Top 5 – Brad Pitt Movies

Brad Pitt has had a fascinating movie star career. A heartthrob of the 90s, Pitt’s career started off with films that mostly highlighted his good looks and ridiculously sculpted body, like Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise. But as Pitt matured as an actor, so did his performances. With performances in 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, and Snatch, Pitt proved that he was more than a pretty face and in the years following, has become one of the most interesting character actors working today while still having the movie star looks and charisma.

For this list, I will be looking at my favorite Brad Pitt movies. The films on this list are based on Pitt’s performance and the quality of the film.

5. CHAD FELDHEIMER in BURN AFTER READING (The Coen Brothers, 2008)

How did The Coen Brothers follow up their 2007 Oscar-winning masterpiece, No Country for Old Men?  With the quirky, bizarre, spy comedy, Burn After Reading.  This is definitely one of the weirder movies in the Coen Brothers movies, which is saying a lot, considering their filmography.  This is a movie about a bunch of dumb people who discover a disc of information they think is government intel, though it isn’t, and try to get a large sum of money for it. Pitt plays Chad, a frosted-tip gym trainer who finds the disc that sets the whole chain of events into motion.  This is the funniest Pitt has ever been, with his quick one-liners and hilarious dance moves.  He steals the film from acting heavyweights George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and Francis McDormand.  We desperately need Pitt to work with the Coens again so we can get another gem like Chad.

4.  LT. ALDO RAINE in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

Of all the performances in Quentin Tarantino’s World War II masterpiece, nearly all of the love goes to Oscar winner Christoph Waltz’s performance as “The Jew Hunter” Col. Hans Landa. Now, while Waltz is truly masterful, Pitt definitely deserves a great deal of love for his performance as well.  Pitt kills it as Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of a special group of Jewish-American soldiers who set out to do one thing and one thing only; kill Nazis. Pitt commands the screen, rocking a Southern accent and reciting Tarantino’s dialog like a pro. He even goes toe-to-toe with Waltz and it is acting dynamite. Raine is an intelligent, ruthless leader with an affinity for Nazi scalps. He will kill every Nazi in his path to win the war and does it in the most brutal way possible. This is an enthralling, funny, great performance in an absolutely brilliant movie.

3. TYLER DURDEN in FIGHT CLUB (David Fincher, 1999)

Pitt’s second outing with director David Fincher is probably his most infamous role to date. In this pitch-perfect adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel about masculinity, mortality, identity, and consumerism, Pitt plays Tyler Durden, the alter-ego of our main character (Edward Norton), though he thinks Tyler is real and his partner in crime.  The irony of Pitt’s performance is that before this film, he was everything Tyler and our narrator hated; a pretty boy, a modelesque male who skewered the definition of masculinity. But Pitt took that persona and did exactly what Tyler and Project Mayhem would do; burned it down. He’s fascinating, relentless, and badass, giving some of the coolest, most relevant monologs I’ve ever heard in movies. Tyler Durden is an iconic cinematic character largely due to Pitt’s performance.

2. CLIFF BOOTH in ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)

Is it too soon to call this Pitt’s best performance? Absolutely not. This is truly sensational work from Pitt. Cliff Booth is a stuntman for hire in Hollywood in 1969, but his real job is supporting his actor friend, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio). Pitt gives us a character who is simple, yet mysterious. Cliff doesn’t need a lot in life.  All he needs is a couple of beers, some macaroni and cheese, his trusty dog, and a car to get him around places. That’s really it. But there is a level of mystery to Cliff and that’s where Pitt really shines. This is a man who seems to know how to do everything. A man who is always in the right place at the right time, especially when it comes to Rick. A man who has avoided getting caught by the law, even with some questionable moments in his life. A man who can fix everything, from physical objects, like an antenna, to situations, like hippie robbers breaking into his friend’s home. Pitt never gives away the mystery of Cliff and basks in the fun of the character. This performance rightly earned Pitt his long-overdue Oscar.

1. BILLY BEANE in MONEYBALL (Bennett Miller, 2011)

Bennett Miller’s Moneyball takes a look at the game of baseball from the office, not the field. Pitt plays Oakland Athletics G.M. Billy Beane, a man who reinvents how baseball teams are put together by looking at numbers instead of names. This is a meticulous, sensational movie that relies on the star power and acting talents of Pitt. We watch as this man tries to not be the laughing stock of the league, while also putting together a team of players everyone else had written off and trying to win a World Series. We see Beane struggle with his team and his relationship with his daughter, as he does his best to put her above the game. But the best part of the film, and Pitt’s performance, is watching Beane deal with somewhat of a curse, as he is a man whose life is baseball and yet, he can’t catch a break when he’s on the field. This is a multifaceted performance by Pitt and one where he truly carries the movie. It is one of the best performances of the century in one of the best movies of the 2010s.

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