramatic role, not so much in the actual writing, but in the opportunity it gives Geraldine to bring her A-game.

When I first saw it a couple of days ago, I was a bit frustrated with the film and especially the story. First, to get it out of the way, I think it’s an EXCELLENT performance. But it annoyed me that the screenplay didn’t give us the ending that we, and Geraldine, deserved. The performance and the story build a lot towards her getting to Bountiful, but those last 30 minutes are probably the most ignorable scenes Geraldine has to do. Maybe she knew that, that’s why she prepared the big punches from the first half of the film.

Words cannot describe the acting experience that can be found in this performance. I’ve noticed it even more the second time I saw it. Geraldine takes an old lady character and completely brings it to life, creating such a relatable likeable person that I rooted for the whole film. Difficult dialogue never stops her, and the overreacting, worrying, maternal feeling, resignation – all these are beautifully shown in the performance. When the camera is on her face with her delivering some short monologue, that’s very close to acting perfection.

Every gesture is perfectly calculated but so well delivered it comes off as the most natural thing, so recognizable, so fit for this character. Geraldine makes it become not just a film about a trip, but a film in which you can easily tell the backstory of the character, the rich emotional life this woman has lived, the drama of getting old and losing those around you. I can write so much about it, but if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean.

Her best acting moment is in the bus scenes and a particular one is truly heartbreaking. If you’ve seen it, you might remember her confessing to the young woman that she never loved her husband. The pain of the character while remembering the emotional suffering is so brilliantly played it’s definitely hard to forget.

What disappoints me the most about the film is that it doesn’t give her the possibility to deliver an ever more sensational ending, as I knew she had it in her to blow us away with those scenes in the house. Had the last 30 minutes of the film focused entirely on her character and her emotions, we would’ve witnessed something of Ingrid Bergman in Autumn Sonata calibre. Even so, she manages to give so much with not enough support and it’s one of the best wins this category’s ever had.

for sure. How difficult it will be for me to pick a winner for 1985, as I rarely get this excited (notice I wrote more that usual, and I had to hold back). Loved it.

2011-08-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Best Actress 1985

There was a draw for the next Best Actress year and 1985 won. The draw was between available years from the 80s, and the result is somewhere in the middle for me. I admit to have wanted 1989, but I’m happy I didn’t get 1982, so this one will work. :) The Color Purple has been in my Top 10 ever for years now. I have a lot of respect for Out of Africa, and I’ve seen Sweet Dreams a couple of years ago. I’ve never watched The Trip to Bountiful (quite excited about it) and seen only a couple of scenes from Agnes of God.

Let’s make a short analysis. The 5 ladies that Oscar had chosen for 1985, in alphabetical order:

Anne Bancroft as Mother Miriam Ruth, in Agnes of God

Whoopi Goldberg as Celie Johnson, in The Color Purple

Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline, in Sweet Dreams

Geraldine Page as Carrie Watts, in The Trip to Bountiful

Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen, in Out of Africa

This was the year when it seemed like Oscar will finally have a black actress winning this category. It didn’t happen, but Whoopi came into it as a favorite: she had the Golden Globe win, the award from the National Board of Review and a Best Picture nominated film. Yet Oscar chose Geraldine Page, and how can people really complain: it was her 8th (!) nomination and she had never won. She came into the race with a Golden Globe nomination, an Indie Spirit Award and an award from the Boston Society of Film Critics. You can easily tell what older voters went for.

Also a strong contender was Meryl Streep: her film was the future Best Picture winner, she had a Golden Globe nomination and a win from the Los Angeles Film Critics. What stopped her from ultimately winning this was the fact that she already had 2 Oscars by the age of 36. Anne Bancroft came into the race with only a Golden Globe nomination, while Jessica Lange was a big surprise, with nothing to indicate her film was under the critics’ or Oscar’s radar.

This was Meryl Streep’s 6th Oscar nomination, with 2 previous wins in Supporting for Kramer vs Kramer (1979) and in Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice (1982). It was Anne Bancroft’s 5th nomination, and she was an Oscar winner for her leading performance in The Miracle Worker (1962). Jessica Lange received her 4th Oscar nomination for this performance, and she had previously won the award as a Supporting Actress for Tootsie (1982).
This was Geraldine Page’s 8th Oscar nomination and the only one to bring her the win. Whoopi Goldberg received her 1st nomination for The Color Purple, as the film is considered her feature film debut.

Let’s throw in some names of other actresses that could’ve also been nominated:

Cher – Mask
Norma Aleandro – The Official Story
Sally Field – Murphy’s Romance
Mia Farrow – The Purple Rose of Cairo
Kathleen Turner – Prizzi’s Honor
Jane Fonda – Agnes of God

Most believe, as do I, that Cher would’ve been nominated, had Jessica Lange not sneaked her way into the Top 5.

Here’s the video proof that 1985 was correctly drawn, in case you wanna waste 75 seconds :)

2011-08-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

Best Actress: Special Emmy Edition – Episode 2/2: Drama

If you’ve missed my ranking of the Best Actress in a Comedy Series, just go to the previous post. As always, these are the Emmy rules:

To vote the winner of the category, you don’t have to see all the episodes from the season. Just one episode that the nominee submits. (that’s why it’s such an important decision). So, just like any other voter :P I’ve watched the tapes of the nominees and I am ready to judge.

Here are the nominees:

Kathy Bates – Harry’s Law (“Innocent Man”)

Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights (“Always”)
Mireille Enos – The Killing (“Missing”)

Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: SVU (“Rescue”)

Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (“In Sickness”)
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men (“The Suitcase”)

The only show I follow regularly is Mad Men.

This line-up is called Every vote counts.
To me, the first 3 performances are equally good and ranking them was very difficult.

MY ranking, based on the episodes:

1. Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men (“The Suitcase”)

The episode: I’ve seen every episode of Mad Men and I really like it. Elisabeth submitted perfectly, as The Suitcase is one of the best drama episodes of the past years. Sure, Jon Hamm is fantastic in it, but Moss is also very good and gets her own moments. I doubt she’ll ever get such a good chance to win.

The performance: I will have the same 4/5 rating for the first 3 performances here, so I need to justify why this is a bit above Margulies & Enos. What I liked most is the versatility that she shows, and which is completely favored by the writing. She gets to cry, she gets to be angry, she confronts Don in a scene we’ve waited for a long time (those who watch it regularly), she’s quite funny, she’s very empathetic, brings new stuff to the character and shows subtle emotion when remembering the child she gave up for adoption. It’s a fine piece of acting. And she always remains likeable. 4/5

2. Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (“In Sickness”)

The episode: I don’t watch this, but this episode reminded me why I should. I can tell it’s a damn good courtroom procedural, with very well constructed characters. It was very pleasant to watch and it kept my interest all the way to the end. I hear she submitted the best possible episode, which has plenty of drama, tears & meaning.

