Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Hal...]

Yours?

Glenn Ford
Gary Cooper
Richard Gere
Robin Williams

Nearly every action star (Dwayne Johnson being an exception, even tho I don't watch his movies)

And for comedic actors...
Chevy Chase
Most SNL alumni (post-'76 and pre-Tina Fey)
Maya Rudolf (great singer but terrible at comedy)
Jack Black
Ben Stiller
Chevy Chase (he deserves a 2nd mention)

Incidentally, every one of these people immediately popped to mind nearly simultaneously.

[Hal...]

Nicholas Cage.

I would say Adam Sandler, but everybody seems to think he's an imbecile, so he doesn't fit the criterion.

I almost listed him but he's covered under "most SNL alumni" in my previous post.

Still, one of my all time fave comedies is The Waterboy. I love that movie and he's very likeable in it.

And if I'm honest, I have to say he was good in Spanglish.

Otherwise, I avoid his movies almost as much as Chevy Chase, Jack Black, and Ben Stiller movies.

[Hal...]

Here's Why Absolutely Everyone Couldn't Stand Chevy Chase (requires a Facebook login, sorry):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3613618675340564

[NogbadTheBad]

Ben Stiller and Jack Black for me

[SteveSly]

I have a question for the class....

What actor (s) do you dislike that everyone else seems to enjoy? Based solely on their performances, not because of
any religious, political, or social leanings.

When I think of this, Clive Owen comes to mind first. I honestly do nor get what people see in him. All he seems to be able to do is brood. Or be a dick law enforcement person.
Not believable as a tough guy. I've actually laughed out loud at him in some of his films. (not meant to be comedies)

Yours?

First actor that popped into my head was Keanu Reeves. I have always found his "acting' stilted and stiff. Nicholas Cage is not far behind for me.

[SteveSly]

I almost listed him but he's covered under "most SNL alumni" in my previous post.

Still, one of my all time fave comedies is The Waterboy. I love that movie and he's very likeable in it.

And if I'm honest, I have to say he was good in Spanglish.

Otherwise, I avoid his movies almost as much as Chevy Chase, Jack Black, and Ben Stiller movies.

"The Waterboy" was on TV when we were in Florida and watched it again with our friends son. I still maintain that is a funny movie. "Happy Gilmour" is another funny Sandler flick. Most of what else he has done I have not really cared for however.

[Hal...]

"The Waterboy" was on TV when we were in Florida and watched it again with our friends son. I still maintain that is a funny movie.

It is a funny movie and is one of my favorite comedies. What makes it work so well, I think, is the addition of Kathy Bates and Henry Winkler playing against type. I find it hard to believe that movie would have been nearly as funny without them. And Fairuza Balk is great in it, too, as well as Blake Clark as Farmer Fran. And then there's all the cameos. The banter between Brent Musburger & Dan Fouts is especially good. But aside from all the humor, it's also got a lot of heart.

[Progatron]

Surprised to see people saying Ben Stiller, I think he's quite funny. Loved the episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm he did.

[chalkpie]

The Irishman - powerful movie, but at 3 1/2 hours, long as hell.

We watched that one in three or four segments, as though it was a mini-series. Worked out really well and no fatigue.

Just watched it yesterday. Good but definitely not one of Scorcese's best and imo it needed some trimming. 7/10 for me.

[Progatron]

Good but definitely not one of Scorcese's best

Somewhere in between New York, New York and Goodfellas, how's that?

[Lou]

First actor that popped into my head was Keanu Reeves. I have always found his "acting' stilted and stiff. Nicholas Cage is not far behind for me.

Keana and Cage are both hit or miss for me. They have both done some films I really liked, but most of them, not so much. Jack Black is another good choice.
Richard Gere is another hit or mostly miss. Not as down on Sandler as most. I like a lot of his films. However, when they are bad, they are really bad!
I do find Colin Firth annoying as well. Pretty much a tie with Hugh Grant.

[mozo-pg]

Keanu Reeves is not a strong actor but pretty awesome in John Wick 1,2,3 and the Matrix.

[NogbadTheBad]

And he seems like a good guy

[hippypants]

Zappa--a new doc on FZ. There's been many movies on him, but this was still worth a watch.

[spellbound]

13 Moons(2002) - Steve Buscemi and Peter Dinklage meet an assortment of characters on a strange night in L.A.

[mozo-pg]

The Hunt - In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, some ruthless elitists gather at a remote locatoin to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of their hunted, Crysal, turns the tables on her pursuers.

