Leading Actor 2024

This race was kind of annoying, because it was pretty much Brody's second Oscar all the way through. If you have read this blog at all, you would know I hate multi-Oscar winners. I would rather reward someone new because I then feel like you'll be rewarding someone down the line because they lost to Brody's second Oscar. Maybe that's Chalamet or Fiennes, or even Stan, though the first two were more of a threat to win than Stan. Not to say Brody's win won't be my winner or won't be worthy, but I just hate second winners when you have the opportunity to crown someone new and deserving. We shall see if anyone else is deserving.

2024 Best Actor

 

Adrien Brody - The Brutalist

 

Some say Adrien Brody is still delivering his acceptance speech to this day. Kidding aside, Brody is/was 2 for 2 at the Oscars and apparently the only male actor to achieve this feat, though the number of guys who have won 2 Oscars is low. Apparently the key for Brody is to be in a Holocaust or Holocaust adjacent film. Maybe Timmy should follow suit since he's pretty emaciated looking already. I keed, so let's get back to Brody's performance. He plays Laszlo Toth, a fictional accomplished architect who survived Buchenwald and made his way to America. He joined his cousin who made furniture and seemed to be unfulfilled until a drunken night with his cousin and cousin's wife gets weird and they encourage Toth to sleep with the woman and then later afterwards the woman accuses him of trying to sleep with her and it leads to Toth leaving. But during this time, the cousin landed a renovation gig at a wealthy man's house as a surprise and Toth leads the reno as the accomplished architect he is. They are found out by the owner, Guy Pearce's character, who screams and yells at them to get out. Later on, Pearce tracks down Toth because he saw his work in a magazine and wants to be his benefactor and the two strike up a relationship based on Toth building a huge complex/building for Pearce. Mild drama ensues and a weird scene where Brody is raped by Pearce happens and you can see how intense this film can be. What I like about the performance is that this feels like a fully realized and complete performance from Brody. He creates a character with so much depth that we almost inherently know that he's been through some shit without having seen or been specifically told of it, simply because he looks ragged and like he's been running from Nazis for a long time. He survived being at Buchenwald and we see that in his eyes and his hesitance to connect with people. One of the things I liked about this performance is how Brody would kinda change when introduced to new people, like he'd take a drag of his cigarette and almost bow up and saunter around while looking at whoever in a cockeyed manner and it feels like a defensive gesture to protect himself. It's a choice that serves the film and performance so well for me. It's little things like that that make a performance feel lived in and like it's second nature for Brody to do. Brody comes from Hungarian lineage and his Hungarian is great; I don't care about the AI upscaling controversy. I like his relationship with his wife, Felicity Jones. It's almost business like in the film. When she comes into the film, they don't seem lovey dovey, it feels matter of fact. She questions him a lot and always thinks before responding to him as if she needs to choose her words carefully. Brody's portrayal grows as the film goes on from someone who was unsure about the world and about life into someone very sure of himself and what he was meant to do. It's a great arc played well by Brody. He also is a heroin addict in the film, yet this isn't played up to some crazy degree where it overtakes the story and film itself. It's too easy to get lost in a drug performance, but Brody plays it natural and let's it be more of an inconvenience and something that happens than something that needs to be played up to a histrionic degree. There is soooo much depth and nuance to Brody's performance. I feel like it's just dripping off the screen and feel like essays and video essays will be done on this performance in the future to dissect everything people see and don't see going on in Brody. I see why the Academy loved this performance. I think he has grown and matured a ton as an actor which is interesting for someone who has already won an Oscar previously. Just like the other nominated performances in this film, Brody's has stayed with me days after I watched the film. It's gotten better in my mind and I can see the brilliance and have settled into being perfectly fine with this win.

Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown

I am definitely a big Timmy Tim fan and he is apparently the second only Best Actor nominee to lead two different BP nominated films in the same year, behind Brad Pitt in 2011. That's pretty cool and just points to Timmy's meteoric rise as the top young actor in the business. I love everything he does and was keenly interested in how his Bob Dylan would come out. And I am impressed! He definitely has the look of Dylan and I do like his effort in sounding like him, as well. I am most impressed by his singing and guitar playing ability, all of which was actually done by Timmy and isn't a voice double or actually Dylan and isn't a hands double for the guitar. I just find it so amazing when actors dedicate themselves to learning a whole new medium or activity/ability to be able to do it convincingly so, too. He sounds great and he looks great. I just wish that the film around him was great. I am not the biggest fan of this story that doesn't really dive into who Bob Dylan is or where he comes from or anything really about his motivations. It's like he's a folk music savant who can instantly come up with classic songs after some noodling o waking up in the middle of the night. But that's not really any fault of Timmy and not much he can do with a terrible story. The main thing I hate about the film is how it makes Dylan out to be this fuck boy type of player. He's in a relationship with Elle Fanning, yet hooks up with Monica Barbaro's Joan Baez, without any second thought and keeps coming back to Fanning even after broken up for a place to stay. I say all that to make the point that the film treats him as this enigmatic, mysterious figure and that's the way Timmy has to play the character because the script and story doesn't give him any other choice. So Timmy is hamstrung and still gives us something wholly interesting just because of his own movie star gravitas. Him not winning the Oscar doesn't come as a surprise because he does exactly what the film demands of him. But we can see exactly why Timmy is becoming one of the biggest stars in the world and why he will one day, probably soon, win an Oscar of his own. I can't wait to see what that performance will look like. And why am I calling him Timmy?

