Cinema and Popcorn

The year 2025 marks the beginning of a new quarter of the second millenium and I decided to make a little retrospective and analyse some of the best and most iconic performances of the last 25 years. Some earned their performer the recognition of a career, others aged like fine wine and there are some I feel that are yet to be discovered, little gems not every moviegoer knows. From 2000 to 2024 I tried to pick ONLY 250 (I know it seems a lot, but in such a vast and rich medium, I felt it was an hard task). First, my 12 honorable mentions and then I will start the countdown as I will be updating this post with the performances I picked, with a little review of each one. HONORABLE MENTIONS  Sissy Spacek , In the Bedroom (2001) Audrey Tautou , Amélie (2001) Reese Witherspoon , Legally Blonde (2001) Nicole Kidman , The Hours (2002) Don Cheadle , Hotel Rwanda (2004) Carmen Maura , Volver (2006) Eddie Murphy , Dreamgirls (2006) Benicio Del Toro , Che (2008) Mickey Rourke , The Wrestl...

FRANKENSTEIN Guillermo Del Toro failed to amaze me with Frankenstein , but he still delivered a full cinematic meal: the crafts are amazing; Jacob Elordi is mesmerizing; and the director makes sure the Creature is no monster but a victim of a wicked mind. Still, some scenes felt sloppy and the movie took some time to catch my full attention, but I found peculiar how The Creature's point of view takes central stage and how it reflects Victor's own relationship with his father. A nice and noble film. Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth are nice but they can't match Elordi brilliance in this one - an extremely empathetic performance able to convey so much through his eyes and through the way he moves. Visually striking film from costume design to production design to Laustsen's cinematography! Not at the same level as Pan's Labyrinth or The Shape of Water , but it's a fine and noble film from Del Toro. RATING: 7/10 ELEANOR THE GREAT A tale about grieving and a study about lo...

SINNERS Ambitious, beautifully shot (and scored) and it features an impressive ensemble cast at the top of its game -  Sinners is one of the most interesting films of the year so far. It's full of commentary about Black identity, the white appropriation of Black cultural elements (it's my take on Jack O'Connell's character wanting to "have" Samuel's music) and how Black people had to live and work together in a world that doesn't see them as equals. Sinners ' first two acts are superb, but Coogler lowers the bar a little for me during a more action-packed third act. Wunmi Mosaku delivers the best performance in the entire film (a soulful turn full of layers of grief), with Delroy Lindo, Miles Caton and Hailee Steinfeld also delivering high caliber turns. Michael B. Jordan gets the job done as a commanding leading man while Jack O'Connell makes for a chilling villain. The music and sound work are award caliber and the messy energy of the film j...