List it: Brad Pitt

[Dave]

What I sometimes like to do, is list my 3 favourite movies that someone has been in. Sometimes it is easy and others times it can be more difficult. Brad Pitt is one of those guys who I find it hard to measure. His work has been so good over the last (especially) 20 years or so, that it becomes very difficult to reduce his work down to the 3 must-see movies of his career. But let's have a go at it anyway. Base the ratings on whatever criteria you wish. It doesn't necessarily have to be his best acting performance compared to the enjoyment of the film as a whole.

1. Moneyball
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Fight Club

Moneyball was a great film. Actually, if I was pushed into giving his best film performance, I think this would be it. The story was compelling and engrossing from the start. His chemistry with Jonah Hill was fantastic and the execution of the plot was fantastic. I really enjoyed the movie and it just does enough to go above and beyond his performance as Aldo Raine in Inglorious Basterds. Inglorious was a frighteningly good film and Bard Pitt played the second best character in the movie (behind the wonderful Christophe Waltz). And it is a role that he just settles into more than anything. And finally, Fight Club. What can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said? Pitt and Norton are astoundingly good and the movie will forever have a cult following that will continually tell you how good it was.

But what are your three?

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Great idea Dave.

1. Fight Club
2. Assassination of Jesse James...
3. Seven

Brad Pitt was already a fairly well known name by the time he did Fight Club but he almost seem to subvert his 'pretty boy' reputation to great effect as Tyler Durden, a character for whom material possessions are entrapments of our material society. Norton is the better actor in it but the way he and Pitt gel together on screen is a big reason for that.

Jesse James is a gorgeous film to look at and again deals in some ways about the trappings of a society and what is expected of his character. This is a film where most of his great acting is done via his expressions and minimal dialogue.

Seven was one of his first breakout films and remains a great watch every time.

Honourable mention to his brief appearance in True Romance.

 

[jmt225]

True Romance - I know Pitt's role in this film is relatively small, but I still love the film regardless and especially his performance in it. The biggest flaw the movie has is that it doesn't contain more of Pitt's character, Floyd. I remember Judd Apatow said that when he saw it, all he could think about was seeing a movie based around Pitt's character, and sure enough, years later he'd produce Pineapple Express, where James Franco's character was very obviously a homage to Pitt's character in True Romance.

Fight Club - I'm not as big of a fan of this film as most people seem to be; I have a lot of problems with it in fact, but Brad Pitt's performance is surely not one of them. He was absolutely phenomenal in this. You put anyone else in his shoes for this film and I probably end up hating it. But with Pitt, man, he was so awesome that even though I don't necessarily like the film very much, I still LOVE his performance regardless of that.

12 Monkeys - Like with Fight Club, I actually don't think highly of the movie itself, but Pitt's performance? Brilliant, simply brilliant. He was what made the movie worth watching as far as I'm concerned. It's unlike anything he's done before and after it.


I'm a huge Brad Pitt fan so it's hard to pick just 3. I can't name an actor who contains as much swag as this man does. He was cool as fuck in Thelma & Louise, insane in Kalifornia, cool as fuck in Interview with the Vampire, heartbreaking in Legends of the Fall, Seven was an awesome movie all around as was Sleepers, cool as fuck in Snatch and the Oceans movies, Troy was awesome I don't give a fuck what any historical snob says, cool as fuck in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Babel and Jesse James were both tremendous, brilliant in Benjamin Button, underused but still awesome in Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball was terrific, and I can't wait to see Fury, which I've heard nothing but glowing things about.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Se7en Iconic film with it's darker than dark take on the buddy cop thriller. Masterful performance from Pitt playing against the heavyweights Spacey and Freeman.

Interview With The Vampire - The Vampire Chronicles Completely outshone Mr Cruise in this Anne Rice adaption bringing great humanity to the traditionally monstrous vampire character.

Moneyball I do love my sports themed movies and really loved Pitt's portrayal of Billy Beane and the range that he had on display.

