State of the Oscar Race 2013: Exploring the Unknown in this Year's Supporting Actor Oscar Category

Last year's Supporting Actor race was one of the most interesting races.  The critics loved Matthew McConaughey in Magic Mike, but he was ignored at all of the "major" award shows.  Tommy Lee Jones got some recognition from critics groups, and the Screen Actor's Guild Awards (SAG).  The eventual winner was Christoph Waltz who also won at the Golden Globes, and BAFTA, for what is largely refereed to by many as a lead performance. What made this category interesting last year was the fact that every nominee was a previous winner, the other two nominees were Alan Arkin for Argo, who won for Little Miss Sunshine, and Robert DeNiro in Silver Linings Playbook, who has two Oscars one for The Godfather Part II, and one for Raging Bull.

What makes this year just as interesting?  The fact that only Tom Hanks who will compete for Saving Mr. Banks has the most history with Oscar with 5 nominations, and 2 wins in the lead category.  This category has a lot of unknown factors. Many of the performers within this category have never received Academy attention, or have only been nominated once before.  See the the list of major contenders listed below:

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club (never nominated)
Pro: Method performance, many actors eat up a performance like this, and why shouldn't they?  Leto is great and I would argue is the front runner.
Cons: Does the slight homophobia which exists in Hollywood understand this performance, the more conservative voters.  Will they get this role?

Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks (two time Oscar nominee, 5 time nominee in acting)
Pros: Enter Tom Hanks who is getting rave reviews for playing Walt Disney, the man who has the most Oscar nominations, and basically beloved.  A beloved actor playing a beloved Oscar winner, Hollywood eats that up!
Cons: Hanks has 2 Oscars, is that enough?  Some may think yes

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave (only nominated for Golden Globe)
Pros: Oscar loves their bad boys in this category, and Fassbender is the baddest!  
Cons:  Is he too bad?  I do not think he can win, but a nomination is likely.  He has also said that he will not campaign.,

Barkhad Abdi-Captain Phillips (never nominated)
Pros: Hanks is going to champion Abdi to a nomination, and he has a lot of friends.  I have heard a lot of celebrities talk about how impressed they were with this relative unknown.
Cons: His unknown status, are people going think only about the titular Captain Phillips aka Tom Hanks.

Daniel Bruhl, Rush (never nominated) 
Pros: Great performance about overcoming and affliction, and achieveing even further greatness, the classic success story Oscar likes to see.
Cons: No one saw this film, and unless Bruhl gets major love from the critics he could be all but ignored, if he shows up at the Critics Choice and Globes this could telling.

Harrison Ford-42 (nominated for 1 Oscar)
Pros: The only performer who could seen as that underrated performer in this category this year; he has only one Oscar nomination, and is vastly overdue for consideration.
Cons: Solid performance in a decent film, it has happened many times before, but 42 is not going to be considered in any other categories, which again has happened before, but does he deserve it for this?

John Goodman, Inside Llewyn Davis (never nominated)
Pros:  Goodman has been on the radar of Oscar the last few years turning in great scene stealing performances in Argo, and Flight.  Goodman is a Coen regular, could this be the role that finally gets him on Oscars radar?
Cons: Is Davis going to be one of those Coen movies Oscar voters "do not get?"  It could, but prestige may win out, and help sneak in this category.

Matthew McConaughey, Mud (never nominated)
Pros: He is going to get attention for Dallas Buyers Club, which could make others tune into this film as well; he also gives a great understated performance.
Cons: McConaughey a double nominee in one year?  The film did better than Take Shelter, but are people/voters going to tune in, or make this happen?

David Oyewelo, The Butler (never nominated)
Pros:  The film has the Weinstein Co. on its side, and they know how to get nominations, see Silver Linings Playbook last year.  Oyewelo is great in the film and deserves consideration.  People are underestimating the two men in this film.
Cons:  Another unknown, and while I am certain Harvey will do a major push for The Butler at the moment its an out sight film.

Jake Gylenhaal, Prisoners (nominated for 1 Oscar)
Pro: Like with his previous nomination Gylenhaal could get a nomination for a lead role, did they really campaign him supporting for Brokeback because he was the bottom?  "Leads" do well in this category
Cons: Prisoners seems out of sight out of mind, one of those forgotten films that just was solid and well made, but will never hit Oscars radar.

