5 Practical Reasons Why Leonardo DiCaprio Doesn't/Shouldn't Have an Oscar Yet, Tumblr

So if you look on my Tumblr page, 95% of it is Leonardo DiCaprio. Mostly because of my undying obsession with The Wolf of Wall Street, but also because the gifs that the site comes up with to chronicle Leo's apparent struggle for an Oscar are quite funny. Here are a few of my favourites:

  

Yes, it is entertaining, but it is a little bit excessive (as most things are on Tumblr, particularly seen by Jennifer Lawrence's meteoric rise to Queen of Everything). Let's take some calm, practical steps to acknowledge why Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is merely Oscar-Nominated Actor Leonardo DiCaprio instead of Oscar-Winner Leonardo DiCaprio.

1. Back up the truck, he's only 39 years old.

Paul Newman was 62 when he won his first Oscar. Christopher Plummer was 82. Peter O'Toole never even got an Oscar. Sure, there's more to an actor's life than winning an Oscar, but then again it is kind of annoying when 22 year old Jennifer Lawrence has an Oscar. Maybe it seems like Leo has been struggling for so long when really, this has been a saga that's been going on for 20 years - not really that much time. I mean, Brad Pitt doesn't have an Oscar, why is no one complaining about that? Since Leo got nominated for What's Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993, he waited another 11 years to be nominated for The Aviator, following it up two years later with a nomination for Blood Diamond, and now, 7 years later, we have his nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street. We only have four chances here for him not to get the award, and to be honest, a lot of actors suffer through worse (and let's not even get started on Roger Deakins). Which leads me to my next point...

10 Favourite Leonardo DiCaprio Performances

Today is Leonardo DiCaprio's 38th birthday. Even though he is a bit too "give me an Oscar" these days, he is still my favourite actor. I've seen most of his films, especially since I started my infatuation with him in 2009. Even though I wasn't around during Leo Mania (well, I was, but I was like two so that doesn't count), Leo has been plastered over my schoolbooks and walls and everywhere I could fit a piece of him. So I suppose that it is time for me to share a little love for my favourite performances of his, which I've whittled down to ten. Which was actually harder than I thought it would be. Here they are, ranked. And there's not Titanic.

The Basketball Diaries is a film I saw long ago, right in the throes of my obsession, and one which I haven't really thought about since I saw it. It stars a 20 year old Leo (and Mark Wahlberg, back in his Marky Mark days) as poet Jim Carroll, in his early years as a drug addicted teen. The film isn't all that fantastic - nor is it very memorable - but young Leo totally commands the screen as he stands on the precipice of becoming the next big teen thing. Which is why I adore him: he was quite a talented teen sensation.

Even though Inception is probably my favourite film of Leo's, I admit that this isn't really an actors film. There are a few scene-stealers, namingly Cillian Murphy's blue eyes and the teasing between Eames and Arthur, but Leo commands the screen from start to finish. It isn't his best "dead wife" performance, but it is damn good. Plus, his appearance in this spawned quite a few memes (where would life be without the Strutting Leo?!) and everyone started realising how unlucky he was when he wasn't one of the thousand Inception cast members called back for The Dark Knight Rises. Don't worry Leo, I still love you.

I remember when I first saw Blood Diamond - I was so shocked by how brutal it was. Time has passed since then and I've seen a lot more brutality on screen, but I still remember Leo's performance, which was also his last Oscar-nominated turn. As a person from NZ who already stakes a claim on having the worst accent in the world, I didn't know how authentic Leo's African accent was, but he tried. And he tries a lot during this movie, too. That's not to say that he doesn't succeed, because he's pretty badass in this.

You know how everyone my age goes on about people having "swag"? The ultimate swag-meister was Frank Abagnale, a guy who managed to pull off a whole lot of cons. Leo plays Abagnale in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, bringing swag to a whole new level. He's having just as much fun as Abagnale did before he got, well, caught. One of the funniest things about this movie, however, stems from that whole "Bad Luck Leo" thing - he stars in a movie called Catch Me If You Can. Gets caught.

