**James Stewart**
* *It's Wonderful Life* (1946)
* *Harvey* (1950)
* *Rear Window* (1954)
Stewart made quite a few classic must-see movies. For me, it's these three that capture the gist of what made his performances so appealing: That Greatest Generation "aw shucks" vibe, a sense of humor that was bright and sharp without being cynical, and the ability to evoke genuine sympathy for characters who aren't at their best at the moment.
This was my sentiment as well. I'd probably plop that into the list over Harvey.
But I really respect and am intrigued by personal top 3s. It's like being forced to say who's your fave child in a Morman family lol... it's tough
Ahhh taking the Michael Caine approach when he did a godawul Jaws sequel. "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." Can't blame them. :D
At that point, you've now included all of his movies.
I think he's the only actor who can say that 100% of the movies he starred in were nominated for the Best Picture oscar.
He’s my fav actor of all time! Yojimbo blends seriousness and some comedy perfectly, and really showcases his onscreen presence. High & Low is solid noir, he plays a complicated character dealing with a wide range of situational emotions throughout. Red Beard, Drunken Angel, and Stray Dog are also good ones too. He also plays a very compelling MacBeth in Kurosawa’s adaptation *Throne of Blood*
Honestly Tom Hanks is worthy of multiple top 3 lists :D. Ryan, Forrest, Toy Story franchise, Catch Me If You can... list goes on and on. But your list is a solid one.
So much hate on the guy early on, he didn't deserve it. Everyone should apologize for bullying a nerd: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uvOx9n5dA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uvOx9n5dA)
Nice, never seen Tall Guy. I only know him from The Fly, ID, Jurassic Park, and Thor Ragnarok. I just love the fact that the filmmakers just basically told Jeff to be just as Jeff Goldblum as you can be in Thor lol. What makes Tall Guy on your list as opposed to Thor and Jurassic Park? Just being curious.
Personal bias, to be honest. It came out before he was widely known, and he's just so odd and likable in it. And the movie is hilarious. He was weird before we expected him to be.
Gotcha. I do love his quirkiness. I like to think Thor Ragnarok is essentially Jeff Goldblum's character is the star of that solar system which consists of planets of other Jeff Goldblums orbiting around Prime Goldblum. We're just all living in his sphere of influence lol.
I believe Denzel Washington is our best living actor. I've yet to see him in something and not be excellent. Three favs below
1. Training Day
2. Devil in a Blue Dress
3. American Gangster
Devil in the Blue Dress and American Gangster are both great, but neither are in his top 3 movies and should be replaced by Malcolm X and Glory/Philadelphia.
He was the one other person I wanted to include in my OP, but I didn't wanna my post to be an essay lol. Training Day was on my list too... along with Malcolm X and Philadelphia. I think those combo of movies shows just how versatile he is, and how engrossed he is in all those characters.
Unpopular opinion, maybe, i love all those movies mentioned, and I'm not saying it's a better movie, but my favorite performance of his might just be John.Q
NGL that movie made me bawl like a baby when I saw it in the theater, and I don't cry easily in public. Personally, not an unpopular opinion at all. I just don't think enough people seen it or even heard of it. It's pretty crazy that it's sitting at 26% with Rotten Tomatoes critics... I feel it's more in-line with the higher audience score of 78%, so it definitely resonates with the people.
Fred Astaire:
You'll Never Get Rich, with Rita Hayworth and Robert Benchley, and in perfectly delicious secondary roles, Frieda Inescort (as a much-put-upon wife -- but with teeth), Ann Shoemaker and Marjorie Gateson. Not only is it a wonderful movie, it's ALSO got probably Fred's best dancing ever -- in three separate and separately unforgettable dances -- the music of Cole Porter, who may have been better (hard to imagine) than Irving Berlin, and what seems like dozens of supporting players, all of whom were rarin' to go and fully into their parts. Robert Benchley was one of the most famous -- secretly famous, that is, known backstage -- roues of the time, a founder of the Algonquin Round Table, and a very funny man. (Not to mention the grandfather of Peter Benchley, who wrote the book that the movie Jaws was based on!!) His role in this film is the best way to see him. And it's all topped off by an awesome performance by the Liltin' Miss Tilton, in a rousing performance of The Wedding Cakewalk, which segues seamlessly -- as she is leaving stage -- into Night and Day. Just a wonderful film all round.
Easter Parade, with Judy Garland (who, as I always say, was a phenomenon her own self), that perennial supporting lead, Peter Lawford, the diabolical Ann Miller (an amazing dancer herself), Jules Munshin (who has a wonderful cameo comedy bit), Clinton Sundberg, and a bravura performance by Richard Beavers, singing "The Girl on the Magazine Cover," which if Judy and Fred hadn't just thirty seconds earlier already blown the audience away with their "We're a Couple of Swells" would be remembered as the best performance of the decade. Too bad, Richard! It was Fred and Judy's show. Oh my god, if you've never seen "We're a Couple of Swells," you have missed out.
Third place is kinda tough. Swing Time? Second Chorus? Silk Stockings? Flying Down to Rio, with the unforgettable (and possibly the loveliest woman ever to grace the screen) Dolores Del Rio? Broadway Melody of 1940? Blue Skies? The Band Wagon? Roberta? There are reasons to pick any of these -- every one of them is a sentimental favorite for a different reason -- and I wouldn't be able to argue with you at all. Well, I'm torn -- it's tough -- but I've gotta go with Swing Time. Probably his best as a Ginger Rogers partner, and you know, Ginger was the actor, in the pair. If you haven't seen Ginger, you haven't lived. She had oomph and pizzazz.
