Dual roles blogathon: Paul Dano in THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007)

Slight spoilers for TWBB ahead, so, I would recommend you don’t read this piece if you haven’t seen the movie!

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Paul Thomas Anderson's modern masterpiece, There Will Be Blood, is a fascinating tale of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis)'s journey as an oil tycoon, and the strategic moves he make during his ascent to the top. His rise to power is both facilitated and impeded by two characters, both played by Paul Dano: twins Paul and Eli Sunday.

The decision to cast Dano as both the Sunday brothers (and ergo, making them twins) wasn't originally in director P.T. Anderson's plans. Kel O'Neill was initially pencilled in to play the mild-mannered brother Paul. But the actor was too intimidated by the director, and pulled out at the last minute, causing some creative problem-solving in the form of casting Dano as both the characters, and making them twins.

Dano's role as Paul Sunday consists of a brief appearance, but is crucial to the plot. At the start of the film, he seeks out Plainview to alert him about a lucrative area to drill for oil in. Dano plays Paul Sunday with a meek, child-like quality. It helps that Paul Dano has one of those ageless faces. He is 32 but could pass for a teenager, a helpful trait to have in the ageist world of Hollywood casting, but one Dano capitalises on only to embark on projects that fulfil him, rather than chase the next money train, which he could easily do.

(Incidentally, for the movie nerds out there, Dano playing a character called Paul in this film means that both Daniel Day-Lewis and Dano play characters with the same Christian names as themselves). #Symmetry

With Paul Sunday's tip, Daniel Plainview makes his way to Little Boston, California to scout out this piece of land. It requires buying acres from the Sunday family, where Eli Sunday, an ambitious preacher, drives a hard bargain for his father's land. He wants whatever Daniel’s offering, and $5,000 for Eli's church. 

Plainview takes an instant dislike to Eli Sunday and his sanctimonious ways, finding the way Eli constantly badgers him about his debt to the church infuriating. Eli's compelling sermons also draw workers away from working on Plainview's ranch and towards his church.

But the thing about Eli that Daniel Plainview loathes the most is that he can read Eli like a magazine, and he sees himself in him. Both men are con artists, who will do and say whatever the audience wants to hear to get what they want. They just go about it in different ways. Plainview sees Eli as a low-rent version of himself, and Eli knows that. Eli isn’t buying what Plainview is selling, and vice versa.

There Will Be Blood undoubtedly belongs to Daniel Day-Lewis, who won a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar for his mesmeric, unforgettable performance. It truly is a spectacular, charismatic piece of acting, and what impressed me most about it is that DDL, like other actors who I admire (Saoirse Ronan, Rooney Mara), does 95% of his emoting with his pupils.

But it his scenes with Dano which linger the memory the most, the way the men interact and play off each other, being spurred on by their mutual dislike, makes the power struggle between them in There Will Be Blood so gripping. The fact that the Dano was pretty much ignored come Awards Season 2008, with only BAFTA acknowledging his excellence in TWBB with a nomination, makes me sad.

The baptism scene, where Eli makes a spectacle of exorcising the past from Daniel, humiliating him, shouting at and even slapping at Plainview to exorcise the bad spirits from him. It's a hypnotic and darkly comic scene, and I definitely noticed a rise in Dano's character's spirits, like he was mirroring the mannerisms of the man he was preaching at. The way he goads Plainview about his Achilles Heel - his son - illustrated that, in that scene at least, Eli had the control over him, and he was going to make the most of it.

Because Dano plays both the Sunday brothers, some film-goers have wondered if they were supposed to be the same character pretending to be two people, particularly as you never see both of them on screen at the same time. But I read Paul and Eli Sunday as unambiguously, two different people. Eli's rant at his father about his 'stupid son Paul', as well as the final scene, where Daniel lauds over Eli how he paid Paul off and how is brother is a winner, and he, a loser, pretty much put that to bed.

Nonetheless, having the same actor play two different roles does have an inherent element of confusion and trickery. The kind of odd cinematic game you wouldn’t put past Paul Thomas Anderson, who’s offbeat Punch-Drunk Love teased out a fine serious turn from Adam Sandler, of all people. If anyone can turn the tables and pull the rug from underneath you, it’s P.T. Anderson.

I've got a lot of time for Paul Dano, who constantly surprises me with his off-kilter acting choices. I squeed with delight when I spotted him playing the fictional embodiment of the Tolstoy in the BBC’s War and Peace this year (my brother was watching).

