Favorite Performances

[ChaseMCP]

Two performances from Pirates of the Caribbean:

 

First, Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, of course. Ignore for a minute how many unfortunate sequels were created from the first movie and how this character probably overstayed his welcome. His performance as Jack Sparrow was really unique and a truly original character. I kind of wish Johnny Depp had won the Oscar that year because say what you will about how long the character has been around, I doubt there's been another Oscar-worthy performance like it. 

 

Second, Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. Johnny Depp gets all of the attention for the movie (for good reason) but whenever I re-watch the movie, I'm finding myself enjoying Rush's performance more and more. He just looks like he's having a blast playing the character. He's a villain, but isn't a Big Bad character so he's allowed to have more fun. He's in a fun pirate movie and he knows it. He and Depp had a great chemistry and I'd say he gets the biggest laughs from me in the movie (after JD, of course). 

[caracas1914]

Peter Sellers:

I'm allright Jack, Only Two can play, Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther, Lolita, Being There,

Throw in a few of the rest of the Pink Panther Franchise movies..

[ellenr33]

I'm watching The Sixth Sense and let me just tell you I forgot how good little Haley Joel Osment is... Kid should have won the Oscar!

[cpcathy]

More child actors: Anna Paquin in The Piano. A lot of people dislike this movie, I still have the same fondness for it that I did when I first saw it. Anna's performance is excellent, she deserved that Oscar that she won.

[PepSinger]

Five movie actor marathon?

 

Leonardo DiCaprio: The Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, Catch Me If You Can, Titanic, and Shutter Island.

Reese Witherspoon: Wild, Legally Blonde, Election, Pleasantville, and Walk The Line

Angelina Jolie: Girl, Interrupted, Gia, Tomb Raider, Mr & Mrs Smith

[ToxicUnicorn]

Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted completely freaked me out.

 

In the 5 movie marathon challenge, I confess I've watched a lot of Hugh Grant. Kevin Costner,  Keanu Reeves, Eddie Murphy, Arnold Schwarznegger, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise movies in my day.  I can't get to 5 that I would rewatch for any one of them, though.

[spaceytraci1208]

Vin Diesel's voice work as Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy is the best work he's done in years, in my opinion. That's no shade, Groot has become one of my favorite movie characters

[Bruinsfan]

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show is awesome. His intro scene alone is enough to make it a top 10 performance for me.

I'd say that vies with Sigourney Weaver's "Get away from her, you bitch!" scene as the best entrance in film history.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted completely freaked me out.

 

Angelina is unbelieveable in Gia.

[manbearpig]

Ellen Page in Juno. Diablo Cody's dialogue was meant for Page, and she just seems so natural in the role. Funny and vulnerable with a believable side of wise beyond her years with just enough naivete that you could still see her having unprotected sex and getting pregnant. May as well mention Jennifer Garner's lovely performance as Vanessa. Allison Janney going off on that judgemental ultrasound technician is just wonderful.

 

And as an example of Page's range, her completely chilling performance in Hard Candy, which is such a good movie but one I'm not in any rush to watch again because it made for fairly difficult viewing.

Edited September 22, 2015 by manbearpig

[Rick Kitchen]

 

May as well mention Jennifer Garner's lovely performance as Vanessa.

 

I thought she should have gotten an Oscar for that part.

[Shannon L.]

 

May as well mention Jennifer Garner's lovely performance as Vanessa.

 

I thought she should have gotten an Oscar for that part.

Agreed.  She was my favorite character in the movie.

[raezen]

Ellen Page in Juno. Diablo Cody's dialogue was meant for Page, and she just seems so natural in the role. Funny and vulnerable with a believable side of wise beyond her years with just enough naivete that you could still see her having unprotected sex and getting pregnant. May as well mention Jennifer Garner's lovely performance as Vanessa. Allison Janney going off on that judgemental ultrasound technician is just wonderful.

And JK Simmons was great as the dad. I was familiar with him from Law and Order and OZ but that was the first time I saw him do comedy.

