Oscar Season Stuff

Though I really need to catch up on recent Oscar upcomings, I have two performances I would like to fully endorse, that sadly the Academy will probably overlook when it comes nomination time, which is a shame.

First for Best Actor; the perfectly-pitched comic madness of...

...Russell Brand in Get Him To The Greek

Brand is one helluva inspired comedian, but he is also seems to have a genuine talent for real acting as well, as his Aldous Snow is a comedic tour-de-force which transcends the usual funny performances in other comedies these days to become something larger and more important. He actually subtly crafts a truly remarkably character (even more than what's written) who's growth and change are conveyed in both hilarious and poignant ways. Aldous' character arc is brought to life by the humanity Brand infuses into this wacky role, which makes his performance all the more emotionally satisfying.

And for Best Supporting Actress; the shocking, genuine work of....

...Chloë Moretz in Let Me In

I'm hoping that she could become a new Abigail Breslin, and this performance is valid proof that she very well could. I was going to see this movie thinking it was just some other horror film (my friend doesn't like to see any other kind....sigh) in a lame-ass assembly line...but I was so wrong. Let Me In is so much more a human drama than a straight up horror film and I was surprised to be completely won over, and especially by young Moretz. She plays a 300 year old vampire still living in a child's body, and feels so out of place in a world where she must kill to survive. It's when she meets Owen, a boy her age, that things begin to change and a innocent emotional bond is made between these two outsiders. Moretz generates real complexities that go deeper than the role requires; conveying a whole lifetime of confusion, loneliness, and desperation that pierced my heart. She isn't so much playing a "kid" and this is by no means a "kid performance", but rather it's completely mature, richly shaded, and deeply moving work of a very humanized monster.

I haven't heard much buzz for either performance, especially Brand, and they seem like types that the Golden Globes would pick up, but Oscar would pass over. It's really sad too, because these are worthy of winning the award -- not just being nominated.

Why do you think?