The fact that he's not a conventional Hollywood heartthrob yet has still done very well for himself in a predominantly superficial industry is a testament to his talent (incidentally, this is precisely the reason why I idolise Jonah Hill, even if the two men’s acting styles are quite different), and I like how Dano pursues film roles for the art, rather than the money. I also dig that he doesn’t thirst for awards like some (tho, seriously. Just because he doesn't strive for recognition doesn't excuse him being passed over by the Award bodies for his work in this movie).

There Will Be Blood ranks as one of his finest performances, and certainly the best film he's appeared in. Of Dano’s upcoming projects, I'm most psyched for his writing & directorial debut, where he will direct his Prisoners co-star Jake Gyllenhaal in a tale of a relationship falling apart. I will be first in the queue to see it at the cinemas.

Godspeed, Mr. Dano. Cinema needs more auteurs like you.

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This post is my entry in Christina Wehner's blogathon about Dual Roles in movies. Head on over to read other fabulous articles from bloggers on actors who have played more than one role in a film!

My Favourite Performances in a U-rated Film.

The much more sanitised, family-friendly younger sister list to this one. 

My motivation for doing this list is because, naturally, due to the Universal rating, an actor is constrained in terms of the amount of cursing they can do, as well as being limited by other elements of their acting repertoire. In an 18-rated film, for example, you can cuss, Coke and have a candle up your bum. (And that's just Leo in WoWS). 

In a U-rated film you're barely allowed to say 'bloody' and a kiss on the lips is about as saucy as it gets. 

So, which actors managed to impress me with their acting without resorting to the naughty stuff?

10. Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennett in Pride & Prejudice

Ms. Pike, who I admire on many levels: for her intellect (she did English at Wadham College, Oxford and speaks extremely eloquently in interviews), beauty (a 5 foot 8.5 genteel English rose) and flawless acting skills (here's hoping she picks up a second Oscar nomination for this year's upcoming A United Kingdom!), plays Keira Knightley's nice, docile sister Jane in the role that won her the heart of the director, Joe Wright, who later turned out to be a bit of a knob and played her. Men called Joe are untrustworthy knobs like that.

Her appearance on this list makes Rosamund the only actor/actress to feature in both my 'top 18-rated performances' and 'top U-rated performances' list. Get you an actress who can do both.

One final piece of awesome, there's a copy of the Pride & Prejudice audiobook that Rosamund Pike reads! Boom.

09. Henry Fonda as Juror #8 in 12 Angry Men 

08. Ziyi Zhang as Zhao Di in The Road Home

Ziyi's more appearance on this list, in a much more wholesome role, makes her the only actress to feature on my 'top U rated performances' list and 'sexiest femmes in film' list. Brilliant to see a Chinese sister consistently slaying!

07. Bette Davis as Margo Channing in All About Eve 

All ABout Eve, one of my favourite films is one of the greatest films about divas and features one of the cattiest performances of all-time by Bette Davis. How shady can she be in a U-rated film?, you might be wondering. Well the answer is very, and the genius of Ms Davis' performance is it's not so much the waspish comments she makes to the other actresses. It's the way that she says them.

06. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice 

Some critics didn't care for Keira's giggly portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet, causing director Joe Wright to rant at the BAFTAs when he was picking up an Award about how dare they not nominate her. Awkward. (Told you Joe Wright was a dislikeable cnut).

And to be honest, the first time I saw this film, I agreed. Initially, I found Keira Knightley too slight in the role. But like any layered acting performance, and quite the opposite from Jennifer Lawrence's initially flashy but ultimately one-dimensional turn as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook which even Jlaw stans admit was one of the most undeserved Oscar wins in Academy Award history, it grows on you after repeat viewings, particularly if you think about the character more.

Knightley imbues Elizabeth with a light-heated outward demeanour, but behind the pretty face, still waters run deep. Like an onion, it's a performance of depth and complexity, and I'm more than happy to admit that when I first watched her at 15, I didn't quite appreciate the nuances of good acting. She's actually rather brilliant; I daresay even Jane Austen would approve.

05. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca

04. Joan Fontaine as Lisa Berndle in Letter from an Unknown Woman 

Don't know if you can tell, but I'm somewhat of a sucker for Old Hollywood weepies!

