Movie Discussion Thread

[Paul]

For me.

1. Daniel Day Lewis - He's just on another plane as an actor. Quality over Quanity.

2. Phillips Seymour Hoffman - Consistently comes out with great work. 2007 alone was sick with BTDKYD, Savages and Charlie Wilson's War. And "Synecdoche, New York", which is my most anticipated movie this year. PSH and Charlie Kaufman together, hell yes. Anxious to see how Kaufman is as a director though.

3. Johnny Depp - Versatile would be an understatement. You have to respect the roles he goes for and the performances he gives.

4. Leonardo Dicaprio - Maybe a little high for some, but agian consistenly comes out with great stuff. If you look at his Filmography the past 5 years, it's amazing. The Departed, Blood Diamonds, The Aviator, Gangs of New York and Catch me if you can. Always enjoy his work.

5. Paul Dano - If Gonzo and Fish has Foster and APS has Reynolds. I can have Dano. Plus his performance in TWBB was absolutely amazing.

Edit: In all seriousness and man crushes aside, I would probably have to put a guy like Sean Penn at number 5. One of my favorites. 21 Grams, Dead Man..., I am Sam just to name a few.

[Bruce Banner]

Originally Posted by Paul

For me.

1. Daniel Day Lewis - He's just on another plane as an actor. Quality over Quanity.

2. Phillips Seymour Hoffman - Consistently comes out with great work. 2007 alone was sick with BTDKYD, Savages and Charlie Wilson's War. And "Synecdoche, New York", which is my most anticipated movie this year. PSH and Charlie Kaufman together, hell yes. Anxious to see how Kaufman is as a director though.

3. Johnny Depp - Versatile would be an understatement. You have to respect the roles he goes for and the performances he gives.

4. Leonardo Dicaprio - Maybe a little high for some, but agian consistenly comes out with great stuff. If you look at his Filmography the past 5 years, it's amazing. The Departed, Blood Diamonds, The Aviator, Gangs of New York and Catch me if you can. Always enjoy his work.

++, Completely agree with the top four (though I would switch the top 2). Dicaprio is overrated by some yet not appreciated at the same time. His directors have been top notch but I cannot say that I can think of any actors that would perform the roles he had better than him.

[A Perfect Score]

My Top 5 would be-

1. Ryan Reynolds- Jokes hahaha but he is in my top 10, just not my top 5


1. Kevin Spacey- He has played 3 of my all time favourite film characters: Verbal Kint, Lester Burnham and John Doe. He can play any character, any person, in any situation. I have no doubt that he is one of, if not the best actor of our generation, one who is severely underrated as well. Not alot of people think of Kevin Spacey when discussing best actors, but he truly is one of the best out there.

2. Edward Norton- Not simply because of his ability to completely immerse himself in a role (see Fight Club, American History X), but because of the variety of roles that he chooses. The breadth of his portfolio is practically unmatched.

3. Phillip Seymour Hoffman- What to say? The man can do it all, and he does it without relying on pretty boy good looks or stereotypical acting charisma. Just an incredible actor who really astounds me with each of his roles.

4. Robert Downey Junior- This is where it starts to get sloppy. You can argue that he is one dimensional (which he isnt) and that his personal issues will prevent him from ever becoming a great actor, but I think those issues actually add to the depth he can bring to a role. There are so many actors to place here so obviously favoratism plays into it, but Robert Downey Junior is a truly great actor.

5. Johnny Depp- This one was very close between several actors, and I will name the short list after. However, Johnny Depp's undeniable ability to turn oddball characters into memorable performances is what separates him from the rest of the pack as far as acting goes. However again this is all subjunctive, and Im sure some of you will disagree he doesnt belong here.


Short List: Daniel Day Lewis, Russell Crowe, Leonardo Dicaprio, Paul Giamatti, Denzel Washington, Christian Bale, Ryan Reynolds, Matt Damon

[Bruce Banner]

Originally Posted by A Perfect Score

My Top 5 would be-

1. Ryan Reynolds- Jokes hahaha but he is in my top 10, just not my top 5


1. Kevin Spacey- He has played 3 of my all time favourite film characters: Verbal Kint, Lester Burnham and John Doe. He can play any character, any person, in any situation. I have no doubt that he is one of, if not the best actor of our generation, one who is severely underrated as well. Not alot of people think of Kevin Spacey when discussing best actors, but he truly is one of the best out there.

2. Edward Norton- Not simply because of his ability to completely immerse himself in a role (see Fight Club, American History X), but because of the variety of roles that he chooses. The breadth of his portfolio is practically unmatched.

3. Phillip Seymour Hoffman- What to say? The man can do it all, and he does it without relying on pretty boy good looks or stereotypical acting charisma. Just an incredible actor who really astounds me with each of his roles.

4. Robert Downey Junior- This is where it starts to get sloppy. You can argue that he is one dimensional (which he isnt) and that his personal issues will prevent him from ever becoming a great actor, but I think those issues actually add to the depth he can bring to a role. There are so many actors to place here so obviously favoratism plays into it, but Robert Downey Junior is a truly great actor.

5. Johnny Depp- This one was very close between several actors, and I will name the short list after. However, Johnny Depp's undeniable ability to turn oddball characters into memorable performances is what separates him from the rest of the pack as far as acting goes. However again this is all subjunctive, and Im sure some of you will disagree he doesnt belong here.

Honestly, all of the actors you stated above could be interchanged with any of mine and I wouldn't think twice. That goes double for Edward Norton and Kevin Spacey. Whoever impresses me the most based on recent films will get the nod.
Add your list to mine and you basically have my top 10 is what I am saying.