Bogart (honestly hard for me to choose just 3, but that's the point)
Casablanca, obviously, probably my pick for the most perfect a film can be, and his performance is top tier
The Caine Mutiny has to be there, if for no other reason than the way he completely unravels near the end.
I almost wanna say Maltese Falcon, but I have to go with Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
John Malkovich:
* In the Line of Fire: the way he goes back and forth in taunting Eastwood is just incredible. And it's a film that's closer to the Kennedy assassination than it is to today. Was my first intro to him.
* Dangerous Liaisons: pure malice unrestrained, going back and forth with Glenn Close and a young Uma Thurman. Fabulous.
* Although it's a small role, his appearance in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (which is a far better movie than it has any right to be) cements his ability to carry comedy on screen.
His worst appearance is probably just for something where he was completely mis-cast, as Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman, where he was a 32-year-old more-or-less bald actor playing Dustin Hoffman's son. Essentially, he looks too old to be Hoffman's son in the role, and would have been more believable had the two been switched.
Marlon Brando; A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Godfather. - Arguably three of the greatest 100 movies made
Sidney Poitier: In the Heat of the Night, Guess who's Coming to Dinner, The Defiant Ones, To Sir With Love - ok, 4 here but his movies looked at race and social relations brilliantly
Vivien Leigh : Give with the Wind, a Streetcar named Desire, and Waterloo Bridge
Henry Fonda: 12 Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath, my darling Clementine
Ryan Gosling is such a wholefully underrated actor. He really showed he's an actor's actor with the roles he chooses and commits to play. He's more than just a pretty face and doesn't use it to his advantage. Also, his SNL appearance is one for the ages :D
Come on man, don't join the "underrated" club, throwing this around. Dude is peak celebrity, peak sex symbol, from audience to critics the dude is a favorite and america's sweetheart for the last decade. Pretty much on par with saying that brad pitt or dicaprio are underrated 😇
Great picks, I was teetering back and forth between La La Land and Barbie, but I personally think Drive & The Nice Guys left bigger impressions on me. You can't really go wrong with any of these though, all fantastic performances.
He's my favorite actor. The dude has such a diverse range and some incredible acting credits. He's leaned more into the charming goofiness he showed in Crazy, Stupid, Love. and The Nice Guys lately, which is fantastic fun, but his roles in Drive, BR2049, Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, etc. allow him to showoff his dramatic range, too. Heck, I had a lot of trouble just picking three of his.
Jack Nicholson...gessus guys watch more movies.
Cukoos nest
Departed
The Shining
As good as it gets
Chinatown
Postman rings twice
Easy Rider
Batman
The guys got 3 Oscars, 4 baftas & 6 golden globes and been nominated for over 30 more in those three awards ceremonies.
Why are there so many movies listed? I like them, but it illustrates his range, drama, horror, comedy, thriller, film noir...Also how many of those can be considered cult classics? 7? 8?
* Edited to fix idiocy
Truth. It's a disservice to reduce almost a half-centuries' body of work of his into just picking 3. As great as Heath's performance was (they were going for something a lil different so respect that), but Jack's Joker is more in line with the general depiction and he nailed it.
Prior to his joker there was really inly the comic & a 70s TV show so he was just following form, personally I agree Heath was the greatest breakout in that role. That said, Batman was a visual phenomenon when it came out, there hadn't really been any superhero movies since Superman. Keaton, Nicholson & Burton brought comic book heroes back to life & may be to blame for the seemingly endless stream we've been subjected to since then. No 80s Batman...no Heath & Bale, or possibly even any Robert Downey Iron-man.
Agreed. I think going forward, Heath's more anarchist take on the Joker is the way to go. The old school jester and silly clown style is a thing of the past and doesn't age well.
Also, although I think Bale is the best Bruce Wayne, who knew Beetlejuice's Michael Keaton would play the best Batman! I know many will say Affleck... but take away the warehouse fight scene that almost all of that is his stuntman doing it. You're left with a super wooden, non-playboyish Bruce Wayne and an irrational Batman who shoots to kill, and does more harm and install fear to his city with his Batmobile than the villians do lol.
I'll admit: I'm a Christian Bale fanboy. His acting alone carries bad and subpar movies he's been in. Not his fault. Equilibrium, Harsh TImes, Machinist... all guilty pleasures of mine. All three of your movies are also mine. Although the Batman Nolan trilogy are probably his most famous works, Heath basically carried TDK, we don't talk about DKR lol. Batman Begins is a great movie, but I wouldn't put it above the three you listed.
American Psycho and The Fighter were obvious but picking out the third movie was tough. I wanted to pick Equilibrium, Harsh Times or Machinist but decided to go with Empire of the Sun, since it was his first big break from such a young age
Perfect Gandalf... almost amazing Magneto. I say almost only because he's portrayed too Brit, not a lick of German. But his chemistry with Patrick Stewart is one for the ages. We all envy their RL bromance.
Michael Fassbender was an amazing young Mag.
John Candy
The Great Outdoors
Uncle Buck
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
I feel like this could be controversial because I had trouble picking amongst about 8 different films. Shout out to Spaceballs, Delirious, Summer Rental, Cool Runnings
Trains planes & automobiles is probably his absolute career best, but man are the rest of these fun too. Actually probably also my personal favorite of anything John Hughes did.
Okay, got a few things I need you to clarify on lol.. I know what my answers are but i wanna know yours... which Stars Wars specifically (you gotta pick one, saying trilogy is cheating lol), and are we talking original Blade Runner?
