Of the Oscar nominated movies there were only two that I watched with my son: Creed and Bridge of Spies. We liked both films and I appreciate it when movies are PG-13 because they’re complex enough for him to enjoy and yet age-appropriate. Out of the performances in those movies, including Tom Hanks and Michael B. Jordan, he kept referencing Mark Rylance. My son has excellent taste is what I’m saying and while Hanks and Jordan both turned in excellent performances (and Jordan was robbed of a nomination) Rylance’s was also Oscar-worthy. He was able to show emotion slipping through the cracks of his spy character’s carefully constructed facade, and it was masterful.
Honestly I found Sylvester Stallone’s performance somewhat distracting at first because it took him a while to warm up to that role. He didn’t convince me as the character until about halfway through the film. So while I think he ultimately turned in a decent performance I don’t think it was Oscar-worthy, especially compared his costar. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when Rylance took home the Oscar, not Stallone.
The Best Supporting Actor was considered somewhat of a lock for Stallone as he took home the Globe and Critics Choice award, although that category was more up in the air than the other acting categories. (Idris Elba won the SAG, for which Stallone wasn’t even nominated, nor was he nominated for a BAFTA.) Some people have postulated that the predominately older white male Academy voters didn’t bother to watch Creed, which is possible. I think that the best actor won whichever the case, although Mark Ruffalo was also incredible in Spotlight. He did an excellent job at seeming genuinely upset and frustrated without overacting. (I liked Christian Bale in The Big Short but that movie fell flat for me overall.)
Anyway Stallone had some things to say about his Oscars loss, or least whoever runs his social media accounts did. Someone posted this to Stallone’s Instagram yesterday.
To clarify, Stallone posted another Instagram blaming his brother for that previous post. I mean, it’s possible that his brother wrote it but it’s also possible that he doesn’t want to take responsibility for it. (Update: Stallone was most likely apologizing for his brother’s tweets, not blaming his brother for the post, see below.) It wasn’t bad either way. It’s got to be disappointing to think you’re going to win the highest honor from your industry and then see it go to someone else. He wasn’t being disparaging at all, he was just saying that he wasn’t going to let it discourage him. That’s not a bad message and I would definitely watch another Creed movie. MGM has confirmed that it’s happening.
Also, if you haven’t seen Creed yet it’s out on DVD today! So many of the Oscar nominated movies are out now. Creed is well worth watching for its entertainment value and for Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson’s performances. We’re going to hopefully be seeing a lot more of her too.
Update thanks to Jess for pointing out that Sly’s brother, Frank, went off on Mark Rylance on Twitter. So when Sly apologized for his brother he was probably referring to his tweets and not claiming that he posted the original Instagram about never giving up. Frank has since deleted the tweets and apologized but you can read them here. He dissed Rylance’s hair and claimed that the Academy should be ashamed of not giving an Oscar to his brother.
photos credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
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