For some of the best that come to mind I think of Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow as Mick Jagger. Just about all the choices Heath Ledger made for depicting the joker (speech pattern, walk, etc.). Val Kilmer's speech pattern for Doc Holiday in Tombstone.
For some of the worst I think of Don Cheadles British accent in the ocean 11 movies. Damon Wayan's performance in Bamboozled as an uptight uppity brother (this may be more miscasting then poor choices though). Initially I hated Daniel Craig's Southern Drawl in Knives Out but now on repeat I just see it as camp.
1. "Gylenhaal’s mannerisms as Loki in Prisoners" In response to Reply # 0
Everything about that character, on paper, isn’t all that interesting aside from his name. But Jake manages to turn him into a character every bit as untrustworthy and weird as everyone else in that movie, despite the script making it clear he’s such a straight forward cop dude.
28. "I watched again this weekend. I had forgotten I had seen it before. " In response to Reply # 11
It was really good. Villeneuve really elevated a pretty simple genre story. So did the leads.
Really good restrained performance by JG. I was wondering did they cut out a whole backstory for his character or did they never really get into why he was so tatted up and a cop.
********** "Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
33. "He asked for them as part of the character's orphan backstory" In response to Reply # 28
It's been a while since I've seen it so I don't remember if there's even more than a single line of dialogue about him coming up in foster homes (or was it juvenile detention) and that's why he takes the case so personally but that's kind of what I mean, he had the experience with Denis on Enemy and knew what he likes and brought a lot of his own ideas to the character.
It's really a movie full of good/interesting acting choices, I've been obsessed with David Dastmalchian since this movie also.
3. "a bad one that comes to mind: brad pitt's "insane asylum guy" in 12 Monk..." In response to Reply # 0
he definitely could've dug deeper to make the character more unhinged.. it was like watching his pot-smoking character in True Romance, maybe just hopped up on a lot of caffeine?
7. "It's funny you mentioned Cheadle and Craig..." In response to Reply # 0
Because I DEFINITELY saw Cheadle's accent as camp. That character was hyperbole even in universe with him playing a character, so the campy accent totally fits to me.
>For some of the worst I think of Don Cheadles British accent >in the ocean 11 movies. >Initially I hated >Daniel Craig's Southern Drawl in Knives Out but now on repeat >I just see it as camp.
8. "I think Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) consistently made great choices" In response to Reply # 0
His performance in Capote came to mind. He brought Capote to life in a way that didn't come off as mimicry.
Chiwetel makes great choices as well. Each performance is different and he distinctly embodies his characters.
Of course, Meryl is a GOAT. I generally like Cate Blanchett's performances. I haven't seen much of her lately, but she was a beast in Blue Jasmine. She really nailed anxiety and depression and a dependent personality.
I wracked my brain for a while to think of bad acting choices. The only one that finally came to mind was DeNiro and Pacino in The Irishman. I didn't connect enough to the movie to have a real sense of the reason their performances fell flat - their choices or the script. But I was very disappointed by their choices. Pesci however turned in one of his best performances.
10. "Spacey in House of Cards" In response to Reply # 0
A bit of Midnight in the Garden of Evil in his southern twang but I couldn't seen anyone else bringing Frank Underwood to life
<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up... __________________________
Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect. Game: Like Gladys Knight. Jay: Aretha Franklin. Game: Word, I like her too. Jay: Nigga...
21. "imo they handled it the worst they could" In response to Reply # 20
>Of course I understand why and they handled it as best they >could, but man…
They murdered frank underwood (cool), declared it claire's show (great)... then all they ever talked about was frank underwood and his "legacy" (wtf?). That last season was a MESS, even for that show.
29. "Yeah - I meant in terms of the decision, not the execution." In response to Reply # 21
To your point the execution was sloppy. They should have killed him off, moved to Claire, and completely ignored him.
>They murdered frank underwood (cool), declared it claire's >show (great)... then all they ever talked about was frank >underwood and his "legacy" (wtf?). That last season was a >MESS, even for that show.
26. "Might as well add Robin Wright's take on Claire as well" In response to Reply # 10 Mon Sep-27-21 09:37 AM by kfine
There's been a lot of political wives and First Lady's roles in tv and film, and I have to say she found a unique balance of sexy, stateswoman, and serial killer
I can't think of another political wife/First Lady role where the actress went so dark in *both* the character's personality and physicality
Robin made Claire way scarier than Frank, but in a way that turned Frank (and viewers lol) on
23. "We could make this post just about Joker performances" In response to Reply # 0
Nicholson, Ledger, and Joaquin were all great in their own way, even if you don't love those movies. Shit, throw in Mark Hamill and Cesar Romero with his painted over mustache too.
24. "Vince Vaughn's choices in True Detective 2 we're head-scratching" In response to Reply # 0
That whole season was weird, mostly in ways that didn't land. But Vince's choice of accent for his character did not work at all. He also didn't seem menacing in any real way.