The performance: As I said, it’s all here: terrifying news, betrayal, emotion, life-changing decisions, tears, scenes with kids… what it lacks (and Moss has) is a versatility in the character’s emotions. It’s not Julianna’s fault, she does convincing drama, but she’s so damn sad and depressed and depressing all episode – I liked what she does acting-wise, but I don’t love it, because in the end I thought maybe her character was exaggerating, I didn’t completely agree with the actions. 4/5

3. Mireille Enos – The Killing (“Missing”)

The episode: I don’t watch The Killing, and this episode wasn’t even about the victim so much. It was focused on Mireille’s character, the police detective investigating the crime who, in this episode, tries to find her own missing son. It was well-written and quite interesting. We see a lot of her character.

The performance: It’s a damn subtle performance; had she had one flashier scene, with the camera completely on her, then she might’ve been a bigger threat. I liked it, I really did, I think she carried the story nicely and beautifully showed the character going from bitchy to honesty, humility and a mother’s despair. However the screenplay wasn’t as demanding at all times. 4/5

4. Kathy Bates – Harry’s Law (“Innocent Man”)

The episode: Well, I can tell the show sucks. It’s pretty bad procedural, and it’s unusually kitschy. Kathy plays Harriet Korn, the tough lawyer, and in this episode she tries to get an innocent man out of prison. She doesn’t appear in the whole episode, and you can tell she’s above the material. Don’t know if this was the best submission, but she does get one or two key moments.

The performance: Unlike the show, the performance is subtle, intelligent and surprisingly quiet even in big scenes. Kathy is a great actress, and when the camera’s on her she takes control of every piece of dialogue; that being said, the screenplay could’ve helped more. Good effort, anyway. 3/5

5. Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: SVU (“Rescue”)

The episode: Many are outraged by this nomination, that seems to happen every year. But guess what: this time she doesn’t have a bad episode. A Law & Order franchise episode rarely gets fantastic writing, this one doesn’t have it either, but it shows Detective Olivia in a nice, almost-maternal situation. Definitely better than last year’s submission.

The performance: She is not bad, and the episode starts with lots of potential for her character. Sure, it loses a lot of focus by the end of it, but Mariska gets a couple of good scenes, as she gets attached to the kid of a junkie, a boy that now lives with her. Maria Bello is a scene-stealer here, but Mariska can hold her own. Maybe not as worthy of a nomination, but she’s shown us worse. 2/5

6. Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights (“Always”)

The episode: It was the season finale of FNL, a show I’d never wanna see. The episode itself is a great one for Kyle Chandler, and just an ok one for Connie. As the wife of the coach, she gets to almost cry in a restaurant scene and raise her voice once or twice. As the ranking might show, I wasn’t that impressed.

The performance: What I remember the most is her Babe!, Realllly, Babe?, Babe? – and other variations of such, delivered in an annoying voice. I dislike the character, and Connie isn’t helping me much. She gets one or two ok scenes, but I completely forgot them by the end of a veeeeery long series finale. Must be some kind of a sentimental nomination. 2/5

Objectively judging their chances of winning:

1. Julianna Margulies – I actually had her as my favorite last year, and I predicted her, but she lost to Kyra Sedgwick (which had a great episode, and I called her the dark horse of the race). This time, I feel again like it’s happening, because she has a very flashy submission, she is popular, the show is popular and there’s lots of good energy around her. And she hasn’t won since 1995. But it’s a tight race.

2. Elisabeth Moss – Because she’s so damn good in her episode, and the episode itself is a classic. She has a fantastic scene partner and lots of screentime. And Mad Men will probably win Drama Series. It could all happen.

3. Mireille Enos – Because it’s a shinny new show, even though it didn’t score that well nomination-wise. She has a good episode, and she might actually be the dark horse of the race.

4. Kathy Bates – Not because of the show or the episode, but because she’s Kathy Bates, she has like 9 nominations or so, and has never won an Emmy.

5. Connie Britton – She seems to have her fans, but I really really doubt a win here. She should be happy she got nominated.

6. Mariska Hargitay – Not happening because most people really are over her show, and the tape needed to be fantastic to get noticed.

I think it will be a very tight race; I predict Julianna, but of course wouldn’t be upset if my Moss wins.

Last year I predicted a win for Julianna and didn’t happen – click HERE to see my ranking back then.

It’s a difficult one to predict, right?

2011-08-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Best Actress: Special Emmy Edition – Episode 1: Comedy

It’s the 2nd year I’m watching the episodes and putting up my ranking and my predictions. It’s fun, and not difficult to do. I’m posting again the rules from last year, as it’s important to know that the voters see just one episode, and not the series:

To vote the winner of the category, you don’t have to see all the episodes from the season. Just one episode that the nominee submits. (that’s why it’s such an important decision). So, just like any other voter :P I’ve watched the tapes of the nominees and I am ready to judge.

Here are the nominees:

Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie (“Rat Falls”)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (“Double-Edged Sword”)
Laura Linney – The Big C (“Pilot”)
Melissa McCarthy – Mike & Molly (“First Date”)
Martha Plimpton – Raising Hope (“Say Cheese”)

Amy Poehler – Parks & Recreation (“Flu Season”)

The only show I follow regularly is 30 Rock.
This line-up is called Laura Linney & the rest of the girls.

MY ranking, based on the episodes:

1. Laura Linney – The Big C (“Pilot”)

The episode: It was one good piece of dramedy: very good character introduction, even though the subject is a bit depressing for me to wanna follow the series. Laura plays a woman diagnosed with untreatable cancer, who decides to have a less tragic perspective on the disease.

The performance: Laura Linney is FANTASTIC. She’s in every scene of the episode and it’s a great showcase of what the amazing actress can do. She creates a very likeable character, she knows how to do sarcasm, gives a reassuring feeling of intelligence and is often funny. Her breakdown in the final scene with the dog is pure talent. 5/5.

2. Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie (“Rat Falls”)

The episode: I guess the episode was ok, nothing groundbreaking, and just as in the case of The Big C, it’s dramedy done well. Edie plays Nurse Jackie, the drug-addicted nurse with a good heart. In this episode, she’s dealing with a very depressed patient and a rat that’s eating her hidden pills.

The performance: I knew she’d probably never match last year’s episode (the pilot) that won her the Emmy. She was incredible in that… now, the writing is not that good and she doesn’t get one big emotional scene to fully win my heart. But she gives a solid performance, and you know how fabulous Edie is with those quiet scenes. She also does sarcasm very well, really knows the character and it’s a subtle, yet solid performance. 4/5.

3. Tina Fey – 30 Rock (“Double-Edged Sword”)

The episode: It so happens it’s one of the two best episodes of the past season of 30 Rock. It’s funny as hell, but only half of that because of Tina. Most of my love went for the scenes with Alec Baldwin & Elizabeth Banks, but Tina & Matt Damon do a great job on their side. Tina, of course, plays Liz Lemon, headwriter for a weekly variety show. In this episode she has a conflict on the plane with her boyfriend, who’s the actual pilot. It’s hilarious.

