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The Annual SAG Awards - General Discussion

CherryMalotte

By CherryMalotte
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maraleia
maraleia

In normal times I would agree with you but we are in the midst of a constitutional crisis at the moment.

maraleia
maraleia

So Kerry Washington, Ashton Kutcher and Julia Louis-Dreyfus right out of the gate standing up to Trump and his so-called policies. Kudos to them.

maraleia
maraleia

Casey Affleck can go fuck himself. Cannot stand to see his smug face.

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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

1 minute ago, scarynikki12 said:

Three cheers for Papa Coolidge for telling a lie and setting Jennifer on her career path. 

She's such a craftswoman with her stories, I have no clue if that story was real though.  

Man, the bad Presenter writer strikes again with that horribly awkward crap about Spoilers.

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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

Just now, KaveDweller said:

Guess the White Lotus cast didn't expect to win, they didn't seem to know who was supposed to talk to accept the award.

I thought they were the favorite.

J. Cool winning should have been the tipoff.

 

Who gets left out of the Dead Montage and causes Twitter Fury?

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scarynikki12

scarynikki12

"There are three things you can never get enough of: chocolate, friends, and the theater." No surprise the In Memoriam ended with Angela Lansbury but that was the perfect line to choose. She did so much on screen but her great love was the theater so that was a lovely way to honor her and recognize that.

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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

2 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Ok Brendan Frasier just became the frontrunner for the Oscar.

I think he already was.  Hollywood loves a comeback story.

Actually between him, J. Cool, Ke Huy Quan, and even Michelle Yeoh, I think successfully transforming your career has been a theme of this year.

Ugh.  Wahlburg.

Why?

 

 

 

 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)
14 minutes ago, SnarkShark said:

Michelle usually has good taste, but tonight's dress is um...

I hope she's saving the good dress for the Oscars.

She should wear the gown from the movie!

So happy for Brendan Fraser and everyone from EEAAO. And damn straight James Hong deserves the floor!

Edited by Spartan Girl
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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

3 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Ok Brendan Frasier just became the frontrunner for the Oscar.

I don't think so. I think this is still a solidly tight race between him and Austin Butler. A few facts to note - not since 2009, has an actor won Lead Actor at the Oscars, where their film was not nominated for Best Picture. That was Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. 

BAFTA has correctly predicted the last 8 Best Actor Oscar winners, including the big upset win of Anthony Hopkins over Chadwick Boseman. No question, Brendan needed this win for this to still be race but I think when you factor the international voters in the Academy, I think Austin will pull the win. But it is a close race. 

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Badlands

Badlands

(edited)

It's kind of shocking that they chose Mark Wahlberg to present an award that was very likely go to to a majority Asian film.

For those not aware, as a teenager, he brutally attacked two Vietnamese men specifically for their race.

Edited by Badlands
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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

3 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

I don't think so. I think this is still a solidly tight race between him and Austin Butler. A few facts to note - not since 2009, has an actor won Lead Actor at the Oscars, where their film was not nominated for Best Picture. That was Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. 

BAFTA has correctly predicted the last 8 Best Actor Oscar winners, including the big upset win of Anthony Hopkins over Chadwick Boseman. No question, Brendan needed this win for this to still be race but I think when you factor the international voters in the Academy, I think Austin will pull the win. But it is a close race. 

I dunno.  There are certain people who have been nominated, despite their films overall not being very well received.  Elvis wasn't panned, true, but there's a consensus it's at best it's a mediocre film, of which Butler is the best part.  BAFTA is indeed a huge predictor, then again... if we believe BAFTA then Michelle Yeoh is going to lose.  Actually, EEAAO lost across the board there. Is there just some strange quirk where BAFTA only correctly predicts ONE category?  

3 minutes ago, Badlands said:

It's kind of shocking that they chose Mark Wahlberg to present an award that was very likely go to to a majority Asian film.

For those not aware, as a teenager, he brutally attacked two Vietnamese men specifically for their race.

He's also a crap actor, largely in crap movies.

9 minutes ago, Valny said:

Did Wahlberg say Women Are Talking instead of Women Talking?

Wahlburg doesn't like Women talking. 

Literally.

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

1 minute ago, SnarkShark said:

Elvis wasn't panned, true, but there's a consensus it's at best it's a mediocre film, of which Butler is the best part. 

I don't agree that the consensus is that Elvis at best was a mediocre film. Elvis' Rotten Tomatoes critic score is 77. That's higher than Green Book that won Best Picture.

In fact, that description applies more to The Whale where despite many agreeing that Brendan was amazing, overall the film was very divisive and has a critic score of 65. 

 

7 minutes ago, SnarkShark said:

BAFTA is indeed a huge predictor, then again... if we believe BAFTA then Michelle Yeoh is going to lose.

