Johnny Simmons

The last ten years in film have been good. Let’s look at the Actors who helped. It’s more or less the usual suspects. I think I need to single out the following who did not make the list – Paul Giamati (Sideways/Cinderella Man), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight), Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Dark Knight, The Prestige), Jack Nicholson (The Departed, About Schmidt) and Ralph Fiennes (The Reader, The Constant Gardener). Brad Pitt was the runner up (Babel, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Oceans’ Eleven, The Assassination of Jesse James) and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, 21 Grams) and Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, Michael Clayton) barely missed it. Sorry, but it's only nine...


Jude Law - #9
Jude Law is my favourite living male British actor. He gave great performances in AI: Artificial Intelligence, and The Road to Perdition. He then gave a poignant performance as Inman in 2003’s Cold Mountain (Lead Actor nomination – Oscar) followed by an undervalued performance in Closer the next year. That same year he was also rewarded as an ensemble(SAG nod) for being a member of my favourite cast that year The Aviator. I heard that he may be coming to Broadway soon with his acclaimed portrayal of Hamlet, so maybe he could conquer the stage before returning to the screen to win his Oscar – sometime. He’s going to win eventually… right?

Russell Crow - #8
Crow won his first Oscar for his performance in Gladiator at the turn of the millennium then and was nominated the next year for A Beautiful Mind, which I still believe to be the best performance of that year, even though I was not a fan of the movie. His performance in Master & Commander and Cinderella Man were both Oscar worthy and he also gave a solid performance in American Gangster. I wonder if he will ever get that second Oscar. I don’t think it’s going to be for Nottingham – but who knows?

Ed Harris - # 7
Is this nepotism? Of course it is. It’s my list after all. In 2000 he directed and starred in Pollock earning a Best Actor nod – the second best of the year as far as I was concerned. Then he gave the best supporting performance in The Hours (Oscar nomination), but he was snubbed. He also gave solid performances in A Beautiful Mind and particularly in A History of Violence. He needs to get back to work and get that damned Oscar. It’s about time!

Johnny Depp - #6
He has become a star. From Chocolat, to The Pirates of the Caribbean (Oscar nomination) and its sequels, Finding Neverland (Oscar nomination) and Sweeney Todd (Oscar nomination) he has done well for himself. Some even call him the most due actor for an Oscar. I won’t go that far. But he is a cool guy. I don’t think Public Enemies is going to win him that Oscar – but it’s forthcoming. I think.

Philip Seymour Hoffman - #5
After years of being a character actor I gained respect for him in Cold Mountain where he managed to do some scene stealing opposite Jude Law. No awards buzz came until 2005 when he won the Oscar for Capote. He was nominated in 2007 for Charlie Wilson’s War, a year filled with great performances from him – Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and his terribly comedic work as the best thing in The Savages. Last year he got nominated for his work in Doubt. Hoffman is also a stalwart on the Broadway stage. He deserves all the respect he gets. I wonder when he’ll get Oscar number two…

Sean Penn - #4
Which was the better performance? Mystic River or 21 Grams. Penn won the Oscar for the former and countless awards for the latter. 2003 was a good year for him. And last year he joined the elite club of actors with two lead Oscars for his turn in Milk. Along with Kate Winslet he has managed to gain awards’ nods after All the Kings Men. I’m waiting for Jude Law, Patricia Clarkson and Anthony Hopkins.

Daniel Day Lewis - #3
This was a tough one to have him so low. Is he the best working actor right now? Maybe. He was robbed of the Oscar for his astounding performance in Gangs of New York which earned him an Oscar nod. He then gave another riveting performance that earned him his second Oscar in 2007 in There Will Be Blood. He’s set to star in Nine this year, and I’m looking forward to that. After playing so many terrorising characters it will be nice to see him play nice!

Javier Bardem - # 2
He gave the best performance of 2000 in Before Night Falls (Oscar nomination), gave another spellbinding performance in The Sea Inside and then won his Oscar for No Country For Old Men. His commendable performance in Love in the Time of Cholera went unnoticed, but his performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona earned a Golden Globe nod. I love this guy. I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Leonardo DiCaprio - #1
There wasn’t really any contemplation as to who would get this spot. He started his love affair with Martin Scorsese in Gangs of New York in a very undervalued performance. That year he also gave a good performance in Catch Me If You Can. He earned his second Oscar nomination for the best of the year performance he gave in The Aviator. Then his astounding performance in The Departed went unnoticed by the Oscars – despite SAG and Golden Globe nod. He was nominated for Blood Diamond – another good performance. He then gave his career best in Revolutionary Road – the best of the year I believe. He failed to even garner a Oscar nod – but that’s all blood under the bridge. It’s time to look ahead to his next date with Scorsese. Is it finally time for Oscar to come a knocking? F*** Yeah! Excuse my French.

