It's finally time. All caught up on 2015 films and ready to move on to a new year, I feel fully prepared to unveil my choices of award worthy work in cinema.
Here are my nominees for Best Supporting Actor:
Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina
A long time ago, early in 2015, a film was unveiled named Ex Machina, a brilliant science fiction work by first time director Alex Garland. If you haven't seen it, do so, and a few of the reasons why you should are the performances, one of those being the incredibly talented Oscar Isaac. Playing Nathan, the CEO of the world's largest internet company, he does amazing supporting work here yet somehow doesn't even steal the show (we will get to that on a future list).
Don't be surprised to see Isaac pop up on my lists for years to come. I am drawn to pretty much every character he plays and I find his performances remarkable. Ex Machina is another example of this.
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
A fascinating biopic that was released during 2015 was Love & Mercy, the story of Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. Instead of following a typical point A to point Z story line, the film succeeded by instead taking two specific events from his life and focusing on those only. One when he was young, and one later in life. The younger version of Wilson is played by Paul Dano and, as usual, he is remarkable. His depiction of Wilson takes place at a time when he was becoming increasingly unstable, succumbing to the voices in his head.
Love & Mercy is a great film featuring an extraordinary performance by Dano.
Benecio Del Toro, Sicario
Frankly, I am stunned Sicario didn't get more recognition from the Academy. It's one of the finest films of the year and everyone in the film provides a terrific performance, but my main tip o' the cap points in the direction of Benecio Del Toro. What is fascinating is how little speaking he does in the film and yet when he is in a frame, you can't look away. A confident and chilling turn from one of the best actors working today.
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Another film shockingly left out of the Oscar picture, perhaps because of it being a Netflix Original and thus voters didn't take it seriously enough. It's a film that demands to be taking seriously though, a hard hitting and brutal picture and a crucial piece of setting the fierce tone is the powerful performance from Idris Elba. Playing a warlord whom recruits children to be his soldiers, Elba is stunning in a movie that is hard to swallow but impeccably crafted.
Those four men deserve the recognition of receiving nominations, but the winner is...
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Alright, I guess it isn't such a dramatic reveal given that I started this post off with a picture from the film.
Simply put, Stallone is perfect in Creed. He plays such a heartbreaking, nuanced version of one of his most famous characters, Rocky Balboa, and he quite literally made me cry during one specific scene. His ability to deliver dialogue and convey emotion with his mannerisms and eyes was second to none in 2015. I think the Academy is going to match my pick in this category, and I hope they do. I want to see Stallone up there holding the trophy he deserves.
The next category to be announced will be Best Supporting Actress, and while beautiful performances like the one depicted above are to be expected, trust me, there will be a couple surprises among that group.
Ha! I actually thought this was the real oscar nominee list for a second. Guess that goes to show that your list is better, because I 100% agree with who's on it. As for the winner, based upon who's in your list, I would have chosen....Benicio Del Toro. Man this is a tough list. It was either him or Idris Elba, but in the end like you mentioned I think Del Toro was just acting his butt off and giving off a presence that you can't look away from. I love how he's so mysterious and quiet, but when needed he can be full on scary.
ReplyDeleteCan't argue with that pick Cody, anyone I nominated I would be thrilled to see win for their performance. Del Toro was outstanding and yeah, so was Elba.
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