The performance: The fact that it’s so well-written helps a lot. Tina IS Liz Lemon and her performance here is showier that usual, which is good for an Emmy submission. She goes from trying to play the nice girlfriend, to her usual stubborn-self; the exaggerated situations she deals with on the plane are the perfect platform for Tina to play a very overwhelmed Liz. It’s the best performance coming from the submitted sitcoms. 3.5/5.

4. Amy Poehler – Parks & Recreation (“Flu Season”)

The episode: I actually saw it twice to make sure I got everything in. The parts with Amy Poehler and the scenes with Rob Lowe and the nurse-chick are fine, but the rest seemed boring. I’m also not sure it’s a great submission for Amy. She plays Leslie Knope, the small town public official; in this episode, she gets the flu, right before she’s suppose to give an important speech.

The performance: It’s subtle, that’s why I liked it more the 2nd time around, when I noticed elements of the performance that I ignored at first. It’s not my type of performance, I like them flashier, but you can tell she’s trying her best, and she IS believable, likeable and even funny at times. She has a fast way of delivering the lines, and she definitely elevates the episode – even though I still believe they don’t explore her full potential. 3/5.

5. Melissa McCarthy – Mike & Molly (“First Date”)

The episode: It’s the 2nd episode from a first season sitcom; which usually means it’s gonna be bad. But surprisingly, I didn’t find it awful – sure, it hasn’t gained much courage yet, the screenplay is shaky, but it could’ve gone much worse. Melissa plays Molly, a young woman falling in love with a police officer; in this episode, they have their first date, which goes wrong when Molly takes some crazy-inducing pills.

The performance: It’s meant to be flashy, and it is. I didn’t dislike the overacting, because Melissa is very charismatic and sweet, and there’s some emotional stuff behind the wackiness. I like it how she brings emotion to the character; sure, the writing doesn’t help as much, and the show still needs wings to fly, but it’s a sweet, touching, sometimes funny performance. 2.5/5.

6. Martha Plimpton – Raising Hope (“Say Cheese”)

The episode: I can’t believe I sat through this. I thought it was poorly written, with plenty dislikeable characters, lots of predictability and overused sentiments. Seriously, if this were a film, I’d rate it a 2 out of 10… Martha plays Virginia, a very young grandmother with an attitude problem; in this episode, she remembers the history of their family photos, taken every year.

The performance: Martha is an ok actress, but this role seemed very dislikeable to me. I hated this woman, thought she was a crazy bitch, and not in a good way. Partly, it’s the screenplay’s fault, but come on… Martha could’ve tried to make her not so ridiculously stubborn. Didn’t find it funny, nor emotionally endearing. 1.5/5.

Objectively judging by their chances of winning:

1. Laura Linney – because she’s so DAMN good, and the judges won’t ignore that. They like her, they like dramedy, and it’s the pilot episode with a very good character introduction.

2. Amy Poehler – because it’s Amy Poehler and she’s very popular in the industry. The show gained a lot of buzz lately, she’s never won an Emmy and many feel it’s her time to shine.

3. Tina Fey – because this is a very funny episode of 30 Rock and Tina gets to act next to Matt Damon, which helps (because she’s just as good as he is). It’s the best writing of the episodes submitted and Tina does it justice.

4. Edie Falco – because she’s last year’s winner, however she doesn’t have an episode as fabulous as that one. She also owns something like 4 Emmys, which is a lot.

5. Melissa McCarthy – I’m sure her role in Bridesmaids helped to gain the nomination, and she seems to be popular (really hard to dislike her). But I doubt they care too much about the show and the performance doesn’t feel like a winner.

6. Martha Plimpton – no chance in hell, because she’s so damn dislikeable in her episode. She tries to bring dramedy emotion, but can’t match Linney or Falco, not even close.

I think it will be an easy win for Laura Linney, if they actually watch the episode.
Last year I correctly predicted a win for Edie Falco – click HERE to see my ranking back then.

What do you guys think? Did you also watch the episodes?

Andrew, I know you like Poehler a lot, sorry I don’t feel exactly the same. :)

2011-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing. Updated Oscar predictions

It was April 3rd when I've made my first predictions for this year. I always update them gradually, but I've figured now it's time to also post the changes. To check the previous predictions, click HERE.

Just a couple of things to mention before getting to the categories:

- YES, I still believe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is gonna be nominated for Picture, Director, Screenplay, because I know it's gonna be a fantastic thriller, and it will have no problem in getting the 5% it needs. It's also Fincher, and I'm sure the directors will reward him with a nomination after last year's fiasco.

- I am not buying Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, or whatever the name is. Yes, Daldry is a fabs director, but the project just seems wrong to me. So don't expect to find it anywhere on my list.

- I still DON'T understand the buzz over The Artist, the silent black-and-white film with nobody famous, that looks like a rip-off of A Star Is Born. I have it on the list with just one nomination.

So let the games begin. What is in bold represents who I think will win the category. On the side, the rest of the nominees, in order of their chance of getting nominated.

Best Picture: War Horse (The Ides of March, J. Edgar, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Young Adult, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Drive, Carnage)

Best Director: Steven Spielberg - War Horse (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Ides of March, Drive, J. Edgar)

Best Actor: Leonardo Di Caprio - J. Edgar (George Clooney - The Descendants, Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Ryan Gosling - The Ides of March, Brad Pitt - Moneyball)

Best Actress: Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs (Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady, Charlize Theron - Young Adult, Jodie Foster - Carnage, Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life (Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn, Jim Broadbent - The Iron Lady, Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides of March, Armie Hammer - J. Edgar)

Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus (Viola Davis - The Help, Andrea Riseborough - W.E., Naomi Watts - J. Edgar, Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs)

Best Original Screenplay: J. Edgar (Young Adult, Martha Macy May Marlene, The Iron Lady, Midnight in Paris)

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Ides of March (Carnage, War Horse, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Best Cinematography: War Horse (The Tree of Life, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Best Original Score: War Horse (The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Super 8, The Artist)

Best Original Song: Happy Feet 2 (Cars 2, The Muppets, Captain America, The Help)

Best Editing: War Horse (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Drive, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, J. Edgar)

Best Art Direction: Hugo (War Horse, Harry Potter, A Dangerous Method, Sherlock Holmes 2)

Best Costume Design: Hugo (War Horse, My Week with Marilyn, Jane Eyre, W.E.)

Best Sound: War Horse (Hugo, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Drive, Super 8)

Best Sound Editing: War Horse (Hugo, The Adventures of Tintin, Transformers 3, Rise of the Planet of the Apes)

Best Visual Effects: Harry Potter (Transformers 3, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Super 8, Pirates of the Caribbean 4)

Best Makeup: Green Lantern (The Iron Lady, J. Edgar)

Best Animated Feature: Rango (Happy Feet 2, Arthur Christmas, Kung Fu Panda 2)

So that's about it. Yes, I think War Horse will get a whole bunch of them.

