My Winners: The 2003 Retro Hollmann Awards

I watched 79 films from 2003. I nominated 33 of them. And now - 11 winners. Here they are:

Best Supporting Actress, 2003

What a lineup, huh? We have Shohreh Aghdashloo giving a performance that made American critics and Hollywood sit up and take notice, Patricia Clarkson riding the momentum of 2002’s Far from Heaven and her other 2003 indie The Station Agent, Marcia Gay Harden returning in a Best Picture nominee after her shocking Oscar win in 2000, Holly Hunter back for the first time since her 1993 double-header, and Renee Zellweger on her third consecutive nomination after just missing out on a win the previous year (so we assume, anyway). Zellweger had the ol' "When are we giving it to her already?" going for her, and just like Tim Robbins, her win was considered "in the bag":

The performances, ranked from 5th to 1st:

The 1987 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part Two

Finally, the finale of our 1987 retrospective: Part Two of the Retro Hollmann Awards.

Nominations are here. Part One is here.

And now....

Best Director

Jûzô Itami

Tampopo

2. James L. Brooks for Broadcast News; 3. Bernardo Bertolucci for The Last Emperor; 4. Steven Spielberg for Empire of the Sun; 5. John Huston for The Dead

Itami's satirical chops are on display in both The Funeral and Tampopo, but the latter is truly remarkable for the way it combines comical observations on the culture, etiquette and fetishization of food with loving tributes to various genres: western, romance, gangster pic, erotica, etc. It's hilarious, even absurd, yet there's a throat-catching beauty to Tampopo's hopes, to a homeless man's attention to cuisine, to a dying man's final words to his mistress being a cherished recipe. There's a real fascination and love of life and people here.

In second, James L. Brooks' finds the right comic tone in Broadcast News. In third, Bernardo Bertolucci's epic intimacy in The Last Emperor. In fourth, Steven Spielberg's staggering scale in Empire of the Sun. In fifth, John Huston's authentic party dynamics in The Dead.

Best Actress, Best Picture, and more after the jump - starting with Best Original Screenplay....

Best Actress, 1987

On Twitter, the great Nick Davis, a man who has seen every performance nominated for the Best Actress Oscar from 1927 through to the present, named 1987 as among the greatest lineups in the category's history.  From my limited exposure, I may have to agree. Each nominee is a gay-gasp icon, every performance perfectly realized, and here's the fun part: there are more Best Picture nominees here than in Best Actor, a rarity. And I just love that we get to say "Academy Award-winning actress Cher."

More, after the jump...

SAG Award Nominations

The film nominees for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as announced this morning by the very giddy duo of Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash.

Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound

Hong Chau, Downsizing

Holly Hunter, The Big Sick

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

My predictions: 3/5 - Octavia Spencer missed out, which surprises me; so did Julia Roberts, but I knew that was a risky prediction. Four of these ladies also showed up on the Golden Globes' lineup; the real winner, in spirit, is Holly Hunter.

More surprises, after the jump.

1993 Retro Hollmann Awards: The Longlists

Trying to at least get this in before midnight on the East Coast.

As is tradition, the precursor to my Hollmann Awards are the longlists. There are, at most, 15 finalists in each of the 18 categories. Some categories didn't make it to 15; those that fall under this umbrella have the number of finalists in parentheses.

BEST PICTURE

Carlito's Way
Dazed and Confused
Farewell My Concubine
Groundhog Day
Jurassic Park 
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Orlando
The Remains of the Day
Ruby in Paradise
Schindler's List
Searching for Bobby Fischer 
Six Degrees of Separation
Three Colors: Blue 
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway 

Varying Volumes: Actress, 1993

The Oscars chose two flawless performances; one powerhouse bio; a rich curiosity; and Debra Winger, which is a shame, because there was a lot to choose from this year.

Holly Hunter SWEPT the season for The Piano

Old Friends Revisited: Supporting Actress, 1993

Two actresses find themselves double-nominated; two finally get their due; and a ten-year-old defeats them all!

Anna. Paquin. Fierceness.

