Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Why I love Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt. Though I never list this guy among my favorites, he really is and I should start doing that. I claimed for years now that this is a man whose 90% of films are fantastic. He is almost never wrong when choosing films and even if he is (The Mexican, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Troy) he always gives 100% of his talent.

He is one of those actors who do both well in drama and comedy. He was mesmerizing in last year's Moneyball, fascinating in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and heartbreaking in Babel. But it's his comedy efforts that are the closest to my heart - from Mickey through compulsively eating Rusty to Chad, Pitt never ever failed to make me laugh.

Though Se7en is a bleak movie there are many moments of humour there - Who knows. So many freaks out there doin' their little evil deeds they don't wanna do... "The voices made me do it. My dog made me do it. Jodie Foster told me to do it." - lines like this, spoken by Pitt's rookie cop and one of my favorites - the shot of him and Freeman napping in the waiting room, with heads resting on each others shoulder.
Though Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a movie that's basically double wank and shit chips there is a reason why I always watch it when it comes on TV. That reason is Brad Pitt. From his reaction when he finds out his wife is an assassin through the little thing he does with his legs and arms when he discovers all his guns are gone to the simple things like that gif on the left, he is absolutely hilarious.
In Fight Club Pitt completely embodies Tyler - his carelessness, hotness and coolness. There are many golden scenes, like the one when he drives around on the bike, wearing a bathrobe in a mess of a basement or small things like his reaction to the decor in Marla's place or just insane, enthusiastic and worryingly friendly gestures he makes but the showdown with Lou is absolutely unforgettable.
In Snatch, my all time favorite comedy and the most hilarious movie I've seen, Pitt played Mickey very skilled boxed and a pikey, whom nobody can understand. The film is filled with wonderful performances, but Pitt as hard drinking, goofy and careless Mickey is by far the most memorable. From his negotiation techniques to the fact he doesn't freeze in dangerous situation Mickey is unexpected winner of the film. Along with the dog.
As Rusty Ryan, perpetually eating thief in Ocean's 11 trilogy Pitt is incredibly funny and his chemistry with George Clooney is one of the things that made those movies so cool. Rusty is always eating, while being perfectly dressed always being smooth. My favorite one, just as for Catherine Zeta Jones's character is the photo of him hiding behind the tree, eating ice cream.
In Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds Brad Pit plays Aldo Raine, the man whose mission in life is hunting down and killing Nazis. In the film funniest scene him and two of the fellow Basterds pretend to be Italians. Pitt's delivery of the word "Arrivederci" with his strong Southern accent which sounds utterly ridiculous is one of the funniest moments out of all Tarantino's films.
Though Moneyball is Pitt's best performance, his Chad in Burn after Reading is my absolute favorite. Silly, goofy and completely lovable Chad brings so many great moments to the movie. Every time he is on the screen I can't stop laughing. From his happy and sunny disposition through the way he climbs over the fence to the big smile in his last moment Pitt is perfect all the way.
And then, there is this:

45 comments:

  1. I love this post!! Not just because I love Brad Pitt but because I think you captured him perfectly. He does dramatic and he does it well but he is just my favorite when he is smiling. I find it interesting that you left Benjamin Button out..

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    1. Well, this mostly focuses on his comedy efforts since that is my favorite part of his work, he was good in Button but I wouldn't include it among my 5 favorite performances by him.

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  2. Chad is my favorite Brad Pitt performance. I couldn't stop laughing at every scene he's in. He always make me smile.

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    1. He was so innocent and funny, really loved his work. Malkovich, Clooney, Jenkins...everyone was great but he was really terrific.

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  3. Glad to see "Burn After Reading" getting some love! :D LOVE that flick, but I swear, there's times like I feel like I'm the only one. :D

    Great post! Pitt is definitely a star worth celebrating!!

    "Snatch" is your favorite comedy though? Cmon... Not that I dont love that movie, but...

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    1. Yes, it's getting so much unjustified hate. People even called it worst movie by the Coens. What the what?


      But...? It's the funniest movie I've seen, simple like that.

