LAMB Acting School 101 is proud to present: Brad Pitt!
Before all hell breaks loose, this is a retrospect post about Brad Pitt’s movies – I just decided to give it a different name because no matter how much Brad tries to escape the tabloids, he manages to have a crisis in his relationship or his ex-wife is still in love with him etc. I don’t care for those things, I just needed a way to put things into a certain box of separation and Gwyneth, Jennifer and Angelina were perfect for that. As far as the selections of reviewed movies go, my favorites get a little bit more attention that the rest of the movies.
Most of his films are well received by critics and fans, continually getting high marks on IMDb but Pitt still isn’t Academically rewarded. He has 4 nominations and no Oscar.
Brad Pitt is a name that needs no further introduction, born in Oklahoma in 1963 he got his first uncredited role as a guy holding a drink in 1987 – he was 24 years old. Then came small roles in addition to reoccurring TV-show characters until, what I consider a breakthrough, Interview with the Vampire in 1994. Getting into the fast track by the age of 31 probably wasn’t a problem for Brad, who looked relatively fresh and young throughout most of his career – and even with a scruffy beard, he now gets the roles which he probably prefers and most likely deserves.
Gwyneth from 1994 to 1997
What were the star-off years for Brad leaded into many amazing movies, award winning performances and two of my all time favorite movies.
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
This by far the best way to portray vampires, not in a way they show them off now – all sparkly and crying. This movie wasn’t good only because of Brad but also marks the beginning of Kirsten Dunst – the two were stand outs with Tom Cruise at their side. I give credit for the author of the novel as well, Anne Rice wrote the screenplay and as The Hunger Games proved earlier this year, those types of scripts work well.
It is pretty much difficult to comment on Brad Pitt’s role in the movie, he was considered as the heart rob at first so he was supposed to look good and desirable for women – which he did. But what I think, is the fact that Brad didn’t only have the looks but he most certainly had the chops to pull off dramatic roles and give characters depth. I think his breakthrough role showed exactly that because he never really fell into the romantic comedy genre, with a face like that, it is a refreshing thing among Hollywood.
Legends of the Fall (1994)
I could go with Twelve Monkeys as my favorite but since I just recently re-watched Se7en I can’t help myself. This movie is exactly what I miss when it comes to mystery and thriller. The talent, the story, the creepy but yet amazing Kevin Spacey and an ending that leaves you literally shocked for a long time.
Definitely a kind of trade mark for Brad Pitt, emotional and serious suits him and even though I like him as somebody who also has a comedic flare to his character, I think dramatic makes him look better. It is some what logical, since most of his roles during Gwyneth were on the dramatic side but with Jennifer… a slight humor, cheeky characters, if I dare to say, came his way.
Pitt has been nominated for an Oscar for following movies: Twelve Monkeys, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Moneyball. For Twelve Monkeys he won a Golden Globe.
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Sleepers (1996)
The Devil’s Own (1997)
Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
Jennifer from 1998 to 2005
During this period Brad managed to be in several of my favorites, not to mention the funny performance in Snatch and the beginning of his famous role of Rusty Ryan in the Ocean’s trilogy. Leaving those two out as obvious choices, since I’ve probably talked about them way too much, three others are left in Jennifer that need some more attention.
This is probably my favorite romance role Brad Pitt has ever taken on but he still doesn’t fall into the category of the typical leading man with him being the devil and all. I guess this was the first movie of Brad Pitt I officially remember seeing, others came later, and I’m not afraid to admit I fell in love. He was 35 years old but looked like he had just passed puberty and it worked in Meet Joe Black.
He looked the part and he had enough experience under his belt to make us feel sympathetic for the devil, and I cried. This is the first time Brad Pitt made me cry, the last time he managed that was in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – which like Meet Joe Black is no ordinary love story, because apparently, Brad doesn’t do normal romance, he likes the weird and teary kind.
Let’s face it, you saw this one coming from a mile a way. How can one not remember Brad Pitt’s amazing performance in one of the most memorable movies of the 90’s – Fight Club. One does not need to be a professional critic, or a blog writer like I am, to recognize Pitt’s strengths in this movie. Like with his performance as a vampire and the devil, he knows how to make villain-esque characters appealing.