[Crs97]

That whole movie was wonderful! I think my favorite scene was the parents' reaction to the news, especially when the dad so quickly agreed that his daughter was probably the instigator rather than a poor victim.

[greenbean]

Scott Wilson in the Grissom Gang. I remember watching this as a kid, one late night, and his performance always stayed with me. I later checked out his other works. I'll also mention Kim Darby's performance.

 

Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma. I wish Charlie Prince would have featured more.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma

 

Ben Foster needs bigger roles.  Even as the bad guy in The Mechanic, he stood out.

[AimingforYoko]

Ben Foster needs bigger roles.  Even as the bad guy in The Mechanic, he stood out.

He's about to play the ultimate bad guy, Lance Armstrong, in The Program.

[spaceytraci1208]

Billy Bob Thornton in Slingblade ...awesome. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

A few best/favourite performances I'd like to highlight

Alicia Silverstone in Clueless
Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act
Crispin Glover, Back to the Future 
Michael J. Fox, Back to the Future II
Lori Petty in A League of their Own
Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
James Franco in Pineapple Express
Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight
Natalie Portman in Closer
Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive 

I like Denzel Washington in all of his performances, same with Meryl Street, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, Robert De Niro.
I have about 40-50 movie stars I'd watch in almost anything to be honest (especially as a big comedy lover, Will Ferrell anyone? and a big romantic comedy lover, so I love Cameron Diaz) but I guess these are the cream of the crop.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[DisneyBoy]

I can't help but love Angela Lansbury's Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. She just brings so much heart to the whole movie and humor and she sings well too. I know there's a long list of terrific vocal performances in Disney films but this one just stands out. She does so much with so little screen time.

[tongueincheek]

11 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I can't help but love Angela Lansbury's Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. She just brings so much heart to the whole movie and humor and she sings well too. I know there's a long list of terrific vocal performances in Disney films but this one just stands out. She does so much with so little screen time.

I'm going to echo this, but I will say that Angela Lansbury in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is my favorite performance from her. And such an underrated gem. 

A few performances I love from the top of my head. Some I believe are underrated:

• Peter Sellers in "Being There" 
• Rosamund Pike in "Gone Girl" 
• Allison Williams in "Get Out" 
• Rachel McAdams in "Southpaw" (a goddamn supporting performance if I ever saw one)
• Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in "Love and Other Drugs" 
• Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews in "10"
• Sarah Gadon in "Indignation" 
• LaKeith Stanfield in "Short Term 12"
• Shailene Woodley in "The Descendents" 
• Scarlett Johansson in "Her"
• Albert Brooks in "Drive"
• Ryan Reynolds in "The Voices" 

Edited April 7, 2017 by tongueincheek

[afterbite]

I tried doing this 5 movie marathon thought experiment, and it turns out that a lot of actors I really, really like don't have 5 movies on their resume that I'd plow through in a single sitting. Surprisingly, my 5 movie marathon would be Keanu Reeves: John Wick, John Wick Chapter 2, Constantine, The Gift, Bram Stoker's Dracula... and actually quite a few more. I wouldn't say he puts in amazing performances in any of these, but I guess he's the guy who gets cast in the kinds of movies I like.

Though if I were to go with someone I think is excellent at their craft and who maybe squeaks in over the 5 threshold, it'd be Emily Blunt: Edge of Tomorrow (which I might watch 5 times in a row without problems), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Adjustment Bureau, The Devil Wears Prada, and possibly Looper.

It is interesting, because there are a lot of people I say I'd watch in anything. When I look over their resumes, though, finding 5 movies that I could watch in a row and actually be interested in them as opposed to just tolerating them (which is frankly possibly 3/5 for EB above) is harder than anticipated. For example, I adore Chiwetel Ejiofor, but I'd only be happy about a marathon if you told me it was going to be Serenity, Z for Zachariah, Salt, Kinky Boots, and Children of Men (and that's because I vaguely remember liking the last one and never seeing it again after the first time.) A couple of those I wouldn't really call his movies.