Well yes. I understand the love and support some have for Michelle and her winning, especially as she would make history as the first Asian woman. But again, factoring the international voters who come into play when all of the Academy voters vote, I think the universal love for Cate's performance in Tar will be hard to beat. I actually don't really think Actress is a close race. 

 

9 minutes ago, SnarkShark said:

Actually, EEAAO lost across the board there. Is there just some strange quirk where BAFTA only correctly predicts ONE category?  

They tend to align for the most part with SAG in most of the acting categories. This year was more of an anomaly and I think it's because it's clear BAFTA voters did not love Everything Everywhere the way SAG voters did. 

I don't think they hated the film, as they did receive many nominations. But they clearly loved All Quiet On the Western Front and Banshees WAY more. 

 

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slowpoked

slowpoked

That was a good night! Happy for all the wins for EEAAO, Abbott Elementary and White Lotus. This really bodes well for Michelle at the Oscars, and Ke Huy Quan has probably locked up the Supporting Actor at this point. I think Barry winning at BAFTA was more a glitch than a sign that he has a fighting chance. Too bad though, Barry gave one of the most amazingly, excellently acted scene in the past year.

JLC’s win definitely gives for an interesting race. At first, I thought it’s just her peers honoring a well-liked actress and a long career, but you can say the same thing about Angela Bassett, yet it was JLC who won. 
 

I think for White Lotus, they were just too flabbergasted to be up there as a cast so they didn’t know who would talk. Plus, aside from J. Cool, F Murray Abraham and Aubrey Plaza, the rest of the cast are not really accustomed to this glitzy stuff, so maybe there’s that. It’s fitting that they let the most senior among the cast talk.

Hooray for the older experienced female actors, showing age is just a number. Michelle, JLC, J.Cool, Jean Smart, then honoring Sally on the same night. What a great show!

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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

6 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Well yes. I understand the love and support some have for Michelle and her winning, especially as she would make history as the first Asian woman. But again, factoring the international voters who come into play when all of the Academy voters vote, I think the universal love for Cate's performance in Tar will be hard to beat. I actually don't really think Actress is a close race. 

Is there a lack of Asian International representation for Oscars voting?  Because unlike the BAFTA, which is obviously linked to UK voters, I'd tend to think Everywhere would have good International appeal, with a cast that's pretty well split between American and International actors.  

All Quiet is a German film, but it's a bit up in the air for me if love of it links up to regionalism.  

With Cate, clearly there's a synergy of British love for her with an undeniably outstanding performance.   Her winning Oscar again depends on where two opposing trends in the Awards lands this time:  repeat recognition of certain actors vs. rewarding career underdogs who fulfill a certain timely narrative.  It's true this could go either way.  Then again, it's also likely true Michelle Yeoh will probably never be nominated again, and people may want to reward her while the iron is hot.  

 

 

 

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slowpoked

slowpoked

1 hour ago, SnarkShark said:

Is there a lack of Asian International representation for Oscars voting?  Because unlike the BAFTA, which is obviously linked to UK voters, I'd tend to think Everywhere would have good International appeal, with a cast that's pretty well split between American and International actors.  

Over the years, when the Academy was under fire for diversity, they have admitted a lot more international members, and a lot of them from Asia. So while the Europe/British/Australian branches of the Academy have been established for awhile, the Asian branches have been getting stronger in recent years. And it's obvious there will be a lot of love from its Asian voters for a majority Asian cast movie. That's why I still think Cate vs. Michelle is still pretty close, and that EEAAO has a realistic shot at Best Picture.

 

1 hour ago, SnarkShark said:

With Cate, clearly there's a synergy of British love for her with an undeniably outstanding performance.   Her winning Oscar again depends on where two opposing trends in the Awards lands this time:  repeat recognition of certain actors vs. rewarding career underdogs who fulfill a certain timely narrative.  It's true this could go either way.  Then again, it's also likely true Michelle Yeoh will probably never be nominated again, and people may want to reward her while the iron is hot.  

This is another factor too. Cate is well-loved by the Academy and her peers, and she will likely not run out of more Oscar caliber roles in the future. She has a good track record too, winning 2 Oscars out of the 7 times she's nominated, a pretty good batting average that is much closer to Frances McDormand than Meryl Streep. Voting is always subjective, so there might be some sentiment out there that this is Michelle's best, and probably only, chance at an Oscar, while Cate will still have her chances. And that could very well tilt it ever so slightly to Michelle's favor.

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

(edited)
1 hour ago, SnarkShark said:

All Quiet is a German film, but it's a bit up in the air for me if love of it links up to regionalism.  

