2014 SQUID Actor of the Year

Quite a few thespians decided to be busy this past year in both film and television. While it proved to be a close race for both sexes, the triumphant recipients are truly the stand out King and Queen of the screen for 2014. Below, we shall break down the race for the SQUID Actor of the Year 2014. 

Among the men, some, like Willem Defoe (John Wick, The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Bill Paxton (The Edge of Tomorrow, Agents of SHIELD, and Nightcrawler) made strong comebacks of sorts. The veteran actors made firm cases for AOTY but they were never center stage. 

Other actors in the running this year include two genre stalwarts. One, the reigning champ, the other, his Hobbit and Sherlock costars. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Martin Freeman (Fargo) proved that they have indeed arrived and are going nowhere. Cumberbatch wasn't one to easily relinquishing his throne. While Freeman would have run away with it if this were solely a television award. 

There were dark horses including relative unknowns who excelled at supporting roles like Boyd Holbrook (A Walk Among the Tombstones, Gone Girl, The Skeleton Twins), and James Cordon (Into the Woods, Begin Again). Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, Begin Again) and Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher, 22 Jump Street) were also quite visible throughout the year.

The year marked the arrival of another Brit, Dan Stevens (The Guest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb) who, now free of the Abbey, sets his eyes on conquering Hollywood. He'll throw his hat in the ring for the next couple of years, no doubt, as he was recently announced to star opposite Emma Watson in the live action Beauty and the Beast.

It would be a crime to ignore the tour de force performances on both mediums from Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar, True Detective), but there were talents who proved far more present. We arrive now at the hyper-massive-mammoth-cosmic explosion of Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks and Recreation, The Lego Movie, and, while only a trailer, we can't ignore the raptor master of Jurassic World). Pratt truly came close to taking the title but his ascension to the A-List was trumped by one man. 

All those men and all those roles yet none of them are the pyramid's tip. No, the tentacled crown for SQUID Actor of the Year of 2014 belongs to the resilient, prolific Irish Terminator that is Liam Neeson. IMDb lists him in ten roles during the twelve months including exceptional films like The Lego Movie and A Walk Among the Tombstones, along side decently entertaining fare like Non-Stop, A Million Ways to Die, and Taken 3. He was front and center, he was supporting in both villainy and comedy, he was everywhere! Say what you will about the generic actioners he churns out, they still pack a stylish and visceral punch. He has the tendency to go full Nic Cage but he still manages to be a resonant actor. Now venturing into comedic roles, he crossed a line into unknown territory so who knows what his future holds. The year, however, belonged to Liam Neeson. 



SQUID Actor of the Year recipients:

2014 winner - Liam Neeson
The Lego Movie, A Walk Among the Tombstones, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Non-Stop, Taken 3, Various other voice acting roles on TV. 

2013 winner - Benedict Cumberbatch 
12 Years A Slave, Star Trek into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, August: Osage County, The Fifth Estate, The Simpsons

2012 winner - Joseph Gordon Levitt
Premium Rush, Looper, Lincoln, The Dark Knight Rises

2011 winner - Michael Fassbender 
Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, Shame, Haywire, A Dangerous Method

Interstellar (2014)

Review for those who've not seen the film:

If you love Nolan, you get everything you want.  

10 out of 10 - Read no further because I'm about to spill everything. Save yourself, oh intelligent film goer. Go in Blind!

If you have seen the film:

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
Starring:
Matthew McConaughy (Tropic Thunder)
Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)
Mackenzie Foy (Apparently Twilight)
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Topher Grace (Predators)
Casey Affleck (Oceans Eleven)
Michael Caine (Batman Begins)
John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
Ellen Burstyn (The Fountain)
Timothee Chalamet (Royal Pains)
David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher)
Collette Wolfe (Take Me Home Tonight)
David Gyasi (Doctor Who) 
Wes Bentley (Four Feathers)
Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises)
Bill Irwin (MR. NOODLE!)
Elyes Gabel (World War Z)
(Freakin Matt Damon) 

Like standout songs in a concept album, movies, especially action-adventure sci-fi movies, tend to have highly memorable scenes. Interstellar brings one after another. Sequences you can absorb out of context just for the coolness of it all. And this movie is exactly that, hyper cool.  Absolute zero. It believes in itself, and while some may find that off putting, I absolutely love it. Why watch a movie that is unsure of it self?

With Interstellar we have a new SciFi juggernaut. A story of wayward and hopeful souls flying across the universe divide, looking for the future of humanity. A story to sit in the upper echelon of the genre and take a spot next to Moon, Sunshine, and Inception.

For Nolan, like Inception before it, this standalone nonsequel non adaptation brings sequence after sequence of beautiful, mind-shattering practical effects. The clarity with which you can tell that you are watching something that occupied actual space instead of rendered pixels is astonishing, refreshing even. The worth of those aspects alone stands out in this day and age of CGI splurging. As for the running time, I'm firmly in the camp of never having too much of a good thing. 

Here are the scenes ranked in order of Stellarness. 

1. Spin Docking (The score in this scene alone is enough to melt the hair off your entire body.)
2. First Journey through the Wormhole
3. Black-hole Bookshelf
4. New Earth 
5. Drone chase
6. Solid Cloud/Matt Damonland 
7. Space Station Orbiting Earth (I'm getting dizzy just remembering it,)
8. Water World. 

It's a 12 Monkeys situation (among probably every other film that messes with time) where the end is fundamentally tied to the beginning, but unlike 12 Monkeys, it doesn't massacre the story's worth by burying the narrative in doomed time loops. With Interstellar the characters' actions matter and their sacrifices have gains. The pivotal scene reminding me of Looper's aha moment. All while operating in the theoretical realm with a future that's ever so slightly apocalyptic. Let's not forget that there is no sound in space, the fifth dimension is the exact representation of "all time experienced at once." Two details I always wish to enact in films utilizing the time or space travel tropes. To see them executed on screen and so near to how i imagined is a thrill beyond words. 

Then there's the casting. Familiar names and faces popping up not just as dense characters but also unexpected roles. Mackenzie Foy was an exact match to Jessica Chastain. Topher Grace continuing to make amends for his miscast opportunity as Venom being in a enjoyable enough to place along side his other film success, Predators. There's Wes Bentley's ongoing supporting actor career resurgence (Coupled with his importance to Hunger Game Franchise, a welcomed success after the promise he flashed in Four Feathers.) And we have the golden geezers. Lithgow holding his own and Caine doing what he does. 

One most memorable performance is also a special effect, more of a puppet actually. The robots TARS and CASE are unexpected packages of jokes. Not only that but they defy expectations with their abilities and purpose. An R2D2 and C3P0 for a time not too far off. 

We have our standard Hero's Journey set in space, playing with time. In Nolans hands, it flourishes. The story is anchored by the standard white male lead but we can't fault Matthew McConaughy here. Another celestial performance from the best actor in Hollywood. In fact, we're lucky he's in such a far out film like this, bringing credibility, loopiness, and his immense talent to a genre that may not always get the respect it deserves. After him, there is real diversity present in the other characters as well. Not in any extraordinary amount (See: Maze Runner) but it's still nice to get a female character or two that aren't annoying. Chastain is beyond perfect. Even with Hathaway's Brand needlessly in love, it eventually leads to a payoff we may not see but certainly can understand.


Bottom line. Christopher Nolan is the best there is (Aside from Edgar Wright). As far as this year goes, Interstellar now sits atop the rankings edging out John Wick but the year's not done, emotions are still raw and flux. It may come down to this, while John Wick and Edge of Tomorrow thrilled, Interstellar fulfilled. 

To repeat. 10 out of 10