Long Shot (2019) review

by A.J.

Long Shot (2019) 

The summer movie season is a time of big budget special effects heavy superhero movies, action movies, sequels, remakes, and reboots, but, also, a high-profile comedy or two. This summer’s high-profile comedy is the very R-rated Long Shot starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. This unlikely romantic comedy is as solidly entertaining and smart as it is funny and raunchy. Movies for grownups don’t get made too often these days, so when one comes along and it is as good and funny as this it is a treat. Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, the popular and successful Secretary of State for idiot President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), who won the election because he used to play the president on TV. The President tells her that he’s not seeking reelection so he can pursue a film career and he plans to endorse her for president once she gets a global environmental agreement off the ground.

After being informed by a PR firm that people find her lacking a sense of humor, Charlotte hires a crusading journalist, Fred Flarsky, played by Seth Rogen, who recently quit his job because his news outlet was bought up by an unscrupulous conservative media conglomerate to punch up the humor in her speeches. Fred and Charlotte actually grew up in the same neighborhood and she was his babysitter who he very much had a crush on. They reconnect at a fundraiser featuring Boyz II Men where Rogen takes the first of a few slapstick tumbles. Schlubby Fred is jetted of to Stockholm, the first of many global destinations, bringing nothing with him but a garish windbreaker, awkward tapered cargo pants, and some illegal narcotics. He’s a fish out of water to say the least.

Long Shot's screenplay is written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah and directed by Jonathan Levine. Seth Rogen is only credited as a producer, but any movie featuring Rogen, whether he wrote it or not, sets up certain comedic expectations. To be specific, an irreverent, raunchy, juvenile, foul mouthed, stoner sense of humor. That certainly describes Long Shot’s comedic sensibility, but its comedy is mostly verbal, though there is one gross out sight gag that the climax of the film hinges on (so be forewarned about that). All of the humor, even the gross out gag, is firmly rooted in the characters, so no joke or gag feels artificially tacked on for shock value

As Charlotte and Fred spend more and more time together so he can get to know her better to add more of her personality into her speeches, they begin an unlikely and entirely believable romance. "Long Shot" refers to Charlotte as a presidential candidate, but it also refers to Fred as a romantic partner for the beautiful high-profile politician. Rogen and Theron are an unlikely pair but they have great chemistry. Rogen delivers his signature clever slacker character and comedic style, but Theron is far and away the star of this picture. She’s done heavy drama, dark comedy, broad comedy, action, and now clever, raunchy comedy, and she’s done them all extremely well. Hopefully Long Shot doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of big budget summer blockbuster spectacles because it is definitely worth seeking out. This foul mouthed, big hearted romantic comedy is bound to delight.

Best Pictures #17: 2015 (88th) Academy Awards, My Pick for Best Picture

by A.J.

2015 (88^th) Academy Awards, My Pick for Best Picture

The 88^th Academy Awards for films released in 2015 was held on February 28^th, 2016 and the night went mostly as expected but still had a few surprises. The 2016 ceremony was mired in the controversy that became known as “#OscarsSoWhite.” From the moment the full list of nominees was announced the two became inextricably linked. No one could mention one without the other, and unfortunately the controversy was completely valid: for the second year in a row there was an incredible lack of diversity among the nominees, especially in the acting categories where all of the nominees were white. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced changes to the requirements for membership in hopes to increase member diversity. What, if any, effect the changes may have won’t be seen until the next batch of nominees are announced in January of next year.  

The eight Best Picture nominees for 2015 covered a wide range of subjects and genres but still encompassed many elements favored by the Academy. The nominees included: three movies based on true stories (Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Big Short) and one based on a novel which is partly based on a true story (The Revenant); a sweet, sentimental romance (Brooklyn); an independent, character heavy drama (Room); a thrilling adventure in a faraway land (The Martian); and, most surprisingly, an epic, big budget action movie (Mad Max: Fury Road). Room was the only nominee set in the present day. All of the other Best Picture nominees are set either in the past or the future. The Big Short was the most topical of the nominees with its events having taken place most recently (2005-2008) and the effects of its subject (the housing market collapse and resulting recession) still being felt by many, many people. It’s an entertaining and important film, and I’m interested to see how it will or will not hold up in the coming years. I think that despite winning no awards, the feel good, thrilling science fiction film The Martian will be a movie that audiences will re-watch and rediscover in the future.

Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor for The Revenant and while I’m glad he has an Oscar (he’s one of my favorite actors after all), I’m disappointed it’s for a simple one note performance in a rather unenjoyable movie. Alejandro G. Iñarrìtu won Best Director for The Revenant making him the third director to have back to back Oscar wins. The other two directors are John Ford for The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and How Green Was My Valley (1941) and Joseph Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb when I say that Iñarrìtu, when included with the likes of John Ford and Joseph Mankewicz, pales in comparison. The Revenant is a technically well-made film, but that is all it has to offer. The films that Ford and Mankiewicz won for are true classics. However, Iñarrìtu will now forever be part of a very small club.

The big surprise of the 88^th Academy Awards involved the big award itself, Best Picture. Spotlight won the Oscar upsetting The Revenant, which seemed as sure as a sure thing can be. The Revenant had won several awards leading up to the Oscars and the odds were heavily in its favor. However, it is a film that no one seemed to enjoy (I don’t recall reading any wholly positive reviews of the film). In the end, the Academy’s preferential ballot may have worked against The Revenant since the second choice of the voters can add up and outweigh the apparent first choice. Spotlight does have the hallmarks of a Best Picture winner (ensemble cast, true story, an important and serious subject) but this shouldn’t diminish its accomplishments or its win. It is undeniably an important film but it is also a solid, well-made, and riveting thriller. Spotlight won the first award of the night, Original Screenplay, and the last award of the night, Best Picture, and nothing in between making it the first film since The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) to win Best Picture with only one other award (the other win for that movie was also for writing).

Spotlight is a great film and I’m glad it won, but my vote for Best Picture would go to…

My Pick for Best Picture 2015: Mad Max: Fury Road

If I picked the winner for Best Picture of 2015 I would have to pick the full throttle feminist action film Mad Max: Fury Road. As much as I loved this movie when I saw it in theaters back in May of last year, I would have thought it crazy that this movie would have been my pick for Best Picture or that it would have even been nominated. Fury Road took home 6 Oscars for the "technical categories" (Editing, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing), all of which were well deserved wins. I’ve seen this movie three times so far and each time there is something new to notice or appreciate. This is an era when anything visually spectacular in a movie is automatically assumed to be done by a computer, but this is not the case with Fury Road. The stunts performed in this movie are performed by real people doing exactly what it looks like they are doing. The flame throwing guitar is completely real and works as a guitar and a flamethrower. The War Boys swinging on poles like pendulums to attack our heroes are stunt men really swinging on poles. The stunt team worked on perfecting this stunt to the point that it was safe enough to perform on moving vehicles. Director George Miller (who had my vote for Best Director) was even able to convince Tom Hardy to shoot a few takes on top of the swinging pole, despite his fear of heights.

All of these practical effects and stunts foster believability in this wild, post-apocalyptic world. Max and Furiousa are not superheroes; you believe everything you see these characters do. All of the characters in Fury Road are bound by the laws of physics. They hurt and bleed and have personalities that the movie showcases instead of glossing over. The setting may be a dystopian fantasy and the genre is action, but this is a movie about people. Charlize Theron was not nominated for any awards for her performance as Imperator Furiosa, but it is a great performance nonetheless that carries this movie and gives every action importance. As good as Tom Hardy is as Max, this film would not work without Charlize Theron in the lead.

My Favorite Performances of 2015

by Lani

Each year before the Oscars I write up my list of favorite performances, which more often than not, are not the ones being recognized by the Academy. This year, I realized that many of my favorite performances were not in movies, but on television -- including Kirsten Dunst and Patrick Wilson on Fargo, Oscar Isaac in Show Me a Hero, and Mark Rylance in Wolf Hall. My favorite piece of entertainment all year was the Broadway production of Hamilton (I'm hoping to hear the phrase "Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom, Jr." this June). But my heart still lies with Hollywood, so here are some of the movie performances that I loved in 2015.

