'Last great performance you saw' thread

Colin Farrell - Penguin, episode 3 : "Bliss"

He was my favorite thing about that 2022 Batman movie; so picture my glee when Oz got his own show....Imagine every favorite element of yours from every piece of media got such a thing... woof.

He's of course so fun to watch in pretty much every scene he's the center to (and that's like 90% of the show); but I really liked several of what he got this episode... listening to Vic's reminiscence of his father (love their bond, the kid's fine too) before saluting him; manipulating everyone with a no-nonsense tone (impossible to not be reminded of Gandolfini's Tony Soprano)... until he loses his shit and feeds Michael Kelly his phone because he just loses it like that when he's disrespected - and nobody has forgotten how his spontaneous killing of a guy began this show... you'd think all of this mass and make-up would bury Farrell's talent too but nah, he builds his character through small gestures, like how he's side-eyeing if his targets are indeed walking into his traps.

Cherry on top of "Bliss" for me though, was a near-end scene he shares with Sofia; where's in tears and telling her how much she, and this low-life job means to him... he almost fools us too, us who did see earlier how he doesn't care for her end. Farrell's isn’t only playing Oz here; he's playing Oz playing for Sofia a side to him that may or may not be completely full of crap...

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HEI guys.

Tilda Swinton & Julianne Moore - The Room Next Door (2024)

Pedro Almodóvar's story of euthanasia is inhabited by depressed (about their past, or the current state of the world) intellectuals, modern architecture and gorgeous colors. It's somewhere between "just fine" and "arguably under-cooked"; as it's a moving watch - and did I say it's visually gorgeous? - but afterwards, you can't say it offered a serious, challenging dialogue on the themes it has brought up (like are [the pleasant] John Turturo and the one-scene Alessandro Nivola really the representations of the left and the right in America that Almodovar is satisfied with?).

But the winning factor here is the leads. Julianne Moore is just about the most reliable actress alive that I can think of; one whose list of auteur collaborates is seriously impressive (and isn't she just one of the great on-screen criers?) and here enhances Pedro's writing with her giving presence. She's been the shoulder for friends all her life to cry on; and is asked by Swinton's character to be there with her when she ends her life. And man, I had not seen her in a meaty leading role in a long while but she carries this as long as she does with serious class; with those calculating, searching-for-peace, dignified eyes of hers...

It was so worth it seeing these two act together.

I thought Sydney Sweeney did a great job in Nocturne. It's the first feature-length performance I've seen from her and I thought she did an awesome job. Mostly I've seen her in clips and commercials and talk-show blurbs, so it was nice to see her in a full movie.



Hm she looks a little concerned to be in this post...

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I destroyed the dastardly dairy dame! I made mad milk maid mulch!

100% Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston: A Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)

is that the newset one right the one you told me?

yes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33400818/

Tatiana Dorodina


https://tubitv.com/movies/709383/thr...at-plyuschikha

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Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake (2004)



Really had all of my emotions being engaged at her whim in a performance which really came out of nowhere. Nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (Hilary Swank won for her turn in Million Dollar Baby) and won a BAFTA among many other awards. Great performance.

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Tim Roth in The Hit (1984). If you think you have seen him play a b*stard before, wait until you see this.

I've wanted to see this one for ages.

I had wanted to as well. It's on Amazon and you can watch it for no additional charge if you're a Prime customer.

Monica Vitti, who I haven't thought especially much of in other films, was exceptional in L'eclisse.
She was also beautifully photographed by Gianni Di Venanzo.

She's mentioned in an episode of Flying Circus. That's her shiniest moment.

Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun (2024)

The film itself was a letdown of narrative smoothness and effectivity... it's slow and only near the end reveals our alcohol-recovering protagonist was almost sexually assaulted as well... bit of a waste, because otherwise it's a very important subject matter that has my sympathy like any other viewer's, but you can go back in time to 1945 to find an all-around great take on this theme with The Lost Weekend.

But oh, it's the great Ronan who makes it worth-watching to the point it is; being the hero and the conflict of it all within herself...what an actress she shaped out to be after The Lovely Bones (back in 2009!); which had got me crushing hard on her for a while...

Where was I, yes - her reactions make the film, practically: her sudden hug after her father calculates how much the fish she's captured could make them money, her throwing a tantrum at her lover in one (of the many) flashback(s), her tearful close-up when she's on the phone with her mother, her aggressively dancing to avoid a nightly relapse... among the highlights.

