DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY Welcome back to the newest installment of this week's series. This week's installment focuses on a actress who became a director in 2006 : Sarah Polley. She is a most known for her roles in Existenz , 2004's Dawn of the Dead and 2009's Splice. Now I will list the 3 movies she has directed starting with her directorial debut feature film Away From Her
Away From Her is about a retired married couple Fiona and Grant (Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent) living a normal life when Fiona starts experiencing memory loss. She is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and they make a decision to check her into a nursing home. As she loses more of her memory, she also loses the memories of her love for her husband as she falls in love with another resident there. This is a great directorial debut for Sarah as she lets you see what the ravages of disease does to a married couple as Grant realizes that he is losing his wife and there is nothing he can do to stop it. Also this movie is a great showcase for Julie Christie as Fiona who goes through so much pain and emotion as she forget her love for one man and starts loving another. This is a great story of unconditional love of the sacrifices you make for that love.
Take This Waltz is about a married couple that is going through the normal motions. Lou (Seth Rogen) seems pretty happy with how things are while Margot (Michelle Williams) is restless with it, talking with a man named Daniel (Luke Kirby) who she meets on a business trip. Slowly Margot is more and more enthralled with Daniel to the point she has to make a big decision on her marriage and her life.
Sarah's second film is a wonderful tale of many mixes. Modern-day life, unfulfilled restlessness, and second-guessing is just many things dealt with as Michelle Williams delivers as a wife who is restless in her marriage but doesn't want to hurt her husband. Seth Rogen also is fantastic as a husband who slowly understands his wife is unhappy but understands he can't stop what is happening. A interesting tale of marriage, relationships, and regret.
Stories We Tell is one of the most personal movies you will ever see. Also it is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Sarah tells the story of her mother as she learns about her, her father and the secret that was kept from her for many years. Interweaved with stories from family, friends and reenactments of key moments in her mother's life, you get to see what shaped Sarah and her life. I can not state how much I love this film. As raw and real as any doc can get, it is a masterpiece of a memoir told with restraint and yet also love. (Also Sarah wrote in her own words her thoughts on making this film here : http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2012/08/29/stories-we-tell-a-post-by-sarah-polley/ )
Sarah's next film coming up is " Looking for Alaska" a film adaptation of John Green's 2005 novel. I cannot wait to see what she does with this material as she is just getting started in her directing career and hope to see much more from her in the future.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
SUNDAY DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT
This post is dedicated to highlighting certain directors's films that maybe don't get as much love as they should. Today I am going to highlight 3 Coen Brothers films that probably don't get the love and respect they deserve.
2004's The LadyKillers is a remake of the 1955 film with the same name. Usually this film is not mentioned as a favorite Coen Brothers movie but it is definitely one of mine. Tom Hanks plays Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, a southern gentleman who rents a apartment in Mrs. Munson's house so he and his band can rehearse in the root cellar below. You soon find out though that he has alter motives for the root cellar as he is planning a bank robbery under Mrs. Munson's nose. However, does everything go smoothly for them? I won't say for those who have watched but it don't go easy.
I love Tom's performance in this as he has so much fun playing such a smarmy, slick con man who only ability is to weave one lie after the next. Also the supporting cast is very nice from Irma P. Hall as Mrs. Munson who can see through most of Dorr's lies to J.K. Simmons as Garth Pancake, a demolitions expert who's IBS strikes at the worst possible moments. This is probably the second funniest Coen Brothers film next to "O Brother Where Art Thou" and I really would think you will enjoy and laugh with this film as it goes from bank heist film to slapstick film in a heartbeat.
This is a film I only just saw a couple years ago and I kicked myself for not seeing before that. Raising Arizona is the story of a ex-criminal Herbert "Hi" (Nicolas Cage) and a police officer Edwina "Ed" (Holly Hunter) who get married but find out that they can not have or adopt kids. So they come with a idea to kidnap one of five babies of a famous Arizona resident. Complications arise in the form of : family trying to get Hi back into the criminal racket, a boss who wants to wife-swap and a bounty hunter hot on their trail.
This is one of Nicolas's best performances as the wackness he shows now in movies iis much under control here in a very downbeat way as he shows Hi as a man wanting to do good by his family and his new son. This film is one of the more upbeat Coen Brothers films as it is a fun and interesting look at life in the west. It is a prelude to their later films such as "O Brother", "Big Lebowski" and "Burn After Reading" in the style of the movie and the eccentric characters that inhabit the world the Coens weave their stories in.
