multiple Academy Award nominees

Top 10 Performances of 2013: #5

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5. Jennifer Lawrence: American Hustle

Lawrence manages to deliver a performance that’s equal parts hilarious, sexy, and maddeningly ridiculous. She’s even better here than she was in Silver Linings. The only thing funnier than “the microwave scene” in 2013 was the “quallude sequence” in The Wolf of Wall Street. “Don’t put metal in the science oven” is now my favorite David Russell line. This is one of those supporting performances that you want to be a bigger part, but its part of why she’s so compelling is that when she’s on screen she dominates and when she’s not you miss her presence. Her manner and her energy remind me a bit of Gena Rowlands, and I do not make that comparison lightly. She’s just a natural with a presence and maturity way beyond her years.  When you watch her she comes across as a twenty-year veteran, not someone in their early twenties, and her trophies already accumulated are a testament to that. I would pay money to watch her fold laundry for two hours. She’d get an Oscar nomination for that too.

Top 10 Performances of 2013: #7

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7. Jonah Hill: The Wolf of Wall Street

No one in the business is more fun to watch than Jonah Hill. People have long underrated comic actors, but it’s become very difficult to deny that this dude has got some chops.  The Wolf of Wall Street would have been a completely different film with another actor in this role. The role itself would have been completely different. He demonstrates what’s so special about character actors. Donnie’s love for Jordan is oddly touching considering how despicable their behavior is. Donnie functions as somewhat of a chaser for Jordan by being so over the top, but that same quality also makes them seem more outlandish, creating the opposite effect, thereby engendering that feeling of unease so many people seemed to have felt watching Wolf. And of course; the teeth, the accent, the prosthetic, all that deli meat that he chocked on-it’s all just bloody brilliant. I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved this film.