Today we shift back to the ladies and focus on the Lead Actress category. To be perfectly honest 2015 belonged to the women. There were so many rich and powerful performances from a host of immensely talented actresses. These particular five are only scratching the surface of what we got over the past year. So without further adieu…

#5 – Carey Mulligan (“Suffragette”)

While the movie may have had flaws there wasn’t a single hiccup with Carey Mulligan’s performance in “Suffragette”. Mulligan is a fantastic actress who never gives us a false moment. In this film you see that with clarity. It’s such authentic work that lacks any semblance of glamour or show. Mulligan has a knack for portraying burdened and emotionally complex characters and the setting of “Suffragette” is ideal for her strengths.

#4 – Charlize Theron (“Mad Max: Fury Road”)

At the beginning of the year this was not a performance I would have expected to make this list. That’s not a knock on Charlize Theron. It’s just that Mad Max movies aren’t typically known for their knockout performances. But Theron more than earns her praise for a role that essentially puts her as the film’s lead. She excels in the movie’s intense demands while also developing a female strength that goes beyond physicality. It’s hard not to invest in the amazing work Theron gives us.

#3 – Nina Hoss (“Phoenix”)

Perhaps the most devastating performance of 2015 came from German actress Nina Hoss in the piercing post-Holocaust drama “Phoenix”. Hoss is asked to carry a huge emotional load with very little dialogue to work with. The result is a powerfully quiet and contained performance that tells a poignant story right up until the perfect final scene. More people need to seek out “Phoenix” and take in what Hoss brings to her thoroughly intriguing character.

#2 – Brie Larson (“Room”)

One of the small gems to spring up during the 2015 movie year was Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room”. It is a powerfully moving drama and its success relies on the strength of its core mother/son relationship. Brie Larson is pivotal in making that relationship genuinely authentic. Larson maneuvers through several levels of emotional trauma never showing an ounce of insincerity and without hitting a single false not. It’s just another example of Larson showing she deserves more attention than she has gotten so far in her career.

#1 – Saoirse Ronan (“Brooklyn”)

Back and forth, back and forth. That’s how I’ve been when it comes to my #1 pick. It is such a strong category but in the end I feel Saoirse Ronan deserves to be at the top of the list. “Brooklyn” was such a charming film but it also told the story of a young woman breaking free and taking the reins of her life. Ronan masterfully moves her character from shy and naive to outgoing and confident. It is such a beautiful and earnest performance. Even more stunning is that Ronan is only 21 years-old. Here she shows a maturity beyond her years and she cements herself as a true top-tier actress.

Only one more to go. Next time we dive into the lead actor category. But what about these choices? Agree or disagree? Please take time to share your thoughts and your picks below.

Can you believe it’s that time again? This morning the Academy announced the 2016 Oscar nominees and as usual they left us plenty to talk about. Of course some brush these off as frivolous instances of ego petting (and it’s hard to argue with them), but I still love this time of year. So as I do every year, here are a few random thoughts at this new batch of nominees…

