Monday
Dec142015
FYC...
Monday, December 14, 2015 at 9:30PM Our year-in-review party begins Wednesday and Nathaniel's own Film Bitch Awards kicks off piece by piece on Monday. Now's your time to make your pitches for the following dozen or so categories:
SCENES: Best Kiss, Best Sex Scene, Best Action Sequence, and Best Musical Sequence
BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS: Best Opening or Closing Titles, Opening Scene, Ending (no spoilers please)
ACTING: Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role and Best Line Reading
and our favorite extra fun shrines to...
ROLES: Diva, Villain, Hero, & Sexpot of the Year.
You know what to do in the comments!
Reader Comments (62)
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role - Jude Law in Spy.
I know we're not hurting for Tangerine love here, but that final shot is easily one of my favorite moments in cinematic queer friendship. So much unspoken forgiveness and compassion. Made me miss my best Judy in the worst way.
For line reading: the way Tilda Swinton says "sweetheart" in Trainwreck like she's got marbles in her mouth or is learning a foreign language.
Limited or cameo performance: Lisa Renee Pitts as Verna Griffin, Dre's mother, in STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. When she slaps Dre in an early scene, the cinema audience gasped. I wanted more of her in the movie.
Spotlight does have a fantastic ending, if only in how powerful that list is (Or would that be credits?). And all the interviewed victims have great bit roles, but that doesn't feel like something that needs to be reminded. How about the wife of the dead playwrite in Clouds of Sils Maria? Ex Machina for best ending?
On a related note, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander for sexpot in Ex Machina (mostly Oscar Isaac)
Best Year: Domhnall Gleeson (Brooklyn, Ex Machina, The Force Awakens, The Revenant,)
So many options!!
Ending - So many to pick, but just a reminder, as if it's not great otherwise, Fury Road's last five minutes are incredible.
Limited or Cameo - McDowell for Magic Mike XXL just being pure Southern charm and intrigue in one scene. Sam Elliot in Grandma because his scene is perfection.
Villain : Chastain is wonderfully devliish in Crimson Peak.
I will unironically nominate "Jupiter Ascending" for Best Action Scene (The Chicago skyline chase) and best line reading: Mila Kunis' "I love dogs. I've always loved dogs." You can't say it isn't memorable.
Musical sequence: "We Belong" in Pitch Perfect 2.
Sexpot: Marsden in "The D Train" - the entire plot depends on it! And Pratt in "Jurassic World"
I expect "Sisters" might have a lot to offer re: cameos, line readings, musical sequences.
Ending: I know it's a bit divisive, but Ex Machina has such a fascinating ending (and further complicates Vikander's character and performance).
Cameo: Michael Cyril Creighton as one of the sexual assault survivors in Spotlight. I loved how he mixed pain, resiliency, and dark humor.
Hero: Sadness (and Joy) from Inside Out.
SCENES:
Best Action Sequence:
A Night at The Opera in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Salon Shootout in Black Coal, Thin Ice
Boxing Match One-Shot in Creed
Drug-trip war scene in Beasts of No Nation
The entirety of Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Musical Sequence:
Oscar Isaac Dancing in Ex Machina
God Only Knows acapella in Love & Mercy
Suitcase Showdown in Ant-Man
A Night at the Opera in M:I - Rogue Nation
Snoop and Dre collaborate in Straight Outta Compton
Nelly Sings in Phoenix
ACTING:
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role
Dave Chapelle in Chi-Raq, steals the movie in less than 2 minutes with hilariously intelligent irreverence.
William H. Macy in Room, plays the complicated grief and frustration of his cgaracter wonderfully in 2 short scenes.
Jane Fonda in Youth acts with a capitol A, clearly relishing her role here.
Sam Elliott in Grandma is heartbreakingly good as an ex who never let go of the past
Hi Nathaniel! I love your limited/cameo role category, my FYCs here!
