THE OSCAR 100 - The 100 Greatest Oscar-Nominated Performances

Enjoy! :)

#100-96: Kathleen Turner, Shelley Winters, Rosie Perez, Lesley Ann Warren and Kathy Bates
#95-91: Gary Busey, James Stewart, John Hurt, Glenn Close and Maureen Stapleton
#90-86: Morgan Freeman, Sally Kirkland, Jill Clayburgh, George Sanders and William Holden
#85-81: Robert De Niro, Michael O'Keefe, Judith Anderson, Michael Caine and Jason Miller
#80-76: Dustin Hoffman, Bette Davis, Meryl Streep, Fredric March and Elizabeth Taylor
#75-71: Agnes Moorehead, Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Hagen
#70-66: Jane Alexander, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Martin Landau and Natalie Portman
#65-61: Angela Lansbury, Shirley MacLaine, Vivien Leigh, Jane Darwell and Faye Dunaway
#60-56: Brenda Blethyn, Olivia de Havilland, Dorothy Malone, Geraldine Page and Thelma Ritter
#55-51: Kim Stanley, Teri Garr, Susan Tyrrell, Patricia Neal and Meryl Streep
#50-46: Ingrid Bergman, James Coburn, Nick Nolte, Joan Allen and Anthony Hopkins
#45-41: Robert Duvall, William Holden, Marlon Brando, Barbra Streisand and Whoopi Goldberg
#40-36: Ellen Burstyn, Katharine Hepburn, Julianne Moore, Ian McKellen and Roy Scheider
#35-31: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Joanne Woodward, Joan Crawford and Angela Bassett
#30-26: Al Pacino, Edith Evans, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
#25-21: Peter Sellers, Orson Welles, Montgomery Clift, Katharine Hepburn and Robert Forster
#20-16: Jodie Foster, Martin Landau, Jessica Lange, Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft
#15-11: Charlie Chaplin, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Ida Kaminska and Gregory Peck
#10-6: Jack Nicholson, Gloria Swanson, Shirley Booth, Anthony Hopkins and Rod Steiger
#5-1: Henry Fonda, Juanita Moore, Montgomery Clift, Celia Johnson and Gena Rowlands

Over the past couple of months, with the Oscar season drawing to a close, I've been mulling over possible projects to dive into during the post-season. In the past, I've reviewed every year of Best Original Song, plus all acting categories graced by Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. Those, plus more modest side projects, like Horror at the Oscars. All of these were a blast to work on, so I've of course been eager to approach another 'Oscar Flashback' for this year.

Ideas crossed my mind like reviewing every Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn category, or even 'The Fondas,' a mix of the Henry, Jane and Peter years. Or perhaps veering from actors to directors, reviewing each category in which say, Steven Spielberg or William Wyler appeared. I've also considered approaching a single category, as I did with Original Song, like Best Costume Design or even Best Animated Short Film (of which the vast majority of past nominees are available for online viewing).

While I won't rule out tackling any or all of those in the future, I don't quite feel the fire in the belly at this moment. Instead, I'm going to try something a little different but probably just as challenging and time-consuming (and, hopefully, rewarding).

There is no shortage of Oscar rankings to be found online, lists composed by fellow awards season aficionados of their favorite Oscar-winning performances or Best Picture winners, ranked from best to worst. Which is fantastic...but what if someone, a film buff who has inexplicably had the time and dedication to see nearly every Oscar-nominated performance, looked back and compiled a list (including commentary) of the 100 greatest acting turns recognized by the Academy?

Yes, over the coming months, I'll be traveling back in awards season history as I reveal my picks for the 100 best performances ever nominated for an Oscar. First, I need to fill in a few gaps - there are a handful of recognized turns I've yet to get around to, plus a few performances I've seen but barely recall and I'm not about to put this thing together without revisiting them. After that, the list shall be compiled and, beginning with #100, I plan to reveal five performances each week, looking back at what made each portrayal so special and what ended up going down in each Oscar race.

I'm fascinated to see what comes of this pet project and hope you'll join me in reminiscing about what will no doubt be 100 truly remarkable performances.

