Best Actor: 1996

5. Woody Harrelson in The People vs Larry Flynt- Harrelson is absolutely nothing special, and very standard for the first half of his performance but then the second half when he starts trying to imitated Flynt he is terrible.

4. Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade- I understand the point and the use of the character but this type of performance does not usually equal great acting to me. Also I never fully believed his character either which does not help a performance like this.

3. Geoffrey Rush in Shine- Rush I think does his mannerisms just fine and are close enough to the real deal, but still his performance never can really be amazing. He does succeed a little when he has the chance to show more but he also fails in his last scene.

2. Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient- I think there is something lacking in his character that holds him back, and I feel he was possibly trying too much at the beginning. Still though he succeeds well with the various aspects of the character. He shows the Count's romance, his struggles, and his end very well.

1. Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire- I was tempted to go with Fiennes but I felt Cruise's performance was technically a little better despite his lighter material. First he uses his star quality and charisma perfectly well in his performance here, but at the same time he still develops his character along with his usual charm. The changes of the character which are abrupt are handled well, and the notable scene of the film I feel are really notable because Cruise handles them as well as he does.

Deserving Performances:Noah Taylor in Shine

Best Actor 1996: Woody Harrelson in The People Vs Larry Flynt

Woody Harrelson received his first Oscar nomination for portraying pornographer Larry Flynt in The People vs Larry Flynt.

This film is not particularly good, because like many of these issues films made today it refuses to critically look at its own subject, and then it makes the opposition basically cartoonish charactertures.

Woody Harrelson for the first half of the film gives a fairly standard performance as Flynt. He does not do any of his Harrelson obnoxiousness as in some of his performances, but there is simply nothing all that special of his portrayal. He shows Flynt as a pornographer and he plays him as you would expect him to in a film that romanticizes the pornographer a bit. He is not bad at all, just his performance is rather standard throughout the first half, being quick to make money, enjoy his business, act sleazy, and act annoyed by those who wish to censor him. Not a single facet of his performance in those qualities is bad, and usual is appropriate enough for the character. Still though he does excel in any parts to any amazing degree.

The second half of his performance on the other hand is a different story. He almost out of the blue starts giving an insanely mannered performance. Now he tries to imitate Flynt, and his mannerisms, and it just rings false. The change is not well handled at all, because it is not lead to nor does he immediately do this after becoming crippled in an assassination attempt. This is both the fault of the film, and of Harrelson's performance. As the crippled Flynt he is just over the top and I did not believe him for a second. He just went way over board and never seemed realistically so. I think his performance became outstandingly bad since he was so off, and because this style of performance came out of nowhere. I suppose he has one good scene when Courtney Love's character dies, but that is it, and even that is not all that good. He is not special at first but than very bad for the rest.

Best Actor 1996

And The Nominees Were:

Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient

Geoffrey Rush in Shine

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade

Woody Harrelson  in The People VS Larry Flynt

Who do you pick? Who do you predict?