2011-08-15T14:09:00.001-07:00

Final Conclusions - Best Actress 1945

I’ve started this line-up having seen only one of the films years ago, the very popular nowadays Mildred Pierce. While the other 4 proved quite ignorable or annoying pictures (3 of them scored less than a 5/10 from me), the performances were quite different and fun to discover. It’s easier to criticize than to write about the good stuff, so having to give just 2 stars to 3 of the performances was not as painful as it looks. None of them is truly awful, only that, as I coincidentally predicted, the year has Crawford & Bergman, and then there’s the rest…

My #1 was quite easy to choose, as it was the most complex performance and had the kind of drama I easily fall for, with tears & everything. #2 is also quite obvious, though unlike my winner, it holds the best until too far into the film. After that, the order seems almost randomly, though I clearly preferred #3 to the ones to follow.

Starting with this line-up, I’m also introducing a Best Acted Scene award, which this time goes to:

Ingrid Bergman, The Bells of St. Mary’s – the very emotional scene where Sister Mary Benedict asks God to remove the bitterness from her heart, in a moment of pure honesty, humility and willingness to forgive.

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

1. Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce

Few actresses gave such calculated performances like Joan Crawford did. And this is a great example: she’s very in-control, and you can see the experience: she knows where the camera is, when to show tears and so on. But beyond the technical flawlessness, there’s the humility she brings to the role, the easiness to win the audience’s sympathy and the ability to carry the film by herself without any serious acting competition.

the highlight: The introduction of the character, while contemplating suicide.

2. Ingrid Bergman, The Bells of St. Mary's

Above anything else, this is a playful and extremely smart performance. I’m sure she had fun doing it. Ingrid brings joy, optimism, she makes it look so light and charming, and it’s a pleasure to see her on screen. When all this is over, she takes it to a new level, in a 5-7 minute ending that is so dramatically rich and fantastically acted it almost won my heart. A bit of this also in the beginning would’ve made it unbeatable.

the highlight: Her final prayer.

3. Greer Garson, The Valley of Decision
There are some issues with the accent, and of course she’s too damn old to play this character, but Greer has a good understanding of who Mary is. She plays the role with impressive humbleness, which quickly wins the approval of the audience. In a couple of great scenes, she (and not the screenplay) lets us know a lot about class differences and struggles of that kind.

the highlight: Feeling guilty for making Paul fall in love with her, while she’s confessing to Mrs. Scott.

4. Gene Tierney, Leave Her to Heaven

She’s at her best when she’s the bitchiest. But I’ll keep saying: this performance lacks courage, either as to take it as far as making her look crazy, or… well, true, she couldn’t have written her own screenplay. But what I saw was a half-cooked character, with almost no believability. She’s good in the quiet moments, especially of jealousy or cruelty, but otherwise I found it loud, undecided, forgettable.

the highlight: Her unusual honestly while talking to the doctor, both terrifying and funny.

5. Jennifer Jones, Love Letters

Jennifer chooses to act amnesia as a combination of silly schoolgirl daydreaming and crazy looks of the Norma Desmond style. This doesn’t work. Sure, she has her good moments, I was quite impressed with the final revelation scene, but then she screws up again in the ending. It’s an inconsistent performance, with some bad acting choices, and she doesn’t rise above the awful screenplay.

the highlight: Remembering the night of the murder.

Time to play the guessing game of who got more votes. I don’t think it was an easy victory for Joan, considering the love for Ingrid – but the fact that Ingrid already had the gold man gave voters the edge to go for Joan. Ingrid was obvious 2nd. Gene Tierney was an easy 3rd because, except for Joan, she was the only Oscarless actress here, her film was box-office hit and people still remembered Laura. I doubt the next 2 got more than 5% together; let’s say Jennifer was 4th, because some seem to like her amnesia flick, and Greer 5th because I don’t think many had seen it.

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

What’s next: Gonna be talking the Emmy submissions for Actress in a Comedy / Drama, then some updated Oscar predictions, and after that going for another Best Actress field from the 1980s, chosen through a draw.

2011-08-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Ingrid Bergman, in The Bells of St. Mary's

approximately 61 minutes and 37 seconds
49.5% of the film

The film

At a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.

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

The film can’t help from being cheesy too often, but I couldn’t have expected differently after seeing Going My Way. The new element to rise the quality of the series is Ingrid Bergman, who’s energetic performance and knock-out final scenes bring more emotion.

Ingrid Bergman as Sister Mary Benedict

Oh, Ingrid, what you do to me, and I haven’t even seen most of your performances. No wonder Joan was nervous on Oscar night: you had the Golden Globe win & the award from the New York film critics! I am picking on Ingrid in a good way, because this is a surprisingly sly performance, she’s so tricky as to take a performance that’s average for 90% of the film and move it into a whole new direction in less than 10 minutes. All the rest of the performance seems like a rehearsal, while she completely has me in some ending scenes that made for the best acting scenes of this field.

Ingrid plays Sister Mary Benedict, the nun in charge of the school Father O’Malley is assigned to. She’s a young nun, very intelligent and wise, strict in many ways, but always up for any kind of well-intended competition. She’s a happy person, very optimistic when it comes to the future of the school, and never hesitating in speaking her mind. It’s a co-starring role that requites lots of smiling, joyous attitude and some fantastic acting abilities for the ending.

For the most of the film, Ingrid is not required to do much. Her acting is very luminous, very natural and comforting. Her presence on screen is always a joy, and she’s very convincing both as a nun, and as someone who feels friendly and comfortable around children, as a teacher and as a friend. While it’s always good to see her in a scene, there are no big dramatic moments to show real dramatic range.

That is, until the final part. There’s a scene that predicts the greatness to come, when she argues with Father O’Malley on not allowing Patsy, a young girl, to graduate. Her stubbornness is very well acted, and with an innocent guilt, maybe a bit of shame, elements that easily sell the scene. There’s also some singing in Swedish, and Ingrid has a beautiful voice. But what justifies the nomination and the almost-win comes from the very last 2 scenes of the character.

The most touching one is when Sister Mary is praying in the church asking God to remove the bitterness from her heart. I’m trying not to spoil the plot, especially the ending, so I won’t go into story details. The camera is on her for about 3 minutes, and it’s a perfectly believable, fantastically acted scene, all on the face. This is what you call an Oscar scene, and a smart move from the writing part, as you simply cannot take your eyes off Ingrid in this scene. It’s a short one, but so well positioned in the story that it surely becomes the one thing to take away from the film.

Very good acting can also be found in the final dialogue, seconds after the prayer scene, when Sister Benedict has a very emotional dialogue with Bing Crosby’s character (great chemistry between these 2, by the way), with both actors creating a special moment, beautifully acted and giving us through face and words more than the screenplay ever dreamed off.