 

[Kermit]

Oh, god. Brad Pitt is my favorite actor. Can I cheat and pick four? Here they are in no particular order.


A River Runs Through It
-This is such a beautiful movie that embodies elements from my own life. I don't see it get a lot of love when it comes reviewing Pitt's bigger works, but it is definitely one of his best performances in my book.

Moneyball
-I actually got to see this at a press-release screening, and I was blown away. I don't see many movies in the theater twice, but this was one of them. The film is more notable for Jonah Hill's ascension into his ability to act in serious roles, but Pitt shined in this biopic.

Fightclub
-The movie that got me on my kick. Still to this day I will randomly pop in the movie when I can't think of anything else to do. The content and message is still so relevant and real to me. Pitt did a fantastic job.

Fury
-One of my new favorites from Pitt. His performance was padded by a brilliant supporting cast, but Pitt did a great job as the tank captain in this war movie. I don't usually drop cash on war movies, but the pairing of Pitt and Shia was too much for me to resist.

Se7en as an honorable mention.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

1. Fight Club- It's a performance, where Pitt really immersed himself in the character. You believe he's Tyler Durden, you believe he's this influential and self-righteous cult leader, who's capable of brainwashing anyone in Fight Club.

During the end, when Pitt and Norton are on the top floor arguing with each other about Project Mayhem, and when Edward Norton pleads with Tyler to abandon the mission, Tyler responds with "What do you want? Wanna go back to the shit job, fuckin' condo world, watching sitcoms? Fuck you, I won't do it" during a rant. Pitt absolutely nails every speech (the "we work jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don't need" speech is one of my favorites) and rant in Fight Club, and whether you disagree or agree with what he's saying, you believe in Pitt's delivery and his performance.

2. Seven- Pitt did a great job of playing this young hothead, and the relationship between Pitt and Freeman really works, with Freeman playing the aging veteran, who's trying to guide and mentor Pitt with his years of wisdom, and Pitt playing the stubborn and rebellious detectiv. And Pitt did a wonderful job holding his own with Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.

But the clincher for Pitt's performance happens during the "what's in the box?" reveal at the end. Pitt's reaction to the box is priceless. The heartbreak, the rage, the shock, and the devastation. Pitt rolling all of Mills' emotions into one unforgettable reaction during one of the best shockers you'll ever see is crucial, because Pitt delivers the perfect reaction to John Doe's surprise. Not too over the top to the point, where it's silly, or too tamed to a point, where you expect a more devastated reaction for a man, who's struggling to control himself after someone ripped his heart out. It's just perfect.

3. The Tree Of Life- A strange (and tough) pick for me, because I'm not a fan of the movie, but Pitt was amazing in this one. He's an overbearing father, and Pitt plays the role of this no-nonsense authority figure to perfection. Pitt's brief moments of compassion for his kids feel awkward and out of place, because you genuinely believe he's this strict disciplinarian, so it's shocking when he shows a softer side of himself as Mr. O'Brien.

Also, I'll give a mention to Burn After Reading for one of Pitt's more underrated performances. I know it's not one of the more popular Coen Bros. films, but watching Pitt take on a more comical and goofy character is refreshing, and if we're talking about comedy and laughs, Pitt's Chad is the real highlight in the movie.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

1. Fight Club - One of my favourite movies. One of my favourite movie characters. Brad Pitt stole the show (not discrediting Edward Norton's performance). His role as Tyler Durden was so distinctive and unique and the way he delivered all those witty quotable lines were spot on. I wanted to be like Tyler Durden and apply a nihilistic approach to everything with such bold execution. He made the whole concept and movie cool. Easily one of his top-ranking roles ever.

2. Snatch - I loved Brad Pitt's role as Mickey 'O Neil. He was hilarious with his accent and bare-knuckle boxing. It was different and not something I imagined Brad Pitt to take the role of. This character seemed more like a Fight Club character in the sense of just pure fighting alone. It's what I wanted to see from Tyler Durden in Fight Club in a fight scene. I know his character doesn't have the best moments, but I think his character stood out just as much as the rest because he was the only guy that didn't rely on guns.

