FYC: Gaby Hoffmann in "C'mon C'mon"

by Lynn Lee

Gaby Hoffmann doesn’t make it look easy.  Motherhood, that is.  Neither is she a drama queen about it.  As down-to-earth Viv – sister to thoughtful, sad-eyed journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and mother of Jesse (Woody Norman), the precocious 9-year-old Johnny looks after for a time – she just shows and tells it like it is, with an honesty, humility, and humor that’s as refreshing as it is rare to see on screen.  And that, precisely, is why she’s the secret weapon of C’mon C’mon, and why she should be in the running for Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

That she isn’t even in the conversation is due as much to the nature of C’mon C’mon as Hoffmann’s performance...

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FYC: Ruth Negga in "Passing"

by Cláudio Alves

Earlier in the awards season, I became discouraged at the thought that the year's best performance was doomed. Critics didn't rally behind Ruth Negga as I had hoped, and her film, no matter how spellbinding, looked likely to be ignored. Despite such worries the arrival of prominent Oscar precursors and industry awards has revitalized hope. After Globe and SAG nominations, Negga is poised to earn a second Academy Award nomination for her supporting turn as Clare Bellew in Rebecca Hall's cinematic adaptation of Nella Larsen's novel Passing. But of course, even when a nod feels secure, it's never a bad idea to gild the lily and remind folks of an actress's genius…

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Oscar Chart: Who gets the fifth slot in Best Supporting Actress?

by Nathaniel R

Will there be room for both Anitas in the Best Supporting Actress race?

Nothing much has changed in the Best Supporting Actress competition over the past month except the arrival of West Side Story but, provided you left a slot open for the new "Anita" (Ariana DeBose) sight unseen -- since that role is always an awards magnet --  chances are your predictions haven't changed much since seeing the film. Even all the critics prizes and the arrival of the bigger precursors like NBR, Globe, Spirits, Gothams, and Critics Choice nods did a grand total of not much to solve the question of the "fifth slot"... only to cement that we have four near-sure things: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Kirsten Dunst (Power of the Dog), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard), and Caitriona Balfe (Belfast) who keep showing up in every list.

So who gets that fifth slot? That is the loaded multi-actress question...

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Almost There: Cate Blanchett in "The Talented Mr. Ripley"

by Cláudio Alves

Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley is now in theaters, bringing Cate Blanchett back to the big screen where she belongs. Playing a manipulative psychologist who proves herself a femme fatale, the Australian actress is sure to bring glamour to the part, dazzling audiences as she's been doing for decades. To commemorate the occasion, this week's Almost There entry revisits one of Cate Blanchett's best performances. In fact. It might be her greatest. In any case, it's my favorite from her sterling filmography, a supporting part she injects with life and patrician heartbreak. The Academy ignored her in 1999, but Blanchett may have come close to a second nomination for her work as Meredith Logue in Anthony Minghella's adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley…

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Beauty Break: To Rita Moreno on her 90th Birthday

by Nathaniel R

Today marks 90 years since the blessed birth of the legendary EGOT winner Rita Moreno. With Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake upon us in theaters, the trailblazing Puerto Rican star is back in the spotlight. Not that light hasn't always followed her.... hell, emanated from her. Are we laying it on thick? Who cares, she deserves it!

As faithful readers know, the original West Side Story (1961) is my all time favourite so it was hard not to be skeptical / worried about the remake. Naturally then, the new rendition is taking me a bit of time to process but, in short, though some of the raves are hyperbolic, the movie is mostly a thrill. Of its many pleasures, the one that we most emphatically co-sign was uttered by Rita Moreno herself who said...

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