Trolls World Tour (2020)

Film: Trolls World Tour (2020)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, James Corden, Ron Funches, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Rockwell, Jamie Dornan
Director: Walt Dohrn
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

It feels kind of sad that there wasn't a proper "movie of the summer."  I know that history might write it as Tenet, as that was one of the few movies to actually come out this summer (and is potentially the first truly "important" film of 2020, even though I'm not brave enough to see it yet), but if there actually was a movie that could boast this title, it was Trolls World Tour, a film that would've been an afterthought in a normal summer & was actually released in April.  When Universal released the movie with a $20 cover charge, I resisted (proving the constant erasure of single people in the media, I heard most proclaim this a "bargain") but now that it's on Hulu, I wanted to enjoy a big, glossy, first-run movie from 2020, and this fit the bill better than any.  Plus, I liked the first movie, so this wasn't even a sequel I would've avoided, though I will admit four years after the fact I remembered very little of the original.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film takes place a bit after the last movie, with Queen Poppy (Kendrick) finding harmony & success as her kingdom's leader, while Branch (Timberlake) struggles with how to tell her about his feelings.  Disharmony is coming to the kingdom, though, as Queen Barb (Bloom) from a separate, rock-devoted kingdom, is trying to find all of the secret "strings" of other (until now unknown) kingdoms, including Pop, Funk, Classical, Techno, & Country.  Assuming that Queen Barb is sweet-and-all-caring like her, Poppy initially tries to invite her to the kingdom, but after seeing the Classical world destroyed by Queen Barb, Poppy & Branch both try to stop her, but have different opinions on their approach, and because of Branch's feelings about Poppy (which he won't share to her), their friendship is frayed.  In the end, as with most animated films, the two reconcile & find that they are both in love, and Queen Barb remains her distinctive self, while respectful of other music, and thus (please forgive me, but it must be said) harmony is achieved.

Trolls World Tour is not breaking a lot of ground in terms of animation.  This isn't a thought-provoking tale from Pixar, nor is it an instant classic like some of the recent Disney films, but that's not really what Dreamworks Animation does.  Dreamworks at its best is just really fun, and Trolls World Tour is genuinely fun.  The characters are one-dimensional, but that doesn't mean that they don't pop. Kendrick's always delightful playing a cheery parody, and some of the cameo work by people like Kelly Clarkson is delicious.  Also, Rachel Bloom as a rock villain is a brilliant idea-Bloom is an actress who understands the fundamentals of musicals (and she can sing), so while this is all bubble gum, it's bright & flavorful.

The soundtrack is unusual because it relies less heavily on classic songs (though you still see medleys featuring everyone from Cyndi Lauper to George Clinton), and get more original work from Justin Timberlake, writing all of the new music.  None of the tunes are as instantly iconic as "Can't Stop the Feeling," but "The Other Side" is surely their attempt at an "Into the Unknown" style Oscar nomination, and Timberlake gives enough music that if your jam is country, you've got a real ballad in "Born to Love" while if you're more into Funk, "It's All Love" is there to groove upon.  All-in-all, Trolls World Tour does something I assumed would be impossible in 2020 considering independents & comedies are all that are on streaming platforms-we get a high-budget, toe-tapping musical.

A Simple Favor (2018)

Film: A Simple Favor (2018)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend, Jean Smart
Director: Paul Feig
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars (I don't do half-stars, but if I did this would round up to one, but I couldn't quite call this a 4-star)

Contrary to popular opinion, I do, in fact, like film comedies, but modern cinematic comedies tend to, well, be relatively stupid and oftentimes don't have a lot to say.  I'm not going to name names of actors who continually phone in the same performance, with diminishing returns (and frequently there wasn't that much to begin with), but you know the types.  They're big stars for a few years, and then they peter out because their one trick was all they had to say (occasionally they are big enough stars that they get to prove themselves in independents or get multi-film contracts on Netflix making movies no one could name the names of but somehow still get millions of clicks...okay, I may have mentioned a name by process of elimination there).  But I am thankful for people who consistently make interesting comedies and do them well, and few directors working today can pull that off like Paul Feig.  From Bridesmaids to Spy to the recent reboot of Ghostbusters, Feig is consistently funny and frequently makes my favorite comedy of the year in most year-end wrap-ups this decade.  So I gave him a blank slate on A Simple Favor, a ticket without any reservations or even looking at the reviews, despite this being considerably darker and seemingly out-of-his-comfort-zone.  What resulted was me once again being glad I'd bet on Feig, but in a different way than I had initially anticipated in a sleek, darkly comic take on the Gone Girl-style novels.

(Spoilers Ahead) A Simple Favor is about Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), a seemingly-perfect single mom who runs a "mommy vlog" where she gets so-so views and seems to have the sort of existence where she's nice to everyone, but no one really likes her save her son.  Her son's best friend wants to have a play date with him, but his mother, the elusive Emily (Lively) seems resistant to spend time with Stephanie, as she's her polar opposite; overly confident, blunt because she can be (Lively has never been more smoking, which is critical to making this character land as unattractive people couldn't get away with the way she treats the people around her), she doesn't suffer fools and also, oddly enough, doesn't seem to have any friends outside her family.  The two bond during the play dates, with Emily clearly taking advantage of Stephanie's kindness and willingness to watch her son, and then one day Emily disappears, leaving Stephanie to talk about their odd friendship & in the process gain millions more viewers on her vlog, all-the-while trying to figure out what happened to her "friend" Emily.