Review: "BlacKkKlansman"

As we approach the 30th anniversary of Spike Lee's masterpiece, Do the Right Thing, it seems a fitting time as ever to reflect on the maddening lack of recognition the filmmaker's pictures have earned at the Oscars over his more than three decades in the industry.

Do the Right Thing should have been a Best Picture contender, not the recipient of a mere pair of nominations in Best Supporting Actor (Danny Aiello) and Best Original Screenplay. Likewise, Lee's extraordinary Malcolm X was a far greater achievement than the tedious likes of A Few Good Men and Scent of a Woman, both Best Picture nominees in 1992. Alas, it too scored just two nominations, for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design (Ruth E. Carter, only of only two African Americans to ever grace the category).

His 1997 documentary 4 Little Girls aside, no other Lee pictures have earned recognition on Oscar nominations morning.

Three years since his scoring of an Honorary Oscar, Lee's middling fortunes with members of the Academy seem destined to take another positive turn with this year's release of BlacKkKlansman, a picture that was warmly received at the Cannes Film Festival and stateside has earned Lee some of his best reviews in years.

Should BlacKkKlansman indeed prove the toast of this year's awards season, I will be delighted to see Lee bask in his return to critical and commercial favor...even if I happen to think the film isn't quite among his best work. 

In fact, for my money at least, BlacKkKlansman opens on a stunningly dismal and unfunny note with an introduction from Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard (Alec Baldwin, mercilessly hamming it up), who delivers a rambling presentation on the supposed science behind white superiority. Though this intro is thankfully brief, it hints at the picture's central problem to come - the comedy of BlacKkKlansman is generally broad and distracting. 

Its true story, however, is a fabulous one - of how in the early 1970s, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is hired as the first black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Miserable in his first assignment, working in the records room, Stallworth successfully requests a transfer to go undercover and is assigned to infiltrate a local civil rights rally. 

Ultimately, Stallworth is reassigned to the department's intelligence division and it is there that he concocts a wild mission to bring down the Klu Klux Klan. He calls the local chapter, pretending to be a white supremacist keen on joining the ranks, and manages to win them over. Of course, Stallworth cannot attend their shindigs in-person, so he recruits his white, Jewish co-worker Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to join in the cause.

Stallworth makes so much progress, he ends up having regular phone conversations with none other than David Duke (Topher Grace), the infamous Grand Wizard of the KKK. Members of the local chapter, however, become gradually suspicious of Zimmerman, whose stories don't always match up with Stallworth's from over the phone. Such doubts come amidst the chapter's plans for a violent attack on a civil rights rally, which coincides with a visit by Duke to Colorado Springs.

BlacKkKlansman sports no shortage of profoundly powerful moments, including masterful monologues delivered by Corey Hawkins (as the towering civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael) and the incomparable Harry Belafonte. And if the picture itself is uneven, it at least beautifully serves as a star-making vehicle for Washington, who is flat-out fantastic as Stallworth and nicely matched with Driver, who has never been better. Laura Harrier leaves a nice impression too as Patrice Dumas, the president of the black student union who becomes romantically involved with Stallworth, even if her character feels insufficiently fleshed out.

Yet, all too much of BlacKkKlansman also left me sighing.

The Klansmen, as portrayed by Ryan Eggold, Paul Walter Hauser and Jasper Paakkonen, among others, are less terrifying or menacing (or interesting) than they are Saturday Night Live caricatures of white supremacists, a batch of dopey buffoons who seem liable at any moment to shout, "dey terk er jerbs!" The picture is ultimately a tonally haphazard blend of labored comedy and compelling drama from a filmmaker who's delivered sparkling comedies and sublime dramas but doesn't quite nail a fitting blend here.

Warts and all, BlacKkKlansman is ultimately worthwhile for Washington and Driver and, on occasion, Lee, who isn't at his sharpest here but still packs a punch here and there.

B

Review: "Eighth Grade"

Please, oh please let this extraordinary film emerge an awards season contender.

Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade, the year's best picture thus far, is a remarkable coming-of-age tale, just as sharp and insightful as last year's Lady Bird. It also happens to boast two performances richly deserving of Oscar conversation - leading lady Elsie Fisher and the superb Josh Hamilton, whose turn marks one of the great big screen dads of recent years.