All Quiet is not winning Best Picture and no one expects them to. Last night's PGA win for Everything Everywhere solidified its Oscar win for Best Picture. So that's a given, as well as the Daniels being the heavy favorite for Best Director. I am not focusing on the Best Picture category.

As accurate as BAFTA has been regarding Best Actor, they've been only okay predicting Best Picture. Just last year they awarded The Power of the Dog Best Film and of course, CODA won the Oscar. 

My point was in relation to the Best Actress category alone and yes, certainly there are Asian international voters. However, my point is if we go by the numerous precursors, as well as media coverage, the heavy consensus has been that Cate Blanchett gave the best performance of the year. Many have even gone as far as calling it the Best Performance across the board, male or female. 

I believe that sentiment will hold up with most Academy voters. I know people love to talk about narratives but honestly, I think that plays stronger with SAG than the Oscars. I mean once again, if narratives were so important to the eventual winner, Glenn Close would have won that Oscar over Olivia Colman and Chadwick Boseman FOR SURE would have won over Anthony Hopkins. 

We have seen SAG award a woman who some then consider is a potential upset to the previous favorite, and come Oscars, the favorite still win - Viola Davis winning for The Help but Meryl still won the Oscar, Renee Zellwegger winning for Chicago but Nicole Kidman still winning the Oscar.

I just don't think Lead Actress is as much of a race as some would like it to be and certainly not the way Lead Actor is. But hey, I'm no psychic and I could be wrong.

Edited by truthaboutluv
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buttersister

buttersister

I watched via YouTube on a big smart TV, so no issues and imo one of the better award shows of memory. No commercials. No desperate jokes by hosts. Nobody getting played off! James Hong could tell stories all night, his speech would never have happened if this thing were broadcast on cable. Or he'd have kept talking over the annoying music.

Austin Butler must have watched Colin Farrell escort women winners up those stairs at the GG.

If I never see Mark Wahlberg again, I'll be glad. Still wondering why I had to see him tonight.

Otoh, Ben Kingsley ftw!

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NUguy514

NUguy514

6 hours ago, slowpoked said:

Thanks! Would love to read more of your thoughts later on how you voted, whenever you have time to post.

Ask, and you shall receive!

OUTSTANDING CAST: Everything Everywhere All at Once. This was really a decision between EEAaO and The Banshees of Inisherin, which were both incredibly acted films. In the end, I think the fact that the actors in the former were able to make the absolute insanity of that film's plot feel real and grounded was the bigger accomplishment and is really why the film is so spectacular. The stakes were huge, but the actors made those stakes feel very intimate and personal; they all played off each other so wonderfully. The four actors of The Banshees of Inisherin were fabulous and played off each other incredibly, too. I didn't think I'd enjoy the film as much as I did, and that is really a testament to the actors: they're why I loved it. The cast of Women Talking was good – very good, in some instances – however, the dialogue and direction were incredibly stagy, and every actor had at least one line that was just impossible to deliver naturally. I admired the movie more than I liked it, but I'm not upset at its nomination. Babylon is...a trip. I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that within the first five minutes of the film, you see characters literally shit and peed on. I was like...

PleasingGenuineAntipodesgreenparakeet.we

I actually ended up...kind of liking it? It was over three hours, which was ridiculous, but I was never bored because the film had such manic energy. The cast was actually really pretty great on the whole, with Margot Robbie matching the film's energy perfectly. She, Pitt, Calva, Adepo, and Li were all great; a few of the more supporting actors weren't as good or were nonentities, but it was a strongly acted film on the whole. The one true stinker here is The Fabelmans, an overlong, boring mess of a film with an obnoxiously on-the-nose title. Aside from Gabriel LaBelle as the teenage Spielberg avatar, I thought the acting was pretty dreadful by all.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
.
.
.
3. Women Talking
4. Babylon
.
.
.
Reality. The Fabelmans

