It's Scorpio season all the way with these Hollywood movies featuring actors we can't stop gushing about

What do Matthew McConaughey, Emma Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson have in common? Yup, they are fabulous actors, but that’s not the answer that we are looking for. What makes them all so awesome is the fact that they share the same birthday month—November. While these stars add one more candle to their cake, we list a couple of their movies that will stay young forever. It’s time to hit the play button!

Matthew McConaughey (November 4)

Alright, alright, alright. Let’s start with McConaughey, the marvelous. One of my earliest and fondest memories of the actor was in the courtroom drama, A Time to Kill. This hard-edged adaptation of John Grisham's best-selling novel by the same name sees McConaughey as Jake Brigance, a White lawyer who defends Carl Lee, a man of colour seeking justice for his daughter. The film’s prominent theme is racial discrimination, and McConaughey’s performance as Jake Brigance, who does not care about what the world thinks and wants to bring the guilty to their knees, certainly makes it a movie to remember. His closing argument at the end of the film will surely give you gooseflesh. 

We can’t talk about the actor and not mention Dallas Buyers Club, a film that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. We see the actor at the peak of his powers. He plays the role of an AIDS patient diagnosed in the mid-1980s—a time when society failed to understand what the disease was all about and treated those infected by it as lesser beings. Watching him steal unapproved drugs into Texas for himself and other patients is something you certainly do not want to miss. 

Emma Stone (November 6)

La La Land made me appreciate the genre of musicals like never before. Emma Stone is one of the primary reasons. You realise that she lets her expressions do the talking while essaying a character that is charming to its very core (she won the Academy Award that year for Best Actress in a Leading Role). Take for instance several scenes where her character, Mia, just watches Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) play the piano and portray feelings of sadness, wonder, and being distanced. But the scene that clearly stands out is the one of her final audition. 

Another movie that sees Stone play a character full of life and emotion is Birdman—she received her very first Oscar nomination for this one! Her performance as Sam and the troubled relationship that she and her father share in the film remains one of most gripping elements of the movie. There is a realism and vulnerability in it that doesn’t let you take your eyes off. 

Leonardo DiCaprio (November 11)

My favourite DiCaprio film is probably one that you didn’t expect to be on the list of his best movies—Catch Me If You Can. It has everything I could have asked for, Stephen Spielberg as the director and a fascinating script that has Tom Hanks and DiCaprio in an intriguing cat-and-mouse chase. As Frank Abagnale Jr, DiCaprio plays a troubled kid who struggles to come to terms with his parent’s divorce. Despite him being on the bad side of the law, it’s absolutely endearing to watch him apply his brilliant, yet manipulative, mind to become a con man who talks his way into working as a permanent rookie pilot; being a lawyer in courtrooms; and even trying his hand at being a doctor. Here was a performance that relied on DiCaprio’s charisma and confidence, and his ability to live a lie—something he did with utmost panache.

I still remember the first time I saw Inception and looking at everyone around me in the cinema hall as the credits rolled down the screen. Most of us were coming to terms with what we’d just seen and were trying to decode if Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) was living inside a dream or if it was reality. What followed was, viewers being sucked into a rabbit hole, spending hours reading fan theories on the Internet, and realising which side of the fence they were on. That said, I am not taking anything away from DiCaprio, who held the entire premise of this cerebral film on his shoulders, pulling it off with empathy and grace. 

Ryan Gosling (November 12)

I like it when actors step out of their comfort zone. I never had a doubt about Ryan Gosling performing well in anything that has action or romance, but could he do comedy? Well, that question was answered, and with impeccable comic timing at that, in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Gosling plays the womaniser Jacob Palmer who visits expensive bars, flirts, and never goes home alone. He plays the perfect wingman to Cal (Steve Carell), teaching him how to speak to women with confidence. While we went on to admire the chemistry between him and Emma Stone in La La Land, it was this adorable rom-com where it all began. One simply cannot forget the pair recreating the big lift from Dirty Dancing. After all, it had a shirtless Ryan Gosling. 

Another hot favourite among fans is The Place Beyond the Pines. Gosling plays Luke, a motorcycle racer who learns that his former lover has given birth to his son. In order to provide for his newfound child, Luke decides to rob a couple of banks that leads him to cross paths with a cop (Bradley Cooper) who is working for a corrupt department. Despite being on the wrong side of the law, Gosling has a kindness inside him and eyes that make us root for him. At the end of the day, he’s just a father, who wants to do good for his kid, not knowing that it’s eventually going to lead to a life full of grief. 

Gerard Butler (November 13)

His most favourite and revered character is inarguably his career’s best. Yup, we’re talking about Butler as Leonidas in 300. We were at the edge of our seats when the King of Sparta leads his small group of 300 warriors into a battle against the Persians. Despite death staring right in their faces, nothing stops them from taking on the enemy. Coming back to Butler, it isn’t his physique and chiseled abs, but his charisma as a leader who knew that he is doomed from the very beginning that does the talking. 

Another film that makes him and his filmography stand out is Law Abiding Citizen. Butler plays a man (on a mission) whose wife and daughter get murdered in a home invasion, with the killer going free. The movie is more than just a run-of-the-mill revenge story as his character’s grief is rooted in the many loopholes that the legal system is plagued with. What also makes things interesting is the character being gruesome, yet creative in his kills, thanks to his engineering background and experience as former black-ops assassination planner. He gives such a commendable performance that we can’t help but root for his body count to go up. 

Jodie Foster (November 19)

An actor, in their career, will always have that one film that they will be remembered for, for the rest of their life. For the brilliant Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs is that movie. Her portrayal of Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee thrust into the search for a serial killer, paired with Anthony Hopkins as the famed Dr Hannibal Lecter, is simply brilliant. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Actress wins for Foster and Hopkins. The two match wits in the arrangement Lecter has set up where he will give her clues to find a serial killer if she gives him details about her life. 

Another top favourite is the movie that started it all for Foster. We’re talking about Martin Scorsese’s 1976 psychological thriller Taxi Driver that features Foster (who was a young teenager of 14) as an unfortunate young girl named Iris who is a hooker. While you may feel sorry for her character’s plight, not once does Iris ask for any form of sympathy. She’s frightened, yet at the same time, full of bravado. Having acted with such finesse, Foster proves that she’s no new kid on the block with the performance earning her first Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress). 

Scarlett Johansson (November 22)

When we talk about Johansson and her best, her performance in Marriage Story as Nicole, one half of the pair involved in this spectacular take on marriage and divorce, is inarguably one of her most finest and sincere works. She matches up to the powerhouse of talent that is Adam Driver (Charlie), and gives audiences a fight sequence that they will not forget for a very long time. Be it scenes with her lawyer where she talks about why she fell for Charlie, or realising that she’s forgotten what her preferences and tastes used to be, we see Johansson’s character evolve to becoming a person who finally chooses herself, making her a hero instead of a villain. What’s even more commendable about this performance that earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, is the fact that she was going through her second divorce at the time of filming. 

One of her most difficult roles till date is Her—even if you can’t see her in it. Despite her not being on screen, the actress does a fantastic job as the sweet, sultry voice of robot Samantha, bought by the introvert Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix). Frankly, it’s impossible to imagine the film without her as her layered and nuanced performance manages to convey emotions, wisdom just through her voice.