|
Post by pacinoyes on Nov 25, 2019 10:37:19 GMT
Gerard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye - The Return of Martin Guerre (1982) - re-watch
Sat down last night to watch the 49ers-Packers game and that lost interest pretty quickly so I re-watched this instead as my friend had never seen it and she was an absolute crying mess at the end of this film. This still packs a real wallop all these years later. Depardieu is tremendous here in one of his best performances that made him legendary - he masks his internal feelings and never tips his hand and Baye, a haunted presence in this film suggests so much all on her face which is simultaneously expressive and at times achingly blank - like she dare not express what she feels or knows. This is one of the great male-female acting duos ever and not because they are "evenly matched or equals" but as in life that they are "unevenly matched", how circumstances here pit one against the other and yet dependent on the other as those circumstances twist and shift.
|
|
|
Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Nov 25, 2019 13:53:30 GMT
|
|
|
Post by isabelaolive on Nov 25, 2019 16:06:18 GMT
Bruce Willis - Die HardBruce Willis is one of those actors I have learned to appreciate over the years. For me he was always one of those action movie actors my dad liked and I didn't understand why they were so popular, like Stallone, Matt Damon, VanDame etc ... In the last few years I accidentally ended up watching a lot of movies with him, after all he made a lot of films considered 'essential' between the 80's and 2000's and worked with many directors that I like and since then I've considered him a good actor. He may not have a large number of dramatic performances that are impressive, but in his action movies he delivers better performances than most actors of his generation and he also has good comic timing. I found him a pleasant surprise in Death becomes her. Dustin Hoffman - TootsieDustin Hoffman is one of those actors who despite being quite popular I watched a few movies from his filmography. I was surprised to find that most of the movies I thought he had made were actually with Al Pacino. Anyway, a few months ago I tried to watch some of his most popular movies, Kramer vs. Kramer, The Graduate, he was great at both but the performance I liked the most was Tootsie. The movie has its flaws and the way it addresses some issues bothered me, but whatever, considering the fact that it was made in 82 i can understand. I was also surprised to see Sidney Pollack acting.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Nov 25, 2019 18:40:02 GMT
I know this is a movie dominant thread but I've got a TV pick on my mind: Matthew Macfadyen in SuccessionAlready touched on this quite a bit in the Succession thread, and again I'll reiterate this entire ensemble blew me away and I could make separate posts each about Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Brian Cox. But I ranked Macfadyen as my favorite member of the cast and the more I think about it the more I stand by that. Tom really is such a multifaceted character and what's central to that complexity and fluidity that underlies him is "power" ... he feels powerless in a marriage where he clearly loves his wife more than she loves him and where she uses him and for so long he just takes it, where they both want different things from each other and struggle to articulate it, and where he struggles with the "masculine" role of the marriage being the "inferior" one ... he feels powerless in the face of the family he's married into and the patriarch at the top of that, always humorously sucking-up to Logan at every turn knowing full well his life is over should he make a single misstep, that is until the season two finale where he's broken and sort of gives up on that facade unflinching to the effects ... all of this fuels him to desperately attempt to assert his power and hence reestablish a sense of self in any scenario where he can, whether it be whipping Greg or bullying his subordinates at work and using them as "human footstools." Obviously the latter side of him is a total frat bro douchebag and Macfadyen sells it perfectly, but in many of his scenes we see the "real" Tom, his more vulnerable side as we see him collapsing under the weight of the power that's held against him by those closest to him, that he strives to have while we all know he's too incompetent to reach the places he wants to go ... hell, even Greg outplays him this season ... we sort of know that if he doesn't shape up it won't end well for him, despite the facade he puts on we know he doesn't have what it takes to survive in such a cutthroat and ruthless business, and for as horribly as he treats people much of the time we also sympathize with him deeply and dread seeing the moment(s) where his world comes crumbling down. The scene I posted above (spoiler alert, btw) is a fantastic showcase from the season two finale of both Tom and Shiv where everything kind of comes to a head ... it's a truly devastating scene, the dialogue really hits home and Macfadyen's acting here is just heartbreaking ... we can really see and feel how much he's struggling with this confession of unhappiness but at the same can clearly see it's coming from a deep place of truth. That means a hell of a lot in a series where no one says anything other than bullshit. God, just give this guy an Emmy!