No, J. Edgar wasn't a good movie. Not even close. I saw the trailer and thought that this would be Leo's Oscar time. Then the reviews came in. Then I realised that Gary Oldman wouldn't get a nomination if Leo did (that was also when I thought Michael Fassbender would get nominated...good times). Then I started realising what a shameless Oscar campaign J. Edgar was. Then I started mocking the trailer at work. Then I saw the film. Leo should've got an Oscar nomination, but only if Michael Fassbender was in there too. Leo's work was actually pretty good, and definitely showed how serious this guy can get. Maybe he gets a little too serious, though...

Martin Scorsese's The Departed is a damn fantastic movie, featuring damn fantastic performances from one of the best ensembles we've had recently. It is hard to say who is the stand out (but I do have a soft spot for Mark Wahlberg in this movie), but Leo's performance as the on-edge Billy Costigan is wonderful. He's just got so much angst inside of him. And then there's that ending...

Leo's latest collaboration with Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island, was met with a pretty lukewarm reception, but I've seen love for his psychological horror grow. And I admit, I was one of those people who gave it a lukewarm reception in the beginning, but I absolutely adore it now. Leo's performance in this ended up getting overshadowed by the box office prowess of his other 2010 "dead wife" movie Inception and the fact that it was released so early in the year, but it deserved to be in contention in the 2010/2011 Oscar season. He plays Teddy Daniels beautifully, playing out all of the confusion that we feel as an audience.

Leo's performance in Revolutionary Road needs only to be summed up by one moment: the look he has at the end *SPOILER* when April dies. *SPOILER ENDS* Seriously, that devastated me more than anything I've ever seen in my life. While Kate Winslet seems to have got all the acclaim for her performance in this film, but Leo is just as good - if not better. It is a subtle performance, which ends up exploding at the end. It is actually quite frightening to watch, and it was definitely not the Titanic follow-up that people were hoping for.

I have loved The Aviator ever since I first saw it. Howard Hughes was a fascinating man, and this slick biopic was just as fascinating. What was even more fascinating was Leo's performance, which is so precise, slick and all encompassing. Leo totally immersed himself in the role, to the point that I could no longer see any trace of Leo in him. It was such a shame that he didn't get any more than that Golden Globe. But hey, in Leo terms, that's better than nothing.

My favourite performance of Leo's is one of his first ones. I've talked about it so much before, but his work in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is just amazing. Every positive adjective in the world wouldn't be enough to describe how great it is. He deserved that Oscar. Even if Ralph Fiennes also deserved it. That's like, the hardest match-up ever...then again, I see why they chose Tommy Lee Jones, because then they didn't need to choose between either of them.

Happy Birthday, Leo! Maybe an Oscar will be coming your way if you're extra amazing in Django Unchained? What are your favourite Leo performances?

Just coz that makes me LOL. Leo don't have time for your shit.

My Movie Biography: Paul Newman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Changes in 2009

(2006, 2007, 2008) Wow, 2009. Seems like just yesterday that 2009 happened. I'm not kidding. I blame this on high school. High school is so short that everything goes really fast. Sometimes I feel like I started just yesterday, but then I realise that I'm one year out from finishing. It is quite scary. Anyway, 2009:

