Here are some of the more memorable ones for me:
Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
I just loved him as Prof. Dumbledore. No disrespect to Richard Harris, who created the character, but Gambon really makes the aging wizard something more than just being wise and all knowing, something more human – and in Half-Blood Prince, he shows how Dumbledore can falter.
Albus Dumbledore: “Years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. He seemed a student like any other. His name was Tom Riddle. Today, the world knows him by another name: Voldemort … In my life I have seen things that are truly horrific. Now I know you will see worse.”
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side:
The role of a spunky, take-no-shit Southern belle seems tailored made for Bullock. The fact she’s playing the real Leigh Anne Tuohy is just a bonus.
Leigh Anne: “If you so much as set foot downtown you will be sorry. I’m in a prayer group with the D.A., I’m a member of the NRA and I’m always packing.”
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker:
War is indeed a drug for Sgt. William James, master bomb diffuser on tour in Iraq, and Renner is simply brilliant at conveying those emotions.
Sgt. James: “There’s enough bang in there to blow us all to Jesus. If I’m gonna die, I want to die comfortable.”
Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover:
The big ZG is so friggin’ hilarious in this movie – a cross between … oh hell, his Alan is too quirky to categorize.
Alan: “You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack… it grew by one. So there… there were two of us in the wolf pack… I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, “Wait a second, could it be?” And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!”
Zachary Quinto/Chris Pine in Star Trek:
These two have just got to keep playing Spock and Kirk, like, from now on.
James T. Kirk: [to Spock] “The test itself is a cheat, isn’t it? I mean you program it to be un-winnable.”
Spock: “Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario.”
Kirk: “I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.”
Spock: “Then not only did you violate the rules, you also fail to understand the principal lesson.”
Kirk: “Please enlighten me.”
Spock: “You of all people should know, Cadet Kirk, a captain cannot cheat death.”
Kirk: [reminiscing] “I of all people…”
Spock: “Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action, did he not?”
Kirk: “I don’t think you like the fact that I beat your test…”
Spock: “Furthermore, you have failed to define the purpose of the test.”
Kirk: “Enlighten me again.”
Spock: “The purpose is to experience fear, fear in the face of certain death, to accept that fear, and maintain control of oneself and one’s crew. This is the quality expected in every Starfleet captain.”
Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes:
Ditto with these two playing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
Sherlock Holmes: “You’ve never complained about my methods before.”
Dr. John Watson: “I’ve never complained! When have I ever complained about you practicing the violin at three in the morning, or your mess? Your general lack of hygiene or the fact that you steal my clothes?”
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds:
He seems like yet another sadistic Nazi, but it’s the way the foppish Waltz takes such delicious pleasure in it that makes the performance stand out.
Col. Hans Landa: “What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our little foe has an instinct for survival and preservation second to none… And that Monsieur is what a Jew shares with a rat.”
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia:
Seriously, who better to play Julia Child than Meryl Streep, I ask you? Superb job.
Julia Child: “Maybe I should do something …”
Paul Child: “And what is it that you like to do?”
Julia: [Pauses as she's about to take a bite] “Eat!”
Paul: “And you are SO good at it!”
Julia: “I am good at it.”
Paul: “Look at you now, so good at it …”
Julia: “I’m growing right in front of you!”
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air:
And who knew Bella’s best friend from Twilight had it in her? Kendrick’s young whipper snapper corporate climber with a definite ranks up there.
Natalie Keener: “I don’t want to say anything that’s anti-feminist. I really appreciate what your generation did for me.”
Alex Goran: “It was our pleasure.”
Natalie: “Sometimes it’s like, no matter how much success I have, it’s not going to matter until I find the right guy.”
Alex: “You really thought this guy was the one?”
Natalie: “I could have made it work. He, um, he really fit the bill, you know?”
Ryan Bingham: “The bill?”
Natalie: “White-collar college grad. Loves dogs, likes funny movies. Six foot one, brown hair. Kind eyes. Works in finance but is outdoorsy, you know, on the weekends. I always imagined he’d have a single syllable name like, Matt or John. Or Dave. In a perfect world, he’d drive a 4runner. And the only thing he loves more than me is his golden Lab … And a nice smile.”
Liam Neeson in Taken:
Another pleasant surprise: Neeson can play one bad-ass motherf**ker – or just a dad trying to rescue his daughter, whichever way you look at it.
Bryan: “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
Gabourney Sidibe in Precious:
Sometimes a newcomer comes along on the big screen and knocks your socks. That was Sidibe for me.
Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones: “My name is Clareece Precious Jones. I want to be on the cover of a magazine. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with good hair. But first I want to be in one of those BET videos.”
Hank Azaria in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian:
Oh my lord, the always underrated Azaria is hysterical as the Egyptian baddie – completely makes the movie for me. And the exchange below was my favorite scene (I was peeing in my pants):
Kahmunrah: “They didn’t call me Kahmunrah the Trustworthy for nothing, here you go … [almost hands the hourglass containing Jedediah to Larry but then snaps it back]. They DIDN’T call me Kahmunrah the Trustworthy! They called me Kahmunrah the Bloodthristy, who KILLS whoever doesn’t give Kahmunrah EXACTLY what he wants at the moment that he WANTS it, which is RIGHT now, when I had also better get the combination AND the tablet!”
Larry Daley: “That’s what they called you?”
Kahmunrah: “It was shorter in Egyptian.”
Larry: “Well, great, I’ll give you the combination after you give me that …” [reaches for the hourglass]
Kahmunrah: “If you touch that again, I shall kill you right now. Do not touch this! This is a no-touching zone!”
Larry: “Good, well, then …” [tries to grab the hourglass again]
Kahmunrah: “Oh my god! I can’t believe you reached across like that again! I can’t even believe it! Oh god, I want to kill you right now. If you didn’t know this combination, you’d be so dead right now, it would be unbelievable.”
Larry: “But I do know the combination.”
Kahmunrah: “DON’T. CROSS. THIS. LINE! With your hand …”
Larry: “Uh …”
Kahmunrah: “If you speak again, IF YOU SPEAK AGAIN, I’m going to kill you! Do you understand?
Larry: “But …”
Kahmunrah: “Oh my GOD, don’t say anything. I should murder you if you talk again. Now give me that tablet and tell me the combination!”
Larry: [Reaching for the hourglass yet again] “OK, after you give me Jed and release my friends …”
Kahmunrah: [Exasperated] “You did all three! You spoke and you reached your hand across!”
Larry: “Look, I could talk to you about this all night …”
Kahmunrah: “How about I don’t kill you right now, like I really, REALLY want to, and I give you precisely five seconds to give me that tablet and tell me the combination …”
I also loved Colin Firth in A Single Man — the moment he finds out his lover has been in a car crash is a study in human emotions without saying a word. And the fact Bill Murray would make such a wonderfully placed cameo in Zombieland just proves the guy’s game for anything. There are more performances, of course, but these are my stand outs.