I didn't know this until three seconds ago; apparently the lead of 71 Into the Fire, Choi Seung-hyun, is a Korean rapper, and that's only his second foray into acting. It's not really a bad thing. It is interesting. I also thought he did an excellent job as Oh Jung-bum in 71 Into the Fire. His character grows into a formidable leader and fighter, and is strong by the end. I thought he did an excellent job. The rest of the cast was quite good as well. He was the shiniest spot though.

Willa Fitzgerald in Strange Darling (2023)
and
Naomi Scott in Smile 2 (2024)

Two movies with similiarities, more than the poor Kyle Gallner getting a shitty end in both... They're leading girls in violent rides, possessed by demons but picking different ways to go about it (possible spoilers).



Fitzgerald's is a performance in three, obvious different modes. First she attracts our affection (that's chapters 1 & 3, chronically speaking) and then her screwed-up, unhinged behaviors take control - calculated or not (mainly chapters 2 & 5)... it's the epilogue that contains the final nail in the head though, where she smiles defeatedly as she sees a demon in the car's side-view mirror. She knows she's the devil. A fascinating figure and her intimate scenes with Gallner are among some of the best I've seen this year.



The real winning factor of this one is how it creates the illusion of Skye being a believable pop-star that could well exist outside of the movie...and Scott carries the whole thing admirably. A lot of the scares work because of her reactions alone - look how usually we see them before the actual source of terror... Her character is more grounded than Fitzgerald's (and there are different shades to her as well, it's just more "everyday"; playing cool in public, having universal fears deep down) and definitely easier to root for.

Both are hotties as well lol. Hope to continue seeing them in great things.

I like Fitzgerald just from seeing her in a few episodes of S2 of Reacher and now, thanks to your review, I have to see her Strange Darling. Looks to be pretty great!

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

I hope you enjoy it

Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive (2001)

Might've been my third (if not fourth) viewing since circa 2010, when I first encountered this modern masterpiece...never failing to get a reaction from me, and Watts' performance has always been part of it.

You know it's a layered one (in a film that is all about layers) and you know the audition scene. I never understood just how key it is until tonight, not only in showcasing Watt's talent but also in communicating, almost foreshadowing what Lynch and her have in store for us. It's the first time in the film that she stops her naive and cutesy act to reveal she's capable of behaving in this manner/reality; one more cynical, truthful, "normal", closer to ours... the irony is of course that it's the only time in the story that she's officially "acting", auditioning for a part (God I love this film).

Then there's the unforgettable, intimate moments she shares with Haura Harring and everything after the masks falling; the unexpected weaknesses, the agony of her end... It's simply breathtaking to watch and reflect upon.

Bob Hoskins (and Helen Mirren) in The Long Good Friday (1980)

Had heard about this "Quintessential British Gangster Film" for years... It was definitely a gripping watch, and a big part of it was Bob Hoskin's Harold. It was too darn fun to see him react as the world around him starts to crumble, how he takes control (the butchery scene!), how he loses his cool again (a somewhat unplanned murder) and pulls a win only for one stingy surprise at the end (it's a close-up, and of course score, that won't leave the memory)...have to mention how funny he is as well. Like I found it hilarious everytime he commented on how rotten the world has gotten, best of all near the closure to his potential partners and they just take it in... had a great voice too, that demanded attention and respect.

And H. Mirren made for a perfect partner in crime (literally), the one who saved face for him in their encounters with others while giving the impression that she's being her own person as well (It's the heart-stopping elevator bit that does it above every other detail)...



Some fun trivias from IMDB:

Bob Hoskins' voice was dubbed over by another actor from Wolverhampton out of fear that Americans wouldn't understand his London accent. After Hoskins threatened to sue Jack Gill and British Lion, the dubbing was removed. He was supported by Richard Burton, Sir Alec Guinness, and Warren Beatty.

This film is Pierce Brosnan's feature film debut, his part was supposed to be completely silent, but he improvised one word of dialogue, "Hi".

For his performance, Bob Hoskins received a fan letter from notorious London gangster Ronald Kray.

In her 2008 autobiography, "In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures", Dame Helen Mirren claims that it was at her insistence that her character "Victoria" was made into a more complex character than just the stereotypical mob moll.

Dame Helen Mirren's uncle George Dawson was a London gangster. She recalled that quite a few East End gangsters were extras in the scene where Harold rallies his troops. "I'd be all, 'Did you ever hear of my Uncle George?' 'What, George Dawson?', they'd say. 'Yeah! He went to jail, you know.' "