Anyone who has seen Gone Girl or its multiple copycats in recent years knows what's about to happen and that Emily is clearly alive.  The film's strengths are not from its many twists, most of which are easy to figure out.  It's weird, because plot is never where Feig gains his strengths, but instead its in his casting, as well as the sharp dialogue and his very brisk direction.  Even some of the more sordid story details (like the incest subplot between Stephanie and her brother, where it's somewhat implied her son is the product of an affair she was having with her half-brother, rather than with her husband), is only shocking for a few moments and the remaining reveals in that storyline are easy-to-connect.  No, it's in the actual tautness of the dialogue and Feig's ability to put strong female performances at the film's center where we get the best parts of the movie.

Kendrick has been, in my opinion, coasting a bit on her quick wit and charm as an actor since becoming a marquee name with Pitch Perfect, not going much below-the-surface as a performer, so I was surprised how much I admired (and not just enjoyed) her work here.  Stephanie is a creation that's hard to pull off, as you need her to be both intensely likable but also clearly someone you'd make fun of in real life.  She also has to have a believable transformation from bored-housewife-with-a-terrible-secret to an unusual private detective who uses her own skills to solve this case.  Lively, who unlike Kendrick I am not a past fan of, has never been better as Emily.  She's funny, spry, sexy, and manages to combine just a hint-of-malice with the difficult trick of also clearly liking Stephanie, and appreciating the fact that for the first time in her adult life, she has an actual friend.  The plot of the film is so predictable (a bigger flaw in a thriller than a straight-up comedy) it stops this film from being a classic (Spy remains Feig's best picture), but the two lead performers are aces, and this is well worth your time, and likely will be a perfect rainy afternoon-style movie on USA for years to come (I mean that as a high compliment).

OVP: Trolls (2016)

Film: Trolls (2016)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Baranski
Director: Mike Mitchell
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Original Song-"Can't Stop the Feeling")
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Each year when the Oscar nominations are announced, part of my annual tradition is to add the films that I now "have to see" for the OVP into a spreadsheet.  For the most part, this is fun because I add a number of foreign films to the list that I normally wouldn't have caught, or it gives me an excuse to indulge an action-adventure that randomly got in for Best Sound.  On the other hand, however, there are moments where I dread this activity, as it puts on my viewing list a movie that I had no intention of ever seeing, one in fact that I specifically didn't want to see.  While Suicide Squad was surely at the top of that list this year, Trolls wasn't far behind.  This had nothing to do with an aversion to animated movies (I tend to like them), but instead was due to an allergy I have developed to Justin Timberlake.

(Spoilers Ahead) This wasn't always the case.  I still remember Justified with fondness, and his Rolling Stone issue I kept hidden under my bed with, well, fondness is one word for it.  I like his music as a whole, but I'm really over him being a matinee idol.  Timberlake as a movie star seemed to take hold in 2010 when he got over-praised for his work in the admittedly superb Social Network (Andrew Garfield should have gotten all of the buzz for Supporting Actor from that film...anyone who vouches for Timberlake or Hammer instead needs to check themselves).  After that, Timberlake has managed to headline movies with Cameron Diaz, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck and Clint Eastwood (anyone else remember Trouble with the Curve?), but no one seems to be willing to point out the obvious: while Timberlake is charming in his way and can be funny, he can't, well, act.

As a result of being one of the few people whom this truly frustrates, I had benched Trolls even though I thought the trailers were kind of cute until Timberlake became an Oscar nominee (a year after Lady Gaga, who also can't act and has less comedic skills than even Timberlake, also became an Oscar nominee), and so I was forced to watch the movie.

And lo and behold, while my opinion on Timberlake hasn't changed, the movie itself isn't bad.  The film, centered around two trolls, one impossibly sunny (Poppy, voiced by Kendrick) and the other a dour grump (Branch, voiced by Timberlake).  While the plot beats are extremely easy to guess, the musical choices are fun (in a jukebox sort of way), and Kendrick & Timberlake have solid chemistry.  Given only the opportunity to shine vocally (much like he does with music), Timberlake actually succeeds here in a way he hasn't since The Social Network, perhaps because he's free of his ability to smirk on camera rather than connect with his characters.  Kendrick (and for that matter, Christine Baranski, wonderfully cast as the villain) can both pull this off in their sleep, but it's quite a bit of fun all-around.  It's not breaking down Pixar's door here, but it's hardly in the same league as Shrek in terms of using crudeness for constant humor, and I liked how Poppy doesn't get taught to "be cynical" as part of her lesson.

