“Forgotten Hollywood”- My 2013 SAG Awards Film Ballot…

Posted on January 21, 2013 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here… sag_logo_bw_19th_horizontal

   For the fourth straight year, here’s my ballot for this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. I consider 2012 a mixed year of cinema. And, several folks and films in most of the categories should be considered for specific awards. Let me explain:

   OUTSTANDING MALE:  Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)

   This is a clear selection. Lewis embodies Abraham Lincoln with humanity; a certain degree of duplicitous frailties; and with a smaller-than-life depiction. The final tumultuous weeks of our 16th President’s iconic career as a politician is a stunning revelation under Steven Spielberg’s able direction.

   OUTSTANDING FEMALE:  Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

   The film has a docudrama feel to it. Wonderfully directed, and Jessica Chastain is in almost every scene. Considering it runs 2 1/2 hours, it’s a strong performance. She underplays her role, responding to the testosterone that fills the screen. The only flaw to this movie is it lacks a dramatic soul; no hand-wringing while sitting in the theatre. But technically, the film is a modern epic. This is a close call, because I also loved Naomi Watts in The Impossible.

   OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING MALE:  Alan Arkin (Argo)

   The best Supporting Male performance has been completely overlooked this year. I’ve not been shy about my choice of David Strathairn as Secretary of State Henry Seward (Lincoln). However, since his omission was clearly intended by the makers of the motion picture… I don’t adopt the conventional wisdom that Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) or Cristoph Waltz (Django Unchained) should get my vote. Alan Arkin provides the needed comedic elements in Argo. His acting is believable and laugh-out-loud funny. This side of Strathairn, he did a great job.

   OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING FEMALE:  Sally Field (Lincoln)

   Anne Hathaway will probably win this. For the 15 minutes she’s on-screen, it’s her best work to date. And, her live performance of I Dreamed a Dream is stunning. But, I don’t vote based on a great rendition of a showtune. Sally Field is overshadowed only by Day Lewis. Her spitfire interpretation of Mary Todd Lincoln provides much of the Lincoln’s private angst… and Field delivers in spades. She captures an earlier form, when she earned a 2nd Oscar for Places in the Heart. I like her… I really liked her…

Lincoln   OUTSTANDING CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE:  Lincoln

   Flat out, the Best Picture in a decade! It’s almost unfair to match a Spielberg / Day Lewis collaboration against other motion pictures. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Argo. It could win this award. The ensemble is perfectly cast, with a story adroitly told by director Ben Affleck. This is truly a close call.

~ My 2012 Top 101. Lincoln  2. Argo  3. Zero Dark Thirty  4. The Impossible  5. Flight  6. Les Miserables  7. Hitchcock  8. The Sessions  9. Rust and Bone  10. Hyde Park on Hudson

   Highlights in 2012 television include: Downton Abbey (Drama Cast); The Big Bang Theory (Comedy Cast); and Hatfields & McCoys (Mini-Series Cast).

   The SAG Awards will air on January 27th on TNT and TBS. We’ll see how I do this year…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2013 at 12:17 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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