Had Ingrid not won the previous year for Gaslight, the race might’ve gone differently. It’s not because she’s amazing throughout the film, as I’ve said she’s just a sweet, enjoyable presence for the most part, but the big key dramatic moments are so well positioned, it all wows, and it gives the impression you’ve just seen something very special acting-wise. Only Ingrid can make me switch from an almost-3-stars performance to a solid-4 just by bringing it with a lot of determination in the final 5-7 minutes. So: .

Final conclusions soon to come.

2011-08-06T04:22:00.001-07:00

Andrew is celebrating the television shows of the past season, and he has prepared a blogathon. This post is my contribution. And the question asked was rather simple: what episode from the past season of any current show do I feel like writing about. Considering I’ve stopped watching so many shows because of the limited free-time, I immediately went for 30 Rock.

30 Rock is the only sitcom I still watch regularly and I’ll write something about my favorite episode of the part season, called: Everything Sunny All the Time Always (Season 3, Episode 21).

The plot:
When Avery is kidnapped while on assignment in North Korea, Jack turns to an old girlfriend to get her released. Meanwhile, Tracy makes the entourage recreate an inside joke, and Liz wages war on a plastic bag in a tree outside her window.

Thoughts on the episode:

The storyline with Tracy is clearly to be ignored. The ones that got my interest are Liz’s attempt to take control over her life and especially the interaction between Jack & Avery.

The screenplay is very funny, probably the best of the season, next to Double-Edged Sword. I always love Jack & Avery and their Republican jokes, and this episode delivers a lot of incredibly funny one-liners.

Condoleeza Rice is a brave woman for accepting to Guest-Star as herself. She was good.

And the whole North Korea thing is hilarious, especially the inspired, mocking way to portray dictator Kim-Jong Il. :)) They often cut to the character, and the lines are outrageous. The music, the direction – they’re all perfect. Just look at how funny this clip is:

It’s funny how once in a while there’s an episode to remind us how hilarious 30 Rock can be, and how damn creative. I hope they keep Elizabeth Banks around, she’s fantastic as Avery. And that line with the North Korean Emmy – priceless :))

Go to Andrew’s BLOG for more on the Blog-a-thon and feel free to contribute.

2011-08-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

Gene Tierney, in Leave Her to Heaven

approximately 59 minutes and 33 seconds
57.2% of the film

The film

The story revolves around a femme fatale who entraps a husband and commits several crimes motivated by her insane jealousy.

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

The film is an explosion of color, but ultimately a really messy film because of the story and the way it chooses to present its leading character. It’s dull for the most part, and Gene Tierney just doesn’t have the balls to make smart choices, when the director won’t.

Gene Tierney as Ellen Berent Harland

As I see it from a 2011 perspective, there might’ve been 2 or 3 elements to justify the nomination. First, I doubt there was a really big competition for a nomination as the field looked scattered. The other two arguments are much more relevant: I dunno why but Leave Her to Heaven proved to be a massive box-office success, so everybody saw it. And another good argument can be summed up in one word: Laura – many felt like she should’ve been nominated the previous year. So this is how Miss Tierney tricked her way into this nomination…

Gene plays Ellen Berent, a beautiful, rich, smart, charming young woman who falls in love with a kind writer, but her insane jealousy pushed her into crazy, unjustified actions like allowing his

kid brother to die or hurting herself just to get what she wants. It sounds like an interesting role, right? Well, it's not, because for the most of it it’s the most boring interpretation of such a persona.

I think the biggest problem with Gene’s and the director’s take on Ellen is that they can’t decide who they want this woman to be: either a complete lunatic, a psycho – and then it might justify her actions in a more clinical way; or a nice woman who just can’t control her obsession – which would be fine, only that she clearly isn’t, in this story. No regular jealous woman would do the things Ellen does. I refuse to believe that. They’ve chosen the middle path: a sometimes well-intended woman who does horrific stuff – it NEVER works, and it kills any interest I might have in the story.

So the fact is that Gene gets punk’d by the director and the writer and somehow she isn’t willing to take Ellen’s madness far enough in the construction of the character, so that it would justify

her actions. By not risking it, she almost completely loses the believability of this woman, any sense of empathy, any understanding that the audience might have.

Sure, Gene is pretty, and she’s never visibly bad in the role. But the performance lacks courage, Gene plays it safe and delivers a character that too often looks like it’s sleepwalking through the film. Her best acting moment is when she turns a bit bitchy: the lake scene, played with a chilling villain attitude and when served with such lines as After all, he’s a cripple – that feel in the spirit of the character, are delivered the right way, but too few to count.

To me it’s not a bad performance, but a lazy one. You might get some seconds of potential greatness when the camera’s focused on her face, but overall the performance lacks vitality, courage, an understanding of the character and most of all: believability. I have no problem in giving it a . Anyway, I know the performance has its fans, it’s just how I see it. She does play arrogance to perfection, always did – I’ll give her that.

2011-07-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

Greer Garson, in The Valley of Decision

approximately 76 minutes and 16 seconds

60.6% of the film

The film

It tells the story of a young Irish house maid who falls in love with the son of her employer, a local steel mill owner.

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

Valley of Decision is all about its supporting cast, and not so much about story or directing. It moves smoothly, but doesn’t risk anything and never reaches heights of story or narrative. The story deserved a much more accomplished writer, to explore its full potential.

Greer Garson as Mary Rafferty

As I’m sure you know, this was Greer Garson’s 5th consecutive Best Actress nomination (a 6th to that point, of a career total of 7), a record of BA consecutiveness equalled only by Bette Davis. Everybody loved Greer in the 1940s and she’s been a category-filler in more than one occasion. This particular nomination is somewhere in the middle: I’m sure nobody was VERY excited about the performance, but it’s definitely not her worst nomination.

Greer plays Mary Rafferty, a poor young honest woman of Irish ancestry in 19th century industrial Pittsburgh. Much against her crippled full-of-hate father’s wish, she goes to work as a maid in the house of the Scott family, the rich owners of the mill. She wins the family’s appreciation, falls in love with their oldest son, but social matters threaten to separate them. It’s a good role, but as much as the screenplay offers her in the first half, the opposite it does in the final part, almost completely ignoring its lead.

There are two main elements working against the performance, both pretty obvious from the start. First, there’s the uncertain age of the character; Greer was 40-41 when the film was made, Gregory Peck was 28-29. :) The fact that it’s black-and-white hides the age difference a bit, but they never mention or suggest how old Mary is. From what I can understand she’s in her middle 20s, which makes it a bit hard to believe and I would’ve appreciated it if they had hinted that Mary was leaning towards spinsterhood – it would’ve made the performance far more believable.

The second element hard to judge is the accent. There’s a BIG Irish accent going on here. I didn’t hate it, but also I could tell it didn’t come natural to Greer; especially when she’s… well… you know… singing. These 2 elements alone stop it from greatness. But allow me to move on to what I actually appreciated about the performance.