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle (nominated for 1 Oscar)
Pro: He was nominated for an O. Russell film just last year.
Cons: No one has seen the film, hard to say.

This is of course not every possible contender, but these appear to be the strongest at the moment.  The nominees will be centered around a combination of which films people "love" and performances they admire, except for Hanks none of these men have been "major" players for Oscar more than once.  Only Ford fits in the overdue category, like Christopher Plummer, James Coburn, and Morgan Freeman, but he is on the low end of most predictions.  I am excited to see how this category turns out, there are so many great supporting performances out there.

12 Years a Slave is not the First Film about Slavery, but its the Most Realistic, and the Best

12 Years a Slave (5 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by: Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame)

Written by: John Ridley (Three Kings, U Turn)

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong'o, Adepero Oduye, and Michael Fassbender 

No film has captured the American slavery as well as 12 Years a Slave.  Roots may be one of the few things that does a solid job (up until now) because it was in a mini-series format, but Solomon Northup's book, with which this is based on, allows one of the darkest chapters in American history to be fully explored on every level.

12 Years a Slave is based on the true events, which happened to Northup (Ejiofor) starting in 1841, .  Northup was a black man who lived in Saratoga, New York with his wife and two children.  Northup played the violin, went into stores, bought things for his family, and unlike most black people during this time. Northup was of course a free man.  One day he was approached by a white man in his town.  Northup was connected with two other gentlemen named Brown and Hamilton, the two offered to take him to Washington D.C. to play violin with a traveling circus of sorts.  Northup was then drugged and sold into slavery, where he lived between different plantations for the next 12 years of his life.

There are two men who will get most of the acclaim for this film, and that director Steve McQueen, and the star Chiwetel Ejiofor.  When people hear the name Steve McQueen, many often assume the "action" film star of the 1960s and 1970s.  This McQueen is now directing his third feature film, and his style, and focus in the director's seat has reached sheer perfection.  McQueen's second film Shame (2011), was one of my favorite films from that year.  McQueen's direction is purposeful, and focused he knows how to keep the camera on a moment, when the audience is ready for the moment to be over.  

While some have detracted McQueen's "art-house visuals" I have always embraced them and feel as though he extends them within this, mixing the traditional narrative of Solomon's story.  McQueen's structure with his direction works even better within this film because of the superb connection with diary-like format of John Ridley's script.  Ridley and McQueen work hard to make you feel as though everything we see, and hear comes from vantage point of Solomon.  These two men are the first black men to direct and write a film about the experience of slavery.  

Together all the people behind the scenes create the perfect window into the evil world of slavery.  Sean Bobbit's brilliant cinematography can not be ignored; he has worked with McQueen on Shame, and Hunger.  This man knows how to create the perfect shot, within Shame there was the sequence where Michael Fassbender was running through New York City, and in this film its the sequence of shots where Solomon is almost hung from a tree.  These series camera of shots from 12 Years haunt me.  Joe Walker's editing cuts just the like whip within each lashing, there is this precise movement showing every pain.  These two men like McQueen, and Ridley are the creative minds who made this an incredibly real experience.

The man who plays Solomon Northup, Mr. Chiwetel Ejiofor is going to brace for the attention he is going to get for this film.  Ejiofor has been around in numerous films and television movies, but this performance is wrought with grief, his face tells the story so well.  As you watch Solomon deal with each intense moment you champion him and hope he can endure the harshness escape, and become free once again.  Solomon's inner strength shines through; he knows he is a free man, but has to endure to both the beatings, and the malignancy from the white people he encounters in the south.  Ejiofor is the glue that holds the film together on screen.

The ensemble within this film is one of the most cohesive, and powerful, this was Solomon's story, but as he interacts with his first master Ford (Cumberbatch), Eliza (Oduye), a young mother being sold into slavery with her children, his second master Edwin Epps (Fassbnder), his wife Mistress Epps (Sarah Paulson), Patsey (Nyong'o) the slave who was the object of Edwin Epps affection, and so many more characters.  Together this ensemble tells a story of brutality, and injustice.  Men of color at this time needed white men to speak for them even though Solomon was educated, and had a voice because of the color of his skin in the antebellum world he was seen as less than by most.  Even as he is going to fetch groceries for Mistress Epps, and looks to run away he runs into lynching.  There is no place to escape, no way to run away from the evils of slavery. The film never forgets the details of each slaves experience, treating their journey as a new story for Solomon to experience.