Edited April 12, 2017 by afterbite
forgot that important thing

[Lonesome Rhodes]

So, so, many.

I'll mention two that came to mind this morning:  Kate Hudson in Almost Famous - a band-aid, indeed!  "What kiiiind of beer?"  Brilliant, brilliant delivery of that line in an Oscar-worthy scene.

Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit.  Well over half of the lines we see him deliver in the movie was his improv.  Genius.

[AimingforYoko]

On 4/12/2017 at 10:27 AM, afterbite said:

Surprisingly, my 5 movie marathon would be Keanu Reeves: John Wick, John Wick Chapter 2, Constantine, The Gift, Bram Stoker's Dracula

For Keanu, one of these things is definitely not like the others...(Personally, I would replace Dracula with The Matrix.)

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'd choose Speed, Something's Gotta Give, The Lake House, and with reservations, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures and Bogus Journey.  I always considered myself such a big Keanu fan, but I guess I'm not the greatest fan of his movies.

There are sooooo many Keanu films I've been meaning to get around to watching:  Dangerous Liaisons, Much Ado About Nothing, and maybe The Devil's Advocate?  I don't know if I ever got through Point Break.

[Schweedie]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

There are sooooo many Keanu films I've been meaning to get around to watching:  Dangerous Liaisons, Much Ado About Nothing, and maybe The Devil's Advocate?  I don't know if I ever got through Point Break.

Much Ado! Oh, he's hilarious in that. Unintentionally, I guess, but still. I remember when we watched that for English class in high school and when he had one of his major villainous moments the entire class burst out laughing at once.

Actually, Kenneth Branagh's Benedick in that one is one of my favourite performances in general. He's the ultimate Benedick for me there.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 4/22/2017 at 7:47 AM, AimingforYoko said:

For Keanu, one of these things is definitely not like the others...(Personally, I would replace Dracula with The Matrix.)

For anyone who hasn't seen Parenthood, you should. The ensemble cast means Reeves doesn't have an abundance of screen time, but he has a small scene with Dianne Wiest that's surprisingly moving.

[Shannon L.]

3 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

For anyone who hasn't seen Parenthood, you should. The ensemble cast means Reeves doesn't have an abundance of screen time, but he has a small scene with Dianne Wiest that's surprisingly moving.

I was just thinking about that scene last night.  I also loved him that brief, silent moment of him in the final scene. 

[Bastet]

10 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

For anyone who hasn't seen Parenthood, you should. The ensemble cast means Reeves doesn't have an abundance of screen time, but he has a small scene with Dianne Wiest that's surprisingly moving.

I only like bits and pieces of that movie (there are a lot of those bits and pieces, I just don't really like the movie as a whole; it happens to me with a lot of Ron Howard films), and that's one of them. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Bastet

[Bruinsfan]

Thankfully there's enough of Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington in Much Ado About Nothing to overpower any amount of bad acting from Keanu (or Michael Keaton).

[GHScorpiosRule]

I didn’t see a thread for Oscar winners who deserved the award and since this is my favorite performance of his, since he really inhabited the role and convinced me and others he was Mahatma Gandhi: Ben Kingsley. He earned and deserved that Oscar.

[Spartan Girl]

I loved John Belushi in almost every movie he did. But while I'll always love Animal House, I think Continental Divide, his first and sadly only "serious" role is his best performance. Nobody thought he was attractive enough to pull off a romantic lead, but he did it. He did it.

[kiddo82]

Rewatching The Incredibles in preparation for the sequel (huzzah!).  I'd put Holly Hunter's Mrs. Incrdible/Elastigirl up there with anyone else's voice performance from the entire Pixar Universe.  So layered from exasperated mom/wife to badass to everything in between.  And the sequence on the jet?  The frustration and the intensity and the desperation.  You forget for a second you're watching a children's movie.     

[Shannon L.]