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR: Colin Farrell. There was zero hesitation here. Farrell is the class of this list, and he is funny and heartbreaking in equal measure and effortlessly moves all over the spectrum. I've always liked him, but I haven't seen him this good maybe ever; he really made this performance feel easy and unforced, which it wasn't and which is always what I respond really enthusiastically to. I unexpectedly loved Hustle, although maybe I should've expected it since I'm a complete sucker for a heartwarming sports movie. What I didn't expect was to love Adam Sandler so much. I've never loved him in anything before: I don't find him funny; I find him caustic. However, he was such a delight in this; he had his edge, but he also had a warmth and this lived-in heaviness that worked really well. Bill Nighy tried his best to give his veddy, veddy British character an inner life, and he actually was able to succeed in places; the film's script, however, really hampered the actors' ability to create anything interesting since everyone was so reserved and unwilling to have actual conversations and just so...goddamn British. Brendan Fraser does what he can, but The Whale is just so incredibly offensive that I can't. I just can't. His performance is overwhelmed by the fat suit and by the script's extremely cruel treatment of Charlie (not for nothing, the script is also homophobic, but probably thinks it's not). The dialogue feels stagy in places, although I will say Fraser is the best in the cast at making those stagy lines work. Austin Butler, god bless him, thinks he's an incredible actor, but he has absolutely no idea what he's doing. As Elvis, he's constantly trying to find the most optimal angle for the lighting to catch his pout. Luhrmann's execrable style doesn't help anything, but Butler's Elvis impersonation is just that. He has no sex appeal whatsoever (which Elvis had in spades), and everything is superficial; there's no inner life he can convey about Elvis and nothing that's connected to anything internal and real. I will say that he's better than Tom Hanks, who is shockingly bad, but, boy, is that damning with faint praise.

1. Colin Farrell
.
.
.
2. Adam Sandler
.
.
.
3. Bill Nighy
.
.
.
4. Brendan Fraser
.
.
(Every Elvis impersonator alive or dead)
.
.
5. Austin Butler

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS: Michelle Yeoh. This was the easiest vote of all. I don't really care too much for the other performances in this category, and I unabashedly LOVE Yeoh's. While Evelyn's journey throughout the movie is bonkers, Yeoh has absolute command over her. Evelyn's evolution from a beatdown, downbeat sad sack to a kinder, more accepting, more forthright woman is completely organic because Yeoh synthesizes what she learns from all the other Evelyns so seamlessly, and it makes the rather quiet climax of the film so moving. Plus, the glimpses we get of all the other Evelyns are so distinct but also very clearly different versions of the same woman. It's a fabulous performance, and I'm overjoyed to see her finally get these nominations and awards she's deserved for so long. Cate Blanchett has reached that level of critical praise at which she farts on camera and critics call it the most amazing fart ever emitted onscreen, and maybe it's just a goddamn fart, you know? She's good in Tár, but wildly overpraised. I did like that she didn't shy away from how gigantic of an asshole Lydia is; however, I was never not aware that I was watching a performance because I could always see the wheels turning. One example is in the first scene: she as Lydia is searching for the next word she wants to say and mechanically says "the the the the the" to indicate that Lydia is thinking in the moment of what she's going to say next. The problem is that that's an actor trick; people don't talk like that in real life, and it exemplifies that Blanchett was thinking about the performance while acting it. I will say that Tár is a tedious, pretentious movie (I mean, that's Todd Field in a nutshell) that is an hour too long, and some of the dialogue is impossible to deliver naturally. Still, this is far from my favorite Blanchett performance. Danielle Deadwyler is fine in Till, but between this film and Clemency, I am left completely cold by Chinonye Chukwu's directorial style: everything is portentous and tragic, the score doesn't match the tone of the rest of the film and is therefore very distracting, and everything occurs on the same emotional level with lots of slow-motion shots. I felt like that hamstrung Deadwyler, who was basically directed to hit the same exact note of grief for the entire movie. The only time I got more from her was when Mamie was on the stand; she was terrific in that scene, and I think she could've been really incredible if the rest of the film allowed her to do different things. Viola Davis is fine in The Woman King, but I feel like she's nominated because she's Viola Davis because I don't feel like she did anything that incredible in this film. She's borderline supporting, and the movie itself is your basic action movie that's fairly entertaining and that's it (and whose attempt at recasting the Dahomey as rising above the slave trade is very problematic). Davis is fine, but I would not have nominated her. Blonde is a piece of misogynistic shit, and Marilyn Monroe is not a fully formed character as much as she's the apotheosis of suffering. In that way, it's not Ana de Armas's fault that her performance is an utter failure. She is, however, totally miscast as Monroe, could not hide her Spanish accent, and has absolutely no business being nominated by SAG or the Academy for this performance. Honestly, I'd have nominated Andrea Riseborough, Margot Robbie, and Letitia Wright over de Armas, Davis, and probably Blanchett, but at least Michelle Williams and her awwwwwwwwwwful performance were left off.