Most importantly, I felt like Greer understood the character, especially in the first half. Class difference is an important topic here, and there was at least a scene where my heart felt for this girl: it’s when she tries, in her full shyness and modesty, to announce dinner is served to a bunch of high-class people. As she stands there, in her maid uniform, unable to raise her voice enough, nobody listens to her and she’s invisible. Such a small, short scene had a big impact on me, because Greer made me understand what this girl was going through, in a poorly written yet surprisingly significant moment.

Another success is the display of emotion when having to refuse his love. Her eyes are tearful and she makes small emotional scenes feel meaningful, like she did before. She puts emotional effort in something that didn’t necessarily require it.

Unfortunately, as I said, she’s almost completely ignored in the 2nd part, being offered almost no good moments. And it’s a pitty. I’m running too long here, it’s also because it’s one of the hardest ratings I had to chose till now. Should I give it a 2 or a 3. I initially thought of 3, but considering I’ve previously gave 3 stars to Janet Gaynor (7th Heaven) and Mary McDonnell (Passion Fish), it wouldn’t feel right. So I’m going for a strong , which isn’t that low in my book, considering such ratings have been previously offered to Deneuve (Indochine) and McGuire (Gentleman’s Agreement).

2011-07-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Jones, in Love Letters

approximately 49 minutes and 46 seconds

50.2% of the film

The film

Allen Quinton writes a fellow soldier's love letters; tragedy results. Later, Allen meets a beautiful amnesiac who fears postmen.You can read my short review of the film just by clicking HERE.

To put it simply, I thought the film was an uninteresting cliché that seriously lacked suspenseful writing or any reason to keep interested. There’s a good remembering scene towards the end, but even the ending fails by going for hard to believe jolly nonsense.

Jennifer Jones as Victoria Morland / Singleton

By the time this film was released, 26 year old Jennifer Jones was already an Oscar winner for her saintly performance in The Song of Bernadette and was fooling around with Hollywood’s greatest producer. It was her second of many pairings with Joseph Cotten and the idea of the film sounded more than promising: the perfect role for her to use her prettiness and innocent looks. And yet…

Jennifer Jones plays Victoria Morland aka Singleton, the mysterious interest of a man, a young woman who got tricked into marrying the wrong guy, killed him and now suffers from amnesia. She goes by the name of Singleton, doesn’t know her real identity and falls in love with Allen, without knowing he’s in fact the one writing her the love letters that started everything. No worries, I didn’t do any spoilers as all this info is pretty clear/obvious from the beginning.

I think it’s worth starting with the couple of good elements in this performance. First, there’s an hesitation when she first admits her memory loss to Allen; I think this also comes up in other scenes and Jennifer does a good job in acting a certain shame that Victoria feels – she’s often quite apologetic and embarrassed of her situation.

Also, on the good side there’s the big dramatic scene towards the end, when she remembers everything. It’s the most emotional moment in the film, a much needed one I might add. Jennifer brings it all: tears & deep understanding of the character, but if only that lasted. One minute later she loses herself again in the dreadful writing: she hasn’t even had time to process her dramatic memories that she immediately jumps into Cotten’s arms, with a big smile on her face disregarding the previous highly-dramatic moment, only seconds before.

Those good acting moments can’t compensate for the awful truth: Jennifer doesn’t get above the material. Sure, playing someone confronted with memory loss isn’t easy to do, but most of her choices are uninspired. She also gets the typical clichéd lines & monologues for a character in such position and I admit it’s hard to do justice to such unnatural writing.

The performance is inconsistent, unbalanced and handled by an actress who is either poorly guided by her director or just not experienced enough. There are moments when all of the sudden she goes for wide-eyed reactions of Norma Desmond kind, as if it’s suddenly turning into a horror film or a suspense movie – which this film clearly isn’t.

It’s not the worst Best Actress nominee I’ve reviewed in the past 3 years, but it’s there at the bottom in an unfortunate Top 5. I have no hesitation in going for a .

2011-07-03T11:25:00.001-07:00

Joan Crawford, in Mildred Pierce

approximately 84 minutes and 36 seconds
77.5% of the film

The film

After her husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful, but can't win the approval of her spoiled daughter.

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

Mildred Pierce feels like a classic noir film, but it still has a couple of problems with the screenplay. It starts great, it ends up nicely, but there’s too much of a rushed storytelling in the middle and doesn’t take full advantage of possible, richer directions.

Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce

How many years did it take for Joan to get her first nomination? Too many, as she had been a movie star ever since the 30s. And she won: partly because some felt it was her time, partly because there was thin competition and mostly because even today it feels like a worthy winner. It’s arguably Joan’s most beloved performance and you don’t see that very often: actors winning for their most outstanding career achievement.

Joan plays Milded Pierce, a woman left by her husband, having to take care of their daughters during economic downturn. She tries to please her daughter Veda by giving the girls a better life: she opens a restaurant, becomes a successful business-woman, gets involved with a sneaky man and just can’t seem to win her evil daughter’s affection. It all ends with a murder. It’s a dramatically rich role about a very determined woman.

The performance is technically irresistible. It’s generally agreed that few actresses had the control over a performance like Joan Crawford had. If you’ve seen some videos/interviews on her acting, they always underline what a pro she was, always knowing where the camera is, when to show tears and so on. And all those assets are perfectly coordinated here: she’s always in control of her scenes in a manner that would seem robotic, except that it’s fabulous because Joan is so damn talented.

She makes it look easy and natural and along the way she also manages to bring emotion to her flawless acting skills. Actually, those emotional scenes are my favorite: the introduction of her character, for example, with the suicide attempt, is PERFECTLY played and set: her gorgeous face, the light, the fur coat and most of all her eyes filled with tears. The slapping scenes are also classics, because Joan is wonderful at playing “vulnerable with dignity” and win the sympathy of the audience.

It’s not a performance that holds a lot of secrets & surprises, because Joan is very good throughout; that’s no reason to blame, but it’s worth mentioning. One thing I didn’t like and it stood out in the film, was the way the screenplay treated the death of Kay and how Joan didn’t do a bit more to grab all the potential of that scene. It was all like: the kid died, one or two tears and now we’re ready to move on. I don’t think that was in the spirit of the character, considering how much Mildred loved those girls. I would’ve expected her to be completely devastated. It’s probably the director’s fault, but Joan should’ve pushed for us to see something that what was more believable for her character.

Joan Crawford gives a remarkable performance, that I probably respect more than I love. I wouldn’t feel completely comfortable in giving more than a but it’s a very strong one. When the camera’s on her in a big, emotional scene there’s perfection that’s hard to match. However, in the regular scenes, she’s her usual great, maybe not with enough surprises or a bit too technical in her acting skills. It’s a very strong performance anyway.

2011-07-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

This week my life-saving blog turned 3 years old. :D

I initially planed a photo shoot, special editions & something like that, but who has the time. :) I'd more rather focus on catching up with my Best Actress posts.

