Best Supporting Actor - 2018

05. Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther - I've said it once and I'll say it again: a superhero movie is only as good as its super villain. Black Panther is easily the best Marvel entry outside of the Captain America trilogy and one very big reason is Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, the absolute best villain Marvel has ever given us (second possibly only to Heath Ledger's the Joker in terms of superhero movies in general). Killmonger is the best kind of villain because he is completely justified in his actions, and he's really only a villain because he is pitted against Black Panther himself in his desire to open the Wakanda borders and use their advanced technology to help all the people. This doesn't seem like a particularly villainous idea. Perhaps this is why Killmonger is so profoundly tragic and Jordan's portrayal is so layered and textured that you can't help but be a little on his side.

04. Timothee Chalamet in Beautiful Boy - Last year, Timothee Chalamet gave one of the best performances of the year as the lovesick teenage protagonist of Call Me By Your Name. This year, he shows why he is one of the most exciting young actors out there with a compelling performance as a meth addict in Beautiful Boy. He gets a showcase for his considerable talents in scenes where he's doing everything from begging for money to stealing from his father, to suffering through withdrawal to living in the ecstasy of the high. The movie isn't necessarily great but the fact that you can't keep your eyes off Chalamet elevates the material.

03. Sam Elliott in A Star is Born - There is a particular moment in A Star is Born that is so emotionally devastating, it's hard to hold back tears. It's not the scene you are probably thinking of. Instead, it's almost a throwaway moment. It's a tiny moment without words. It's just a few seconds. A single shot of Elliott reversing out of a driveway after dropping off his brother Jackson (Bradley Cooper) and having a small sweet moment. The camera focuses on his face as he reverses his truck, and the sadness and pain in his eyes is so heartrendingly raw, that it cuts through your soul. That one moment is the moment I can't stop thinking about.

02. Josh Hamilton in Eighth Grade - Josh Hamilton's performance in Eighth Grade is the kind of performance many people are likely to forget. It's not showy or over the top. It's not big or flashy. His performance is warm and comforting, like a soft blanket and a mug of cocoa on a winter's night. He stars as a well-meaning father, navigating the difficult life of dealing with a teenage girl (and even the awkward, self conscious teenage girls are kind of a nightmare, let's be honest). His performance reminds me of the very best kind of performances - those that feel like real life.

01. Alex Wolfe in Hereditary - Toni Colette seems to be getting all the love for her performance in Hereditary (and deservedly so), but Alex Wolfe goes toe to toe and beat for beat with her. His performance as a carefree teenage boy who sinks slowly and maniacally into a morbid fever dream is so compelling, it's hard to argue there is a better supporting performance this year. His slow descent into darkness is the anchor of the film. While his mother (Colette) may or may not be out of her mind, he is the heart and soul of the film, the one character who you truly care about. And bonus points for his expression during the long take after that car crash. He's incredible.

November 2015

The Final Girls
Stars - Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman
Plot - The daughter of a B movie scream queen gets transported to her mom's most famous horror movie where she must survive a killer and come to terms with her mom's death.
Thoughts - This is the sort of movie you might only enjoy if you really love horror movies (as I do). It's clever and fun, but I also think the idea is a lot better than the execution.
Grade - B-

Z for Zachariah
Stars - Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine
Plot - The possible last surviving woman in a post apocalyptic world finds herself in a love triangle, because sure, that would happen.
Thoughts - I actually really liked the storyline,  no matter how ridiculous it was. Too bad the whole thing was just so damn boring.
Grade - C+

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Stars - Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann
Plot - A teenage filmmaker who hates everything is forced by his mom to hang out with a classmate dying of cancer.
Thoughts - I really loved the book this is based on, and while the movie never quite gets as good, it is still a pretty solid, funny, heartfelt movie.
Grade - B

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2
Stars - Jennifer Lawrence, et al
Plot - Katniss must finally bring down that nasty Capital.
Thoughts - The first thing it has going for it is that it's better than Part 1 although that's not hard. Despite the fact that it starts mid-scene, and is too long (Attn: Hollywood, stop splitting movies into 2 parts. I know you make twice the money, but is it really worth it to make two disjointed movies filled with filler when you could make just one bad ass (albeit long) movie?), Mockingjay is filled with action and heart. Part 2 may noy be the best of the bunch (see Catching Fire), but it is a pretty good ending to the series. 
Grade - B

