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:

Add it to my list vol.2

Lauren and Bre's (relatively new) link-up is all about things we recommend, right?  Well, I recommend reading books.  I recommend talking about books that we read.  I recommend sharing books that we enjoy.  I recommend paying it forward.  And, I recommend receiving little care packages in the mail.  So...with that being said, here's a way that I'd like to combine those things I recommend and what I'd like you to add to your list...

(...inspired and finessed from ideas shared by Megan who suggested a book exchange in my book challenge group and Steph who offered last week to send books she'd read as long as you pass along the books once you've read them.)

My regular habit, after I've read a book that I own, is to exchange it at a secondhand bookstore (I'm a big fan of secondhand books) or donate it to the library or Lifeline stores.  I am willing to offer those books to my fellow book lovin' bloggers.  I will mail it to you (free of charge!) with only a few simple stipulations:

• you don't mind when you receive it because Australia Post is not always the greatest with delivering something in a timely manner when economy post is chosen, AND if I have a lot of books to send at once, so I don't break the bank, I may scatter it out when I send them
• you claim one of these books in the next couple of weeks; they are ready to go to a new home and they are taking up space on a floor in my already too-cluttered home
• you actually read the book
• you pay it forward by giving/sending a book to another reader

How great is this recommendation?  A book sharing, mail receiving, pay it forward-ing activity!  Are you interested??  Then, add one (or more) of these to your list.

Here are the following books that I have available to send to anyone who is interested (first come, first serve):

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - CLAIMED
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers - CLAIMED
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer - CLAIMED
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt - CLAIMED
The Girl Before by Rena Olsen - CLAIMED
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - CLAIMED
Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper - CLAIMED
Same Kind of Different as Me by Denver Moore, Ron Hall
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Kill Your Friends by John Niven - CLAIMED
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - CLAIMED
A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain - CLAIMED
Trail of Broken Tears by Sejal Badani
 
Joining Lauren and Bre for the first "Add It to My List" link-up...

Will you add this activity to your list?  Will you take a book, read it, and pass it along?  Will you offer up your own books that you've read that are collecting dust and you don't need to keep?

Add it to my list: vol.1

I've had a "favorite beauty products" post in my draft for months (15 months to be exact; that's just ridiculous.)  Anywho...when Lauren announced this new link-up where we suggest products, services, and more, (or really, anything) that we use/watch/listen to and regularly recommend to others, I thought "Great! I can finally post that beauty list!"

Some of these are bargains, and some cost a little more, but I believe that it is money well spent.  I have worn each of these products for years and years, some products even decades, (except the Too Faced products, but they won me over instantly.)  After all, this post is all about me recommending you adding it to your own beauty list, so I want it to be products I have experience using regularly.

Clinique Superpowder Double Face Makeup - I have used this item since as long as I can remember.  I don't wear foundation.  Never have (except when required to on drill/dance team.)  I have freckles, and I'm perfectly okay with them showing.  This is the perfect coverage for me.  It's a powder, but it's a "super" powder...so, it gives a little more coverage than regular powder but nowhere near as heavy as a foundation.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - I'm a little bit of a mascara junkie.  I buy lots of it.  I wear lots of it.  I change them up.  I double them up.  But, time and time again, I come back to my good ol' faithful mascara in the lime green and bright pink packaging that I've used since I was 14 years old.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - Yes, it costs more than Great Lash, but dang, it's some fantabulous mascara.  Most of you know this because I starting using it after I saw several bloggers rave about it.  And, it seems to get better the more I use it. 

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquiefied Lipstick - The pigment this produces is insane.  It's staying power is great.  The color doesn't run, doesn't smudge.  I am almost at a point that I won't wear any other product, and I'm a gal who likes to wear a different product mix everyday.  And, this red known as "Lady Balls" is definitely the red I've been looking for all my life.

Revlon Colorstay Overtime Bare Maximum - For days that I just want a little color, not a nude, but not too much, this is my go-to.  The picture on the link actually looks more orange that what it is.  It truly does stay.  I never need to re-apply.  I'll be honest.  I've spent money on a lot of other products trying to find a replacement for it, but I haven't found a color that I like any better on me for this purpose.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner - This eyeliner goes on easy and STAYS.  It doesn't smudge or run.  I've lived in hot and humid climates that have caused other eyeliner to make my eyes look like a raccoons.  Not this one.  Yet, it is super easy to remove when ready.  This is well worth the price.  I like my $1.99 eyeliner as much as the next gal, but when I want to put on eyeliner and know it will last all day, through sweat and tears, I'm happy that I've invested in this product.  I've owned and used seven different colors and loved them all.

In this picture (no filter), I'm wearing products that I recommend.  Too Faced Melted Matte Liquefied Lipstick in "It's Happening"; Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in matte black; Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Blackest Black with Too Faced Better Than Sex waterproof mascara on top; Clinique Superpowder Double Face Powder in matte honey; plus eye shadow is MAC eye palette "Navy Times Nine".  Sure, my application is a little heavy (I was going out for the night), but I wanted to show a full face using the products on my go-to list.

Tell me: will you add any of these to your list?

Joining Lauren and Bre for the first "Add It to My List" link-up...