Eighth Grade centers on Kayla Day (Fisher), a 13-year-old navigating her way through the final week of the hellish nightmare that has been eighth grade. Kayla, like the vast majority of her peers, is infatuated with social media and she goes one step further, constantly posting motivational videos on YouTube, aimed at providing fellow eighth graders with the tools necessary for school survival.

Alas, these videos attract close to zero views and Kayla herself is having the most aggravating time getting through middle school. Her dad Mark (Hamilton) adores Kayla but struggles to connect with her as she spends nearly every minute at home with her eyes glued to either her smartphone or laptop.

The final week proves a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. There are suffocating events, like Kayla's invitation to a pool party hosted by icy classmate Kennedy (Catherine Oliviere), and more positive encounters, like when she meets Kennedy's lovably odd cousin Gabe (Jake Ryan) and gets to shadow a cool high school senior (Emily Robinson). For better or worse, Kayla's world is turned upside down over these final days and through it all, keeping a careful eye on her, is Mark, with all of his unconditional love.

Eighth Grade is often spine-tingling in the way it so vividly and perceptively captures this harrowing time in life and, for every moment that'll leave you erupting in laughter (like nearly every moment featuring Aiden, the apple of Kayla's eye), there's another guaranteed to make you cry. Fisher and Hamilton share a devastating scene toward the end of the picture that recalls Timothee Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg in last year's Call Me By Your Name - and frankly, might be even better.

Fingers crossed A24, which has been gangbusters in recent years in generating recognition for its pictures, goes all-in on this masterful film.

A

Review: "Mission: Impossible - Fallout"

Who needs the stale 007 franchise when Tom Cruise is right there, still slaying on the silver screen in the remarkably fresh Mission: Impossible series?

I'm hardly a Cruise superfan - in fact, I'm prone to steering clear of most of his pictures - and yet even I cannot resist the sight of him sprinting around, bouncing from building to building with seamless ease and more than keeping up with co-star Henry Cavill, more than 20 years his junior. That this franchise surrounds Cruise with a dynamite supporting cast (including, for the first time, the divine Angela Bassett), makes the proceedings all the more satisfying. 

While the main attractions of Mission: Impossible are the countless set pieces, with Cruise acting like a madman on 24 Hour Energy, there is a plot in the picture, albeit a convoluted one that's increasingly difficult to keep tabs on. 

Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his beloved IMF team (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, having a blast, per usual) are racing against time to prevent the terrorist group the Apostles from getting their hands on nuclear weapons that, should they be obtained, will be used for attacks on the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca. To Hunt's chagrin, the CIA assassin August Walker (Cavill) has been tasked by CIA Director Erica Sloane (Bassett) with monitoring Hunt and his team during the mission.

To dive further into the proceedings, and the plethora of fights, chases, impersonations and so on that arise, would be to spoil the picture's many stimulating pleasures. Suffice to say, if you've gotten a kick out of prior Mission: Impossible sequels, you are guaranteed to have a ball here, even if, for my money at least, this still doesn't quite reach the sky-high heights of the first, Brian De Palma-directed entry. 

While Cruise overwhelmingly commands the screen with his awe-inspiring stunt work, he leaves room for his co-stars to shine, including the alluring Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow, a black market arms dealer; Rebecca Ferguson, back in action after appearing in Rogue Nation; and Pegg and Rhames, instilling heaps of humor into the proceedings. If there's a weak link among the ensemble, it's Cavill, who, with his matinee idol looks and lifeless acting abilities, most recalls an Abercrombie and Fitch mannequinn. 

Christopher McQuarrie, back after writing and directing the fun, if inferior Rogue Nation, has improved upon his past contributions to the franchise, packing Fallout with one fabulous, action-packed sequence after another and avoiding the lulls that have at times plagued the series (most notably in the disastrous first sequel).

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a summer blockbuster that more than delivers the promised goods. And, I mean, it has Angela Bassett, so you obviously need to see it.

A-

2018 Oscar Nomination Predictions (Summer Edition)

Too early for Oscar predictions? As if!