Colman Domingo - Sing Sing

It's funny because Domingo is in the same exact spot that he was from last year, I just had to change the film name. And I told y'all he was going to be nominated here again for this film, that one was too easy to see. I've become a fan of Domingo solely because of the Oscars, as I didn't know who he was before this, though he did have an Emmy win for Euphoria and some other awards nominations and love. And he'll probably get nominated for another Emmy at the next show for The Four Seasons, a Netflix show where he gets to be really funny and probably more like himself than we have ever seen in this space (and he did end up getting nominated, damn I'm good). It's a fun performance and it makes me want to see more of him in better films. Rustin and Sing Sing are not great films by any stretch of the imagination. Domingo is what elevates those films into something you need to watch. This film has him as a prisoner who I guess was innocent and we watch as he takes part of a program where the inmates put on theatre shows and watch their process and interactions. It's kind of an inspirational, nothing film - I hate to say it, but you are really only watching for Domingo, as most of the other actors are former prison inmates from the theatre program and there's also a Paul Raci sighting, which was nice to see. Domingo's character is a guy who tries to help mentor the new guy to the program and be a friend but can't quite breakthrough the tough guy exterior. But eventually he does soften and the two are friendly and Domingo helps the guy with his upcoming parole hearing. Domingo has his own clemency hearing which is where the performance really starts to shine as we see him talking to a board that talks over him and seems to gloss over the fact that he had new evidence that showed he was innocent and had the audacity to say she couldn't reach the DA's office to talk to them even though it seems like that's part of her job. During this I could see how frustrated Domingo was getting and I could feel my blood pressure rising in response to him not really getting a fair shake. That proved to be Domingo's breaking point as his anger boiled over at a rehearsal and he quit on the program in righteous fashion that was so palpably poignant. He was like why the fuck does any of this matter as we are still in prison, which I think we can all understand the anger and frustration he had, which was incredible to see. It's what I want more of from Domingo. Yes, he's a great actor in the quiet parts and the internalizations of emotions, but he is a force of nature when he wants to turn on the feelings and raw emotions. It's why I hope he can find some big or great film to show off in soon, because he fully deserves it.

Ralph Fiennes - Conclave

 

I am a big Fiennes fan (a fienned perhaps?) and feel like he should have already won an Oscar for Schindler's List. But alas, here we are after like a 30 year drought where he was still giving great performances that Oscar overlooked. Nominated again this time for playing a Cardinal who runs the Conclave to elect the new Pope. This is a thriller film that has twists and turns and is adapted from a popular book, so it definitely has a bit of a pulpy vibe to me which is where the gravitas and acting ability of Fiennes comes into play to sort of control how serious the tone can get. Because Fiennes' Dean of the Cardinals character controls how the Conclave goes with calling for votes and trying to keep the drama that comes to a minimum. The good thing is that Fiennes looks and feels every bit the part of a Cardinal with how he dresses, moves, and talks, as some parts are in Latin and he impressively makes it sound natural. It's good, serious work for a role and film that demands it, since it is the guy leading the process to pick a new Pope. I think that's what I love most about the performance as a whole is that Fiennes is wholly believable and helps guide us through the process along with the Cardinals and it never feels like he stands out in a bad way. You can see the burden of the job in his face as he navigates the process and the political back room dealings and gossip and drama. This role is heavy and obviously matters a great deal and we see that reflected in the performance. But when Fiennes needs to bring the authority, he very capably and dutifully does. Like when he confronts the group about the woman who was brought in as a nun who had had relations previously with the African frontrunner Cardinal or in dealing with the Italian Cardinal who is fiery and conservative. There are some internal conflicts going on within Fiennes as he questions his faith and wonders why the old Pope wanted him to stay when he wanted to retire. I think these are handled well by Fiennes as he keeps it mostly internalized and we don't get any corny down on his knees cursing God scenes or anything over the top. It's just another great performance from Fiennes who should get an Oscar eventually if he puts in the work because I think the Academy is ready to recognize him for his career efforts.

Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice

 

It's good to see Stan in something that isn't Marvel. Sometimes those actors get so bogged down in Marvel things that we don't get to see them do some real, good acting for a long time. Dude is a great actor and in like the prime of his acting life, don't waste it all on Marvel movies coming out intermittently. Do it on stuff like this, where you are rewarded with an Oscar nomination, which is a win in itself because there was a dislike of voting for someone playing Trump that was a real thing. But what I love so much about Stan's performance is that he treats Trump as a character and not a caricature. The latter is the easiest thing to do and we have all seen the SNL stuff and all the various things that have satired and lampooned Trump. What Stan does is build an arc and make a fully believable character come to life. In the beginning of the film, Stan's Trump is almost meek, a guy unsure of himself looking for guidance. He meets Roy Cohn, who he will eventually emulate to the worst degree, and finds someone to envy and imitate. Stan plays Trump so perfectly because we see the mannerisms of his body and his speech come to life and get more pronounced as the film goes on. It's incredible work from Stan and is better than just mocking him and making the mannerisms into something funny or ridiculous. Again, Stan kind of plays the early Trump as someone almost scared of what it takes to get power and what it means to do all it takes. As the film goes on, (which is really entertaining) Trump starts to transform into the mogul he becomes by acting like Cohn, even as Cohn dies of AIDS. I just think the transition is so good from Stan as he fully becomes Trump as we know him. It's incredible that this was nominated as I said early because this film had lawsuits trying to keep it from releasing, but I feel his work in A Different Man helped him get here. It's always when an actor has two high profile films that are filled with controversy that it seems to help them get nominated. This is probably the fairest take Trump will get in film for a long time. I can see an Adam McKay film about him coming in the next 20 years that will be crazy and ridiculous, but Stan offers up a legit performance of this garbage human being.

The usual group of solid acting MEN. Stan is the clear fifth nominee, because FUCK TRUMP, and I would never nominate his garbage ass. But power to Stan for getting people to vote for him that wasn't illegally manipulated by Elon Musk (2024 election was stolen). Fiennes is great but nothing that stands out for the win. Domingo is just below him but he is kinda like Fiennes in that he is wasted in his efforts now and will hopefully win in the future, and I am going on record that Domingo will be nominated for the Michael Jackson biopic (so brave of me). Timmy Tim should have won (ok, maybe not, calm down fan boy me) but Brody gave another insane performance in a Holocaust adjacent film and how can you deny him that. It's his bread and butter.

Oscar Winner: Adrien Brody - The Brutalist

My Winner: Adrien Brody - The Brutalist

Timothee Chalamet

Ralph Fiennes

Colman Domingo

Sebastian Stan

Leading Actress 2024

Well, this was certainly a wild race for a lot of the year. Madison was the front runner before awards were given, then Demi wins at the Globes and the narrative flips to her. Then Torres also wins at the Globes and the Brazil fans get vocal and then Gascon has all of her drama and controversy and meanwhile Erivo is just happy she gets to sing occasionally and be weird with Ariana. And then Madison ends up winning, which was a slight shock to me on Oscar night, though not an upset or anything. Very excited to watch these and see how it all shakes out for me.

2024 Best Actress

 

Mikey Madison - Anora

 

I don't know what it says about the Academy or Hollywood that for two years straight now, Best Actress has gone to someone who has been in I guess you could say 'explicit' sex scenes or at least was nude a lot. I'm no prude, but I am not into gratuitous nudity, just feel like it's unnecessary, though understand Madison is a stripper / sex worker and establishes how comfortable she is in her skin. I just hope next year's winner isn't part of this trend because then it just feels exploitive and makes the Academy look like a bunch of gooners. But anyway, there is an actual performance from Madison in this film and it is honestly very good. Her interactions with her fellow strippers seems authentic and she has that very New York accent that works well for the character. Her romance with Vanya is very business like at first since he is paying for her time, but you can obviously see her falling in love with the money and the big house and parties. This ain't no Pretty Woman performance, though, as things start to get messy after she marries Vanya in Vegas and his family finds out and sends some goons to make him divorce her. In this part of the film, you almost believe she actually loves her man as she tries to fight to keep her status and stay married. This is where I think that Madison really starts to shine in the performance. She gets almost primal fighting against the goons and trying to get through to Vanya as they drag her along everywhere searching for him. I love that she keeps fighting and trying to convince them he won't divorce her and it makes the meeting with his parents that much more tense and raw and somewhat emotional when she realizes she meant nothing to him all along and it was just him being a rich spoiled brat using her as his own personal sex toy. The performance has a lot of power behind it as we see Madison trying not to get thrown back into the life she thought she left. The ending is also very interesting in how Madison reacts with Igor and it feels like her trying to process things and someone showing her kindness gets her into working mode, though I don't know to what end. It's a good performance from Mikey and it's cool how a mostly unknown actress comes out of nowhere and wins Best Actress. It feels like the opposite of when they give the Oscar to a veteran like Demi and then have to make up the loss to the new, young actress who then has a couple more great performances. I don't know if Mikey will be great again, but I hope this opens up some new opportunities so we can see what else she can do besides be a scream queen.

Cynthia Erivo - Wicked

I don't really know why I was so worried that Erivo might not be able to pull off this performance. She was the only good part about her previous nomination and that's where I feel like some actors just need to be put in the right spot or even just put in a big budget film to be able to shine. I feel like that's what Colman Domingo needs and is exactly what Erivo got as a huge part in Elphaba and really got to show off what she can do. She has impressive pipes and knocked her famous song out of the park. But she also nails the acting part of the unloved, green witch who has to prove herself to everyone else. I enjoyed her performance and chemistry with Grande a lot, even if it got weird during awards season, because it is the crux of the film them becoming friends and pushing each other. It's fully believable and Erivo displays the anger and anxiety and fear perfectly for the role. I'm interested in how the second film will play as I think Erivo will have a more important part of the whole film as she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. I imagine it should be great again as the filming was all done at once, so she's not having to recapture the magic of this performance years later and I bet we will see her nominated again for this role next year. Not really a hot take but I'd bet a lot on her being back here again. I think this will become one of those beloved performances that people love when looking back on the Oscars years later and I'm glad she was able to deliver it.

