'My Favorite Actors and Films'

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Actresses:

Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Joan Crawford, Dianne Weiss, Audrey Hepburn, Helen Mirren, Glen Close

Actors

Kevin Spacey, Alana Coming, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Irons, Jonathon Rhyes Myers, Michael Douglas, Edward Burns

Films

#1 Dangerous Liaisons: Glen Close is one of my favorite actresses. I have always loved period pieces, specifically 16^th century ones. The story that is played out in this film is truly masterful and cunning. The acting is on point. The costumes and locations are unforgettable. If you pay close attention, you realize that you are seeing Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves in the beginning of their acting careers. Lastly, you have the incomparable Michelle Pfeiffer. The film is beautiful, scandalous, provocative, sad and captivating.

#2 Far From Heaven; Julianne Moore is palpable as she tries her best to fight through her own personal scandal. It’s 1950. She is a socialite in New England with a gay man on the down-low as her husband. He is a good man, a wonderful provider and a good husband. But she still wants him to ‘love’ her. The challenges lead her into the arms of her gardener who also happens to be black. When she confesses her feelings for him though, she quickly learns that things cannot turn out as she hoped.

#3 The Women: Iconic in the simple fact that not a single man is present in the film. The first time I watched it, I was with my grandmother who explained how women would go to Nevada for reasonably quick divorces. The notion of that was ridiculous to me but I began to understand the process and the reasons that they did it. The content of the film is surprising when you consider that it is set in the 1940’s. You have women openly discussing infidelity, sex, ageism and a slew of other things that even today, would be challenging topics.

 

 

#4 The Usual Suspects: Who is Kaiser Sossier? The tantalizing thing about this film for is that every time I watch it, I pick up something new that I never realized before. This is one of those storylines that you certainly have to pay very close attention to. The casting is stupendous and there are no words to describe Kevin Spacey’s performance!

 

#5 Normal: Not surprising, the film did not receive the acclaim that I feel it should have. I realize that the subject matter is somewhat taboo and intense though. Imagine a lower class, factory working family in Middle America. Seemingly overnight, the husband decides to transition from male to female. Jessica Lange is remarkable in her role of wife, mother and in the end, friend. It’s not an easy film to watch but it is very powerful and thought provoking.