Nar’s Top 5 Movie Performances of 2009

1. Sam Rockwell, Moon

I honestly don’t know where to start – if you haven’t seen the film, it’d be unfair for me to go too in depth here. Let’s just say it’s a career performance in an already impressive career. Remember how boring and uninspired I Am Legend was? That’s because Will Smith just isn’t interesting enough to watch in every frame of a 2 hour movie, all alone up on screen. Few actors are. But Sam Rockwell has the nuance, charm, and acting chops to do it here – drawing you in to every angle we see Sam Bell’s multi-faceted personality from. Rockwell’s performance will be studied by students of acting for decades to come, believe me. Awesome.

2. Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (I’m a Nic Cage fan, and you need look no further than this gem to see why.)
3. Christopher Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (He’s creepy evil in four different languages.)
4. Sharlto Copely, District 9 (From goofy and light-hearted to tortured and desperate, he’s great.)
5. Viggo Mortensen, The Road (Absolutely inhabits the role.)

What were your favorite performances of the year?