• Really proud to see my three favorite cinematographers of the year got nominated John Seale for “Mad Max”, Emmanuel Lubezki for “The Revenant”, and Roger Deakins for “Sicario”. Obviously Deakins won’t win. For some reason the Academy is content with just nominating him. This will be his 13th nomination without a win.
• Oh where is Quentin Tarantino? I was pretty happy to see his name missing from the Original Screenplay and Director categories. It’s not that I hate the guy. But maybe this will encourage him to lay aside just a portion of his overbearing style next time. I doubt it.
• Speaking of Missing in Action, “Carol” misses out on Best Picture and Best Director. All this time I’ve been touting it as Oscar-made material. Shows what I know!
• What?!?! No Dick Poop?
• Speaking of that, there was only one egregious mispronunciation and that came from the Academy president. Did you hear her try to pronounce “Iñárritu”. What was she even saying???
• The Academy sure got the Supporting Actor category right by nominating Tom Hardy for his fantastic performance in “The Revenant”. How the Golden Globes left him off their nomination list is beyond me.
• The Academy sure screwed up the Supporting Actor category by completely snubbing Idris Elba who I still think gave the Best Supporting performance of the year. At least the Golden Globes had sense enough to nominate him. How the Academy left him off is beyond me.
• “Mad Max: Fury Road” raked in an impressive 10 Oscar nominations and I loved hearing its name every time. I’m not convinced it has a chance in the ‘bigger’ races but it could easily land four or five wins in the technical categories. It certainly deserves it.
• We can all now celebrate the fact that “Fifty Shades of Grey” is an Academy Award nominated film. Let that little nugget swirl around in your brain for a bit.
• The Academy set up “Carol” to possibly snag at least one Oscar win by putting Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in different categories. It makes sense and it gives both a much stronger chance of winning.
• “The Revenant” had a HUGE morning grabbing 12 nominations and being the frontrunner in many of them.
• As predicted “Son of Saul” gets nominated for Foreign Language Film and “Inside Out” for Animated Feature. Both are guaranteed wins. If you’re in an Oscar pool these are sure bets.
• Where was Aaron Sorkin (“Steve Jobs”)? Again, proof that winning a Golden Globe doesn’t assure you an Oscar nomination.
• Love, love, love the Best Documentary category. “The Look of Silence” is one of most powerful things you will EVER see. But “Amy” and “Cartel Land” are also very, very good.
• Who on earth saw “Room” getting FOUR nominations including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay? I felt comfortable with Larson getting a nod but the other two are well-deserved treats.
• Extending that thought, Lenny Abrahamson (“Room”) gets a Best Director nod over such heavyweights as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Todd Haynes. Impressive.
• Eddie Redmayne. Why do I sense a little competition manufacturing by the Academy? I mean I understand that Redmayne is tapping into the hottest current social topic but I really haven’t heard people raving about his performance. I have seen headlines already touting a showdown between him and Leonardo DiCaprio. Hmmm.
• Hearing Saoirse Ronan’s name announced just made me smile. Sadly I think she will get pushed aside in the spotlighted Blanchett versus Lawrence contest, but Ronan deserved the nomination and she deserves to win.
• Academy Award winner Sylvester Stallone. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind saying that the day after the Oscar ceremonies. I also think he is in a very strong position to win. Keep an eye on Sly.
• I talked about him above but let me put my 100% guarantee stamp on Leonardo DiCaprio winning Best Actor. Not slamming his competition, but just look who he is against. This is clearly the easiest competition he has ever faced. Again, not bad performances but none of them measure to the effort and intensity Leo puts into his. The Oscar drought is over.
• The Academy had lots of unexpected love for “The Big Short”. In many ways it does fit with the Academy’s tastes. Not sure how it will show but it’s represented well after this morning.
• Bale over Elba? Sigh….
• Very happy to see “Spotlight” get a good number of nominations. Even though the Hollywood Foreign Press didn’t see it as a deserving winner I’m still holding out faith that Oscar will reward it. There is stiff competition for sure but “Spotlight” is worthy.
• Wasn’t it cool to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” get four Oscar nominations. Predictably they were in the technical category except for the great John Williams getting nominated for Best Score. Wouldn’t it be great to hear his name called on Oscar night? I do love Morricone and wouldn’t shed a tear if he wins, but John Williams winning for a Star Wars picture? I gotta go with that.
• Finally the Academy gave us eight films to chew on for Best Picture. The only one I haven’t seen is “The Big Short”. Otherwise I think every nominee is a good movie. Obviously I think some are better than others and I’m hoping the cream rises to the top. Five of the nominees appeared in my Top 10 list and two others were in my Top 20. That’s a good year!

Those are a few random thoughts about this year’s nominations. What stuck out to you? Let me know in the comments section. I’ll end with a full list of all of this morning’s nominees:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

 

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

 

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

 

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

 

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate WInslest, Steve Jobs

 

Best Directing

Adam McKay, The Big Short

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Lenny Abrhamson, Room

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

 

Best Film Editing            

The Big Short

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Spotlight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Colombia, Embrace of the Serpent

France, Mustang

Hungary, Son of Saul

Jordan, Theeb

Denmark, A War

 

Best Original Score

Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies

Carter Burwell, Carol

Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sicario

John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

 

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

The Martian

Room

 

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

 

Best Animated Feature Film

Anomalisa

Boy and the World

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

 

