Award-winning movie stuff to add to your list

My friend, Jenn at Quirky Pickings, is hosting a link-up called Tuesday Topics.  I'm terrible about weekly link-ups, but I'll jump in when I can.  Why don't you find a topic (or topics) that interest or inspire you and join as well?

Jenn likes movies.  She likes them a lot.  She even hosts "the fall film challenge" every autumn.  I'm a fan of film too, and when I love a movie or a performance, I am happy to share and talk about it.  That's why when Jenn encouraged us to list our favorite Oscar-Award-Winners, I thought I'd dive in and share my thoughts.

Plus.....as for link-ups, this is also the day that Lauren at Eat, Drink, and Be Lauren and Bre at Bre Writes host "Add it to My List".  So, why not encourage you to add these movies to your "must watch" list (if you haven't seen them already)?

When it comes to movies, I get more passionate about acting performances.  Sure, movies that are great, as in, the sum of the entire movie is wonderful/inspirational/powerful are awesome to watch.  I don't know...I just get even more moved and passionate about individual performances, the way an actor or actress completely transforms his/herself into a character.  So, here's my list of Oscar-Winning-Performances by an actor or actress. 

1.  Vivien Leigh won for her portrayal as Scarlett O'Hara at the 12th Academy Awards in 1939.  Could Gone with the Wind have become such a long-standing phenomenon if it weren't for Vivien Leigh's performance?  I think not.

2.  Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his portrayal in The Godfather.  Seriously.  Like Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Marlon Brando is Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather.  We can't imagine anyone else playing that iconic role.

3.  The 52nd Academy Awards awarded Meryl Streep Best Supporting Actress and Dustin Hoffman for Best Actor for their performances as divorced parents in a custody battle in Kramer vs. Kramer.  I remember watching Meryl Streep sitting in a witness stand and Dustin Hoffman sitting in court, and I was just sobbing, gasping for breath.  I believed that these parents were fighting for their son.  I didn't see them as actors.  I saw her as a flawed mother and a devoted father who both loved their son dearly.

4.  My personal opinion?  Jodie Foster's Best Actress-winning portrayal of a rape victim in The Accused is quite possibly the most powerful, unnerving performance that I've ever witnessed on film.  I know that's a big statement.  But, damn, I still get chills just thinking about this movie and her performance.  If you haven't seen it, add it to your list and watch it, but be prepared for being angry at the rape culture that existed then and still exists today.

5.  Two wins.  Two years in a row.  Two completely different performances.  One man.  I'm talking Tom Hanks winning Best Actor in 1993 and 1994 for AIDS victim in Philadelphia and the loveable Forrest Gump.  I can't choose which award-winning performance I liked better, and I'm not going to. 

6.  I've mentioned in a previous post how much I love this character and this performance, and I was thrilled when Robin Williams won Best Supporting Actor at the 70th Academy Awards in 1997 for his role in Good Will Hunting.  If you haven't seen this movie, what are you waiting for??  Add this to your list immediately.

7.  I read Cormac McCarthy's book No Country for Old Men before I saw the movie.  The character that Javier Bardem played is the type of guy that can give you nightmares...and his performance was frightening how good it was at playing a murdering maniac.  He deserved that Academy Award he won in 2007 at the 80th ceremony.

8.  Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds is brilliant.  Somehow he was able convey convincingly the role of a polite Nazi sadist.  By doing so, he won Best Supporting Actor at the 82nd Academy Awards.

9.  Yes.  I'm biased.  I love Jared Leto.  But, damn if that boy didn't pull at my heart strings as the damaged, hurt, drug addicted, transgender, AIDS victim in Dallas Buyers Club.  There's a scene in this movie that Jared made me cry big, fat, ugly tears.  He was so convincing.  Matthew McConaughey's performance was stellar and award-winning as well, but Jared practically stole the movie for me.  He won Best Supporting Actor in 2013.

10.  Julianne Moore playing a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer's is so painful and sincere.  I'd read the book Still Alice before seeing the movie.  I knew that it was entirely possible that an actress could "over-act" this role.  Julianne Moore plays it to perfection, and the Academy awarded her with Best Actress in 2014 for doing so.

