Top Ten List: Best Supporting Actor 2010

10. Kieran Culkin in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Despite being very uneven, there were parts of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World I liked very much. The thing I liked most about it was Culkin as Scott's gay best friend Wallace. Kieran has always been my favorite Culkin, and I think he's a terribly underrated actor. He was spot on in this film with his dry humor and perfect comedic timing.

09. Chris Cooper in The Town - In only one scene, Cooper manages to almost steal the entire movie away from a bunch of younger dudes. These younger guys are trying to act tough and be tough but Cooper IS tough. He makes you believe that he is a hardened criminal, stuck in jail like a lion in a cage at the zoo. So raw and so, so good.

08. Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right - I'll admit, I don't quite understand the fascination with this movie. I liked it, in a Lifetime movie sort of way. One complaint I don't have, however, is with the acting which is excellent all around. Ruffalo, who was also excellent in Shutter Island, is all free spirit, a man who has done his best to not get tied down, finally coming to terms with being an adult.

07. Ben Kingsley in Shutter Island - As a slightly menacing doctor, Kingsley plays into the general feeling of paranoia that is found in every little piece of this film. He walks this perfect line between being a trust-worthy, good doctor and being someone who might harm you, or even kill you, if given the opportunity. In a film with great acting, he shines.

06. Vincent Cassel in Black Swan - Cassel plays Thomas, the artistic director of a ballet company. Sure, he's a cad, putting the moves on Nina and Lilly and Beth and Lord knows who else. But he is also incredibly charming. And kind of frightening. He's intense and enigmatic. Cassel plays all the different facets of his character with such impressive ease.

05. Armie Hammer in The Social Network - I know there was a body double involved and also a whole lot of technical wizadry from David Fincher and his tech friends, but it's still pretty damn impressive that Hammer is playing TWO characters! He manages to make the Winklevoss twins completely seperate entities to the point where you swear they are being played by two different people. Plus, he gets one of the most fun lines in the whole movie.

04. Tom Hardy in Inception - Okay, so Inception was already an amazing movie. But then in walks Tom f-ing Hardy with that swagger and those lips and he all but steals the entire damn movie right away from so many bigger, more famous stars. He's hilarious and also charming. He is such a chameleon and here's to many more projects from Hardy in the future!

03. Jeremy Renner in The Town - Renner is electric as Jem, an explosive bank robber. He takes a character that could have been so one-note, so boring, so cliche and manages to turn him into someone you can't keep your eyes off of. Renner has been one of the best working actors for at least a decade. Thank Lord, someone else is finally noticing.

02. Andrew Garfield in The Social Network - Okay, so Garfield gets to deliver the absolute best line in the best script of the year. But, from the first frame, you can't take your eyes off Garfield and his mesmerizing performance of Eduardo Savrin, a young college co-ed who becomes a millionaire and then loses all of it. He also loses his best friend in the process. Since he's probably the only fully likeable character in the movie, his performance really burrows into your brain and you find yourself rooting for him through the entire film.

01. Christian Bale in The Fighter - So, if I was an actor I would probably quit the profession after seeing Christian Bale BECOME Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter. I haven't always been fond of Bale but I was completely blown away with him in this movie. I read an article about how when people who grew up with Dicky saw Christian on set, they thought it was really him. Then at the end of the film, they show a clip of the real Dicky and by God, he looks and moves and talks exactly like Christian in the movie. This is not only the best performance by a supporting actor, it's also the single best performance of the entire year.

Black Swan

Black Swan is this beautiful yet disturbing thriller set in the world of ballet. It's like a crazy fever dream where there is little room for reality. To say director Darren Aronofsky is fearless is an understatement. This is the man, afterall, who brought us Pi and Requiem for a Dream (which is, arguably, the most depressing movie I have ever seen in my entire life). He has said Black Swan is a companion piece for his last excellent outing, The Wrestler, and I can't say that I disagree. The two films definitely have their similarities - the manic pacing, the behind the scenes feel, the search for perfection, and definitely the endings. However, I think Black Swan is a better film. At the very least, it's definitely more beautiful looking.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a dancer in the ballet company who wants to be perfect and strives to be a star. She is a good technical dancer, but lacks passion and intensity. She gets to audition for the lead in Swan Lake and while the demanding, seductive director of the company (Vincent Cassel) thinks she would make the perfect White Swan, he doesn't quite see her as the dangerous and sensual Black Swan. Newcomer to the company Lily (Mila Kunis), however, is perfect for the Black Swan. She's got a back tattoo, for Christ's sake! In the end, Thomas chooses Nina anyway. So, then we get to the good stuff. Nina has to struggle to find her sensuality (Thomas suggest she go home and touch herself). She also has to deal with jealousy from the other dancers and bitter resentment from Beth (Winona Ryder!!!), the aging star who is being pushed into retirement and is none too happy about it. Nina also has to deal with her super over protective stage mother (Barbara Hershey) who treats her like she's 12. To say Nina cracks under all the pressure is an understatement. But what is real, and what is all inside our pretty little ballerina's head? Is she really pulling swan feathers out of her skin? Is Lily really trying to steal her role? Is she really making out with boys at bars and girls in her bedroom? Is she really turning into the black swan she is so desperately trying to find a way to inhabite on stage? Black Swan is a wonderfully thrilling film, trying - and not trying, really - to answer all of those questions.
Natalie Portman is revelatory as Nina. At the beginning, she's meek and naive, sweet, innocent, seeking perfection but never raising her voice. By the end, she's a cracked and broken version of herself - all seduction and intensity and passion. Portman, who is so often rigid in many of her movies, really let's herself become this character and it's her best role to date, by a mile. She most certainly deserves that Oscar come March (sorry Annette Bening!). Mila Kunis is also quite surprising. Best known as comedic Jackie on That 70s Show, Kunis, who looks shockingly like Portman, is all raw sexuality. She's charming, seducing both Portman and the audience. Hershey is perfect as the overprotective mom, watching her sweet daughter transform right before her eyes. And is all of this her fault for pushing her too hard? You can see in her eyes that she wonders the same thing. Cassel is impressive as well as the lecherous director. Then there is my girl Winona! It's so good to have her back in a worthwhile movie. Sure, she's only in it for a few scenes, but they are key scenes and she nails the bitterness of a once hot young thing being pushed into oblivion (oh, wait! the irony!). Portman's Nina wants to steal her lipstick and her earrings to become more like her... and who wouldn't want to be like Winona, the it girl of the 90s, making a long-awaited comeback in a fabulous arthouse film?
To be frank, Black Swan is a beautiful mind fuck of a movie. And, really, what's better than that?
Grade: A