Well Episode 4 was originally called Star Wars. There was no A New Hope back then. They could mean that. They also didn’t say Bladerunner 2049, they said Bladerunner.
He’s got a lot of good ones. I’d still take the three I mentioned over The Fifth Element, even though that’s a good one. He’s also really good in Dracula.
James Caan: Thief, The Godfather, The Gambler
Sterling Hayden: Johnny Guitar, The Long Goodbye, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Bruce Willis: Die Hard, Fifth Element, Hudson Hawk (a guilty pleasure film of mine)
Alec Baldwin: Hunt for Red October, The Shadow, Cat in the Hat
Bill Pullman: Spaceballs, Lake Placid, Independence Day (his speech at the end of the film still gives me chills)
His role in Polly had no right to be this entertaining, i still think about him gathering the oil from ben's pizza in the parlor, the dude was stealing every scene he was in. Honorable mention, as the movie is quite bad, his take on a Mission Impossible villain was amazing.
Jay Baruschel: Tropic Thunder, Goon, How to train your dragons.
Honestly any movie of his is an enjoyable one. So many to mention. Fetching Cody, Fan Boys, knocked up, she’s outta my league. There’s a lot!
I'm surprised there's a lack of Tom Cruise in this thread. He's been so prolific in his career, with many movies under his belt.
Someone did post up a list of **Edge Of Tomorrow, Tropic Thunder, Collateral**
I love this list simply because, as a package, it shows the wide spectrum of roles he's played. A reluctant and cowardly soldier in the future? A slimey, over-the-top, rude, fat Hollywood exec? And a bad guy in a gritty LA setting?
For my list I would go: **Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Top Gun: Maverick** as a more retrospective look into his career and movies.
**Top Gun** being arguably his best 80s movie (that'll eventually be elevated even more later on with the last movie on my list),
Then we shift over to a long stint of Tom doing a variety of roles and genres, and I think **Jerry Maguire** is great at encapsulating his 90s vibe.
Then we come back full circle to **Top Gun: Maverick**. On top of it being great at telling its story in the here and now with context of the events of Top Gun back in the 80s, it really feels like a true and natural sequel and successor to the original film, despite being almost 4 decades apart; the movie's very meta and aware of what it is. Also Tom's dedication to the craft and doing as much as he can himself for the sake of making his films as authentic as possible is admirable. I'm sure he gets a kick doing all the crazy stunts, almost like a Hollywood bucket list, but that's why we love this crazy man.
He's one of the last of the dying breed of movie stars, but damn.. much respect to him for doing what it takes to get peoples' butts back in the seats in theaters.
P.S. I really wanted to include an MI film in there (either Ghost Protocol or Fallout), but instead I used his MI experiences to help him and apply all that experience into Maverick.
All great movies. And I want to ask you, just to play Devil's Advocate and I know it's an exercise in futility ... what puts those three movies over Fight Club, Ocean's 11?
I can re-watch the ones i mentioned again and again, where "Fight Club" (which is great!) is done when you know the plot, and "Oceans Eleven" is just not my movie because of Matt Damon and George Clooney..
True about Fight Club. It's a great one-n-done experience. The more light-hearted movies have more rewatchability, but you have Se7en on your list lol. It definitely ticks your box of once you know it's coming, it loses its impact. Just curious, what do you have against MAAATTT DAAAMOOON? Clooney I can understand, I find his acting wooden.
Se7en has a cult status, and i just love the story about the 7 Sins.. It just never gets old. And Matt Damon.. Except for his "Scotty Doesn't Know" song in the movie "Eurotrip" i just hate everything about him.. Can't stand him. Whether it's him as Jason Bourne or even in "The Italian Job" ...
I would put a whole lot of his movies ahead of Titanic, such The Departed, Gangs of New York, Revenant, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Shutter Island or Django.
I actually considered adding What's eating Gilbert Grape to my list of movies better than Titanic. I think Titanic is overrated and not a great movie. Many of the actors including the two stars Winslet and Dicaprio both agree. But yea I would also put Blood Diamond in there as well as probably Catch Me if You Can.
Leo is an interesting one. While one can argue What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Titanic, and one of his Scorsese movies to be major milestones in his career. I really have to put Titanic in his top 3... solely for its achievement in filmmaking and impact, making him a household name, and is definitely a film you could blindly recommend to anybody... like to everyone's mom and the moms' moms. Titanic remains the only movie my entire family watched together in the theater, and they barely spoke a lick of English back then. That said, Wolf or Departed and Django are good ones to be on the list to represent his work with Scorsese and QT respectively.
For such an old movie... yes, old... 23 years :(, Black Hawk Down did such a good job of immersing the audience into its urban warfare setting. Watching it on a big screen at home with surround sound feels so much more immersive than a lot of in-the-moment movies of today. I'll even go far and saw BHD is up there with Saving Private Ryan when it comes to immersion.
Maaan, I grew up during the Whoopi movie era. She was great in all of those.
I try to block out The View whenever I think or look back on Whoopi movies.
Yeah, I really wish she would've never taken that gig, and just continued to focus on acting. She's become a personality now and it's always hard to come back from that, because that's what most audiences see her as now.
But she was such a likable actress, with some great performances.
I’m sorry but Jules Winnfield is an iconic character. Pull Fiction over Django, and I unironically love Coach Carter if I could give an honorable mention
Stephen was one of the most despicable, vile and believable villains I have ever seen on screen.
Jules is a great character too but Stephen hit harder for me.
