End of 2012: 10 Favourite Female Performances of 2012

Continuing with my lists to wrap 2012 up, I give you third and the last post looking at some of my favourite performances from 2012 by Actresses in leading or supporting role. I know many of us, including me, do believe that 2012 was a great year for cinema. But I also believe that it was even a better year for the actresses. We had so many amazing performances throughout this year that limiting this list to 10 was considerably difficult task than my previous list of Actors. The fact that only one of the two Oscar winners made the list and that too as an honourable mention should be an indication enough of it. 

Starting the list off with honourable mentions who very well could have made the list but missed:  Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook, Kareena Kapoor in Talaash, Juno Temple in Killer Joe, Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Helen Hunt in The Sessions.

Off to the main list, which is once again listed in an alphabetical order as I did in the last list since I find it so much easier this way to focus on things that matter, like their acting.

Amy Adams in The Master: I LOVE Amy Adams. Best way to get me excited about a movie is to cast her in it. Now you know what to expect next, right? If I remember correctly, Disney's Enchanted(2007) was the first time I saw an actress named Amy Adams. She has certainly come a long way since then, even by becoming my favourite contemporary actress. I have not only seen every movie she did since then, I have plowed my way through most of her filmography before it as well. Even if we try to find, I don't think we will find someone who can go from Enchanted to The Master or from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day(2008) to The Fighter(2010) or Junebug(2005), one of earlier roles to Doubt(2008) or... I can go on, but I guess you get my point. If you are wondering, the reason I am not talking about her role in The Master specifically is because I've said it time and again - off course, she was amazing. How can she not be?

Vidya Balan in Kahaani: Over the last few years, Vidya Balan has successfully established herself as the go-to actress for more woman-centric, serious and challenging roles. Starting off with Parineeta in 2005, she has tackled wide variety of roles in her career so far. The reason this becomes a significant achievement is even now, majority of actresses in Hindi industry are essentially caught playing the role of love-interest. Even Kahaani as a movie deserves special mention as movies with strong female lead with almost no male actor in much significant role is almost never heard of in Indian scenario. The fact that they not only made such a movie but did it well and got Balan for it who skillfully handles all the ups and downs of this character is just a cherry on top.

Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty: 'Miss 2011' had a kinda quiet 2012. Off course by her 2011 standards, almost anything would be quiet but even by normal standards, 2012 wouldn't be called great. Off course, that was until she started making waves with Kathryn Bigelow directed Zero Dark Thirty which got many rave reviews for her performance. Even though I would say I quite loved ZDT, I have had my problems with it. And so did I with Maya as well but I guess that comes with the trade. Despite my reservation with the character, there is no denying that this was a praiseworthy performance. Determination and perseverance of the character really reflects through her performance. Maybe the die-hard Homeland(2011) fanatic in me has something to do with it because her character here is very similar to Carrie but I really admire them both despite their flaws.

Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone: In many ways, this was my real introduction to Marion Cotillard. Not that I had not seen any of her movies before but most of what I had seen includes her in the supporting cast. Midnight in Paris(2011) was probably the biggest role of her I had seen prior. So this was my first powerful Marion Cotillard performance and she did prove herself worthy of all the praises. Rust and Bone not so much, I found it hard to really connect to Mathias Schoenaerts' Alain until the last 15 minutes, which did give him some gravity but not much. Cotillard, on the other hand, was really amazing. Her independent fierce nature before her accident, her defeated, lost demeanour after loosing her legs but her slow transformation back into the world with the help of Alain is projected very ably by Cotillard. I honestly think if they focused more on her, Rust and Bone would have been a better movie.

Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister's Sister: If you know me, if you have been following this blog for some time, you would probably know that this role has been my soft spot this whole award season. I even did a post making case for her.The thing about Your Sister's Sister is Emily Blunt was the only person related to this movie that I can say I had any previous knowledge of. I had only seen DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married(2008), Mark Duplass and Lynn Ramsey pretty much nowhere. So, you can say I did not have much expectations of it and it really surprised me but Rosemarie DeWitt has to be the most pleasant surprise of them all. She was smart, funny, extremely subtle and very genuine in her role letting her eyes and her expressions doing most of the talking. She was so natural, so comfortable in her role that she had me completely won over by the end of it.