Anyway, being Alex in Movieland's birthday and all that, at least allow me to make a recommendation.

I love Jane Fonda. And this is the BEST interview I've ever seen on Inside the Actor's Studio. This woman is a treasure. See all 5 parts for fantastic words of wisdom and some great Hollywood memories.

2011-06-25T04:56:00.001-07:00

Best Actress 1945

There was a draw for the next Best Actress year; I knew I wanted to go for the 40s. 1945 won and I’m happy about it – given the options, it was one of my top 2 choices. It’s not a very fancy year, which is great because I’m always interested in getting familiarized with Oscar films that maybe I wouldn’t have normally watched. In the case of 1945, I’ve only seen Mildred Pierce and I’ve always been very curious about The Bells of St. Mary’s (even though I didn’t like Going My Way).

Let’s make a short analysis. The 5 ladies that Oscar had chosen for 1945, in alphabetical order:

Ingrid Bergman as Sister Mary Benedict, in The Bells of St. Mary’s

Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce, in Mildred Pierce

Greer Garson as Mary Rafferty, in The Valley of Decision

Jennifer Jones as Singleton, in Love Letters

Gene Tierney as Ellen Berent Harland, in Leave Her to Heaven

You can divide this group of actresses in 2 sections: the front-runners and the category-fillers. The clear front-runners were Joan Crawford – a Hollywood icon, with this being surprisingly her first nomination; for this role she had won the award from the National Board of Review. The other frontrunner: Ingrid Bergman – the winner of the past year; for this role she had won the award from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Golden Globe.

I’ll call the other 3 category-fillers, because as it seems they gave performance in low-key films and none seemed a threat to those 2 top contenders. It was Gene Tierney’s first nomination, after her big success in Laura, for which many feels she deserved special recognition (not me, I think Laura is way overrated). This was the 3rd consecutive nomination (though only second in Lead) for Jennifer Jones and from what I’ve heard the role is almost supporting. Greer Garson received her 5th consecutive nomination (6th in total) for a film nobody talks about these days and doesn’t show much potential. But we’ll see, I promise I’ll be open-minded about all.

Also interesting, three of the nominees were the Best Actress winners for 1942 (Garson), 1943 (Jones) and 1944 (Bergman). :) Let’s throw in some names of other actresses that might’ve also gotten nominated, in no particular order. We’ll ignore Ingrid Bergman for Spellbound, because she’s already on the list.

Bette Davis - The Corn Is Green
Merle Oberon - A Song to Remember
Dorothy McGuire - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Peggy Ann Garner - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Jane Wyman - The Lost Weekend
Betty Field - The Southerner

I almost always start with the profile of the actress that won Oscar’s love. So Joan will be first, and I’m thrilled to revisit Mildred Pierce. Oh, and by the way, here’s the video proof that 1945 was correctly drawn, in case you wanna waste 90 seconds :D

2011-06-22T11:21:00.001-07:00

Final Conclusions - Best Actress 1927/1928

It’s been 3 months and a half since announcing this Oscar line-up for the blog, and it never took me so long to finish a Best Actress year. Since then: I got an important bank loan, spent all my life savings, bought a studio apartment, went to Athens again for 2 weeks, had high-fever tonsillitis twice a month apart, renovated the apartment from grounds up and now I’ve started furnishing it myself, while holding a full-time job. And I also held the 3rd edition of the AIM Awards here. So, busy times that might excuse my delay. Also: who knew silent films are not that easy to watch (twice)? :) well, I suspected.

But in many ways, I’m happy I got to write about Oscar’s first Best Actress year. I couldn’t have done it without the help of Cal (who provided A Ship Comes In), so thank you again! None of the 5 performances was really bad, though no classic either – some might feel differently. In the end, no. 1 was easy to choose; 2nd, 3rd & 4th place are almost connected to eachother, and 5th was an easy call. Almost all performances suffered from either the misogynism of the screenplay or its lack of interest in character depth. It was a good opportunity to discover movies, but I’m so happy to get back to talkies.

Here is what I thought about them. If you want to go back and read more, just click on their names:

1. Gloria Swanson, Sadie Thompson

In an era when silent meant over-theatrical, Gloria delivered a surprisingly honest, charming, relatable performance. Sure, there are some minor slips, but it’s hard to match her bravery on screen: both handling the sneaky, a bit vulgar but always human side of the character and also the dramatic desperation when confronted with danger and imprisonment.

the highlight: Begging Davidson to give her another chance.

2. Janet Gaynor, 7th Heaven

She is the heart of the film, giving us more than the material asked for. Her shyness and quiet nature manage to create a connection with the audience, and I did have sympathy for her. While the screenplay stopped me from seeing it as heartbreaking or very moving, I cannot really blame Janet. Her eyes tell a story much more than the dialogue card, but there’s only so much she can do.

the highlight: Finding out the bad news and giving up on her faith.

3. Janet Gaynor, Street Angel
The big moment of the film is the dinner scene, that story-hour in which she awaits to be taken to prison. That’s the only favor the screenplay does for her: putting the camera on Janet and letting her incredibly expressive face tell us the battle inside this woman’s soul. The screenplay is just as dry and misogynistic as 7th Heaven, but count on Janet to make it watchable and emotional.

the highlight: Not knowing if she should say goodbye to her lover, in the dinner scene.

4. Janet Gaynor, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

The character is more of a device, helping define the character arc of the male character. The good elements of Janet’s performance can be found in the quiet scenes of heartbreak or in her naïve hope at the beginning of the film that he might actually want to save their marriage. It’s a performance based mostly on reactions and Janet succeeds: she’s natural and believable.

the highlight: The church scene, remembering what love was all about.

5. Louise Dresser, A Ship Comes In

With such a bad, sloppy film to carry, who could achieve greatness?! She is in a handful of scenes and only 2 offer some possibility to show more than simple physical presence. Her helplessness in the courtroom works, and she delivers a couple of good-acted moments in the scenes with her son, but that’s about it. It would’ve been a good performance, if the film itself had treated the character the way it deserved.

the highlight: Her resignation about sending her son to war.

It was Oscar’s first edition, so who knows how they did actually vote. But Janet Gaynor, with the 3 films on her side, had a clear advantage – and I’m sure it was an easy win given the situation. If there was anyone to bring a surprise, it would’ve been Gloria of course, who probably got a couple of votes. Louise Dresser, I suspect, based on the film & performance, had no chance.

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

What’s next: A year from the 1940s. It’s gonna be a filmed draw (from 7 possibilities; 1947 has already been discussed, and I don’t have complete 42 and 49).
Also, starting with this week you can find me on Twitter.

2011-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Janet Gaynor, in 7th Heaven

approximately 61 minutes and 6 seconds
52.4% of the film

The film

A street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes.

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

I don’t go with the majority on this film and it’s really not something to give me a great pleasure. I wished I liked it, I thought it actually had lots of potential in the first part, but I just didn’t find any interest in the love story. To me it seemed like a dry, underwritten film, storywise.