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Directed by Woody Allen



Let it be said that I love Woody Allen. He is one of my favourite filmmakers; of his last few films I particularly love ‘Matchpoint’, which showcased Scarlett Johansson’s best performance of her career. I went into this film with mixed emotions. I had read snippets of the script so I knew most of the ‘spoilers’ and I had heard raves for Penelope Cruz and some for Rebecca Hall. I had heard nothing said about Johansson’s performance in a role that Allen wrote specifically for her, which was surprising if nothing else. I was aware that there was a narrator in the film, but looking at the film made me realise how pervasive he was more than reading. I didn’t like the narrator idea. The narrator idea was not bad, but the actual narrator was not good. His voice was cold and distant and he did not sound at all interested in the story. Films with narrators that I have loved are ‘Chocolat’ and ‘The Age of Innocence’. In the latter film the narrator is not a character in the story, but she is very engaging. In the former film, at the end we realise that the narrator is the adult version of Juliette Binoche’s daughter. The reason I mention this is because it occurred to me that male narrators are not very effective. Off the bat, three primetime shows I know with narrators are ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ (my guilty pleasure). All these narrators are women, and they are very effective to somewhat varying degrees. The narrator in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ absolutely annoyed me, and it was half way through the film that I finally got used to his voice.

The script though, like most of Woody Allen films, was great. It was a good romp in the park without being over-hilarious. It was more ‘Hannah & Her Sisters’ than ‘Annie Hall’. There weren’t many ‘laugh out loud’ moments, but I’m sure there were smiles on your faces most of the time you were watching. Allen is notorious for writing great roles for women in his films (‘Annie Hall’, ‘Interiors’, ‘Hannah & Her Sisters’, ‘Husbands & Wives’, Bullets Over Broadway’, ‘Sweet & Lowdown’, ‘Matchpoint’ to name a few). Save for the last film each of these films had Oscar nominated performances from their women, and Matchpoint deserved one. As in those films, the women in this film stood out wonderfully. Patricia Clarkson had a relatively minor role, but she was effective as the meddling Judy, with just a trace of dark-humour and the hint of a fisher wife.

I have never seen Rebecca Hall in a film before, but she reminds me of a better acted version of Jessica Biels. It was during the first scene that I realised the striking resemblance to Biels when my sister asked me if it was her. In an odd way she also looked like a dark haired Johansson in some scenes, but I digress. In the film Hall’s Vicky calls Cristina (Johansson) a neurotic, but her character seems the more neurotic of the two. My favourite scenes for her were the ones she had with Johansson; they had a very believable chemistry and I’d like to see them in another film.

Penelope Cruz is a great actress, her performance in Volver a few years ago was pure genius, and here again she shows her beauty and vitality. It’s impossible to ignore the buzz she has amounted going into this award season and she has become something of a frontrunner. I won’t say what’s already been said about how great it is that she got to say her scenes in Spanish etc. That being said the build-up that the audience is put through waiting for this luminous Marie Elena is not a letdown. Cruz delivers on all points and we can definitely see why Juan Antonio is to some extent obsessed with her. I love the scene where she tells Cristina that she searched her bags the first night she was there, the humour was so authentic and there’s something so sexy about people with accents speaking English… but once again I digress. I wouldn’t be completely upset if she won the Oscar (although I wouldn’t mind if Kate Winslet, Taraji P Henson or Marissa Tomei won either).

Scarlett Johansson performs in her third Woody Allen film and she is as good as she was in the first. I find it strange that Rebecca Hall has been getting awards buzz for her role and Johansson gets none. I suppose it has to do with Hall being a newcomer. I have always had a weakness for Scarlett Johansson since ‘Lost in Translation’ and her performance as Vicky is so understated and subtle, more than people may realise. I don’t think it’s fair to judge her performance against Penlope Cruz or Hall for the same reason we couldn’t judge Jude Law against Matt Damon in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ or Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger in ‘Cold Mountain’. Both Matt and Nicole were playing the ‘straight’ man while their counterparts where playing these messed up and assertive characters that drew intense audience support and also huge awards buzz. In the same way I don’t think Johansson’s straight character was interesting as Cruz’s messed up Marie Elena. I preferred Jude Law, but I also preferred Nicole Kidman. In this case I’m torn. The performances are so different I can’t judge. It’s the same as in ‘Hannah & Her Sisters’. I couldn’t understand what made Diane Wiest’s performance so much better than Mia Farrow or Carrie Fisher (who was my personal favourite).

Don’t let my talk of the women fool you though; the men in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ hold their own. Led by the superb Javier Bardem who is very good as Juan Antonio, Kevin Dunn and Chris Messina are also good. Bardem’s performance was best when he was with Cruz. I have a strong feeling this was because of their Spanish connection. Every time he reminded her to speak English I’d laugh because he’d be speaking in Spanish and chiding her for replying in Spanish. Dunn & Messina never have a strong enough arc to steal the show, but as with any ensemble film, their presence was felt. Patricia Clarkson is marvellous as Judy. In a small role that could have been less, she sticks with me. After the end I kept thinking what happened to Judy and Vicky and their marriage?

If you failed to pick it up, I have been throwing out quite a number of ‘Hannah & Her Sister’ references and that is because I kept thinking about that film while I was looking. The dilemma that Vicky was put in reminded me some much of Carrie Fisher and Michael Caine in ‘Hannah’. I preferred the ‘original’, but this film had its own quirks that made it special. I liked this film, I’m pretty sure it will be winning the Golden Globe for best comedy and it will be deserved. I give this film a well deserved 8, and I find this strange. I give the acting 9.3 and the writing 9. But overall the film just feels like an 8... Go figure.