• The first day of 2009 was extremely good. Why? Because I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the first time. And that introduced me to the hotness that was Paul Newman. Now, I was really sad when he died in 2008, but at that point, I wasn't really aware of who he was. When I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, I literally saw the most perfect looking man who ever lived. Not to mention that his performance is this huge melting pot of angst, masculinity on the edge and a general distaste in living. The way he reacts with Maggie is so fascinating to watch. You know how those Tumblr people like to say that a certain good looking person made their "ovaries explode"? I know it is a bit extreme, and I don't think it really happened, but that's exactly how I felt when I saw Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Needless to say, I was in love with him for most of that year. Even so much so that my mother went halves with me on this Paul Newman boxset...which to this day I've only watched two out of the five films. I should really get going on the rest. 
• Ah yeah, high school happened. I honestly don't remember too much of the early days, although I soon realised that high school was better than primary. What was pretty awesome, though, was that my tutor group (you may know that as a form room or homeroom or something like that) was in the Drama room. I was determined to make Drama my favourite subject since at that time I wanted to be an actress, so having my tutor group in Drama was just meant to be. When you're year nine, though, you have little seven week modules of all of the subjects (excluding the core ones like English, Maths, Science and Social Studies, which you had to take), so in the future you'd know which ones you'll be interested in taking. I didn't get to take Drama until the very end of the year, which was a bummer. And it was only seven weeks. I have taken Drama ever since, though, and it is my favourite subject. I did take Speech and Drama, though, which was an extra class kinda thing. I did a speech on classic movies (I was oh so predictable in those days) and a monologue as a mother who has just lost her son. I managed to get a Merit, which is the second highest grade. Back in those days, I used to be such a Drama freak.
• Continuing on my quest to be an actress, I took part in the local production of Grease. Those were the best days of my life. Even though I was just part of the chorus, it was so fun to dress up and sing and dance and stuff. I did love being up on stage and stuff. Especially because it was one of the biggest hit shows that Dannevirke ever had.

In Defense of the Best Performances of 1993: Leonardo DiCaprio and Ralph Fiennes

Andrew over at Encore's World of Film & TV is holding a wee blogathon that pits performances from the 90's against each other so that we can find out what the most essential performance was of that decade. He invited me to vouch for some people, so I (coincidentally) chose a couple of performances that happened to be released in 1993 - and both lost to Tommy Lee Jones' supporting performance in The Fugitive at the Oscars - Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Ralph Fiennes as Amon Göth in Schindler's List. They're both facing off with their opposition on different days, but when they pop up, be sure to vote for them, okay? Good. Here's a few of my defending words on the two:

Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (up against Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction)

Forgive me, but it has been around three and a half years since I last saw What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Coincidentally, it also marks three and a half years since I have been in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, and vowed to see everything he's in. Most people say that about his role in Titanic, which sent the world into Leo-Mania when I was just a wee tyke. But no, it was the day that I saw What's Eating Gilbert Grape on a jaded video tape that I'd used to record it off the TV that I fell completely and utterly in love with Leonardo DiCaprio. Up until then, my idea of Leo was based on the final half an hour of Titanic. Yeah. To know that this guy started out playing the mentally retarded brother of Johnny Depp, and the fact that he did it so damn well, pretty much blew my mind to pieces. I'm not joking.

For one thing, Leo doesn't look 19 - he looks about 12. For another thing, you can tell he is having fun with his role, but at the same time, he plays the role with integrity, realism and heart. Unlike many of his Oscar-baiting roles, you can see Leo just relax into his role, which is incredible considering that any other actor could have taken it and blown it out of proportion. Mental disability roles are usually associated with that little golden statue, but not for one moment do you feel like Leo is constantly grabbing out for your applause. Instead, we're just overwhelmed by how sharp and intense his performance is, even though you feel as if it is just second nature to him. And that, my friends, is why I'll still watch movies like J. Edgar, because one day, I hope that Leo will ease into a role the way he did here. It might be too late, but I think we can all agree that Leo is a talented man, based on his performance in this film.

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Göth in Schindler's List (up against Juliette Binoche in Three Colours: Blue)

Every one knows that is my FAVOURITE. PERFORMANCE. EVER. So instead of writing something new, I'll just compile a whole lot of things I've already said about this performance on the blog:

"The best thing about his performance was the fact that when there was a close-up of him, you'd look into his eyes and it was like he was nothing. It was like he was empty, drained of life, drained of any humanism. He just kills because he feels he has to...It is hard to play someone so empty and power-hungry at the same time, which is why I loved Fiennes' performance so much.""I just can't stress enough how utterly perfect he is as ruthless Nazi Amon Göth. Reading about the actual person, I found it hard to believe that someone like him existed, but what I found even harder to believe is how anyone could throw themselves so completely into playing him. Ralph is utterly terrifying, even from just one look. Every single moment in his performance qualifies him for being the best performance of all-time - it is bloody ridiculous that he didn't get the Oscar. You look at him and you see death, right the way through him. Which, as an actor, is not a very easy thing to convey."