1. Michelle Yeoh
.
.
(A gap spanning all multiverses at once)
.
.
2. Danielle Deadwyler
3. Cate Blanchett
.
.
4. Viola Davis
.
.
(A gap spanning the infinite suffering of Marilyn Monroe)
.
.
5. Ana de Armas

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR: Ke Huy Quan. I thought about voting for Brendan Gleeson and thought a bit more about voting for Barry Keoghan, but I had to go with Quan. On paper, Waymond is the least fleshed-out of the three Wangs, which makes sense because the more central relationship in the film is between Evelyn and Joy. Waymond is Evelyn's true north, which could be fairly uninteresting, but Quan never let me forget that Waymond (in any verse) loved Evelyn and, more importantly, never lost his belief in her potential to evolve. It's no accident that Waymond is the one who ultimately saves the day with his innate kindness. Quan grounds all of that in Waymond's love for his family, which sounds trite, but he gives the fantastical absurdism of this movie essential and human stakes. Barry Keoghan really is heartbreaking as Dominic. I think The Banshees of Inisherin is ultimately about the human need for love and the different ways damage is done when that need is either unmet or rejected, and Dominic's innate innocence makes him the most tragic figure in the film. While he is, let's say, simple and although he is horribly abused by his father, he has a core of sweetness to him and just wants to love and be loved. Keoghan is genuinely funny, but his way of portraying Dominic's essential want is so simple and sincere and unexpectedly moving to me. On the other end of the spectrum, Brendan Gleeson showcased how a lack of love can cause someone to want to hurt himself and everyone around him. Colm is a cruel asshole who rejects his longtime friend for being too nice (which he frames as "dull") and is willing to hurt both himself and Pádraic to maintain that rejection. Gleeson finds these great moments of humor while doing horrible things to himself and saying horrible things to Pádraic; it's something that the only time he seems to like Pádraic is when Pádraic does something in retaliation. Gleeson portrays Colm as a bitter and empty shell of a human, which makes his interest in the nihilism of others make sense; it's the only way Colm can feel anything. I have never, ever liked Paul Dano in anything, and nothing about his terribly bland performance in The Fabelmans changed that. Eddie Redmayne, whose nomination here makes zero sense, is always so focused on finding the bodies of his characters that he neglects to connect the physicality to anything internal. Now, it's very much an acting technique for theatre actors to work on the physical body of their characters because that's an essential component of acting onstage and because that physical work allows you the actor to access your character's internal life. The problem I have with Redmayne as an actor is that he never connects the external with the internal; everything is very superficial, but it all feels artificial and actor-y. Also, The Good Nurse is a Lifetime movie.

1. Ke Huy Quan
2. Barry Keoghan
3. Brendan Gleeson
.
.
.
.
Look, Ma, I'm Acting! Eddie Redmayne
Tylenol PM. Paul Dano

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Stephanie Hsu. Overall, this is a great category – the best of the film categories. Even with that, Stephanie Hsu was a pretty easy pick. The parent-child dynamic that's at the core of EEAaO may seem fairly typical: the parent doesn't accept something about the child, and conflict ensues. However, what the movie does so well is show how truly damaging it is for the child when his/her/their parent just won't accept some fundamental aspect of that child. The end result of that neglect can range from never really wanting to see her parent again (Joy) to literally trying to destroy the universe (Jobu). Whether as Joy or Jobu, Hsu's desire to be seen by Evelyn for who she really is is crystal clear and grounds her characters in something very human (which is especially important for Jobu), and it's why the climax is so moving. Jamie Lee Curtis leans into the absurdity of EEAaO probably more than any of the other actors, and she has an absolute ball playing all the versions of Deirdre. She brings a lot of comedy to the proceedings, but those are also balanced out by some really touching moments, especially when she feels seen as something other than an IRS bogeyman. Kerry Condon gives a wonderfully frank and energetic performance as Siobhán, the one character who has enough self-love to save herself in a way that no other character in her movie can. She and Farrell have a wonderful sibling dynamic, and her directness and refusal to take any shit from any of the men on that island are so refreshing. Because she's such a vital presence, you really feel the loss for the community and, especially, Pádraic when she decides to leave for her own happiness and fulfillment. Angela Bassett is fantastic as Queen Ramonda. While grieving the death of her son, she has to lead her country, comfort and try to guide her daughter through their shared loss, and face off against a more powerful enemy. Bassett was able to navigate both the big, powerful moments and the small, quiet moments with ease, and there is no one who is more effortlessly regal than she. I've loved Hong Chau in other projects, and I liked her in The Whale; however, as I said, the movie is beyond offensive. Also, a few of Liz's monologues are really, really stagy, which unfortunately saddled Chau with a few awkward line deliveries, but she did the best job in the film of making Liz's struggles feel very real.

1. Stephanie Hsu
.
2. Kerry Condon
.
3. Angela Bassett
4. Jamie Lee Curtis
.
.
5. Hong Chau

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absnow54

absnow54

I ended up enjoying the new format. I liked watching the clip packages in lieu of commercials, and it was fun getting to hear all the uncensored speeches. I did accidentally open the feed that had the enhanced audio descriptions at first, and was confused by the woman describing everything happening on screen. What a job. My favorite one was when they were describing the Abbott Elementary clip and described the punchline before it actually happened. 

