Something I’ve genuinely never understood is the idea of being innately repulsed by an actor. Maybe it’s because I don’t read TMZ or give a crap about celebrity gossip, but the odd private lives of Tom Cruise or Will Smith don’t make their job pretending to be other people less believable to me, when they do a good job of it, that is. Sure, Adam Sandler’s irritating as heck when he’s playing his mushmouthed manbaby characters, but I loved him in Punch-Drunk Love. I know people who avoided Emperor’s New Groove because of their loathing of David Spade, but he does a perfect job of being a smarmy character – that’s the point.
That said, can I ever hear “I Believe I Can Fly” again without knowing the guy singing it is really into keeping young girls captive in his house and peeing on them? Not at all.
Because - besides great production values - it was rare in being a sci-fi action movie built around actual sci-fi concepts. The minutiae of why are a bit OT, but I thought it was a fairly good effort. I don’t know how comparisons to Starship Troopers might be relevant, apart from the superficial similarity of a military setting. It had neither the didacticism of the ST book nor satire of the movie.
Generally, I am not a fan of “invasion” stories, but I can appreciate when somebody does something novel with it or otherwise uses that framing in an interesting way.
Exactly, that’s a good reason. When an actor’s weirdly prone to choosing very bland and mediocre movies to be in, and keeps doing a mediocre job of being an actor, I start avoiding their movies. I enjoyed both Jack Black and Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder, when they played against type with a clever script, but that was a rarity for both of them lately.
I mean there are artists I avoid because of their politics, like Orson Scott Card, even though they’re good artists. Cruise is just a happy situation where my mostly negative opinion of his work dovetails with my negative opinion of his support for an abusive cult.
But I think these are the kinds of choices everyone has to make for themselves.
I don’t watch TMZ and I avoid gossip, but sadly it still filters in through scuttlebutt and news.
I don’t follow celebrity gossip either, i have no patience for it. But i know plenty about Scientology, and knowing what they do to people and that some actors are pretty deeply entrenched in their ranks does bother me to the point that i can no longer in good conscience give those actors my attention.
Adam Sandler i avoid because he clearly doesn’t care any more.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been hearing really good things about the new Noah Baumbach movie he’s in, The Meyerowitz Stories, that it’s by far his best movie since Punch Drunk Love. That’s the last thing of his I watched, myself.
I have a similar attitude toward Will Farrell, actually. I think he can be really funny, but when left unchecked he goes overboard very quickly. When he’s kept on a short leash, like he seemingly was in Stranger than Fiction, he’s amazing. When he’s allowed to run rampant either in the script or on the set, it can wear really thin really fast. I think the only movie he’s done where his free-range antics didn’t annoy me was Anchorman.
I think i saw the trailer to that recently, may have been a preview before Blade Runner 2049 and it did look good. I suspect it has more to do with having a strong director and producer that were able to get a good performance out of him. The movies Sandler puts together himself look like he’s just going through the motions to collect a paycheck.
Stranger Than Fiction is perhaps one of my all time favorite movies, top 5 for sure and Ferrel is a revelation in that role. And i did like Anchorman quite a bit but his performance is Stranger Than Fiction is on a whole other level.
Similarly Jim Carrey gives wonderful performances in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Truman Show, when his other work is really all over the place. A lot of these actors really shine when a strong director is able to focus their performances.
Edit: Robin Williams is another actor that benefited greatly with talented directors. Though Williams seemed more willing to put himself in serious or demanding roles. What Dreams May Come is also one of my favorite movies, and in light of his passing it’s made all the more poignant and bittersweet to watch. Almost too painful to watch, but i still love it.
Ah, I see where we disagree. It’s true that they’re rarely built around sci-fi concepts but I don’t see that this one is an exception. To me the concept was comic book gibberish, as much fantasy as Groundhog Day but with a slathering of SF babble. I hated Doctor Strange also.
I used to get unreasonably angry at how lazy Adam Sandler was every time I saw another picture of him dressed like an 11 year old boy at another movie about him getting hit in the nuts with a rake, especially after Punch Drunk Love and seeing what he could do if he actually tried.
BUT, if one puts themselves in Sandler’s baggy, baggy shorts-- I guess if someone told me I could make millions of dollars hanging out with my friends on a movie set once or twice a year, or I could work really really hard to make a fraction as much to gain the respect of the people who I don’t like and don’t like me, I might reach for that track suit and give Kevin James and Nick Swardson a call too.
I would likely do that too if given the chance, after all if people are willing to patronize his movies then it’s not necessarily his fault. Think Netflix said that the multi-movie deal they worked out with him was driven by the fact his movies had some of the highest watch rates on Netflix.
So yeah he’s kind of given up on taking acting seriously ages ago but somehow kept his popularity high. Seems like a good racket to have but i do wish he would try more often.
I’m always gonna have a soft spot in my heart for the Lethal Weapon movies… but seriously Mel is one awful human being. I also enjoyed Apocalypto. Never watched Passion and never intend to.