LIMITED OR CAMEO ROLE
Juli Jakab as "Ella" in SON OF SAUL: the mysterious, possibly wife, possibly knew him from before the camps, the sole woman in the SON OF SAUL ensemble. Strikes a deep well of sadness with one look and a second of screentime.
Jennifer Hagen as "Miss Giddy" in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: Would the "We Are Not Things" description pack as much punch without the incredibly heroic old woman holding the shotgun right next to it? A memorable early sign of resilience in the film.
Harry Lennix as "Commissioner Blades" in CHI-RAQ: Called on to sell the most lunatic parts of CHI-RAQ with his primetime television-approved professional politico shtick. Quietly hysterical.
Fatma Mohamed as "The Carpenter" in THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY: Elegant, beautiful, and funny. Beatifully plausible as the purveyor of bdsm curious in the heightened world of BURGUNDY
Eva Birthistle as "Georgina" in BROOKLYN: Gosh I want to be her! Sublime and confident without feeling like a "forced" image of what Eilish could become.
Best Diva: Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) - Spy
Best Villain: Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) - Cinderella
Best Sexpot: As a gay lady I have to vote for Cate as Carol Aird here. I am yet to see the film, but the clips I have seen certainly get my pulse racing. Nathaniel, I trust your judgement when you say in the Martian/Carol podcast that you have never been more turned on by Cate!
Best Musical Sequence: Not sure if a doco counts, but Amy Winehouse recording Back to Black in the studio with Mark Ronson took my breathe away.
Best Sex Scene
Was there actual sex in I'll See You in My Dreams? Blythe Danner and Sam Elliott were so sexy I guess it doesn't really matter.
Best Action Sequence
All of Mad Max, the middle fight in Creed, and the opera house in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
Best Musical Sequence:
I HAVE SO MANY!
The "limping lotta" scene in A Pigeon Sat on a Branch
"Diamonds" in Girlhood
Dancing Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina
The Convenience Store scene in Magic Mike XXL
Alicia Vikander dancing in The Man from UNCLE
The sheep sing their song in Shaun the Sheep Movie
and the End of Phoenix, obviously.
Best Opening or Closing Titles
The Duke of Burgundy opening titles were pretty cool
Opening Scene
Bridge of Spies and Sicario
Ending (no spoilers please):
Carol and Phoenix are the only acceptable answers to this question.
Ok, Brooklyn is also acceptable.
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role
Fatma Mohamed in Duke of Burgundy
Andie McDowell in Magic Mike XXL
Christopher Meloni in Diary of a Teenage Girl
Sam Elliott in Grandma
Everyone at the Connecticut house in Mistress America
and Best Line Reading
Christopher Meloni's "Gretel for fuck's sake!" in Diary of a Teenage Girl
Diva
Andie and Jada in Magic Mike XXL
Greta Gerwig in Mistress America
Julianne Moore in Maps to the Stars
Villain
Elizabeth Debicki in The Man from UNCLE
Jessica Chastain in Crimson Peak
Rose Byrne in Spy
Nicole Kidman in Paddington
Hero
Furiosa in Mad Max Fury Road
Napoleon Solo in The Man from UNCLE
Donny Creed in Creed
Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
Melissa McCarthy in Spy
Sexpot of the Year.
Joe Manganiello in Magic Mike XXL
Henry Cavill in The Man from UNCLE
Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina
For your consideration in the category of Best Line Reading:
Ben Mendelsohn in Mississippi Grind saying 'Everyone'
It's about a minute into the trailer (although flows better in the actual film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooca5idaNSk
Best Villain: Rose Byrne "Spy"
Nicole Kidman "Paddington"
Best Line reading: This is a tie between Jason Statham, Miranda Hart in Spy.
Statham: Nothing kills me. I'm immune to 179 different types of poison. I know because I ingested them all at once when I was deep undercover in an underground poison-ingesting crime ring.
Hart: I'm very non-physically resourceful. I read a lot of intelligence, I read a lot of poems, and I've read all of the 'Hunger Games'.