12 Years a Slave is not the first film about slavery, but its the most realistic, and the best ever made.  The brutal nature of this film proves that this story about a free man ripped from his own life is something people often never think about.  This film tackles the cruelty of slavery has never been handled before, and changes the game for film making, it's brilliant.

Prometheus is an Interesting Chapter to Alien Story, but Fails to Capture the True Spirit and Loses Itself in Exposition

Prometheus (3 out 5 Stars)

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down)

Written by Joseph Spaihts (The Darkest Hour), Damon Lindelof (Lost)

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender, and Charlize Theron

When I looked at the June film releases I was giddy with excitement.  Snow White and the Huntsman looked fun and like it would be the most entertaining of the legends adaptations.  Rock of Ages looked fun, but with its release today it feels as though the fun has been sucked out of 80s music (which is hard to do).  Next week is Pixar's first film with a female lead entitled Brave, another giddy moment.  As reviews have trickled out the film looks less like Wall-E and Up and more like Cars or a decent Dreamworks film.  I was excited for Magic Mike (and the gay man in me still is) but the trailers make this film look awful.  Prometheus was a part of this group for me.  

Prometheus is a part of the Alien world.  The build up for this film was massive.  When the film was announced there was this immediate response from fans of the quadrilogy assuming this was a prequel to all of the four films.  This rumor was dispelled, but the creative team behind the film said that the film was a part of the "Alien world."  The trailers helped with the build up, they made this film seem irresistible, a can't miss.  This was actually one of the best trailers because it did not give away too much of the story, and made fans and non fans alike want to line up to see what the hype was all about.

The reason the trailer was good at not giving away the plot was because the plot is hard to giveaway.  The film centers on two scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall Green) who have found a pattern of cave drawings throughout the entire globe that fit the exact same pattern.  These patterns fuel their belief that their is a life form out in space that connects all the pattern of these cave drawings.  Two years after the discovery the two become part of a space expedition to explore the place that aligned with the cave drawings.

That's about as specific I can get about the plot without getting into spoilers or the material that makes the film too expositional. Joseph Spaihts and  Damon Lindelof scripted a film that has an brilliantly close feel at the start to the first film, Alien.  As the film progresses I can only assume that Lindelof, from Lost fame made the film more of an expositional.  What do I mean by expositional?  The film gets sidetracked by myth and lore rather than focusing on the simplicity that could exist within this Universe.  

Ridley Scott must take some credit for the direction of this film; he has a wonderful vision and created and inspired landscape.  Scott's is a masterful direction, and his connection with this world is apparent.  The problem is that even within interviews Scott gives in to the myth as well.  There are numerous connections to spirituality, like a cross Elizabeth wears, and this eternal belief she and Charlie have in something greater.  While the myth has its moments that make the film interesting it sometimes bogs down the material, and makes you feel like within religion that the belief that this should be good overpowers the actuality that things may not be what you expected.

While the film was not everything I expected there were some aspects that steadied the ship and kept things from sinking too far.  Michael Fassbender acted as the savior to this film; his role as the robot David was fantastic.  David was meant to appear human, and there were times you almost felt as though he was, but even David himself says that he was made to look human for this sole purpose.  Fassbender played manipulative and caring at the same time, but being that he was a robot he was not meant to have any emotions so conveying these concepts shows the skills this man possesses.

Along with Fassbender  the film's technical aspects are strong.  Dariusz Wolski's cinematography captures the starkness of the planet while also utilizing the lighting to capture some haunting images in the caves, and even in the ship Prometheus.  Combined with the art direction, sound, editing, and visual effects, these elements make this film more than a lost soul, but a visionary world.  Love it, hate it, or even if you do not get it this film will get you talking, and that is something that helps it rise above other films.

Shame is an Addicting Tale

Shame (4 out of 5 stars)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Written by Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen
Starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan



Shame received an honor few films get today, the film was rated NC-17.  Some will define this film by this rating.  In a way this makes sense, the films centers around an addiction to sex.  The film was rated NC-17 because of the amount of nudity and the representation of sex.  I think Shame could change the face of the NC-17 rating.  Most NC-17 films get the black ball, meanwhile Shame has a nice release progression.  I live in Boston and assumed that only the small independent theaters would house this film, and that the release would be staggered, not the case.  Shame is being played by a major theater company, the AMC Loews chain.  AMC has a branch called AMC independent which makes a commitment to bring independent films the mainstream public. Even with such graphic scenes I am proud of this major company for taking a risk on this film.