This move was made specifically for Lou, Scotty, and Paulie. 10/10 ultraviolence.

[GuitarGeek]

What actor (s) do you dislike that everyone else seems to enjoy? Based solely on their performances, not because of
any religious, political, or social leanings.

When I think of this, Clive Owen comes to mind first. I honestly do nor get what people see in him. All he seems to be able to do is brood. Or be a dick law enforcement person.
Not believable as a tough guy. I've actually laughed out loud at him in some of his films. (not meant to be comedies)

Yours?

Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, David Spade, etc all come to mind. Of course, those guys wallowed in mediocrity for so long, that's like shooting fishing in a barrel (or however the saying goes). I know Sandler's actually been in some relatively decent movies in recent years, and I did like Shallow Hal (in spite of there being way too many "fat jokes") and Coneheads (where Farley managed to subjugate his hyperactive coke head persona long enough to give a relatively decent performance). The only thing i've ever seen David Spade in that I liked was the sitcom Just Shoot Me.

[GuitarGeek]

Jack Black. I find him utterly intolerable. To the point where I hit the mute button even when he appears in things like Rush documentaries, etc. - you specified 'based solely on their performances', but even in interviews, he's performing.

That's one thing that bugs me, is actors who are "on" when they do interviews. That's what used to drive me crazy when I'd see someone like Bill Murray or Robin Williams diong interviews, you'd think they were auditioning or something. They say Williams "couldn't turn it off", but every time I saw him on Letterman I kept thinking, "Dude! Relax! You've got teh role!" It was like he was still coked up or something (or maybe it was his way of dealing with depression, I dunno).

And yeah, the Jack Black "performance" in that Rush documentary is a bit much. It was like he was trying to steal the film or something.

[Progatron]

Tonight we watched Escape From Pretoria and found it to be quite excellent. Gripping and suspenseful, beautifully paced and well acted. Pretty close to the real story, too, as far as IMDB says anyway.

[mnprogger]

Coming 2 America

despite the cast/extensive cameos and constant referencing to the original, it suffers greatly from sequelitis. It should have been made 20 or more years ago.

I wish i had watched the Dolemite movie now instead. I will have to soon along with a Melanie Lynskey movie "Hello, I Must Be Going" which i stumbled upon a couple of weeks back.

[mozo-pg]

This is what I posted on the previous page...

The worst movie of the year, Coming 2 America with Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones and other notables. It is so bad from the very start and I'm checking out at the 30 minute mark.

[SteveSly]

It is a funny movie and is one of my favorite comedies. What makes it work so well, I think, is the addition of Kathy Bates and Henry Winkler playing against type. I find it hard to believe that movie would have been nearly as funny without them. And Fairuza Balk is great in it, too, as well as Blake Clark as Farmer Fran. And then there's all the cameos. The banter between Brent Musburger & Dan Fouts is especially good. But aside from all the humor, it's also got a lot of heart.

Agree, Bates and Winkler do bring a lot to the table in this one. The rest of the cast is all strong too.

[SteveSly]

Keana and Cage are both hit or miss for me. They have both done some films I really liked, but most of them, not so much. Jack Black is another good choice.
Richard Gere is another hit or mostly miss. Not as down on Sandler as most. I like a lot of his films. However, when they are bad, they are really bad!
I do find Colin Firth annoying as well. Pretty much a tie with Hugh Grant.

Jack Black has done some stinkers, but sometimes I think he is really funny. We happened to watch "School Of Rock" a few weeks ago when we were down in Florida with our friends son, and I still think Black is fantastic in it.

Agree, with Sandler making some really bad films. One shout out I have to give Sandler though was his recent role in "Uncut Gems". He was great in it and totally different from anything I have ever seen him do before.

Regarding Hugh Grant, he has redeemed himself recently playing roles against type that he has been really good in. He was great in "The Gentlemen" from 2019 and also in the recent HBO series "The Undoing". Totally different roles from the romantic lead that he usually plays, but he was fantastic in both of them.

[SteveSly]

Keanu Reeves is not a strong actor but pretty awesome in John Wick 1,2,3 and the Matrix.

Never got into the "Wick" films. I thought he was ok in "The Matrix", but still pretty stiff.

[Progatron]

^^^ I like Keanu Reeves as a person, 100%. As an actor, well, he's not exactly Olivier.