Oscar Volleys: Best Supporting Actor is a Done Deal

The Oscar Volleys are back for some post-nomination talks. Today, Eric Blume and Nick Taylor discuss Best Supporting Actor...

A REAL PAIN | © Searchlight Pictures

ERIC: Nick, I'm lucky enough to be paired with you for two different Oscar volleys this year. Let's start with the easier, our dive into the five Best Supporting Actor nominees. Nathaniel has already written about the incredible strength of this year's nominees, and I agree with him that it's one of our best ever. These gents were all a part of my personal top ten in this category, and there's not a dud in the bunch, in my opinion.  What are your thoughts on the group?

NICK: I’m less enthusiastic about this year’s contenders than you and Nathaniel are. No one’s doing bad work, but I wouldn’t have any of them in my lineup...

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Split Decision: "A Complete Unknown"

In the Split Decision series, two of our writers face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Today, Eric Blume and Ben Miller discuss A Complete Unknown...

ERIC:  Hey Ben!  It's cool to be able to discuss A Complete Unknown with you.  I didn't love the movie, but I did find it very entertaining until its final reel, and it kind of felt like the kind of sturdy Hollywood films they don't make very often nowadays.  I have lots of thoughts about it, but where do you stand on the movie overall? 

BEN:  This is where we diverge, because outside of some of the supporting performances, I found it dreadful.  I wasn't even entertained.  The entire film felt like an anti-musical biopic, but the more it tried to get away from the formula, the more it leaned into it...

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Split Decision: “Anora”

Come celebrate Valentine’s Day with the season’s most talked about love story gone wrong. It’s time to discuss Anora in the Split Decision series. Abe Friedtanzer and Juan Carlos Ojano disagree over the merits of this Oscar frontrunner…

ABE FRIEDTANZER: We're starting this conversation one day after one of my favorite films of 2024, Anora, won the Critics Choice Award for Best Picture and nothing else. As you may imagine, I think there's plenty to celebrate about it, and it's a bit strange that it won ONLY the top prize. But it is good to see it back in the awards race after picking up so many critics' prizes and then sort of fading into third or fourth position in most races (like Best Actress). I tried and failed to see Anora at TIFF and then did end up seeing it a few weeks later at a press screening in LA and was quite impressed…

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Split Decision: "A Real Pain"

Split Decision returns to TFE. In this series two of our writers face off on a movie one loves and the other doesn't. Today, Eric Blume and Cláudio Alves discuss the season's Supporting Actor frontrunner and Original Screenplay nominee, A Real Pain...

ERIC BLUME: I'm thrilled to discuss one of my very favorite movies of the year, A Real Pain, with you.  I think Jesse Eisenberg made a major film with huge ideas, packed in a tight, 90-minute breezy package:  something we almost *never* see nowadays.  I think it's thematically rich, briskly paced, surprising, and most interesting, light and deep at the same time.  Where do you stand on the picture? 

CLÁUDIO ALVES: While I like A Real Pain, I wouldn't call it a major film by any metric, shape, or form…

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Almost There: Denzel Washington in "Gladiator II"

by Cláudio Alves

The 97th Academy Award nominations weren't marked by many high-profile snubs. Sure, a few critical darlings failed to secure AMPAS' approval, but their absence didn't come off as a shock. Even so, as in every year, some folks came close to a nomination but likely ended up as sixth or seventh on the ballot. For the next few weeks, the Almost There series is making a comeback to celebrate those very contenders. Like last season, I'll pick one performance from each acting category, starting with Best Supporting Actor. And though Clarence Maclin probably came close to the Oscar nod with Sing Sing, let's consider another alternative – Denzel Washington's villainous turn in Gladiator II…

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