More top ten lists — and lists of other stripes as well! And don’t forget to check out our annual Year in Film issue, out Wed/30.
Jerry McDaniel in Everything Strange and New.
Dennis Harvey’s Overlooked Performances of 2009
1. Liam Neeson in Five Minutes of Heaven (Oliver Hirschbiegel, UK)
2. Anna Faris and Celia Weston in Observe and Report (Jody Hill, USA)
3. Steve Zahn in Management (Stephen Belber, USA)
4. Everyone in A Perfect Getaway (David Twohy, USA); Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan); Black Dynamite (Scott Sanders, USA); and Everything Strange and New (Frazer Bradshaw, USA)
5. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli, USA)
6. Alec Baldwin in Lymelife (Derick Martini, USA)
7. Spock (Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, USA/Germany)
8. Michael Cera in Paper Heart (Nicholas Jasenovec, USA)
9. Kali Hawk in Couples Retreat (Peter Billingsly, USA)
10. Paul Rudd in I Love You, Man (John Hamburg, USA)
11. Zach Gilford in Dare (Adam Salky, USA)
12. Woody Harrelson in Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, USA) and 2012 (Roland Emmerich, USA/Canada)
13. Michael Shannon and John Ventimiglia, The Missing Person (Noah Buschel, USA)
A scene from Paranormal Activity.