Best Hero = Melissa McCarthy "Spy" - tour de force comic acting. Sure you could go with Furiosa or Mockingjay but those would be very obvious choices. And McCarthy made me laugh for the entire film.
Best Ending: Brooklyn
Best Action Sequence: pretty much anything from Mad Max.
Sexpot: Joe Manganiello in Magic Mike XX
Nathaniel - this is always the most fun of the year to pick these, hope our suggestions help you. Looking forward to the FB awards more than the Oscars.
Best Kiss: Law and Byrne in Spy
Best Sex Scene: Schumer and Cena in Trainwreck
Best Action Sequence: Sandstorm in Mad Max
Best Musical Sequence: Mya Taylor in Tangerine (so weirdly off yet moving)
Opening Scene: I guess Age of Ultron???
Ending: Youth and Tangerine
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role: Any of the Spotlight interviewees really (is Billy Crudup in too many scenes to qualify?), and how great are the actresses who portrayed Lisa in Steve Jobs, specifically the oldest one? Not sure if Peter Sarsgaard qualifies for Black Mass, but my god he was good. Also Bjorn Gustafsson in Spy.
Best Line Reading: Anything Nux said in Fury Road ("what a lovely day," "witness me") Michael Keaton's "we're writing one of them," "you're gonna end me, aren't you" from Steve Jobs, "Not what you are and not what you intended" from the Vision in Age of Ultron (also points for "I was born yesterday"), Anything from Sadness in Inside Out
Best Kiss -- Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson (their first in that overhead / upside down shot)
Best Sex Scene -- I'm predicting a Fifty Shades shut-out!
Best Action Sequence -- The fight on the train in Spectre was the film's best setpiece apart from the opening scene in Mexico City. Anything in Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Musical Sequence -- 'I'll See You in My Dreams',
Opening Scene -- Straight Outta Compton (Eazy-E's rooftop escape)
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role -- Jane Fonda in Youth, Norman Lloyd in Trainwreck, guitar-player guy in Fury Road
Do you still do Best Character Intro or Entrance? My vote would be Greta Gerwig in Mistress America descending the red TKTS staircase was blissful for any New Yorker.
I don't know why you're even pretending you're going to give Diva/Villain of the year to anyone other than Rose Byrne :P
I suggest Sadness from Inside Out for Best Heroine.
The movie is such a little gem and, in this age of helicopter parents and instant geatification, having that little reminder that we need pain to grow and build character is as timely as it gets.
Not only the concept is wise, but execution was flawless, often balancing shifting tones, from Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give hilarious weeping (while escaping on cloud, no less) to that truly affecting bittersweet core memory climax.
Add on top of that the layered and sensitive voice work of Phyllis Smith and you have a little nugget of perfection.
Limited: Julio Cedillo as Alarcon in Sicario
Villain: Del Toro, obviously
OMG, that was the scene of the year
And Sicario had the ending of the year, too
My legs were just shaking in that final scene. I think Blunt and Del Toro is the most riveting beauty and beast duo since Clarice and Hannibal in The Silence of the Lambs. Just wow
Now that I've made this point, eureka! Del Toro is a lead, not supporting!
Best Musical Sequence:
"Miss Sheperd" (Maggie Smith) discovers the piano at the senior center... (The Lady in the Van)
Diva of the Year:
Maggie Smith as "Miss Sheperd" in The Lady in the Van
Sexpot of the Year:
Matthias Schoenaerts in Far From the Madding Crowd, The Loft, A Little Chaos, Disorder and even Suite Française and The Danish Girl
Ending: Carol's final scene of course
Best performance in a limited role: Diane Ladd's wonderful in "Just Before I Go"; didn't even realize it was her till I read the credits.