Look, this performance is just amazing, astounding, breathtaking, extraordinary, impressive, marvellous, miraculous, spectacular, staggering, striking, stunning, stupendous, wonderful thing ever created. Yes, I did just search up "amazing" in a thesaurus to get all of those words. Someone out to write a whole damn book filled with similar words to describe his performance.

So, what do you think of these performances? I hope to see you flicking a few votes there way when it comes time to stick up the polls!

16 Days of Birthday, Day 5: My Favourite Male Performances

You know me, I consider myself a bit of an actress. Okay, maybe not. Yes, I take drama as one of my subjects, and it is definitely my favourite part of the day (I don't have it on my birthday though, which sucks balls). Yeah, I've been in a few shows, but that was just for fun. Do you know what's weird though? Is that I used to think that acting was just reading lines. Like, I didn't understand why everyone said it was so hard and stuff. Once I actually got into the acting myself, I learnt that acting was more than just reading lines. Also, I started to realise just how good some performances are...

So tonight, I'll be taking a look at my favourite performances from actors of the male species. First of all, I have 20 performances which I really liked/thought were scene-stealing, but aren't necessarily the big daddies of performances (in alphabetical order). Then I'll count down my five favourite performances. My favourite performances.

Performances in which I liked:

Christian Bale in American Psycho

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca

Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire

Sharlto Copely in District 9

Tom Cruise in Magnolia



Hugh Dancy in Adam

Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network

Colin Firth in A Single Man

Cary Grant in His Girl Friday

Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump

Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto

Liam Neeson in Schindler's List

Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Guy Pearce in Memento

Brad Pitt in Fight Club

Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

James Stewart in It's A Wonderful Life

Mark Strong in Kick-Ass

Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

Right, now time for my five favourite male performances...


5. Adrien Brody in The Pianist
Of course, I only watched this movie recently, but that doesn't really change much. I can't believe that so many people were doubting his win at the Oscars. To quote my very own review of the movie: "Brody, who I imagine hadn't been in such a weakened state in his life before, is just so goddamn believable it hurts to watch him. And trust me, I felt his performance in my bones. I don't think a performance has ever had that effect on me before." Yeah, and that's all I have to say about that.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Many times before, I may have said that my favourite Leo performance was in The Aviator. But no, I've come to realise that his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is definitely it's best. Half for the fact that every time I think of him in this film, I find it hard to believe that he's the same guy that has since been in such films as Titanic, The Departed and Inception. However, in the other half, I love his performance in this because he completely transformed himself into his character and he still seemed to be having a lot of fun. I really like performances of characters who are mentally challenged...and this one is the best.

3. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
This performance never fails to blow my mind. How someone could possibly involve themselves in a mindset that is so crazy, so villainous and so outrageously colourful is beyond me. Heath had his characterisation right down to the last little feature...every facet of his performance was so carefully put together. It's this kind of attention to detail which I wish I could emulate in some way, but it's pretty much impossible.

2. Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Is there really anything that I can say that is any different to what everyone else has said about this performance? No, not really. It's just an all-out amazing performance. Everything from Day-Lewis' voice to his posture and to his attitude towards greed and power is just perfect. Plus, he makes a line as weird as "I drink your milkshake!" sound pretty cool.

1. Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List
Why do I love this performance the most? I can't even count the reasons why. I tend to enjoy villainous performances a lot, but this one has to be my favourite. The way that Ralph throws himself into this role is pretty damn remarkable. But the best thing is the fact that in the close-ups, it looks like he is dead inside, as if he's just made to kill. You really can't have any sympathy for the guy. There are just so many things that make me so damn jealous about Ralph's performance. It's freaking ridiculous that he missed out on an Oscar.

So, what are your favourite performances from members of the male species?