Girl Power!
Some of the best roles for actresses this year were women of action. They displayed physical strength and mental sharpness, often stealing the screen from the male action stars. Leading the charge were Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa and her squad of females from Mad Max: Fury Road. When the film begins, Furiosa is already in a position of power, trusted by the ruling tyrant to lead a unit of "War Boys" (in Latin, imperator is equivalent to commander). However, she truly shows her mettle when she defies her ruler, liberates his captive "wives," and sets off on a breakneck chase through the desert. Though my perennial favorite Tom Hardy plays the title character, Theron is the star of this feminist action flick.
Other members of my imaginary girl gang would include Melissa McCarthy as the CIA analyst-turned-field agent who, capably and hilariously, defied all expectations in Spy; as well as McCarthy's comedic foil Rose Byrne, who managed to find a level just shy of over-the-top as Spy's catty, tacky villainess. I was also pleasantly surprised by Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation. In a role that was more than just a sexy sidekick, Ferguson, who was a new face to me, effortlessly held her own opposite the indomitable charisma of Tom Cruise. Sure, she could rock some stiletto heels, but she was sensible enough to remove them when the action ramped up.
But Girl Power isn't only about kicking ass and taking names, several other women impressed me with performances that conveyed immense strength of character and will (but unlike my action heroines, these actresses all got Oscar nominations): Saoirse Ronan as a quietly determined immigrant in Brooklyn, Brie Larson as a resilient young mother in Room, and Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett as women who refuse to deny their true selves in Carol.

Favorite Chameleon: Oscar Isaac in everything
In addition to his Golden Globe-winning performance in the HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero playing an ambitious, but beleaguered Yonkers politician, Oscar Isaac had several major film roles this year, each one a wildly different character. I started the year with Isaac in A Most Violent Year (technically a 2014 movie, but it didn't play in most theaters until January 2015) playing an immigrant and successful business owner who defiantly confronts his rivals and the New York D.A.'s office; then in December, I ended the year with Isaac as the coolest fighter pilot in any galaxy, Poe Dameron, in Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens. In between, he earned my vote (but sadly not the Academy's) for Best Supporting Actor as an eccentric tech billionaire who designs lifelike A.I. in Ex Machina. Was my vote swayed by his sweet dance moves? Well, they certainly didn't hurt.

Favorite Mystical Drug Dealer: Michael Shannon in The Night Before
Michael Shannon received a lot of critical praise, and a Screen Actor's Guild nomination, for his supporting performance in 99 Homes. However, I'll always have a fondness for his performance as Mr. Green, the oddly sagacious drug dealer to the three stars of the Christmas Eve comedy The Night Before. The film cleverly nods to many well-known holiday stories, like Home Alone and Die Hard; and Shannon's encounters with three friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie) during an evening of misadventure is reminiscent of the visits from the ghosts in A Christmas Carol and guardian angel Clarence from It's a Wonderful Life. This is a silly movie, and Shannon is clearly up for it. He brings a blend of dry humor and quiet menace to every scene. It's a small part and it wouldn't work if Shannon weren't so good.

Favorite Couple: Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson in Creed
The Class of 2015 had many memorable romances, from Eilis + Tony in Brooklyn to Melinda + Brian in Love and Mercy to Therese + Carol in Carol. However, my pick for cutest couple goes to Donnie and Bianca in Creed. Who'd have expected that the year's most effecting love story would be nestled inside the year's best boxing movie? But I suppose it's not that surprising since writer-director Ryan Coogler is a big fan of the Rocky series, which contains one of the great screen couples: Rocky and Adrian. (Not to mention Rocky and Apollo Creed.) In continuing the Rocky story, Coogler continued the tradition of underdog tales with big hearts. Jordan and Thompson are both immensely appealing performers whose scenes together capture the excitement and trepidation of new love. Donnie may be a headstrong jock, but he's also disarmingly sweet and sincere. Bianca isn't just a pretty girl watching Donnie from outside the ring; she's interesting and talented in her own right. He needs her more than she needs him; and when the climactic boxing match comes around, it's clear that Bianca is an equally important member of Donnie's inner circle as "Uncle" Rocky. (Oh, Creed, why did you only get one Oscar nomination?)