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mariah23

mariah23

14 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I love me some Jamie Lee so no argument but WOW I thought Angela had that in the bag. Supporting Actress Oscar just got more competitive.

"I'm wearing the wedding ring my father gave my mother"

Beat

"They hated each other by the end"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You would hate him too if you discovered that he was leaving you for a 17-year-old via letter or telegram.

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slowpoked

slowpoked

(edited)
10 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Ask, and you shall receive!

OUTSTANDING CAST: Everything Everywhere All at Once. This was really a decision between EEAaO and The Banshees of Inisherin, which were both incredibly acted films. In the end, I think the fact that the actors in the former were able to make the absolute insanity of that film's plot feel real and grounded was the bigger accomplishment and is really why the film is so spectacular. The stakes were huge, but the actors made those stakes feel very intimate and personal; they all played off each other so wonderfully. The four actors of The Banshees of Inisherin were fabulous and played off each other incredibly, too. I didn't think I'd enjoy the film as much as I did, and that is really a testament to the actors: they're why I loved it. The cast of Women Talking was good – very good, in some instances – however, the dialogue and direction were incredibly stagy, and every actor had at least one line that was just impossible to deliver naturally. I admired the movie more than I liked it, but I'm not upset at its nomination. Babylon is...a trip. I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that within the first five minutes of the film, you see characters literally shit and peed on. I was like...

PleasingGenuineAntipodesgreenparakeet.we

I actually ended up...kind of liking it? It was over three hours, which was ridiculous, but I was never bored because the film had such manic energy. The cast was actually really pretty great on the whole, with Margot Robbie matching the film's energy perfectly. She, Pitt, Calva, Adepo, and Li were all great; a few of the more supporting actors weren't as good or were nonentities, but it was a strongly acted film on the whole. The one true stinker here is The Fabelmans, an overlong, boring mess of a film with an obnoxiously on-the-nose title. Aside from Gabriel LaBelle as the teenage Spielberg avatar, I thought the acting was pretty dreadful by all.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
.
.
.
3. Women Talking
4. Babylon
.
.
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Reality. The Fabelmans

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR: Colin Farrell. There was zero hesitation here. Farrell is the class of this list, and he is funny and heartbreaking in equal measure and effortlessly moves all over the spectrum. I've always liked him, but I haven't seen him this good maybe ever; he really made this performance feel easy and unforced, which it wasn't and which is always what I respond really enthusiastically to. I unexpectedly loved Hustle, although maybe I should've expected it since I'm a complete sucker for a heartwarming sports movie. What I didn't expect was to love Adam Sandler so much. I've never loved him in anything before: I don't find him funny; I find him caustic. However, he was such a delight in this; he had his edge, but he also had a warmth and this lived-in heaviness that worked really well. Bill Nighy tried his best to give his veddy, veddy British character an inner life, and he actually was able to succeed in places; the film's script, however, really hampered the actors' ability to create anything interesting since everyone was so reserved and unwilling to have actual conversations and just so...goddamn British. Brendan Fraser does what he can, but The Whale is just so incredibly offensive that I can't. I just can't. His performance is overwhelmed by the fat suit and by the script's extremely cruel treatment of Charlie (not for nothing, the script is also homophobic, but probably thinks it's not). The dialogue feels stagy in places, although I will say Fraser is the best in the cast at making those stagy lines work. Austin Butler, god bless him, thinks he's an incredible actor, but he has absolutely no idea what he's doing. As Elvis, he's constantly trying to find the most optimal angle for the lighting to catch his pout. Luhrmann's execrable style doesn't help anything, but Butler's Elvis impersonation is just that. He has no sex appeal whatsoever (which Elvis had in spades), and everything is superficial; there's no inner life he can convey about Elvis and nothing that's connected to anything internal and real. I will say that he's better than Tom Hanks, who is shockingly bad, but, boy, is that damning with faint praise.

1. Colin Farrell
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2. Adam Sandler
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3. Bill Nighy
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4. Brendan Fraser
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(Every Elvis impersonator alive or dead)
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5. Austin Butler

