Best Performances of 2007?

IMHO I think the following performances take the cake for 2007:

Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald and Josh Brolin in "No Country for Old Men"
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"
Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhall, Robert Downey JR and Chloe Sevigny in "Zodiac"
Ben Foster as the outlaw Charlie Prince in "3:10 to Yuma"
Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will be Blood"

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, "Harry Potter 5"

Ben Foster in "3:10 to Yuma" was absolutely fantastic. He played "Charlie" with just the right amount of crazy without going over the top. A lesser actor would have played him too loud or as a more stereotypical bad guy.

Nice to see someone agreed with Ben Foster's portrayal of Charlie Prince...
I'm looking forward to see what else he'll bring to the table if given the right material. I remember I first saw him in "Alpha Dog" which I really enjoyed...

chris liked "rocky balboa". i'm going to watch it now. hopefully, it isn't a waste of the $3.99 that i spent buying it used.

Eddie,

"Rocky Balboa" was 2006.

Best performances of '07:

Vanda Duarte in "Colossal Youth"
Cate Blanchette in "I'm Not There"
Sabine Azema in "Private Fears in Public Places"

Mircea Andreescu in "12:08 East of Bucharest"
Glen Hansard in "Once"
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"

And the entire cast of "Ten Canoes"

chris,

just be glad that i'm giving philly a chance. heck, i even had a cheesesteak three days ago!

eddie

If you got your cheesesteak in Texas, I guarantee you it's not a real one.

texadelphia (Y)

I dunno. My guess is that Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem have the inside edge on best actor and supporting actor Oscars, and they both certainly nailed the parts. Unfortunately (for me, I guess), I found both men playing one-dimensional characters, unchanging from beginning to end, so if I were an Academy voter, I wouldn't vote for either of them for their one-note performances.

I'd go with George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson, both in "Michael Clayton," for actor and supporting actor. I also liked Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" and Ellen Page in "Juno," although the latter actress didn't seem like any teenager I ever knew. I'd also go with the two leads in "Once."

Actually, reflecting on Wilkinson, I think some of the best performances of the year were in supporting roles: Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton," Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War," everybody in "Stardust" and "Hairspray."

Say, how about the rat in "Ratatouille"?

John