The film received a solo nomination for the Oscars, and say what you will about "Can't Stop the Feeling," but it works in the context of the movie.  The film features elaborate musical numbers based on pop hits, so it's actually quite gutsy to include this initially unknown song at a critical juncture.  Seeing the film on video months later, after the song has become a gargantuan hit on-par with the rest of the numbers in the movie, actually adds to the impact, helping the film seem less dated in the process.  It wasn't the best nominated song of 2016, but quite frankly I was wrong to pre-judge this nomination, as it kind of fits into the nominated field.

Those are my thoughts on Trolls-how about you?  Anyone else surprised they liked it?  Anyone want to explain the appeal of Timberlake as a movie star?  And who would you give the 2016 Best Original Song Oscar to?  Share in the comments!

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Film: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Skylar Astin, Flula Borg, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Acc-hello!  I spent most of Sunday viewing entertainment (hitting a Netflix movie, two movies in theaters, and then two crazy episodes of some of my favorite shows on the air), so we've got quite a few new reviews out this week, but we'll start with the movie that you're most likely to have seen this past weekend: Pitch Perfect 2.  The film went colossal at the Box Office, scooping up an impressive $70 million domestically, becoming the first sequel since Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me to out-earn its predecessor's entire run in the first weekend.  I'm hoping as a result that Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson were smart enough to ask for back-end cash.  However the question isn't just if it's popular, but if it's any good.  Shall we investigate?

(Spoilers Ahead) As you may recall, I quite liked the original film,  While the film was hardly high art, it was ridiculously fun, anchored by bravura work from Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, and a totally crushable piece of boy-next-door from Skylar Astin.  Three years later, not much has changed and the girls we fell in-love with as freshmen are now back as seniors (never mind that almost all of the principle women are in their thirties or thereabouts, so playing 22 is a bit of a stretch).  The film follows how a wardrobe malfunction with Fat Amy (Wilson) results in them being banned from performing in the national tournament, and can only compete at the World Competition.  Throw in a German a capella supergroup to compete against (headed by YouTube DJ Flula Borg) and you've got yourself a sequel that looks an awful lot like the original.

This is probably where the film takes its hardest hits, but not in the way you're thinking.  The film is very much similar, almost to the point of earning comparisons to The Hangover franchise, to the original film, but there's enough territory here to mine that it actually doesn't feel awful.  The comedy is still relatively funny-you have the hilarious banter between John Michael Higgins and director Elizabeth Banks (who wouldn't want them to do an in-character DVD commentary...actually why is this not a thing, period?), the wonderful dork-a-tude of Kendrick and Astin, and the perfection that is Rebel Wilson, who can make literally any sentence funny with strong delivery.  Putting her with Adam DeVine's Bumper is wonderful, mostly because DeVine is one of the rare comic performers that can hope to keep up with her.  The music is all strong, and this familiarity, while potentially lethal if they wanted to make a third film, is still fresh enough in a second film to not feel tired.

The problem lies in the new elements, almost all of which fail.  Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar nominee, plays a fresh-faced Bella who has dreamed of her a capella future her entire life, but is trying WAY too hard.  She's got a fine enough voice, but when you compare her star charisma to that of Kendrick's or Wilson's it's not even comparable, and I feel like they could have found a stronger unknown to take this space, as it felt very similar to when Glee added new characters onto the show.  The same can be said for Chrissie Fit's Flo, who while admittedly funny at some points, wears a pretty thin welcome and borders onto the offensive on occasion.  David Cross, playing a bizarre Rip-Off host also falls flat.  Honestly, the only additions I found interesting were Keegan-Michael Key as Beca's boss, who has a hilarious series of interactions with Shawn Carter Peterson as his hapless hipster assistant and Flula Borg as the crazy-rapping leader of the arch-rival a capella group, who is so good I actually think he probably deserved to win the final showdown.  Also, Scott Hoying in Pentatonix is perfection, but he's onscreen for like twenty seconds and that's just because I'm in love with Scott Hoying.

All of this is to say that I liked this movie, but nowhere near as much as the original.  It has most of the spark and humor of the first film, but little of the shock and fails with the depth.  Therefore I'd recommend it, but only if you liked the original as there's nothing that's going to change your mind here.  At least those are my thoughts-how about yours?  What'd you think of this follow-up?  Are you all-ready for a Pitch Perfect 3?  Are you acc-excusing yourself from future installments?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Cake (2014)

Film: Cake (2014)
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy
Director: Daniel Barnz
Oscar History: Aniston certainly made a major splash at most of awards shows (BFCA, SAG, and the Globes), but was that random person who couldn't make it with Oscar (though was clearly sixth place)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