|
|
|
Post by jimmalone on Nov 26, 2019 9:20:10 GMT
James Cromwell in Still Mine
Deeply moving performance. You see this man, who, already over 80, has suddenly his life turned upside down and has to fight battles he never expected. And he's not fighting them for himself, but for his wife (and alas for them two together of course). Welcome to my 2012 Best Leading Actor line-up Mr. Cromwell.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Nov 26, 2019 10:25:42 GMT
Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli - La Grande Bouffe (1973) - re-watch At one time this film was a Thanksgiving Day tradition for me and it mostly still is around this time at least. A sort of "The Irishman" of its day - with great world film stars playing (perhaps?) slightly altered versions of "themselves" - even the characters share the actors names as an extra joke. The film is a funny, rude, broad - at times hard to watch - satire about 4 old friends that gather to basically eat and drink themselves to Death. Each performance is special in a way especially if you care about the actors and on repeated viewing you pick up much of the humor (and implicit darkness) in each of their characterizations too.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Nov 29, 2019 15:56:07 GMT
Anna Magnani - Wild Is The Wind (1957) There are basically 2 kinds of acting people - those who like actors who are really bland and plain as a grilled cheese sandwich and people who like actors - or can at least appreciate - an actor who can when he/she likes to...... peel the paint off the walls. Magnani is the latter and to many people she's regarded as the best ever in her own way....in this film full of big emotions, big passion, big feelings, she goes big naturally and devours the script, Anthony Quinn (no grilled cheese himself), the scenery, and you'll never forget her either.
|
|
|
Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Nov 29, 2019 16:12:01 GMT
Well The Irishman had a holy trinity of great performances, so those lads for sure. If I was to single one of them out it would be this guy...
I love him so much as an actor and have missed his presence in film so much in recent years.
Honestly, when he spoke his first line in the film and I heard his fantastic voice again...
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Nov 30, 2019 9:48:25 GMT
Roman Polanski and Gerard Depardieu - A Pure Formality (rewatch)An almost trite interrogation story raised by the very well-played back and forth between the two - they are so much fun and at times so insinuating they elevate this piece more than the script. Side note - seeing Depardieu, hardly svelte here to say the least, take a shower is um..........something to behold.
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Dec 1, 2019 22:13:07 GMT
has anyone mentioned Pacino in The Irishman yet lol. Put my name down for that opinion. It's among his best work. Wonderful seeing him again in such top form.
other than that...I guess I'll give Tessa Thompson a shout-out for Little Woods. This woman is talented as hell. Comparable to Lawrence in Winter's Bone and Leo in Frozen River (ok maybe a bit of a stretch but she's in that ballpark and she's playing that game). Hoping excellent projects come through the pipeline for her. Would love to see her headlining more independent projects, maybe work with Kelly Reichardt or Debrak Grankik sometime.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 2, 2019 20:55:11 GMT
James Cagney - White Heat (1949)Not only does this hold up as an iconography film it holds up psychologically and behaviorally. Cagney's Cody Jarrett is a psychological mess and contradictions layered on one another and Cagney - one of the first genuinely astute American film actors has a field day. Ma would be proud.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 3, 2019 12:32:18 GMT
John Garfield in Force of Evil (1948) (rewatch) Here, just 4 years before his death, Garfield carries the burden of this character on his shoulders and makes you feel it - you could picture many other legendary actors in this role - but he somehow manages to evoke it in such a way that you don't think of any of them replacing him. He gets one great line after another, in one great shot after another - he's at his peak here.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 4, 2019 9:21:07 GMT
Humphrey Bogart - Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) One of Bogart's best turns in one of his very best films - and he has a lot - and the specific one that set up his late career character parts (with which he would score huge triumphs in the 1950s). When a hint of madness first comes into Bogart's characters face - it's just thrilling to behold.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 5, 2019 10:27:32 GMT
Andre Braugher, James Earl Jones, Jeffrey Wright - Homicide: Life On The Street: Blood Ties episodesA sort of formulaic story arc that throws in surprising turns at key points that makes you rethink how characters act and why they act that specific way. In some ways this is a 3 headed acting monster like the Irishman for TV - you are promised big acting moments and well, the show makes sure you get them and the actors make you thankful for them too.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 7, 2019 0:28:35 GMT
Adam Driver & Scarlett Johansson - Marriage StoryEach actor gives the most assured and confidant performance of their respective film careers and both are among 2019's best work. Johansson is completely lived in with this role and Driver rises to some very melodramatic challenges while being believable from scene to scene. Both actors work exceeds this complex and sharp but also overwrought screenplay.
