Top 10 Oscar-Winning Male Performances

Russell Crowe at the 2001 ceremony.

Again, I looked at both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor performances. Unlike the female performances list, two supporting performances made the cut.

Top 10 Oscar-Winning Female Performances

Juliette Binoche at the 1997 ceremony.

In compiling this list, I looked at both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress winners. No supporting ladies made the list, but performances by actresses like Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), and Mo'Nique (Precious) were in the running.

Reaction: Gangster Squad (2013)

An absurd, slick, and violent mob mess that, despite competent performances and attractive visuals, never strays from familiar territory. That said, I really liked it. 

Rating: ***

Review: The Set-Up (1949)

"Stoker" (Ryan) has his hands full.

Directed by Robert Wise
Produced by Richard Goldstone
Written by Art Cohn (screenplay); Joseph Moncure March (poem)
Starring Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter, and Wallace Ford

Best Screenplays: 2000s

Best Adapted Screenplay:

2000: Traffic (Stephen Gaghan)

Oscar winner: Traffic (Stephen Gaghan)

Double Feature: Separate Tables (1958) & M*A*S*H (1970)

Separate Tables - ****

Featuring the talents of Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Burt Lancaster, and Wendy Hiller, this Oscar-winning drama is based on Terence Rattigan's play, which follows the residents of a British beachside resort. At the forefront are a retired major (Niven), a timid woman (Kerr), her mother (Gladys Cooper), a charming alcoholic (Lancaster), his ex-wife (Hayworth), and the manager (Hiller), among other residents. When a scandal arises with the major, the majority of the household must decide what to do with him, while other conflicts arise between them. However, the alcoholic, his ex-wife, and the manager are caught in a love triangle that must end one way or the other. As a result, several relationships are tested, and the past must be dragged up if these pressing matters are ever to be settled. With such a fine group of classic actors and the juicy melodrama, it's no surprise this received a deserved Best Picture nomination.

Blind Spot: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1921)

Cesare and Dr. Caligari.

Directed by Robert Wiene
Produced by Rudolf Meinert and Erich Pommer (both uncredited)
Written by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz
Starring Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, and Friedrich Feher

Review: Broken City (2013)

Russell Crowe hires Marky Mark.

Directed by Allen Hughes
Produced by Remington Chase, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Allen Hughes, Stephen Levinson, Arnon Milchan, Teddy Schwarzman, and Mark Wahlberg
Written by Brian Tucker
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Natalie Martinez, and Jeffrey Wright

2012 CinSpec Awards

Holy Motors (dir. Leos Carax)

Now that I've posted my top 10 list, here is my 2012 awards ballot. Not surprisingly, the leaders this year are Cloud Atlas and Holy Motors with 8 and 7 nominations apiece. However, I like to spread the love, so there should be a surprise or two.

Note: Winners are in yellow. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

If you missed them, you can also check out my updated 2011 and 2010 ballots.

Updated: 7/22/15

Best Screenplays: 1990s

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1990: Goodfellas (Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese)

Oscar winner: Dances with Wolves (Michael Blake)

Was this nominated?: Yes

Top 10 Films of 2012

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

Let's get right to it. 2012 was a solid year for films, ranging from highbrow ones like The Master to genre fare like The Raid: Redemption. In fact, I had a really hard time narrowing my list to ten, so I've included the also-rans below. There are some films, such as Barbara, Sister, The Intouchables, Tabu, and Wuthering Heights, that I won't see for weeks or even months, but this list is pretty close to official.

2012 Ratings Archive

Argo (dir. Ben Affleck)

Here's my ratings/reviews for all of the 2012 films I've seen (based on U.S. release dates). I'll update this as I see more, but you can find this post linked on the Reviews page.

Oscar Oddity #7: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Now that Oscar nominations have been revealed, I wanted to find an obscure statistic for this year's batch of nominees. One I did come across concerns Beasts of the Southern Wild, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Benh Zeitlin), Best Actress (Quvenzhane Wallis), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Mini-Reviews: Amour and Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Best Screenplays: 1980s

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1980: Ordinary People (Alvin Sargent)

Oscar winner: Ordinary People (Alvin Sargent)

85th Oscar Nominations Announced

So, the Oscar nominations landed this morning...

Top 10 Oscar Surprises I've Seen Live

Not shocking, but a fun win from last year.

Oscar nominations drop in less than 24 hours, so here's a special list.

Final Oscar Predictions

The votes have been procured, and I see 12 nods for Lincoln.

On Thursday, January 10, the Academy Award nominees will be announced by Emma Stone and Oscar host Seth MacFarlane, marking the first time a host will announce the nominations. (Thanks to AwardsDaily for the heads up!)

Review: The Impossible (2012)

Maria (Watts) and Lucas (Holland).

Directed by J.A. Bayona
Produced by Belén Atienza, Álvaro Augustín, Ghislain Barrois, and Enrique López Lavigne
Written by Sergio G. Sánchez (screenplay); María Belón (story)
Starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura, Sönke Möhring, and Geraldine Chaplin

10 Things to Know Before the Oscar Noms

With the Oscar nominations coming later this week, I thought it would be fun to mention a few stats and reminders before they arrive. These are a random assortment, but maybe you'll find something interesting.

Best Screenplays: 1970s

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1970: M*A*S*H (Ring Lardner, Jr.)

Oscar winner: M*A*S*H (Ring Lardner, Jr.)

Movie Jail Relay Race

Nostra of My Film Views and Terrence of The Focused Filmographer have created a relay race in which we put people in jail.

Films I Saw in December

Holy Motors (dir. Leos Carax)

The Best:
Alps (x2) - ****
Django Unchained - ****
Headhunters - ****
Holy Motors - ****
The Kid with a Bike - ****
Killing Them Softly - ***1/2
Les Misérables (x2) - ****
Shoeshine - ****
The Son - ****
The Turin Horse - ****

More after the cut.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year, readers! Special blog awards post coming later today. Monthly viewing post will be up tomorrow.