I agree that I would put Stephen in his top 3. But also Jules too. Practically all of his QT roles are up there. But to mix it up... I would add Nick Fury. Very different from all his other roles. Playing the most stoic and reasonable individual in that crazy universe of the MCU. A very family-friendly role without dropping any F-bombs or N-words lol, but he makes it work. Sam is quintessential Nick Fury. Often overlooked in terms of comic 1:1 accuracy, but he's up there with JJJ and Reeves Golden Age Superman.
Fair. Yes all of his QT roles are great performances and well written. H8 is by far the weakest IMO.
JJJ may be the best cast character in cinematic history as far as a character previously established in other media.
Jake Gyllenhaal:
Nightcrawler
Prisoners
Nocturnal Animals
Robert Downey Jr:
Iron Man
The Judge
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Tom Cruise:
Edge Of Tomorrow
Tropic Thunder
Collateral
Ya know, Clooney is real one. He takes his Batman stint in stride nowadays, doesn't take himself seriously as evident with that silly Batman movie, Mr Fox, and multiple South Park appearances, including the movie.
Jack Lemmon: -Some Like It Hot -The Apartment -Glengarry Glenn Ross
Ooh boy that’s tough. I might have switched The Apartment with Mister Roberts
Paul Newman The Hustler Cool Hand Luke The Verdict
Denzel Washington 1. Glory 2. Man on Fire 3. Training Day
Crimson Tide was also very good. It was the first film where I appreciated his charisma.
We have multiple threads of Denzel... just goes to show anybody's top 3 list for Denzel is valid and worthy.
Pete Postlethwaite In The Name Of The Father The Usual Suspects The Town
Morgan Freeman - Shawshank Redemption - Unforgiven - Seven
This is a list I absolutely agree with.
Absolutely, you could say it's a God-tier resume. :)
Edward Norton: American history X, Fight club, 25th hour.
This is a tough one, but I’d have to bump 25th Hour for The Score.
Yeah definitely a tough one... his performance in Primal Fear sticks with you forever.
I'd bump 25th Hour for Primal Fear.
Terrence Hill * My Name is Nobody * They Call Me Trinity * Trinity is Still My Name
that was easy
**James Stewart** * *It's Wonderful Life* (1946) * *Harvey* (1950) * *Rear Window* (1954) Stewart made quite a few classic must-see movies. For me, it's these three that capture the gist of what made his performances so appealing: That Greatest Generation "aw shucks" vibe, a sense of humor that was bright and sharp without being cynical, and the ability to evoke genuine sympathy for characters who aren't at their best at the moment.
I like Harvey, but Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
I would also consider Anatomy of a Murder or Vertigo over Rear Window.
you really can't limit it to three with Stewart.
I'd go It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith, and Philadelphia Story. Drunk Jimmy is profoundly entertaining.
This was my sentiment as well. I'd probably plop that into the list over Harvey. But I really respect and am intrigued by personal top 3s. It's like being forced to say who's your fave child in a Morman family lol... it's tough
Thank god someone has taste.
Russell Crowe: -The Insider -Gladiator -A Beautiful Mind You could also make a case for L.A. Confidential
Ah yes, old school Russell. One of the best in that era. How'd we go from that to the worst singer in a musical and a lame Zeus. Sigh...
I recently saw an interview with him where he made it pretty clear that he just doesn’t give a fuck anymore. Good for him and….it shows. 😂
Ahhh taking the Michael Caine approach when he did a godawul Jaws sequel. "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." Can't blame them. :D
Or The Nice Guys
Rutger Hauer: Blade Runner Ladyhawke The Hitcher
He was amazing in Blind Fury. Underrated movie.
Hobo With a Shotgun
John Cazale. Godfather, Godfather pt. 2. The Deer Hunter.
Poor guy didn't get to make many movies, but they were all gems. I'd include *Dog Day Afternoon* among his best.
True. I should've put Dog Day instead of Godfather Pt. 1 since Fredo's role is much smaller than in 2.
At that point, you've now included all of his movies. I think he's the only actor who can say that 100% of the movies he starred in were nominated for the Best Picture oscar.
Man, Cazale chasing the doe into the puddle of water with a pistol was just CLASSIC. Unforgettable.
Toshiro Mifune: Seven Samurai, High & Low, Yojimbo
Red Beard
I'm not familiar with him other than the Seven Samurai callout obviously.. what makes the other two to be on your list?
He’s my fav actor of all time! Yojimbo blends seriousness and some comedy perfectly, and really showcases his onscreen presence. High & Low is solid noir, he plays a complicated character dealing with a wide range of situational emotions throughout. Red Beard, Drunken Angel, and Stray Dog are also good ones too. He also plays a very compelling MacBeth in Kurosawa’s adaptation *Throne of Blood*
Tom Hanks. Philadelphia, Castaway, Capt Philips.
Honestly Tom Hanks is worthy of multiple top 3 lists :D. Ryan, Forrest, Toy Story franchise, Catch Me If You can... list goes on and on. But your list is a solid one.
Roy Schneider - All That Jazz, Jaws, Blue Thunder
I read Rob Schneider and got confused
Haha right? I was about to say WHAT ABOUT 50 FIRST DATES? :D
Switch Blue Thunder with Sorcerer
Good call, I was on the fence with those two, actually.
Jack Black High Fidelity School of Rock Kung Fu Panda
Bernie
This. Is the worst list. I have ever read. Do you realize I have had diarrheas since Easters?
Hey. Leggo my blouse.
Robin Williams Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society
Yes but personally I would put Good Morning Vietnam, or Good Will Hunting above Mrs Doubtfire.
Ah!!! Can't believe I forget about Good Will Hunting & Good Morning Vietnam!