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS: Michelle Yeoh. This was the easiest vote of all. I don't really care too much for the other performances in this category, and I unabashedly LOVE Yeoh's. While Evelyn's journey throughout the movie is bonkers, Yeoh has absolute command over her. Evelyn's evolution from a beatdown, downbeat sad sack to a kinder, more accepting, more forthright woman is completely organic because Yeoh synthesizes what she learns from all the other Evelyns so seamlessly, and it makes the rather quiet climax of the film so moving. Plus, the glimpses we get of all the other Evelyns are so distinct but also very clearly different versions of the same woman. It's a fabulous performance, and I'm overjoyed to see her finally get these nominations and awards she's deserved for so long. Cate Blanchett has reached that level of critical praise at which she farts on camera and critics call it the most amazing fart ever emitted onscreen, and maybe it's just a goddamn fart, you know? She's good in Tár, but wildly overpraised. I did like that she didn't shy away from how gigantic of an asshole Lydia is; however, I was never not aware that I was watching a performance because I could always see the wheels turning. One example is in the first scene: she as Lydia is searching for the next word she wants to say and mechanically says "the the the the the" to indicate that Lydia is thinking in the moment of what she's going to say next. The problem is that that's an actor trick; people don't talk like that in real life, and it exemplifies that Blanchett was thinking about the performance while acting it. I will say that Tár is a tedious, pretentious movie (I mean, that's Todd Field in a nutshell) that is an hour too long, and some of the dialogue is impossible to deliver naturally. Still, this is far from my favorite Blanchett performance. Danielle Deadwyler is fine in Till, but between this film and Clemency, I am left completely cold by Chinonye Chukwu's directorial style: everything is portentous and tragic, the score doesn't match the tone of the rest of the film and is therefore very distracting, and everything occurs on the same emotional level with lots of slow-motion shots. I felt like that hamstrung Deadwyler, who was basically directed to hit the same exact note of grief for the entire movie. The only time I got more from her was when Mamie was on the stand; she was terrific in that scene, and I think she could've been really incredible if the rest of the film allowed her to do different things. Viola Davis is fine in The Woman King, but I feel like she's nominated because she's Viola Davis because I don't feel like she did anything that incredible in this film. She's borderline supporting, and the movie itself is your basic action movie that's fairly entertaining and that's it (and whose attempt at recasting the Dahomey as rising above the slave trade is very problematic). Davis is fine, but I would not have nominated her. Blonde is a piece of misogynistic shit, and Marilyn Monroe is not a fully formed character as much as she's the apotheosis of suffering. In that way, it's not Ana de Armas's fault that her performance is an utter failure. She is, however, totally miscast as Monroe, could not hide her Spanish accent, and has absolutely no business being nominated by SAG or the Academy for this performance. Honestly, I'd have nominated Andrea Riseborough, Margot Robbie, and Letitia Wright over de Armas, Davis, and probably Blanchett, but at least Michelle Williams and her awwwwwwwwwwful performance were left off.

1. Michelle Yeoh
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(A gap spanning all multiverses at once)
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2. Danielle Deadwyler
3. Cate Blanchett
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4. Viola Davis
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(A gap spanning the infinite suffering of Marilyn Monroe)
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5. Ana de Armas

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR: Ke Huy Quan. I thought about voting for Brendan Gleeson and thought a bit more about voting for Barry Keoghan, but I had to go with Quan. On paper, Waymond is the least fleshed-out of the three Wangs, which makes sense because the more central relationship in the film is between Evelyn and Joy. Waymond is Evelyn's true north, which could be fairly uninteresting, but Quan never let me forget that Waymond (in any verse) loved Evelyn and, more importantly, never lost his belief in her potential to evolve. It's no accident that Waymond is the one who ultimately saves the day with his innate kindness. Quan grounds all of that in Waymond's love for his family, which sounds trite, but he gives the fantastical absurdism of this movie essential and human stakes. Barry Keoghan really is heartbreaking as Dominic. I think The Banshees of Inisherin is ultimately about the human need for love and the different ways damage is done when that need is either unmet or rejected, and Dominic's innate innocence makes him the most tragic figure in the film. While he is, let's say, simple and although he is horribly abused by his father, he has a core of sweetness to him and just wants to love and be loved. Keoghan is genuinely funny, but his way of portraying Dominic's essential want is so simple and sincere and unexpectedly moving to me. On the other end of the spectrum, Brendan Gleeson showcased how a lack of love can cause someone to want to hurt himself and everyone around him. Colm is a cruel asshole who rejects his longtime friend for being too nice (which he frames as "dull") and is willing to hurt both himself and Pádraic to maintain that rejection. Gleeson finds these great moments of humor while doing horrible things to himself and saying horrible things to Pádraic; it's something that the only time he seems to like Pádraic is when Pádraic does something in retaliation. Gleeson portrays Colm as a bitter and empty shell of a human, which makes his interest in the nihilism of others make sense; it's the only way Colm can feel anything. I have never, ever liked Paul Dano in anything, and nothing about his terribly bland performance in The Fabelmans changed that. Eddie Redmayne, whose nomination here makes zero sense, is always so focused on finding the bodies of his characters that he neglects to connect the physicality to anything internal. Now, it's very much an acting technique for theatre actors to work on the physical body of their characters because that's an essential component of acting onstage and because that physical work allows you the actor to access your character's internal life. The problem I have with Redmayne as an actor is that he never connects the external with the internal; everything is very superficial, but it all feels artificial and actor-y. Also, The Good Nurse is a Lifetime movie.