Favorite Cast in Sensible Slacks: Cast of Spotlight
The cast of Spotlight is a true ensemble with each member playing off the others flawlessly. The actors (including Michael Keaton, Live Schrieber, and Oscar-nominee Rachel McAdams) are playing real people and they feel like real people, which can't always be said of films based on true stories. Part of the realism does come from the mundane settings (offices, coffee shops, living rooms) and the gloriously accurate wardrobe (button-downs shirts, "business" slacks, and sensible shoes). An aside: I'm so used to seeing "career women" costumed and coiffed as either overly glamorous -- as if she actually has a movie star's clothing budget, style team, and 3-4 hours to get ready -- or dowdy to the point of becoming a non-sexual entity; so, seeing McAdams' exceedingly reasonable hairstyle and functional office wardrobe gave me great pleasure. Nevertheless, I give most of the credit for the film's true-to-life feeling to the measured, grounded performances of the cast. It's an important story and it's never overshadowed by a "star-turn" performance.

Best Cackling Monologue that May or May Not be True, but Ultimately is Not Important to the Movie: Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
If you saw the film, you know which one I mean. If you didn't see the film, well, you can probably imagine what it sounded like. I didn't love this film, but I have to give respect to Jackson's facility as a storyteller. He once again shows that he is an ideal interpreter of writer-director Quentin Tarantino's idiosyncratic material.

Favorite Leading Lady: Elizabeth Banks in Love and Mercy
Love and Mercy is a unique biopic about musician Brian Wilson which moves back and forth between two crucial periods in his life -- the 1960s, around the time that Wilson masterminded the Beach Boys' seminal album Pet Sounds, and the 1980s, when his life was controlled by an exploitative therapist. It was in the '80s period that Wilson met Melinda Ledbetter, a pretty Cadillac dealer who turned out to be Wilson's salvation and eventually his wife. (They are happily married to this day.) Elizabeth Banks brings warmth, humor, maturity, and intelligence to her portrayal of Melinda. Though Melinda is a real person, her story could easily feel like melodrama because it is an improbable romance. Wilson (portrayed in this section of the film by John Cusack) is a man in the depths of mental illness, under the thumb of a shady egomaniac, who has driven away everyone who really loved him. Any woman presented with this man as a romantic prospect would be forgiven for running in the other direction, but Melinda didn't run; she chose to meet every challenge with love. The strength of Banks' performance is that she makes Melinda's choices seem plausible. Banks had a great year with a role in the final Hunger Games film, a stand-out performance in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp on Netflix, and her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2. However, I would place her performance in Love and Mercy as a career high-point which stands up to any of the award-winning performances from this year.

Best Pictures #16: 2015 (88th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Mad Max: Fury Road

by A.J.

2015 (88^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Mad Max: Fury Road

Over the opening credits of Mad Max: Fury Road, our title character says in gravelly narration, “my world is fire and blood” and he could not be more right. Set in the same post-apocalyptic wasteland as The Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, where oil, gasoline, and water are scarce, but not as scarce as civilization, this adventure finds Max (Tom Hardy—brooding and often silent) as almost a side character to the main narrative. The action really kicks off when Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) smuggles a group of women away from their captor in her massive “war rig” and is pursued by countless bad guys in suped-up weaponized vehicles—and Max is forcibly brought along for the chase. That is about all the plot there is in the screenplay written by director George Miller with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris, but with a film as well-executed in direction, cinematography, performances, visual effects, and costume and production design as this one, that is enough.

The villain of Fury Road, Immortan Joe, (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was also a villain in 1979’s Mad Max) is a cross between Darth Vader and Skeletor in appearance. He rules The Citadel with equal parts cruelty and tyranny, giving the people of The Citadel little water to live on and keeping women in a vault as his wives (or, put more bluntly, breeders). When he discovers Furiosa’s betrayal, he sets out with a massive war party, including, most memorably, a barge stacked with amplifiers and speakers and a man whose sole purpose is to play heavy metal riffs on a flame-throwing guitar. Immortan Joe’s minions are shirtless, chalk-painted men called War Boys, desperate to impress their leader and die gloriously on the Fury Road. 

Max, being “a Road Warrior searching for a righteous cause” after all, eventually decides, albeit reluctantly, to help Furiosa, but not until after they have an intense fight in the desert with the war party quickly closing in and Max chained to both a car door and a War Boy called Nux (Nicholas Hoult). However, despite Fury Road being nominally Max’s adventure, it is Furiosa’s mission which drives the story. She is our main character and Theron—who can perhaps be best described as “super badass”—is the real star and standout in this movie. Her performance is quiet, but perfectly measured; and our emotions—yes, there are emotions in Fury Road—are invested with her.