Best Musical moments: Sumi Jo's "Simple Song #3", at the end of "Youth"
and Mya Taylor's poignant "Toyland" in "Tangerine"
GREAT SUGGESTIONS y'all. some of these i might have forgotten but loved. Keep 'em coming.
cameo
Grandma . Sam Elliott
Grandma . Elizabeth Peña
The Duke of Burgundy . Fatma Mohamed
The Martian . Donald Glover
Sicario . Jon Bernthal
Clouds of Sils Maria . Brady Corbet
breakthrough
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . Rebecca Ferguson
Mistress America . Lola Kirke
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl . Olivia Cooke
Tangerine . Mya Taylor
Tangerine . Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
Mustang . Günes Sensoy
Tomorrowland . Raffey Cassidy
opening/closing credits
Wild Tales
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The Duke of Burgundy
Tomorrowland
Inside Out
musical sequence
Anomalisa . Jennifer Jason Leigh “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
Maps to the Stars . Julianne Moore “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”
Far From the Madding Crowd . Carey Mulligan & Michael Sheen “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme”
Aloha . Emma Stone e Bill Murray “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”
Tangerine . Maya Taylor "Toyland"
action sequence
Mad Max: Fury Road . Sand storm
Sicario . Tunnel / Border
Spectre . Daniel Craig vs Dave Bautista (train sequence)
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . Opera night
Tomorrowland . George Clooney e Brit Robertson são perseguidos dentro de casa
The Martian . Rescue
It Follows - Beach attack
Hero
Mad Max: Fury Road . Charlize Theron
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . Rebecca Ferguson
Sicario . Emily Blunt
Avengers: Age of Ultron . Scarlett Johansson
Mad Max: Fury Road . Tom Hardy
Villain
It Follows . It / curse
Mad Max: Fury Road . Hugh Keays-Byrne
Creep . Mark Duplass
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . Sean Harris
Avengers: Age of Ultron . James Spader
Spy . Rose Byrne
Sexpot
Spectre . Léa Seydoux
It Follows . Maika Monroe
Far From the Madding Crowd . Matthias Schoenaerts
Jurassic World . Chris Pratt
The final scene of White God. Possibly also the entire rising sequence. It brought a satisfying end to an almost unwatchable rest of the movie (because many of the things happening seemed to be really happening to the dogs). But that ending really really elevated the whole.
I was also surprised to not see "The Witch" on the list of 305 eligible films. Are they saving it for next year? Because talk about strong endings...and Kate Dickie's haunting/sympathetic work.
Best Diva/Villain/Line Reading: Rose Byrne as Rayna Boyanov in Spy - "What a stupid fucking retarded toast. You're delightful."
Best line reading - Winslet: "Fix it. Fix it now, or you can contact me at my new job, working anywhere I want."
Do you still do best scenes generally? Because if so, Bing Bong's last scene should be there, along with Kate's "fix it!" scene in Steve Jobs.
For best musical sequence, how about "Shine Like a Diamond" in Girlhood?
For Cameo, I laughed and laughed at 50 Cent in Spy... It wasn't great acting, but it was funny
Marcia Gay Harden in Grandma was my favorite diva this year.., she's certainly a diva in her own mind...
Other than that, I agree with the following suggestions:
Heroes: Sadness, Melissa McCarthy in Spy
Musical Sequence: Ex Machina of course
Ending: Phoenix
Cameo: Sam Elliott, Grandma
Sexpot: Oscar, Ex Machina
Ending - Clouds of Sils Maria
Musical sequence - the dance in Ex Machina
Limited role - one of the ladies of Brooklyn, either Nora-Jane Noone or Eva Birthistle
Best line readings - almost anything Rose Byrne and Miranda Hart says in Spy, but especially: "What a stupid fucking retarded toast. You're delightful." and " I don't condone this sexy yet reckless behavior, Susan Cooper"
Diva - Rose Byrne in Spy
Villain - Ben Mendelsohn in Lost River
James Spader as Ultron for line readings absolutely they're all fantastic. My pick would be either when he apologizes to Andy Serkisn for ripping his arm off or after all his bots have been defeated and he (again) starts apologizing before the Hulk punches him. Diva and Villain absolutely apply to him too. Julie Delpy was a fun little AI too.
