frontrunner

This looks like a fascinating three-way battle at the top, with a longtime critics’ fave in the fourth slot, possibly earning his first nomination.

“My top three — Malkovich, Scott and Damon — seem fairly unshakable, so it’s those last two slots that are in play,” says Dave Karger, though he leaves the door open for Tom Cruise to execute the seemingly impossible mission of scoring a nom for a film projected to lose up to $250 million.

Anne Thompson says, “Damon is the frontrunner … Degree of difficulty is a factor, as it was with Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Revenant.’ ” Amy Nicholson, however, calls the performance “the weakest link in the movie.”

“Malkovich has never won, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he finally broke through,” says Robert Daniels.

Just outside the top three is John Turturro, who “has never been nominated,” points out Glenn Whipp, saying “Pickpocket” “gives him a rare lead film role, and he is absolutely riveting.”

1. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
T2. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
T2. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
4. John Turturro, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”
5. Ryan Gosling, “Project Hail Mary”
T6. Yura Borisov, “Artificial”
T6. Tom Cruise, “Digger”
T6. Pedro Pascal, “Behemoth!”

RogerEbert.com

Robert Daniels

1. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
2. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
3. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
4. Ryan Gosling, “Project Hail Mary”
5. John Turturro, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”

“Damon and Malkovich are locks for, um, somewhat different roles — though both characters are grappling with deadly pasts on journeys designed to trick their senses. Malkovich has never won, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he finally broke through. But Damon (who hasn’t won for acting) is excellent in the buzziest movie of the year.”

Turner Classic Movies

Dave Karger

1. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
2. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
3. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
4. Pedro Pascal, “Behemoth!”
5. Anthony Ippolito, “I Play Rocky”

“Of course, Tom Cruise remains the wild card here — right now, I’d put him at No. 6, still with a shot of cracking the top five if enough of the actors branch appreciates his ambitious work. My top three — John Malkovich, Andrew Scott and Matt Damon — seem fairly unshakable, so it’s those last two slots that are in play.”

Los Angeles Times

Amy Nicholson

1. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
2. John Turturro, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”
3. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
4. Tom Cruise, “Digger”
5. Timothée Chalamet, “Dune: Part Three”

“Matt Damon’s version of Odysseus was the weakest link in the movie. It’d be marvelous to see John Turturro or John Malkovich sneak up and swipe this statue for themselves.”

IndieWire

Anne Thompson

1. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
2. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
3. Ryan Gosling, “Project Hail Mary”
4. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
5. John Turturro, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”

“Damon is the frontrunner for ‘The Odyssey.’ Degree of difficulty is a factor, as it was with Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Revenant.’ Damon’s challenger is 72-year-old character actor John Malkovich, who gives a career-topping performance as a jaded, dying spy in ‘Wild Horse Nine.’ Damon may be up again. Malkovich? Maybe not.”

Tribune News Service

Katie Walsh

1. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
2. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
3. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
4. Yura Borisov, “Artificial”
5. Robert Pattinson, “Primetime”

“Matt Damon does fantastic, unshowy work in ‘The Odyssey,’ in a performance that I think is deserving of the Oscar. But as soon as I saw ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ I knew that Malkovich would win this year. I’d be shocked if he loses. Pulling for an Andrew Scott nom, too.”

Los Angeles Times

Glenn Whipp

1. Andrew Scott, “Elsinore”
2. John Malkovich, “Wild Horse Nine”
3. Matt Damon, “The Odyssey”
4. John Turturro, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”
5. Ryan Gosling, “Project Hail Mary”

“John Turturro has never been nominated for an Oscar. But ‘The Only Living Pickpocket in New York’ gives him a rare lead film role, and he is absolutely riveting as the weary title character fighting against time. It’s a lovely showcase.”

Despite other stars taking the top spot on the leaderboard, a lot of Strictly Come Dancing viewers think there’s other one ‘underrated’ star who could win the BBC show

Last night’s October 17 episode of Strictly Come Dancing was Icons Week, where the remaining couples paid tribute to musical icons. Viewers of the BBC show saw two couples top the leaderboard by both scoring 34 points. These were Love Island star Cach Mercer and partner Maddie Ingoldsby, who delivered a dapper Foxtrot that wowed the judges, earning 34 points (8, 9, 8, 9).

Actress Jaime Winstone, who was in the bottom two a few weeks ago, also was in the number one spot with her professional partner Carlos Gu after they performed an energetic, David Bowie-themed Paso Doble, scoring 34 points (8, 9, 8, 9).

Despite these two taking the top spot this week, a lot of Strictly viewers think there’s other one ‘underrated’ star who could snatch the glitterball from them.

Taking to X during the show, one fan wrote: “Tabby’s becoming one of my favourite contestants in this competition, she’s delivering in these dances and got potential winner written all over her.”

During last night’s show, British skeleton racer Tabby Stoecker and her professional partner Mark Karmalita scored a total of 29 points for their Samba.

This placed them in a three-way tie for 5th position on the leaderboard alongside Lacey Turner & Vito Coppola and John Nellis & Katya Jones.

Tabby, 25, has not topped the leaderboard outright in any week yet, but she came very close in Week 3 when she performed her Argentine Tango. She placed joint 2nd on the leaderboard with 31 points, just 2 points behind Delta Goodrem, who was awarded 33 points.

People seemed to agree with the original poster’s prediction, as the post racked up thousands of views and hundreds of likes.

One wrote: “Same, I had no idea who she was before strictly but she quickly became my fave celebrity I absolutely love her!”

While another added: “Tabby and Mark, I am obsessed!”

A third chimed in: “Oh, Tabby is that diva.”

While a fourth added: “Tabby is the underrated star of the series.”

However, not everyone agreed, as one person wrote: “Tabby, Cach, and Delta (if she comes back) are finalist material in my opinion.”

While another added: “Would love to see Tabby win but, I think Lacey (Turner) might beat her.”

Last night’s show saw Delta Goodrem was missing from the episode due to a painful rib injury. Under standard Strictly Come Dancing rules, she was granted a bye through to Week 5.

Doctors advised her to rest and recover, and both Delta and the BBC confirmed the expectation is that she will return to the dance floor next week, provided her recovery goes smoothly.

Her return plans were also confirmed by Delta’s professional dance partner Kai Widdrington when he appeared on Strictly companion show It Takes Two on Friday (October 16).

The Strictly Come Dancing Week 4 Results show is on tonight at 7:10 pm on BBC One and is all available to stream live or on-demand via BBC iPlayer.

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