Best Supporting Actress 2017

05. Beanie Feldstein in Lady Bird - The only love story that is part of Lady Bird is the love between best friends Lady Bird and Julie, played by Feldstein. In fact, the best moment in the movie is when Lady Bird gets out of the car of a jerk boy on prom night and goes to prom with her bestie instead. And thanks to Feldstein's charming portrayal, she's a best friend we all wish we could have. She casually steals every scene she is in and has such great chemistry with star Saoirse Ronan, that it truly is a pleasure to discover her.

04. Zoe Kazan in The Big Sick - I know what you are thinking - Zoe Kazan spends half of the movie in a coma in a hospital bed. That's true, but if Kazan's performance wasn't so neurotically charming from the first moment we see her, then the movie wouldn't work at all. Her performance is pivotal and it's ultimately so quirky and smart that she makes Emily so easy to fall in love with as an audience.

03. Holly Hunter in The Big Sick - She spends most of the movie bickering with on-screen husband Ray Romano (I mean, get these two a sitcom or something, because their chemistry together is fantastic), or subtly throwing shade at her daughter's maybe-boyfriend. But her performance is ultimately endearing and hilarious (especially when she lashes out at a heckler at a comedy show). The character itself is pretty great, but only someone as talented as Hunter could give such a fully realized and beautifully layered performance.

02. Tatiana Maslany in Stronger - Before I saw Stronger, I didn't understand how Jake Gyllenhaal was being so overlooked by awards groups. Now that I've seen the movie I can't understand how Maslany is either. She gives a tough and tender performance, elevating the role of "caretaker girlfriend" to something riveting that you can't stop watching. Her exploration of a love motivated by guilt is really as impressive as the depths Gyllenhaal goes to as well. She gives a raw performance as a flawed character and it's astounding to watch her in every scene.

01. Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird - The largely underrated actress finally gets a role she can really sink her teeth into as the exasperated and overworked mom of the title character. This is a warts and all look at the complicated love between a mother and a daughter. And yes, she gets her showy Oscar clip, and yes, she gets to yell and shout and cry and all of those emotional moments. But what is so truly remarkable about her performance is how real it feels. This is not sugar coated. This feels like a real mother-daughter relationship. It's not like watching a movie, it's like watching your life.

DVD Mini Reviews

Time again to get caught up on some of the 2012 movies I've missed in theaters.

Girl in Progress
Starring: Eva Mendes, Matthew Modine, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette
Plot: A young girl with a flighty mom decides to become a woman and experience certain cliched coming of age actions in order to grow up.
Thoughts: I guess this was the movie that was supposed to make me a believer in Mendes and her acting talents but it didn't quite work that way. The only parts of the movie that are at all interesting, are the ones featuring Ramirez, who is sort of a find and needs a better movie than this.
Grade: C-

Lola Versus
Starring: Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Bill Pullman
Plot: Lola has a pretty great life, engaged to a hottie and just about to finish graduate school, but then her life is turned upside down when her fiancee unceremoniously dumps her and she has to try to figure out things while her life becomes more and more of a mess.
Thoughts: I sort of loved this movie. I know that it wasn't necessarily a good movie but it was quirky and cute and Gerwig is totally loveable, even as Lola is making all kinds of bad decisions. Maybe it was just a good movie for me at a certain time in my life, but I liked it.
Grade: B

Take This Waltz
Starring: Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby, Seth Rogen
Plot: A seemingly happily married woman meets a stranger on a business trip and falls hard for him. This is further complicates her life when she realizes that he is her neighbor.
Thoughts: I mean, if you can get over Michelle Williams talking like a baby and being a generally bad person, then the movie isn't so bad. Luke Kirby, who I've never seen before, is sort of the saving grace of the film. He is so fun to watch and Kirby and Williams have great chemistry. Still, this movie is more annoying than good.
Grade: C-

The Raven
Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve
Plot: In the last days of Edgar Allan Poe, he becomes involved in solving a series of murders that are based upon his stories.
Thoughts: Why, John Cusack, why??? This movie is a huge, terrible mess. I kept telling myself, "It can't be that bad, right?" Well, yes, yes, it can. Also, the acting M.O. of just about everyone in the movie seems to be: Let's all yell as loud as we can and assume that this shows emotion.
Grade: D

Ruby Sparks
Starring: Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Chris Messina
Plot: A young man struggling with writing and relationships finds a way out of it by writing the perfect woman... who comes to life and starts living with him.
Thoughts: I loved this movie so much. It was super cute although it did have its flaws. Kazan, who also wrote the film, is beyond adorable and she and Dano have a great, natural chemistry.
Grade: B (B+ if I'm feeling nice on any given day)