The Academy Awards can occasionally be deeply cruel to a movie.  That nomination morning, you might end up being a film like The Grand Budapest Hotel, overwhelmed with nine nominations, many of which you hardly expected and suddenly people will see your film (indefinitely) as a major motion picture.  Then there are films like Selma or The Dark Knight, a film that still manages to be part of the conversation, even if it isn't in all of the categories you expect.  And finally there is a movie like Cake, a film that had all of its hopes pinned on that one person making the list, and then suddenly they land in sixth or seventh place and the film becomes suddenly colored in a poor light.  "Not good enough for a nomination" despite its inclusion in other major critics awards and the Globes, it becomes a film that has a quick theater life and likely becomes the sort of movie that's on one of the subsidiary Showtime channels and that's about it.  Which is a pity, because on occasion those films and the nomination they were gunning for are totally worth the price of admission, which is the case with Cake, which houses a superb piece of work by Jennifer Aniston that I would have nominated even if Oscar wouldn't have.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is about Claire Bennett (Aniston) a woman who has clearly given up on happiness in the wake of a car accident that killed her son and caused her to have chronic pain.  She's left her husband, and her only companions are her saintly maid (Barraza) and her support group, who is reeling from the death of the seemingly perfect Nina (Kendrick).  The film unfolds with Claire trying to find her purpose in life, first tracking down Nina's footsteps trying to decide why she killed herself (and if this is something Claire needs to consider) and what happens to you once everything in your life has been ripped away from you.

It's a heavy subject, but the film handles it pretty lightly, as you would expect from a movie named after a pastry.  The movie's plot notes are totally predictable-there is no point in the film that comes across as surprising.  We all know that Claire will continue down her trek toward self-destruction until it's clear that she's got something new to live toward (potentially returning to her husband or her new friend/theoretical love interest in Worthington), but the film doesn't cover new ground or even start a new conversation.  It's this reason, quite frankly, that I think that the critics were on the nose with the relative panning that this particular movie received.

Except, of course, for that central performance.  Jennifer Aniston has been dramatic before, most notably in The Good Girl (which is an AWFUL movie and a middling performance at best), but here she's completely on-point.  Aniston's Claire is sarcastic, a narcissist, and a pain-in-the-ass, but she knows it and she knows what her charms are.  She continues to be funny, and all of Aniston's greatest attributes as a movie star (save for her sun-kissed beauty) are on full-display here.  The razor sharp timing we saw in Rachel Green all those years keeps the film light and watachable, and that's the key in a familiar movie: how do you say something new with the same old formula?  You do that with a wonderful central performance that shows how idiotically comedy casting directors have been behaving by casting Aniston in dreck (admittedly, this also probably falls on the feet of the star and her agent as well, but as we learned with Michael Keaton and Channing Tatum earlier this year, casting directors are amply rewarded when they get creative).

Overall, then, while this is no one's idea of a great movie, it does house a great performance, which is a pity that it faltered in what is a very solid Best Actress field (though I'd quickly drop Felicity Jones in favor of Jennifer Aniston, even though pundits insist I lose Marion Cotillard instead), and if you're a fan of Aniston this is a movie that you should check out.  At least those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Do you wish that Aniston had made the Best Actress race as well?  And if so, whom would you cut?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

OVP: Into the Woods (2014)

Film: Into the Woods (2014)
Stars: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Tracey Ullman, Billy Magnussen
Director: Rob Marshall
Oscar History: 3 nominations (Best Supporting Actress-Meryl Streep, Costume, Production Design)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

I will admit right up front that I know next to nothing about the original Sondheim production of Into the Woods, at least I didn't before seeing this movie.  I have been (in the past five years) a major convert into the world of live theatre, a lover of it even, but that doesn't mean that I grew up with it in the same way that I did movies, and that I was someone who studied it in high school or college (again, like I did with movies).  So I am going into the Woods without pre-conceptions, something that most reviewers that I've read have not been able to dismiss.  Everyone seems to have judged the film based on what numbers were extended or altered or excluded, and what alterations were made to the plot.  I have none of these hang-ups, so if you're like me, this may be the best place you could find to share your feelings (comments are below, but spoilers ahead so see the film first).

(Spoilers Ahead) The film, as already stated, is based on the much-beloved musical by Stephen Sondheim.  The film tells revamped stories of Cinderella (Kendrick), Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood (Crawford), and Jack (with his Beanstock) (Huttlestone), as well as a new fairy tale involving a baker (Corden), his wife (Blunt), and a witch who has put a curse on the couple (Streep).  The movie follows them through their journey into the woods, as they set about a course of events that ends up having a series of terrible consequences for several involved.  There's a reason that the spoiler alert is needed: at least two of these characters don't make it until the end, and one of them isn't obvious based on filmic cliches about who lives and who dies.

The film is absolutely riveting in the first twenty minutes or so, in what has to be one of the best-staged musical numbers in recent years on film.  Most modern movies wouldn't do something so expansive as to have a nearly uninterrupted twenty minutes of singing, but this is Sondheim and it needs to be different.  The entire opening number introduces us quite quickly to nearly every character of consequence (save for the princes) and establishes them all.  It's really wonderful film-making, and while I don't care if it was in the original (if I were reviewing the original Broadway production I would care), it definitely feels like Sondheim through-and-through.