Karla Sofia Gascon - Emilia Perez

This should have been a great, celebratory nomination of the first trans female ever in this category. Instead her awful tweets resurfaced and her behavior in response turned a lot of folks off to her as a person and soured many on the film and performance, too. Obviously, trans people can be awful shitheads just like anyone else and I think highlights that we can't just anoint trans folk as infallible and amazing just because they are trans. Not trying to be controversial, but being trans doesn't mean you are automatically an amazing actress or person. I mean, this performance definitely has its flaws. For one, it's a musical and Gascon can't sing for shit. They even used AI to enhance her voice and make it better, and the director and people that did the songs seemed proud of that fact. But you should at least be able to sing if you're going to be in a musical. I think it's cool that she played the pre-transition version of the character which was probably tough for her to return to those roots and that mindset. It was convincing to me and made the performance better because there was a tangible connection there. I also think she settles in once she is able to truly be her real self. That part of the story is fine, though I don't really see anything amazing in her performance. If she weren't trans, would we be nominating this at all? I don't think so, because the acting isn't quite great, which makes sense as Gascon had mostly acted in telenovelas before this. I'm not anti-woke (which is such a nonsense term) or transphobic, I'm just calling it as I see it, because I think her being trans is a big part of why she was nominated and I hate stuff like that as I've said many times in this blog. I want to see the best of the best nominated and I frankly don't think Gascon's performance is good enough.

Demi Moore - The Substance

 

This was the darling nominee and performance of the year. Moore was the frontrunner for much of the year after Madison and trading off with Torres at times. She won the Globe, which is what really skyrocketed her to possibly winning an Oscar, and also won the SAG for this role. It had pedigree and a narrative of her making a comeback after years in the business and not being recognized and I legit thought that on Oscar night, we'd hear her name called. That didn't happen but I imagine being a part of all of this was so thrilling and exciting and nice that the nomination was the reward. She plays a decorated actress who is now doing exercise videos and gets cancelled. So she turns to the substance which will create a younger version of herself, don't we all want that when we get older (no.)? But she has to switch off every 7 days and her younger version doesn't adhere to that because she is caught up in her fame and self indulgence. This means Moore starts becoming more hag like in various ways. It starts with her finger becoming ancient, which she obviously doesn't like. Things happen (watch the damn film) and Sue wins out temporarily, as this creates a monster that takes over Sue and ruins her celebrity life. I think the acting from Moore while searching for the substance and going through with it are great. She meets the physical demands of the horror role and you can sense her frustration at the newer version of herself who doesn't respect her time. It's great physical acting and the acting between the two souls is great as well. It doesn't feel as if Moore is stretched much in an actor sort of way though. Once hot actor gets old and has to try and come to terms with that, which is Demi to a T, so it's not exactly some new unseen side of Demi. It's good acting and I enjoyed it, but I was never wowed and never understood the love Demi was getting other than she's an actor people know from the past who has been in shitty things recently and then finally popped off again for the first time in forever. The nomination is the prize here and I'm glad the Academy didn't just give it to her in a sympathy vote for being older.

Fernanda Torres - I'm Still Here

 

Torres sort of came out of nowhere, winning the Golden Globe for Drama - Actress, though not against anyone else in this category. But it was a kind of big win for her as it got people paying attention to the performance and the film. At one point, she was the frontrunner and there was a lot of hype around her possibly winning and it being huge for the Brazilian fans and acting community. It was interesting to note that she is the second Brazilian actress ever nominated in this category, the first being her mother Fernanda Montenegro in 1998. So she has the pedigree and I feel that was part of the reason she was so hyped up at times. But also, this is just a great performance overall, all that other stuff be damned. It parallels what is going on in America right now. The alt right gestapo in ICE is disappearing American citizens because they dare oppose the Orange Fuhrer and also ironically have darker skin than them. Torres plays a wife and mother whose husband is disappeared by the military junta (though I think in Brazil it's just military dictatorship, at this time). She was taken in at the same time but let go very quickly and we see the abhorrent conditions and the chaos of not knowing where someone is. She then has to put on the brave face when back with her kids of everything is fine and we will get through this and we will keep fighting to get your father out. And she really does continue to fight as the years go on as she eventually learns her husband was killed from the democracy that took over. And then we see her go on as her family does the same and we see her (actually her real life mother) enjoy a family gathering. Torres is so great in this performance and this role. I wish I had more to say than she was just great, but she holds the family together and navigates a shitty bureaucracy that goes from you get nothing, to here's everything. I dunno, it's a very good performance that is starting to resonate for too many people these days. Torres is actually exceptional in this role and if she had won, I don't think I'd be that mad about it.

