Brad Pitt gets a bum rap. Sure, he's on the cover of every girly magazine and is the subject of constant tabloid coverage. What people tend not to realize is that he is a fine actor who, with the exception of "The Mexican" and "Meet Joe Black" has been careful to choose some of the coolest and most memorable films of the past decade.
Pitt's onscreen skill has set him apart from the others typically categorized as Hollywood pretty boys and, along with the likes of Edward Norton, Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, is among the best A-listers in the industry.
Made somewhere in between his breakout roles in "Thelma and Louise" and "Interview with the Vampire," "Kalifornia" is a little-seen, highly twisted gem.
Pitt plays Early Grayce, a mucus-snorting redneck with a taste for random murder. Hitching a cross-country ride with an author and his wife (David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes) Pitt seems like a kind-hearted fool - until we catch him in the act of stabbing up a random man in a gas station bathroom or whacking his landlord.
In "12 Monkeys," Pitt plays mental patient Jeffrey Goines, an animal rights extremist who might be responsible for the virtual annihilation of the human race in the future.
Pitt's performance, which won him a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination, is a reason to watch the film in and of itself. Scenes in the mental hospital are like a surrealist nightmare (thanks in a major way to director Terry Gilliam) and Pitt simply chews the scenery into mush.
The film is good, but Pitt's supporting turn makes it great.
One of the most underrated films in memory, "Fight Club," stands as Pitt's career best performance. Pitt does not simply play the charismatic and possibly insane Tyler Durden, he is Tyler Durden. His delivery is an uneasy mix of hilarity, delirium, panic and leadership.
Rallying confused men to a cause of deglobalization and urban terrorism that ranges from prankish to massively destructive, Durden is one of the most memorable characters of the '90s. Particularly great are scenes in which he and his perfectly cast co-star Edward Norton share narration.
Most people have seen the highly disturbing serial killer masterpiece "Se7en," but repeated viewing allows you to forego the film's shock value and concentrate on the performances.
Pitt's turn as Detective Mills manages to trump his costars Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.
Watch him in the film's shocking final minutes as the camera focuses on his face. See the look in his eyes as his life falls apart and he struggles with the demons that were just handed to him all at once.
Pitt's best comedic turn so far is easily "Snatch," in which he plays "One Punch" Mickey O'Neil, a gypsy bare-knuckle boxing champ with an indecipherable accent.
It's a priceless, one-of-a-kind role and played to near perfection.
Still not satisfied? Check out "A River Runs Through It," "Sleepers," "True Romance," "Legends of the Fall," or "Spy Game," several more additions to the actor's impressive résumé.