Ann Dowd in Compliance: I spent half of Compliance screaming 'Really?', 'Are you really going to do that?' or 'How can you be so stupid?' at the screen to Dowd's Sandy. The other half was spent in utter disbelief of her stupidity. But when I calmed down a bit after the movie and thought objectively about the movie and performances in it, I have to say that Compliance would not have been half as good as it was without performance of this gullible manager of fast food chain restaurant from Ann Dowd and then she just hits it out of the park in that last scene of her interview. Her submissiveness, willingness to comply to the apparent authority figure was the biggest selling point of the movie and from my reactions, I have to say they more than succeeded in it. Giving the credit where it's due - Ann Dowd, you have successfully gotten under my skin.

Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises: I know I said only one Oscar winner made my list and that was in honourable mentions. Even though Hathaway is second winner this year, she didn't win it for this role right? Now, I haven't seen Michelle Pfeiffer's Cat-woman in Batman Returns(1992). I have seen a lot of people praising her and maybe they are right, maybe she is really great, maybe she is even better than Hathaway in this role. But from the day this casting news was made public, almost everyone dismissed Hathaway. 'She will never hold a candle to Pfeiffer', 'Nolan should leave Cat-woman alone' they said. I'll admit that was mainly because 'In Nolan we Trust', a fan-boy motto and even though I do not have anything against her, I ain't exactly a Hathaway fan either but still I thought this was highly unfair. If I had one expectation from Rises, it was for Hathaway to kick some major ass. And Boy, did she deliver? Even beyond my wildest expectation.

Emmanuelle Riva in Amour: Of all the nominees for Best Actress this year, Riva was my choice. I am not exactly saying that she was the best of the lot but more like, I wanted her to win regardless of whether she was better than others or not. It was more emotional than logical though she was indeed really great. Amour was my 'movie of the year' as well and none of he other four movies made it to my top 15, so I guess that was the catalyst. This movie is all about the slow deterioration of her health after her stroke up until her eventual death and her relationship with her husband. Amour is painstakingly real, maybe even a little too real and Riva's portrayal of every stage of her deterioration gets a lot of credit for that. However, at the same time she also provides some of the rare lighter moments of the movie like running her husband over with her new wheelchair. What Riva does with moments like these was one of the very important reasons for making it my favourite movie of the year.

Sridevi in English Vinglish: To those unaware of who Sridevi is, she was one of the most popular actresses in the Hindi film industry in '80s and '90s however she hasn't really worked much since then. So in a way, this also marks her return to her glory days though I have no idea if it is for just this one film or she is thinking seriously about it but either ways, this is quite a return. I've always had issues with her voice and the manner in which she speaks which was really distracting. It didn't magically vanish in English Vinglish but by making her housewife considered insignificant by her own family director Gauri Shinde managed to use it to her advantage. To Sridevi's credit, she brings out the vulnerabilities of her character beautifully which makes her overall journey even more remarkable. Her sweet mannerisms make us like her character and genuinely care for her, quite an achievement for someone who would very easily annoy me.

Rachel Weisz in The Deep Blue Sea: When I saw The Deep Blue Sea, I did not know that this is a remake. After watching this, I checked out the older 1955 movie. When I saw Vivien Leigh played the part that Weisz plays, of Hester in original, I smiled to myself. Knowing what I know about Leigh, it made me a little sad but I thought Vivien Leigh would have been perfect for this role. Hester's love is self-destructing. I don't mean to get too philosophical but after something like the underground train station scene in this movie, I feel like nobody should love anyone so much that it hurts if you aren't loved as much in return. Cinematography and more importantly background score of this movie deserve good part of credit for it but every time you see Weisz on screen, there is so much yearning, there is so much pining, it wrenches your heart. My heart sinks a little even thinking of her now.

And with this, I am done with you 2012!! So what did you think of them? Are they really as worthy as I think? Did I miss someone?  Please let me know in the comments.

Wrapping it up: January 2013

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. I am still playing catch-up with 2012 movies and probably will keep on in February. Basically, I have seen everything I wanted to except Les Miserables(2012), which I am still not sure if I want to but I guess I will have to. Probably after that I will have my Top 10 of 2012 lists along with the male and female performances to cap off the year-end lists that I have already done like this and this. Hopefully it will be sometime in February, if not definitely first thing into March. Let us get into what I saw in the month of January.

January

The Sessions(2012): I am really surprised myself by how much I liked this movie. It was indeed a remarkable story which perfectly balanced between the melodrama and ickiness that might come with the territory of the subject. John Hawkes, who unfortunately missed the nomination, gets the majority of the credit for making it so enjoyable without making this a Lifetime movie but Helen Hunt has to get a credit for keeping it real, despite being naked most of the time. It shall be very high in my End-of-Year list.