1. Ke Huy Quan
2. Barry Keoghan
3. Brendan Gleeson
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Look, Ma, I'm Acting! Eddie Redmayne
Tylenol PM. Paul Dano

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Stephanie Hsu. Overall, this is a great category – the best of the film categories. Even with that, Stephanie Hsu was a pretty easy pick. The parent-child dynamic that's at the core of EEAaO may seem fairly typical: the parent doesn't accept something about the child, and conflict ensues. However, what the movie does so well is show how truly damaging it is for the child when his/her/their parent just won't accept some fundamental aspect of that child. The end result of that neglect can range from never really wanting to see her parent again (Joy) to literally trying to destroy the universe (Jobu). Whether as Joy or Jobu, Hsu's desire to be seen by Evelyn for who she really is is crystal clear and grounds her characters in something very human (which is especially important for Jobu), and it's why the climax is so moving. Jamie Lee Curtis leans into the absurdity of EEAaO probably more than any of the other actors, and she has an absolute ball playing all the versions of Deirdre. She brings a lot of comedy to the proceedings, but those are also balanced out by some really touching moments, especially when she feels seen as something other than an IRS bogeyman. Kerry Condon gives a wonderfully frank and energetic performance as Siobhán, the one character who has enough self-love to save herself in a way that no other character in her movie can. She and Farrell have a wonderful sibling dynamic, and her directness and refusal to take any shit from any of the men on that island are so refreshing. Because she's such a vital presence, you really feel the loss for the community and, especially, Pádraic when she decides to leave for her own happiness and fulfillment. Angela Bassett is fantastic as Queen Ramonda. While grieving the death of her son, she has to lead her country, comfort and try to guide her daughter through their shared loss, and face off against a more powerful enemy. Bassett was able to navigate both the big, powerful moments and the small, quiet moments with ease, and there is no one who is more effortlessly regal than she. I've loved Hong Chau in other projects, and I liked her in The Whale; however, as I said, the movie is beyond offensive. Also, a few of Liz's monologues are really, really stagy, which unfortunately saddled Chau with a few awkward line deliveries, but she did the best job in the film of making Liz's struggles feel very real.

1. Stephanie Hsu
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2. Kerry Condon
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3. Angela Bassett
4. Jamie Lee Curtis
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5. Hong Chau

Thank you @NUguy514 for your very thorough analysis!! I've always loved reading voters' insights and perspectives, and they whys and hows of they voted. I always look for EW's voters series, where they interview different branches and members of the voters anonymously to give insights on their votes. Sometimes, it was a simple as "So and so is my favorite actor and that's why I voted for him and that's that." Or "I've been appalled by ______ for the longest time and I hear he's an asshole in real life, so there's no way I'm voting for him." Or sometimes, it's very analytical and thorough like yours, @NUguy514! It grounds readers and outsiders (like me) to always remember that voting is subjective, and whoever the winner is of that particular award in a particular year is a result of different voters' biases.

If I had a vote, I probably would have gone the same way as you, except I would vote for Kerry Condon in the supporting actress category. I've watched the nominees' movies except for The Whale (will watch soon), and while Angela was the initial frontrunner for me, and I liked both ladies in EEAAO (who knew an IRS auditor can be a pretty compelling movie character!), I was really floored by Kerry's performance, which I just watched last week. She grounded all of those guys who were behaving immaturely around her. And I know Barry gets a lot of love for that "rejection" scene by the lake, but Kerry's "Oh Dominic, no, I don't think so love..." also tugs at the heartstrings the same way, sincere, truthful, but not condescending. 

Edited by slowpoked
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ProudMary

ProudMary

@NUguy514 Thank you SO much for your insights on your SAG Awards ballot. Each year prior to the Oscars, I read several of the ballots of AMPAS members from the various branches, that are published in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter  and I'm always left wanting more info on their thought process. Your in-depth analysis gave me everything I needed. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I found it fascinating. 

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slowpoked

slowpoked

Also, since SAG seems to be the last major precursor awards show, this year's Oscars should make for a very interesting race and show. It seems 3 of the major acting categories are truly up for grabs (Only KHQ seems to be the consensus winner, but even he did not sweep the precursors). And even Best Picture also seems to be up in the air, and even though EEAAO has the momentum now, it doesn't feel as if it is a foregone conclusion winner at this point, like Titanic was. The suspense from genuinely not knowing who the winners will be until announced, because the precursors have been all over the place (in a good way), should help Oscars viewership and interest. 

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