03. Wei Minzhi as Wei Minzhi in Not One Less 

My brother hates this film, finding it cringey, but Not One Less means a lot to me and is my third favourite film of all time. It encapsulates the hardships that people in rural China have to endure on a daily basis, and the hell they have to put themselves through and dignity they have to sacrifice just to make ends meet. Tom wouldn't know how this feels because he was born in London with a silver spoon in his mouth, and unlike his sage older sibling who was born in China but came to England at a young age, hasn't ever experienced the destitution shown in this movie.

Back to the film and not making everything about myself as per, director Zhang Yimou (who also directed entry #8 on this list) plucked an unknown, Wei Minzhi, and cast her as the lead in Not One Less. She plays a young girl who has to take over teaching a disruptive class. The teacher who's leaving for a spell promises her bonus pay if there's 'not one less' student in the class when they come back as when they left.

Unfortunately, getting students to remain in class is easier said than done, given a) Minzhi isn't a particularly experienced teacher and doesn't deal with kids well and b) most of the children in the class are as poor or more so than she is, and so for them, education is a luxury their parents can't afford. As such, one boy quits school pretty early on to find work instead, and the film follows Minzhi as she travels across China to try and drag him back to class.

I'm probably not selling the film very well, but it was an extremely emotional experience because it bought back memories of parts of rundown China which I see every time I visit and the levels of poverty which people really do live in. The motivations of Wei Minzhi's character in the film are too real, and as such, it was a stroke of genius to cast an unknown everyday person in the lead role. Because she has had the life experience of having to sing for her supper on a daily basis, her performance is more authentic and affecting than any amount of years at Drama school could instill into someone.

02. Audrey Hepburn as Princess Anya in Roman Holiday 

Oblig shout-out to the prettiest, classiest lady in Hollywood history!

01. Alec Guinness as eight members of the D'Ascoyne family in Kind Hearts and Coronets 

One of the best comedic performances of all-time. The pinnacle of an actor playing multiple roles in a movie; Guinness really sells every character as disparate from the last.  BOSS!

Preach.

From Kate Muir's review of Suicide Squad: -

Film review: SUICIDE SQUAD (David Ayer, 2016)

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), a shrewd government official, opines that in the case of the recently deceased Superman, they'd gotten lucky, as he was a superhero who shared their ideals, thus, played on their side. The next time, she argues, the superhero might not be so compliant with them.

A master tactician, she plans several moves ahead: assemble a group of metahumans, 'the worst of the worst', to do the government's dirty work for them. If they fail, they die. If they succeed, these individuals can have some time off their prison sentences.

This motley crew, the titular 'Suicide Squad', includes Will Smith as Deadshot, a paid for assassin who's accuracy with a rifle is unparalleled; Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Joker's girlfriend who's even more mental than he is; Jay Hernandez as Diablo, a man blessed/blighted with pyrokinesis; Jai Courtney as a mercenary robber Captain Boomerang; and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, a human-reptile hybrid.

The Suicide Squad are headed by a surly, non-nonsense soldier who holds his criminal squad in utter contempt, Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman, quite the babe *swoons*). Rick won't take crap from anyone, but unfortunately for him, Amanda Waller has his balls in a vice due to Rick's girlfriend, archeologist June Moone, being the host body of a 5000-year-old witch called Enchantress (Cara Delevingne, living proof that partying with celebrities and nepotism can get you places). Waller has Enchantress' heart, and Enchantress possesses June's body, who in turn possesses Rick's heart. Phew!!!

The convoluted plot setup is reflected in the first act of the film, which takes rather too long to get to the action, and under-develops several character's story arcs, preventing the audience from forming an attachment to them. But that was always going to be an occupational hazard of translating such an ambitious, multi-faceted comic book to the screen, and at least the overarching message, of that of the blurred lines between good and evil, has been retained.

Suicide Squad makes for a very entertaining watch, even if the over-reliance in CGI is at times a little distracting. The occasionally over-done visuals are enhanced, however, by a slick soundtrack, featuring everything from Queen to Eminem. Two songs which play over the credits, “Heathens” and “Sucker for Pain” will go down in pop culture folklore, for how well they were employed in the advertising for Suicide Squad (the latter, on a Snapchat filter!). The watchability of the movie as a piece of entertainment is also largely thanks to the ensemble cast, who are, bar one jarring exception, all pretty great.

The star of the show is Viola Davis, whose superior acting and Juilliard credentials lends gravitas to even the corniest of Hollywood lines. She's a natural, and Davis completely embodies Waller's Machiavellian personality and her cool-as-a-cucumber demeanour. Her formidable screen presence carries her throughout, and even when her character is in danger, Davis never lets even an inkling of fear creep into her visage.