There's not really a thread for this, but I think it works ok in this one:  I watched Molly's Game again yesterday and I'm still really impressed with Kevin Costner's performance as Molly's father--specifically during the scene when they were on the bench, just before the trial, talking about their relationship.  He's a psychiatrist and he says he's going to give her three years of therapy in 3 minutes and the idea is for both of them to be completely honest with each other, no matter how painful, based on three questions he asks her.  At the end of the conversation, when he tells her how angry and upset he was when he found out that she'd been severely beaten, his acting was so believable (for the character, of course, since everyone would act differently).  He and Jessica both nailed it, imo.

[methodwriter85]

I watched a big-screen revival of West Side Story and Rita Moreno really did earn every inch of that Oscar she got. She definitely did a hell of a lot with a supporting character part.

[meep.meep]

Roberto Benigni in La Vita e bella

Jack Nicholson in Chinatown

Estelle Parsons in Bonnie and Clyde

[kiddo82]

Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own

Brad Pitt in Snatch and Inglorious Basterds

Christoph Waltz Inglorious Basterds

Edited July 14, 2018 by kiddo82

[spaceytraci1208]

Whoopi Goldberg as Celie in The Color Purple is fantastic...Danny Glover is awesome too (way convincing too...I had an aversion to him for awhile after first seeing this movie lol). Still crazy to me that this movie won zero Oscars. I feel like Whoopi's win for Ghost was a "make-up" award. 

[Blergh]

A classic that's been overlooked by many: Patricia Collinge as the ill-used and abused alcoholic Birdie- the wife of Regina's brother in Little Foxes( 1941). Though, much has been said about the legendary Bette Davis's performance as the conniving Regina who wound up gaining it all- yet losing the one thing she ever had loved (her daughter), I think Miss Collinge took what could have easily been an annoying or comically silly role and made it into one of the most heartbreaking of all in the film- someone who has realized too late her own husband and son are despicable,cruel bloodsuckers and has resigned herself to an alcoholic haze yet she is willing to risk her own spot in the family (and maybe even her own life ) to save her husband's sympathetic  niece from sharing her fate! 

Edited February 3, 2019 by Blergh
spelling

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 2/3/2019 at 2:01 PM, Blergh said:

A classic that's been overlooked by many: Patricia Collinge as the ill-used and abused alcoholic Birdie- the wife of Regina's brother in Little Foxes( 1941). Though, much has been said about the legendary Bette Davis's performance as the conniving Regina who wound up gaining it all- yet losing the one thing she ever had loved (her daughter), I think Miss Collinge took what could have easily been an annoying or comically silly role and made it into one of the most heartbreaking of all in the film- someone who has realized too late her own husband and son are despicable,cruel bloodsuckers and has resigned herself to an alcoholic haze yet she is willing to risk her own spot in the family (and maybe even her own life ) to save her husband's sympathetic  niece from sharing her fate! 

Love Patricia Collinge's performance in The Little Foxes. Birdie is a truly tragic character: a broken woman who has lost decades of her life at the hands of her abusive, piece of shit husband, and yet somehow-somehow!- manages to have a kind heart, and is a better mother figure to Alexandra than Regina ever was or could be.

Bette Davis usually overshadowed over her co-stars, but everyone more than holds their own in The Little Foxes: Collinge, Teresa Wright, Herbert Marshall, Dan Duryea, everyone.

[Wiendish Fitch]

It took me way too long to appreciate- and I mean really appreciate- Cleavon Little's performance as Black Bart in Blazing Saddles. Honest to God, he's not only funny and charming as hell, but his work is a thing of beauty: the timing, the graceful movements (like his nod to Bugs Bunny), the lack of inhibitions, he makes it look so effortless. He's just so present, game, and right, as this delightfully un-PC scene indicates.

No offense to Richard Pryor, but I'm so glad Little was cast over him (Pryor's idea, so kudos for his good judgment).

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

It took me way too long to appreciate- and I mean really appreciate- Cleavon Little's performance as Black Bart in Blazing Saddles. Honest to God, he's not only funny and charming as hell, but his work is a thing of beauty: the timing, the graceful movements (like his nod to Bugs Bunny), the lack of inhibitions, he makes it look so effortless. He's just so present, game, and right, as this delightfully un-PC scene indicates.

