Editor’s note: Welcome to the twentieth of a 33-part series dissecting the 83rd Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!
by Aiden from Cut the Crap Movie Reviews
Alright, you know what the shit this is all about, so let’s cut to the chase:
John Hawkes for Winter’s Bone
Not gonna get it, but love that he’s nominated. As if having a recurring role in Eastbound & Down wasn’t awesome enough, here comes Hawkes as Teardrop - the most badass backwoods hillbilly uncle in the trailer park - and he deserves the recognition for his performance just as much as Jennifer Lawrence does hers. Love actors who manage to get so much across with so little effort and that’s exactly what Hawkes did better than anyone else in this category. Too bad he’s a no-name these days, but here’s to hoping he gets his due and becomes a household name in no time flat.
Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech
Probably won’t get it, but it’s so damn good to see him at the top of his game for the first time since Shine. All those Pirates of the Caribbean movies are forgiven, generally everything that wasn’t Shine or Quills has been forgiven thanks to his performance as King Bertie’s speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Dude was a fantastic complement to Firth, had the best lines in the movie and it was such a refreshing reminder of what Rush is actually capable of when he’s not cashing in fatass checks from Jerry Bruckheimer.
Jeremy Renner for The Town
How he got a nod over Andrew Garfield is truly one of history’s mysteries. I mean, he was fine in The Town, but what the fuck? Like anyone walked out of the theater and thought, “Someone give that Jeremy Renner an Oscar for this performance of a lifetime!” Nothing against the guy, it’s not that he’s a bad actor or anything, I just have no effing clue where this nom came from.
Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right
Not gonna get it, but for a guy who hasn’t really left an impression on me since You Can Count on Me, he was legit as sperm donor Terry Prescott. I realize that might be blasphemy considering that everyone loves Mark Ruffalo, but he was fun, he added a great dynamic to an already interesting premise and I don’t have a bad thing to say about him. That “maybe he’s stoned, maybe he’s not” shtick of his worked wonders, but alas, he’s not gonna get it.
Christian Bale for The Fighter
Oh yeah, he’s gonna get it. Homey’s got this one in the bag, folks. Up until recently, Bale’s been known for three things: being a total badass, being in Newsies, and single-handedly destroying his body by gaining and losing weight fast than a relapsed Biggest Loser contestant. Granted, he’s still known for all these things and will probably keep on doing ‘em until his central nervous system entirely collapses, but his turn here as Dicky Eklund is the first time since American Psycho that Bale’s really gone outside of his comfort zone and shown that he’s got range that any actor would kill for. Amazing that a Welsh guy with the physical fitness record of Usain Bolt’s and Lou Ferrigno’s bastard love child managed to play a crackhead from Lowell, Mass. so convincingly, but it really was one of the best performances of the year by a long shot. Then again, let’s not kid ourselves, it was only a matter of time for this guy.
Well, that’s it, folks. Word to your mother.