It feels unfair to keep adding voice performances for line reading but Phyllis Smith man. "I'm positive we're going to get lost". She and Joy need to be on best hero too.
Would Bing Bong and Joy escaping the memory pit by singing the Bing Bong song count as a musical moment? I really hope it does.
Actress in a Limited/Cameo Role - Molly Shannon in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Heroe(s) - Inside Out: Joy & Sadness
Villain - Spotlight: the Catholic Church
Sexpot - The D Train: James Marsden
Opening Scene - It Follows
Line Reading - Welcome to Me: "Someone's been tampering with my makeup bag!"
Hero: definitely Sadness. She is such and undersung hero.
Sexpot: Isaac in Ex Machina. His performance is so fascinating and I couldn't take my eyes off him.
Diva/Villain: Rose Byrne for all the above reasons already mentioned.
Cameo: Can Donald Sutherland or Elizabeth Banks for Mockingjay be considered?
FYC Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role:
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in SAINT LAURENT (she justifies the existence of all films about fashion with her luminous one-shot performance)
Andie McDowell -in MAGIC MIKE XXL
Saber Abbar in ABOUT ELLY
Jennifer Ehle in A LITTLE CHAOS
Audra McDonald in RICKI AND THE FLASH (maybe her role's too big)
... and the entire female supporting casts of BROOKLYN and MISSISSIPPI GRIND, especially Eva Birthistle and Alfre Woodard.
Diva: Kristen Wiig in Welcome to Me.
Villain: David Miscavige in Going Clear
Sexpot of the Year: Please don't give this to anybody but Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina. Damn.
Can I shout out Elizabeth Banks natural warmth and love for Wilson,it's hard to do Love on screen but I so believed in her love for him,she would have swam oceans of time to find him.
Line Reading anything Jane says on the plane in Youth
I love Molly Shannon in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," too. She teetered on the edge of a hundred emotions so expertly. But it wasn't a cameo; it was a supporting performance.
Scene: Melissa in her office vs. Dr. Landy from "Love & Mercy". Everything about it was fantastic. The opening Dr. Landy being served, the anticipation to see if she was in the office, his screaming, the look on her face when she opened the door, the immediate silence upon actual confrontation, it was all perfect. Ending with the best line reading
Action Sequence: The boat chase/sandwich break from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E"
Diva: Elizabeth Debicki in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E"
Cameo/Limited: David Arquette from "Bone Tomahawk". No performance surprised the hell out of me more than that one.
Line: "I'm gonna go sell some cars" from "Love & Mercy".
Michael Cyril Creighton in "Spotlight" was quite effecting in a cameo role.
Alison Brie in "Sleeping with Other People" for sex pot.
Best line reading: Juliette Binoche in Clouds of Sils Maria "You mean . . . more than me?"
Scene : The one from Inside Out that's in the ads all over your page right now. My favourite scene of the year.
Musical Moment : JJL in Anomalisa.
Hero : Carey Mulligan in Suffragette
Best Kiss: The hand on the shoulder, the bathrobe, `I'm not alone this year'. CAROL!
Best Sex Scene: ANOMALISA! I mean come on, what else.
Best Action Sequence: All of MAD MAX FURY RD., but if I have to pick one, `the motorbikes leaping over the truck' chase. Giddy just thinking about it.
Best Musical Sequence: Oscar Isaac's robo-dance in EX-MACHINA.
Best Opening Titles: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5 - because THAT theme, plus getting away with showing bits from the whole movie, without spoiling anything.
Opening Scene: The attack in THE REVENANT. Holy smokes, the cinematic balls on this thing.
Ending (no spoilers please): I'm a sucker for the silent look that says it all, so it's a tie: Mad Max & Carol.
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role: Sarah Paulson in CAROL, between drags of a cigarette, discussing love.`It changes. No one's fault.'
