Cinema and Popcorn

  One of the most underused actresses of her generation, yet one of the most talented... Kirsten Dunst delivers the performance of a career in Lars von Trier's Melancholia . From her breakthrough performance as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire , to her melancholy acting poem in The Virgin Suicides , to her breathtaking charm in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy or her bubbly sadness in Marie Antoinette - Dunst has hitted diverse acting notes in her filmography so far, but no other work of hers matches her Justine in Melancholia ! As the young melancholic bride who feels something is not right, Dunst promises there will be some magic coming as the movie develops and, in fact, she shines when she turns into a woman who loses herself as the end of the world approaches. Dunst is the human embodiement of depression, serenity and destruction all at the same time. It's such a complex performance, full of layers, full of details... Dunst found Justine's soul and she exposed it t...

The moment you look at Mads Mikkelsen, the general first impression is how much he looks like the stereotype of a movie villain, yet you'll change your mind about it when you watch The Hunt . The movie is hard to watch because of how harsh it deals with rumour and how it might poison a man's life! And that's exactly what happens to Mikkelsen's character, Lucas - he's a victim of a rumour that pursues him wherever he goes, all the time. The actor uses this tale about the social murder of a once respectable man as his most striking acting showcase ever! There's a key scene set in a church where you can see Mikkelsen open his character right in front of your eyes: his fear, his desperation, his anger, his sadness...! It's THE SCENE of The Hunt and delivers such a punch thanks to the actor's magic. Stripped away from the sex symbol in his 40's status, Mikkelsen creates one of the most empathetic characters you'll ever seen - he's flawed, he'...

Few actresses can bring the authenticity of inner strenght to a performance so beautifully as Viola Davis - and she achieves her best performance (yet) at the hands of Denzel Washington's direction and August Wilson's words. Davis has one of the best written characters of the last decade and she makes the most of it with two key scenes for me: the "18 years of my life" argument scene and the scene where she holds the baby in her arms. In those scenes, we see a broken woman who tries to keep her whole dignity when she's hurt and bleeding inside. Yet, in those scenes she frees herself, she finally raises her voice and she finally raises herself. It's a powerful performance and Davis is able to outshine Denzel Washington wheter when they're sharing a scene or simply when she isn't on-screen but you wish she was. It's a role that seems meant for her and she delivers a performance that makes you feel that no one could top her work. It's an ac...

Getting closer to TOP 10, I feel I was unfair to some actors/performances I put below the TOP 10 line, but I'm very confident about my TOP 10 at the same time, so... Well, here it goes from #50 to #11:

As we get closer to the very best acting turns of the century (so far), I must confess it started getting harder and harder to order the performances. It's not easy to say which one is better than the other when you are entering a realm full of terrific acting work from terrific actors. Here's the PART 4, from #90 to #51: