Movies We've Just Watched discussion
LISTS, LISTS, AND MORE LISTS
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What Actor Will You Watch in Anything?
Adam Rodriguez...a k a Delko of CSI Miami..the man heats up the screen
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Rob: Nope never heard of that one? What is it about? Ha ha I think I know what you mean about Burt Reynolds and I don't like to watch him.
Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver are people I will watch them in whatever. I had a crush on them both as a kid. LOL
Hello there, I just joined! I wanted to jump in on this topic. This is my kind of group, looks like a lot of 80's film buffs here, LOL! I am an 80's child by the way and loved the brat pack. Anyway, the actor I'd watch in anything is Stephen Dorff. Which is good for him because it looks like these days that he'll make just about anything so...LOL! Anyone here familiar with Stephen's work, I am sure you know what I mean. The guy has talented and I've loved him since Blade. Used to be obsessed with him but that obsession faded when he started making all these flops and terrible film choices.
I love a lot of actors and actresses but for some reason, Stephen is one that if he is in the movie, I gotta at least check it out! Even when I know it's bad. I don't know the hold he has on me, LOL! I used to spend money renting his bad movies until I was disappointed at every turn. Lately I've gotten strong of my Stephen addiction so I can now skip his movies if I have to but about a few years ago I had to watch everything the man touched, LOL! It didn't matter that I knew he was bad. Still, if I know a Stephen movie's coming on I haven't seen and it's on cable or something, oh I head right over. It's a guilty pleasure, LOL.
I'm sick, people! I cannot shake this man. Told you I needed help, LOL! No, seriously I'm just your average insane writer. I guess that explains it huh?
Boogie Nights was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I saw it at home and thought it would be one of those were I can watch and do laundry at the same time but no laundry got done during that movie!! I was totally enthralled.......
Ever seen Boogie Nights? The best film Wahlberg's ever been in, IMO. I'd actually say the same for Burt Reynolds, but I'd probably catch some flack for that one.Boogie Nights is one of my favorite movies. Every single minute of it is film perfection. I stayed up till two in the morning watching it and never wanting it to end. I gained a new found respect for Burt Reynolds after that movie. William H. Macy was fantastic, but they all were, every last one of them.
Rob, I so agree about the soundtrack. I own it and play it all the time. Every song is '70s and '80s magic (except for "Sister Christian"--I hate that song). Fell in love with "Jessie's Girl" all over again.
I love Signourney Weaver in everything, too.
Yeah, Boogie Nights is a film filled with great performances. Macy's role was completely devastating.
Alan Rickman, Paul Giamatti, Cary Grant, William Powell, Colin Firth, Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart.
Bruce Campbell is great! Even in cameos like the Usher in Spiderman 2. And Autolycus in Xena and Hercules...AND THe adventures of Brisco County Junior. And yes I love him on Burn Notice as well
Barbara Stanwyck, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Bette Davis, Denzel Washington, Jimmy Stewart, Vincent Price, Sandra Bullock, Goldie Hawn, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Natalie Portman
I don't think that there is any actor/actress today whose mere presence in a movie would make me want to pay to see it.I would have to want to see the movie itself.
That said, I seem to see all of Clint Eastwood's films, not necessarily because he's in them, but because he's a great director and I like the stories he tells.
I think that the last actor whose films I made a point to see was Gene Hackman. Some of his movies may not have been the best, but he NEVER gave anything less than a brilliant performance. I'm sorry that he's retired.
As far as classic actors are concerned, I love the films of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Fred Astaire, Randolph Scott, John Wayne, Carole Lombard and Abbott and Costello.
Rob wrote: "I just became a huge Marlon Brando fan after seeing him in On the Waterfront for the first time. I've got The Wild One ready to watch at home and A Streetcar Named Desire dvd-r'd."Although I love ON THE WATERFRONT and THE GODFATHER, I've never been a big fan of Brando.
He was a great actor, but he's somebody that I admired more than I liked.
I could say the same thing about Orson Welles, and (I think) he's the greatest of all American filmmakers.
Rob wrote: "I'm just curious. What do you consider the difference between liking an actor and admiring him? "Interesting question.
It has to do with their on (and off) screen personas.
I can admire Brando and Welles because they were great talents. As an actor, you can learn from studying Brando's work and, as a director, you learn from Welles' films. I can watch CITIZEN KANE 100 times and always find something new about it.
Yes, I would have loved to have met both men, but I don't think I would have wanted them as "friends". There was a "coolness" about them. They did not appear to have been "warm, friendly" people.
On the other hand, I would have loved to have been friends with Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and even Humphrey Bogart. They seemed to be much more "accessible".
I would have enjoyed having them in my home.
I once had the pleasure of interviewing Cary Grant over the telephone. A very nice man.
Hello all... I'm new to this group, but I love movies (even though I watch less of them now than ever) and thought that I would chime in. :)Michael- I understand what you mean about liking someone vs. admiring them. I like Colin Farrell as an actor, but I think that off-screen, he pretty much seems to be a jerk. Same with Russell Crowe.
As far as actors that I will watch in anything, here goes:
Ralph Fiennes
Gary Oldman
Aaron Eckhart
Johnny Depp (Yeah, he's in a lot of quirky movies- but he becomes whoever his character. I love that.)
Vincent Price (Loved him when I was a kid, and The Last Man on Earth is great!)
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Morgan Freeman
Tim Roth
Robert Downey Jr. (Another that I like as an actor but dislike off-screen)
Jimmy Stewart
Giovanni Ribisi
Gary Sinise
Emma Thompson
Angelina Jolie
David Wenham
Kenneth Branagh
Clive Owen
Charlize Theron
Will Smith
Clancy Brown
Samuel L. Jackson
Dominic West
Becky wrote: "Hello all... I'm new to this group, but I love movies (even though I watch less of them now than ever) and thought that I would chime in. :)Michael- I understand what you mean about liking someon..."
I agree with you 100% on Farrell & Crowe.
They have to be in something pretty damn good for me to want to see them.
I did, however, really like Farrell's IN BRUGES. I think it's one of the best films I've seen this year.
Audrey Hepburn, Kate Winslet, Jean Reno, Kenneth Branagh.
Will Smith,Jake Gyllenhaal,and Julia Roberts
Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Russell Crowe, Bruce Willis.Topic idea for this group- Have you ever dicussed which movies should not be remade? I nominate Arthur with Russell Brand. Please don't try and improve on Dudley Moore!!
Joy wrote: "Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Russell Crowe, Bruce Willis."I forgot Kevin Spacey... I love him.
Rob wrote: "Tressa: I never cared for Sister Chrsitian either....even when it came out. But now that song reminds me of the drug deal scene in Boogie Nights, so I enjoy it a little more. "You're motor-eeeee..."I agree Mark Wahlberg is underrated. He was great in Boogie Nights, The Perfect Storm, Three Kings and The Departed.
Joy wrote: "Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Russell Crowe, Bruce Willis.Topic idea for this group- Have you ever dicussed which movies s..."
You should never remake a movie that was a hit (e.g. SABRINA, PSYCHO). Otherwise you are always going to be competing with the memory of the original.
Only remake flops.
I used to say that off screen personalities didn't affect me; however, that has changed in the past few years. I cannot watch a movie with Mel Gibson anymore, he makes me sick to my stomach. I used to love Woody Allen, but lost that too. Also, cannot watch Tom Cruise either.Other than that there are movies that I am pulled to if actors I like are in it but if it is a genre I don't like I probably won't see it till it gets to TV and I only have to commit a few minutes.
Rob wrote: "Well...I understand your point Michael, but personally I don't let an actor's off-screen persona (whether real, imagined, or media-enhanced) detract from how I enjoy them in the movies they're in. ..."Actually, I'm talking more about "on-screen" personas than off-screen.
Jimmy Stewart & Cary Grant are warm and friendly on-screen. Brando and Welles are not.
there are some good points here about off-screen vs. on-screen. i agree with meg on mel g...totally lost whatever taste i may have had for him.polanski is a really difficult one. look what the poor guy when through in the 60's, what do you think it would do to your head if manson brutally murdered your pregnant wife?
and then there was a bit of questionable conflicting info around polanski's "assault" charge with that young girl. apparently that girl's mom left her with polanski and put a handful of quaaludes in her pocket...sounds like she was set up to me...
but i digress. there's a person's work and there's their personal life. thanks to the press, most famous folks don't have a personal life that exists outside the view of the public at large. i blame the press for stretching the truth and not leaving these folks alone. if everyone's personal life had to stand up to the scrutiny these folks have to deal with....well, i don't even have to finish that thought, do i?
Phillip wrote: "if everyone's personal life had to stand up to the scrutiny these folks have to deal with....well, i don't even have to finish that thought, do i?" Nope. You are correct- I would probably be miserable ...and the cause of many a camera-person's multiple camera-removal surgeries. ;)
Some stars handle the constant attention and fame better than others. I do feel a level of pity and empathy for stars who have no privacy, but it is their choice to live that way. I don't think that the constant attention by itself explains (or excuses) the actions of those people who feel it necessary to throw phones at hotel bell-boys or their assistants, or in general treat people like crap.
Famous people are people too, and they can be either nice or not, depending on a lot of different factors, and they should be held to the same standard of decency as the rest of us. But, that's just my opinion.
Rob wrote: "Michael: OK. I guess I totally misunderstood what you were saying. NOW I understand. Sorry about that.Meg: Luckily, I never much liked Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, or Woody Allen to begin with...."
Actually, the actors of yesterday did have to deal with the tabloid press, but the difference is that they were protected by their studios, which were all powerful.