Admittedly, when I first made this list, I had over 30 names.  There are a lot of magnificent performances that I could've listed but didn't.  I'd like to hear what you think. 

What performances did I miss?  Will you add any of these to your list?

Linking up with Jenn:

and Lauren and Bre:

Tuesday Topics: Favorite Characters

My friend, jenn at quirky pickings, and her friend, Lauren at Life.Love.Lauren, are hosting a weekly "Tuesday Topics" link-up.  I thought I'd jump in the game this week with "Eight Favorite Characters from Books/Movies".  Stop by Jenn's and/or Lauren's and have a look.  Or participate in future Tuesday Topics.

I know what y'all are thinking.  You think I picked book characters, right?  Well, I'm here to surprise you.  I picked movie characters.  Why?  Because I'm throwing this post together rather quickly and for some reason, the favorite movie characters solidified into a nice, little list much quicker than book characters would/could.

In no particular order:

Stephanie Zinone - Grease 2 - played by Michelle Pfeiffer...  Okay, when I said "in no particular order", I lied.  Stephanie Zinone is #1.  She is soooo much cooler than her predecessor lead female character in the original Grease, Sandy.  In the first Grease, Sandy had to change to get her guy.  In Grease 2, the guy had to change to win Stephanie's heart.  After all, she's tired of "being someone's chick". 

Penny Lane - Almost Famous - played by Kate Hudson...  She was sweet, yet strong; damaged, but not broken; a dreamer, a lover, a music fan; full of adventure and wanderlust; in love with a man she shouldn't be.  I could relate. 

Darrel "Darry" Curtis - The Outsiders - played by Patrick Swayze...  Folks that are fans of this movie probably love Pony Boy, or Johnny, or bad boy Dallas Winston.  And, a lot of folks that fall in love with Patrick Swayze did it during Dirty Dancing.  Not me.  I fell in love with Mr. Swayze as Darry, older brother to Soda Pop and Pony Boy, who quit school to start working and take care of his younger brothers when his beloved parents died in a car crash but could still lead a rumble when necessary.

Doc Holliday - Tombstone - played by Val Kilmer...  This is one of those movies that I can watch over, and over, and over again, and mostly it's because of Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday.  So many good lines, and his delivery is fan-freakin-tastic.

Christian - Moulin Rouge - played by Ewan McGregor... He's a writer and a dreamer; he's in love with a woman knowing that she has a less than stellar profession; he sings songs, writes plays, and has a "ridiculous obsession with love".

Ouiser Boudreaux - Steel Magnolias - played by Shirley MacLaine... One of the beauties of this near-perfect movie is that all of the cast and the characters are stellar.  Superb.  Irreplaceable.  But, I get more laughs and more love from watching the antics of Ouiser. 

Jenny - Forrest Gump - played by Robin Wright... I admit when I first brainstormed and wrote my list, the character of Forrest was listed.  He's a wonderful character.  So heart-warming.  But, as I think more about the movie, the character that is the driving force for me is Jenny.  She is so, so flawed...but we pretty much know that her childhood trauma messed her up, and she tried all she could do to escape the pain of her past.  I think the ugliness of what Jenny experiences, the pain she endures, and the hurt she causes creates such depth to the overall story. 

Sean Maguire - Good Will Hunting - played by Robin Williams...  First, applause to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for writing this character, and Robin Williams plays it brilliantly.  So real.  So genuine.  So many little bits of life lessons.  So much "good stuff".  This movie wouldn't resonate the way it does if this character hadn't been written and portrayed so perfectly.

Honorable mentions that almost made the cut:  Carl Lee Hailey from A Time to Kill, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, Bud or Sissy from Urban Cowboy, John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rayon from Dallas Buyers Club, John Creasy from Man on Fire

Do you agree on some?  Disagree on others?  Quickly, list your 8 favorite characters.  Or...create your own post and let me know.  I'd enjoy reading it.