Miller's Crossing is one of those films that the first time you view it , you might not notice everything. The Coens here mix the 30's gangster films with the noir films of the 1940's to excellent effect here. If you are a fan of movies and the technical side of them then I would highly suggest this film. It is one that you will enjoy upon multiple viewings.
The main story is about boss Leo (Albert Finney) and his #1 guy so to speak Tom (Gabriel Byrne). Leo is in a war with Johnny Caspar and is forced to offer protection to his lover's brother Bernie as a result of it (John Turturro in a great performance). Tom doesn't agree with Leo's decision and goes to work for his rival Caspar. Caspar's first order is to have Tom kill Bernie in the woods at Miller's Crossing. Will he do it or will he set a chain of events in motion by letting him go?
Like many of the Joel and Ethan Coen's films, this one is even better upon rewatches. You will catch so many different things. So Look In Your Heart and ask yourself "Why wouldn't you want to watch Miller's Crossing?"
So these are just three of the Coen Brothers films that I would recommend to people. Actually these were all recommended to me at one point too! So someone out there is someone who hasn't seen one or two or all of these films. If you are a fan of these films then go out and tell them about these films. Maybe once they see these , they will watch other Coen films or perhaps other films with say Holly Hunter or Gabriel Byrne in them. Pay It Forward when it comes to love of movies. (Though I wouldn't recommend that one. hahahaha!)
Thursday, July 9, 2015
We are 11 episodes into this season of Carmilla and it is safe to say that things have gotten even crazier and wilder at Silas University. Instead of reviewing each episode one by one , I've decided to have this post examine what has been happening with each character so far this season. So let's start with the two main characters of the show shall we - Carmilla Kamstein and Laura Hollis.
When we start season 2 of Carmilla, our first sight is Laura turning on the lights and speaking to us again. We soon see that Carmilla and Laura are very much in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. Through the first 11 episodes we have seen a few cute moments between the two including in episode 4 when Laura and Carmilla talk to each other and admit they fell for each other way before the last episodes of season 1. After a quick race , we see that well...everyone reading this is a adult , I don't have to spell it out for you (They have S-E-X)
That right there is "I just had amazing sex" hair
Though lately, it has not been all smooth sailing thanks to the arrival of Carm's sister, Mattie. Mattie has been taking over things at Silas and she has also been trying to get into Carmilla's head about her relationship with Laura.
Carmilla in this season has shown that while she is definitely the physically strongest member of the group, she is also the most emotionally fragile of the group. You can see it every time Laura calls her a hero, she doesn't want to be a hero or fight any more battles. Carm just wants to be with Laura. Though she tells Mattie that Laura is not a passing fancy, Carmilla fears she could be one to Laura. (watch her face when Laura talks to Danny in ep.11, how it changes when Laura touches Danny's arm. It is innocent but the nagging fear is there for Carm)
Laura , on the other hand, is still nerdy Laura drinking from her Doctor Who mug. (Also how old married couple-ish was it when Carmilla drank her mug?) Also Laura is in another situation that is way over her head. She feels guilty about what has happened to the school and feels it is her duty to help bring some order to the university. Also like Carmilla, Mattie's words have made Laura worry about if she is just a passing fancy to her. I worry what this will do to her and Carm's relationship as Laura has been asking for Carmilla's help in some situations like getting information from Mattie. This has made Carm very uncomfortable even though I don't think Laura means to.
Lafontaine- LaF has been dealing with a few things so far this season mostly all friend-related. They has had to deal with her best friend Perry's attack in the first few episodes. I will talk more about what happened to Perry in a bit but LaF has had to see her best friend tramutized emotional and psychically and the helpless feeling them had of not being able to help her.
The other thing that LaF has had to deal with is what has been happening to J.P. Due to...not sure how it happened but the library has vanished and Jeep's all messed up because of it. As Lafontaine notices, JP and the library have a connection and with the library gone, JP is losing himself more and more. LaF wants to help him too but they have no idea what to do. So LaF is stuck watching them friends in pain and not being able to help. So I see in the future episodes, LaF trying everything possible to try to help both of them through any means necessary.