Shame opens on a crowded New York City subway and Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) starts to smiling at an unknown woman on the subway.  The film builds up this potential sexual tension glancing back and forth between the two participants.  The shot focuses on the woman's wedding rings as she gets up to leave and the train, and Brandon getting up to follow her.  Sounds romantic.  This moment is not about romance, nor is any aspect of this film.  Shame focuses on the the dark world of sexual addiction and effect it has on every aspects of a persons life ranging from work to family.  Brandon's sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan) comes to stay with him because she gets a job in New York, and this interrupts the flow of his daily sexual routine.

This film experience is primal.  McQueen's direction is precise and direct in its focus.  McQueen has moments where he loses grip on his own tale, but as the film drawers to a close it brings the story a realistic place.  Joe Walker's editing is spectacular, and constructs Brandon's sexual encounters spectacularly.  The circular motion of the opening sequence with Brandon's daily routine displays the focus of the film well.  Harry Escott composed the score for this film and the music builds an incredible climatic experience.  Escott leaves the audience feeling the raw emotional weight.

These three aspects would be nothing without Fassbender's performance.  Michael Fassbender has given four phenomenal performances this year, but this is his best.  Fassbender does a brilliant job using his facial expressions to convey both the bliss and agony of his sexual addiction.  Brandon has many moments that make him unlikeable, but as he interacts with a secretary at work (whom he seems to like) there is a moment where you get lost in the depth of this character.  This is one of my favorite performances of the year.  Mulligan is strong in the film as well playing Sissy who has never got her life together on the outside or inside; she is emotionally wrought.  While Brandon puts on a brave face to those around him, Sissy let's her personal baggage own her.  Mulligan's performance shows strength.  These two play off each other well and make each other give a better performance.

This film's realistic nature helps construct something very dark.  The film is a journey into the pain, agony, and pleasure of sexual addiction.  Shame take the concept of erotic intimacy and does what other films don't dare to do.  The film opens up wounds and strips the characters bare, and exposes all of their flaws.  Wonderful film.

2011 Entertainer(s) of the Year: Adele is Entertainer of the Year

1-Adele-My entertainer of the year was a no brainer, Adele.  Adele's tunes simply put are some of the best music produced this year.  Adele's album has been certified gold, and sold 4 million plus copies, and her single "Rolling in the Deep" is the number one single of the year in the US.  Adele is from the UK and her album sales make her the most successful artist within the last ten years.  This woman is an unstoppable force, with a soulful voice.  Adele's "Someone Like You," is also doing well on the singles charts, and i imagine her third single "Set Fire to the Rain" will be another huge hit!  I first heard Adele back in 2004 when she was the free itunes single of the week with her song "Hometown Glory."  I have been hooked ever since, and am proud to make Adele my entertainer of the year.

2-Ryan Gosling-Why him?  This guy is much more than his looks.  Gosling has consistently moved beyond his good looks (should have been named People Magazine's sexiest man alive this year) and moved towards being a strong leading male; he has also taken roles in more off beat films.  Gosling starred in three different films this year and was amazing in each film.  Crazy Stupid Love showed how witty, sarcastic, and funny he can be,  give this man more roles like this!  In Drive Gosling did more with his facial expression than with the actual dialogue.  Drive is one of the more unique films of the year, and Gosling was spell binding in this film.  Neither of those films provided his best performance; his best performance was in Ides of March.  Ides of March has Gosling hitting every range of emotion, and never missing a beat; he provided strong performances in each of these films, and made these movies even better than they could have been!

3-Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne-These women rock!  Melissa McCarthy is hilarious, while she was great in the Gilmore Girls, 2011 was her year!  McCarthy has Mike and Molly on CBS sitcom.  At this past year's Emmy Awards she won Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy Series (a huge surprise); her star power is making this show a hit.   Rose Byrne continued her work on the television series Damages and she starred in X-Men: First Class as Moira McTaggert.  Maya Rudolph is a scene stealing talk show host on the NBC sitcom Up All Night. Wiig is the star of Saturday Night Live;she is one the few females on the show and she makes this still a relevant funny variety series.  Then Wiig writes a screenplay for a film and when all four women's powers combine you get the funniest film of the year, Bridesmaids.  These four women are amazing and have provided some incredible laughter, and with Byrne a little bit of drama for 2011.