Best Line Reading: Cate, CAROL, that lawyer scene: `... and we're not ugly people, Harge...' Seen it twice and have literally lost it both times when she says this.
Diva: Cate, in either/both CAROL & CINDERELLA. Just - no contest. Anywhere.
Villain: IMMORTAN JOE. Because his sphere of influence over every character in the movie is palpable, with barely a word spoken, the world reforged in his name.
Hero: FURIOSA. We don't deserve her, but she's the hero we need right now
Sexpot of the Year: Male: Michael B.Jordan in CREED. Because daaaaaaammmmn.
Female: Alicia Vikander in EX MACHINA. Poor Domhnall never stood a chance.
Scene:
When our taxi driver gets a surprise from the hooker he picks up (Tangerine)
Villain/Cameo:
Jim Broadbent in The Lady in the Van
Sex Scene:
Car wash (Tangerine)
Opening Credits:
Spectre (but replace the song with, I don't know, kd lang's "Surrender" from Tomorrow Never Dies)
Hero:
Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) in Truth
Scene/line reading:
Take her to the moon for me, okay?
Scene:
Jack escapes room/sees world for the first time.
SCENES:
Best Action Sequence: Sicario boarder sequence, last fight in Avengers 2, pterodactyl attack in JWorld, Spy fight scenes/motorcycle chase, Mad Max big finale chase
Best Musical Sequence: Oscar Issac and his robot, Ex Machina (because DUH)
BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS:
Best Opening or Closing Titles: Spy closing titles; Inside Out closing titles!
Ending: Inside Out; Mad Max
ACTING:
Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role: Spotlight (the man who is head of the Recovery Groups, the victim Sasha interviews); Jon Bernthal Sicario.
Best Line Reading: "What a stupid fucking retarded toast. You're delightful." Rose Byrne, Spy.
ROLES:
Diva: Rose Byrne, Spy
Villain: It Follows curse and their naked people.
Hero: Sadness, Inside Out
Sexpot of the Year: TOM HARDY.
Best Scenes:
Magic Mike - Jada and Channing's kiss clearly has history
The Lobster - describing it from across a field through mime (sex scene)
Room - Truck, wiggle out... (action)
Sicario - At the border (action)
Spy - kitchen fight (action)
Tangerine - Sindee stomping around LA (musical)
Ex Machina - Dance party (musical)
Cameo: Phylicia Rashad isn't given enough to do in Creed, but her reactions during the fight are priceless
Line Reading:
Inside Out - "Take her to the moon for me"
Tangerine - "You see right through me, don't you?"
Carol - "I like the hat"
Beginning: Tangerine - "Merry Christmas Eve, bitch"
Ending: Brooklyn's final scene and Carol's final scene
Credits: Inside Out - seeing inside everyone's heads
Diva - Rose Byrne in Spy (dang it, MikeyNew!); Jada in Magic Mike
Villain - Don't know if it's spoilerish... so I'll just say Sicario, potentially every character?
Hero - Sadness in Inside Out (dang it, MikeyNew!); Christopher Abbott in James White
Sexpot - Cate Blanchett in Carol (and of course, Magic Mike)
LOL that was a lot of Tangerine...
FYC Best Performance in a Limited or Cameo Role:
Jenn Murray in Brooklyn as Dolores, Eilis' thirsty housemate. I would watch an entire movie about her just giving people stink-eye.
Actor in a Limited or Cameo Role: Juno Temple "Black Mass"
Sex Scene: The Car Wash in Tangerine
Sexpot: Matthias Schoenaerts o' courwe
Line: "You didn't have to Chris Brown the bitch!" Tangerine
MVP: James Ransone Tangerine
Best shot: Victoria 1st & last
anything from "An Honest Liar", "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck", "What we do in the Shadows", "The Final Girls"... and some consideration for the OTHER muscle action star that delivered a great performance this year, Arnold Schwarzenneger in "Maggie". Some honorable mention, maybe?