Non-Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

I have not yet seen Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine, nor Julia Roberts in August: Osage County.  I thought that Jennifer Lawrence was fine in American Hustle, but not the eye-opening performance many found.  June Squibb was an absolute scene-stealer in the best way in Nebraska and earned a well deserved nomination.  Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o gave the best showing of the five with her difficult role in 12 Years a Slave.

Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station
Melonie Diaz gave an incredibly impressive debut in Fruitvale Station.  She plays Oscar Grant's long suffering girlfriend.  And in the hands of Diaz this character certainly suffers, but she also loves and supports.  This is a smart character that is not just dependent on a man, Diaz gifts her with a lot of strength that is important later on in the movie.  Diaz has great chemistry with Michael B. Jordan and that incredibly expands the world of the lead character.  One of many performers that I really hope to see again soon.

Adepero Oduye, 12 Years a Slave

Crying on film is sometimes seen as cheap and manipulative.  It is certainly true that actors will cry for an Oscar, but there are still performers who can break down and make the audience feel.  I remember Adepero Oduye's character vividly, even with her limited screentime.  Oduye gives one of the most harrowing portrayals of a grieving mother that I have ever seen.  There is just something about the way she constantly cries after being separated from her child that is so tragic.  And then there is her standing up to Solomon Northrup for her feelings.  After being yelled at to stop crying she turns around and lashes out on the film's leading character.  It is one of the most powerful moments of an incredibly powerful film.

Margot Robbie, Wolf of Wall Street
There are certainly sex bomb roles that rely solely on sex appeal.  Girls are definitely cast just because they look pretty.  Then there is Margot Robbie who is portraying a very sexual role and forces you to acknowledge her acting.  Margot Robbie completely owns every scene she is in and is an intimidating force against the much more experienced Leonardo DiCaprio.  There is a fearlessness to her character and an intimidation that sticks with you.  This is the type of character that can affect the superficial Jordan Belfort.  Robbie in the role of a victim really has some incredible strength that is one of the most memorable things about the long film.

Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
She may be too young for the role and may not have much screen time, but you don't care because Octavia Spencer owns every second of screen time as Oscar Grant's mother.  One of the film's many highlights is a scene between an incarcerated Oscar Grant and his mother.  The scene is reliant on its two actors and Octavia Spencer gives a tour de force performance.  She shows love to her son, but she also shows disappointment.  There is something that sticks with you about Octavia Spencer's expressions in the jail.  There is so much emotion coming out of her small performance that fuels the rest of the movie.  Octavia Spencer helps the audience understand that Oscar Grant was a man with a mother who loved him and demanded better of him.  Which is of course so tragic that he lived up to that, but not for long enough.

Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Early buzz was all around Oprah in this role.  She may have been overhyped, I remember seeing this with high expectations and not thinking that her performance was anything special.  But after looking back upon my two viewings this really was a great performance.  It was not a big, showy role but she supports the movie.  She completes the family that is made up of Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo. She shows conflict in Whitaker's home life while maintaining the family's connection with Oyelowo.  Oprah really represents the home life and family aspects of the Civil Rights movement.  She shows a side that isn't fighting externally, but struggling with some very relatable performances.  Getting her to act again was great for this movie.

Other Great Supporting Performances:

Alison Brie (Kings of Summer), Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug), Jena Malone (The Hunger Game: Catching Fire), Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave), Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave)

Non-Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

I have not seen Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club or Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips yet so I cannot judge those two.  Jonah Hill really stretched as an actor in Wolf of Wall Street and became an iconic character in that film.  Michael Fassbender was absolutely merciless in 12 Years a Slave and risked a lot in going all out with such a menacing character.  My favorite of the five is actually Bradley Cooper in American Hustle.  I honestly hoped that the film followed him more as he became much more sympathetic and fascinating.  I was really disappointed in the movie's end because it seemed like they were asking me to hate a character that I really grew to love.

Will Forte, Nebraska
This was a surprising casting decision that really paid off.  Will Forte gives an incredibly understated performance that has unfortunately been overlooked.  He is easily overshadowed by his co-stars because his character is one who is forced to react to others.  Which Forte does perfectly, he definitely excels in the "supporting" aspect of being a supporting actor.  But Forte portrays a three-dimensional character with his own complete backstory and motives.  These things don't receive focus, but the fact that they are so clearly there makes Forte's son character all the more effective.  He also plays a decency that the movie needs.  Career making performance for Forte that hopefully takes the great comedian places.

James Gandolfini, Enough Said
This was of course the last film starring James Gandolfini to be released and it is appropriately dedicated, "For Jim."  Gandolfini is very appropriately cast against type as a caring man with a chubby exterior.  Gandolfini is great with humor as he knows he doesn't look ideal, but he shows an extreme confidence in that.  Gandolfini has a confidence throughout the movie that really makes him attractive, but he still plays extremely vulnerable.  This is one of those characters that when he hurts, you hurt.  He is a genuine, nice guy that you really want to get to know.  You end up rooting for him more than the flawed lead.  This is not because Gandolfini takes unnecessary focus from Dreyfus, but because that is the way the story needs to work.  Gandolfini plays a surprising great romantic comedy love-interest and makes this a quality film that is worth seeing.

Cuba Gooding, Jr., The Butler
Watching Cuba Gooding, Jr. in The Butler I really could not believe that he had not been acting in better movies.  This was an eye-opening performance for an actor that I've always liked, but has had somewhat of a laughable career.  I really hope that The Butler earns him better work, because Gooding is such a great screen presence.  He can be funny when the movie needs someone to be funny or combative when the scene needs a conflict.  He even gets his own dramatic scene which is one of my favorites of the movie.  I am really naming Gooding because I enjoyed him so much.  There was something about this performance that I wanted to see more of.  I love supporting roles like this, the role is not much but the actor makes it something memorable.

