Brutal Actors saved by Good parts/movies

[1234-5678 0]

Hmmm I like Chris Tucker, but it's all personal preference. 

 

 

Well anyway, my pick would Kevin Costner.  I never liked the way he acted and how he talked in same damn tone throughout movies and his lines sounded like he was reading straight from cue cards.

 

Hating aside, I did like him Field of Dreams and A Perfect World.

Tucker was good in Friday, but only cause he reminds me of 80% of the potheads around my way.

 

As for Costner..........c'mon, where's the love for Bull Durham?

Christ on a cracker I forgot about that movie. He ruled in Bull Durham.

Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.----Kevin Costner as "Crash Davis" in Bull Durham

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

Huh, if Tarentino was all that bad, I didn't seem to notice. That's for sure.

 

Hey, he couldn't carry a movie by himself, but for that small part, I think he fit the role perfectly, and within his say 10 minutes in the movie delivered some of the funniest quips in the film.

 

"Is there a sign outside my house that says 'Dead Nigger Storage'?"

Tarantino is a very wooden and flat actor. About the only time I really like him was during the "Like a Virgin" schtick in Resevoir Dogs and that was because he really got some energy going. He was atrocious in "From Dusk Til Dawn" and really killed that out of the gate, because I never really believed him as the psychopath he was supposed to be. He was too laid back.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Don't you ever speak poorly of Cool Ethan again.

 

Or what, you'll file me under cocksucker in your lil black book?

[Guest El Satanico]

You can't really write Orlando Bloom off as a pretty boy no talent at this point.

 

He's only had two big roles and neither called for much acting. We need more evidence before making a judgement on his ability. He's been in acting schools in England since he was 16, so at this point I'll give him benefit of the doubt.

 

Of course he'll likely be stuck with the pretty boy label even if he does have ability.

[LooseCannon25 0]

I loved Pulp Fiction, but Tarantino was lousy in his part. His acting was awful and timing was worse.

 

"don't fucking Jimmy me Jules...........................................................................

..ok........don't jimmy me.....nothing that you say is gonna make me forget that i love my wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife.

[spiny norman 0]

I don't even remember Tarantino in Pulp Fiction. When I first read that post about directors in their own movies and it said Tarantino in PF, I figured it must have been a mistake on his part for Reservoir Dogs. What does he do in it?

[ArkhamGlobe 0]

He plays Jimmy from Toluca Lake.

[spiny norman 0]

No, I really don't remember it. That's strange, I quite liked that movie too. And I normally have a pretty good memory with that sort of thing.

[notJames 0]

I loved Pulp Fiction, but Tarantino was lousy in his part.  His acting was awful and timing was worse.

 

"don't fucking Jimmy me Jules...........................................................................

..ok........don't jimmy me.....nothing that you say is gonna make me forget that i love my wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife.

Spot on! QT was horrible as the distraught husband of Bonnie.

 

As for brutal actors, I think the worst kind of actor is the one who refuses to play against type, who is always in the same kind of movie playing the same kind of character all the time. Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise are the biggest offenders. Not terrible actors, just ones who are too afraid to stretch their acting muscles. I will say, though, that I liked Cruise in Magnolia, as his T.J. Mackey role gave me just cause to hate him, and thus, appreciate his performance.

 

You also have those late 90s teen movie "actors" like Freddie Prinze Jr., Denise Richards and Jennifer Love Hewitt who have only their looks to thank for their "successes", who unsurprisingly have not found a vehicle ala Keanu's Matrix run to mask their mediocrity. However, Mena Suvari's stint in American Beauty made me forget what a generic teen queen she is.

 

Then there's someone like Lisa Kudrow, who was wonderful in The Opposite of Sex. Normally I despise the whole Friends cast, as they collectively couldn't act their way through a wet paper bag. But Kudrow playing the shrewish, cynical sister was a pleasant surprise.

 

And of course, there's Adam Sandler, who's lazy manchild schtick I despise with a passion. His turn in Punch-Drunk Love was a clear sign of PT Anderson's gift of alchemy, turning the leaden delivery of Sandler into a goldmine of a performance. Much like Robin Williams' first step away from machine-gun standup in The World According to Garp, it was refreshing to see him mix it up a bit and not rely heavily on his formulaic hyperboy persona.

[notJames 0]

I'd also like to add Courtney Love in The People vs. Larry Flynt, who's role as the porn king's druggie whore with a heart of gold was a big stretch for her normally conservative nature.

[Vyce 0]

I agree with the Josh Hartnett pick. Outside of Black Hawk Down, pretty much NOTHING he's done has impressed me.

 

Heath Ledger's the same way. It's not that he's necessarily a bad actor, he's just never been in anything that I've really cared for, outside of maybe "10 Things I Hate About You".

[spiny norman 0]

I didn't see anything special about Sandler's performance in Punch-Drunk Love. There were things about that movie I really loved, Emily Watson mainly. But Sandler's performance and Philip Seymour Hoffman (whom I normally think was brilliant) both really irritated me to the point where I didn't particularly like that movie.

 

I liked The Wedding Singer. That was the first Adam Sandler movie I ever saw and so it wasn't until after that I realised just how atrocious he is. But because I had no other perception of him for that film I really loved it.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I hate HATE Nicholas Cage, but I loved both Bringing out the Dead and Adaptation.

I hate Cuba Gooding Jr, but I loved What Dreams May Come and A Murder of Crows. I liked As Good As It Gets, but didn't like him in it.

[Guest El Satanico]

Josh Hartnett didn't show me anything in Black Hawk Down. The Virgin Suicides has been the only movie I can stand him in.