Good Luck Chuck, Eastern Promises

Good Luck Chuck - When you say to yourself, "Wow. This movie is a waste of Jessica Alba's talent," you know there is something wrong in the world. Why, you ask? Well, Jessica Alba really has no talent unless looking hot is a talent. And it's very, very sad when even the tiny, little, itty bit of talent that she possesses is wasted in a movie that's so bad I can't even believe it was made. Some ideas are good and the execution is so bad that the movie becomes bad as well. This movie is just a bad idea. It's got bad execution, bad script, bad performances, bad EVERYTHING. The movie follows Charlie (Dane Cook - his character is only really called Chuck, like, twice during the whole movie) who gets hexed at a Spin the Bottle / Seven Minutes in Heaven party because he won't show his penis to the goth girl. The hex? Well, every girl that sleeps with him will find the man of her dreams right after dumping him. While Charlie's annoying best friend Stu (Dan Fogler - who may be the single most annoying / unfunny person in the history of cinema) thinks this hex is really a blessing, Charlie disagrees. Especially after he meets clumsy but cute Cam (Alba) at a wedding and falls for her instantly. Blah, blah, blah, stupid jokes, bad plot points and cliche writing ensue. I don't really think I laughed once during the entire movie. I think I would find a root canal funnier and more entertaining than this movie. It's almost torturous it's so bad (although not quite as bad as Captivity... because, really, that's just hard). This movie is literally one of the worst romantic comedies I have ever seen. It is neither romantic nor funny in any remote way. Jessica Alba plays a clumsy girl and it seems like every scene she is in is set up so that she can walk into something or trip over something or do something else stupid. And her acting? My lord. The only thing worse than her acting is Dane Cook's acting. Is his "acting career" over yet? News flash - Dane Cook is NOT funny. I don't hate the guy because he's a Boston Red Sox fan and I like anyone who likes the Sox but seriously - he's not funny. AND he's not a good actor either. The movie is very misogynistic but I won't even talk about that because even if I wasn't a feminist, I would still hate this movie. Do yourself a favor and see any movie other than this. Even if the movie is not a comedy, it will still surely be funnier than Good Luck Chuck.

Grade: F

Eastern Promises - Here's the thing about David Cronenberg: He's violent to the point of being too violent. There's a line where violence stops being realistic. Cronenberg is about thirteen steps past that line. And guess what? I love it! Here's the thing about Viggo Mortensen: He's the only man that I find uncontrollably sexy who I think is capable of mass murder. One minute you want to sleep with him and the next you think he might slit your throat. And guess what? I love it! And here's the thing about a Cronenberg / Mortensen collaboration: It's dangerous, unpredictable, violent, terrifying, witty, intelligent and just plain entertaining. A History of Violence made my Top 10 list last year and while I don't think Eastern Promises is quite that good, its still solid. The film follows Mortensen as Nikolai, a Russian driver to the Russian mafia living in London. He has a close relationship with Kirill (Vincent Cassel), the son of the head fo the Russian mafia. This leads him on an inside track to the mob. Meanwhile there's sweet mid-wife Anna (Naomi Watts) who is investigating the case of a dead fourteen year old girl who died giving birth and who has ties to the Russian mafia. There's a lot of unexpected heart and soul here which culminates with a lovely scene between Mortensen and Watts. There's a lot of humor and a lot of subtle acting which juxtaposes nicely with the slightly over the top violence. Viggo's performance is perfect and Oscar worthy (Will he get nominated? Probably not. The nude knife fight might be a bit much for some people... not for me though). The movie drags a bit at times but over all it's a good, solid film. And guess what? It's a million times funnier than Good Luck Chuck!

Grade: B-