The Grendel Academy Awards - Actor in a Supporting Role

Leading up to the Oscars, I will be laying out my picks for who I want to win the Academy Award in each category...this isn't who I think will win, but who I think SHOULD win.

Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin plays Dan White, the conservative former fireman who is elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the same time as openly gay politician Harvey Milk. This is the first Academy Award nomination for Josh Brolin.

Robert Downery, Jr.

As Kirk Lazarus, Robert Downey Jr. plays a white Australian actor who has immersed himself completely in his latest role as an African-American soldier. This is the second Academy Award nomination for Robert Downey Jr. He was previously nominated for:
CHAPLIN (1992) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Father Brendan Flynn, a progressive priest in a 1960s Bronx school who is suspected by its head nun of improper relations with a student. This is the third Academy Award nomination for Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was previously nominated for:
CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007) Nominee, Actor in a Supporting Role
CAPOTE (2005) Winner, Actor in a Leading Role

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger portrays the Joker, a psychopathic criminal mastermind who will stop at nothing in his scheme to outwit and humiliate Batman. This is the second Academy Award nomination for Heath Ledger. He was previously nominated for:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role

Michael Shannon

As John Givings, Michael Shannon plays a young man confined to a mental institution whose dinner with his parents' friends unleashes his relentless propensity for telling the truth. This is the first Academy Award nomination for Michael Shannon.

To be fair, I have not seen Revolutionary Road. I hope to before the Oscars, and if I do, I will report back. This is tough. I loved Hoffman in Doubt and Brolin was phenomenal as the despicable Dan White. But I'm afraid I am gonna have to go with my heart on this one and vote for Heath Ledger. The Dark Knight was a fantastic movie and he was great in the role. He was creepy and awesome and so so dark.

Doomsday...Horribly Awesome or Awesomely Horrible?

So, this is a blog I’ve been meaning to write for awhile, but for whatever reason I never have. It probably isn’t much use for you now that it is not in the theaters, but hey, my advice would have been to just rent it anyway…so here goes:

DOOMSDAY


Wikipedia gives the following synopsis (although this is a partial so it does not reveal to much) of the film:

In 2008, a lethal plague ("Reaper") has infected Scotland. As the country is walled off by the government to quarantine the infected, a young girl, Eden, is amongst the last to be airlifted out. In 2033, a fully-grown Eden (Rhona Mitra) leads a police task force, the DSS. Reaper has spread to England, and the Prime Minister (Alexander Siddig) orders an excursion into Scotland to locate a Dr Kane (Malcolm MacDowell), who the PM hopes will be able to find a cure.

I cannot even begin to explain to you how ridiculous this movie is. I went to a midnight showing the night it was released, and there were probably about 15-20 of us in the theater. I’ve never been to a film that was so awesome and yet so bad at the same time. We’re talking like Snakes on a Plane awesome (yet, maybe not THAT awesome). Which brings us to the plot itself. The storyline, along with the action, music, and acting, is all WAY over the top. But much like Snakes on a Plane, it knew it was over the top, and thus it did not take itself too seriously. Therefore, it went from being awesomely horrible, to maybe, just maybe…HORRIBLY AWESOME!

The film starts off in a 28 Days Later style infection film, morphs into a Resident Evil -esque mission around people with infections film, take a b-line into a film akin to Mad Max (a.k.a. Warped Tour 2030), and then, when you least expect it…IT TURNS INTO A KING ARTHUR KNOCK OFF. WHAT THE FUCK?! I seriously laughed out loud at one point in the film when all of the sudden knights in shining armor showed up. It was so gloriously bad. I was on the sticky ass floor, doubled over with laughter…I was in convulsions.

The film, itself, had quite a bit of gore, and more action than anyone could ask for. Car chases, knight fight sequences, police style raids, cannibalistic burnings at the stake, so on and so forth. Don’t believe me about the action? Check this clip:


It was graphic and had a female main character who kicked so much fucking ass (both literally and figuratively). I wish they had showed the end of this clip (hint: she beheads the woman she is fighting), but if this isn’t enough to get you to watch, then damn, you must not like horribly bad action films (that are really quite great)!




Go rent this movie, especially if you have a nice surround sound system…the DVD comes out in July! SO you better Netflix it!