So much, of course, is bound to change over the coming months, as a slew of pictures, both big and small, hit theaters with awards season aspirations. There will be the Breathes, the Current Wars and the Detroits, those wannabe Oscar contenders that instead spectacularly fail. There will also be the sleepers, like Get Out and I, Tonya, with surprising success in store. And there will be the heartbreakers, like The Big Sick and The Florida Project, that aren't quite embraced on nominations morning as they should be.

At this point, so far out, nomination predictions are very much a shot in the dark. A handful of contenders have seen the light of day in theaters but the vast majority remain complete question marks.

A series of heavyweight filmmakers, including Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins, Mike Lee, Spike Lee and Steve McQueen, will come to play with pictures that, on paper at least, sound like potential knockouts, on the verge of feasting on awards season recognition. Of course, for all we know, Chazelle's First Man could turn out to be a dud.

There are also countless Oscar favorite actors, among them Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Viola Davis, Nicole Kidman and Robert Redford, on the hunt for additional nominations to their IMDb pages.

There are a plethora of questions to be answered. Will the latest remake of A Star Is Born live up to its sky-high hype and, moreover, can Lady Gaga really land a Best Actress nom? Is Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind a dark horse that could turn the entire race on its head? (Imagine Mercedes McCambridge as a Best Supporting Actress contender!) Will the Academy at last embrace a Spike Lee picture in a significant way? And, perhaps most important of all, is this finally Glenn Close's year?

Those inquiries and so many more shall soon be answered. For now, however, let's take the roughest of stabs at this. Below you'll find my first Oscar nomination predictions of the year, ranked from most to least likely to be recognized. There are a handful of categories, including Best Documentary Feature, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Song and the short subjects, that I'll hold off on for a bit.

Of course, I encourage you to comment with your own thoughts as well. My next set of predictions shall land sometime in September.

Happy almost-Oscar season! :)

Best Picture

1. First Man
2. Beautiful Boy
3. If Beale Street Could Talk
4. A Star Is Born
5. Mary, Queen of Scots
6. Boy Erased
7. BlackKKlansman
8. Widows
9. The Favourite
   ---
10. Peterloo
11. On the Basis of Sex
12. Black Panther
13. Backseat
14. The Front Runner
15. The Other Side of the Wind

Best Director

1. Damien Chazelle, First Man
2. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
3. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
4. Steve McQueen, Widows
5. Spike Lee, BlackKKlansman
   ---
6. Mike Leigh, Peterloo
7. Felix Van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy
8. Ryan Coogler, Black Panther
9. Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
10. Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased

Best Leading Actor

1. Steve Carell, Beautiful Boy
2. Ryan Gosling, First Man
3. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
4. Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased
5. Robert Redford, The Old Man and the Gun
   ---
6. Willem Dafoe, At Eternity's Gate
7. Christian Bale, Backseat
8. Hugh Jackman, The Front Runner
9. Stephan James, If Beale Street Could Talk
10. John David Washington, BlackKKlansman

Best Leading Actress

1. Saoirse Ronan, Mary, Queen of Scots
2. Viola Davis, Widows
3. Glenn Close, The Wife
4. Kiki Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk
5. Felicity Jones, On the Basis of Sex
   ---
6. Toni Collette, Hereditary
7. Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
8. Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
9. Emma Stone, The Favourite
10. Charlize Theron, Tully

Best Supporting Actor

1. Timothee Chamalet, Beautiful Boy
2. Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
3. Adam Driver, BlackKKlansman
4. Russell Crowe, Boy Erased
5. Daniel Kaluuya, Widows
   ---
6. Sam Rockwell, Backseat
7. J.K. Simmons, The Front Runner
8. Armie Hammer, On the Basis of Sex
9. Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased
10. Robert Forster, What They Had

Best Supporting Actress

1. Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased
2. Margot Robbie, Mary, Queen of Scots
3. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
4. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
5. Claire Foy, First Man
   ---
6. Olivia Colman, The Favourite
7. Amy Adams, Backseat
8. Michelle Rodriguez, Widows
9. Sissy Spacek, The Old Man and the Gun
10. Kathy Bates, On the Basis of Sex