It might seem odd to call the gritty, violent, high-octane Fury Road a feminist action movie, but that argument is not a difficult one to make. Max does his fair share of driving and killing, but he does not swing in to rescue these women—they are equally his saviors. The group of young women led by Furiosa are not damsels in distress and this movie makes each of them feel like a full person and treats them accordingly. Though they are not all experienced road warriors like Furiosa, the women display other strengths like bravery and compassion. When one of the escapees, Capable (Riley Keough), finds Nux in the back of their War Rig, curled up in shame and humiliation at having failed Immortan Joe, she convinces him through gentle conversation to become an ally in their escape. Fury Road is a movie about women rescuing other women from male cruelty.

Though Fury Road is essentially one big, unrelenting chase, Miller finds ways to give the audience moments of respite and a chance to breathe. One of my favorite scenes in the movie happens when our protagonists’ flight comes to a halt. The engines of the War Rig have overheated and must cool down before they can continue, but Immortan Joe’s forces are only getting closer. Max gathers his weapons and begins to walk toward the pursuing villains. Furiosa asks, “What if you’re not back by the time the engines are cool?” Max quietly replies, “Well, you keep moving” and sets out into the blue tinged night. A battle ensues—we hear gunshots, but rather than jumping into the middle of the fight we stay with Furiosa and watch from a distance.

When watching Fury Road, you get the impression that George Miller was mostly left alone with little to no studio interference or notes from the marketing department. There are many unpleasant, grotesque images in this movie, but there are also many fascinating and exciting ones, too. The costume design, production design, makeup and hairstyling, and visual effects are all deservedly nominated for Oscars. Watching Fury Road again I noticed more and more intricate and impressive details. The score by Junkie XL was not nominated for an Oscar, but it is a great nonetheless, and used to perfection. Fury Road feels like it was a true collaboration between all of the people involved with the production both on and off camera.

This fourth installment in the Mad Max series comes 30 years after the third, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and for fans of the earlier films Fury Road does not disappoint. However, you don’t need to have seen any of the other Mad Max films to enjoy this one, since each film has its own standalone story which is explained and changed slightly at the opening of each movie. I was immensely entertained when I saw this film in theaters and again when I saw it on DVD. Everything I had enjoyed about the film the first time still had the same effect on me and my excitement for the film has not waned. This is an epic film of tremendous quality, which is usually not the case with big budget summer action movies or sequels. Fury Road is a full bore, action movie executed with noticeable care and meticulous thought at every turn.

Nominees: Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers

Director: George Miller

Screenplay: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nico Lathouris

Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult

Production Companies: Kennedy Miller Mitchell, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: May 15^th, 2015

Total Nominations: 10, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-George Miller, Cinematography-John Seale, Editing-Margaret Sixel, Production Design-Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson, Costume Design-Jenny Beavan, Makeup and Hairstyling-Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin, Sound Mixing-Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Ben Osmo, Sound Editing-Mark A. Mangini, David White, Visual Effects- Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams 

My Favorite Performances of 2011

by Lani

It is awards season in Hollywood and everyone with an opinion about film is chiming in with their "best of the year" picks. To continue the tradition I began last January, I've compiled a list of my favorite performances from all the films I saw during the previous year. My list comes with the caveat that I have not seen every notable film of 2011; however, when the statuettes are handed out at Sunday's Golden Globes and next month's Oscars, I hope to see awards in the hands of the actors listed below.

Favorite Male Performance: Brendan Gleeson, The Guard

The success of this film rests squarely on the burly shoulders of its lead character, a gruff, eccentric policeman in a small Irish village. Sgt. Gerry Boyle is selfish and caustic. He antagonizes anyone who gets in his way and purposely annoys his superiors. However, he may be the only person who really knows what he's doing. If Gleeson's performance didn't work, the movie wouldn't work. So it's a good thing he is brilliant.

