Bad Actors, best acting.

[Trekker4747]

William Shatner in "Boston Legal."

Shatner has gotten himself into this role as the stereotypical over emoting hammy actor. He's parodied as that constantly and, well, he deserves it.

But in Boston Legal? He was simply awesome.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Cruise is more a case of good actor, bad acting (or roles that are bad for him because they don't tap into his strengths). He needs to stick to the Collateral type roles, and occasionally dabble in fun, character roles like Tropic Thunder. The mainstream action hero is ironically the worst role for him.

Cruise was absolutely brilliant in both Collateral and Tropic Thunder.

I was going to add Minority Report to that list....

Don't forget Born on the Fourth of July...

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Marlon wayans in Requiem for a Dream.

 

[JonathonWally]

Jennifer Lopez in U-Turn

I would say Out of Sight is her best work.

 

[exodus]

Point taken.

How about Ryan O'Neal? While sort of notorious for this, he's fairly good in Barry Lyndon (even if his 'Irish' accent slips about over the place).

He was trying for an Irish accent?

Keanu Reeves and Nic Cage are two more Cruise-type cases - if they're in a certain, narrowly-defined role, they can be very good. But versatile they are not.

Nick Cage still thinks he's playing Elvis.

Jennifer Lopez-falling an busting her fat ass at the AMA's is without a doubt her best work.

 

[DevilEyes]

I can't think of a single movie where I found Keanu's acting really good, but I have never seen Speed.

Have you seen A Scanner Darkly or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure?

No.

Point taken.

How about Ryan O'Neal? While sort of notorious for this

That's really hilarious.

 

[IndyJones]

Leonardo Di Caprio - The Basketball Diaries

Really?

I would think his work in The Departed would give him a break from the bad actor cracks.

 

[Geck]

Leonardo Di Caprio - The Basketball Diaries

Really?

I would think his work in The Departed would give him a break from the bad actor cracks.

I find him quite good in just about everything he does, going right back to his superb turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. The only times I haven't really enjoyed him are Titanic and Romeo + Juliet.

 

[Islander]

Really?

I would think his work in The Departed would give him a break from the bad actor cracks.

Yeah, that was good and he's finally back on the up curve but still... And it easy to look good in a Scorcese film along with so many other actors.

I find him quite good in just about everything he does, going right back to his superb turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. The only times I haven't really enjoyed him are Titanic and Romeo + Juliet.

Some of the movies he's been in ended up fine (Catch me if you can, Man in the Iron Mask) but in all of his "performance" he looks like a little whining prick and I didn't see a character, I always saw the actor. He's finally changing that, but he mae me highly dispointed for many many years.

 

[Jono]

Will Ferrell-Stranger Than Fiction.

I could not stand Will Ferrell until after I saw that movie. While I do think many of his films are absolute rubbish I now don't simply dismiss them out of hand.

 

[Starkers]

Leonardo Di Caprio - The Basketball Diaries

Really?

I would think his work in The Departed would give him a break from the bad actor cracks.

I find him quite good in just about everything he does, going right back to his superb turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. The only times I haven't really enjoyed him are Titanic and Romeo + Juliet.

I think Di Caprio is a great actor, and he was good in the Departed. Actually The Departed is the good acting role for a bad actor for me in the the case of Mark Wahlberg. He's been terrible in most things I've seen him in, but I thought he was brilliant in The Departed.

Matt Damon on the other hand...I just don't like him in much of anything outside of Dogma...and Team America

 

[Starkers]

Will Ferrell-Stranger Than Fiction.

I could not stand Will Ferrell until after I saw that movie. While I do think many of his films are absolute rubbish I now don't simply dismiss them out of hand.

The trouble is with Ferrell that he's funnier in small roles, hence why his Mugatu in Zoolander and Willenholly in Jay and Silent Bob. He was good in Stranger than Ficton though, and actually Blades of Fury wasn't too bad.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Jim Carrey in "The Truman Show".

Ben Affleck in "Changing Lanes".

Brad Pitt in "Fight Club".

Mark Wahlberg "The Departed"

 

[Kelthaz]

Kevin Sorbo - any of his scenes with Zeus, especially when he was played by Anthony Quinn.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Monique Gabrielle in Deathstalker 2.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Point taken.

How about Ryan O'Neal? While sort of notorious for this, he's fairly good in Barry Lyndon (even if his 'Irish' accent slips about over the place).

He was trying for an Irish accent?

Keanu Reeves and Nic Cage are two more Cruise-type cases - if they're in a certain, narrowly-defined role, they can be very good. But versatile they are not.

I was going to point out that Cruise plays self-centered assholes fairly well (I wonder why ). I can't complain about his acting in A Few Good Men or Rainman, for example. With the exception of Tropic Thunder, I do tend to agree that he is fairly limited (Cruise was perfect in Tropic Thunder because no one realized who he was. He's usually just Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise in a Tom Cruise movie).

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Another actor I think is terribly limited as a performer is Bruce Willis. However, he's fared better over the years than some of the others mentioned because he tends to have a much keener eye for which projects he should & shouldn't do. The only major blunder he's ever made was The Bonfire of the Vanities.

I concur with Mark Wahlberg in The Departed and Jean Claude Van Damme in JCVD.

Sylvester Stallone was absolutely phenomenal in Rocky. But beyond that, he's mediocre at best.

 

[Aragorn]

Another actor I think is terribly limited as a performer is Bruce Willis. However, he's fared better over the years than some of the others mentioned because he tends to have a much keener eye for which projects he should & shouldn't do. The only major blunder he's ever made was The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Do you mean "blunder" as in role he was completely wrong for, or just crappy movie in general? Because he's got quite a few of the latter, which are usually braindead action flicks like Mercury Rising and Striking Distance. Then there's the likes of Color of Night and The Whole Ten Yards.