The musical rarely reaches this level of perfection (though the comic "Agony" and the wonderfully-felt "On the Steps of the Palace" both are exceptional and the opening's equal), but the buzz from this opening scene is felt long enough to make this film feel insanely watchable during the first half.  The movie moves briskly, and thanks to a score that most people don't know by heart, you actually have to pay attention, so little moments like the sexual suggestiveness of the Wolf's (Depp) number about Little Red Riding Hood or Jack's ode to the giants in the sky are not lost on the audience even if the film has been a bit Disney-fied from the original.  The film doesn't quite hold as much weight in the second half, particularly since certain changes in the characters' personalities feel a bit sudden.  In particular the Witch randomly deciding to kill herself in order to help the rest of the cast and the Baker's Wife cheating on her husband and then falling to her death (both of these scenes, so out-of-place against the sunnier aspects of the first half, feel less like a "holy crap" and more like a "huh-they killed off the main character without a death scene?!?").  With both characters you half expect them to show up later, and someone in the editing room should probably re-evalaute their career in the face of this lack of plot prioritization.

Musicals live and die off the performers, however, and this is where the film gets almost everything right.  Musicals, if we're being honest, frequently have plot holes and issues with thin story, but they make up for it by being really compelling and wonderful to behold when the performances are arresting, and nearly everyone in the cast seems well-suited for their parts.  Chris Pine has been hailed by many as the standout, and he doesn't disappoint-never before has Pine, who is having a great career imitating a young William Shatner, been so scrumptiously watchable.  His duet with Billy Magnussen, who hopefully gets big things as a result of this and not just because his leather pants may be the most suggestive thing I've seen onscreen all year (and I saw Stranger by the Lake), is a comic high point and he takes an over-the-top character and rings every bit of humor from his lines.

Pine doesn't even medal, though, when it comes to who the best performances are, and as this is a Sondheim film, they're all from women.  Emily Blunt, the biggest surprise in the cast in terms of who can actually sing, is the best she's been onscreen since The Devil Wears Prada, first being dowdy and then transforming into something alluring that even a prince would flirt with.  Even better is Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, who hits notes I hadn't thought possible of her in past musical roles (again, "On the Steps of the Palace" is bliss), and finds the silliness of her character while keeping her deeply real.  And of course there's Meryl, who we all know can do comedy/hamminess, but also shows off previously unknown pipes with some of her bigger musical numbers (she's willing to get her inner Donna Murphy on).  Streep seems like the only one that will gain any sort of Oscar attention, but all three are doing work that would warrant such accolades.

We'll leave it about there, because, like a couple of other films that I've reviewed this week, I suspect we'll be revisiting this film later with the OVP (this is one of those "on-the-cusp" sort of contenders for the Best Picture nomination-could it be the ninth or tenth slot, and will that be enough?), but in the meantime-what are your thoughts?  Are you with me that the first half is gangbusters and the second half a bit failed?  Are you also in love with the ladies (and Billy's posterior), or do you have a different favorite?  And what musical do you think needs to be translated next onto the big screen?  Share in the comments!

2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

Supporting actress, at least in terms of age, is probably the most forgiving and even of the four acting categories.  It's the only category where you can regularly see brand new and emerging talents, character actors scoring a mid-career high, and then an aging veteran back for one last bout with a nomination (just look at last year's Lupita Nyong'o, Sally Hawkins, and June Squibb for a perfect example).

Looking at this year, at least two of those categories are somewhat occupied (I'm still waiting for a 70+ woman to emerge-if you have an idea of one that might, share in the comments).  A number of the top contenders this year are in the ingenue/just starting out category.  Felicity Jones, who may well be moving to lead, would be toward the top of the list.  Playing the devoted and long-suffering wife, she's got Oscar's favorite role and could pull a Jennifer Connelly and win the trophy if she stays supporting (if I were her I'd go for it, as it's difficult to see her winning lead when Redmayne won't).  Joining her is Keira Knightley, playing another long-suffering romantic (or rather platonically romantic) partner to Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game and Emma Stone, who is the long-suffering daughter of a crazy father in Birdman.  Though she's not quite in the ingenue phase of her career anymore at 37, everyone's favorite human being Jessica Chastain apparently gets the best part in Interstellar, so I wouldn't doubt her making it.  Rounding out the ingenue bunch would be Katherine Waterston, the most unknown of the contenders, who gets a plum part in Inherent Vice and seems like the sort of actor we're all going to claim we had heard of in a few months.

Actresses of a certain age, however, are doing quite well this year.  Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer have turned in splendid work in the past though they're a bit under sung as far as actresses go.  Either way, Jason Reitman has been great with getting women in his films recognition (three Oscar nods and five Globe nods in a very short filmography) so they're worth paying attention to (I mean, Ben Affleck's already going to be there to promote Gone Girl...).  Carmen Ejogo plays yet another long-suffering wife in Selma as Coretta Scott King, so if that film takes off (and I suspect it will) she could be a contender (as could Oprah Winfrey who will get a (literal) knockout scene as Annie Lee Cooper, though her miss last year for The Butler is one of those great Oscar mysteries so who knows if they might be over her).  Laura Dern plays Reese Witherspoon's mother in Wild, so if that film truly takes off she could be pushed, but something tells me that Wild will be the Reese show.  Finally, there's Patricia Arquette, who has never been nominated for an Oscar after years of strong work, and could finally make it into the conversation for Boyhood.  I was initially a little apprehensive about people who were so "lockish" about that film (it didn't feel quite right for Oscar), but she is the caliber of actress they like to have nominated at least once (to prove they have good taste) so maybe this will be that time?