I don’t know what is more amazing in Fight Club, the fact that Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are way too perfect for each other or the fact that these men represent the guys who are loved and adored and yet don’t have that golden statue man at their homes. I get it, it is just politics but if I’d be political, I’d give all my awards to those two guys. Especially Brad, since his been so close and as seen from Fight Club, amazing at what he does.
Snatch (2000)
This is going to be an odd choice of favorites to defend but I liked that movie a lot. I guess it is his lightest roles to date and even as his career has gone on, it still feels as the most easiest part he has taken on. It has romance and a little bit of action, but what I can’t simply get over, is those T-shirts over those long sleeve shirts he was wearing. Yes, I think he looked damn fine in those and I still have it picture framed in my mind.
The Mexican isn’t his best, it is far from the best in many ways but I guess it is my favorite because I saw a different kind of Brad in this movie and I liked it. He looses the rough guy act, he looses the seriousness and takes on an adventure with Julia Roberts just for the fun of it. Or for this gun everybody is raving about, I don’t really care, I just like to look at him in this one.
He has given his voice for three animated movies such as the Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Megamind and Happy Feet Two. He also sang a song for the Megamind’s soundtrack.
Spy Game (2001)
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Troy (2004)
Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005)
Angelina from 2005 to …
Here comes the era that is the most difficult to write about because it seems that with Angelina and the kids, Brad Pitt all of a sudden exploded into this genius that got good roles after great roles after amazing roles. With so many choices, I’m limiting myself to three just avoiding couple of them, because for some unknown reason, I haven’t seen some of these movies. Shame on me, I know, but considering how many Brad Pitt’s movies I have seen and will continue to see, how can I not slip and make a mistake at some point.
I don’t know why and how, but this is the most memorable movie from the last decade for me. Probably because I grew up with this movie, being a dramatic set of situations all rolled into one, I thought of this as my beginning. This movie made me love dramas again and it made me love story telling because I thought Babel did it brilliantly. After this, I no longer fell into the teenager angst years and I love Babel for that.
Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt play husband and wife who are the main link of the twists and turns of many other stories. It’s just not a good movie for Brad, I guess it is more the type of movie that you remember for its story rather than the characters but I don’t mind to name it still as my Brad Pitt favorite.
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
As it marks another romantic story with a weird twist, Brad Pitt proves that even as an old man, a young man and a very young man, he still looks great. Not only did this show me another romantic side to him, with the sequences of him and Cate Blanchett (yet again) living in their new house with just the mattress on the floor, but it made me like him even more.
I don’t know what it is with this time frame, but Angelina kind of made him even better and better with years and as his talent grows and the roles just keep coming, I like to see his soft side and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button definitely brought out the gentle man he is. So not a favorite for his performance but a favorite because he isn’t afraid to go from one genre to the other and try out the romance thing from time to time.
Has worked with number of great directors including Tarantino, Malick, Ritchie, Gilliam and several times with Fincher, but says he will never take the directors seat himself.
This doesn’t need to be said but I’ll say it anyway – Inglourious Basterds is awesome! It is not just the actors who give their all, it is the movie in itself that made me bow down to Quentin Tarantino once more. Brad Pitt gets his well deserved role in his movie, like any actor he should be proud because there is no way Tarantino movies will be forgotten.
And as this is not a movie that can be shortly summarized – I say no more about Brad Pitt’s role, one just has to see it and I guess most of us already have. So you know what I mean when I say that this movie was awesome – end of discussion!
The Tree of Life (2011)
Moneyball (2011)
***
And that’s a wrap for Brad Pitt and his Gwyneth, Jennifer and Angelina years but far from a wrap for his career. As he is back to his dramatic and serious roles, killing Nazis or recruiting baseball players, he still manages to make those roles his own and give us something to talk about. And with such a long list of movies behind and ahead of him, a single post is probably not enough for this man. Hence a series of other posts in the blog atmosphere coming up soon, I hope. For my conclusion for this long post I want to say that as his three ladies that mark his beginning, his rise and his continued success in the movie world, in some ways, he will still remain my man – even though he is way too old for me, I don’t mind that at all.. he is, after all, Brad Pitt!
METTEL RAY 
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