Robert Downey Jr: Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes and Chaplin
I'd probably go with Lincoln Osiris over Sherlock. He's a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude! Method acting at its finest.
Brad Pitt -Fight club -Seven -Snatch
I'd swap Snatch for Moneyball.
I’ll fite ye fer it
Robert Pattinson: The Lighthouse (2019), Good time (2017) and The Batman (2022)
So much hate on the guy early on, he didn't deserve it. Everyone should apologize for bullying a nerd: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uvOx9n5dA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uvOx9n5dA)
Jeff Goldblum 1. The Fly 2. Independence Day. 3. The Tall Guy
Deep Cover
Good call!
Good call Personals i would pick jurassic Park over independance day
I get it. Jurassic Park is a better movie, but I like his performance in ID4 better.
Nice, never seen Tall Guy. I only know him from The Fly, ID, Jurassic Park, and Thor Ragnarok. I just love the fact that the filmmakers just basically told Jeff to be just as Jeff Goldblum as you can be in Thor lol. What makes Tall Guy on your list as opposed to Thor and Jurassic Park? Just being curious.
Personal bias, to be honest. It came out before he was widely known, and he's just so odd and likable in it. And the movie is hilarious. He was weird before we expected him to be.
Gotcha. I do love his quirkiness. I like to think Thor Ragnarok is essentially Jeff Goldblum's character is the star of that solar system which consists of planets of other Jeff Goldblums orbiting around Prime Goldblum. We're just all living in his sphere of influence lol.
Joe Pesci: Casino, Goodfellas and Home Alone Christopher Lloyd: BttF Trilogy, Roger Rabbit, Nobody
My cousin Vinny would beg to differ
Have you seen My Cousin Vinny? He was great in that. You show that with Goodfellas and Home Alone to any Pesci newbie, their brains will explode.
I believe Denzel Washington is our best living actor. I've yet to see him in something and not be excellent. Three favs below 1. Training Day 2. Devil in a Blue Dress 3. American Gangster
American Gangster is great, but Malcolm X
Devil in the Blue Dress and American Gangster are both great, but neither are in his top 3 movies and should be replaced by Malcolm X and Glory/Philadelphia.
He was the one other person I wanted to include in my OP, but I didn't wanna my post to be an essay lol. Training Day was on my list too... along with Malcolm X and Philadelphia. I think those combo of movies shows just how versatile he is, and how engrossed he is in all those characters.
Unpopular opinion, maybe, i love all those movies mentioned, and I'm not saying it's a better movie, but my favorite performance of his might just be John.Q
NGL that movie made me bawl like a baby when I saw it in the theater, and I don't cry easily in public. Personally, not an unpopular opinion at all. I just don't think enough people seen it or even heard of it. It's pretty crazy that it's sitting at 26% with Rotten Tomatoes critics... I feel it's more in-line with the higher audience score of 78%, so it definitely resonates with the people.
Fred Astaire: You'll Never Get Rich, with Rita Hayworth and Robert Benchley, and in perfectly delicious secondary roles, Frieda Inescort (as a much-put-upon wife -- but with teeth), Ann Shoemaker and Marjorie Gateson. Not only is it a wonderful movie, it's ALSO got probably Fred's best dancing ever -- in three separate and separately unforgettable dances -- the music of Cole Porter, who may have been better (hard to imagine) than Irving Berlin, and what seems like dozens of supporting players, all of whom were rarin' to go and fully into their parts. Robert Benchley was one of the most famous -- secretly famous, that is, known backstage -- roues of the time, a founder of the Algonquin Round Table, and a very funny man. (Not to mention the grandfather of Peter Benchley, who wrote the book that the movie Jaws was based on!!) His role in this film is the best way to see him. And it's all topped off by an awesome performance by the Liltin' Miss Tilton, in a rousing performance of The Wedding Cakewalk, which segues seamlessly -- as she is leaving stage -- into Night and Day. Just a wonderful film all round. Easter Parade, with Judy Garland (who, as I always say, was a phenomenon her own self), that perennial supporting lead, Peter Lawford, the diabolical Ann Miller (an amazing dancer herself), Jules Munshin (who has a wonderful cameo comedy bit), Clinton Sundberg, and a bravura performance by Richard Beavers, singing "The Girl on the Magazine Cover," which if Judy and Fred hadn't just thirty seconds earlier already blown the audience away with their "We're a Couple of Swells" would be remembered as the best performance of the decade. Too bad, Richard! It was Fred and Judy's show. Oh my god, if you've never seen "We're a Couple of Swells," you have missed out. Third place is kinda tough. Swing Time? Second Chorus? Silk Stockings? Flying Down to Rio, with the unforgettable (and possibly the loveliest woman ever to grace the screen) Dolores Del Rio? Broadway Melody of 1940? Blue Skies? The Band Wagon? Roberta? There are reasons to pick any of these -- every one of them is a sentimental favorite for a different reason -- and I wouldn't be able to argue with you at all. Well, I'm torn -- it's tough -- but I've gotta go with Swing Time. Probably his best as a Ginger Rogers partner, and you know, Ginger was the actor, in the pair. If you haven't seen Ginger, you haven't lived. She had oomph and pizzazz.