Best Original Screenplay

1. Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite
2. Mike Leigh, Peterloo
3. Adam McKay, Backseat
4. Daniel Stiepleman, On the Basis of Sex
5. Oja Kodar and Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind
   ---
6. Jean-Claude Carriere and Julian Schnabel, At Eternity's Gate
7. Jonah Hill, Mid '90s
8. Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
9. Diablo Cody, Tully
10. Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
2. Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott, BlackKKlansman
3. Luke Davies, Beautiful Boy
4. Nicole Perman and Josh Singer, First Man
5. Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen, Widows
   ---
6. Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased
7. Beau Willimon, Mary, Queen of Scots
8. Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters, Irene Mecchi, Stephen J. Rivele, Eric Roth and Christopher Wilkinson, A Star Is Born
9. Matt Bai, Jay Carson and Jason Reitman, The Front Runner
10. Jane Anderson, The Wife

Best Animated Feature

1. The Incredibles 2
2. Isle of Dogs
3. Smallfoot
4. Wreck-It-Ralph 2
5. Fireworks
   ---
6. The Grinch
7. Mirai
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse
9. Lu Over the Wall
10. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Best Cinematography

1. James Laxton, If Beale Street Could Talk
2. Matthew Libatique, A Star Is Born
3. Sean Bobbitt, Widows
4. Robbie Ryan, The Favourite
5. Linus Sandgren, First Man
   ---
6. Dick Pope, Peterloo
7. John Mathieson, Mary, Queen of Scots
8. Hoyte Van Hoytema, Ad Astra
9. Rachel Morrison, Black Panther
10. Ruben Impens, Beautiful Boy

Best Costume Design

1. Alexandra Byrne, Mary, Queen of Scots
2. Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
3. Sandy Powell, The Favourite
4. Jacqueline Durran, Peterloo
5. Jenny Beavan, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
   ---
6. Andrea Flesch, Colette
7. Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns
8. Mary Zophres, First Man
9. Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
10. Joanna Johnston, Welcome to Marwen

Best Film Editing

1. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, If Beale Street Could Talk
2. Jay Cassidy, A Star Is Born
3. Joe Walker, Widows
4. Tom Cross, First Man
5. Barry Alexander Brown, BlackKKlansman
   ---
6. Sam Sneade, The Favourite
7. Chris Dickens, Mary, Queen of Scots
8. Debbie Berman and Michael P. Shawver, Black Panther
9. Stephen Mirrione, Beautiful Boy
10. Bob Murawski and Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Mary, Queen of Scots
2. The Favourite
3. Peterloo
   ---
4. Backseat
5. Black Panther
6. At Eternity's Gate
7. Solo: A Star Wars Story
8. Deadpool 2
9. Suspiria
10. First Man

Best Original Score

1. Justin Hurwitz, First Man
2. Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
3. Terence Blanchard, BlackKKlansman
4. Max Richter, Mary, Queen of Scots
5. Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs
   ---
6. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mary Poppins Returns
7. James Newton Howard, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
8. Michael Giacchino, The Incredibles 2
9. Alan Silvestri, Ready Player One
10. Pino Donaggio, Domino

Best Production Design

1. Gina Cromwell and James Merifield, Mary, Queen of Scots
2. Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, The Favourite
3. John Myrhe and Gordon Sim, Mary Poppins Returns
4. Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
5. Lisa Chung and Guy Hendrix Dyas, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
   ---
6. Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen, Isle of Dogs
7. Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther
8. Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas, First Man
9. Inbal Weinberg, Suspiria
10. Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, Peterloo

Best Sound Editing

1. A Star Is Born
2. First Man
3. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Ad Astra
   ---
6. Black Panther
7. The Incredibles 2
8. Ready Player One
9. Widows
10. Solo: A Star Wars Story

Best Sound Mixing

1. A Star Is Born
2. First Man
3. The Incredibles 2
4. Widows
5. Ad Astra
   ---
6. Black Panther
7. Avengers: Infinity War
8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
9. Mary Poppins Returns
10. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Best Visual Effects

1. First Man
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Ready Player One
4. Ad Astra
5. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
   ---
6. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
7. Black Panther
8. Mowgli
9. Solo: A Star Wars Story
10. Deadpool 2