Spotlight
Stars - Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams
Plot - The true story of a group of Boston journalists who investigate and uncover the decades long cover up of priests molesting children in the Catholic Church.
Thoughts - I know it doesn't necessarily sound like the kind of movie you would want to rush out and watch, but it's easily one of the best movies of the year. The cast is incredible, the performances are stellar, and the script is fast paced which helps make this movie intensely watchable. Maybe a little difficult to keep track of all the secondary characters though.
Grade -  A-

Pitch Perfect 2
Stars - Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson
Plot - The Bella's are back and trying to win the a capella world championship.
Thoughts - The first film is not necessarily good, but at least compulsively watchable. This is a pretty terrible follow up. Plot wise, it's terrible. Just fast forward to the music, which is fun.
Grade - (a pretty generous) C-

Creed
Stars - Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone
Plot - The son of Apollo Creed enlists his old frenemy, Rocky Balboa, to train him as a boxer.
Thoughts -  Truth? I've never seen a single Rocky movie. But, alas, the only thing I love more than a boxing movie is Michael B. Jordan, so I was in. And luckily, this is a really well done, really heartfelt, funny, wholly crowd pleasing film. Sylvester Stallone might be an Oscar contender come nomination time. And, finally, Michael B. Jordan's biceps, ya'll.
Grade - B+

Brooklyn
Stars - Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Plot - A young woman in the 1950s moves from Ireland to New York for better  opportunities.
Thoughts - This might be the best movie I see this year and if it's playing at a theater near you, call off work or school and run to the theater right now. I told myself I wouldn't give out an A+ until I saw a movie as good as or better than The Social Network, and while this isn't quite that, this is as near to perfection as you can get. It's funny and sad and romantic and just completely entrancing. I loved this movie so much and if you ever listen to me about anything, go see Brooklyn now.
Grade - A

That Awkward Moment

The saving grace of That Awkward Moment is the fact that they had the foresight to cast two exciting young actors, who take their cliche roles in a cliche movie and give it all they have, often giving the audience a lot more than we're expecting, and definitely more than the daft script asks of them. Make no mistake: Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller are the only reason to see this movie. They both turn on the charm. Jordan manages to create a three-dimensional man out of a poorly written character, and Teller uses his natural charisma and perfect sardonic comedic timing to bring his character to life. Zac Efron is the weak spot here, but that's not to say he isn't good; he has a very good presence. But he's definitely not as good as his co-stars.

Jordan stars as Mikey, a young man who seems to have it all together. He went to med school, currently works in the ER, married a smart, pretty girl (Jessica Lucas), and everything seems to be going great for him - until he comes home one day to find out his wife is sleeping with her lawyer. Oh, you know, the one she hired to divorce him. (Side note: And here is where you have to suspend disbelief. I would sooner believe that Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man is going to come save me from a disaster than a girl ever breaking up with Michael B. Jordan, who is flawless.) So, Mikey is thrust back into the single world, where his two best friends from college flourish. It's their natural habitat. Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller) design book covers by day and hit on and sleep with every available girl in the five boroughs by night. They decide to not only help Mikey get a lady, but also stay single. After all, when will they have this chance again - all being young and single in the city? All things seem to be going fine until Jason starts to fall for a quirky cutie named Ellie (Imogen Poots) and Daniel begins to see his wing woman Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) in a new light. They try to hide their budding relationships from Mikey and, of course, hilarity (or at least, soft chuckles) ensues.