Will Smith is also very good as Deadshot. He's never not been cool, even back in his Fresh Prince days, but it's his scenes with his cute daughter, his one weakness (and his justification for only accepting hits on men, never women or children) that ground his character. Similarly, Jay Hernandez as Diablo illustrates how his skills with fire aren't so much a gift as an affliction, in a tragic subplot which I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear over.

Margot Robbie is deliciously nutty as Harley Quinn. Much has been made of the update in her attire from harlequin outfit to stilettos, a ripped T-shirt sporting 'Daddy's Little Monster' and the shortest of hotpants, but it's not what she wears (or doesn't wear) that lingers in your impression as Harley. What I'll remember is her mannerisms, ranging from the wicked cackle to the sly winks, as well as the casual panache with which she beats up the badder baddies with her trusty baseball bat. Adding to the element of girl power is Karen Fukuhara as Flag's personal bodyguard, a samurai sword-wielding lady who takes no prisoners. As an actual martial arts champion, Fukuhara makes a fierce impression, doing her east Asian sisters proud.

Unfortunately, Nepotism Delevingne proved my doubts about her suitability for the part of Enchantress completely correct. Not content with having stunk the place out in Paper Towns (voted my second least favourite performance of 2015, holla), her performance here is a bad conflation of flared nostrils to emote, a weird, booming voice, and, in the last act, gyrating so earnestly you'd think it was tryouts for a hula-hooping contest. Her terrible acting even impairs other performances: because her and Joel Kinnaman had such stunted chemistry, you just weren't engaged in their relationship, which is problematic as it represents one of the main incentives of one of the characters.

I feel it may be a tad rich to criticise someone for getting where they were through their connections, given one of my friends, Dominic, liked to joke that the only reason I got accepted on my Masters was because my father used to work at the University.

Regardless of the veracity of that claim, at least I worked hard on my Masters once I got in. I'm not getting that vibe from Delevingne, an individual who's modelling work I am actually a great fan of. There’s no denying she’s a striking girl; it takes something special to out-shine even Margot Robbie at the London premiere of Suicide Squad. But Cara, honey, in movies, it's not enough just to be pretty.

So you wore a bikini and showed gameness for writhing around. There's way more to acting than that. Compare Delevingne's wooden acting here to that of Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch in the Marvel movies. Both played comic book witches, but whereas Olsen was convincing, injecting humanity and depth into Wanda, Delevingne brings nothing to Suicide Squad other than maybe Taylor Swift or the Jenners doing an Instagram post about it, if she's lucky, and detracts from the overall quality by being in it. #SayNoToCaraDelevingneInFilms

That gripe aside (and it's a pretty big one; Cara is so poor it's hard to focus on any scene she's in), I can see what David Ayer was trying do with Suicide Squad. Due to the sheer volume of ambition, he didn't achieve all his aims. But a couple of bombastic set pieces, witty lines of banter between members of the squad, an onrunning kid-unfriendly tone (still celebrating that 15 certificate) and the entire cast bar that blonde model woman bringing their A-game, makes this a thoroughly silly ride.

6/10

Supporting Actress 2010: Mila Kunis in Black Swan.

This be my entry for Stinky Lulu's Class of 2010 Supporting Actress blogathon. Get over there for more Supporting Actress Greatness!



Now, I'mma let you in on a little secret. When I was writing my entry for Supporting Actress, Class of 2008, my brain was telling me to pick Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but my heart was urging me to pick Mila Kunis for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In the end, I went with my head, though several days later I gave Forgetting Sarah Marshall a re-watch, and I knew that I should have gone with my heart's pick. To semi-atone for my movie-related mistake, I compiled my list of all-round favourite performances from that year, and bunged Miss Kunis at a high position in the list. But I didn't lose too much sleep over the matter, because I knew that, such was her talent and loveliness, that Mila Kunis was sure to come back in future years with a performance of equal, if not higher, calibre. And right I was, because in 2010, she stepped out and turned heads in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. And boy, what a performance.