Perry- Right now the person who at least physically had the roughest time so far this season is Perry. At the end of episode 1, Perry interrupts Carmilla and Laura's time together only to be covered in blood. She had just found the murdered newspaper students. That kind of thing shakes you up no matter what you think.
Then in episode 4 at the end , we find out that Perry has been attacked by something and it has written words in Perry's stomach! Done by whoever killed the newspaper staff (My guess), it is a threat to get them off of the case. All this and the continuing craziness has almost pushed Perry to the breaking point as she is getting madder and madder. I fear that Perry's rage will boil over and hurt the ones she truly cares about instead of the ones who deserve it.
Also Danny and Kirsch have been having a sort-of side adventure with Mel, a newcomer to the series. These have mostly been played for laughs as Kirsch is love-sick puppy crushing on Danny while D-Bear is tolerating him. This changed from laughs to serious when Danny protected Kirsch from Mel and her arrows, leaving Danny with a new enemy and a serious threat.
So since we are only a few episodes away from the halfway point of the season, I think things are going to only get tough for Carmilla,Laura and their Friends. I hope they can find the library to save JP and solve the Mattie problem but I know if they do it won't be easy.
Overall, this has been a real good season so far and really looking forward to see what is coming up next!
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Today is the fourth of July, Independence Day. I have picked out below are four movies that I consider patriotic to me. I know a few choices are out of the box but I think they represent what representing America in the movies means not only to me but to other.
Independence Day - This film without a doubt, screams AMERICA. Alien invaders come to our planet to take it over. Led by the president Bill Pullman, Scientist Jeff Goldblum and pilot Will Smith, USA leads the way to fight back the invaders and defeat them. In true American fashon, we do fail miserably a few times (you will be missed Harry Connick Jr. "KICK THE TIRES AND LIGHT THE FIRES BIG DADDY!") But like America does, we get it right the 3rd or 4th time around. This is a seriously fun action movie and always enjoyable to watch.
Rocky IV - I know in this one Rocky Balboa fights Ivan Drago to avenge a friend but this becomes so much more during the fight. In the lead-up it had become a USA vs Russia discussion but due to the iron will of Rocky, he ends up getting the crowd in Siberia rooting for the American thorough his sheer guts and determination. If that doesn't scream America, then I don't know what does. Also it has a robot in it that is very freaky and that's USA right there.
Pitch Perfect 2 - In this film, the Bellas led by Beca (Anna Kendrick) have been disgraced. To keep the Bellas in Barden College, they have to win a Worlds acapella competition. Their main competotors are the German group Das Sound Machine. The Bellas lose a riff-off to them and all hope seems lost. Then though in true American fashion, they are able to rebond and focus on winning the competition. It all leads to a epic preformance by the Barden Bellas. Do they win though for themselves and America? well I'll just leave this hint : World War II (boom)
Captain America - A underrated Marvel film, this shows what happens when you believe in helping your country and being a hero. Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) is a 90-pound weakling till he is given a serum that gives him super strength. But this movie shows that it is the heart of Steve Rogers, the heart that loves America that helps him become a super soldier and defend the land from evil Nazis. Also the movie has Hayley Atwell. HAYLEY ATWELL, people!!
Friday, July 3, 2015
Steven Universe is in it's second season right now and it is one of my favorite cartoons on the air right now. I have enjoyed a lot of the episodes as it is so good at mixing adult themes but keeping them suitable and relatable to young children. The following is my top 6 favorite Steven Universe episodes and the reason why. Remember, these are just my picks and if you disagree let me know on here or on twitter (@cdulaney85)
Honorable mentions: An Indirect Kiss, Horror Club, Tiger Millionaire, Together Breakfast, Sworn to the Sword, Giant Woman and Rose' Scabbard
Alone Together - In this episode, Steven and his best friend Connie are talking about Steven lack of ability to fusion with the other gems. Through a dance, Steven and Connie fuse into Stevonnie. As they start going through the motions of being a new fusion , we see them still being Steven and Connie as they go to a adult party and feel nervous and objectified. It's a great episode to show why Steven and Connie are who they are and how they always feel most comfortable with each other.