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  4. Great post! I'm a big fan of Brad Pitt, my favorite performance being his wonderful work in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
    Love those gifs and that clip by the way! :)

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    1. Thank you! He was terrific in Jesse James. So unpredictable and complex. I'm sure he will do beautifully in Killing them Softly.

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  5. Yes! Excellent post. I'm just like you: When I'm talking favorite actors, Brad Pitt's name is rarely mentioned, but I love him all the same.

    Glad you dedicated the post to his comedy skills, which are quite solid indeed. Dude can get a laugh by doing very little.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, he is completely natural in this. And he has very cute laughter.

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  6. God, I love that Burn After Reading GIF! He was by far the best part of that film. Love the scene from Inglorious Basterds too. Pitt is just an all around great actor.

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    1. He really was I was a bit heartbroken that he was gone so soon, but the way he left the film was so epic.

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  7. Brad Pitt is HILARIOUS in Burn After Reading. But don't forget Spy Game!! One of my all-time favorites. We'll just have to forgive him for Troy.

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    1. Spy Game is awesome, him and Redford basically look like father and son and I loved their relationship in the movie. Redford was so charming in this one and Pitt was as always really likable.

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  8. "I thought you might be worried ... about the security ... of your shit." Damn, I loved that scene. The whole movie is hilarious. Great post!

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    1. It really is, glad you like it! Love the scene in the car with him and Malkovich and the thing Chad does with his eyes :)

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  9. Brad Pitt is awesome - there's so many of his films I still need to see! He's great in A Curious Case Of Benjamin Button too, and his character in Friends is hilarious.

    He does a great mix of comedy and drama, like you said.

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    1. Loved his Friends appearance :) He does I think the only time I wasn't completely sold by his work was in Interview with the Vampire.

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  10. Favourite Pitt performance is somewhere between his Fincher films and Tree of Life, but goddamn, Mickey is his sexiest role ever!
    Great post. Love Pitt!

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    1. He looked incredible in Snatch and Fight Club, goddamn!

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  11. You know, Brad Pitt never lures me to seeing any film he might be in. But he does pick some great roles, you've got a point there. Very charismatic and magnetic dude.

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    1. Me neither, but he is always in so many good films that eventually I have to see them, not because of him but because of the praise they are getting. Unless it's a comedy. I'll always watch a film with him if it's a comedy, just because of him.

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  12. I can't say I'm a big fan of Pitt, but I do like a few of his movies, esp. in Fight Club, Babel and even Mr & Mrs Smith was enjoyable. Can't stand him in TROY though, and that super boring Meet Joe Black.

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    1. MJB is boring but the death scene in the beginning....that's just classic :)

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  13. Well, I don't know what "double wank and shit chips" means, but I gather it's not good. If this is correct, I've got to disagree on this. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, along with Oceans 11, are the two movies from him that are the most entertaining to watch for me. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other movie of his that I've watched more than once, so while I may have appreciated his job in those (i.e. Moneyball), they were never enough to make me want to see it again.

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    1. It means utter crap. I honestly believe that this film had no screenplay and they made up stuff as they went along.

      Even Se7en? or Fight Club?

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    2. Se7en was a good film, although very predictable. And speaking of predictable, I figured Fight Club out from the trailer, then in the movie they even blip Brad Pitt in and out of existence a few times before he shows up for good. It absolutely amazes me that so many people have been surprised by the twist in this. It was an early confirmation for me that people weren't really watching films anymore; they just had them on while they did other things. Se7en is the better of the two movies. Fight Club is somewhat overrated, mostly because of the "twist".

      I just checked Pitt's entire list of films on IMDB. I've seen 31 of them and I confirmed that the only two I've watched more than once were Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Ocean's Eleven (unless you include Less Than Zero where Pitt was an uncredited extra according to IMDB.)

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    3. Wow...wow...Se7en was predictable?

      I do know they did that yet I was still surprised by the twist. I didn't know I'm not really "watching films" so that's precious, thank you :)

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    4. Se7en just repeated a key plot point that the Coens had already used four years earlier in Barton Fink, so having seen it, yes I found it predictable. That doesn't mean it was bad, though. Frankly, most movies are predictable and I watch them precisely because I want to see what I figure is going to happen.

