On February 24th Hollywood will vote for who they think gives the best performances of the year. But every so often there are a few that never even make it to the ceremony. They give amazing performances that somehow never register. Here are three movies that are available for home viewing that contain three amazing performances that were overlooked. Throw yourself a movie marathon this weekend and enjoy.
What happened to Arbitrage? First time director Nicholas Jarecki’s film about Robert Miller, a prominent, ruthless businessman who must use his wits and influence to get himself out of serious jam, was so well written and constructed that it left you breathless by the end. The film stars Richard Gere who’s right at home playing a truly immoral character whose ethics take a backseat to protecting his image and career. The film is a tour de force for Gere. Here he uses his charisma, his charm, and most importantly, his age for the films benefit. We believe him in the role. His pleasant demeanor acts a front for the actual person unearth the suit and tie. This isn’t some younger actor hamming it up or some sinister looking tycoon twirling his mustache and laughing maniacally. This is a man in his later years that worked hard and built his empire from the ground up and will go to great and unbelievable lengths to protect it from scandal or bankruptcy. Open any newspaper on any given day and you’ll read about men like Gere’s Robert Miller. This is a great movie for our times. This movie highlights how the rich get away with murder and how the lower class citizens end up cleaning up their mess.
Liam Neeson. What? Liam Neeson? Trust me. This is not for Taken 2 or for that sad attempt at Greek mythology he starred in earlier this year. This is for The Grey. Walking into this film, I thought I was walking into a tired old cliché. An adventure. A boy’s movie. Liam Neeson taking down pack of ravenous, territorial wolves sounded simple enough. What I got was anything but. I sat there, mouth open, palms sweaty, hairs on the back of my neck doing handstands. When it was over I knew I had watched something that will be remembered long after the Oscars. What I had just viewed was a movie about a man’s acceptance of death. Liam Neeson has done bad movies before but he’s never been an actor to phone it in. Ok, ok, he did Battleship but hey, even the famous need to pay the bills. But here, he’s stellar. He plays a lonely, tortured man at the end of his rope, just waiting for the day he puts a bullet into his own head. But that day never comes. A plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness leaves him and a group of men exposed to snow, wind and wolves. The men, scared, cold and hungry, must overcome their individual problems and work together to survive. They become a pack themselves, with Neeson out front as their Alpha. Following his lead, they challenge nature. But slowly and surely, one by one, each man is taken down by mother nature, leaving Neeson alone to grapple with his own mortality; leaving us patiently waiting for the inevitable.
How does a billion dollars and the best reviews ever for a James Bond movie go unnoticed? Skyfall, in my opinion, is the best Bond movie ever made. From the direction to the cinematography, the music, and the acting, hands down my favorite of the series. As good as Daniel Craig and Judi Dench were, I was blown away by Javier Bardem as Silva. I was sure he would’ve gotten a nomination as the villain. Maybe people where tired of him since he won for playing the baddie in No Country for Old Men. Maybe the category was overcrowded. Who knows? He brings actual menace to the film. He shows up an hour into the movie but yet from the start his presence is known. When we first see him he’s well dressed, soft spoken, and comical; moments later, in a sick contest between him and Bond, we see how brutal he can be. His relationship with Dench’s M mirrors the maternal connection she has with Bond hinting at his own past as one of M’s spies. Finally a bad guy who is fleshed out and not some cardboard cut-out we’re used to seeing in these films.
Please check these out. These are examples of smart movie making. Well written and directed and of course, wonderfully acted.