Winter's Forecast-In this episode, Connie is hanging out with Steven and Steven's dad Greg. A winter storm hits and thanks to a kiss on the forehead from Garnet, Steven sees visions of what could happen if they delay taking Connie home. This isn't really a big episode but I like it as we get to see a lot of the friendship of Connie and Steven here and there are some funny moments involving Mr.Universe and his driving.
Jail Break-This is part 2 of a two-parter where Steven and the crystal gems are captured by Jasper. Steven escapes and finds Ruby and Sapphire which is the first time he gets to see them become Garnet. It's a great action episode with a wonderful song by Garnet explaining what she is made of. She is made of love. I love the song as explains Garnet better than anything could.
Full Disclosure- This is the episode right after "Jail Break". Steven and the gems have just gotten back from the battle and Connie calls to see if they are alright. Steven at first delays speaking to her, trying to find the right words to say. Eventually Steven decides not to say anything to her as he fears she will get hurt. This episode highlights the destruction that the gems can cause but also that people are willing to be friends with Steven regardless of what may happen.
Story for Steven/ We Need to Talk- I really enjoy the episodes where we see the backstory of characters so these two are some of my all-time favorites. In "Story for Steven" Greg tells Steven as a bedtime story how he first met his mom , Rose Quartz. It's a nice little tale and I enjoy the singing in it as well as the hints of Pearl's true feelings towards Greg and Rose. (Hint - polar opposites of the spectrum)
We Need to Talk is in which Greg tells Connie and Steven about the first time he saw a fusion and his attempted fusion with Rose after finding out about Steven and Connie's fusion. It shows more of their backstory and how Greg and Rose fell in love. It's funny and emotional at the same time and a great view of how even Rose had her flaws like the other crystal gems.
Lion 3: Straight to Video- In this episode, Steven's Lion keeps sleeping on top of Steven at night. Steven finds out that in Lion's mane is a whole different land. In this land he finds some of his mother's things including a videotape which is in the video above. I love that this is Steven's first time ever seeing a video of his mom and it's ties in with the thoughts of family and love that this show has.
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Emmys nominations come out July 16th. Below is not what I think will end up being the nominations exactly. No, this is my picks for each category. The following nominees for each category is who I think was the best from this tv season. Some shows are left out because they simply were not the best they could have been this year. Other shows were left out simply because there weren't enough slots in some really highly competitive categories. And I'll be honest, I didn't get to watch everything out there. So here is my dream picks for the 2015 EMMYS!
BEST DRAMA
The Americans
Orange is the New Black
Better Call Saul
The Flash
Mad Men
Empire
Justified
My Pick - The Americans
The Flash had a tremendous first season and it had terrific episode after terrific episode. Mad Men was inconsistent but had some strong episodes to end the series. Saul also had a great first season though a lull in the middle of the run is what did not lead me to pick it. The same for Empire which was carried for a bit by strong performances.
So it came down to me between Americans and Orange is the New Black. I picked The Americans as even though the character growth and storyline in OITNB is fantastic, each week I was stunned at how much emotion The Americans showed and they were able to change up what you expected with simple words and sometimes only in the actors's faces. You fear for Philip and Elizabeth but also you root for them as well not just as spies but as a married couple with a family as well.
Parks and Recreation
Brooklyn 99
You're the Worst
Jane the Virgin
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
New Girl
Broad City
My Pick - Jane the Virgin
Parks had one of it's finest season and went out with some of it's best episodes of the series. Brooklyn 99 showed heart and humor in it's sophomore season and showed that it will be on this list for quite awhile. You're the Worst had a strong first season and showed that you can change how a show and its characters are shown and still be terrific and funny. Kimmy Schmidt was labeled as the child of 30 Rock and it showed that it was that and more with it's off-the-wall humor and funny outrageous characters. New Girl rebounded from a okay season 3 with a superb season 4 and Broad City had a great season as it's two main characters were always proving funny moments and outrageous situations.
But Jane the Virgin is my pick because it's been a long long time since a show has had as flawless a first season as this one has. This is the rare show that can mix humor with emotional moments , even at the same time. I love that the main focus of the show is a strong female and her family and I'm glad that they always remembered this.
BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul
Grant Gustin - The Flash
Jon Hamm - Mad Men
Matthew Rhys - The Americans
Dominic West- The Affair
Charlie Cox- Daredevil
Cillian Murphy - Peaky Blinders
My Pick - Bob Odenkirk
Grant was a revelation as Barry Allen as he showed so many aspects of his performance. His nomination to me was deserved in the season finale episode. Hamm showed once again the pain and anguish that make up Don Draper as he tried to figure out what he wanted from his life.