A wild race that came down to the one who was originally crowned the winner back in Sundance or Cannes or whatever. Gascon is utter garbage. Not good or interesting or worthy of the actual nomination. Let's forget her. Erivo was a great part of that film and sang the shit out of her songs, respect but not very worthy. Moore is so brave in exposing herself like she did, but we need more than nudity to win, (I say as Madison slaps her pussy one more time to taunt Moore). Torres I think was super close to winning. I think if Madison didn't have the nudity, Torres could have won and I think that is a super hot take! Yes, nudity seems to be a factor for winning recently and it's awful. Great group of women. I kinda want Torres as the winner, a year later, but Madison is fine.

Oscar Winner: Mikey Madison - Anora

My Winner: Mikey Madison - Anora

Fernanda Torres

Demi Moore

Cynthia Erivo

Karla Sofia Gascon

Supporting Actor 2024

This was a boring race to follow all season long as it was Culkin from start to finish and no one else even came close. And I have heard some not so great things about Culkin's performance, so I'm hoping that's wrong and it deserves the win and it's not just because he's likable and gives a nice speech. Cool to see Pearce finally nominated because it feels like he should have had one already and Strong feels like a good addition because of his dedication to the craft. Let's get going on this one.

2024 Best Supporting Actor

 

Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

Category fraud is a serious offense, Jim! But for real, Culkin is in most of this film and is a co-lead, why is this Supporting? Because the other main actor, Jesse Eisenberg, wrote and directed this maybe? I dunno. Also, just to get it out there, I have never seen Succession, which got a ton of Emmy love and wins and many folks said that this performance was a carbon copy of Culkin's character in that show. That's annoying if true, but also, I don't feel like enjoying someone's TV work should come into play when judging their nominated work at the Oscars. We all know that stuff happens, but I wish it didn't. I have no frame of reference for his Emmy winning work, so I'll just judge this performance as is. And boy is it insufferable! His character is an annoying asshole. He is apparently homeless and dealing with the death of his grandma, who he was super close to, as he and his cousin go to Poland to see where she was from (she was a Jew who escaped Poland and a concentration camp, I think). So Culkin's character says some wild, random shit that kills moods, but of course the other tour members and the tour guide thank him for being real and honest. Gag me please. The character is awful and somehow we are supposed to like this guy? I get we are supposed to separate character and actor, and Culkin does a great job at being this character, but I also see from throughout the awards season that he was exactly like this character in real life and this feels like more of just an extension of Culkin and not actual acting. I found myself relating so much more to Eisenberg's character as he didn't like social interaction and was constantly trying to get his cousin to stop or shut the fuck up. I recognize that Culkin is a great actor in a very specific type, which this fits, but I don't like the character and that's due in part to how Culkin plays it. Not a fan, but get why it swept. And if this is anything like the TV character, then I need to get on that show ASAP.

Yuri Borisov - Anora

Talk about a complete unknown, move over Norton. Borisov is a name and face no one knew prior to this film and that's what I love about Sean Baker films. You can get some really good performances that way and Borisov delivers one that is so subtle and quiet that it's kinda wild that this got singled out for some love. Borisov plays Igor, who is a goon that goes to check on the son of a Russian oligarch who has gotten married to a stripper, to make him divorce her because the family is embarrassed. Igor seems like your typical henchman but comes off as more measured and not just a mindlessly violent thug as they try to corral and calm down the son and keep Mikey Madison's Ani out of it and calm herself. Igor brings some welcomed humor to the film and role as he and the other bumbling goon struggle to contain Ani as she fights them and he bear hugs her and then ties her up. There's no inclination that he will be a vital part of the story or that he is anything more than just a goon (I obviously like that word a lot). But he does seem to bring a bit of empathy to a role that would often not lend itself to having any kind of depth and we start to see that Igor is a bit different. He has these one word responses that are funny and seem typical of some dumb goon. As the story unfolds, and the group go all over looking for the son with Ani in tow, we start to see these little moments of empathy where a look or Igor asking about if her coat is mink or not to try and assuage her fears and Igor starts to fully form in front of our eyes. No better scene shows who Igor is than when on the private plane with the Russian oligarch, the son, his mother and Ani and Igor asks the family to apologize to Ani. I don't know if he just feels sorry for her or if he's attracted to her and is acting like a white knight or he's just a stand up guy who happens to be a goon. But then we get towards the end of the film and see their playful, almost flirty interaction before he drives her home and then she hops on top of him to ride him and the ending ends up a little ambiguous as in what's going on between these two. Is there going to be a happily ever after where this man is who she really deserves or is she just reacting to trauma with sex because that's the only way she knows how to deal with it? I really enjoyed Borisov in this film. It was like this strange character that we have to try and figure out and see where it's going to end up. Just a very fascinating supporting performance that feels like it would usually get overlooked and thankfully didn't because it's such a rewarding performance from Borisov.

Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown

Norton's 4th acting nomination, it feels like he has more to me for some reason. He's done a lot of terrific work and is again nominated here for his work as Pete Seeger, a folk music legend who from the film helped launch Bob Dylan in a way. Again, I have no frame of reference for who Pete Seeger is, so I'm only judging Norton's performance as is. There is a gentleness and warmth to this performance that I don't think I've really seen from Norton before. He cares deeply for his friend Woody Guthrie, who is in the hospital with a debilitating disease, and helps introduce Dylan to the folk scene in NYC and really loves folk music to the point he doesn't want to see it die out and wants it to keep being the voice of the people. We even get to see Norton play a song and does it well, to the point where it didn't feel out of place at all. We see Norton excel in the scenes where he is playing almost a mediator to make sure Dylan comes to a show or plays a certain thing. He's trying to keep folk relevant and alive as the world keeps changing and that begets the conflict of the film as Dylan wants to grow and expand his sound into rock and electric. We see Norton calmly keep trying to talk with Dylan about a festival even though he keeps getting brushed off or Dylan comes off as an asshole, but Norton never lets it get to him. Maybe the best scene for Norton is when Dylan takes the stage at the festival and goes electric and the crowd is in an uproar because they want the Dylan songs they know and love and management is running around on fire trying to figure out what to do and Norton goes to the sound board to try and get them to turn it down or off and he is finally showing his exasperation and anger at the situation and probably at how the world is moving on from folk music. He looks at an axe nearby and the cables on the ground and we see the idea going through his head before his wife snaps him out of it. I like that we got to see that brief instance of the intensity we know from Norton before it subsides back into who the character actually is as a peaceful man. It's honestly just a good performance, certainly not amazing or up to his previous nominations but it was good to see him back in this space again.

Guy Pearce - The Brutalist

 

It's about time Pearce has an Oscar nomination after turning so many great performances like Memento, LA Confidential, and The Rover, which I love a lot. Finally he's here, but how is the performance? It's complex and very strong work. He plays a very interesting character in a wealthy industrialist who becomes a sort of benefactor to Adrien Brody's accomplished architect who seemingly becomes jealous of Bordy's talent and eventually rapes him. I didn't get the rape part but I felt like it was Pearce showing that he owns Brody and can do whatever he wants with him, though Brody may be the artistic genius. I didn't like that moment of the film and still don't fully understand it and don't feel it was necessary and think it was to shock the film awake, honestly. I was worried about this performance from the first moment we meet Pearce as he comes screaming into his home wondering what the hell is going on and who these people are that are working on it. I thought, oh, is this what the performance is going to be? Loud and histrionic? But thankfully that was pretty much the end of that as he mostly played a calm and collected guy, this introductory scene shows who he is inside, as the rest of the performance is mostly internalized. Pearce becomes a likable guy, schmoozing Brody with praise and compliments and trying his hardest to get Brody on his side to be able to use him for his benefit, which ends up being a huge complex/building in the nearby downtown. He definitely has ulterior motives which seem to be to leave a lasting legacy via being the guy who commanded Brody to build iconic buildings and for him to create a downtown. Pearce sees Brody as an opportunity to greatness and thus uses him as he sees fit. I guess that can make the rape scene make sense in a way, but I still don't think it fits the character. Pearce does a lot in making this guy charming and very WASP-y and hiding who he really is underneath his collected facade. I think it boils down to Pearce discovering the guy who renovated his study room was an accomplished, well regarded architect and he used his kindness as a way in to Brody's world despite that being a front to garner himself acclaim and more prestige. There is so much depth and nuance to this performance that if you aren't paying attention you might miss a man who is toying with his property. I think it's some solid, incredible work from Pearce and we see exactly most reviews and talk online always said finally, he has an Oscar nomination. This performance has only gotten better in mind since I finished this film a couple days ago. Surprised this made no play for the actual Oscar as this seems right up the Academy's alley.

Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice

 

This is a strong performance, pardon my obvious pun. I'm honestly sitting here wondering how this didn't win and Culkin did. Both coming off massive success with Succession, the TV show, and both nominated here together. I bet that was a pretty cool moment for them. What I know of Strong as an actor is that he is one of those super dedicated people who will become a character through and through in the method acting style and the result is some intense, amazing work. Some would say overacting, and I guess you can see that in earlier work, but not in this performance. Strong plays Roy Cohn, a lawyer to Trump in the early days, who basically created the Trump we know today. He's essentially a villain like figure that Trump admires because he has money, power, respect, and influence. It's what Trump looked up to with his Daddy issues and formed his persona to an extent. Strong is great at being the guy who can make Trump do what he wants. Strong has the bravado and confidence that Trump seems to lack. Strong exudes power that Trump wants and Strong makes it come off as believable power. The undercurrent of Cohn's homosexuality is ever present and it's almost as if you can believe Trump will buy into that part of the power as well. Of course, we now know he used sex to control his wife and was a degenerate rapist of young girls with Epstein. I just think Strong is convincing in the role as a man who has the power necessary to help crown kings and unfortunately uses it to mold the Trump we know today. Eventually, Cohn becomes this pathetic figure who is dying from cancer, which was really just AIDS because he couldn't admit who he really was. The apprentice is Trump as he becomes the new Cohn in spirit, though not in intellect. Strong also looks so much like Cohn if you look at pictures of him and see why Trump is the Orange fucktard he is now, since Cohn was super tan from I would assume tanning beds or sprays. I think this is a great performance that seems to capture who Cohn is and I hope we see more great work from Strong in the future, because he is on a roll.