In Black Swan, Natalie Portman's character, Nina Sayers, is an extremely devoted and hardworking ballet student. The director at the ballet school, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel, never swarmier), wants to put on a production of the famous Black Swan ballet, and for the lead, instead of picking the experienced Beth (Winona Ryder), he decides he wants fresh blood for the role. There is nothing Nina wants more than this lead. And she would be fuilly deserving of it, if it were not for one thing: to depict the swan in Swan Lake, the actress must be able to depict both sides of the swan, the innocent, "white" swan, as well as be able to dance the part of its evil twin, the black swan. Anyone with eyes can see that Nina is perfect for the part of the white swan, but she is too vulnerable, innocent, and takes herself far too seriously to be the black swan. Looking for inspiration in how to "let herself go", Leroy points Nina in the direction of Lily, a recent addition to the ballet troupe. She is not as gifted technically as Nina, nor does she try half as hard, but she has a kind of devil-may-care swagger (if swagger were to translate onto the dance floor) that Nina herself lacks. Soon, Nina forges a kind of twisted "keep your friends close and your enemies even closer" friendship with Lily that helps her embody her character more, whilst simultaneously contributing to her downfall.

Before having seen the film and just checked out the trailer, I guessed that with the Yin/Yan-ing of Portman as the White Swan and Kunis as the Black one, we, the audience, were supposed to feel an aversion to the character of Lily. Quite the opposite. Instead, we, like Lily, are drawn into this free spirit, wanting to know more about her, whilst not letting on that we're curious. The curious casting of Portman and Kunis, who don't look dissimilar, really brings out the difference in their two personalities; Nina, the obsessive-compulsive who is obsessed with "perfection", and Lily, who is more than happy to live her life and go where the wind blows. Furthermore, what I thought was extremely clever about Kunis' portrayal of Lily is that she presents her character as appearing friendly, a bit morally and sexually loose, but harmless with it, yet Nina feels completely and utterly threatened by her. Whether this discomfort towards Lily is justified, or a product of Nina's detereorating mental condition, well, that forms much of the basis of the film.

The other thing I thought was terrific about Mila's performance is that she is the perfect foil for Natalie Portman. Although the two may look alike, that is where the similarities end. Portman's Nina is practically still a kind insofar as she's very much a mummy's girl, and her pink bedroom is decorated with stuffed animals. Everything must be neat and in its place and in order; she eats half a grapefruit and a tiny egg for breakfast, ties her hair in an impossibly neat bun, and executes all her dance moves with precision. Lily, on the other hand, doesn't dance badly, but it's definitely more of a "flap her arms about" thing rather than the intense study that Nina regards it with. Part of the intensity of Natalie Portman's performance is how starkly it concentrates with Mila Kunis' casualness. The "hot badass" role could so easily escalate into caricature, but thanks to some astute writing and subtle line-delivery (check Mrs. Family Guy out when says "What, did you have some kind of lezzy wet dream about me!?"), Nina is every bit a real person as the director would like.



Then there's the sex scene. Without giving away too much about the film, I'll simply say "not all is at it seems". But the dedication from both actresses to that scene was terrific, I thought. Their love-making felt authentic, heated, and such was the urgency of the scene that you almost wanted Kunis to go down on Portman as much as their characters did. Haha.

Thus, Mila Kunis in Black Swan is my pick for Supporting Actress Class of 2010. A performance that is by turns sexy, funny, dark and enthralling throughout. I could not take my eyes off her. Get it, Mila.

A Look Ahead to Best Supporting Actress.

I have been woeful this year with my "analysing" the oscar categories; this is the first one. This is partly down to the fact that I haven't seen, nor do I have any interest in seeing, some of the Oscar nominated movies this year, hence I can't really form an opinion. However, having watched Up in the Air last night, I can finally get round to analysing at least one category, and luck should have it that it's one of my favourites.

01. Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Precious' mother, Mary Jones, sits on the couch all day, enjoying her telenovels, eating whatever she forces her daughter Precious to cook, occasionally getting up to abuse Precious, and living off benefits. She's a horrible monster; when Precious was first abused as a young baby, all Mary cared about was that the man no longer loved her, and every time she opened her mouth on screen, I shuddered. I didn't care for the film one jot, but Mariah Carey, Paula Patton and in particular Mo'Nique and Gabby Sidibe gave terrific performances, almost making the wretched experience worthwhile. Detestable as Mo'Nique's Mary is, she commands our attention, and her delivery of the final monologue blew me away; it no way made up for the sixteen years of torture she imposed upon Precious, but it offered a window (however twisted and wrong) into the depths of her twisted villainous logic, and the extent of the emotions depicted were so sincere and realistic, that we believed Mary thought she was in the right. With all the pre-cursors she's gotten; BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe, various critic's awards, Mo'Nique will be a shoo-in to win, and to be quite honest, it's totally deserved. The other four nominations are all acceptable enough (save Cruz, ugh), but Mo'Nique knocks them all out of the park. One of a kind. A

02. Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air

Anna Kendrick, or "Her off Twilight" as she'll probably be better remembered in future years, surprised me with a cute and loveable performance as Natalie Keener, eager new yuppie in George Clooney's organisation (who's job it is to fly all over the states just to fire people), who is keen to demolish flying and instead do all the firings over webcam. Graduating top of her class and seeming to be extremely intelligent and focused, Keener followed her boyfriend around, leading her to this job, showing that all the degrees in the world won't teach you how to make good decisions. At the start of the movie she comes across as a know-it-all who thinks she's got it all sorted, a notion Clooney's character soon quells for her when they begin to do some firings together. Although it's not a hugely taxing role, Kendrick plays Natalie with sensitivity, particularly when her character begins to realise she doesn't have the answers to everything, and how easy things in theory can be difficult in practice. Kendrick also has some fine comic timing throughout the movie, as well as delivering a cute monologue about what she looks for in her perfect man. It's a character that I, as part of the twitter-and-texting generation, can emphathise with and enjoy; and her transition from naive kid to slightly-more-in-the-know adult is well channeled through the film. B+

03. Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart

In a performance that has drawn obvious comparisons with that of Marisa Tomei  in The Wrestler, Gyllenhaal plays a young reporter, Jean, who is drawn in to Bridges' Bad Blake, thus cementing the central romantic thread of the film. Blake is battling with alcohol addiction, Jean battling with loneliness. Together, the two make a good, if dysfunctional pairing, and the chemistry between really anchors what is otherwise a fairly run-of-the-mill "man on the slippery slopes finds redemption in good woman" tale. A good, believable performance, but nothing special at all by Gyllenhaal's own standards. B-

04. Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air

Vera Farmiga first made waves on my girlcrush radar in 2006's The Departed, wherein she spent a good deal of the movie running about in T-shirt and undies, looking pretty damn gorgeous for a woman of her age. In Up in the Air, her beauty is commented on twice, which made me happy, because she is, in my eyes, an unusual beauty. In Up in the Air, she gives one of her lesser performances, but is still charming enough to watch. As the mature, sensual older woman, she exudes class and sexuality in every step she takes, someone who knows what she wants and knows how to get it. Nothing overly special, but pleasant enough, especially in the scenes she shares with Clooney, which have witty reparte to the max. There's nothing particular about the things she says, but it's more the way she says it. It's a performance that's so good because of the energy she exudes, rather than any real acting she does. B-

05. Penélope Cruz for Nine

Don't get me wrong, I love Penélope, like 90% of the time. Even if I was somewhat underwhelmed by her performance in Broken Embraces, I still appreciated her talent for the most part there, and her performance in Volver ranks as one of my favourite of all time. However, her nomination for Nine? Nein. As Guido's mistress, her character is awfully written; directly shoved into the box of "shunned mistress", and Penélope suffers from the poor writing in her performance. Her dancing is very good, appropriately sultry and seductive, but the acting performance left me less than impressed. Men probably won't mind that her acting muscles weren't stretched as they had her in slutty clothes throughout the movie to make up for it, but to me, her clothes (or lack thereof), simply made an already difficult-to-like character even more dislikable. If anyone should have been nominated for this movie, it was Marion Cotillard, who really did evoke empathy from me as the wife who recognises all her husband's flaws. Cruz, for the most part, is a wonderful and lovely actress, but in Nine? Well, she ain't no Sandra Milo in 8 1/2, let's say that. D

Who will win: Mo'Nique, Precious

Who should win: Mo'Nique, Precious

Who deserved to get nominated: Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds!!!!! Um, hello! She only have the fiercest performance of the year! Bad work, Academy, for missing out on this awesome performance.

My Top 10 Performances of 2009.

Last year's list 'cos I know you're dying to see it.

Runners up:

Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds, Mario Bello in Downloading Nancy, Mia Wasikowska in That Evening Sun


Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Nisreen Faour in Amreeka, Robert Downey Jr in Sherlock Holmes














BUNGBUNGBUNG <3

(I want his linguistic skills. That's a bingo!)


Captures Brian Clough's arrogance and hubris wonderfully.


Intelligent, swaggerous, deep, beautiful and effortless chic. There's your Tarantino leading lady.

My Favourite Performances of 2008.

So, there they were. If my choices make you go wtf like Colin, by all means, share yours.