# What movie have you seen in the last ten years . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572 "2014-02-18T00:47:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jmliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@jmliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmliny)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/1 "2014-02-18T00:47:01Z")
. . . staring a seasoned actor or a seasoned actress . . . where your disbelief was truly held in check? That you bought into their performance? That while you were watching the movie, you didn’t think that’s just so and so, so and so who gets a seven figure check for ‘acting.’ Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/2 "2014-02-18T00:55:09Z")
There are several, so I will just name a few that spring to mind randomly. Tom Cruise in **Collateral**. His relentless hit man was so mesmerizing that I didn’t think about the guy playing him. Same goes for Russell Crowe as the captain in _Master and Commander_; he completely immersed himself in the role as a 19th century leader and warrior. ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/3 "2014-02-18T00:58:36Z")
The recently deceased Philip S. Hoffman really became Truman Capote, and I had no thoughts otherwise while watching the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/4 "2014-02-18T01:09:40Z")
Thousands, but the one that came to mind first was Charlize Theron in Monster. My 2nd was, like viva, Tom Cruise in Collateral. Helen Mirren is always Helen Mirren. Except when she played The Queen. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/5 "2014-02-18T01:11:56Z")
Miranda Richardson in _[Spider](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278731/)_. OMFG. I had no idea until the credits rolled and even then had to watch the whole movie over again because I was sure I misunderstood or something. To be sure, there have been other performances I’ve bought into wholly, but this one just floored me, and it happens right in the middle of a bunch of other amazing performances. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/6 "2014-02-18T01:21:26Z")
Phillip Seymore Hoffman and Meryl Streep both in Doubt. This could have come off as very contrived. It really worked. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/7 "2014-02-18T01:43:09Z")
Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. He gets pretty immersed in his characters; there have been several times when I’ve watched him in a movie, thought “wow, this guy’s great, he should get more work” then check IMDB… whoops. THAT guy. Heck, when I saw the first poster for Goblet of Fire (his 2nd Potter movie), I saw that he was in it and thought “Awesome, I wonder who he’s going to play?” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/8 "2014-02-18T01:43:29Z")
Jack Black in _Bernie_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/9 "2014-02-18T02:04:08Z")
A surprising one: Mariah Carey in _Precious_. Let’s face it, Carey never showed signs of being a good actress. So her[performance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xQ0rKdiRV0) in _Precious_ was that much more amazing. (Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique also gave great performances in that movie but as I had no negative expectations of them, I wasn’t as surprised.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/10 "2014-02-18T02:11:01Z")
More recently, Christian Bale in _American Hustle_. ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/11 "2014-02-18T03:32:52Z")
Jack Black in _Bernie_ is a GREAT choice! ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/12 "2014-02-18T04:24:42Z")
Daniel Day Lewis in _Lincoln_. As far as I was concerned, I was watching a documentary about Lincoln filmed by a time traveler. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/13 "2014-02-18T04:37:02Z")
It’s never happened. Well, not since I was a kid, I suppose. An unfortunate side effect of a lifetime of being fascinated with actors and acting. I may not recognize an actor, but I’m always aware of the craft on some level, even while enjoying the story on another. Same thing for live theaters. I’m the one who thrills just as much to the action in the flies as on the stage. It’s the \*process \*of storytelling that I love. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/14 "2014-02-18T05:46:32Z")
All of them. I have no problem with suspension of disbelief. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/15 "2014-02-18T10:26:31Z")
> [@montag01](#): > > Jack Black in _Bernie_ is a GREAT choice! Absolutely! Never seemed like the type of actor to pull that off, and Bernie was so well done overall. Heath Ledger for Dark Knight, of course. I’ll add Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained , since he made my skin peel in Ingourilous Basterds. In IB, I didn’t even open my snuck-in candy. Nor did I do that in DU because I thought he was still going to slaughter people. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/16 "2014-02-18T10:53:15Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Daniel Day Lewis in _Lincoln_. As far as I was concerned, I was watching a documentary about Lincoln filmed by a time traveler. That’s the one I was going to say. OTOH, in the same movie Sally Field was totally Sally Field. Endorsing Charlize Theron in _Monster_ as well. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/17 "2014-02-18T11:54:38Z")
Most recently, both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/18 "2014-02-18T13:29:12Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Daniel Day Lewis in _Lincoln_. Or Daniel Day-Lewis in _Gangs of New York_ (12 years past, but work with me here), or in _Their Will Be Blood_; or going past 10 years, pretty much anything Daniel Day-Lewis has ever appeared in. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/19 "2014-02-18T14:51:05Z")
Johnny Depp in Pirates 1. We accept it now, but it really was an amazing character he created there Jack black in Bernie is another good one. Colin Farrell in In Bruges. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572/20 "2014-02-18T15:10:15Z")
Heath Ledger in _The Dark Knight_. Javier Bardem in _No Country for Old Men_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-have-you-seen-in-the-last-ten-years/681572.md?page=2)