The rather dismal list of Best Actor/Actress Oscars for the past decade to decade and a half, made me think of all the truly brilliant, but criminally underrated performances that have largely gone unnoticed or unappreciated by mainstream critics.

Here are my offerings for the three best performances in the last fifteen years, all of which I would say are only one notch below Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood."

#3: Robert Forster as Max Cherry in "Jackie Brown"
While billed as Supporting, Forster really felt like the lead male actor in the film. Playing things with a level of cool that hadn't been in style for 20 years, he won the heart of Pam Grier and didn't flinch at an intimidating Samuel L. Jackson. I still don't know if Forster through away his own revival from the film or Hollywood still ignored him, but he should be a bigger presence in movies to this day.



#2: Tom Hardy as Michael Peterson/Charlie Bronson in "Bronson"
The movie itself has some pacing issues in the second half and the intent of the movie is a bit muddled, Tom Hardy is absolutely brilliant, portraying a man of menace and complexity. The scenes in the mental institution is particularly amazing.



Language NSFW


#1: Min-Sik Choi as Oh-Dae Su in "Oldboy"
A flat out, brilliant performance that speaks for itself. Choi's 180 degree performance in "Lady Vengance" is a testament to one of the most underrated actors ever.
Very few clips of the movie are on YouTube highlight the acting. Most all are the hallway fight.

-Sam Riley in 'Control'
-Samantha Morton in 'Jesus' Son'
-Javier Bardem in 'Before Night Falls'
-Julianne Moore in 'Magnolia'
-Birol Unel in 'Head On'
-Sam Rockwell in 'Snow Angels'

Ralph Fiennes - Spider
Laura Dern - Inland Empire
Tom Cruise - Eyes Wide Shut
Gene Hackman - The Royal Tenenbaums

didn't robert forster get nominated for an oscar for JACKIE BROWN? not sure how that is "criminally underrated"...

Sam Rockwell in Moon was a huge oversight on the Academy.

Iam Holm - The Sweet Hereafter
Gordon Pinsent - Away from Her
Ulrich Mühe - The Lives of Others

if only you knew how close i was to typing "Gene Hackman - The Royal Tenenbaums"

Russell Crowe for not winning the oscar for 'The Insider'

Ashley Judd - Bug
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Mysterious Skin
Kang-ho Song - Memories of Murder
Hugh Jackman - The Fountain
William Hurt - The King

Michael Shannon - "Bug" AND "Shotgun Stories"

Ron Pearlman - Hellboy
Adam Sandler - Punch-Drunk Love
Eric Bana - Munich
Christian Bale - American Psycho (maybe not completely underrated)
Colin Ferrell - The New World
Emile Hirsch - Into the Wild

Bill Murray - Rushmore

David Thewlis-Naked