No Shock There

Entertainment

As any fule kno, I have little time for “awards” shows for anything show business, but the headlines are pretty much unavoidable, e.g.

The first part (about Barbie):  yeah, whatever.  But the second part?

As I see it, any time the brilliant Paul Giamatti wins an award, it cannot be called a “shock”.  Simply put, he’s one of the greatest character actors ever, and the only reason he’s not won every acting award is because he is a character actor and not a leading man.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just watch Sideways (on Amazon Prime) — itself an absolute gem of a movie, and for which Giamatti was robbed blind of an Oscar, although that year he did win several non-Oscar awards for his role.

A movie for grownups, an actor likewise.  And absolutely no “shock” winner.

8 comments

  1. Never heard of the dood, looked him up on IMDB, and indeed I have never seen any of his work. I’m not a fan of most modern movies and TV. But on your suggestion I’ll look up “Sideways”.

  2. I suspect that shock part comes because everybody and his dog has been heaping (somewhat deserved) praise on Peaky Blinders for some time, thus Murphy NOT winning might shock some.

  3. …… or you can see Giamatti in the “The Holdovers” which is currently streaming. It’s another solid performance in a surprisingly good movie. particularly if, like me, you are a ’70’s New England Prep school survivor. He plays a History teacher with a partially finished textbook that on the bottom rung of the faculty at a New England Prep school. I’m pretty sure his character was based on my 9th grade Latin Teacher changed into a History teacher because who the hell learns Latin anymore.

    Sideways was about a failed writer on a wine Tour of Nappa Valley with his frat boy friend.

    Now …. what the f*** is a Cillian Murphy?

  5. Paul Giamatti is great. Perfectly cast as John Adams in the miniseries. I did so want to like Sideways, because of Giamatti, and someone finally giving another character actor, Thomas Haden Church, a chance at a starring role. But the two characters they played were such arseholes I turned tho movie off about halfway through.

    A Giamatti movie to completely avoid is Shoot ‘Em Up. He plays the villain. It’s supposed to be a comedy, but every single scene is so over the top it completely destroys the willing suspension of disbelief. I’d much rather watch him in the silly disaster movie San Andreas again, than ever try to watch Shoot ‘Em Up once more.

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