"Ryan Gosling owned 2011. He starred in three hit films (I’m defining a hit film here as one that made money): Crazy, Stupid Love, the mass appeal rom-com; Ides of March, the respectable, star-filled political drama; and Drive, the critical indie darling. In both Crazy and Ides, Gosling not only holds his own, but also out-acts such performers as George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Moore, and Steve Carell. But in Drive, Gosling gives probably his best performance of the year. His character inhabits every single scene of the film, and he speaks (maybe) 60 lines of dialogue. The bulk of his performance is delivered in silence, or with a stare or a blink. It’s really quite remarkable. I’d go so far as to argue that there have been very few performers who, in one year, have created and embodied three fully formed characters, in three films, from three different genres. After having solid outings in films like Half Nelson (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and Blue Valentine, Gosling didn’t need a year like 2011 to show us all he was a true talent."
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The Grantland Staff on its favorite movies of 2011 - Grantland (via peterwknox)
Also of note, Jeremy Renner:
I can tell you all now that the person who’ll have the greatest rise in 2012 will be Jeremy Renner. The dude is on the precipice of becoming this generation’s Harrison Ford. Performers work their entire career to be involved in a single blockbuster franchise (Ford obviously had Star Wars, and the Indiana Jones and Jack Ryan films), and by the end of Summer 2012, Renner will have taken over or will have been a part of his own three — Mission: Impossible, The Avengers, and the Bourne reboot. So ya’ll better get ready for Renner.
(via peterwknox)
