Top Ten: Greatest Supporting Actors of the Decade Who Weren't Oscar Nominated

A truth. Year after year, Best Supporting Actor is the category with which we have the most disagreement with Oscar. Before our hearts are broken anew this impending season we wanted to celebrate the decade that's nearly behind us. We tend to view it Best Supporting Actor as the category wherein the Academy acting branch is at their absolute laziest each year, though we've never quite figured out why so much of their laziness funnels into this category ("whoever's in a best picture! YOU")

Today, for fun, a grumpy what-coulda-been list celebrating ten performances that rank among the best supporting work this decade...

10 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR PERFORMANCES OF THE '10s
THAT WERE NOT OSCAR NOMINATED

10 Tracy Letts, Lady Bird
Oscar nominees he was superior to that year: All but Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project

Want to buy him all the "World's Greatest Dad" mugs for this performance. This kind of warm performance easily finds a home in Supporting Actress but "Supportive" fathers are a no go for voters for reasons we've never been able to ascertain apart from basic toxic masculinity... and that being supportive is just not considered an interesting or valuable thing in a male role... 

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Review: "Solo - A Star Wars Story"

by Chris Feil

Han Solo isn’t exactly a character that has our affections enmeshed in his origins. As played in the original Star Wars saga by peak hunk Harrison Ford, Han is about 50% swagger, 30% smart ass, and 20% emotional walls. He’s a crucial element, but one whose history isn’t essential to the story we all know and love - so in tracing his beginnings, Solo - A Star Wars Story needs a strong point of view to be more than a spin on the hampster wheel. It’s sadly almost there...

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A "Solo" trailer at last!

Chris here. We've got only a month or so before we finally feast our eyes on the much reported troubled production of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Was Ron Howard able to steer the film to safety after original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller notoriously clashed with Lucasfilm brass? Depending on which reports you believe, Howard either completely reshot the entire script or just the major set pieces. Whether the final product succeeds, expect the "who shot what" discussion to continue into Star Wars lore like "Han shot first".

Adding to the concern has been a lack of footage to pore over, but await no longer for a full trailer is finally here! While the delayed glimpse at what is in store hasn't done much in the way of damage control, the actual trailer doesn't quite help either. We're served a mishmash of murky imagery and what looks to be an overadherence to formula, particularly in its character lineup. If you can already sense there are too many cooks in the kitchen from this short assemblage, it might be time to believe the worst. Doesn't it feel like the titular hero (and our beloved Alden Ehrenreich who plays him) is being backgrounded? Shouldn't our heart race immediately at the sight of the Millennium Falcon?

But the trailer isn't without its highlights: Donald Glover being sexy in space, ample capes, Woody Harrelson being weird again, and whatever it is that Thandie Newton is doing (but speechlessly so? Why?!). And thanks to Fleabag, we still couldn't be any more excited for whatever Phoebe Waller-Bridge's android brings. For now, we wait nervously on the rest...

Supporting Actor, Personal Ballot

I'm still debating Oscar's fifth slot free-for-all for Best Supporting Actor, presuming they give two spots to leading men Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins) and Dev Patel (Lion) and another two spots are held by former Oscar winner Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water) and the man I'd argue is still the frontrunner to win despite his Golden Globe loss Mahershara Ali (Moonlight). Unfortunately almost all of my favorites are quite far out of the running this year. But my final predictions will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, it's my turn. Meaning: my ballot! Mine. Mine. Mine. 

...and I do feel possessive each year about movie honors. If you're reading I presume that you, too, care deeply about acting as an artform. It can be frustrating each season to watch dozens of worthy performances winnowed down so swiftly into 5-10 Oscar potentials. So many trickily performed, gorgeously nuanced, and admirable feats of acting get lost along the way... though some happily stand the test of time and become "how did HE/SHE not get nominated?" curiousities. I don't try to be off consensus in my own awards but sometimes it works out that way. For my own shortlist, only one of the presumed Oscar players makes it. Looking over the list I've realized that all of these characters would surely be insufferable to spend actual time with but they were played by five actors so rich, every second spent with them was something to treasure. So here's to Tom Bennett, Ralph Fiennes, Mahershara Ali, Trevante Rhodes, and Alden Ehrenhreich! You can read the write ups here at the Film Bitch Awards.

The Linking Dead

Towleroad Jack O'Connell will star in Andrew Haigh's Alexander McQueen biopic. Good casting
MTV Is Jon Hamm funny... when the punchline is always just, "Jon Hamm"
Guardian Tom Hardy to play famous Antartica explorer in 1914 set film
/Film Scott Derrickson says he wants to make a Doctor Strange sequel 'in the vein of The Dark Knight'. First the Inception inspired visuals than this? Someone take his Chris Nolan dvds away pronto!
Tracking Board Catherine Keener joins Del Toro & Brolin for the Sicario sequel called Soldado
The Talkhouse Filmmaker Bruce LaBruce sings the praise of...wait for it... John Travolta & Lily Tomlin in infamous Moment By Moment (1978)

Express Susan Sarandon in costume as Bette Davis for Feud
Interview talks to rising star Alden Ehrenreich - great photoshoot too
Comics Alliance shares concept art from Suicide Squad that wasn't used. Too colorful and fantastically gorgeous (Enchantress) - not grimy and ugly enough for Warner Bros / DC comic aesthetic!
Nerds of Color grades the reviews for Doctor Strange on how they deal with the Swinton casting as The Ancient One 
i09 Star Trek: Discovery just lost Bryan Fuller as its showrunner
Variety Apparently Jude & Robert are going to make yet another Sherlock Holmes movie. Wasn't 2 enough? 
/Film Shaun The Sheep Movie is getting a sequel. Hopefully this one will have a less awkward title 
Coming Soon lots of photos from the set of Thor: Ragnarok as it wraps filming 

Gay Gay Gay
People Trevante Rhodes talks about playing gay in Moonlight (straight stars are getting much better at these interviews but one wishes gay actors could get a crack at some of these key gay roles) 
Variety Will & Grace considering a possible TV revival after their election special reunion
THR Sean Hayes apologizes for not coming out sooner while receiving a prize from OutFest
Kenneth in the (212) Stonewall Fundraising Event gets help from icons like Cher, Madonna & Steve Nicks 

TV
Playbill Patti LuPone on joining Crazy Ex Girlfriend
YouTube John Cleese recap of The Walking Dead's first six seasons - it's funny and I don't even watch the show
Vulture reminds me why I don't watch the show by discussing its more exploitative qualities when it comes to the violence
Fusion a great piece on the non-sexualized dude robots on Westworld 

Just 4 Fun
Gothamist best dog costumes at Halloween in Thompson Square Park including movie spoofs like Human Centipede, The Little Shop of Horrors, and Harry Potter
Vulture remembering the best Celebrity Vines

...And Lady Gaga on Carpool Karaoke