The Imposter(2012): It has to be one of the best documentaries I have seen. For the most part, I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. Initially, it befuddled me that Nicholas' family was ready to accept that guy as a member of their family, which I could not believe even for one second. But as the events unfolded, they just blew my mind away. I have no idea what to believe and what not to believe. But the most disturbing thing to me was remorseless, casual look in Frederic Bourdain's eye and the fact that he even has a life now.  

Cool Hand Luke(1967): This was a great way to start 2013. Off course main catalyst for me to go and see this movie was Paul Newman in one of his most iconic roles and his 50 eggs in one hour scene. I certainly got all that but after watching first 45 minutes or so of the movie, I did not expect it get dark and go where it eventually did for even a minute and I have to commend the director for taking it there. It literally took this movie to a whole new level.

Django Unchained(2012): Tarantino's latest is a pure bliss in a typical Tarantino way. For the first time in his career, I felt like Tarantino was getting little indulgent and could have edited it to make it a little shorter, but that did not in any way stop me from enjoying this. Almost everyone in the cast did a great job and as usual he had a kick-ass soundtrack. Last thirty minutes or so of the movie, when things start going south, took me a little by surprise but that was by far, the most enjoyable part of the movie.

Silver Linings Playbook(2012): Off course, I have been meaning to see this movie before making the end-of-year lists but after getting nominated in every damn category possible for the Oscars, this movie immediately became a must watch. Great acting all around is the biggest attraction here but for a movie that is essentially a romantic movie, this movie does go well beyond the usual limit in all aspects, characters are more drawn out, story is much more developed and even emotions much stronger.

Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937): My Blind Spot for this month. I wanted to make the first one special. So, I chose something that has been a milestone film so many years. From the point of view of story, it was pretty straight forward and very normal story. No surprises there but what surprised me really was how beautiful this 75 year-old movie looked, even by today's standards. It was also such a thourough professional job, it was hard to believe it is first animated feature.

Reservoir Dogs(1992)(Re-Watch): For various reasons, I had a very sketchy memory of this movie. There are other movies that I saw earlier than Dogs and still remember more than this but somehow this was blurry. So, before I finally wrote my profile on Tarantino I gave it another go and I am happy to say that it is just as awesome as everyone says it is, despite now being 20 year old.

Zero Dark Thirty(2012): One of the movies I wanted to catch before doing my Top 10 list of the year. I had couple of small problems with it which I attribute to the fact that I am such a big fan of Homeland(2011) and it has set standards high but given some time, this movie found its footing and by the end made quite an impression on me. I think I will give the credit to its intense story and great cast led from the front by Jessica Chastain.

The Longest Day(1962): Second World War has always fascinated me to no end. I must have seen or read 50 different movies and books about various aspects of it but yet every time I see something new, I jump on it. Now when you talk about D-Day, first thing that comes to my mind is Saving Private Ryan(1998) and hence my expectations were high. Good thing about this "All Things D-Day" epic was it stood up to those expectations. It ends kinds abruptly, but I respect their decision of doing one thing and doing it right. 

Killing Them Softly(2012): I have no idea why people didn't like this movie so much. It is like a slow death but even then it was really interesting to me. I also loved the idea of using the actual economical meltdown as a backdrop. I do not know if there is any connection but there were quite a few people The Sopranos(1999) in this movie. James Gandolfini was pretty much wasted but Brad Pitt and Richard Jenkins more than made up for it.

Game Change(2012): The best thing about this extremely well-acted movie was it made me feel for Sarah Palin. For Sarah Palin. I am sure for many of us, like me, she has been nothing but a constant source of amusement since 2008. I mean at one point of time, I have spent days sifting through anything I can get on Internet about everything and everywhere she bombed and have had many a laughs on it. I still think she was hilarious but I will think little different of her now. 
 

Flight(2012): Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of those movies which have one great performance that is truly noteworthy but fail to offer anything more than that. Denzel Washington killed his role with almost perfection. Every single scene, every single emotion. He was simply on fire but I had problem with the script. In my expectation, it needed to focus more on the case which probably would have made it more interesting.

Sister(2012): Switzerland's official submission for this year's Oscars. Even though this did not make it to the last 5, it was in the 9 and I heard good things about it. After watching it, I feel like it was a very good story, it was very well built as well and Lea Seydoux with Kacey Mottet Klein playing her brother turned up with great performances but I kinda left me stranded in the end. It felt like it hasn't gone anywhere after two hours. I wanted a little definitive ending, make it good, make it bad - just give me something to hold on to.