[Brodeur]

I'd probably go with PSH first, then Daniel Day Lewis, with Paul Giamatti, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Spacey, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Depp, and the seemingly overlooked Viggo Mortensen shortly behind.

[M.O.T.H.]

I think it's kind of funny how underappreciated Dicaprio still is.

[Duster]

Hoffman is amazing in 25th hour, as is Norton. A very underrated movie, and a must for Norton, Hoffman, or Spike Lee fans.

[sweetness34]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner

I would say Philip Seymour Hoffman is the best actor of the last decade. Daniel Day is another great choice, but his entire catalog is about the size of most actors' sample sizes. I did not enjoy Gangs of New York and he didn't impress me in it. However, he was great in Ballad of Jack and Rose. If you go back about 20 odd years his performance in My Beautiful Laundrette becomes noteworthy. Depp is decent but a little too caricatural for my taste. His roles don't seem dynamic to me.

Go see Finding Neverland and Blow, then come back to me. Depp can not only transform himself into a character but he can also play a part where he's recognizable.

[Duster]

Originally Posted by sweetness34

Go see Finding Neverland and Blow, then come back to me. Depp can not only transform himself into a character but he can also play a part where he's recognizable.

Depp is great in Blow but I can't help but notice Ray Liotta's performance in that film. Despite his lack of screen time, it's one of his great performances, up there with Goodfellas.

[Brent]

wait, you guys rating alive/current actors or all time?

[Paul]

Current actors I believe.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Paul

Current actors I believe.

That is what I thought, I wasnt sure. By the way, no love for Robert De Niro or even Gabriel Byrne?

[Brent]

speaking of Byrne, I think it's time to watch Bryan Singer's best work. and speaking of Singer, who is excited to see Valkyrie whenever that is supposed to come out?

[Brodeur]

Originally Posted by Brent

That is what I thought, I wasnt sure. By the way, no love for Robert De Niro or even Gabriel Byrne?

Because DeNiro hasn't done anything noteworthy since Ronin.

[ATLDirtyBirds]

Originally Posted by Duster

Hoffman is amazing in 25th hour, as is Norton. A very underrated movie, and a must for Norton, Hoffman, or Spike Lee fans.

I didn't particular like it.

[Duster]

Originally Posted by ATLDirtyBirds

I didn't particular like it.

Any reason or just not your thing? I can definitely see why some people wouldn't like it, but it was very interesting to me.

[A Perfect Score]

So I was given a choice tonight, either Hancock or Wanted...needless to say, I chose Wanted.

It wasnt as bad as I expected, however it wasnt as good as it could have been. It had a ton of uber cool (if incredibly unrealistic) action sequences, and soem great bullet time moments. McAvoy is believable and charismatic enough as the main character, and Angelina is super sexy and her regular sultry self even without a ton of lines. Morgan Freeman disappointed me, as he sleepwalks through the role, basically reprising his character from Lucky Number Slevin. Overall, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the new age action, however dont go in expecting anything incredible plot or writing wise. No subtext or messages, just straight shoot em up action. Decent popcorn flick, but nothing more. Id give it a 6.5/10, maybe a 7 based on the fact that you do in fact see some angelina nudity (although its a rear shot, no boobs :( )

I saw Hancock tonight; not necessarily compelled by any reviews or what I'd seen in trailers. I have to confess, shamefully, that I was pulled aboard the Will Smith Indy Day Hype Machine.
With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was good; the plot, shrouded in so much mystery, turned out to actually be somewhat compelling without featuring a substantial villain.
There were definite holes in the story and it was too short for my liking. But I liked it as a superhero movie that managed to not take itself too seriously while also weaving a lot of intrigue into the tale.
8/10 in my book. Go if you're a student, It's worth 6.50.

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by M.O.T.H.

I think it's kind of funny how underappreciated Dicaprio still is.

Not by me. He is my favorite actor by a long shot.

[kwilk103]

i like the guy in thank you for smoking (plays harvey dent in the dark knight)

has he been in anything else?

name escaping me right now

[slightlyaraiderfan]

Originally Posted by kwilk103

i like the guy in thank you for smoking (plays harvey dent in the dark knight)

has he been in anything else?

name escaping me right now

Aaron Eckhart

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by kwilk103

i like the guy in thank you for smoking (plays harvey dent in the dark knight)

has he been in anything else?

name escaping me right now

Aaron Eckhart? If so, he has been in a few movies lately. One of which I recently downloaded, however ironically, its name is eluding me.

[d34ng3l021]

I think I am going to start reviewing movies I see.

Movies I saw recently:

The Man Who Wasn't There (Dir: Joel and Ethan Coel) - It was all right. It was a nice tribute to the noirs of old, but nothing more. This part is especially disappointing when you see that the directors are the Coen brothers. I would give this movie a 7.3

The Namesake (Dir: Mira Nair) - Not that good of a movie, to be honest. I was looking forward to an indian setting (I am indian) and Kal Penn, but the movie was just so fast paced. My friend would leave and when he would come back, Kal Penn would be at a different stage in life. I did enjoy the movie just because it was a first generation indian guy living in America (like me). I will give it a 6.4

[A Perfect Score]

Went to HMV yesterday, they have brand new movies for $6 a piece, its pretty sweet...so of course, i bought a ton of them. I added Natural Born Killers, The Order, Dodgeball, American Psycho, City of God, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Stay, and The Machinist to my collection. Looking pimp!

[d34ng3l021]

I dont know why, but the edition and case of a movie matters to me alot. I dont like getting the cheap single disc cases. They just look so flimsy and stuff. Most of my movies are actually special editions.