Janet Gaynor as Diane

I think we could all agree on the fact that this is the film (out of the 3) most responsible for Janet Gaynor’s Oscar win. 7th Heaven had the popularity of the front-runner, it was a box-office hit and offered its leading actress most screentime to work with. Janet’s performance here is not far from the ones in Street Angel and Sunrise: a humble, honest wife or girlfriend confronted with injustice. In a way, that helps the triple nomination make more sense.

Janet is playing Diane, a young Paris girl living in poverty, abused by her violent drunken sister. When a cocky street cleaner saves her life, she’s taken under his wing and they start falling for eachother. Unfortunately, their happiness is disrupted by the start of World War I. The role sounds very meaty when presented, but truth is: the screenplay has too few to offer to its leading actress. Janet is well above the writing, but the limits are too unbreakable to give as a result a great performance.

I am even putting aside the ridiculous misogynistic tone of the film which drives me nuts (just like in Street Angel), but that’s not the screenplay’s biggest fault regarding Diane. The problem is the lack of complexity in the character and the rugged character arc with visible changes in the character that have no depth. When given this little, in a way I admit Janet does miracles.

Her power of expressing so much using a single look and those tearful eyes, all of this is quite impressing. She’s very delicate, so playing the shyness of the character is not the biggest challenge – and she does it with easiness, also winning some likeability. I felt sorry for Diane, but didn’t find myself attached to the character. Janet does her best to suggest a richness of emotions and feelings, but there’s only so much she can do.

Her best scenes are indeed the ones towards the ending. Her desperation feels very honest, and it shapes a performance that’s technically good, some might say flawless, but to me it lacks spark and versatility. She has no problem in playing a victim or natural innocence, she’s great in the tense moments of the film, but what more is there to it.

Janet is easily the best thing about 7th Heaven, but as in previous projects her storyline and character development on page never rise up to the occasion, to fully bring light on her great talent and give her the possibility to show real range. It’s a good performance, in my opinion tragically sabotaged by the screenplay’s lack of generosity towards its actors. A very strong from me, anyway. I’m sorry I can’t love it.

Final conclusions on the year will follow in a day or two.

2011-06-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys! I'm on twitter now, because I'm tired of reading so much stuff and not being able to reply! :)

So tell me: who else is outthere. Let me know! :D

If interested, you'll find the Twitter button on the right or just go at my link here:

http://twitter.com/#!/AlexInMovieland

2011-06-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Gloria Swanson, in Sadie Thompson

approximately 51 minutes and 23 seconds***
57% of the film

The film

Sadie Thompson arrives in Pago-Pago on her way to a new life, but extremist missionary Davidson lashes out against her lifestyle.

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

The film sure doesn’t lack tension, and there’s a very satisfying stage-like intensity in the second half, but it misses the opportunity with an ending that, regardless of the fact that’s it’s recreated through stills, doesn’t live up to the hype it previously promises. Lionel Barrymore would’ve made for a great nominee.

Gloria Swanson as Sadie Thompson

It’s my first encounter with a Gloria Swanson performance outside her iconic role in Sunset Blvd., 22 years later. And we have a very different character and performance: it’s both underwhelming because being a silent performance it takes away a bit from the fun, and also impressive because here she really gets the spotlight, as the driving force of the film [quick note: Sunset was really about Holden’s character, even though Gloria is the scene stealer]. I liked what I saw, but even the performance is not without its flaws.

Gloria plays Sadie Thompson, an easy-going, outspoken, party girl who stops on the island of Pago Pago, on her way to a new job. She has a conflict with an overzealous Christian missionary, who is also an influential man, which will bring out a dark secret from Sadie’s past and cause her a nervous breakdown when faced with imminent imprisonment. It sounds a bit complicated, though the role is not as tragic as it seems: it has its lighter side in the first half.

The role is quite consistent and offers plenty of possibilities for the actress to show range. Gloria looks gorgeous all throughout the film and the camera clearly loves her. She uses it at its best, especially when showing the seductive, fun side of Sadie, in her first scenes. She knows about men, she knows how to amuse them, how to entertain, yet keeping the fine line between what’s acceptable and what’s vulgar. I didn’t always find myself on her side in the first scenes, but I could recognize this girl and how her down-to-Earth attitude was not badly intended.

Gloria has no problem in proving the street-smarts of the character, while carefully underlining the vulnerable, human side, especially in her first conflict with Davidson. She feels cornered, doesn’t realize what she did wrong, and her reactions are natural, well-played and bring likeability to the character as the story progresses. Her reactions of worry and anger are very believable and have a great contribution to the tense atmosphere, so important for the 2nd part of the film.

But as I said, it’s not all perfect. Her breakdown scene was overplayed, I thought, and might be the only weak moment in her acting. One could blame it on the directing maybe, I just thought she was a bit overtheatrical in that scene, trying to take it far enough to justify the change in her character. It’s not terribly wrong, but maybe she could’ve found some other way.

As you might know, the last 8 minutes of the film are missing, and Sadie Thompson has been recreated using stills and the original screenplay for dialogue. That’s a pitty, because at one point there’s a scene with Sadie, and the card says: Behold me in all my glorified glory – I’m radiant – I’m beautiful! And it’s sad we cannot see how she acts this line, which seems so deliciously difficult to deliver or act around.

It’s an enjoyable performance, actually more than that: a good one. She hardly loses focus, gives a believable, confident performance, she’s gorgeous to look at and makes the character more accessible than someone else might’ve managed. Even if it’s a success, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going with more than… Oh, wait: very last minute update: I was going for a 3, but let’s make that an almost . She does sell the film. :)

***I usually don’t count photos of the actors on screen as screentime. But considering the missing footage here, I did take in account the stills from the last minutes, meaning: I also included as screentime when she appeared in a production still in the restored scenes. And that gave me the total of approximately 51 minutes, 23 seconds. Without the restored ending, the screentime is 48 minutes, 57 seconds.

2011-06-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

At one point (I think like 2 years ago!!!) I said I was gonna see all Best Picture winners chronologically and rank them on the other blog. I knew it would move slow, but not THIS slow. Anyway, I've seen All the King's Men (1949) again, so I've updated my ranking on My Latest Oscar Film.

You can click HERE and see how Casablanca did. Is there anyone who doesn't respect this film?!

2011-06-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Oscar's Best Foreign Language Film

It's the 2nd year I'm seeing all of Oscar's nominees for this category: again, some surprises and a dreadful film. I've written about them on my other blog, My Latest Oscar Film.

Last year I went with Ajami (Israel) as my favorite. Here's my ranking for this year. You can click on the name of the film to get to my short review.

1. Biutiful - from Mexico

2. In a Better World - from Denmark

3. Dogtooth - from Greece

4. Incendies - from Canada

5. Outside the Law - from Algeria

It might not seem a big difference by the way I rated them, but Biutiful was an easy winner for me.