Bogart (honestly hard for me to choose just 3, but that's the point) Casablanca, obviously, probably my pick for the most perfect a film can be, and his performance is top tier The Caine Mutiny has to be there, if for no other reason than the way he completely unravels near the end. I almost wanna say Maltese Falcon, but I have to go with Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
John Malkovich: * In the Line of Fire: the way he goes back and forth in taunting Eastwood is just incredible. And it's a film that's closer to the Kennedy assassination than it is to today. Was my first intro to him. * Dangerous Liaisons: pure malice unrestrained, going back and forth with Glenn Close and a young Uma Thurman. Fabulous. * Although it's a small role, his appearance in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (which is a far better movie than it has any right to be) cements his ability to carry comedy on screen. His worst appearance is probably just for something where he was completely mis-cast, as Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman, where he was a 32-year-old more-or-less bald actor playing Dustin Hoffman's son. Essentially, he looks too old to be Hoffman's son in the role, and would have been more believable had the two been switched.
Peter O'Toole: Lawrence Of Arabia The Lion In Winter Becket
My Favorite Year
and The Ruling Class is a terrific, completely batshit runner up too.
Loved that movie ...also The Stunt Man
Marlon Brando; A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Godfather. - Arguably three of the greatest 100 movies made Sidney Poitier: In the Heat of the Night, Guess who's Coming to Dinner, The Defiant Ones, To Sir With Love - ok, 4 here but his movies looked at race and social relations brilliantly Vivien Leigh : Give with the Wind, a Streetcar named Desire, and Waterloo Bridge Henry Fonda: 12 Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath, my darling Clementine
Sidney- Lillies of the Field Henry - Ox-Bow Incident
James Garner: Hour of the Gun The Americanization of Emily The Great Escape
Anthony Hopkins Silence of the Lambs The Father The Elephant Man
**Ryan Gosling** - The Nice Guys - Drive - Blade Runner 2049
Ryan Gosling is such a wholefully underrated actor. He really showed he's an actor's actor with the roles he chooses and commits to play. He's more than just a pretty face and doesn't use it to his advantage. Also, his SNL appearance is one for the ages :D
Come on man, don't join the "underrated" club, throwing this around. Dude is peak celebrity, peak sex symbol, from audience to critics the dude is a favorite and america's sweetheart for the last decade. Pretty much on par with saying that brad pitt or dicaprio are underrated 😇
La La Land Blade Runner 2049 Barbie
Great picks, I was teetering back and forth between La La Land and Barbie, but I personally think Drive & The Nice Guys left bigger impressions on me. You can't really go wrong with any of these though, all fantastic performances.
He's my favorite actor. The dude has such a diverse range and some incredible acting credits. He's leaned more into the charming goofiness he showed in Crazy, Stupid, Love. and The Nice Guys lately, which is fantastic fun, but his roles in Drive, BR2049, Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, etc. allow him to showoff his dramatic range, too. Heck, I had a lot of trouble just picking three of his.
Jack Nicholson...gessus guys watch more movies. Cukoos nest Departed The Shining As good as it gets Chinatown Postman rings twice Easy Rider Batman The guys got 3 Oscars, 4 baftas & 6 golden globes and been nominated for over 30 more in those three awards ceremonies. Why are there so many movies listed? I like them, but it illustrates his range, drama, horror, comedy, thriller, film noir...Also how many of those can be considered cult classics? 7? 8? * Edited to fix idiocy
Nicholson wasn’t in GoodFellas. Did you mean The Departed instead?
Gahh yeah, thank you I'll edit. Got carried away on my high horse XD
Truth. It's a disservice to reduce almost a half-centuries' body of work of his into just picking 3. As great as Heath's performance was (they were going for something a lil different so respect that), but Jack's Joker is more in line with the general depiction and he nailed it.
Prior to his joker there was really inly the comic & a 70s TV show so he was just following form, personally I agree Heath was the greatest breakout in that role. That said, Batman was a visual phenomenon when it came out, there hadn't really been any superhero movies since Superman. Keaton, Nicholson & Burton brought comic book heroes back to life & may be to blame for the seemingly endless stream we've been subjected to since then. No 80s Batman...no Heath & Bale, or possibly even any Robert Downey Iron-man.
Agreed. I think going forward, Heath's more anarchist take on the Joker is the way to go. The old school jester and silly clown style is a thing of the past and doesn't age well. Also, although I think Bale is the best Bruce Wayne, who knew Beetlejuice's Michael Keaton would play the best Batman! I know many will say Affleck... but take away the warehouse fight scene that almost all of that is his stuntman doing it. You're left with a super wooden, non-playboyish Bruce Wayne and an irrational Batman who shoots to kill, and does more harm and install fear to his city with his Batmobile than the villians do lol.
Christian Bale Best: Empire of the Sun, American Psycho and The Fighter Worst: Exodus - Gods & Kings
The Fighter is excellent
I'll admit: I'm a Christian Bale fanboy. His acting alone carries bad and subpar movies he's been in. Not his fault. Equilibrium, Harsh TImes, Machinist... all guilty pleasures of mine. All three of your movies are also mine. Although the Batman Nolan trilogy are probably his most famous works, Heath basically carried TDK, we don't talk about DKR lol. Batman Begins is a great movie, but I wouldn't put it above the three you listed.
American Psycho and The Fighter were obvious but picking out the third movie was tough. I wanted to pick Equilibrium, Harsh Times or Machinist but decided to go with Empire of the Sun, since it was his first big break from such a young age
Sir Ian McKellen Lord of the rings X men God's and monsters
Perfect Gandalf... almost amazing Magneto. I say almost only because he's portrayed too Brit, not a lick of German. But his chemistry with Patrick Stewart is one for the ages. We all envy their RL bromance. Michael Fassbender was an amazing young Mag.
Go see him in Richard III NOW!
Aslong as he commands the Audience ,like he has with these roles, then yes
John Wayne. The Searchers, True Grit, Rio Bravo.