I love that movie and yes Cleavon Little's performance was awesome. He was so funny, had great lines, his expressions were perfect, the nod to Bugs Bunny was hilarious and well done, sitting in the Governor's chair smoking a cigar, and of course him getting out of the moment with all guns pointed at his head by pointing his own gun and pretending to take himself hostage and using two different voices to get out of there. 

[Danny Franks]

Billy Crudup in Almost Famous. I still don't know why Kate Hudson got all the attention for that movie. Yes, she was very good, but so was Crudup. He perfectly embodies the image of a 70s rock star - charming, affable, a bit dissolute and decadent, and fully immersed in his own self-image. It's absolutely his career best performance, in my view.

He's affectionate and big brotherly to William, convincingly smitten with Penny and genuinely frustrated with his bandmates and the idea of having to break out on his own, if he wants to make it big. You can instantly tell that Cameron Crowe based the character on a lot of musicians he really idolised, when he was a young journalist.

That film also has some of my favourite 'smaller' performances, from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frances McDormand and Zoey Deschanel. They're all incredibly memorable, and manage to make a huge impact even with their restricted screen time.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Danny Franks

[kiddo82]

Raul Juila and Anjelica Huston in the Addams Family movies.  I love it when actors of their caliber embrace material that, let's face it, isn't great, and have fun with it.  I read on IMDB that Julia said his favorite role was Gomez and he enjoyed being recognized by kids which makes it all the more endearing.  And Christina Ricci's Wednesday should be on any list of top performances by a child.  Just dark and understated and really mature beyond its years.

[Zola]

Robert De Niro in "Midnight Run"

Such a change of scene for a quality and well respected actor to move away from the drama/thriller genre to mild comedy!

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

Raul Juila and Anjelica Huston in the Addams Family movies.  I love it when actors of their caliber embrace material that, let's face it, isn't great, and have fun with it.  I read on IMDB that Julia said his favorite role was Gomez and he enjoyed being recognized by kids which makes it all the more endearing.  And Christina Ricci's Wednesday should be on any list of top performances by a child.  Just dark and understated and really mature beyond its years.

They really were the best Gomez and Morticia.

[kiddo82]

Add Joan Cusack to the list of great performances in the Addams Family movies.

[bmasters9]

On 9/19/2014 at 12:54 AM, Snowprince said:

Jack Lemmon as Joe Clay in Days of Wine and Roses

There is another one of Jack's that I saw recently that I thought was superb-- his turn as conflicted plant supervisor Jack Godell in the 1979 Columbia Pictures film The China Syndrome (also w/Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas); I saw it from the Indicator/Powerhouse Films region-free Blu made in England (ordinarily, DVDs/Blus made in England are Region 2/B only, so you'd need special equipment; this one, quite pleasingly, was made region-free, so it was easy to enjoy; it also has plenty of bonuses [it also has one of my most favorite studio logos, in two places: Columbia's Sunburst/Abstract Torch logo, both at the top of the film, and in one of the making-of segments, when Michael Douglas mentions Columbia's joining the project]).

Attached are the front and back of that Blu package, and a movie poster.

Edited February 6, 2020 by bmasters9
Updated to now

[Zola]

• Guy Pearce in the mesmerizing "Memento"
• Kathy Bates at her beligarant best in "Fried Green Tomatoes"
• Matt Damon for an outstanding performance in "Good Will Hunting"
• Michael Keaton and "Spotlight"
• Ellar Coltrane and "Boyhood"
• Frances McDormand "Three Billboards...."
• Robert Downey Jr & Robert Duvall and "The Judge"
• Morgan Freeman for "Shawshank...."
• and 
• Tom Hanks for "Castaway" (special mention for WILSON!!!)

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Zola

[coppersin]

58 minutes ago, Zola said:

• Tom Cruise for "Castaway" (special mention for WILSON!!!)

 

Tom Hanks, correct?