Nick Offerman, Kings of Summer
There are of course comparisons that can be made to Ron Swanson, but Offerman inspires an entirely different reaction with this role.  You recognize that this character is difficult for his teenage son to love, but you can't help but sympathize with him even if you don't always like him.  This is a very believable father-son realtionship, Offerman and Nick Robinson play well off of one another.  Offerman also carries a lot of difficult backstory with him as this character is a widower and an unsure father.  Even before the movie gives that information he is clearly portraying a broken man.  This is a performance that is easily overlooked, but it is a vital character for the film that not everyone could have played in Offerman's specific way.

David Oyelowo, The Butler
The heart of The Butler hinges on the difficult father-son relationship and Oyelowo is certainly up to the challenge of acting against the father played by Forest Whitaker.  Oyelowo, a man in his thirties, believably plays this character from his teens to middle aged.  Oyelowo gifts his character with decency and hope, but there is definitely an anger that Oyelowo never overplays.  The movie often diverts to focus on his character and you are always interested in it, Oyelowo really carries his own varied subplots.  The absolute best scene of the movie is a dinner table scene where Oyelowo argues with Whitaker and it is one of those scenes that is amazing just because of the acting.  This was an important role that Oyelowo excels in and he should have received much more notice for it.

Other Great Supporting Performances:

So many.  There are always so many great supporting roles for men, I may do another post because several of these do deserve extra notice (Will Poulter and Colin Farrell in particular).  Moises Arias (Kings of Summer), Bob Balaban (Girl Most Likely), Sam Clafin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), George Clooney (Gravity), Sharlto Copley (Elysium), Robert De Niro (American Hustle), Kevin Durand (Fruitvale Station), Colin Farrell (Saving Mr. Banks), Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks), Danny McBride (This is the End), Matthew McConaughey (Mud), Fred Melamed (In a World), Sean Penn (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Will Poulter (We're the Millers)

Best Animated Feature Predictions

Predicted Five

Frozen
Pros: Disney has been on a roll, each of their last five films have been among the best reviewed films of their respective years.  This studio created the animated feature and continues to move the industry, they are definitely snubbed.  Early reviews and word of mouth for this is great.  If the box-office does well
Cons: A Disney feature has never won in this category, voters do not seem interested in the studio.  This category has a definite Pixar bias which could lead to Monsters University winning.  The revered status of Hayao Miyazaki could also put The Wind Rises as the front runner.  If Frozen's box-office is not good, or even not as comparable to Monsters University and Despicable Me 2, then it may not win.

The Wind Rises

Pros: The final film of the revered Hayao Miyazaki, who previously won in 2002 and was nominated in 2005.  The reviews and word of mouth has been amazing.  The mature content and traditional animation will make this stand out.

Cons: A traditionally animated movie has only won this award once.  Mature animated movies often don't even get nominated.  Disney will also be campaigning Monsters University and Frozen, which will have much bigger box-offices and name recognition.

Monsters University

Pros: As evidenced by Brave last year, voters always default to Pixar.  Monsters University surprised many people as a better movie than many expected and did great numbers at the box-office.  Many felt the original should have won in 2001.

Cons: Not everybody has been as kind to this movie, seems to be a stigma towards Pixar doing non-Toy Story sequels.  Frozen and Wind Rises seem to be stronger nominees.

Ernest and Celestine

Pros: GKids has done a great job at getting surprised nominations with Secret of Kells, Chico and Rita and A Cat in Paris.  This French film has gotten great word.  Artistry looks vastly different from the rest of the contenders.

Cons: If there are strong enough American features then the foreign features often are left off.  Needs a good campaign as this could easily be forgotten.  Academy does not always support traditional animation.  GKids may campaign other movies.

The Croods

Pros: Good reviews and good box-office.  Dreamworks is capable of campaigning to animation.  One of the stronger movies released in a weaker year for animation.

Cons: Early release and has already been forgotten by many.  Not as well liked as other nominees.

Runner-Ups

Despicable Me 2

Pros: Incredible box-office, the public has really latched onto this franchise.  Some may see the first, which was well liked, as snubbed.  If voters latched onto the Minions then they will like this movie.  This could surprise.

Cons: May not be as popular with voters as it is with general audiences.  No Illumination Animation movie has ever gotten far in the Oscar race.  Definitely not a sure thing.

Epic

Pros: A more mature feature with beautiful designs and animation.  This has a huge scale and is a real spectacle.  Fox could play up the environmental angle, which is what earned Happy Feet its Oscar.

Cons: This movie was quickly forgotten and did not do the best with critics.  Spectacle adventure cartoons like this do not do the best in this category (i.e. Rise of the Guardians), comedy that skews towards young audiences is clearly favorited.  Ice Age was the only Blue Sky movie to ever receive a nomination.

A Letter to Momo

Pros: GKids was able to get two nominations in a very strong 2011.  Good reviews.

Cons: Going to be less popular than Ernest and Celestine and Wind Rises.  Unlikely that three traditionally animated foreign films will be up for Oscars, especially since GKids is not as powerful of a distributor.

Turbo

Pros: Dreamworks may put effort into campaigning this to save face after this underperformed.

Cons: This did underperform, they are not likely to associate themselves with it.  Year is not weak enough for it to be considered.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Pros: The first one was seen as snubbed in 2009

Cons: People did not seem to like this one as much or even go to see it.  Just listing it here as a placeholder.