Best Cinematography                      

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Sicario

 

Best Costume Design

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

 

Best Documentary – Feature

Amy

Cartel Land

The Look of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

 

Best Documentary – Short Subject

Body Team 12

Chau, Beyond the Lines

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

Last Day of Freedom

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

The Revenant

 

Best Original Song

“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey

“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction

“Simple Song No. 3,” Youth

“‘Til It Happens to You,” The Haunting Ground

“Writings on the Wall,” Spectre

 

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story

Prologue

Sanjay’s Super Team

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow

 

Best Live Action Short Film

Ave Maria

Day One

Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)

Shok

Stutterer

 

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It’s time to continue my look back at the best performances of 2015. Today we look to the men specifically actors in a supporting role. This category was stacked with deserving performances and I found it to be the toughest to narrow down. It’s filled with an amazing assortment of diverse work and a few nice surprises. No need to waste time. Here are what I believe to be the five best performances by actors in supporting roles.

#5 – Liev Schreiber (“Spotlight”)

There are so many fine performances from Spotlight’s fabulous ensemble cast. But the one that has remained with me for several reasons comes from Liev Schreiber. Perhaps a part of it is due to the surprise element. I’ve liked Schreiber in the past but this caught me off guard. But it’s more than that. He hits every note perfectly and crafts a character with more layers than you may originally think. It’s a quiet performance truly focused on serving the character and the greater story. I loved it.

#4 – Tom Hardy (“The Revenant”)

Since his big breakthrough in Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” Tom Hardy’s star has only gotten brighter. 2015 was a huge year for him with “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Legend”, and the film which earned him a spot on this list – “The Revenant”. Talk about a fierce and intense performance! Hardy has the tough and rugged part down to an art and he melds perfectly into Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dark, bleak, and blood-soaked frontier world. Hardy is a powerhouse and here he shows it.

#3 – Sylvester Stallone (“Creed”)

I say this every single time I talk about Ryan Coogler’s “Creed” – what a wonderful surprise! To go hand-in-hand with that is the supporting performance from Sylvester Stallone. Again, what a wonderful surprise. Sly shows a level of dramatic acting that we haven’t often seen from him. A lot of it is due to the richer, stronger material which allows him to take his Rocky Balboa into entirely new places. Stallone is so naturally in-tune with his character and he projects a true comfort and confidence into the material he is given. This could and should grab Sly an Oscar nomination and I wouldn’t be upset if he won.

#2 – Benicio Del Toro (“Sicario”)

I can’t tell you how hard it was to keep Benicio Del Toro out of my top spot. In fact, if you asked me again next week he could be my #1 supporting actor performance. He’s that good. Del Toro lurks in the background of Denis Villeneuve’s border thriller looking both menacing and cryptic. This is a gritty role that requires Del Toro to keep a lot of information veiled. He maneuvers through the material remaining unreadable and thoroughly captivating. Del Toro has always been a solid actor, but this is some of the best work of his career.

#1 – Idris Elba (“Beasts of No Nation”)

The first impression Idris Elba’s performance in “Beasts of No Nation” leaves is a powerful one. But it was during a second viewing that I realized just how phenomenal he is. It’s not an easy role. It is the flashiest role in the film. After all he is a snake oil salesman feeding on the fears and untrained anger of children. He has to be bigger than life to truly be persuasive. That’s how his child army sees him. But we see the brutality and sadism behind the charisma. And later Elba brilliantly goes a bit deeper in defining his vile, morally corrupt character. It’s such a rich performance and another that features more layers than you may originally think. Also the details in Elba’s work truly stand out. In such a crowded field it’s still the performance that sticks with me the most.

We are now halfway through. Next time we will look at the Lead Actress category. So what did you think of today’s list. Please take time to share your thoughts, approvals, or disapprovals below.

