Supporting Actor Preview – 2016 Oscars

A weirdo, a villain, a journalist, a spy and a has-been, the supporting actor category this year reads like some kind of bizarro Breakfast Club.

Like a disruptive Judd Nelson, it’s the has-been who has been getting all the attention.

Sylvester Stallone has been sweeping the awards circuit for his worn in role as the Rocky Balboa your dad always feared he would become.

Stallone’s only real competition here is Mark Rylance, a man who’s IMDb reads like a who’s who of movies you’ve never seen.

Can an unknown spy topple a creaky has-been?

Who could have been nominated?

The elephant in the room is Idris Elba, who through a combination of his film being a Netlflix joint and him not being white, missed out.

Others missing from the Golden Globe shortlist are Michael Shannon for 99 Homes and Paul Dano for Love & Mercy, but they were barely seen, forgotten films.

Steve Carrell (The Big Short), Michael Keaton (Spotlight), Chiwitel Ejiofor (The Martian) and Robert De Niro (Joy) all got lost in the wash during campaigns for their films.

Oscar Isaac continued his excellent form in Ex Machina, Christoph Waltz couldn’t bring is Tarantino magic to Spectre, while there were some rumblings around Harrison Ford for his performance in The Force Awakens, and but there was only room for one mediocre old-man performance in this category.

Who is nominated?

Christian Bale as Michael Burry in The Big Short

Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald in The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo as Michael Rezendes in Spotlight

Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Creed

The nominees:

Christian Bale

Why he will win: It takes a strong performance to stand out among a cast of Steve Carrell, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling and Bale’s weirdness created a character who was definitely memorable. He’s won this category before, so Bale knows how to rack up votes.
Why he wont win: Bale hasn’t won anything for his performance and The Big Short is firmly focused on getting over the line in the Best Picture category. Also, while he may have stood out against the big names, he actually wasn’t as good as Gosling.

Tom Hardy

Why he will win: Everybody admires Hardy for his commitment to roles and his brilliant ability to pull off difficult assignments. And he out-shone than Leonardo Fucking DiCaprio in Leo’s own movie.
Why he wont win: He also had to put on a weird accent and mumble a lot. Hardy doesn’t seem to care about this kind of stuff and puts on a too-cool for the industry persona that isn’t going to endear him to voters.

Mark Ruffalo

Why he will win: The best performance in a film that won the SAG for outstanding ensemble has to earn you something. Ruffalo has been kicking around doing great work for a long time now and is due some recognition.
Why he wont win: Much like Bale, Ruffalo hasn’t won anything and nobody is really concerned about his chances anyway. Back to back nominations is nothing to sniff at and Ruffalo will take a trophy eventually.

Mark Rylance

Why he will win: Rylance is a great combination. An adored stage performer who has taken mostly anonymous roles in films until now, and he is set to explode as his next two movies are with Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. Rylance’s layered performance is the best in this category and he brings a great calmness to a film that is always striving for chaos. This is the role that deserves a statue.
Why he wont win: There is just so much love for Stallone that Rylance could be drowned out. Both Bridge of Spies and Creed are solely focused on this award and Creed might just have a harder punch behind it.

Sylvester Stallone

Why he will win: That up swell of positivity when Stallone won the Golden Globe set a tone that continued through the awards season for Stallone. He hits the right notes in Creed and everyone is going to love him remembering to thank some coloured people on stage, he looks like the winner here.
Why he wont win: I don’t think anybody saw Creed and gasped into saying, “give Stallone an Oscar!”. He was fine but there was nothing amazing about his performance and with actors making up the biggest contingent of the academy, Rylance could get a boost from people who know what they are looking for. But, legacy speaks.

Who could win: Mark Rylance
Who should win: Mark Rylance
Who will win: Sylvester Stallone

Creed – Review

“I’m not a mistake”

It’s difficult to create a continuously entertaining fight movie.

Most films that take place partly in the ring are exceptional between the ding of the bell, but fall flat with poorly constructed drama between bouts.

2011’s Warrior pulled it off with a compelling family story line, 2015’s Southpaw failed miserably with a monotonous and cliched character arc.

Creed is a success, mostly, thanks to its leaning on the nostalgia of Sylvester Stallone and a love sub-plot that is mostly interesting.

Of course, when the punches are flying Creed takes off and beats to a strong drum when montages are running, but its in the quiet moments that Creed does the right things.

