I think John Cusack is consistently under-rated.
That one subtle gesture is perhaps my most favorite in cinema, and I am glad that others appreciate it, too. When I use “brain cloud” to tell someone I’m not feeling well, it’s just gotta be accompanied by that motion…
I wasn’t interested in M:I:III until I saw that PSH is the baddie. Should be interesting!
As far as Tom Hanks goes, I can’t really dislike him and I think he is perfectly capable, I just don’t find him very interesting.
I find it amazing at the vitriol that gets spewed in these discussions when someone is asking for an opinion of “best.” This should be a pit thread. Why can’t we discuss limitations positively, in comparrison to something else, with actual logic and well-thought out statements, instead of knee-jerk reactions. Ok, I’ll stop being hypocritical and throw in my two cents:
I like Hanks. While I did take as many film critique classes in college as time permitted, I didn’t take any acting classes and we discussed acting as an aside, always secondary to film construction (or deconstruction as it were). Anyway, our consensus was (and this was just after Forrest Gump) that Hanks was pretty great. The only thing missing from his range was true villany. I saw “Road to Perdition” and I thought that Jude Law was far more menancing than Hanks. I was impressed with “Castaway” as he acted by himself (well, against a volleyball, which is no small task.) I like the Jimmy Stewart comparrison which is permeating through this thread, and I do think it’s notable that he can pick (or cherry pick, if you don’t happen to like him) the choicest roles. It goes to show that he is much respected amongst his peers. I’m looking forward to “The Da Vinci Code” even though I hated the book.
Is he the greatest actor? No, I like De Niro, Norton, and Depp much, much more. He is enjoyable to watch, which I think has to count for something. If range is the best sign of acting – which one of my professors happened to think so – then, the best actor has to go to Gary Oldman, that guy is a fucking chameleon. Half the time, I have no idea that it’s him. Everytime I look at his IMDB list of credits, I’m like, “WTF? That was him?”
I think Tom Hanks is pretty damn good. The best? No, not really, but then again, how do you pick the defining actor of a generation? It is like saying, “Hey, you, pick the best car that came out of the 70’s.” I would pick a truck, while others would pick a TransAm. I think that Tom Hanks is a very honest actor. When he is in a movie, he does so well that I forget that it is actually Tom Hanks. When I watch some actors (maybe Chris Rock), I cannot get over the fact that I am watching that actor read lines.
I also would like to stand up for Robin Williams. It has been mentioned by a few that his preformances were more bipolar. I would want people who feel that way to watch What Dreams May Come or One Hour Photo.
Of course, IMHO and YMMV and all that jazz
I think he’s a crappy actor.
When he did Gump it was a smart guy mugging it up and faking dumb.
In that castaway movie he was a pampered preppy actor posing as a working stiff.
In You’ve Got Mail he was a pampered preppy actor pretending to be a sharp businessman.
I never could see anyone in his roles but the same guy who does red carpet interviews.
Range? There’s range in his parts, but not in his acting.