Well the Hollywood Foreign Press held their annual movie and television gala last night and as usual there were a few surprises, a few predictable wins, and some head-scratching  moments as well. But that’s to be expected. I mean I enjoy them and there were a few applause-worthy moments. But let’s be honest, often times these things make no sense whatsoever. Still, they do give us plenty to talk about as we make our way to the Oscars. So, as I do every year, here are a few random thoughts about last night’s Golden Globes…

• Okay, lets go ahead and get this out of the way. Everyone knows “The Martian” was not a comedy. Good film. I love Ridley Scott. But you have to wonder if it was shoehorned into the comedy category just to give it an award? Better yet, by it winning what does it say about the actual comedies of last year?
• Jonah Hill’s bear bit wins for stupidest moment of the night. Wasn’t clever. Wasn’t funny. Kinda embarrassing. On the other hand, Jason Statham was hysterical.

• I was so wanting Saoirse Ronan to win Best Actress for “Brooklyn”, but if she had to lose I’m so happy it was to Brie Larson. Both films were fantastic. Still not convinced either will win the Oscar though. My fingers are crossed.

• Remember that scene in “The Martian” when Matt Damon had a piece of flying debris smash into his head? Pure comedy genius. Surely that’s one of the reasons he won for Best Actor – Comedy.
• No Best Director win for George Miller. Bummer. But I guess “Mad Max: Fury Road” is an anti-awards type movie. Shouldn’t surprise us that it didn’t get the votes. Unfortunately it looks like it will need to be content with nominations.
• Was it just me or did Brad Pitt’s face look especially stiff and bronzed? Not making any accusations. Just a little observation.
• “Carol” went in with a lot of nominations and a ton of critical praise but left the show empty-handed. I must admit I was surprised. Unlike “Mad Max” it seems custom-made for awards season.
• Ricky Gervais played the mean-spirited agitating Englishman to the hilt. He did have several funny gags. He also had some lame ones and others that seemed to come from his ego overextending itself. He was okay but exactly what we expected. Nothing more or less.
• Speaking of Gervais, the bit with Mel Gibson got a little uncomfortable. Mel took Gervais’ ribbing well and had a great colonoscopy comeback. Apparently Gervais’ ego couldn’t stand it. He comes back out and the two have another exchange that didn’t seem mutually respectful.
• Kate Winslet’s Supporting Actress win for “Steve Jobs” was a bit of a surprise. While I thought Jennifer Jason Leigh gave a good but not awards-worthy performance, she had some momentum going into the night. She certainly doesn’t have as much now.
• Hands down, the biggest disappointment of the night was “Spotlight” getting shut out. What a shame. Such an important and thoroughly engaging film. But here’s the thing, it’s not the least bit flashy or ostentatious – both things the awards voters seem to love. Again, what a shame.

• What a fantastic introduction of Denzel Washington by Tom Hanks for the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Funny thing is the exact same introduction could be made for Hanks and probably will be in the next few years.
• So Jennifer Lawrence wins Best Actress – Comedy for “Joy”. Fairly predictable. I found that to be one of the weaker categories. I don’t see that win carrying over to Oscar night when (and if) she gets thrown into the mix with the other dramatic performances.
• I had to rewind a couple of times to get what Quentin Tarantino was saying about Ennio Morricone. Before last night he had never won an award for a musical score in America. That is pretty amazing. His score was one of the best things about “The Hateful Eight”. Too bad he didn’t get to do original music for the entire film.
• Keeping with some of the night’s predictability, “Inside Out” wins Best Animated Feature and “Son of Saul” wins Best Foreign Language Film. Don’t expect anything to change come Oscar night.
• Speaking of nothing changing on Oscar night, Leonardo DiCaprio will be the biggest sure-thing at this year’s Academy Awards. He’s not going up against a big Daniel Day-Lewis type performance plus the standing ovation he received was telling. The crowd was genuinely enthusiastic for the win and many in that crowd are Academy voters. The Oscar drought is over.
• Speaking of enthusiasm and standing ovations, those same Academy voters gave one to Sylvester Stallone for his Best Supporting Actor win. For me it and Best Actress are the strongest categories. Idris Elba was my choice but back when I reviewed “Creed” I said don’t be surprised if Sly got an Oscar nomination. Not only will he be nominated, but now he is the bona-fide frontrunner. Good for him. Plus he had one of the night’s greatest reactions at the calling of his name.

