There have been some pretty powerful on-screen performances within the past 90 years. I can think of a number critically-acclaimed actors and actresses that won Oscars for their great works, and that's all very well...but, to me, the most powerful performances aren't necessarily ones that have the most emotional impact. They aren't the ones where great drama has to be balanced just so in order for the role to seem believable. To me, some of the most powerful performances are ones, merely, that cannot be played by anyone else. They handle the film with great control, subtlety, and finesse. Of the films I've seen, these are the roles in which I feel the actors own the role in totality:
In no specific order and without explanation...
1. ROBERT PRESTON as "Professor Harold Hill" (The Music Man)
2. GENE HACKMAN as "Royal Tenenbaum" (The Royal Tenenbaums)
3. GEORGE CLOONEY as "Everett" (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
4. GENE WILDER as "Willie Wonka" (Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
5. PETER FALK as "Lieutenant Columbo" (Columbo -- TV Series)
6. OWEN WILSON as "Dignan" (Bottle Rocket)
7. GEORGE CLOONEY as "Mr. Fox." (The Fantastic Mr. Fox)
8. REX HARRISON as "Professor Henry Higgins" (My Fair Lady)
9. WOODY ALLEN as Any Role He Ever Plays (Any Woody Allen Movie)
10. WILLIAM SHATNER as "Captain James T. Kirk" (Star Trek: The Original Series -- TV Series)
11. JACK BLACK as "Dewey Finn" (School of Rock)
12. MARLON BRANDO as "Don Corleone" (The Godfather)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Suits
So many of the men I admire frequently wear a suit. I don't admire them BECAUSE they wear suits, but due to my upbringing around these admirable men wearings suits, suits represent admirable qualities in my mind.
Wes Anderson wears a suit. I've seen him in khakis and a t-shirt and he's still gorgeous; the same Wes I respect. But he often wears a suit. This suit-wearing man is one who is a good leader, intelligent, responsible, and respectable. Does he possess those qualities in his khakis and t-shirts? Yes. In his pajamas? Of course! In his underwear? Yeah, but I hope he doesn't show up on the set like that...it kind of nullifies those good qualities so this is where the suit comes in handy. My point is that because of how I feel about Wes, I identify those qualities with suits because he wears them a LOT. I mean, he wears blue ones with sneakers but they're still suits. There are many people like Wes who wear suits as much as Wes does, and so in my mind, the suit represents them. They've built up a good reputation for suits. Out of their suits, they are still the great men they've made themselves into; they are so great that they've made suits themselves become a symbol of intelligence, leadership, sophistication, and dignity.
Not to say that suitors (get it?) can't be slimy, devious, horrible men -- anyone can put a suit on and look good (suits make guys look good), but this is just me expressing an opinion and a feeling. Because of the high opinion I have of certain men who happen to wear suits, I have a high opinion of suits. Wearing a suit is something to live up to in my mind. There's nothing wrong with suits, though any man can wear one. Any man can be great, though he does not have a suit. But suits symbolize some good things for me, just as the rose symbolizes love and romance. Or Disney Princesses.
When I say, "Suit up!", I may mean, "Do your best!" or "Go for the gold!" or "Be the best YOU can be!", though that may not be the original meaning.
A man's personality outshines his clothing, but when a man is good, I do like seeing him in a suit. Again, because of how I've come to know suited men, I believe a good man is well-suited with a suit (preferable with a skinny tie, but that's a different story).
So, in the words of Barney Stinson, "Suit up!"
Wes Anderson wears a suit. I've seen him in khakis and a t-shirt and he's still gorgeous; the same Wes I respect. But he often wears a suit. This suit-wearing man is one who is a good leader, intelligent, responsible, and respectable. Does he possess those qualities in his khakis and t-shirts? Yes. In his pajamas? Of course! In his underwear? Yeah, but I hope he doesn't show up on the set like that...it kind of nullifies those good qualities so this is where the suit comes in handy. My point is that because of how I feel about Wes, I identify those qualities with suits because he wears them a LOT. I mean, he wears blue ones with sneakers but they're still suits. There are many people like Wes who wear suits as much as Wes does, and so in my mind, the suit represents them. They've built up a good reputation for suits. Out of their suits, they are still the great men they've made themselves into; they are so great that they've made suits themselves become a symbol of intelligence, leadership, sophistication, and dignity.
Not to say that suitors (get it?) can't be slimy, devious, horrible men -- anyone can put a suit on and look good (suits make guys look good), but this is just me expressing an opinion and a feeling. Because of the high opinion I have of certain men who happen to wear suits, I have a high opinion of suits. Wearing a suit is something to live up to in my mind. There's nothing wrong with suits, though any man can wear one. Any man can be great, though he does not have a suit. But suits symbolize some good things for me, just as the rose symbolizes love and romance. Or Disney Princesses.
When I say, "Suit up!", I may mean, "Do your best!" or "Go for the gold!" or "Be the best YOU can be!", though that may not be the original meaning.
A man's personality outshines his clothing, but when a man is good, I do like seeing him in a suit. Again, because of how I've come to know suited men, I believe a good man is well-suited with a suit (preferable with a skinny tie, but that's a different story).
So, in the words of Barney Stinson, "Suit up!"
Sunday, February 20, 2011
I think I understand why people ditch something when it becomes popular…
I’d think that the reason some people dislike something that’s popular is because they, themselves, are unpopular. So, they identify with these underground works so that they belong to something — and that something is special and, in a sense, theirs. It becomes a friend. So, then, when this thing works its way up the ladder, the person feels deserted. Suddenly, the one comfort they had that was both a wall and a pillow from the outside world, has disintegrated. It’s morphed into what they could never be. They’re not connected with this thing any longer. Now they are different from each other. And, as we are hurt when friends ditch us to join a more popular group because they are given the chance to, this art — though it never even knows of this person’s existence — becomes a backstabbing friend; one whom is not likely to be easily forgiven.
PS. I mean, of course, the less emotional followers of the underground may just recognize that the art sucks now that it’s become mainstream. But, who’s that smart these days?
PS. I mean, of course, the less emotional followers of the underground may just recognize that the art sucks now that it’s become mainstream. But, who’s that smart these days?
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