Matthew played Philip as a man who wants to be loyal to country but always loyal to family first in one of the best performances of the year. He showed so many emotions by just the way he would look at someone. Dominic did a great job of showing a flawed man trying to do the right thing but always picking the wrong choices at the wrong time. Charlie brought Matt Murdock to life as he showed he could nail the emotional scenes as well as the action ones.
Bob is my pick as he at the start of the series was trying to fight out of the "Slippin Jimmy" role that everyone from his former bosses to his own brother had labeled him in. The emotional scene where he finds out his brother betrayed him is one of the best of the year as you can see Jimmy figuring out that all his efforts to be respectful don't mean a damn to people that have him judged and set as "Slippin Jimmy" for the rest of his life. We haven't seen him become Saul Goodman yet but we are seeing the origins and it is the best work of Odenkirk's career.
BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Taraji P. Henson - Empire
Keri Russell- The Americans
Elizabeth Moss - Mad Men
Tatiana Maslany - Orphan Black
Hayley Atwell - Agent Carter
Italia Ricca - Chasing Life
Eva Green - Penny Dreadful
My Pick - Keri Russell
Taraji's role as Cookie is one of the biggest reasons Empire has become the popular pop culture hit it is. She bring fire and passion to each scene Cookie is in. Elizabeth showed how much Peggy's character had evolved through the years as it could all be seen in one scene when Peggy powerwalks through her new job in complete control of her world. Tatiana showed once again how talented she is as she played not just 5 different characters but also add more this season. I just hope we don't take for granted how great a actress she is. Hayley Atwell brought her character Peggy Carter to the small screen and she was flawless. She was not only one of the best performers of the year but also brought up many discussions and showed that she knows her worth no matter what I or anyone else say.
I have loved Italia's performance as April on Chasing Life. She is flawless showing multiple sides of a woman who is diagnosed with cancer just as she is reaching her mid-20's and we get to see all the emotions she goes through as she decides to fight and continue living her life to her fullest. Eva Green's showed how underrated a actress she is in Penny Dreadful showing us Vanessa as a woman who is scared of what is inside her but will not let it rule her. Her scenes with Josh Hartnett also show how to have sexual chemistry through just actions and a few words.
I chose Keri this year because in season 3 of The Americans we saw not only her play Elizabeth as a spy who is realizing that she can't keep doing this very much longer, not only a daughter who wants to let her mother know she loves her and has not forgotten about her but also as a mother and wife. A wife who loves her husband but can't agree with him on the best way for their daughter's life and as a mother who sees her daughter as someone without cause in her life and wants to help her. All these things are closing in on her and Keri did a fantastic job this season of showing that she is not only the strongest member of the family but also showing how much she loves her family as she tries keep everything together for her mother country.
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Drama
Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Jonathan Banks - Better Call Saul
Michael McKean- Better Call Saul
Tom Cavanagh - The Flash
Vincent D'Onofrio - Daredevil
Kyle MacLachlin - Agents of SHIELD
My Pick - Vincent D'Onofrio
Peter once again had a great season as Tyrion who with as just one sentence or turn of a phrase can get people to love him , laugh with him/at him or hate him with a passion. One thing that you never do is ignore him though. McKean and Banks showed why they are such intricate parts of Better Call Saul, McKean's performance having you showing sympathy and then hatred towards Chuck while Banks dominated the screen whenever Mike had a scene whether talking with Jimmy or visiting his old stomping grounds. Tom Cavanagh's portrayal of Harrison Wells was one of the best of the season as he played the perfect mix of father figure/ man with a secret. And oh boy what a big secret it was! Kyle was a blessing to Agents of Shield as his flamboyant performance always left you statsified and yet you never tired of see him on there.