Then there's a handful of actresses who could emerge given the right sort of circumstances.  No one is entirely sure how Into the Woods will turn out, but either Emily Blunt or Anna Kendrick should at least be mentioned here.  If the year weakens a bit, we might see Viola Davis for Get on Up come back into the conversation for her brief work in that film.  Then there's always the less showy supporting work of someone like Marisa Tomei in Love is Strange, Kristin Scott Thomas in My Old Lady, or Marion Bailey in Mr. Turner, but those films will need more momentum to get in here.  And if all else fails with Oscar, play a hooker, which could be the trick for Naomi Watts to land a third citation for St. Vincent.

My Predictions: Hmm, I'm going to go with Stone, Waterston, Arquette, Ejogo, and Jones at this point, though if Jones goes lead I'm guessing that Blunt probably moves up to her place.  These five have a nice balance between Best Picture, "due," ingenue, and just a bit of a category fraud.  I still feel like there must be an older actress that could sneak in, but occasionally this category misses its social security recipient so I will stop hunting for now.

Is There a Winner?: This category is the most susceptible to an "out-of-nowhere" winner (Nyong'o won on her film debut), so any of these five women could theoretically win.  If I had to bet, though, I would assume that Ejogo and Jones are the most likely to emerge based on history and their roles.

OVP: Supporting Actress (2009)

OVP: Best Supporting Actress (2009)

The Nominees Were...

Penelope Cruz, Nine

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

My Thoughts: And let's do one more before we break it up with another post (then we'll hit the Big 4).  Considering the recent bout of category fraud that has hit a number of races in recent years (Julia Roberts...seriously?) it's quite impressive that all five of these women seem to have fallen into actually being a supporting performance, which is definitely cause for celebration.  Gyllenhaal arguably comes the closest to lead, but I feel stays on the sides enough to not quibble.  And there's my segway into the race-let's start with Maggie.

Gyllenhaal's nomination was the giant surprise of Oscar nomination morning.  Aside from not knowing what would happen in the Best Picture race (A Serious Man triumphing over Invictus is definitely a headscratcher) and The Secret of Kells stunner, the only other real surprise that morning was that Gyllenhaal made it over a number of more likely contenders.  Gyllenhaal likely benefited from what was a major Jeff Bridges love-in at the time; the man could do no wrong.  As a result, she got an Oscar nomination many of us had been expecting for her eventually, but unfortunately it was for a role that was SO poorly cast.  Gyllenhaal cannot seem to get inside of this woman-she's far better at dark comedy, and this is a dramatic character study.  It's the sort of role that Marisa Tomei was born to play.  With Gyllenhaal, she tries to find some wryness where there is none, and doesn't get the emotional bouts with alcoholism and her inner demons that Bridges does to flesh out her character.  Plus-that soppy ending does her no favors, and she doesn't know how to sell conceivable forgiveness in such a quick time frame.  A throwaway nomination for an actress who can do so much better.

That's kind of how I felt, quite frankly, about Penelope Cruz in Nine, to be honest.  This is an actress who has been consistently spectacular, and was coming off a trio of great performances (is this streak over now-I feel like while Cruz will stage a comeback the heat from this giant brilliant run has subsided...that's what working with Johnny Depp will do to you, apparently).  The problem I have with this performance, and the movie in general, is that I don't feel a lot of what she's feeling-she doesn't have the same connection with her character (who is mostly surface level) that her costar Cotillard is able to achieve.  I know it's not in the spirit of the OVP to compare a non-nominated performance (click the link up top for a further explanation, but the goal really is to be an Academy voter and just consider these five women), but it's hard not to when you have such a strongly felt character happening on the other side of the screen.  Cruz can sell sex, and her "Call from the Vatican" is a sultry delight, but this is all surface level, and a performance that got nominated more from the heat of the performer than from the actual work onscreen.

The same could not be said for Mo'Nique (I'm throwing you off and not starting or ending with the presumed frontrunner, but putting her squarely in the middle).  So much has been written about this work I don't really know where to begin, or if I can possibly be original (or not just throw out superlatives).  What makes Mary Jones so special is the way that Mo'Nique grounds her into our world.  This is the sort of monster that we could encounter every day-we see people in the supermarket and at the bus stop who could be Mary Jones-regular, average people with a nightmare in them.  Mo'Nique finds that terror in her character-think of that monologue at the end, where Mary confesses to the abuse, of knowing that her daughter was being raped, and then justifying it in her words.  So many great speeches in movies are from characters who have clearly rehearsed them.  Mary Jones is not a character that thought she'd ever need this speech, and you can see the ever-so-real pain in her eyes as she says things she didn't realize she believed.  All three women (even Mariah) sell this scene brilliantly, but it's Mo'Nique that makes it devastating.  Her Mary is a monster, but one that is grounded in true life, and that's what's so chilling about her work.