      By the way, I've been told I'm "not normal" because of this. I'm not sitting there trying to figure it out; the answers just pop into my head. My guess is it has something to do with pattern recognition because I used to score high on tests of that ability (i.e. "what's the next number in the sequence?") For what it's worth: I figured out the twists for both The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects while I was watching the films, but I did not figure out The Crying Game, even though I knew it had a twist. There have been three movies where I've figured out the twist from the trailer alone - Fight Club, Derailed, and Shutter Island.

      And what I meant by "not watching" movies is people spend a lot of time not actually paying attention to what's happening on the screen because they are turned away to talk to someone, they are looking at their phone texting, they are gone to the bathroom, in another room getting food or drink, yelling at the kids, letting the pet in or out, etc. The thing is, most people don't even realize how much they miss until they get into a conversation about the movie afterwards. I worked with someone who could watch an entire movie the night before and not be able to discuss even moderately sized plot points the very next day. The blipping in and out of existence of Pitt's character in Fight Club is quick, so if people were not looking at the screen the four or five times they did it, then they ended up getting surprised by the reveal at the end.

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  14. I agree with you and have stated multiple times that Pitt needs to do more comedies. The guy's a great actor and is versatile (and effective) in both dramatic and humorous situations. I wouldn't go as far as saying he's underrated as much as I would say he's under-appreciated in his talent. Great post. You reminded me of so many moments I absolutely love.

    And damn, you get comments like crazy. Share the love ;)

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    1. One of my biggest dreams is him and Charlize Theron doing comedy together. That would be so awesome. Angelina's head would probably explode, but still, that movie would be amazing.

      That's because about 50% more time I spent writing is spent on commmenting on other blogs, people are just damn too creative and there is stuff to read every day :)

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    2. Oh, I comment like a fiend lol. Guess the Harley Quinn avatar is just sexier lol.

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    3. She is sexy, I could never pull this outfit off :)

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  15. I think he's a good actor. And i've noticed a lot of A-listers are disliked by the majority of bloggers.

    And i liked Mr and Mrs. Smith

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    1. They are? I didn't notice it, unless it's someone like Julia Roberts who should not be A-lister to begin with.

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  16. I'm glad that you also love his comedic performances. Such a talent.

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  17. When they finally make my film biopic I assume Brad Pitt will be playing me. ;-)

    One of my favorite actors working today. Loved this post!

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    1. Haha, I'd love to see that movie! Thank you!

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  18. I love Brad Pitt, he had so many great roles in his career- Tyler in Fight Club (my favorite scene is the acid burn one), his constant eating in Ocean's trilogy and so on. Oh, and his outtake of Moneyball, when he can't stop laughing, is so sweet and funny! Can't wait to see him in Killing them softly, he looks so good in that trailer :D

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    1. Yeah I bet this will be his another Oscar nod, I hope he wins some day - he is such an iconic star and a great actor.

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  19. I am a big fan of Brad Pit. By looking through his career on a first look you might pull out half a dozen outstanding performances. Look again and you realise there are a lot more. Just about every role is memorable for some reason or other. I enjoy his work in True Romance, Se7en, 12 Monkeys, Sleepers, Fight Club, Snatch, Spy Game, Ocean's Eleven (always eating, love it), Babel, Jesse James, Burn After Reading, The Tree of Life and Moneyball. One of my most anticipated films this year: Killing Them Softly. He's a star pull and an excellent actor who has only got better with age. Great post!

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    1. Thank you! Yeah he really is terrific and he chooses such interesting films and they are not always easy - I mean Tree of Life and 3h long Jesse James is something that is quite risky. I really love the fact he does so wonderfully in drama and comedy. One more movie I'd add to your list is California I saw it years ago but he was awesome in it.

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  20. Strangely, I never listed him as one of my favorites either, I was always like "he's a good actor", but I came to realization that he's indeed one of my favorite actors, I can easily label him as a great one of modern day. It's true, his career choices are magnificent, and collaboration with Fincher stands out in particular.

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    1. So glad I'm not the only one! I think the label of superstar makes it harded to notice how talented he is, but he truly is a wonderful actor.

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