The major problem with That Awkward Moment is that I'm not exactly sure it knows what kind of movie it wants to be. It's presenting itself as sort of a cross between a good ole' romantic comedy and a raunchy bro movie for dudes. The problem is those audiences don't exactly overlap. Girls want to watch sweet romantic comedies with their friends, while boys want to watch raunchy comedies with their friends. It's not exactly enough of either of those things to completely appeal to either audience. It doesn't ever give in completely to being one thing, but instead carries on for over 90 minutes as if it's having a sort of identity crisis. Also, there's just not enough laughs to justify the problems with it - plot holes, poorly written characters, cliches by the dozen. However, like I said in the first paragraph, Jordan and Teller do what they can to make the whole thing worthwhile. And they succeed sometimes, and sometimes That Awkward Moment is a fine little comedy. I think Poots is probably going to be a star sometime in the near future, but this isn't the movie that's going to do it for her. She's pretty much the most adorable thing I've ever seen, and I'm excited to see what she turns up in next (FYI: a Nick Hornby adaptation!). I like Efron for some reason, although I'm not sure he's destined to be a movie star. He has some sort of IT factor, but he's just not a good enough actor to be anything more than that Rom-Com guy, which is fine. I'd be interested to see him on TV, in some sort of Mindy Project comedy but with a guy in the lead. I think he'd probably kill it week in and week out. But he seems determined to try his hand and movie stardom, and so he's always going to be playing second fiddle to guys like Jordan and Teller. The good news is these three guys have a great sort of bro chemistry that really works and is fun to watch. If only the script around them was better. Because, from where I stand, That Awkward Moment wasn't a great way to start 2014 movie-wise. It wasn't a terrible way either, though.

Grade: C+

Fruitvale Station

I'm not sure how fair Fruitvale Station is as a movie. In a way, I sort of felt manipulated by it. However, any emotional manipulation that it attempts, is completely and absolutely effective. So for a movie to pack as emotional a punch as this one did, is a huge success as far as I'm concerned.

Fruitvale Station is the true story of Oscar Grant, a drug dealer who spent time in prison, also a loving son and father, who was gunned down by a police officer in the early morning hours of New Years Day 2009. The movie takes place almost entirely during his last 24 hours, with the one exception of a flashback to his prison stint a year earlier. One of the criticisms I have read of this film is that it tries to make Oscar (played to perfection by Michael B. Jordan of Friday Night Lights and The Wire fame) into some sort of angel. I couldn't agree less with this. Oscar is a deeply complex character, and, in Jordan's apt hands, becomes a flawed man we care so deeply about. Oscar is trying to clean up his act. We see him do a lot of good things during his last day, but we also see what a struggle it is for him. He's no angel. He's cheated on his girlfriend recently, he is still selling dope, jobless, angry. But he is trying to be a better man. Who knows what would have happened had he survived New Year's 2009?? Maybe he would have cleaned up his act and gotten a job and been a better man. But I think the sad truth is that it's just as likely he started selling drugs again anyway.

This is the performance of a lifetime for Jordan, who has always been so good in his previous roles. He is completely riveting, playing this very flawed, very complex character. And while this movie belongs almost entirely to him, the third act is securely on the shoulders of Melonie Diaz, who plays his long suffering girlfriend Sophina, the mother of his daughter. Most of the emotional punch in the gut comes courtesy of her performance. Then there is Octavia Spencer, who is great as well, as Oscar's stoic mother.

There are a few things that I took issue with, but they were so minor it is almost not even worth mentioning. I'm sure the filmmakers worked painstakingly to put together the series of events for his very last day. I'm sure they talked to all the people he spent time with to fill in the gaps. However, there are a few things it seems they threw into the script to make Oscar look like a better person; things that no one seemingly saw him do that day. So how do they know that he was an emotional wreck over a dog who got hit by a car? And he just so happens to meet this nice white woman whom he helps at the grocery store and then hours later she coincidentally is on the very same train car as he is when the fight breaks out that kick starts the events that lead to his death? Plus, there is the reason why the cop killed Oscar. I'm not saying it's a good excuse in the slightest, but until the postscript, it is presented more as a random act of violence than anything else. We are left wondering for a good minutes about why he did what he did until it is finally revealed in the postscript that he thought his gun was his taser. Was the way Oscar acting a good reason to be shot and killed?? No. But it wasn't a bad reason to be tased, I guess.

Fruitvale Station is far from perfect. But what it lacks in flawlessness, it more than makes up for with the emotional punch it packs. This is a movie that will haunt you long after the credits roll. The kind that will stay with you and make you rethink so much of what is happening in the world around you. We need more movies like this. The kind that stop caring about being technically perfect, and start caring about eliciting emotions. Is some of the film heavy handed? Sure. But, in the end, it barely matters.

Grade: B+