It's hard to come off of Mo'Nique, but I do want to be an advocate for one Anna Kendrick.  I know that she's found her niche in musicals (god bless her for that), but her work in Up in the Air is fascinating.  I know this wasn't a performance suited for everyone, but it was for me.  I love the way that we're left to believe that Vera is the true threat to George Clooney's Ryan Bingham, but in reality it is bright, young Natalie.  She's the embodiment of his worst nightmare-being on the other end of the table, forced to find a new worldview.  Kendrick knows this, and though Ntalie is shaky and constantly looking for reassurance, she has the knowledge to be able to take the upper-hand occasionally (and sometimes without realizing how she did it).  And the moment where Natalie actually has to look someone in the eyes, over the computer, and see what she's doing-it's haunting acting from Kendrick.

Her costar gains points over Kendrick in the sense that she seems to know her character much better than Kendrick does, but doesn't always share that with the audience.  Farmiga's Alex is a standard movie trope-the gorgeous fantasy woman, the perfect companion to Clooney's Ryan, and during the early scenes with the seduction and them showing off their cards-it's soulmate sort of stuff, even for potentially soulless people.  The later scenes, though, when Farmiga's secret family comes to light and her coldness pulls through-we see in Clooney's eyes what this is doing, but we don't quite get there with Farmiga.  She's not bad (she's never bad), but I don't feel the pull that I did with Clooney's work in these same scenes-Farmiga doesn't seem to give as much in what her character can show, there's no slips and she's clearly trying to make one happen.  It's definitely a performance with promise and some of it is delivered (and she can connect sexy to her character better than Cruz did), but it's not in a tier by itself.

Other Precursor Contenders: This category wasn't quite as lockstep as some of the other fields, though the Globes were close.  Mo'Nique won, and all but Gyllenhaal were there, with Julianne Moore in A Single Man taking the final slot.  Gyllenhaal also missed at the SAG Awards with Diane Kruger taking her spot for Inglourious Basterds (Mo'Nique won again).  Finally, there were the BAFTA Awards (who were off on their own beat in 2009 which was great in such a monotonous awards season), giving the trophy to Mo'Nique but skipping both Gyllenhaal and Cruz in favor of two actresses in Nowhere Boy (Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas).  For the sixth place, I think I'd call it for Julianne Moore, but this was a VERY tight race.  I honestly could have made a very solid argument that Samantha Morton in The Messenger or Marion Cotillard in Nine could also have been sixth place (when everyone is going to cheer for one person to win, the nominations can be surprising-see also 2003 Best Actress race).

Actors I Would Have Nominated: I would probably throw out three of the nominees, and definitely find room for Julianne Moore's boozy frenemy in A Single Man, Melanie Laurent's silent warrior in Inglourious Basterds, and especially Marion Cotillard's neglected ex-wife in Nine.  Cotillard's inability to get an Oscar nomination since her giant victory for La Vie en Rose continues to baffle me (I personally would have given her three since then), but for some reason the Academy cooled on her right around the time the rest of the world felt enamored.

Oscar’s Choice: It was clearly more about the performance than the politics, or so she said in her speech, as Mo'Nique emerged triumphant.  One of the great puzzles of 2009 remains who was in second place here.  My gut says Kendrick, who is the pretty young ingenue in this category, though I honestly could be convinced that anyone but Cruz was in second.  I also think that had Precious never been made this would have been the year that Julianne Moore finally won an Oscar.

My Choice: Like every sane individual, Mo'Nique also makes the top of my list.  I'll follow her with Kendrick in silver, then Farmiga, Cruz, and finally Gyllenhaal.

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Is there anyone who doesn't side with Mo'Nique for the win?  Does someone want to defend the Gyllenhaal nomination?  Which of the Up in the Air ladies was your favorite?  And who was the best supporting actress of 2009?  Share in the comments!

Also in 2009: Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Foreign Film, Animated Feature, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2009

Past Best Supporting Actress Contests: 2010, 2011, 2012

Pitch Perfect (2012)

Film: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson
Director: Jason Moore
Oscar History: No nominations (Rebel Wilson did score a BFCA nomination, however)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

Anyone remember last year, when Bridesmaids and The Help came out, and suddenly everyone was chatting about making female-centric films and how studios weren't going to leave women behind at the Box Office anymore?  You'd be forgiven for forgetting this, since clearly studio heads did-I know it's only one year, but you can't tell me that they couldn't have quickly greenlit more female-centric movies to counter the Summer of the Superhero (Iron Man and Spider-Man and Batman...oh my!).  Thankfully, for both moviegoers and Universal, Pitch Perfect was that sole counterbalance, became a hit, and is an insistently addictive movie that plays just as well on video as the big screen.

The film revolves around Beca (Kendrick), a college freshman who desperately wants to move to Los Angeles to become a record producer.  She's the child of divorce, and is too-cool-for-school, and you already know this character by heart at the beginning, as she's brimming with cliches, but thankfully the casting director had the foresight to hire the delightful Anna Kendrick as his chief player, who breathes life into this character where most actresses wouldn't have been able to find a unique rhthym for the character.  For starters, she's a complete nerd, something that Kendrick's performance revels in-she's into music mixing and has a penchant for singing, something that comes into play when the leader of a failed a capella group catches her singing in the shower and demands that she try out for her group.  Of course, the group needs her to mix things up a bit and bring the group out of the last century and in with the new, as the group's routines are staid and boring until Beca comes in and introduces them to mash-ups and stronger routines.