Safety Not Guaranteed(2012): When I saw the trailer, it intrigued me. I even had some hopes since the reaction had been positive. As much as Aubrey Plaza was trying to save this movie for me, Mark Duplass kept bringing it down. She was really charming in her role and seems to have caught the nerve of her character perfectly. In case of Duplass, he just looked stupid and pretty much had the same expression on in every situation. Thanks God for the side cast and decent story that didn't make this unbearable.

ParaNorman(2012): It had an interesting concept that will work much better in the animation medium. It was a sweet movie, characters were mostly fun and voice-over acting was pretty good. But despite all that, it's story never really captured me. It had so many themes in it that it touched but never went much beyond scratching the surface of any of them and the worst part is it failed in holding my attention for the entire run and I was even bored by the end. It isn't bad but could have been much better.

Four Rooms(1995): Having four different stories directed by four different directors makes judging this movie as a whole kinda challenging, especially since I had polar opposite reactions to the two of the stories. I absolutely hated the first story whereas last one I thought was perfect. Second story was nothing special except THE dialogue and third was quite OK, only because of the little girl. Overall, Tim Roth and company did a lot of over-acting in every single one of the stories and only felt justified in the Tarantino one, where it was least.

Tabu(2012): Excruciatingly slow and weird. Most of the actors looked awkward, uncomfortable in their roles, except Ana Moreira playing young Aurora who looked amazing. I am not sure if they were supposed to or were just incapable of but almost all of them had no trace of emotion anywhere to be seen. It really was a strange movie, so strange that I am surprised I made it to the end. For most of the time, I wasn't sure what's going on and unfortunately, I wasn't even intrigued enough to make much of an effort.

Mujhse Freaaandship Karoge(2011): It is very rare that I pull out a movie out of a hat and watch it without any pretext and when it comes to Hindi movies, my senses have become so strong that I almost repel most of them away before even considering. I have no idea how this one slipped through all of them and how and why I ended up watching it because it was just as dumb, as predictable and as formulaic as I thought. But Damn!! it was fun and kinda cute. I have no regrets watching this.

Metropolitan(1990): I am not sure what was I expecting from this movie but I did hear it mentioned a couple of times here and there. Initially it looked interesting and different and even though most of the actors were unknown, they seemed right for the part. But then it basically kept on repeating the same thing, going from one night to another and from one party to other and got obnoxious and really uninteresting very fast. Ending did give it a little life but I think it was little too late.

Strictly Ballroom(1992): It took some time for me to get used to the whole set-up - their accents, their costumes, make-ups and very loud acting. It was all very peculiar. It seemed like 20 years that have passed since the release haven't been very kind to it. I kinda settled after 30 minutes or so and just about started enjoying it when story started to fail me. I was literally sitting there predicting what's going to happen next. I liked the leading couple but everything else failed miserably for me.

This is 40(2012): I have no idea why I went to see this but I did. It was bad. It was Gross, it was shallow, it was stupid. I really didn't have much expectations from it but even then it managed to disappoint me. When The Hollywood Reporter did their roundtable discussions, writer was my least favourite discussion. Now after watching it, I think they were out of their mind to call Judd Apatow there. After this I am taking a solemn oath of not watching anything that Judd Apatow ever touches. It was that bad. Remind me if I ever forget.

Total Count:21. 20 First Time Watches and 1 Re-watch .

Not the biggest of the month but I have to blame the majority of it on Netflix and The West Wing(1999). Somewhere around Christmas, Netflix released complete The West Wing on Instant. I have been meaning to watch it for quite some time and fortunately because of the mid-season break and the fact that I just finished watching The Sopranos(1999), I could afford to something different. So, I started watching it and around 25 days later, I was done with all the 7 seasons. That's the fastest I have finished the whole series, Ever. Off course, as a by-product, my movie watching suffered a bit but it happens. I loved The West Wing. So no regrets.

2013 YTD Count

Total Count: 21. 20 First Time Watches and 1 Re-watches.

So, how was your month ? Did you see anything interesting ? What do you think of the movies I saw ? Any favorites ?