|
|
|
Post by theycallmemrfish on Dec 7, 2019 1:00:42 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Mattsby on Dec 7, 2019 1:29:01 GMT
Ian Bannen, Station Six-Sahara (1963) Here brushing his teeth while fawning over the idea of a dream girl, looking like a clown or a rabid dog which perfectly encapsulates his performance. He plays the type of guy who complains that the coffee is cold... and then burns his mouth on a freshly brewed cup. Bannen peps the role up as a babbling slurring joker, refusing to allow himself to be bored (by his occupation in the middle of the barren desert) he mocks up ways to bother everybody, he's unpredictable, yet understandable, and hilarious......
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 7, 2019 11:15:10 GMT
Marlon Brando - The Nightcomers (1971)Brando at the height of his deranged genius and there is much genius in this so-so at best film - his accent is by any reasonable standard as shaky as any by Pacino (quite a statement), his sexuality is at times here as loathsome and unappealing as Last Tango in Paris (quite a statement again). He is again by any standard, miscast more than he's ever been (really quite a statement)......and yet.....since he's you know, the best to ever do this sort of thing.....none of it matters. Brando - right before The Godfather/Last Tango - maybe the best one-two acting punch ever that no one saw that coming, is not just acting in a great way, he's acting in a way that is thrilling, confounding and puzzling. Great actors are born, good actors are made so the cliche goes .......obviously he's in the first category and no mere "good" actor could do this and very few great actors would even try.
|
|
|
Post by JangoB on Dec 7, 2019 19:17:08 GMT
Aisling Franciosi in "The Nightingale"...I mean, not much needs to be said really. It's all in her face.
|
|
|
Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Dec 7, 2019 19:55:27 GMT
It's been mentioned already on this very page, Adam Driver in Marriage Story.
|
|
|
Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Dec 7, 2019 20:45:34 GMT
Shia LaBeouf - Honey Boy The performance of LaBeouf's career, and one that manages to not feel like a stunt but is rather totally lived in and thoughtfully played. He knows this character so well because of how close and familiar it is to his own life... the pathetic, insecure, masculine posturing of a father who conflates parenthood with loutish camaraderie and lacks the ability to nurture. In the conversations with his son, you see someone who is so wrapped up in himself that he can't see past his own bullheadedness, but is also equal parts villain and victim. He is a broken man who loves his son but is too trapped by his own demons to express it properly, and LaBeouf manages to paint this character with pathos and humor.
|
|
|
Post by TerryMontana on Dec 7, 2019 22:45:39 GMT
Scarlett might win the Oscar and Terry Montana won't have no objection.
|
|
|
Post by Viced on Dec 8, 2019 16:07:19 GMT
Bruce Dern in NebraskaThe underrated Will Forte and the more-than-just-hilarious June Squibb also deserve to be mentioned... but on my third watch of this, I'm starting to think old Brucie here might be the performance of the decade. One of the most achingly real performances I've ever seen, and genuinely hilarious throughout as well. Kind of unfathomable how well he plays this certain type of old man here when he's in fact old enough to be that old man, but so far from the character in reality. I don't know wtf I'm saying anymore, but he made me cry this time. Should've swept every lead actor award that year.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Dec 10, 2019 11:12:55 GMT
Lee Marvin - Point BlankThe inspiration for many who try to do this "type" of thing - Denzel Washington in Man on Fire or Terence Stamp in The Limey are obvious examples - none can actually compare to what Marvin does here by his mere presence alone. He is far more masculine and believable both in character and in response to the characters he faces off with - he never seems like a cartoon in how he's drawn even as plausibility is stretched. He is, like Clint Eastwood and very few others, evoking a specific type of American male and its ethos that nobody can quite replicate - if you try to overwrite it, or pull it out in direction or overact it, or underact it......you still will miss the mark. With Angie Dickinson, all hands on the bad guy......I mean the good guy.........I mean......
|
|
|
Post by jimmalone on Dec 10, 2019 14:11:22 GMT
Tony Randall in Lover Come Back
Of course much of it lies in the writing, but still it's a spot on performance with perfect timing. Just hilarious.
|
|