The end of the first half of 2023 is upon us, so it’s time to reflect on the films and, in particular, the performances that have graced big and small screens in motion pictures over the past six months. Let’s break it down by category:
In the Supporting Actor group, my favorite performance goes to Glenn Howerton, who’s a firecracker as Research in Motion Co-CEO Jim Balsille in “BlackBerry”. In May I told Howerton it’s the role of a lifetime — the kind every actor dreams of. Also quite good are acting vets Chris Cooper in “Boston Strangler”, Forest Whitaker in “Big George Foreman” and both Dennis Haysbert and Tony Shaloub in “Flamin’ Hot”.
Let’s move on to the Supporting Actress lineup. The standout performance comes from Carrie Coon as real-life, feisty reporter Jean Cole in “Boston Strangler”. She’s dynamite in every single scene. A close runner-up is Viola Davis, who portrays Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris with such gravitas in “AIR”. Joining these ladies in my Top 5 are Perry Mattfeld in quiet drama “Mending the Line”, Rachel McAdams in Judy Blume adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and “This Is Us” star Chrissy Metz in indie “Stay Awake”.
For the Leading Actor list, I’ve got six names. Leading the way is Jesse Garcia as Richard Montanez, the janitor who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, in director Eva Longoria’s smart “Flamin’ Hot”. Also major props to Kelsey Grammer, who pours his heart into playing Pastor Chuck Smith in powerhouse faith-based drama “Jesus Revolution”. I also really like Jay Baruchel in “BlackBerry”, Matt Damon in “AIR”, Khris Davis in “Big George Foreman” and Taron Egerton in “Tetris”.
In the Leading Actress group, Emma Mackey is sensational as Emily Bronte in “Emily”. She already won BAFTA’s EE Rising Star Award earlier this year, and if she keeps delivering performances like this, she’ll be on the A-list shortly. Kiernan Shipka is also fantastic, with challenging work in “Wildflower”. And I can’t leave out Krew Boylan in quirky, fun comedy “Seriously Red”, Keira Knightley in “Boston Strangler” and Julianne Moore in “When You Finish Saving the World”.
For voice performances, Leah Lewis and Mamadou Athie excel as Ember and Wade in Pixar’s “Elemental”. Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld are another terrific duo in Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”. Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”) and Chloe Grace Moretz (“Nimona”) also impress, along with Lana Condor (“Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken”) and Ninoka Hara (“Suzume”). Brian Tyree Henry (“The Magician’s Elephant”), Hugh Laurie (“The Amazing Maurice”) and J.K. Simmons (“Rally Road Racers”) deliver nice work. And I have to acknowledge the late Christopher Plummer, who gives his final performance ever as the voice of mob boss Rizzo in “Heroes of the Golden Mask”.
When you think about stunt ensembles, “John Wick: Chapter 4” shoots right to the top, but “Extraction 2” is right there as well.
As for acting ensembles, most of the standouts have already been acknowledged, including “AIR”, “BlackBerry”, “Boston Strangler”, “Flamin’ Hot” and “Jesus Revolution”. But another one to mention is “The Worst Ones”, featuring several kids acting for the first time. Very impressive.