Lead vs. Supporting Conundrums: 2024 Edition

January 13, 2025

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Respect. (CREDIT: Golden Globes/Screenshot)

You may have noticed that trophies are being handed out more than usual lately. You may have also noticed that the organizations that deliver those awards may be making questionable categorization decisions.

Around this time of year, I like to assess the situation and offer my own take on certain dilemmas, in particular whether a certain movie performance was a Lead or Supporting role. To be fair to the Oscars and other awards ceremonies, these decisions are subjective and not always clear. Reasonable people can disagree on these matters. But I’m not one to have my enthusiasm dampened my ambiguity!

Ergo, here is a selection of performances from 2024 getting awards attention and whether I think they should be considered Lead or Supporting.

(There are still a few movies in the awards conversation that I haven’t seen yet, so I may update my thoughts if I feel compelled to.)

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‘A Real Pain’ is a Real Delight

December 4, 2024

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No Real Pain, No Real Gain (CREDIT: Searchlight Pictures)

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes

Director: Jesse Eisenberg

Running Time: 90 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: November 1, 2024 (Theaters)

Before I saw A Real Pain, I read and listened to what other people who had seen it thought about it. (That’s the sort of thing that happens when you’re a big fan of movies and you like to be a part of the conversation.) Some people expressed how they tend to be bothered by extremely neurotic folks like David (Jesse Eisenberg), whereas others expressed how they tend to be bothered by unpredictable wild cards like David’s cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin). Meanwhile, I’m like, “They’re both driving me batty!” Or they would, if I were interacting with them in real life. But instead, I’m watching their movie and declaring, “This is beautiful.” That’s the Power of Cinema!

Grade: Not Painful at All, Instead It Felt Like an Emotional Massage

jmunney’s Top Cinematic Choices for November 2024

November 1, 2024

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Getting ready to go see a movie (CREDIT: A24)

They keep making new movies, and some of them are even worth watching. Here’s what’s at the top of the slate for November 2024:

Here: Bob Zemeckis re-teams with his Forrest Gump stars Tommy Hanks and Robin Wright as he sticks his camera in a single location for centuries.

Here will be here, there, and everywhere (i.e., movie theaters) on November 1.

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Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 11/1/24

November 1, 2024

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Talkin’ bout Chuck (CREDIT: Michael Perez Entertainment LLC/Shudder Release)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
–Blitz (November 1 in Theaters and November 22 on Apple TV+)
–Doc of Chucky (November 1 on Shudder) – Diving into the Child’s Play franchise.
–Emilia Perez (November 1 in Theaters and November 13 on Netflix)
–Here (Theaters) – This one’s got a gimmick.
–Juror #2 (Theaters)
–Music by John Williams (Limited Theaters and Disney+)
–A Real Pain (Theaters)

TV
-2024 SNL Election Special (November 4 on NBC)

Music
–American Dad!: Greatest Hits – “Iconic songs performed by the cast throughout the show’ s extensive run, capturing many of the quirky, musical moments that have made it a fan favorite.”
-Bishop Briggs, Tell My Therapist I’m Fine – This came out a few weeks ago, but somehow I missed it.
-The Cure, Songs of a Lost World

Video Games
–The Legend of Santa (Nintendo Switch, PS5, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android) – A simple platformer that might be fun for the holiday season.