Vincent though was the best and is my choice. He was able to show multiple sides of Wilson Fisk (Flawed, scared, vengeful, frightening, romantic and wounded.) D'Onofrio showed that villains can be flawed human beings like us as that is what he made Wilson Fisk. A flawed man who is as human and monstrous as any of us can be.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Drama
Amy Acker - Person of Interest
Laverne Cox - Orange is the New Black
Adrienne C. Moore - Orange is the New Black
Carrie Coon- The Leftovers
Taryn Manning - Orange is the New Black
Mae Whitman - Parenthood
Emily Bett Rickards - Arrow
Lea Delaria - Orange is the New Black
My Pick - (tie) Mae Whitman and Lea Delaria
Amy had always been fantastic but on Person of Interest she has raised her game to a whole new level as Root as we saw this cold, calculating woman get pushed more and more to the breaking point. Laverne and Danielle were tremendous in their storylines this season as Laverne's Sophia was bullied and attacked for being a transgender woman as she showed the pain and strength Sophia goes through everyday while Adrienne combined humor with some great serious moments in her journey to pretend to become Jewish to actually converting. Emily shined in what was a down year of Arrow and showed how she went from one off appearance character to the heart of the show. Carrie's performance as a woman who lost her entire family in the "Sudden Departure", she was brilliant showing how much it had scarred her and how hard it is for your life to go on after that.
Lea is one of my picks because the episode where we got to see Boo's backstory was excellent. Lea showed what made Boo into Boo as we found and saw the pain that she went through her entire life of being told to act nice or dress more like a girl should and her anger at these people who just would not let her be herself. Also her friendship with Pennsatucky was one of the highlights of season 3 as well as polar opposites became good friends.
I also decided to pick Mae and this time because she had a great performance this year. Mae as she went through a unplanned pregnancy and dealing with the chance of losing her grandfather at perhaps the same time. She should you a woman who is scared and nervous and yet strong enough to be brave.
BEST ACTOR - Comedy
Chris Geere - You're the Worst
Joel McHale - Community
Thomas Middleditch - Silicon Valley
Adam Scott- Parks and Recreation
Andy Samberg - Brooklyn 99
Jay Baruchel - Man Seeking Woman
My Pick - Andy Samberg
Chris's character on You're the Worst is not really a nice one and yet thanks to Chris's performance and charisma, you find yourself rooting for him even when he is at his worst. Joel showed in the final season of Community how much Jeff Winger has changed and showed through the fear of losing his study group to the outside world. Richard as head of Pied Piper screwed up so many ways and through it all Middleditch had you rooting for him to fix things or to reach home before the others got rid of Pied Piper. Adam Scott kept up the tremendous work he did as Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec's final season whether standing by Leslie for her next step in her career or him and April search for the next Mayor of Pawnee. Adam always played a wonderful straight man to the wildness around him . Jay was able to make his everyman geekish quality working on his new show as he took every ridiculous thing that was happening and able to ground it into relatable things.
I went with Andy because this season saw growth in the character of Jake Peralta. He realized his feelings for Amy had gotten even more real and that he wasn't afraid to let them known anymore. Also his father/son bond with Capt. Holt led to some great heartwarming moments between the two. Though he still showed he is a big kid, he has become a big kid with a heart that cares about others, friends he considers his family.
BEST ACTRESS - Comedy
Aya Cash- You're the Worst
Zooey Deschanel - New Girl
Julie Louis- Dreyfus - Veep
Ellie Kemper - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Amy Schumer - Inside Amy Schumer
Gina Rodriquez - Jane the Virgin
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
My Pick - Gina Rodriquez
This is such a strong category. Gretchen is simply a terrible person on You're the Worst. Does everything possible to hate her and thanks to Aya's performance and charm you end up falling for as hard as Jimmy did from episode 1. Zooey was the leading force in New Girl's comeback season as she continued to evolve Jessica Day into even more of a rounded out character with quirks and flaws but damn proud to have them. JLD continued the consistent greatness she always does on Veep as Selina dealt with the presidency, collegues leaving and telling her the hard truth and a vice-president more popular than her with the same grace she has always done, you fucking nutbags. Ellie Kemper played Kimmy Schmidt as a woman seeing the world for the first time in a long time for laughs but also never to be laughed at and I am so glad for that. She showed that Kimmy may not knowing everything but she is not letting that keep her down. Schumer on her show shows off great comedic timing in such classics like "Last Fuckable Day" Poehler once again showed how Leslie Knope will be one of the most iconic tv characters in history. Amy's performance with Nick Offerman in Leslie and Ron is one of the best in a very long time not counting her speech to the Male Men in "Pie-Mary"
My choice is Gina though because in her first starring role on in what could have been a goofy show , she made Jane become one of the best characters in tv. Her scenes with her mom and grandmother were some of the most emotional ones this season especially tell her grandmother she was scared of being a single mom. Also though Gina can nail the humor scenes such as imagining talking with her future daughter or envisioning telenovela scenes in her head of her and her ex-boyfriend Rafael though also she can deliver in scenes like the one below where her and Rafael break-up.
