The best of Europe:the most interesting European actresses and actors

With so many European countries working together to improve the visibility of European movie nad tv industry,the talent market has become very exciting.Young actresses and actors can benefit from the lively co-productions castings and even more from the talent workshops at many prestigious film festivals.
Among wonderfully talented people from all around Europe,here is the list of my personal favorites,my creme de la creme of EU talents.




1.Trine Dyrholm,my actual  EU no.1.the magnificent Danish actress from many great movies




2.Toni Servillo,the magician from the Italian masterpiece "La grande bellezza"




3.Marion Cotillard,the wonderful French actreess




4.Heino Ferch,brilliant German actor




5.Agata Kulesza,intriguing Polish actress from "Ida"




6.Brendan Gleeson,the miraculous Irishman





7.Oksana Akinshina,the girl who gave her heart and soul to the fantastic movie "Lilya 4-ever" and deserves more challenging roles





8.Mikael Persbrandt, amazing Swedish actor with impressive biography




9.Verlee Baetens,wonderfully talented Belgian actress from "The Broken Circle Breakdown"




10.Miki Manojlovic,excellent Serbian actor




11.Brenda Blethyn,amazing British star



12.Matthias Schoenaerts,although he is wasting his undeniable talent in to many average projects,still one of the most interesting European actors




13.Lea Seydoux,aside from all the hype and questionable choices,this girl is magical

Emmys 2014:the best,the rest and "Rectify"

Once again,Emmys came and went away,and as predictable as that is,the awards were even more.Even when You love the actors to death,there is a slight sense of embarrassment to see someone taking the  Emmy for the 100th time.
The only thing even more embarrassing than the predictability of the awards, is the fact that seemingly no relevant person in tv industry is watching "Rectify",the best drama on tv.



In the very difficult category,lead actress in a drama series,Julianna Margulies won and it was well deserved.She was reliably good in the very surprising season of "The Good Wife".She is serious,ambitious,funny and warm but my personal favorite was the magical Lizzy Caplan even though I admired Robin Wright very much.Claire Danes has already won for "Homeland" and this season was weak,Michelle Dockery is decent but not magical and Kerry Washington is .....absolutely overrated.

The elephant in the room was of course,the snub of Tatiana Maslany,the versatile girl from "Orphan Black".I know the fans were outraged as I am about "Rectify"and she really should have been nominated.Maslany has a lot of potential and she bravely and successfully stood to the challenges of her role.

The lead actor category is  my soar point.I love Bryan Cranston,loved him long before BB,I think he is one of the best actors in Hollywood,capable of anything any director or writer could have imagined and his win is a joy.
Jon Hamm is absolutely flawless in "Mad Men" but it seems he is not liked by the Emmy voters.As for the excellent duo from "True Detective",they were simply in the wrong category.Jeff Daniels is a nice guy but he was as bad as the show he was in.Kevin Spacey was brilliant and could have won.

But to forget Aden Young,the master in from "Rectify" should not have happened to a serious voting body.Absolutely not.

Supporting actress category was  really predictable.As good as all those actresses were this season,not one of them stood a chance against Walter White´s wife,Anna Gunn.She is excellent and probably gave the performance of her life,it will be very interesting to follow her career after BB.

I love "Downton Abbey" and adore GOT but Anna Gun was really the best in this category that forgot some really decent actresses from different shows like,again,"Rectify" and Abigail Spencer,Adelaide Clemens or J.Smith Cameron or the excellent Paula Malcomson from "Ray Donovan".

Again,very decently spread category,the supporting drama actor,brought the inevitable win to Aaron Paul,well deserved but all the nominees were excellent in their roles,especially Peter Dinklage.It could have been him but Aaron was really really magnificent in BB and since it was their last season,we were all happy to see them praised once more.

Outstanding guest actress in drama series was won by the wonderful,magical Alison Janney for her divine role in "Masters of Sex".If there was ever a well deserved win,this is the one.Janney is simply brilliant,I have always loved her discreet charm and courage and the profoundly touching role of Margaret Scully put all of her strengths  in the spotlight.She is fierce,passionate,beautiful and without vanity.Absolutely the best in this category,no one came even close.

Unfortunately,guest drama actor category ,was so bland that I didn´t even have a favorite.No one stood out but they were all decent.I like Joe Morton but I hate "Scandal" so I can´t say a thing.But my choice would be Beau Bridges.

And then there are the acting performances in comedies.For many years now I simply don´t laugh at the tv comedies.I liked the first season of "Girls" but it became unbearably boring."Modern Family" is ok but no.

And the rest,well, I liked Mindy Kalling.Anyway,the category was filled with the leading ladies of all the not so funny comedies and the excellent Julia Louis Dreyfus won.I always liked her,she is a marvelous comedian who is capable of much more,a great passionate actress and a smart woman who always gives great acceptance speeches as she did this time.Well deserved.

But let´s talk about "Orange is the new black".I am not a fan,there is something crude and obnoxious in it but the cast is very very original and all the actresses have done a great job.They are the biggest losers of the evening.

The leading men in the comedies were so predictable that it made me laugh,with a very welcome addition of William H.Macy.It would have been wonderful if he had won but no,Sheldon wins again.I like Jim Parsons,I still remember him from "Judging Amy" but enough is enough.Still,he gave a very graceful speech.

The supporting comedy ladies were,on the other hand,a pretty interesting bunch.I missed Kathleen Rose Perkins from "Episodes".Still the wonderful Allison Janney won again,a great great night for her.

Supporting comedy men award made me really angry.
I adore Ty Burrell,really,he is fantastic,imaginative,modest and nice.But still,this one should have gone to Adam Driver,no doubt about that.The guy is fierce,original,quirky and relentless and he deserved it.