42. "RE: Wow. This is an all time weird AF choices" In response to Reply # 27
> I didn't know who to blame, VV or > the writer/director.
You bring up an interesting point here about the right crew member to blame for a bad performance.
Roles/positions on a film crew seem very defined. That being said collaboration is so key.
Yes, it's easy to blame Vince or any actor giving a bad performance for seeming to miss the mark with their character.
But the director is also responsible in some respect because they approved the actor's take on the material.
Maybe the writer's vision was nebulous? That could lead both the director and actor going off in a direction that left the audience disconnected from the story.
Understanding film production is so mysterious to me. I don't know enough about it to form a clear answer about acknowledging the problem.
34. "I agree, I was on edge of my seat for his scenes every episode" In response to Reply # 31 Mon Sep-27-21 09:35 PM by Nodima
He was the only one that seemed to realize they didn't have the material Season One had and tried to have some fun with it.
Honestly all the leads were really fantastic in that season, they just didn't have an interesting or coherent story to tell and the nonsense dialogue made them come off sillier than they were. And unlike McAdams, Farrell and Kitsch Vaughn kinda leaned into it and seemed like he was having a real good time.
I hope TDS2 gets its re-appraisal as an accidentally campy send up of the prestige limited series, it was a huge come down from TDS1 but it was fun in a really unique way.
40. "Yeah, i thought he was good as well" In response to Reply # 31 Tue Sep-28-21 09:27 PM by Mynoriti
It seemed like as soon as it became clear it wasn't gonna live up to S1, a lot of people decided he was the problem, but I thought he did well.
The writing in S2 wasn't great, and that Scooby Doo ass ending probably solidified it as a bust. I don't really think any of the True Detecive endings were very good, but S1 was so good up to that point, it was afterthought.
plus no performance really knocked it out the park the way McConaughey did
41. "We agree to disagree" In response to Reply # 31
Maybe if I were more sensitive to the nuances of his performance, my satisfaction level with his acting might be different.
I do give him credit for trying a different take on a gangster.
But like I said above, Vaughn's attempt to appear intimidating in scenes that seemed to call for it fell flat to me. I just couldn't believe he was smart or powerful enough to pull off his deal, IIRC.
25. "Tom Hardy fan; I liked his approaches to the villains in The Revenant" In response to Reply # 0
and Dark Knight Rises a lot
I read somewhere that he's really into voices and it was particularly effective in those roles imho, along with his physical transformations
And speaking of the Batman franchise, I think my favorite one has been Michael Keaton although I might give Bale the edge as a more convincing tormented wealthy playboy Wayne
note: I'm rarely in PTP and not that much of a movie head, but this is a compelling topic lol good post
36. "On the fence: Ashton Sanders as RZA in the second season..." In response to Reply # 0
...on Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
In general, he's an excellent actor. His decision to mimic RZA's speech patterns can be... off-putting. I don't think it's bad, but it certainly takes some getting used to, even though I know it's accurate.
37. "Christian Bale "Bat voice"" In response to Reply # 0
This has aged so poorly. I hated it at the time and I hate it everytime I go back to the Nolan Batman movies. It's distracting and ridiculous. Especially when he has to deliver meaningful dialogue.
39. "literally all of this" In response to Reply # 37
>This has aged so poorly. I hated it at the time and I hate >it everytime I go back to the Nolan Batman movies. It's >distracting and ridiculous. Especially when he has to deliver >meaningful dialogue.
None of the others sound like they’re straining, and there were a lot of scenes where it looked like the cowl made it impossible for him to close his mouth.
Viewing Nolan's follow up films and refusal to make audio that's actually listenable, there's no way that wasnt his idea or him changing the audio levels.
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"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin
56. "Cage in Con Air and Keanu in Devils Advocate" In response to Reply # 0
Maybe Cage's accent is just so bad nobody mentioned it yet because we all universally agree its the worst ever? I recently discovered that the day that he wrapped Con Air he went and started filming Face Off. But for some reason that little piece of trivia kind of makes me think yeah that makes sense for his role in Face Off.
Also I know everyone loves Keanu but I will die on this hill. The man cant act for shit. Dont go bringing up John Wick either. Thats the only one his fans bring up. He is a great human being and works hard. But he cant act. Whoever thought hey lets give this non acting mufucka a southern accent should be shot. Also it comes and goes throughout the whole movie. Like they shot about 1/4 of the movie then decided you know what? The accent isnt working. Lets ditch it fuck continuity.
November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!
57. "Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston as Gomez and Morticia" In response to Reply # 0
Nobody is touching them in those roles
<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up... __________________________
Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect. Game: Like Gladys Knight. Jay: Aretha Franklin. Game: Word, I like her too. Jay: Nigga...
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