Thursday Movie Picks: Unrecognizable Actor Transformations
Christian Bale - Vice
He not only gained a bunch of weight, but he completely nailed Dick Cheney's voice. Out of my three picks, this is the only movie that I actually like.
Jared Leto - Chapter 27
Why yes, that bloated dude is Jared Leto, playing John Lennon's killer in the dreadfully dull Chapter 27. He apparently ended up with gout at some point because of his dramatic weight gain.
Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
While most women would've slapped on a wig and fake piercings, Rooney Mara actually got that awful haircut, bleached her eyebrows and truly got all the piercings Lisbeth Salander had. That's commitment.
Great picks! I still have to see Vice but plan to this month. There is something about Jared Leto I dislike but this transformation is excellent..personally I would have just put on a fat suit rather than hurt my health. You wonder what their bodies will say to them later on in life with these huge weight gains and losses. Look at Christian Bale alone. Rooney Mara was excellent in this film and we just re-watched this film. She is also very committed and , if I can say, way too thin.
ReplyDeleteRight? And for Chapter 27, that was never going to be an Oscar bait movie either.
DeleteI've only seen Dragon Tattoo which I thought was a decent film, my sister was disappointed in it though having read the book which I haven't yet.
ReplyDeleteI am most definitely NOT an admirer of Cheney, add in the fact that it costars two performers I find extremely resistible and Vice is something that is far, far down on my to see list if ever.
I've never heard of Chapter 27 and you're saying that its dull doesn't fill me with curiosity.
I get the whole struggling for your art aspect of the transformations but I'm usually uncomfortable when the performer goes to such lengths.
It reminds me of what Laurence Olivier said to Dustin Hoffman when they were making "Marathon Man" after Dusty had forced himself to stay up for a few days and worn himself down for a scene. Olivier took one look at him and said "Why don't you try acting?"
With that in mind I selected cosmetically altered but still impressive transformations.
The Lost Moment (1947)-Publisher Lewis Venable (Robert Cummings) is desperate to acquire love letters between noted 19th century poet Jeffrey Ashton and Juliana Bordereau (Agnes Moorehead). Learning that Juliana is still alive at 105, Lewis arranges an introduction. Assuming the identity of a rich author, Lewis meets the now-blind Juliana, who allows him to rent rooms in her home. As Lewis' searches for the letters he must contend with the resistance of Juliana's great-niece, Tina (Susan Hayward) a tightly wound schizophrenic duel personality obsessed with Ashton. This slightly reworked version of Henry James The Aspern Papers isn’t for everyone, star Susan Hayward hated it and referred to it as The Lost Hour and a Half, but features a most impressive makeup job on Agnes Moorehead who though in her mid-forties is unrecognizable as the ancient Juliana.
Mask (1985)-Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz) a sweet-natured extremely bright teen suffers from Lionitis which caused his facial features to be deformed taking on the appearance of that beast. Thanks to his wild but tough and loving mother Rusty (Cher) and biker friends who see him for who he is Rocky doesn’t let his affliction get in the way. But the greater world is not so understanding, at least at first, and there are many obstacles to face. Based on a true story Stoltz is buried under mountains of prosthetics but manages to convey Rocky’s essence extremely well, matched every step of the way by Cher.
Bettlejuice (1988)-Tim Burton’s wild ride of a movie tells the tale of Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) freshly dead in a car accident, finding themselves stuck haunting their country residence and unable to leave the house. When the unbearable Deetzes (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones) and teen daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) buy the home, the Maitlands attempt to scare them away without success. Their efforts attract Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a rambunctious spirit whose "help" quickly becomes dangerous for the Maitlands and innocent Lydia. Keaton done up in wild style is brash and inimitable.
Beetlejuice is fun! That's the only one of yours I've seen. If you dislike Cheney then Vice is a good watch because it doesn't make any excuses for him and shows what a garbage person he is.
DeleteAh yes that is one of the few movies I haven't seen with Leto in it. I mean there was no reason, thirst was not existent there lol
ReplyDeleteI watched it when I was in denial about Lindsay Lohan turning into such a trainwreck lol
DeleteI still haven't seen Vice as I hope to sometime soon. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a great choice. Chapter 27 is a film actors should watch on what not to do and why method acting fucking sucks now.
ReplyDeleteLMAO
DeleteI hated Vice but Bale was outstanding in it. I did feel sorry for him wife though while watching the movie haha
ReplyDeleteOh right? lol. She probably missed Batman Bale.
DeleteI also thought of Chapter 27 :-D
ReplyDeleteCan't believe I forgot about Rooney Mara, though!
Did you like Shazam?
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers Chapter 27. It's so obscure.
DeleteGreat choices! I haven't seen Vice yet, but Bale looks completely different. My favorite out of the three has to be Rooney Mara! Also, if we're talking about transformations, I think we can Charlize Theron in the ring (for Monster) and, even though it might sound odd, Johnny Depp for the Pirates of the Caribbean and Scissor Hands.
ReplyDeleteVice is great. I know it got kind of mixed reviews but I loved it. Johnny Depp is a good choice too. Pirates Depp kind of looks like regular Depp now but before that it was a big departure.
DeleteNice picks! I always forget how far Rooney Mara went with her role for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And it was like someone copy and pasted Dick Cheney onto Christian Bale. lol
ReplyDeleteLOL that's a great way to describe Vice.
DeleteI haven't seen any of this.
ReplyDeleteChristian Bale did the opposite transformation in The Machinist. I've only seen parts of the movie, but that transformation was scary unhealthy.
Machinist is pretty good but it's hard watching him in that. He looks deathly ill.
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