OITNB went home with at least one well deserved acting award,guest in comedy series.Uzo Aduba took it and it was more than deserved.As for her male colleague,the winner Jimmy Fallon,people really?No one else?Not even Steve Buscemi or Louis C.K.?

And then there is the mini series or movie category aka Ryan Murphy must get something.And he did,or his muse Jessica Lange did  and the great Kathy Bates also.Yes,they are outstanding actresses but Cecily Tyson should have won.Then again,I am happy the disastrous Sarah Paulson didn´t get it for Murphy.

The male category for miniseries or movies is probably the only real surprise of the evening.Murphy had a champion in that category,"The Normal Heart" and the whole cast,except the poor Tim Riggins,was nominated.And Matt Boomer should have gotten it,but somehow it all went to uber boring Benedict Cumberbatch and a very decent Martin Freeman.Complete surprise,at least for me.

I can only wait till next year,when the third season of  "Rectify" will finally take  all the awards.Unless the Netflix takes over the new final season of "Breaking Bad".

Oscars 2014 : wishful thinking

Oscars are here so here is my wishful thinking list.I am sad for some excellent actresses and actors who
 didn't  get nominated,mostly for Brie Larson,Keith Stanfield and Michael B.Jordan but among the nominated,here is my list of favorites.




1.Best actress: absolutely Cate Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine".Among the nominated she is by far the best and even though I could have been subjective since I simply adore her,Jasmine French is a sure winner.

She has everything an Oscar winning actress should have:skill,talent,force,charisma,courage and humility.She is a generous co-star,a loyal part of the project,she is smart and realistic and never ever pretentious.Her PR is fantastic,she is mature and absolutely gorgeous.

Amy Adams was also very good but in a movie that lacked depth,so unfortunately her role followed this path.It was fun,it was original but it got sucked in the superficiality of the movie.I think Amy is an amazing actress but she still has to wait for that perfect role that will show all the opulence of her qualities.

Sandra Bullock wasn't even near the rest in her category.

Judi Dench is excellent and "Philomena" had one of the best casts last year so she would be my no.2.

Meryl Streep,still the greatest actress in the world,had one of her rare not-so-great moments in the neurotic and quite messy "August:Osage County".




2.Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 years a slave" or Leonardo Di Caprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street".

This is a tough one for me.As I have written on my blog,Leo Di Caprio has,after many years of stumbling,finally found his lost greatness in Wolf.He was simply brilliant.And I loved the movie so it should be easy to decide but Chiwetele Ejiofor had maybe a more difficult role,a role that showed a completely different range of emotions,skill and talent.Either way,I am thrilled with any of them winning.

This is a very hard category,the nominees were all excellent,McConaghey has already won all the pre-awards so he 'll probably win tonight but as great as he was in a very important movie I felt as if I have seen it all before.Still,he was brilliant and I won't be disappointed if he wins.

Bruce Dern was also fantastic in "Nebrasca" and he also deserves the Oscar as well as Christian Bale for "American Hustle".It is the most difficult category for me so I have to follow my gut since all the nominees were definitely brilliant.

3.Lupita Nyong'O in "12 Years a Slave".

Here,I have no doubts.Lupita Nyong'O is the discovery of the year or maybe even of the decade.The girl is so overwhelmingly talented and radiant that,in the category filled with exceptional actresses,she still stands alone.
She was lucky to star in a very complex and demanding role with a brilliant director who gave her the chance to shine.And she did and she continues to shine all through her campaing which was so professional that it should be an example for many experienced actresses and actors.

My only wish and hope for that amazing talent is that she continues to make smart career choices.

Jennifer Lawrence,well,yes,she was good and she is a very original talent but this year is Lupita's.

Julia Roberts,not even near.The movie was a mess.

June Squibb,very good in a strong competition.

Sally Hawkins,my no.2 for her excellent portrayal of a very demanding character,she was very good and I thought she was underrated in the awards season but Lupita is winning tonight.




4.Jared Leto for "DallasBuyersClub".He had a dreamy role for winning the awards and he nailed it.There is no doubt in my,or probably anyone else's mind, that the Oscar goes to Leto.He is a very complicated talent but capable of making miracles.This was one of his best miracles.

Michael Fassbender,one of the best European actors,had many great roles and this year it was simply not great enough to beat Leto.

Bradley Cooper is not good enough for my taste and his kind of neurotic gets quite repetitive.

Jonah Hill was exceptional and this ultra talented actor will win the Oscar some day.Not tonight.

Barkhad Abdi is a possible surprise,the story that Oscar voters like.Remotely possible.


In the best movie category,I would love to see   "12 Years a Slave" or "The Wolf of Wall Street" winning the best movie.

Update:Some of my wishes were fulfilled so I am happy,especially for Lupita Nyongo,it was marvelous to see her win and she made a very nice speech.Cate is a queen,McConaghey gave a very strange me,myself and God speech and "12 Years a Slave" was the surprise I was hoping for.So all in all,a very good year for my favorites.

And I hope the young brilliant Lupita will chose her next roles very carefully.Till her next award.

Best acting ensembles in 2013,movies

Last year casting directors did a marvelous job creating so many perfect casts that it is very hard to make a just selection.Here are some of my favorites.



1.Short Term 12,CD Rich Delia




2.The Wolf of Wall Street,CD Ellen Lewis



3. American Hustle,CD Linsday Graham,Mary Vernieu



4.Fruitvale Station,CD Twinkie Bird,Nina Henninger




5.12 years a slave,CD Francine Maisler



6.Blue Jasmine, CD Patricia Kerrigan Di Certo,Julie Taylor




7.Enough Said,CD Jeanne McCarthy




8.Prisoners,CD Kerry Barden,Paul Schnee




9.Philomena,CD Leo Davis,Lissy Holm