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Comedy
Andre Braugher - Brooklyn 99
Tituss Burgess - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jim Rash - Community
Jaime Camil - Jane the Virgin
Hugh Laurie - Veep
Nick Offerman - Parks and Recreation
Chris Pratt - Parks and Recreation
My Pick - Jaime Camil
Andre continues to crush it as Capt. Holt with his deadpan deliveries of the funniest lines and then getting us to laugh when he either says "HOT DAMN!" or is in a awkward conversation with Rosa. Tituss stole scenes and gave us laugh after laugh on Unbreakable as Kimmy's best friend Titus and that's not even mentioning the song that everyone hasn't stopped singing."PEENNNO NOIRRRR CAVIAR." Jim Rash continued his great run as the Dean on Community giving us such great laugh-out-loud moments just from a look on his face or a one-liner like "AND JESUS WEPT!" Hugh Laurie fit seamlessly in to the big cast of Veep and added his spark to the show as Senator Tom James as a perfect ally/ foil to Selina's presidental campaign. Nick and Chris had a great final season on Parks and shined when they were given their own episodes. Nick and Amy's "Leslie and Ron" episode which was a showcase of his talent and ability to show many sides of Ron Swanson. Chris had his shining moment in the Johnny Karate episode which was the funniest half-hour of tv in a long while anchored by Chris's Andy Dwyer.
But I will pick Jaime Camil's performance as Rogelio de la Vega on Jane the Virgin. As a slightly..ok really self-obsessed actor who wants to get to know his daughter, it has been a pleasure seeing Jaime steal every scene he has been involved in. Every scene that has Rogelio is always guaranteed to have a laugh in it. Also when it comes time for the emotional scenes, He absoultely nails it like this scene where Jane calls him "Dad" for the first time. You can feel the pride in his voice and the emotion hit his voice.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Comedy
Stephanie Beatriz - Brooklyn 99
Anna Chlumsky - Veep
Melissa Fumero - Brooklyn 99
Yael Grobglas - Jane the Virgin
Kate McKinnon - Saturday Night Live
Andrea Navedo - Jane the Virgin
Aubrey Plaza - Parks and Recreation
My Pick- Kate McKinnon
Stephanie and Melissa are two of the strongest and yet funniest characters on network tv right now as Rosa Diaz and Amy Santiago of the 99. They are so in touch with the characters they play that even slight movements cause joyish laughter. (Also Rosa's impersonation of Amy is so so good.) Amy's tell-off of Selina was one of the best scenes on television this year and shows how good Anna has become over the years at playing that character. Yael and Andrea were two more shining reasons to watch Jane the Virgin as Petra, Rafael's ex-wife who is always scheming but wanting to be a good person and Xo, Jane's mom who always shows that she is many things but always proudest to be a mother first.
Kate is my choice for the award simply because without her, SNL would be terrible. She is the bedrock of that show. She is almost always the MVP and can always produce laughs even with the most terrible segment. Then, when the segment is written good, she makes it even more memorable. She is a master impersonist and is great at creating her own characters that never overstay their welcome. Simply put, Saturday Night Live better count their blessings every time Kate McKinnon is on screen.
Best Variety Show - My Pick - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Watch any episode of John Oliver's show and you will see why it deserves the award. Seriously, ANY EPISODE.
Best Writing - Inside Amy Schumer - 12 Angry Men
Parks and Recreation - Ron and Leslie
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Charlie Work
Community - Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television
My Pick - Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television
This one I could be picking with my heart but this was a perfect ending to six seasons of Community. It was the perfect blend of the wildness of Community but also hit the emotional moments, especially the final scene of Jeff and Annie at the Study Room. This was what a lot of people will point to in the future when they want to see how good Community could be. BEST ANIMATED PROGRAM - BOB's BURGERS
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Thursday, June 18, 2015
Think about your favorite show for a minute and your favorite actor or actress on there. They probably have been that character for a few seasons but only appear in some of the scenes perhaps. Now compare that to Tatiana Maslany on Orphan Black. She plays 5 different characters in a regular episode . A good nickname for her would be "The Boss" because she commands each scene she is in. Each character with their own personalities and she is able to flawlessly play them so well. In a fair world , Tatiana would get so many nominations and awards for her acting on Orphan Black. So below I will mention each of the characters she plays and it will help explain why she is so deserving of all the award as I talk about each of the 5 clones she plays regularly on the show.
