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The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1995

I like 1995. Because it’s overall solid. It’s one where I don’t disagree with the choices. I’d just simply, have gone another way. You know. It’s like passing away as opposed to dying. One just feels better. Then again, one also doesn’t involve going down in a hail of gunfire at the Vatican. So there are pros and cons.

Braveheart wins Best Picture. I like Braveheart. I just like Apollo 13 more. Mel Gibson wins Best Director for the film (talked about here), which works, since Ron Howard wasn’t nominated. So Mel dominated that category. Best Actor was Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas (talked about here). Perfect choice, despite the stacked category. Best Actress was Susan Sarandon for Dead Man Walking (talked about here), which had been coming to her for a long time. I personally would have gone with Elisabeth Shue, but the decision was still good. And Best Supporting Actress was Mira Sorvino for Mighty Aprhodite (talked about here), which I love very much.

So there’s no real decision this year where I’m vehemently against it. I like that. And then there’s this category, and, aside from some questions about legitimacy (it’s kind of a lead performance), no one can really argue with this one. It’s pretty awesome, in fact.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1995

And the nominees were…

James Cromwell, Babe

Ed Harris, Apollo 13

Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys

Tim Roth, Rob Roy

Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  January 20, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pic of the Day: “You don’t like her. My mother don’t like her. She’s a dog. And I’m a fat, ugly man. Well, all I know is I had a good time last night. I’m gonna have a good time tonight. If we have enough good times together, I’m gonna get down on my knees. I’m gonna beg that girl to marry me. If we make a party on New Year’s, I got a date for that party. You don’t like her? That’s too bad.”

Marty - 16

Posted by  |  January 20, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1988

Love me some 1988. Love Rain Man. Not the best Best Picture choice in the world, but based on the nominees, it would have been my choice too. Barry Levinson also won Best Director for the film (talked about here), which makes sense.

Best Actress this year was Jodie Foster for The Accused (talked about here), which is a terrific decision. Possibly a top ten decision of all time. Best Supporting Actor was Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda (talked about here), a decision so good it masks how shitty that category is. And Best Supporting Actress was Geena Davis for The Accidental Tourist (talked about here), which, while I wouldn’t have voted for it, is okay.

And then here — pretty self-explanatory. You can’t really argue with it. Dustin Hoffman. Rain Man. “Oh, yeah, right.” Of course he won.

BEST ACTOR – 1988

And the nominees were…

Gene Hackman, Mississippi Burning

Tom Hanks, Big

Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man

Edward James Olmos, Stand and Deliver

Max von Sydow, Pelle the Conqueror Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  January 19, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pic of the Day: “The last time we met–” “Was La Belle Aurore.” “How nice, you remembered. But of course, that was the day the Germans marched into Paris.” “Not an easy day to forget.” “No.” “I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.”

Posted by  |  January 19, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1991

1991 is actually one of the strongest Best Picture years of all time. Not everyone would think of that off the top of their head. But between The Silence of the Lambs, JFK, Beauty and the Beast and Bugsy (not The Prince of Tides), this is a top five Best Picture category of all time.

The Silence of the Lambs wins Best Picture, Best Director for Jonathan Demme (talked about here), Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins (talked about here), this category, and also Best Screenplay. Always need to mention when a film wins the Big Five. Best Supporting Actress for this year was Jack Palance for  City Slickers. My thoughts on that can be found here. And Best Supporting Actress was Mercedes Ruehl for The Fisher King (talked about here), which was a good decision in what was one of the weakest Best Supporting Actress categories of all time.

And then there’s this — Clarice Starling. Boom. Done.

BEST ACTRESS – 1991

And the nominees were…

Geena Davis, Thelma and Louise

Laura Dern, Rambling Rose

Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs

Bette Midler, For the Boys

Susan Sarandon, Thelma and Louise Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  January 18, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pic of the Day: “I don’t know. Part of me thinks the kid’s right. He asks what he’s done to deserve this. He wants to stay here, fine. Let’s leave him and go home. But then another part of me thinks, what if by some miracle we stay, then actually make it out of here. Someday we might look back on this and decide that saving Private Ryan was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole god-awful, shitty mess. Like you said, Captain, maybe we do that, we all earn the right to go home.”

Posted by  |  January 18, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1948

Outside of Best Picture, which I consider to be the single worst Best Picture choice of all time, 1948 is a great where with nary a bad decision to be fount. But since a year is judged by its Best Picture winner, 1948 seems worse than it is.

Hamlet wins Best Picture, which we all know I hate. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Red Shoes, Johnny Belinda and The Snake Pit were better choices there. All of them. Laurence Olivier won Best Actor for the film, and, as I said here, he actually deserved it, and it was a great decision (because Bogart wasn’t nominated). Best Actress was Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (talked about here), which I consider a top five decision, all time. Then John Huston, and his father, Walter Huston, won Best Director (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actor (talked about here), respectively, for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Both were terrific decisions.

And then we have this category. The only non-Best Picture decision I don’t like this year. It’s not so much because I don’t like Claire Trevor, her performance, or even Key Largo as a film. I just think Agnes Moorehead really deserved an Oscar, and I thought she was strong enough to win (as she always is). So I don’t see why she isn’t the vote here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1948

And the nominees were…

Barbara Bel Geddes, I Remember Mama

Ellen Corby, I Remember Mama

Agnes Moorehead, Johnny Belinda

Jean Simmons, Hamlet

Claire Trevor, Key Largo Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  January 17, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day: “I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot. I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a human being, god damn it! My life has value!’ So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'”

Posted by  |  January 17, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1942

1942 is a year that — kind of like a lesser 1946, no one could really do anything about. World War II was in full swing, and the Academy was obviously gonna go with a film that pushed forward the war effort. That, mixed with the fact that it was a relatively weak set of Best Picture nominees — it makes sense.

Mrs. Miniver wins Best Picture, Best Actress for Greer Garson, Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Wright (talked about here), and Best Director for William Wyler (talked about here). All were actually great decisions.

The non-Miniver decisions for the year were Van Heflin as Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Eager, which might have been the weakest Best Supporting Actor category of all time, and this category.

This category is actually a great one, because it was a perfect opportunity to award James Cagney. If Gary Cooper didn’t win this category the year before this, chances are Cagney wouldn’t have won here. But Cooper did win, so Cagney was able to get his well-deserved Oscar. And that’s good.

BEST ACTOR – 1942

And the nominees were…

James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy

Gary Cooper, The Pride of the Yankees

Ronald Colman, Random Harvest

Walter Pidgeon, Mrs. Miniver

Monty Woolley, The Pied Piper Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  January 16, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pic of the Day: “Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

Posted by  |  January 16, 2012 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment