Cruise is not a good actor, but he is smart when selecting movies, and, more importantly, good actors to play off of who make him look good by association... Newman, Hoffman, Nicholson, Hackman. And of course, Lea Thompson in All the Right Moves.
My 2nd Favorite Christopher Walken role: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R_yADcd7EUU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R_yADcd7EUU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> My first favorite role of his is The Deer Hunter. an incredible performance.
Damn, a lot of Nicholson hate. I can kinda see the mentality that he plays the same persona, but that persona is so cool.
have you ever seen some of his earlier stuff. see "Deer Huner" with him deniro and streep. the scene in "True Romance" alone seals his credibility as an actor. I agree that clooney is overrated, much like denzel is the same guy in every movie but not nearly as talented. but he was good in Syriana
I wouldn't say that Nicholson is overrated but I do think he overacts sometimes (Al Pacino is another great actor who can "overact" sometimes). However, I can't imagine "The Shining" with anyone other than Jack and a Jack that is clearly over-the-top. I know that his performance bugged Stephen King to no end and was one of the main reasons why he didn't care for Kubrick's version. But after watching "The Shining" multiple times, you appreciate Nicholson's "overacting" and realize that he had to act like that to really make the movie memorable and scary. I don't really understand why Woody Allen would think he is a good actor - not a bad director but definitely not a great actor.
Since someone mentioned it, I'm gonna go with Al Pacino. I know I'm probably missing one or two, but he really hasn't done anything great since Heat. That said, his work in the early 70s is phenomenal. He's in four of my top-10 favorite movies of all-time.
AMEN to Nick Cage. John Travolta comes to mind too. Gwyneth Paltrow = terrible. Take away her english accent in her "critically acclaimed" movies and her relationship with Brad Pitt (talk about riding someone's coattails), she barely edges out Jennifer Lopez. And yes, she's horrific too. Some other quick hits: - Steven Seagal (Hey, I like him, but Mason Storm is no Charlton Heston) - Orlando Bloom (Just another guy with an English accent) - Heath Ledger (An Aussie who just sounds English) - Jennifer Aniston (Is it considered hard to play yourself in every movie?) - Tobey Maguire (Thanks Satan for the Spiderman gig - see you in Hell)
Agree with pretty much everything except he was great in Donnie Brasco. Problably my favorite Al Pacino performance.
awesome movie, and powerful performance. and a stretch for him really playing the "loser". a very sympathetic character. also very good in the play "Angels in America" that aired on HBO. about HIV and homosexuals in early eighties new york.
BILL murray! (ducks down to avoid getting hit) He plays the same sarcastic character all the time. actress... i have to say nicole kidman
That's funny...when I saw Donnie Brasco mentioned, I knew you'd respond. For some reason, it's always stuck in my head that you love that movie. I did forget about that movie and I never saw Angels in America. So, I'll still say 10 years.
keep ducking.... the character he played in rushmore is very different from the character he played in caddyshack which is very different from the character he played in scrooged. and few things are more difficult than comedy acting.
Ben Stiller - it was somewhat funny the first 4 times... Can you not wear a wig or a fake 'stache? Although Night at the Museum was a decent flick... mostly because it was more kid friendly.