If this is sounding like an episode of Glee, but on the big screen, you might be forgiven, but unlike the Ryan Murphy series, this show isn't really about struggling with the hardships of high school and bullying-this is primarily about celebrating your place in the niche you belong in-Beca clearly revels in joining the a capella group, and like all of the characters in the film, is strongly confident in herself.  Her love interest, Skylar Astin, is an aspiring cinematic composer, and while his reliance on The Breakfast Club for inspiration seems a bit of a counter to the plot of the film (which largely seems to reject the idea of the 1980's as an artistic inspiration), Astin's adorkable character (seriously-where are these uber-cute and nerdy guys in real life?) is so easy to crush on, you forgive him his rather boring favorite movies.

While Kendrick and Astin are both great, the film, for anyone who spends longer than ten minutes watching, belongs to Rebel Wilson.  Wilson, whom you may remember from a bit part as Kristen Wiig's roommate in last summer's Bridesmaids, plays the randy and completely spontaneous Fat Amy (a name that she embraces rather than admonishes).  It's hard to tell where Fat Amy ends and Wilson begins, but you're going to be laughing so hard that you won't care.  Seriously-there were times when I'm certain I lost several minutes of the movie because I could not stop laughing at Wilson's ridiculously inappropriate one-liners.  Every time that she comes onto screen, you are inwardly giggling in anticipation of what is to come next.  Wilson, who is clearly an emerging star, will be interesting to place in upcoming films (as people will want her to constantly be playing this vein of character), but this woman has star charisma to the hilt and I cannot wait for what comes next.

The film does have its fault-not all of the eccentric side characters have the pure watchability of Wilson's Fat Amy, and in particular, Hana Mae Lee's squeaky-voiced Lilly's act wears thin really, really quickly and though it's always welcome to see John Benjamin Hickey (Beca's father) show up, Beca is too Gen Y and too self-aware to really be believed as an affected child of divorce.  But overall, this is a wildly fun movie with a soundtrack that you're going to want to instantly go out to iTunes to buy.

What'd you think of the film?  What do you think of Wilson's future as an actress?  And do you, like me, think Kristen Stewart would gladly switch careers with Anna Kendrick?

OVP: ParaNorman (2012)

Film: ParaNorman (2012)
Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Elaine Stritch, John Goodman
Directors: Chris Butler and Sam Fell
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Animated Feature)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

There's a brief lull in August and September where the fall television season hasn't started, the summer blockbusters have come and gone, and the shiny allure of the Oscar season is starting to light up your "to view" lists.  During this time, I try to catch up on reading, exercising, maybe even picking up the phone and attempting to interact with my fellow man.  However, I still have that urge to sit in a darkened theater and involve myself with a risky "late Summer" film, risky in the sense that most of what's thrown out here is the tripe that wasn't going to make enough money to be released in June, but it's not going to make a dent at the Oscars.  It's not quite as bad as being released in March, but it's close.  And so, this calm and peaceful Saturday, I decided to take a chance on a strange little kid named Norman.

The fantastic nature of ParaNorman, made by the same studio that brought us the wonders of Coraline, is that it goes so far beyond its premise, and in fact, our main character almost doesn't need to be able to talk to ghosts, which he can.  He could just as easily have been a boy that's into ballet, into collecting thimbles, into Revolutionary War reenactments.  The point of the matter is that Norman is unusual, and in a town that wants him to conform to what's expected.  This is a movie with a message, that it's okay to be different, and that judging someone for being unusual (or for stereotyping) can lead to dire consequences, and surprises, including some for the audience.

For as an audience member, I'll admit rather freely that I was about thirty minutes in and I was thinking that we'd gone through yet another stock animated retread-your standard weird kid who will save the town, fat kid who becomes his friend, vapid older sister who is oblivious, neanderthal jock who is as dumb as a rock, and a bully who will eventually be saved by his bullied victims.  And yet-that's not the case in this movie.  (SPOILER ALERT) In the end, the vapid older sister is the one who not only stands up for her brother against her parents, but does it without compromising herself.  Ditto the bully who strikes out with every girl, and is really a massive dork underneath the punching.  And in one of the most stunning developments in animated progress, the jock, Mitch, (voiced by Casey Affleck) turns out to be gay, which I believe is a first for mainstream animated films-correct me if I'm wrong in the comments.

The film also goes into some genuinely dark and scary places-mob mentality (headed by a stock drama teacher that still delivers guffaws courtesy of vocal maestro Alex Borstein), and the death of a young girl who is accused of witchcraft and terrorizes the town only to be saved by Norman.  The film is also extremely beautiful and eye-popping, considering the advancements that stop-motion is able to allow, and the many hilarious sight gags littered on the billboards and signs throughout the town.

There's a lot more to discuss (mass consumerism of a tragedy, the clear anti-bullying message, the lack of a score making this seem more like an Oscar-nominated short than a feature length summer film, but I want to hear from you on it, and if you haven't seen it-go out and support what is one of the more daring animated films to hit mainstream theaters in a while.