Favorite Female Performance: Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Theron's character Mavis Gary, a depressed novelist who returns to her hometown in a desperate attempt to rekindle her high school romance, is not a likable person and she remains irredeemable throughout the film. It is to Theron's credit that Mavis does not come off as a one-dimensional bitch. I wasn't exactly rooting for Mavis - she's trying to break up a happy marriage; but as her behavior became more and more deluded, I was hoping for her to at least see the error of her ways. The subject matter can get a little dark, but Theron proves to be adept at comedy, striking just the right tone. I love a good sneer (see Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network, 2010), and the look of disgust on Theron's face as she drives down her hometown's main drag pretty much clinched her a spot on this list.

Favorite Ensemble - Male: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

With a complex plot and characters who traffic in secrets and deception, this film couldn't afford to have one performance out of step. The story isn't told so much through dialogue as through tone of voice, body language, and eye contact. Led by a perfectly understated Gary Oldman, the cast shows you everything need to know and leaves you wanting more. And kudos to Tom Hardy for once again showing up mid-film, releasing a musky blast of charisma, then returning us to our regularly scheduled program (see Inception, 2010).

Favorite Ensemble - Female: Bridesmaids

I could single out Kristen Wiig's dexterous physical comedy or Rose Byrne's deft restraint or Melissa McCarthy's manic energy, but the cast was great across the board. In an ensemble comedy like this, there are usually a couple characters who get all the jokes; however, each cast member, from the late Jill Clayburgh as Wiig's dotty mother to Melanie Hutsell as a hapless tennis partner (with no lines!), got a laugh from me.

Favorite Dog, TIE: Uggi, The Artist and Cosmo, Beginners

In each of these films, the dog isn't just there to look cute in reaction shots (though they are both quite adorable); these dogs are integral supporting characters who add heart and charm to each of their films. Yes, maybe Uggi and Cosmo (pictured, right) were thinking of sausages rather than "acting," but how can I say no to that face...you're such a good actor, yes you are...

Favorite Silent Performance: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

It is Uggi's co-star Dujardin who does the emotional heavy-lifting as a silent movie actor struggling against the advent of sound. I cannot confirm whether Dujardin was also thinking of sausages during crucial scenes, but if he was that technique is really working.

Favorite Near-Silent Performance: Ryan Gosling, Drive

Gosling's unnamed driver doesn't say much, but he doesn't have to when a look will suffice.

Favorite Swedes: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Most of the actors in this film aren't actually Swedes, they just play them in the movies. The mystery at the heart of this film is the hook that got me to buy a ticket, but the assemblage of fantastic actors in small roles - including Stephen Berkoff, Donald Sumpter, Joely Richardson, Julian Sands, and Goran Visnjic - kept me enthralled.

Favorite Enchanting French Woman: Marion Cotillard, Midnight in Paris

Cotillard, playing a fashion designer in 1920s Paris, defines the word "lovely." In this role being beautiful and charming would have been enough, but Cotillard brings thoughtfulness and depth as well. It is easy to understand why every man she meets is entranced.

Runner-up: Mélanie Laurent, Beginners

I was captivated by Laurent in Inglourious Basterds in 2009, and she is just as interesting here (albeit in a wildly different film) playing an independent-minded actress who tentatively falls in love.

Special Award for Stealth Acting: Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Viggo the Shark strikes again. Mortensen's performance as Sigmund Freud illustrates his ability to glide through a scene with a quiet, strong presence. He doesn't seem to be doing anything special, then suddenly, he goes in for the kill and you realize he's been sizing you up the whole time.

MVP of the Year: Christopher Plummer, Beginners and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Christopher Plummer has been acting for almost 60 years, but it wasn't until late in life that he started to get really juicy roles. He got his first Oscar nomination in 2009; I hold out hope that he'll earn another this year for his graceful performance in Beginners. He gets my MVP award for that performance, as well as his strong work in Dragon Tattoo.

Runner-up: Mark Strong, The Guard and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The first time I noticed Mark Strong I dubbed him "British Andy Garcia;" however, after a string of excellent supporting performances I've learned his name and I'm not likely to forget it.

Others of note: Keira Knightly, A Dangerous Method; Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris; Giovanni Ribisi, The Rum Diary; Kathy Burke, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Patton Oswalt, Young Adult; Albert Brooks, Drive; Vincent Cassel, A Dangerous Method; James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class