Boy oh boy, what a pretentious sounding title, right?
Well I originally started compiling my list as “Top 10 Performances That Have Inspired My Acting Ass”, but rather than wasting precious internet space with me telling you how much I loved James Gandolfini’s performance in THE SOPRANOS, I figured my time (and your time) would be better well spent sharing with you my favourite performances from flicks that you may or may not have seen before!
Please check out some of these movies, and let me know what you think!
THE BIG LEBOWSKI – John Goodman & Jeff Bridges – I’m still amazed by how many people haven’t seen this film. It is currently my favourite of all time (future included). How much do I love these performances? Check out my Obama-inspired poster featuring The Dude himself hanging on my wall… http://twitpic.com/75ixm I also have their action figures, the truest form of admiration.
THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER – Jackie Chan – This is the quintissential kung fu flick. I’ve been a huge Jackie Chan fan since I was 13 or 14, watching over 50 of his films, reading his autobiography “I Am Jackie Chan”, and most recently, following him on Twitter (@EyeOfJackieChan). Jackie is phenomenal in this, absolutely hilarious, heartbreaking, and death defying, the guy is absolutely deadly and commands respect from all of you. Check it out.
SLC PUNK – Matthew Lillard – I saw this film when I was 15, in the full swing of teen-angst and punk-rock. The film defined a lot of what I called punk, but really helped me gain an understanding of who I was. Lillard has a handfull of these high-energy monologues that he delivers to the camera, and one scene in particular which shakes me to my core every time I see it.
EAST OF EDEN – James Dean – About five years ago when I decided I was going to start studying acting and get involved, I went to HMV and purchased the James Dean Box Set. My favourite from all three of his films is definitely Elia Kazan’s EAST OF EDEN. I mean, it’s James Dean, c’mon.
FALLING DOWN – Michael Douglas – I started watching this one night on ShowCase at 2am, and I couldn’t turn it off. Premise: Douglas plays that guy who you know from work whose probably gonna explode and kill everyone; well he finally explodes, but it’s on his way home from work, and it’s in Central Los Angeles. Mayhem insues. This may be my guiltiest pleasure of all.
BRONSON – Tom Hardy – YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM. It’s only recently been released to DVD. One of the reviews I read described the film as “A Clockwork Orange For The 21st Century” and I can’t agree any more. It’s not quite as disturbing as Clockwork, but it really does leave a lasting impression. The way that Hardy plays Charlie Bronson is HUGE, he goes big, real big (in terms of mannerisms), but they’re all grounded in a real place. SEE IT.
Anyways, I must be going now, if you haven’t seen any of these flicks, check them out, let me know what you think; also, if you have any recommendations, please put them in the comments section below!
PS. Just a heads up, I’ll likely be changing the blog title soon, seeing as how I’m not a very good world traveller.