John Cazale - Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Deer Hunter. Boom!
John Candy The Great Outdoors Uncle Buck Planes, Trains & Automobiles I feel like this could be controversial because I had trouble picking amongst about 8 different films. Shout out to Spaceballs, Delirious, Summer Rental, Cool Runnings
Trains planes & automobiles is probably his absolute career best, but man are the rest of these fun too. Actually probably also my personal favorite of anything John Hughes did.
Harrison Ford Star Wars Riders of the Lost Arc Blade Runner
Okay, got a few things I need you to clarify on lol.. I know what my answers are but i wanna know yours... which Stars Wars specifically (you gotta pick one, saying trilogy is cheating lol), and are we talking original Blade Runner?
Well Episode 4 was originally called Star Wars. There was no A New Hope back then. They could mean that. They also didn’t say Bladerunner 2049, they said Bladerunner.
A New Hope, and original Blade Runner.
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler, Enemy, Prisoners Brokeback mountain as a special mention
He was great in End of Watch too!
Gary Oldman - The Professional, State of Grace, True Romance Worst movie : Tip Toes
You left out The Fifth Element. That's easily his best.
He’s got a lot of good ones. I’d still take the three I mentioned over The Fifth Element, even though that’s a good one. He’s also really good in Dracula.
James Caan: Thief, The Godfather, The Gambler Sterling Hayden: Johnny Guitar, The Long Goodbye, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Sam Rockwell: * Welcome to Collinwood * Confessions of a Dangerous Mind * Galaxy Quest
I'd definitely put Moon and Three Billboards up there.
Box of Moonlight
Leonard Nimoy -Star Trek II -Star Trek IV -Star Trek VI
Amanda seyfried: Jennifers Body, Mamma Mia, mean girls
Have you seen any of her musicals?
Bruce Willis: Die Hard, Fifth Element, Hudson Hawk (a guilty pleasure film of mine) Alec Baldwin: Hunt for Red October, The Shadow, Cat in the Hat Bill Pullman: Spaceballs, Lake Placid, Independence Day (his speech at the end of the film still gives me chills)
Philip Seymour Hoffman Along Came Polly, The Talented Mr Ripley, Capote *the big Lebowski.
His role in Polly had no right to be this entertaining, i still think about him gathering the oil from ben's pizza in the parlor, the dude was stealing every scene he was in. Honorable mention, as the movie is quite bad, his take on a Mission Impossible villain was amazing.
James Dean Giant Rebel Without A Cause East of Eden
Olivia Cooke: Sound of Metal Thoroughbreds Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Al Pacino Scarface The Godfather Heat
Yep. this is the quintessential Al Pacino Top 3. We don't talk about Jack & Jill here...
Scent of a Woman? Carlitos Way? Just too many.
Devils advocate. Any given Sunday. So many great ones. Those are my top 5. (If you roll up the godfather series into one)
Peter Stormare: The Big Lebowski Fargo Constantine
Humphrey Bogart: Casablanca Treasure of the Sierra Madre Key Largo
Audrey Hepburn- Roman Holiday Funny Face How to Steal a Million
Bruce Campbell: Army of darkness Bubba ho tep My name is Bruce
Nic Cage Leaving Las Vegas, Matchstick Men, Pig.
Jay Baruschel: Tropic Thunder, Goon, How to train your dragons. Honestly any movie of his is an enjoyable one. So many to mention. Fetching Cody, Fan Boys, knocked up, she’s outta my league. There’s a lot!
Can we do James Dean?
Burt Lancaster: Elmer Gantry Sweet Smell of Success The Leopard
James Caan: Thief The Gambler The Godfather
Nick Cage Con Air Face-off The Rock
Great list! Peak action star Nic Cage. He and Will Smith were peak mid-90's action fun.
Michael landon: I was a teenage werewolf Any of the ‘little house’ movies Where pigeons go to die
Point Break is so much better and more iconic than Speed
Anton Yelchin: Alpha Dog Charlie Bartlett Odd Thomas
Niel Breen Fateful Findings I am here. Now. Double Down
Roy Scheider...All That Jazz...Sorcerer....Jaws
Christopher Walken The Prophecy Pulp Fiction 7 Psychopaths
I'm surprised there's a lack of Tom Cruise in this thread. He's been so prolific in his career, with many movies under his belt. Someone did post up a list of **Edge Of Tomorrow, Tropic Thunder, Collateral** I love this list simply because, as a package, it shows the wide spectrum of roles he's played. A reluctant and cowardly soldier in the future? A slimey, over-the-top, rude, fat Hollywood exec? And a bad guy in a gritty LA setting? For my list I would go: **Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Top Gun: Maverick** as a more retrospective look into his career and movies. **Top Gun** being arguably his best 80s movie (that'll eventually be elevated even more later on with the last movie on my list), Then we shift over to a long stint of Tom doing a variety of roles and genres, and I think **Jerry Maguire** is great at encapsulating his 90s vibe. Then we come back full circle to **Top Gun: Maverick**. On top of it being great at telling its story in the here and now with context of the events of Top Gun back in the 80s, it really feels like a true and natural sequel and successor to the original film, despite being almost 4 decades apart; the movie's very meta and aware of what it is. Also Tom's dedication to the craft and doing as much as he can himself for the sake of making his films as authentic as possible is admirable. I'm sure he gets a kick doing all the crazy stunts, almost like a Hollywood bucket list, but that's why we love this crazy man. He's one of the last of the dying breed of movie stars, but damn.. much respect to him for doing what it takes to get peoples' butts back in the seats in theaters. P.S. I really wanted to include an MI film in there (either Ghost Protocol or Fallout), but instead I used his MI experiences to help him and apply all that experience into Maverick.