3. Se7en - This was the first Brad Pitt movie that I truly liked. Yes, I felt that Morgan Freeman's role and the unknown killer's role were both more important, but Brad Pitt's Mills character went through so many different shifts with each murder. His reactions were perfect for the moments (I could relate with how he felt when he gave up his $50 hahaha), especially near the end. It was just a well-rounded convincing performance and made me into a Brad Pitt fan.

 

[Akhilleus]

This is so extremely hard. As you can probably note from my avatar, I am a big fan of Mr. Pitt. I haven't compiled my actor list yet, but I'm pretty certain Brad Pitt would make the Top 3. So picking out my favorite movies from him is just so difficult. He's such a fun actor to watch on screen, and just his ability to portray so many different roles is fascinating to watch. I'm the type of person who when scrolling through the TV Guide to find a movie to watch, I don't read the description I read the top line to see who's acting in it, and Brad Pitt is one of the guys who I'll put on right away.

So I'll start with just a couple honorable mentions first, because truly every one of his films is an honorable mention. Most of you guys have already named most of the very best in this thread. 12 Monkeys was a movie that nearly made it, I was between that and my number three. He is just hilarious in this movie. The Ocean's series is obviously another great bunch of movies, and then obviously Fight Club is another one. Interview with a Vampire, World War Z, all of them I could just go on and on. Sleepers might have made the list if his role was bigger. I felt like was only on screen for a quarter of the movie. I actually reviewed that one in the Movie Review thread.

There are actual a couple movies that I haven't seen of his that I'd like to. Like Spy Game or Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Anyway onto my top three.

1. Moneyball

I believe when I made my top ten Baseball movies in March of last year I had this movie number two. That was a mistake. At the time I had recently watched The Fan and I was just so engulfed with that. If I had to redo my Top 3 I would move The Fan down to number three, Major League into the two slot, and the Moneyball up to number one.

The thing I love about this movie compared to other movies is all the other baseball movies...there's always a love interest. Sometimes it's not that bad to deal with, sometimes it's annoying. Moneyball is almost 95% baseball, with some small parts with Beane and his kid.

But this list is supposed to be more about Pitt's performance in the movie, which was wonderful by the way. His portrayal of not only Billy Beane, but baseball General Managers opened up wonderful insight into something we rarely get to see as fans. The behind the scenes stuff. And I would not be surprised if Kevin Costner and the directors of Draft Day (2013) studied this movie carefully when preparing for their film.

The difference though is that Pitt is portraying a real person, and a true story. And when actors can pull that off, and do it accurately I might add, it's even bigger kudos.

2. Troy

I am actually a little surprised that I'm the first to mention this one. Like I said at the beginning of this post, as you can tell from my avatar I am a big fan of Brad Pitt. Well, as you can tell from my name I am also a big fan of the movie Troy, specifically Brad Pitt's character in Troy. I am not a large fan of many historic times, but this movie alone makes me interested in that specific time. Not many times around it though.

Had it not been for Brad Pitt in this movie, I don't think it would even be close to good. He makes the entire film, and he's perfect in that role of Achilles.

Who else would you choose to play a Greek Demigod other than Brad Pitt. Guys like Dwayne Johnson or Arnold Schwarzenegger are too overtop, plus the latter's accent would likely throw everything off. Pitt is just perfect in every aspect for this role, and it's one of my favorites from him because of it.

3. Seven

I'm actually a little rusty on this one because it's been unfortunately a while since I've seen it. Never the less it's still managed to make it as one of my top three movies from Brad Pitt. I can't go into too many large details about it because my memory is a little foggy, but to talk about the movie in general a little more The Seven Deadly Sins concept is just a wonderfully used theme in this story, that really laid the groundwork down for many other tv show episodes and movies to use that theme in one way or another.

Pitt specifically's best moments are in the very end of the film. Without spoiling anything all I can see is it is one of the most famous performances out there, definitely by Pitt himself.

I just couldn't leave this one off the list. It's just such a great one.