This turned out to be a pretty good group even if the winner was severely lacking for me. I didn't much care for Culkin, as we have seen this same performance from him in other work. Yawn. I'd much rather watch Burisov than Culkin. A welcome performance in his film with humor and sympathy. Pretty good stuff for an actual unknown actor to achieve. Norton is okay, he's fine. Nothing amazing but he has the pedigree and brings a warmth to the film at times. Pearce should have been much more of a challenge to the winner. I think it's his best work in a long time and I'm glad he was rewarded for it. Strong was...strong (womp womp). I think he should have won but I wonder if the voters didn't want to reward Cohn/Trump, which I think is a valid reason to not vote for Strong. It feels like the Academy got both Supporting categories wrong to me. This is why I should have an At-Large vote Academy, if you're listening/reading! I can dream, anyway. On to the next.

Oscar Winner: Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

My Winner: Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice

Guy Pearce

Edward Norton

Yuri Borisov

Kieran Culkin

Supporting Actress 2024

Another boring race in this category. Saldana was the frontrunner almost the entire time and there was no real suspense or buzz for anyone else to challenge her. I honestly hate when we have essentially wire to wire winners. I want the fun of not knowing whose name is going to be read out loud on Oscar night. Knowing it's a foregone conclusion months before the ceremony takes a lot of the joy out of being an obsessive Oscar fiend. Nonetheless, I am excited to watch all of these performances to see if Saldana was a good choice or not.

2024 Best Supporting Actress

 

Zoe Saldana - Emilia Perez

 

It's cool that Saldana has an Oscar. She has been part of some huge franchises in Marvel and Avatar and done some other smaller work that's good, too. But for this movie, she is essentially the lead, so we get yet more category fraud winning in Supporting. No fault of Saldana, of course, and she really gives this performance her all. You can tell she is acting her ass off and wanting this to be great. I hate that the movie is bad because she deserves a good movie surrounding her that would be remembered fondly. She plays a lawyer that helps out a cartel boss to transition into a woman and then supports her after the transition try to make amends for her sins. It's an interesting story, made so because of Saldana's acting as the lawyer who is earnestly trying to help in the transition and afterwards in helping those disappeared by the cartels be found to give families peace. She is fully believable in the role and can play the tough badass and the sensitive friend with equal parts of the earnestness noted already. I think the movie is better when she is onscreen and doing her thing. Even though her dancing and singing is a bit cringe-y, I enjoyed some of the songs she had. They are certainly not her strong suit, so luckily she has the acting chops for the rest of the performance to fall back on. And that's the thing about her performance, we know she's an incredibly talented actress that does some really good work in lesser films, so it's nice to see her branch out a bit and do something that looked like it was a bit out of her comfort zone. She still did a great job with what she had to work with, no matter how bad the movie was.

Monica Barbaro - A Complete Unknown

The film itself is kinda whatever to me, but I do love that the actors, Barbaro included, sang the songs and played the instruments themselves. It's massively impressive to me to be able to learn those songs and be able to sing them and sound good and do the real life counterpart justice. Barbaro plays Joan Baez, who is a renowned folk artist that I don't recognize any of her songs. But this isn't about me, just mentioning because I don't have a frame of reference for Baez like I do for Bob Dylan, so I can really only judge the performance as it is. I think Barbaro is solid, but doesn't wow me. Just solid, good work. My take on Baez is a woman who is starting to become the Queen of Folk and who seems very business like, looking after herself foremost. When she meets Dylan, I think it's more of a curiosity for Baez as she is intrigued by the music but maybe a little off put by his demeanor and behavior. But she still sees someone she can work off of and with to her benefit. Them hooking up is just a result of two people working closely together and nothing more. Barbaro is good during these moments because she doesn't get all lovey dovey with Dylan, but asserts her independence as someone calling her own shots on what happens. When she feels she's being used, she kicks him out and it's refreshing to see that because she isn't just gaga over him because of who he is, since her star at times is much bigger. I like that Barbaro plays some of those scenes with some hesitation and like she's sizing up who he really is, which seems to be a fuck boy that she can see through. I also like the little quips that she and Timmy spit at each other while on stage at times. It's fun to see that aggression come out but then immediately change into let's kill this song. Like I said, I feel that Barbaro is solid, but not exactly amazing and it's nice to see her rewarded here after her coming onto the scene with Top Gun: Maverick. This feels like it won't be the last time we see her nominated and wouldn't be surprised to see her back again soon.

