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.

The Great and the Greatest,part I

Thousands of people around the globe are debating every day about actresses and actors.Whom do they like,who is overrated,who is insufferable and who was cheated of his or hers award.Who is the best,the mediocre,the worst,who is the underdog or who is the wannabe. All of these opinions are perfectly legitimate since every single acting performance is intended for the public.

From the first Brando interpretation in front of someone's mirror to the Oscar acceptance speech, everything they do is dedicated to the audience.Without it,the actors and actresses lose their raison d'etre.And the audience has enormous powers,the power to make or break,to destroy or to glorify,the power to be completely selfish and subjective in their adulation.Sometimes that power is abused in the voices of malevolent few but mostly it is the expression of love,even when it is the tough love they practise.

I don't know a single actress or actor who is immune to the response of his public but when they are thanking everyone they ever met in their professional lives,they mostly forget the most important people,their public.Without those faithful spectators,they simply could not exist.

The reverse of the loving or sometimes hating fans are the critics.Whether they are competent or not,mean or nice,they have every right to express their opinions since from the moment a performer decides to appear in front of the public and even more importantly,earn his living depending on that same public,he or she has to accept the burden of public opinion and criticism.It goes with the territory and I think it's a small price to pay in relation to all the perks of the job.

In all these public discussions about thousands of acting performances,there is one permanent question:

- Is the actor we are watching convincing,credible,"natural",do we believe the character he is playing?

Based on this criteria I have come to divide the good actors in two categories: The Great and
The Greatest.

The Great are those actors who can always convince me about everything their character is doing but they are and always will be,before anyone else,essentially themselves.Every time I watch them I know exactly who they are.It doesn't diminish their ability to present a certain character,they have undeniable talent but their true force lies in adapting the character to themselves.It has nothing to do with technique since,as in sports,every hard working performer can learn acting techniques.It is talent+technique but that particular talent consists in absorbing the characters to their personal essence,soul,brain and physique.It doesn't diminish the authenticity of their efforts nor the results.I love most of them,dislike some,maybe hate a few but every one of them is a gifted artist and true professional.

And then there are the The Greatest,the Hall Of Fame,the Holly Grail.Those are the people we often call chameleons,the artists whose talent lies in adapting and immersing themselves into the character and losing their personalities,looks and their core in those new people they have created.Those are the performers who make you wonder who they really are but in the same time you simply don't care because you are fully  absorbed in their actual on-screen incarnations.They can do anything they want in front of the camera,they can be whoever they choose to be and that is the secret of their greatness.Don't ever be fooled,it is not due to their smart career choices or their teachers,it is simply a trait of genius like in any other profession.They are unique in their ability to erase their private selves completely for a greater cause.One may like or dislike the characters they create,but not even the harshest critic could ever call them overrated.

Among many of The Great I have chosen a few of my personal favorites,in random order but the list is a work in progress.

1.Robert De Niro - the greatest of  The Great but for me always essentially Robert De Niro

2.Helen Mirren - wonderful

3.Jack Nicholson - no one can be greater The Great than him

4.Cate Blanchett -  I adore her  and she is truly The Great

5.Al Pacino - same as for De Niro

6.Charlize Theron- fabulously The Great

7.Denzel Washington - great The Great

8.Halle Berry - so far The Great

9.Christian Bale - a younger The Great

10.Frances McDormand - love her,really and truly

11.John Malkovich - my personal favorite

12.Mia Wassikowska - The Great among young talent

13.Sean Penn - everything is crystal clear with this name

14.Kristin Scott Thomas - definitely deserving to be named The Great

15.Russel Crowe - even more versatile than we have seen in all his brilliant roles