Casting Coup Month: Forrest Gump

NOMINATIONS

Best Picture (WON)

Best Director - Robert Zemeckis (WON)

Best Actor - Tom Hanks (WON)

Best Supporting Actor - Gary Sinise

Best Adapted Screenplay - Eric Roth (WON)

Best Cinematography - Don Burgess

Best Editing - Arthur Schmidt (WON)

Best Original Score - Alan Silvestri

Best Art Direction

Best Makeup

Best Sound

Best Sound Effects Editing

Best Visual Effects (WON)

Now, I hope you've all seen Andrew's Casting series over at the LAMB Blog. Recently, we did Forrest Gump, the big champion of 1994. It's one of those beloved movies that has its fair share of vocal detractors -- I'm one of them. Now, I understand that it's well-directed, boasts powerful VFX, and the performances are quite good. Forrest Gump the character irritates me to no end, but there's no denying that Tom Hanks is 100% committed to the performance.

There's also no denying the popularity of the film. And Casting Coups shouldn't just be about what I like to see; I need to think about others, too. Consider this my gift to those of you who admire Forrest Gump, or love it, or wonder what a recent version would look like.

Of course, some of you may be wondering, "Hey, isn't this just the same thing that appeared on Andrew's LAMB Casting feature not too long ago? What's the point of giving this to us again?" Well, here I get to justify some of my choices, so you understand how my mind works. Many thanks to Andrew, by the way, for hosting that LAMB Casting, and for reminding me about the difficulty that comes in casting and making movies. No matter how I might feel about the film itself, you have to love something when you cast it. You don't want to dishonor the story, the audience, or yourself. Every film is a labor of love, even saccharine messes like Forrest Gump.

Without any more ado...after the jump:

Smackdown Sunday!

If you haven't already, check out StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1993, in which the hostess and I disagree on Winona Ryder and Rosie Perez, I defend my subjectivity, and an all-around good time is had by all.

These are all always fun to read and reflect upon, and I often find myself reading years in which I've seen none of the films, just to savor the brilliance of the writing. It's a pretty solid panel, and I think the range of hearts (I rated four where many did not) shows what an interesting year it was for the category -- though, as Alex in Movieland points out, not a particularly strong one.

So...did my beloved Winona Ryder win? Did Piano fans re-reward Anna Paquin? Or was it a surprise attack from under-used Holly Hunter? Seriously, don't keep reading this. Go over to StinkyLulu's RIGHT NOW.

Supporting Actress Smackdown '93: The Firm

This Sunday, I am taking part for a third time in the Supporting Actress Smackdown hosted by StinkyLulu. Five movies will be screened, with the Oscar-nominated supporting actress performances reviewed and rated. The year is 1993.

THE FIRM



It's hard to take this movie completely seriously after seeing The Informant!. Tom Cruise plays a young lawyer who joins a firm with a dark secret...one they are willing to kill for! It's one of those movies where you know the DVD summary has exclamation points after every sentence. Because it's a THRILLER full of SUSPENSE and ACTION!

Well, hell! I had fun! What I've learned from watching John Grisham movies (because I've never read his books) is that they operate on the ridiculous, on high fives and America and sexy lawyers! And I can totally roll with that. Besides, my girlfriend's future brother-in-law is in law school and looks like Tom Cruise, so I feel like I'm not supporting him if I don't give the film my approval.

I mean, come on. Gene Hackman and Hal Holbrook and Wilford Brimley are there to give the class act. Tom Cruise and David Strathairn arrive for sex appeal. Gary Busey is terrifying. And, of course, we have our strong, brilliant women: Jeanne Tripplehorn, who, playing Cruise's wife, has to recite aggressively heavy-handed lines imaginable; and Oscar-nominated Holly Hunter.



Holly Hunter has a teeny tiny role as the Tennessee gal who helps Cruise's character out with taking down the Firm. The role itself isn't much, but she's a hoot. With her hot-pink press-ons, rainbow of wigs, and DSL, Hunter is as sexy as she is great to watch. And yeah, her proclivity for oral sex saves her life, and sure, her outfits are all about titties, titties, titties (and legs, too), but she's so much more than just the dumb sexy girl. For one thing, the character helps bring down a group of powerful, wealthy men, and it's to Hunter's credit that we never doubt her street smarts. From early on, she lets on that she's got as much brains as she does boobs. Let's not forget: she approaches Cruise, and her terrified determination to see justice done is fascinating: shaky hands, set jaw. Hell yeah.

I can't explain it, I'm sorry. I see Fearless, I think "OK". I see The Piano, I think "OK". I see delightful trash like The Firm, I think "YES"! That's the way I roll. As Julia Child says, "Never apologize."

The Film: ***
The Supporting Actress: ****