Best Performances of 2009 – Dynamic List

My ‘Best Performances’ dynamic lists are a lot like my Film lists, but slightly different.  For starters, while every film I see makes it onto my Film lists… only the most noteworthy performance make it onto my Best Performances lists.  Also, I only rank order what I consider the Top 5 Performances of the year.  However, I also maintain an Honorable Mentions list for each category, which is populated by performances that have either been bumped from the Top 5 or performances that are particularly noteworthy but not Top 5 worthy.  The honorable mentions are listed in alphabetical order by last name and are not rank ordered. 

That said, my Best Performances lists are just as dynamic and ever changing as my Film lists.

Best Actor

1.       Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

2.       Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

3.       Morgan Freeman - Invictus

4.       Alec Baldwin – It’s Complicated

5.       Russell Crowe – State of Play

Honorable Mention

·         George Clooney – Up in the Air

·         Matt Damon – The Informant!

·         Jesse Eisenberg – Zombieland

·         Joseph Gorden-Levitt – (500) Days of Summer

·         Jake Gyllenhaal – Brothers

·         John Krasinski – Away We Go

·         Tobey Maguire - Brothers

·         John Malkovich – The Great Buck Howard

·         Ewan McGregor – The Men Who Stare at Goats

·         Liam Neeson – Taken

·         Clive Owen – Duplicity and The International

·         Seth Rogen – Funny People

·         Adam Sandler – Funny People

Best Actress

1.       Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

2.       Carey Mulligan – An Education

3.       Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart

4.       Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

5.       Maya Rudolph – Away We Go

Honorable Mention

·         Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

·         Zooey Deschanel – (500) Days of Summer

·         Rachel McAdams – State of Play

·         Natalie Portman – Brothers

·         Naomi Watts – The International

Best Supporting Actor

1.       Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

2.       Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones and Julie & Julia

3.       Matt Damon - Invictus

4.       Zack Galifianakis – The Hangover

5.       Woody Harrelson – Zombieland

Honorable Mention

·         Peter Sarsgaard – An Education

·         George Clooney – The Men Who Stare at Goats

·         Jeff Bridges – The Men Who Stare at Goats

·         Scott Bakula – The Informant!

·         Jason Bateman – State of Play

·         Ewan McGregor – Angels & Demons

·         Eric Bana – Funny People

·         Ben Affleck – State of Play

·         Bill Murray – Zombieland

·         Jason Segal – I Love You, Man

·         William Shatner – Fanboys

Best Supporting Actress

1.       Mo’Nique – Precious

2.       Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air

3.       Saoirse Ronan – The Lovely Bones

4.       Leslie Mann – Funny People

5.       Helen Mirren – State of Play

Honorable Mention

·         Emma Stone – Zombieland

·         Heather Graham – The Hangover