I can get behind your assessment of Night At The Museum.
Twister, which I saw in the theater, sucked donkey balls. Normally, Helen Hunt can act. Not in that movie!
Popcorn movie, and the final Rock’Em Sock’Em Robot punchup was just an excuse to break cars and buildings. Boring. I watched Iron Man and Thor for the first time recently in close succession and was surprised how much the first disappointed me and the second pleasantly exceeded my expectations.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. I know, he hasn’t really made any movies recently. But his career was on the wane when he became governor. Other than T3 he hadn’t really had any bonafide hits since True Lies. And his last couple movies (again with the exception of T3) before becoming governor were flops through and through - End of Days, The Sixth Day, Collateral Damage, Batman and Robin.
Helen Hunt spent half the movie in some white, tight, wet shirt. Her acting was just fine. 
Relevant pic from Reddit I saw yesterday.
LOL, Johnny Depp? Seriously? He’s probably the biggest male name in Hollywood at the moment.
Just because his films aren’t fucked up Ballardian tales filled with depraved sex and gory violence, doesn’t mean he’s “fallen into mediocrity.”
I’ll second Edward Norton. Started out strong in the 90s, and I thought maybe he was going to have a DeNiro-esque career, but then he seems to have crapped out since 2000. He was good in The Painted Veil, but that one pretty much flew under the radar.
hah.
also, i don’t know how many of these is a fall into mediocrity and how many names are just getting old. i was thinking “john travolta?” but really… these guys: Ford, Travolta, DeNiro, etc. are just getting oooold.
Halle Berry mentioned earlier is a better call in my opinion even though it was more of a fade to obscurity than mediocrity. Stephen Chow (director of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer) has pretty much faded as well, which is a shame.
I’d say Renee Zellweger since she hasn’t made a memorable movie since Cinderella Man in 2k5.
Honorable mention to George Clooney who has been in a ton of movies and yet somehow i don’t think he’s really deserved any of his accolades. I mean, according to IMDB’s startracker he’s the #1 hottest name on their site? really?
You know, I should apologize too - it was clear that you’d misread it, and you didn’t deserve the snark. Sorry about that.
To each his own, I guess - I thought it was pretty good, one of Zemeckis’ best after Forrest Gump. And it earned Hanks an Oscar nom, and nearly half a billion dollars to boot.
Nicholson will do any movie thrown his way and it shows.
His IMDB listing shows The Rum Diary coming out this fall–based on a Hunter Thompson book? A remake: 21 Jump Street in post-production. Currently filming Dark Shadows–as Barnabas Collins; another remake with Tim Burton directing. Later, he’ll play Tonto in The Lone Ranger; another remake of course.
Quite a weird menu but some of it looks like Good Weird to me.
For that to be good weird, I’d need a Native American actor as the Lone Ranger.
That’s the wrong list. Your argument (which I agree with) is much stronger with the inflation adjusted list, which filters out crap like Alvin and the Chipmunks that looks more popular because it’s so recent and the tickets were purchased with cheaper dollars.
Those are two actors who are good examples (in my opinion) of mega-stars who really aren’t that talented. If you can look past the gorgeous, they just aren’t very good at acting. I think they’ll settle in at mediocrity as they age, since that is the level of their talent.
How about Kevin Spacey?
Kim Basinger?
Isn’t there something of a curse on actresses who win Academy Awards (that their careers subsequently don’t go anywhere)? I’ve also heard that if two actors are married or otherwise are a couple and she wins an Oscar before he does, they’re practically guaranteed to separate or divorce.
As for Edward Norton, I’ve heard that he’s extremely difficult to work with, although I don’t know if that’s the reason he’s not had much success. But even in Hollywood with all of the prima donnas and egos, it must help to be a nice person.
I’m gonna say Jody Foster - but I’m ambivalent. Every thing she does she really brings the acting, but from a career perspective she’s nearly invisible. So, she doesn’t really fit with the premise of the thread IMHO.
Kevin Costner?
I liked Dances with wolves, Untouchables, even Wyatt Earp. Than not much for ten years 'till Open Range. But since, there is not much that I’m familiar with.
I disagree, I think Independence Day is self-aware pulp action movie perfection, the best example of the genre since Die Hard or Speed.
Back to the OP, I’ll cast a vote for Jude Law. He was teetering for years on being the next king of Hollywood all the way up until A.I.…and kept teetering…and teetering…and now seems to be doomed to supporting roles forever.
A matter of opinion.
I checked your list, and while there were some truly great movies in it, the majority were total tripe, made to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
More people watch soaps then Shakespeare, but that doesn’t make soaps better, it makes them easier to watch.
Actually, nobody watches soaps. That’s why they’re all being canceled. And do I really need to trot out the “Shakespeare was the Steven Spielberg of his day” argument?