In the previous post - right here - we tackled the eighty-five films we saw as part of our third annual Oscars marathon. Now it's time to play Academy member and/or film critic extraordinaire: These are the films and performances that appealed to us, touched our souls, displayed some semblance of truth and humanity. Opinion, all of them, and opinions are welcome. Everything is listed in descending order, but as Ebert said, how indeed does one "rank" movies or acting? For consideration: 85 films, 74 male leads, 50 female leads, 93 supporting males, and 84 supporting females. We're proudly sort of obsessive-compulsive.
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I. SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
2. Michael Peña, End of Watch
3. Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
4. Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables
5. Simon Russell Beale, The Deep Blue Sea
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln; Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike; Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained; Samuel West, Hyde Park on Hudson; Francois Cluzet, The Intouchables; Javier Bardem, Skyfall; Domhnall Gleeson, Anna Karenina; Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook; Ben Wishaw, Cloud Atlas; Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Michael Shannon, Premium Rush; Tom Wilkinson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty; Rory Kinnear & Cillian Murphy, Broken; Samuel Jackson, Django Unchained; Christopher Abbott, Hello I Must Be Going; David Strathairn & James Spader, Lincoln; Michael Fassbender, Prometheus.
II. SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Doona Bae, Cloud Atlas
2. Helen Hunt, The Sessions
3. Emily Blunt, Looper
4. Samantha Barks, Les Miserables
5. Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Sally Field, Lincoln; Amy Adams, The Master; Diane Kruger, Farewell, My Queen; Olivia Colman, Hyde Park on Hudson; Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect; Kristin Scott Thomas, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen; Alice Englert, Ginger and Rosa; Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Kerry Washington, Django Unchained; Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Alicia Vikander, Anna Karenina; Kelly Reilly, Flight; Olivia Williams, Hyde Park on Hudson; Gina Gershon, Killer Joe; Moon Bloodgood, The Sessions; Allison Janney, Liberal Arts; Kylie Minogue, Holy Motors; Megalyn Echikunwoke, Damsels in Distress.
III. LEAD ACTOR
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
2. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
3. Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour
4. Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
5. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe; Tom Holland, The Impossible; Paul Dano, For Ellen; Denis Lavant, Holy Motors; Jack Black, Bernie; Chris O'Dowd, The Sapphires; Jung-jin Lee, Pieta; Richard Gere, Arbitrage; Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; Alan Cumming, Any Day Now; Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch; Jared Gilman, Moonrise Kingdom; Jesse Eisenberg, Why Stop Now; Denzel Washington, Flight; Matthew Goode, Burning Man; Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi; Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths.
IV. LEAD ACTRESS
1. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
2. Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
3. Nina Hoss, Barbara
4. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
5. Juno Temple, Little Birds
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook; Juno Temple, Killer Joe; Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice; Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea; Saskia Rosendahl, Lore; Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom; Naomi Watts, The Impossible; Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister; Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed; Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz; Amy Adams, Trouble with the Curve; Rachel Mwanza, War Witch.
V. THE TOP TEN FILMS
1. The Master
2. Cloud Atlas
3. Lincoln
4. Argo
5. Life of Pi
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. End of Watch
8. Zero Dark Thirty
9. Burning Man
10. Amour
THE NEXT SIXTEEN: Skyfall; Django Unchained; Liberal Arts; Moonrise Kingdom; Your Sister's Sister; Headhunters; Looper; Killer Joe; Silver Linings Playbook; Seven Psychopaths; Pieta; Why Stop Now; Jeff, Who Lives at Home; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; Prometheus; Little Birds.
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