Ariana Grande - Wicked

Ok, I was very conflicted about this nomination having not yet seen this performance. I am not a fan of Ariana's pop music and she has a less than stellar reputation with licking donuts and cosplaying or appropriating aesthetics like black and Asian to get attention. I know she is a great singer with some pipes on her, but I was most worried if she could hang acting wise. But this is why we watch the films. I enjoyed the hell out of Ariana's performance. Yes, she can sing wonderfully and that is on full display here. But she is also very funny and engaging as an actor and has the most amazing chemistry with Cynthia Erivo, which we saw on full, weird display during the Awards season. But their chemistry is paramount to the success of this film as a whole, because if you don't buy them eventually becoming besties, then the film is lost. Ariana has a lot of great moments early on where she is establishing herself as Galinda. Her comedic timing is spot on and her facial expressions really help make her character. Her kindness is real and almost doesn't feel like it's for the film as she befriends Elphaba. Her performance is actually way better than I could ever imagine and I fully fell for it. I never expected Ariana Grande to give us something that could win an Oscar, and I didn't want her to, but this absolutely does the job. This is in serious contention for my win. 

Felicity Jones - The Brutalist

 

This is a much better nomination than her first one for The Theory of Everything, which I was very much not a fan of (film or her performance). Jones has matured as an actor for sure and she plays the wife of Adrien Brody's character dutifully. And really she is here mainly because of her last big scene where she confronts Guy Pearce and his family while they eat and accuses him of raping her husband. It's an incredibly powerful scene that is impeccably acted by Jones. You have to believe her confrontation is from the soul and it for sure is, which was my complaint about her first nomination - no soul. This is a performance where her years of torture and abuse in the concentration camps shows itself in her heated response of trying to protect her husband. She seems measured and thoughtful about her confrontation, as if she is compelled to do so after mulling it over. She's very intelligent and it shows in how she interacts with her husband and how calculated she seems when responding to anything. Her character is interesting because it's almost as if she and Brody aren't in love and are just a match of convenience or necessity. Her accent work is great, I don't care about the AI improvement to it, and her performance made me want to see more of her character. She only pops in during the second act and don't hear a lot about her before that. It's strong and compelling work. I don't know if I'm making sense with this review, but I enjoyed Jones a lot more in this role and performance than her previous nom and feel she gets in with that Oscar moment last scene that is very powerful. It has sat with me for a bit now and I keep thinking about her performance, so that's a good sign to me. Just wish she was in the first half of the film, too.

Isabella Rossellini - Conclave

 

This is a very short nomination as far as screen time goes. Which hasn't necessarily mattered to the Academy in the past, as they have rewarded very short performances before with a win (looking at you Judi Dench). So this doesn't really feel out of place based on that criterion. You also have to understand she is something of acting royalty or at least a nepo baby if that's how you want to put it because she is the daughter of multi-Oscar winner Ingrid Bergman and famous Italian director Roberto Rossellini. So she has that going for her for the older generation of Oscar voters, who love this kind of thing. But also, her short, yet powerful performance stands out in a film where she is the only female actor who gets to really have a part and do anything in this film. She plays Sister Agnes, who is the head caterer and housekeeper, who mostly stays in her lane but does have a couple scenes where she is roped into the political intrigue of the Conclave and has her Oscar moment when speaking up during a meal to call out one of the Cardinals who has a lot of support to be the next Pope, but pulled some shenanigans to discredit another possible frontrunner. It's brave and something totally unexpected by me that the film would do and I loved that it helped to keep the reality of the story, though I don't believe this would ever really happen, I just feel like for this nun to do this in this moment felt very real. I also loved her little curtsy after she said her piece which just perfectly punctuated the moment. Rossellini knew exactly how much to give to a role that could have easily just been a background character or a character used to highlight some bit of exposition about a tradition or procedure and have no real bearing on the story or the film. Rossellini gives her character the perfect edge needed to keep the intrigue going in the story. I quite enjoyed what she brought to the film, though I don't think she's in this enough at all to be serious for a win.

This category actually ended up being a very good group, thank the Lord baby Jesus! The winner is actually my least favorite. Saldana is just not interesting to me in a film that I despise. I have no idea why she swept this category all season long. It boggles the mind really. Barbaro is next. I love that she sang and played the guitar, but her Joan Baez doesn't really have a lot to do in the film. Jones surprised me with how much I liked her. Powerful performance that should have been introduced earlier in the film. But really helped elevate the film. I wouldn't have minded a win for her, honestly. Rossellini is runner up for me. I think she gives the film a much needed presence and her short time is what powerhouse acting is. Grande is my winner which might be shocking, but I think she adds so much to the film and is a great Galinda. She does everything to make this her own role and not just be like Kristin Chenoweth's version. That's a tall order for people who were highly anticipating this film and this performance and she still knocked it out of the park. That's why I think she deserved the Oscar and I'm no Grande stan. Would be a much better winner than Saldana, blech. Going to roll into the current 2025 Oscars after this all gets published. Very excited to delve into that.

Oscar Winner: Zoe Saldana - Emilia Perez

My Winner: Ariana Grande - Wicked

Isabella Rossellini

Felicity Jones

Monica Barbaro

Zoe Saldana