Alternative 2009 Oscar Nominees...Best Supporting Actor!!

-I must say that the Best Supporting Actor Oscar has to be my most favorite out of all the categories this year. So many great actors are nominated this year; all of them deserving!! It will be a MAJOR upset if the Academy doesn't award Christoph Waltz for giving perhaps the most tour-de-force performance in Inglorious Basterds. Yet it seems that any of the other men in the category would be equally deserving of the award. Matt Damon who seemed in danger of getting lost in the realm of Hollywood blockbusters gave a moving and credible performance as a South African rugby player in Clint Eastwood's powerhouse Invictus. Christopher Plummer, one of stage and screen's most well-respected actors for decades finally receives his long overdue nomination for playing legendary scribe Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station. Meanwhile Woody Harrelson gets a second chance at Oscar and once again proves his underrated and oftentimes underused acting chops playing a hard-as-nails Army Captain in the criminally underseen The Messenger. Finally, Stanley Tucci is rewarded for years of outstanding supporting work with a nomination for his decidedly unsettling role as a child murderer in The Lovely Bones. I have no complaints to make about the choices made by the academy for this category, but I do however want to acknowledge 5 other Oscar-worthy supporting actor turns from 2009; all of whom deserve just as much recognition as the aforementioned men.

1. Jeff Bridges- The Men Who Stare at Goats

-As I mentioned in an earlier posting, Jeff Bridges is an acting svengali who can do almost no wrong. Case in point is his hilarious performance in the oddly-inspired comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats. Although he doesn't get the chance to utilize his comedic abilities too often, in this sadly unnoticed army comedy, Bridges gives one of his most laugh-inducing roles as one of a group of soldiers who is able to destroy enemies through mind control. Perhaps if crazy Heart hadn't come along this would have been the film to bring Bridges the Oscar he rightly deserves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SreufFevUSw

2. Frank Langella- The Box

-While many just didn't get Richard Kelly's third film (also his most straightforward) about a couple played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden; the recipients of a mysterious box which brings the promise of wealth for the two and death for a stranger. As the mastermind behind the proceedings, Langella, always a dependable actor, creates one of the most silently menacing creations shown on screen in recent years. His Mr. Steward is quiet, and because he's orchestrated so many events such as these, uncalculating. Instead he goes through the motions, which thanks to the fascinating elements of the character and Langella's talent, proves highly interesting!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFHa-ygkF_M

3. Steve Martin- It's Complicated

-For years Steve Martin has given the movies one zany character after another. Yet there are times when this brilliant comic actor turns in a highly credible performance that doesn't rely on sight gags or word play. Such a case would be his turn in this Christmas' hit comedy It's Complicated. Playing an architect who falls for his client played by Meryl Streep, Martin is at his best just being natural. Martin plays his character as someone who is content with his life, yet still recovering from the pain of a failed marriage. The actor is perfectly able to bring forth the duality of his role which is caution at the prospect of a new relationship and the desire to make himself open to the possibility of love once more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt-l1liNjk0

4. Christian McKay- Me & Orson Welles

-Its almost frightening at just how powerful and dead on McKay's interpretation of Welles is in this otherwise standard film. The actor, a virtual newcomer to films, nails the perfect intonations, inflections, gestures, and facial expressions that made the legenday actor/director such a force. But more than just nailing the physical and technical aspects of the role, where McKay succeeds just as greatly is in capturing Welles' spirit and dedication for the craft which more than shines through thanks to the actor's work which is perhaps one of the best interpretations of any real-life figure to date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQvq7eulfWc

5. Alfred Molina- An Education

-Another actor long overdue (and still is) for Oscar recognition is Alfred Molina. As Carey Mulligan's straight-laced, but loving father in An Education, the actor proves once again why he is one of the best character actors around. His fatherly turn provides the emotional core the film is after and the love he possesses for his daughter comes through in virtually every scene he is in. More than that, Molina represents a man who gave up on his own dreams in favor of practicality and wants so much for his daughter to make not necessarily the opposite choice he made, but simply to make the one she feels is right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUeYKwxTCGQ

Tomorrow...Best Actress!!