Favorite Performances of 2005

[AldaForPresident]

I thought this would be a good companion thread to our film journals one.

My personal favorite would be Joan Allen in The Upside of Anger. It's a complete tour de force.

Others:
Liam Neeson, Batman Begins
Anthony LaPaglia, Winter Solstice
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Don Cheadle, Crash
William Hurt, A History of Violence

Ones that shocked me with how great they were:
Reese Withersthingy, Walk the Line (I didn't really expect much, but she was arguably better than Phoenix.)
Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers (I've always found him annoying in the past, but he upstaged everyone else in the film.)
Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds (And you have no idea how much it pains me to admit that.)
Cameron Diaz, In Her Shoes (It wouldn't be on the list if it were anyone else. But I usually think she's a horrible actress, and she was quite good in this.)
Rachel McAdams & Cillian Murphy, Red Eye (A throwaway popcorn movie directed by WES CRAVEN that's memorable because of these two.)

[AldaForPresident]

Jeffrey Overstreet blogged his favorite performances of 2005 today! I guess coincidences are not limited to the Lost thread.

He also mentioned LaPaglia, which is nice to see. (Word to everything he said.) My list is obviously limited because I haven't seen many films these last couple of months, but I hope to remedy that soon.

[Josh]

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is bloody brilliant in Capote. He's even better than Jamie Foxx was or Joaquin Phoenix is this year because he goes beyond just mimicing the mannerisms of Truman Capote; his performance involves actual ACTING rather than mere impersonation. He deserves an Oscar more than any actor I've seen all year.

Reese Withersthingy is great in Walk the Line. I developed a minor crush on her character before the film ended. Too bad the script doesn't offer her anything substantial.

Bill Murray is typically heartbreaking in Broken Flowers-- some might say that the melancholy thing is getting old, but one scene, toward the end of the film, makes this performance stand out from his other work. It just might be the best thing he's ever done.

Kiera Knightley and Rosamund Pike are irresistible in Pride and Prejudice.

Joan Allen is indeed a delight in The Upside of Anger, but nobody's talking about the funny and touching work that Kevin Costner does in that film-- he's at least as good as Allen.

Ditto for Hurt in A History of Violence, and kudos to Viggo for giving his richest, most complext performance ever in the same film.

Nathan Fillion is as good as Harrison Ford ever was-- if not better-- in Serenity.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn work comedic magic in The Wedding Crashers.

[AldaForPresident]

Joan Allen is indeed a delight in The Upside of Anger, but nobody's talking about the funny and touching work that Kevin Costner does in that film-- he's at least as good as Allen.

Oh yeah. I love Costner in that role, and in general. Even though it's really not cool anymore.

Bill Murray is typically heartbreaking in Broken Flowers-- some might say that the melancholy thing is getting old, but one scene, toward the end of the film, makes this performance stand out from his other work. It just might be the best thing he's ever done.

Woah! Better than Lost in Translation?

[Josh]

Woah! Better than Lost in Translation?

I was actually talking about the graveyard scene being his best scene ever, not the film as a whole coasting his best performance ever. Sorry-- that was unclear.

[AldaForPresident]

I was actually talking about the graveyard scene being his best scene ever, not the film as a whole coasting his best performance ever. Sorry-- that was unclear.

Gotcha. I'm excited to (finally!) see Broken Flowers when it releases on DVD next month. I thought it would eventually make the rounds in theaters here, but that never came to pass.

[Josh]

I was actually talking about the graveyard scene being his best scene ever, not the film as a whole coasting his best performance ever. Sorry-- that was unclear.

Gotcha. I'm excited to (finally!) see Broken Flowers when it releases on DVD next month. I thought it would eventually make the rounds in theaters here, but that never came to pass.

January 3rd is the big day! I know I'll be using my Christmas money to buy a copy!

[enemy anemone]

I see I have a ton of catching up to do...except for Broken Flowers, Batman Begins, and War of the Worlds, I haven't seen any of these films...yet.