Today, actors are pretty much on their own.
rob,i imagine i don't have to say this, but here it is:
i'm not excusing polanski for statutory rape. it's an abominable crime. all i was trying to do was contextualize it. i hope i'm not coming off defensive here, because i don't feel that way. i just think these things are more complicated than words like good and bad can describe.
i just can't imagine surviving what went down in that guy's personal life in the wake of the tate/la bianca murders. i remember that event well, growing up in los angeles in those days it was scattered all over the papers. it seemed horrible, like texas chainsaw massacre in your backyard. the area where manson lived on that little ranch they had in box canyon wasn't far from where i grew up - about 20 minutes away. this was a crime that rocked the entire nation, perhaps the world - a crime that, along with the asassinations of MLK, RFK, and Malcolm X heralded the end of an era of civil rights successes and the summer of love. you also have to consider that polanski was born in poland during the nazi occupation. what do these things do to a man's psyche? illness begats illness; violence and cruely often begats more violence: it's a crying shame.
since woody allen's name has come up in this context, there's an interesting parallel. compare polanski's one-time (conceivably) act of inappropriate behavior with allen's long-term relationship with a girl that grew up among his children...a kind of prolonged series of statutory rapes combined with a marginal case of incest wrapped up in one nice neat package. he legitimizes it by carrying on a long term relationship with her. that's darker than what polanski was up to, imo. but i realize we're not calculating a competition here. in addition, we were talking about our favorite actors. forgive me for going off topic.
what a shame the whole thing that went down with fatty arbuckle the way it did. he was a truly comedic actor, i really like his contribution to that era of cinema.
Rob, I don't think that actors are to blame for the spawning of privacy-invading rumor-mongering photo-scavengers. Not at all. This is something that was created by the people's need for more and more info, to intimately know their favorite actor, not just see them on TV or in movies. Every time I see a "They're Just Like Us!" spread in a magazine (which is rare, because I never buy them), it makes me sick. Reese Witherspoon decided to buy a latte? Let's alert the media! Seriously, its the demand for this crap that causes the trend to continue and even escalate.
And you are right, actors way back when didn't have to deal with the crap that modern actors do. But, I do have to say that modern actors do know this is something that they will have to deal with. They know that they are giving up their privacy to live in the public's view. And they still choose it. That doesn't make it right, but they cannot claim ignorance.
It's like any other job, there are pros and cons that have to be weighed. That is a major con. Major. But the risk is still worth it to some.
I'm with you though, I could never, ever live like that.
then there are people like thomas pynchon who lives in obscurity, and cranks out better stuff than anyone in hollywood will probably ever produce.yeah, i'll choose anonymity.
Natalie Portman... I watched Star wars I II III just fer her. She owes me big time.
Will Smith. The dude rarely has too bad acting and almost always picks fair quality movies.
Phillip wrote: "rob,i imagine i don't have to say this, but here it is:
i'm not excusing polanski for statutory rape. it's an abominable crime. all i was trying to do was contextualize it. i hope i'm not coming..."
I think it was Humphrey Bogart who said: "The only thing that I owe my audience is a good performance."
Christian Bale. I've seen almost all of his movies, also the childhood ones... and intend to watch every movie he makes at the premiere unless there's some incredible obstacle (like me being dead). He's my favorite actor of all. :)
Morgan Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Hugh Jackman, Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts
Ed Harris, Russell Crowe, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Rene Zellweger, Will Smith, Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Stewart - I also loved Heath Ledger not all of his films were up my alley, but his performances were always amazing.Meg, I agree with you on Mel Gibson & Tom Cruise - really can't watch them in anything anymore.
I just saw two Phillip Seymour Hoffman movies: The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. I don't think he's ever disappointed me since I saw his great performance as the doughy, effeminate Scotty in Boogie Nights. So, I'd watch him in pretty much anything.
Tressa wrote: "I just saw two Phillip Seymour Hoffman movies: The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. I don't think he's ever disappointed me since I saw his great performance as the doughy, effeminat..."Agreed. Like Spencer Tracy was in his era and Gene Hackman was in more recent years, I think that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the greatest character actor we have today. He makes it look so effortless.
Can't possibly agree about the Hoffman. I've yet to see a performance of his that any one of a thousand actors anywhere in the country couldn't have done. Completely uninteresting actor in every possible way.
Michael and Tressa - I could not agree with you more. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is incredible in every role he has ever had and I love the comparison to Spencer Tracy. He never disappoints!
Ian McKellenSean Bean
Sean Conery
Harison Ford
Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Kate Winslet, Viggo Mortensen, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman.
Tressa (and whoever else): Have you seen the film Happiness? Hoffman is great in it, as usual, but it's probably the most disturbing film he's ever been in.No, but I just put it on reserve at my library. I looked it up on IMDB and am anxious to see it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Joey, did you see Alan Rickman in Snow Cake? He was marvelous and it was a different role for him.All the actresses you mentioned are favorites of mine, too. The first movie I ever saw Maggie Smith in was Evil Under the Sun. She had the best line that I still quote and laugh at. Speaking to a woman rival whom she had known for years in the entertaining industry, she said, "You always could throw your legs higher...and wider." Maggie's delivery of the line was spot on and hilarious.
Tressa wrote: "Joey, did you see Alan Rickman in Snow Cake? He was marvelous and it was a different role for him.All the actresses you mentioned are favorites of mine, too. The first movie I ever saw Maggie Smi..."
Speaking of Alan Rickman, does anybody know if he did the narration for HAMLET 2?
After I saw Thank you for Smoking, I am a huge fan of Aaron Eckhart. Yes, he is good looking, but it was his charm in that movie that made him a standout.