4-The cast of Game of Thrones-This show was a phenomena.  I came to the game late and watched the entire first season around Thanksgiving, but I was blown away by the talented cast.  The cast does not have a lot of big names, the biggest during the first season are Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey, but together they have created a series that illuminates a mystical world.  Dinklage was honored with the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; he is great, but this ensemble works like a well oiled machine, and it's hard to single out one person that stands out.  Sure people will have their favorite character(s), but this ensemble provided some of the best acting this year, and made this show more than just a Fantasy show, it brought to life great literature.

5-Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis-These two are both twoof the stars of the hit film The Help, and within that film that are both polar opposites and at odds with each other.  Chastain plays a woman hell bent on creating seperate restrooms for "the help" while Davis plays Abileen of of the maids who works for white families and decides to tell her story.  Their performances in this film are great but both of them did not just take on these roles this year.  Davis has a supporting role in the film that will be released this month Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closewhich looks to provide her with more strong material.  Chastain seems to be in a lot of of films this year; she played the mother in Tree of Life, the wife to Michael Shannon in Taking Shelter (her best performance), and she was in The Debt and Coralanus.  These two women may have been at odds in The Help but they have proved to be two talented actresses.

6-Daniel Radcliffe-Daniel Radcliffe "The boy who lived come to die" was the star of this years highest grossing film (to date).  Radcliffe has been a part of the entire Harry Potter franchise, and as the series came to a close this year, he will ride off into a wonderful career.  Radcliffe started out an unknown more than ten years ago, and today he is one of the most recognizable faces.  Radcliffe not only starred in the most successful film of the year but he also made his way back to Broadway.  Radcliffe played J. Pierpont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  While Daniel did not receive any award recognition his star power is a presence he and did a lot for the Harry Potter franchise and on the Great White Way this year.

7-Kanye West and Jay-Z-These two men not only put on the Watch the Throne tour, but they hold the throne as two of most influential musicians working.  The combination of their talent on a critically acclaimed album, and then a well attended tour has made this duo unstoppable this year.  Kanye West leads the pack at the Grammy Awards this year with seven nominations, and shares some of these nominations with the Jigga man.  Not only did these two put out one of the best albums of of the year, but their collaboration has spawned some of the best hip hop music in years, and should prove that this is the direction this genre should take.

8-AMC-This network continues to be a beacon for quality television programming.  In 2011 the network won Best Drama series award for Mad Men. This is the fourth year the series has won this prize.  Mad Men has not aired during the 2011 year but helped the network pick up this award.  During 2011 the network brought the first season of The Killing, which followed the murder of Rosie Larson in Seattle.  The Killing was a critical and ratings success, scoring a slew of Emmy nominations, and was picked up for a second season.  The mystery of Rosie Larson continues.  Breaking Bad returned for its fourth season getting continually better (as the show has done throughout its history), and has grown in popularity.  The Walking Dead returned for its second season and has remained the network highest rated show, scoring 6 million viewers on average.  This network has grown into one of the most reliable channels, and has provided some of the best television this year.


9-Michael Fassbender-This guy took 2011 by storm; he had a few relatively small roles but suddenly became a quality leading man this year.  Fassbender played Rochester in Jane Eyre, then played Eric Lensher aka Magneto in X-Men: First Class,  then one of the father's of psychoanalysis Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method, and finally a sex addict Brandon Sullivan in Shame.  Fassbender's four different roles provided him with a tremendous career change and served to be some of the best acting this year.  This man is a marvel, and every film he starred in provided people with something different from his dark action packed turn as Magneto to his exploration of sex addiction.  Fassbender provided some of the best film experiences this year.

10-The cast and crew from All My Children and One Life to 

Live-Laugh at me if you will, but these with both of these show ending this year they pulled together and produced some of the best television they had ever put on in years!  Saying goodbye to Susan Lucci's iconic Erica Kane, classic couple like Angie and Jesse Hubbard, and Tad the Cad Martin on All My Children was incredibly sad.  While One Life to Live is still on the air, its time is coming to an end soon too.  I started watching One Life to Live later than All My Children, but fell in love with some of the characters quickly.  Erika Slezak's Vicki and her multiple personalities, Bo and Nora reuniting finally, and of course Todd Manning and his evil ways.  Both of these shows provided some beautiful send offs, and worked towards providing satisfying endings.  I will be sad to see them off the air, but the provided some of the best entertainment during 2011.