Stallone is excellent in those quiet moments and Michael B. Jordan continues to rise as a shining light among the new wave of acting.

It’s the parlay between those two that makes the movie tick during a seemingly endless training middle act, as Stallone’s Rocky Balboa acts his age, wheezing and stuttering into a cancer diagnosis.

This follows endless begging from Jordan’s Donnie Johnson, real name Adonis Creed, who has a biological urge to get angry and punch people, inside and outside competition.

Adonis’ love of the ring keeps him fighting despite a seemingly good job and a lot of wealth thanks to his assumed adoptive mother Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), who was married to the now deceased world-famous Apollo Creed (archive revived footage of Carl Weathers).

Adonis’ blind, continuous rage about being Apollo’s son and people who call him such drives his ambition to become his own fighter, which is commendable, but it gets grating.

When Adonis’ inability to accept simple name calling that is obviously going to be a big part of his life as a famous boxer breaks apart his burgeoning relationship with his neighbour Bianca (Tessa Thompson), it just seems like too much.

Sure he is an angry young man, that’s the point of the movie, but at some point he has to grow up and there is virtually no character change throughout the film.

It’s in those minutes – where Adonis yells and whinges about being a nobody when he refuses to be a somebody – that Creed drags on and feels too long.

But damn, when the bell rings and the fight begins, particularly the middle and final bout, with the remixed and modernised Rocky score from Ludwig Göransson swelling, Creed is excellent.

The brainchild of Ryan Coogler, or Fruitvale Station fame, Creed is a worthy reboot. Coogler’s work is fantastic as a director and it leads to a film that is memorable and just really enjoyable.

If you missed it, I have a new rating style. Read up on it here.

Direction/cinematography

There are two visual high points of Creed, both taking place during fights.

The first is a single take of an entire fight, including the camera flying into the corners for mid-fight meetings and patch ups. This scene is breathtaking thanks the quality and precision of the choreography.

The second high point comes in the middle of the final fight, where the lights are put out. Darkness envelops the crowd completely and Coogler makes sure the audience is aware that boxing at its best can be a stunning man on man battle.

When the gloves come off, Coogler keeps things steady, which leads to those satisfying high points.

1.5/2

Screenplay

As mentioned above, Creed certainly drags at certain times.

It’s difficult for sports movies to keep pace when the lights go out, and Creed’s use of Rocky is highly impressive.

Instead of bloating the screen time with nostalgic feel, Rocky is certainly forced into the background as a supporting player and that allows Stallone to come and go with his terrific old man gruff.

The decision to add Bianca as an independent artist, striking a claim for her own fame despite a physical setback, was an inspired one avoiding the tired nothingness of past romantic leads.

The main plot needed some refining, but the screenplay from Coogler and Aaron Covington knows that this isn’t a film for deep thinking, and keep things as enjoyable as possible through consistent montages.

1/2

Acting

Jordan continues to tick all the boxes as a young actor, and now with his own franchise (granted, I’ll forgive the failed Fantastic Four effort) Jordan looks set to grow even further.

In Creed, he is somewhat shackled by the anger of his character but he just looks like a movie star as he carries this film.

His romantic co-lead Thompson is great, despite her predictable arc. Thompson has a way of convening emotion through simple looks that shows clear talent.

In the antagonist corner, Graham McTavish does an average job as the promoter for “Pretty” Ricky Conlan, but Tony Bellew does a good job as Conlan, bringing the physical intimidation and cockiness he surely enjoyed as a real life boxer.

The inclusion of Stallone as Rocky is really the only reason this movie was possibly though, and Stallone performs better than expected.

He’s basically playing himself by now, but Stallone’s quiet mumbling in a cemetery is engrossing. Stallone pocketed the Golden Globe for this performance on the day of writing this review, and while that seems like a bit a stretch his nomination was certainly worthy.

1.5/2

Re-watchability

It’s a good boxing movie. If Creed is ever available and it is around the time of a fight, I’m paying attention.

As mentioned multiple times, it sags a little at points but this film is extremely watchable.

1.8/2

Zeitgeist

Considering this looks set to launch a whole set of Creed sequels, is making waves in the awards season and features Rocky Balboa, Creed is set for a big place in the zeitgeist.

Particularly after overshadowing Southpaw in the same year, Creed will be at the forefront of sports/movie fans minds for a long while. Or at least until Creed 2: Pretty Revenge.

1.7/2

Creed – 7.5 out of 10