Awards Watch: SAG and Globe Nominations

This past week has been crazy and I am not talking about all the awards frenzy going around. I would have loved to do a separate post about these, especially since I think Globes more often than not get a little weird but my personal timetable has made it impossible to do so. So, like I did last year, I am combining Globes and SAG nominations and my brief thoughts on it in a single post. I also limited myself to the major categories - Acting, Directing and Picture only.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

                                           Drama                                                                         Comedy or Musical

                           Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln                                              Jack Black - Bernie

                            Richard Gere - Arbitrage                                 Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

                         John Hawkes - The Sessions                                       Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

                        Joaquin Phoenix - The Master                                     Bill Murray - Hyde Park on Hudson

                         Denzel Washington - Flight                               Ewan McGregor - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

  
SAG

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

John Hawkes - The Sessions

Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

Denzel Washington – Flight

I guess I can complain about Joaquin Phoenix not being in the mix-up for SAG but his own doings seems to have bite him. I still think it's between him and Jackman for the fifth spot for the Oscars. Otherwise, this is a pretty standard plate. Gere would have been my choice no.6, so I am happy to see him here and Bill Murray and Ewan Mcgregor in comedy slate - well, they had to nominate 5 people right? 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

                                                Drama                                                                        Comedy or Musical

                   Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty                           Emily Blunt - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

                        Marion Cotillard - Rust & Bone                            Judi Dench - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

                           Helen Mirren - Hitchcock                                 Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

                       Naomi Watts - The Impossible                                          Maggie Smith – Quartet

                    Rachel Weisz - The Deep Blue Sea                                    Meryl Streep - Hope Springs

 

SAG

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Helen Mirren – Hitchcock

Naomi Watts - The Impossible

SAG had Quvezhane Wallis and rest of the Beasts of the Southern Wild cast disqualified, so she isn't here. From the word in the air, I had Helen Mirren high up in the mix but because of the abysmal reviews, I didn't expect to see her. Chastain, Cotillard and Lawrence should be locks for Oscar now. Naomi Watts should get a great boost but personally, I would have loved to see Emmanuelle Riva somewhere in here.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

                             SAG                                                                               Globe

               Alan Arkin – Argo                                                                Alan Arkin – Argo

           Javier Bardem – Skyfall                                                   Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained

Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook                                   Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

 Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master                                              Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

       Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln                                              Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Where did Javier Bardem come from? I ain't complaining, I loved him Skyfall but it is so unexpected even after his Critics choice nomination. Everyone seems to be complaining about Matthew McConaughey not getting nominated and Alan Arkin getting nominated but I am OK with both mainly since I haven't seen Magic Mike yet. I might change my stance after but for now, I will keep it shut. Right now my money is on Arkin, De Niro, Hoffman, Jones and someone from Django, hopefully Leonardo DiCaprio, to get nominated for Oscars.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

                            SAG                                                                                                   Globe

            Sally Field - Lincoln                                                          Amy Adams - The Master

   Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables                                                    Sally Field - Lincoln

        Helen Hunt – The Sessions                                                Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables

     Nicole Kidman – The Paperboy                                                  Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Maggie Smith - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel                               Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy

Now, this is where I have biggest problem. WHERE IS AMY ADAMS? She was fabulous in The Master. I won't judge Kidman since I haven't seen her in the film but there is NO WAY Maggie Smith is better than her. For once, I am going to side with Globes and say that's the lineup I want to see. And yes, everyone keeps saying this is Anne Hathaway's award to loose but didn't Sally Field win more critics award? I am not taking sides, I just think it's early to close this race.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

                                               Drama                                                                 Comedy or Musical

                                                 Argo                                               The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

                               Django Unchained                                                Les Misérables

                                     Life of Pi                                                    Moonrise Kingdom

                                      Lincoln                                                 Salmon Fishing in Yemen

                                 Zero Dark Thirty                                           Silver Linings Playbook

SAG

Argo

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

I know I am comparing Best Ensamble SAG with Best Film in Globes but I think that is the only way. What's with Marigold Hotel over The Master or maybe Zero Dark Thirty? Isn't that a critic darling or something? I could complain about Globes Comedy but they have three serious contenders and again, they HAD to fill 5 spots right? Right now I think that Argo, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings and Les Misérables will make it in Oscars. I don't know beyond that and I don't even want to predict how many nominees will be there?

Best director - Globes

Ben Affleck for Argo

Katherine Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg for Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained 

I am happy for Tarantino though personally I was expecting PTA over him. I am also not sure how much does it affect Tom Hooper or David O. Russell's chances since as far as I know, they were in much more contention than QT. As per the rest four, Affleck, Bigelow and Spielberg are pretty much lock I think and I also think Lee has a very good chance of getting in. Come Oscar time however, I think Hooper or Russell would still close up the group.

What do you think? Who do you think was snubbed? Any unexpected surprises?