Sarah Manning is the one that is on the show the most. As Sarah, Tatiana plays so many roles here - con artist turned loyal sister and mother. At the beginning of the show , Sarah had only cared about herself. Thankfully as the series has gone on, Sarah has cared more about her sisters starting with her bond with Cosima and trying to help her with her illness. Then it was helping Alison out with her many, many troubles. As of this season she has fought to protect her daughter Kira ,her sister Helena and her surrogate mom Mrs.S. She does a great job of showing how much Sarah has evolved over the last few seasons as she has let more people in now besides Felix as she and Jordan Garavis show the sister/brother bond Sarah and Felix have as they bicker, tease and fight but always have one another's back.
Alison Hendrix is first and foremost a mom as she would admit. A mom who also has : let a woman die, hid a body in her garage, sold drugs and now is running for School Trustee. Married to Donnie with two adopted children, she will fiercely do anything to keep the orderly life she has for herself. In season 2 we saw Alison have a drinking problem which led to some interesting scenes with her and the other clones. Tatiana shows how uptight Alison is when it comes to many things like household work to the manner in which she tells Donnie to stop showing off when making a drug/money transfer. She believes in everything she does and is without a doubt the strongest character on the show.
Helena is such a impressive character that Tatiana plays. It is hard to have a character that spends the first season trying to kill and kidnap the main character's family and turn them into the most likable character on the show but this is what Tatiana and writers have accomplished. Now Helena has embraced her sestras and thanks to Maslany's preformance has had Helena lighten up and deliver some light-hearted moments. But also you never forget that underneath that light exterior is a woman who will do anything to protect babies.
Cosima Niehaus is, to me, Tatiana's best role and performance on the show. Cosima is a scientist who is suffering from a disease that has struck some of the other clones that died before the others found out each other. In this performance , Cosima has had to deal with love and heartbreak multiple times in her relationship with Delphine. Tatiana's scenes with Evelyne Brochu have been some of the best of the series in my opinion. They show in just facial reactions how much they love and hurt each other with their choices. Also, Tatiana shows the bravery and fear Cosima has as she has found this new family but she knows it could be taken away from her and she's trying so hard to not let that happen. Also I have really enjoyed when Cosima has had scenes with Scotty, her colleague and friend from work at Dyad. They always have the older sister/little brother vibe that is really nice to see.
Rachel Duncan is without a doubt the meanest of the clone characters Tatiana plays. Quite frankly , she is a bitch. But in Rachel's mind, she is the victim and she has suffered. When she finds out that she is infertile, her psyche cracks and she kidnaps Sarah's daughter Kira. The Clone Club is able to rescue Kira and Sarah puts a pencil through Rachel's eye. That Rachel is able to have sympathy of any kind is because of the talented work Maslany does in portraying a wounded woman but refuses to let anyone help her even when hurt and injured.
And I haven't even touched the scenes where Tatiana plays Sarah playing Rachel, Sarah playing Alison, Helena playing Alison or Cosima playing Alison. (A lot of the clones pretend to be Alison don't they?) Those scenes are always so fantastic as she knows these characters so well that Tatiana even knows how they would pretend to be the other sister.
Also the chemistry she has with the rest of the cast whether it be Sarah and Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy) mother/daughter relationship, Alison and her husband Donnie's scenes are always funny and very enjoyable to watch. (Hint: Twerking)
Cosima and Felix are another fun pair on the show that shows Cosima's fun side as much as her interactions with Delphine are heartbreaking.
So these are my thoughts on Tatiana Maslany and the characters she plays on Orphan Black. She is one of the most talented actresses in the industry and I hope she can get the Emmy love she truly deserves. And if she doesn't then I hope she knows how many fans she has and how great she is each Saturday Night during the season.