 

I still can't understand why Josh Hartnett is considered hot. I'm telling you he looks mildly retarded. There's nothing interesting about him, he's just another clone from the bland young male actor factory.

[Guest frowned]

As for brutal actors, I think the worst kind of actor is the one who refuses to play against type, who is always in the same kind of movie playing the same kind of character all the time.

 

I'd agree completely with this - particularly Hugh "I'm that loveable Englishman who monopolised romantic comedies" Grant.

[spiny norman 0]

But I think there's something about Hugh Grant that makes him un-hateable. Bridget Jones's Diary was also something a bit different for him, because he was a complete arsehole in that one.

 

And his performance in Four Weddings And A Funeral was really likeable.

 

What about John Wayne? He's considered to be a legend, yet he rarely strayed from the character whom he was portraying.

[Guest frowned]

Trust me - he's definitely NOT unhateable. I mean - at first I didn't mind him, but the more I saw him, the more samey were his roles and performances, the more I despised him.

 

He was also an arsehole in About a Boy if I remember correctly, but "love changed that".

[1234-5678 0]

I hate HATE Nicholas Cage,

"Leaving Las Vegas"

 

NUFF Said.

[Nighthawk 0]

John Wayne had magnificent range. Cowboy. Soldier. Quiet man.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

I've said it before on this board, but John Wayne is a very unique case and he gets more flak than he deserves. If you actually set down and watch his best five films (The Searchers, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Quiet Man, Red River, The Shootist) you'll see that there are a lot of subtle nuiscances tossed into the standard Wayne charicterization. John Wayne is a legend, because he was designed to be that way. It's a brilliant character designed by actor Marion Morrison. The problem is that while Morrison really was a good actor, he was a lazy actor and without the proper director riding his ass, like John Ford or Howard Hawks, he reverts to playing the Wayne character. There is also the fact that Wayne liked doing Westerns and War movies, so that's what he made. You can't hate a guy for doing what he loves and defining those genres.

[Guest frowned]

He's been in acting schools in England since he was 16, so at this point I'll give him benefit of the doubt.

While I agree - he needs a few films under him to truely confirm my suspicions, I will point out that Keanu is also apparently a fully classically trained actor and has done theatre before. There is no guarantee that it transfers well to the Big Screen or that being trained et al means that you won't suck.

[k thx 0]

Orlando Bloom is horrible.

 

 

 

What exactly did he do in LOTR that made every women on the planet fall in love with him? He never did anything. He had the same amount of lines as Gimli. What's the big deal?

he's a scrawny pretty boy with long, platinum hair...duh.

 

Yeah, it wasn't that hard to figure out.

 

And his voice, women love the accent.

Plus he's a good dresser. presentable, well spoken and loves his mother.

 

It's amazing how few women realise those are stereotypical homosexual traits...

[C Dubya 04 0]

I hate HATE Nicholas Cage,

"Leaving Las Vegas"

 

NUFF Said.

"Raising Arizona"

 

Now, Nuff said.

[Guest El Satanico]

He's been in acting schools in England since he was 16, so at this point I'll give him benefit of the doubt.

While I agree - he needs a few films under him to truely confirm my suspicions, I will point out that Keanu is also apparently a fully classically trained actor and has done theatre before. There is no guarantee that it transfers well to the Big Screen or that being trained et al means that you won't suck.

You're right that acting schools don't mean a whole lot, but it's still enough to give him some benefit of the doubt. He's already way ahead of guys like Keanu, because he has shown charisma and doesn't look like he's made of wood.

[Guest frowned]

I have not seen charisma thus far and I'd definitely disagree with the wooden bit - he didn't change one bit throughout any of the LOTR films or Pirates (which was carried pretty much entirely by Depp). In LOTR, Legolas is supposed to be this hella cool character with a natural charisma - hence him having relatively little dialogue - instead he has to rely on stunts that utilise some of the worst CG ever committed to the big screen or that mirror / are mirrored by those done in xXx (dunno who did that shite surfboard thing first). I know that he didn't choose to do these things, but without them nobody who wasn't a 12 year old girl would give two tosses about Orlando.

[Guest mst3krules]

<mike nelson as keanu reeves>

 

"My own private idaho....potato...."

 

</mike nelson>

 

 

*Crow laughs like crazy*

[Ravenbomb 0]

I hate HATE Nicholas Cage,

"Leaving Las Vegas"

 

NUFF Said.

"Raising Arizona"

 

Now, Nuff said.

Fuck Raisin Arizona. Leaving Las Vegas was decent enough, but Nick Cage was so annoying in it that I never got into it.

[Guest El Satanico]

don't you talk about Raising Arizona in such a disrespectful tone!

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

The only movies I've ever like Affleck in was Kevin Smith films.

What about "Dazed and Confused"??

 

Oh and about Julia Roberts....she uses the same mannerisms and acting style for every character she does. She has no variety at all!

[2GOLD 0]

Plus he's a good dresser. presentable, well spoken and loves his mother.

 

It's amazing how few women realise those are stereotypical homosexual traits...

 

A good dresser?

Orlando Bloom???

The guy wears a scarf and winter hat in July.

 

Orlando obviously has mental problems and the IQ of a green bean. And I had to have this pointed out to me by a female.

 

I think the true nature of his acting will be decided in Ned Kelly, but so far he has acted the exact same in two straight films. Meaning, he hasn't acted at all.

 

I'm beginning to think Keanu has a secret underground acting school were he trains pretty boys to look, act and talk exactly like him. Cause I'm seeing one too many Keanu clones here lately.

 

And the best Keanu role? Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha in Little Buddha. You can't pay enough for the comedy of that performance. Reeves talking like Apu from the Simpsons rules the planet.