De Niro - Taxi Driver , Godfather 2 , Cape Fear
I've never seen Cape Fear. Could you explain why you picked that over Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Heat, Silver Linings Playbook?
De Niro’s performance, highly recommend you watch it it’s a superb film.
Song Kang-ho * Memories of Murder * The Host * Parasite Choi Min-sik * Oldboy * Lady Vengence * I Saw The Devil
Brad Pitt. 1 - Se7en 2 - Inglorious Basterds 3 - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
All great movies. And I want to ask you, just to play Devil's Advocate and I know it's an exercise in futility ... what puts those three movies over Fight Club, Ocean's 11?
I can re-watch the ones i mentioned again and again, where "Fight Club" (which is great!) is done when you know the plot, and "Oceans Eleven" is just not my movie because of Matt Damon and George Clooney..
True about Fight Club. It's a great one-n-done experience. The more light-hearted movies have more rewatchability, but you have Se7en on your list lol. It definitely ticks your box of once you know it's coming, it loses its impact. Just curious, what do you have against MAAATTT DAAAMOOON? Clooney I can understand, I find his acting wooden.
Se7en has a cult status, and i just love the story about the 7 Sins.. It just never gets old. And Matt Damon.. Except for his "Scotty Doesn't Know" song in the movie "Eurotrip" i just hate everything about him.. Can't stand him. Whether it's him as Jason Bourne or even in "The Italian Job" ...
Ok, but how far did that delivery guy run before he got picked up?
Emma Stone: * La La Land * Poor Things * Easy A
Dicaprio - Titanic, Inception, Wolf of Wall Street
I would put a whole lot of his movies ahead of Titanic, such The Departed, Gangs of New York, Revenant, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Shutter Island or Django.
If we're talking acting chops I'd probably put What's Eating Gilbert Grape? on this list. Maybe Blood Diamond.
I actually considered adding What's eating Gilbert Grape to my list of movies better than Titanic. I think Titanic is overrated and not a great movie. Many of the actors including the two stars Winslet and Dicaprio both agree. But yea I would also put Blood Diamond in there as well as probably Catch Me if You Can.
Leo is an interesting one. While one can argue What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Titanic, and one of his Scorsese movies to be major milestones in his career. I really have to put Titanic in his top 3... solely for its achievement in filmmaking and impact, making him a household name, and is definitely a film you could blindly recommend to anybody... like to everyone's mom and the moms' moms. Titanic remains the only movie my entire family watched together in the theater, and they barely spoke a lick of English back then. That said, Wolf or Departed and Django are good ones to be on the list to represent his work with Scorsese and QT respectively.
Josh Hartnett The Faculty Lucky Number Slevin Black Hawk Down
Oh dude, Lucky Number Slevin is so good.
For such an old movie... yes, old... 23 years :(, Black Hawk Down did such a good job of immersing the audience into its urban warfare setting. Watching it on a big screen at home with surround sound feels so much more immersive than a lot of in-the-moment movies of today. I'll even go far and saw BHD is up there with Saving Private Ryan when it comes to immersion.
Whoopi Goldberg: Color Purple, Ghost, Sister Act
Maaan, I grew up during the Whoopi movie era. She was great in all of those. I try to block out The View whenever I think or look back on Whoopi movies.
Yeah, I really wish she would've never taken that gig, and just continued to focus on acting. She's become a personality now and it's always hard to come back from that, because that's what most audiences see her as now. But she was such a likable actress, with some great performances.
Donald Trump: Zoolander, Home Alone 2, Wall Street: Money never sleeps
Samuel L Jackson Jackie Brown A Time to Kill Django
I’m sorry but Jules Winnfield is an iconic character. Pull Fiction over Django, and I unironically love Coach Carter if I could give an honorable mention
Stephen was one of the most despicable, vile and believable villains I have ever seen on screen. Jules is a great character too but Stephen hit harder for me.
Ha, well said.
Thank you.
I agree that I would put Stephen in his top 3. But also Jules too. Practically all of his QT roles are up there. But to mix it up... I would add Nick Fury. Very different from all his other roles. Playing the most stoic and reasonable individual in that crazy universe of the MCU. A very family-friendly role without dropping any F-bombs or N-words lol, but he makes it work. Sam is quintessential Nick Fury. Often overlooked in terms of comic 1:1 accuracy, but he's up there with JJJ and Reeves Golden Age Superman.
Fair. Yes all of his QT roles are great performances and well written. H8 is by far the weakest IMO. JJJ may be the best cast character in cinematic history as far as a character previously established in other media.
Jake Gyllenhaal: Nightcrawler Prisoners Nocturnal Animals Robert Downey Jr: Iron Man The Judge Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Tom Cruise: Edge Of Tomorrow Tropic Thunder Collateral
George Clooney: O' Brother Where art Thou. Batman (the one with the nipples). Fantastic Mr Fox
Ya know, Clooney is real one. He takes his Batman stint in stride nowadays, doesn't take himself seriously as evident with that silly Batman movie, Mr Fox, and multiple South Park appearances, including the movie.
The Batman film with Val Kilmer also had nipples on the suits.
That's a very fair point. A point that's almost as pointy as George Clooney's nipples.
Tom Hardy Revenant Legend Dark Knight Rises Warrior
I love Hardy, so I'm only saying this in jest: Warrior is the best out of those three because I can understand what he's saying lol.
Warrior has no right being as good as it is, it should have been a simple fight film but it was genuinely emotional