• Jim Carrey is a funny guy. Where so many floundered on the stage trying desperately to be funny (Hill, Tatum, Lawrence, Schumer to name a few), the bearded Carrey comes out and I immediately start giggling. Is it his goofy, well-spoken delivery or his even goofier expressions? I don’t know. He’s just funny.
• “The Revenant” sure came out of the Globes in a strong position. Winning for Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama makes it the leader in the Best Picture Oscar pool. But some are saying don’t christen it the big winner just yet. I don’t know. It’s hard not to see it as the true frontrunner.

So there are a few random thoughts on this year’s Golden Globe festivities. What did you think of the show? What were you impressions of the winners, losers, or anything in between?

Each year I set aside time to examine and spotlight what I think are the best performances of the past movie year. In keeping with the upcoming Oscars I have adopted their format and for the next few days I’ll be highlighting the very best performances for each of the four acting categories. Today the ladies get to go first and we will look at Supporting Actresses. This was a toughie. So many names came to mind and limiting it to five was no easy chore. But such is the nature of these things so here we go – the Best Supporting Actress Performances of 2015:

 #5 – Zoe Saldana (“Infinitely Polar Bear”)

Compared to Mark Ruffalo’s attention-getting lead, Zoe Saldana has a pretty thankless role. But in “Infinitely Polar Bear” it’s also a pivotal role that Saldana handles with such sincerity and emotional detail. She delivers an impressively earnest performance which revealed a skillful dramatic precision I never knew she had. For me this was a true eye-opening performance from 2015.

#4 –  Nina Kunzendorf (“Phoenix”)

“Phoenix” was one of the more haunting films of 2015. A key reason for its success lies with its trio of performances including that of Nina Kunzendorf. She gives a quiet yet powerful performance playing a woman scarred by her Holocaust experience and frustrated by the willingness of others to so quickly forgive. In a way she is the conscious of the film as well as the voice of reason. But Kunzendorf never lets us forget the pain her character is trying to suppress.

#3 – Elizabeth Banks (“Love & Mercy”)

There were a handful of biopics to come out in 2015. One of the better ones was Bill Pohlad’s “Love & Mercy”, the story of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson that was completely against the normal biopic formula. Elizabeth Banks plays a woman who has developed a relationship with Wilson and played an important part in getting his life on track. Banks is great and she gives us a clear outside perspective on Wilson’s troubling circumstances.

#2 – Joan Allen (“Room”)

Unquestionably one of my favorite supporting performances came from Joan Allen in the powerfully moving “Room”. Allen plays a mother juggling so many heavy emotions. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say she has battled guilt and grief for seven years. Those feelings and emotions take an unexpected turn and are mixed with several others as the film goes along and Allen has no trouble conveying them to us in the most genuine way. It’s a fabulously complex performance.

#1 – Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation”)

Some may scoff at this pick being tops on my list because “Mission: Impossible” isn’t the normal Awards-type picture. Too bad. Rebecca Ferguson was one of the great surprises in 2015. She was a showstealer and gave us a mysterious female character every part equal to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Ferguson has a strong grasp on her role and plays it confidently and fearlessly. It’s such a great performance and it’s hard to imagine her career not getting a boost after such strong work.

So what did you think of the list? Please take time to share your thoughts and look out for the next category coming soon.

After seeing so many people participate in these Blind Spot things I decided to give it a try for the first time last year. I’m so glad I did. It was a load of fun so naturally I’m ready to give it another go. Today I’m sharing the lineup of movies I’ll be watching throughout the coming year. These are films that are glaring omissions from my personal movie watching history and are generally held in high regard either by film critics or audiences. Some of these are films that I’ve seen bits of but have never watched them through. Others will be completely new experiences. So here they are…

JANUARY – “The Killing” [REVIEW]

FEBRUARY – “Paths of Glory” [REVIEW]

MARCH – “Ace in the Hole” [REVIEW]

APRIL – “Red River” [REVIEW]

MAY – “LA STRADA” [REVIEW]

JUNE – “A Man Escaped” [REVIEW]

JULY – “Rio Bravo” [REVIEW]

AUGUST – “Touch of Evil” [REVIEW]

SEPTEMBER – “Cléo from 5 to 7” [REVIEW]

OCTOBER – “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” [REVIEW]

NOVEMBER – “The Candidate”

DECEMBER – “The Last Picture Show”

What are you thoughts on this year’s lineup? Any particular movies catch your eye?