Is Christian Bale the worst actor...

[Shane]

I'm too lazy to read through this whole thread but did anyone point out the importance of the script and the directing as regards acting. William Hurt is usually a pretty good actor but if you've watched him in Lost In Space or Michael you'd never know it. He had horrible lines in Space and delivered them woodenly at times and over the top on others. He was mostly decent in Michael but he has a couple of really bad scenes that made me think the director must have been mailing it in.

As far as quality acting goes, I hadn't fully realized the importance of the director until I watched Robert Culp do a (self-directed perhaps?) promo for one of the premium networks (ON, HBO, Cinemax, TMC whatever) back in the early 80's. It was easily the worst acting job I've ever seen and that includes every Troma film ever made (okay, I haven't actually seen every one of them, but enough to warrant a quality exagerration). Not that Culp will ever be mistaken for De Niro but this performance was worse than bad and with decent direction he's normally at least watchable.

Steve

LIAR!

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[AzStevenCal]

LIAR!

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My wife told me about it.

Steve (hey, why is my nose growing?)

 

[oaken1]

Did you just say Stallone did a good job in Over The Top?

That rules.

Am I being a homer?? Maybe I am a bigger Stallone fan than I recognize?? LOL.... I dunno,...all the Rocky movies make me cry, so maybe I give Sly more than his due in some cases.... but I loved over the top.

 

[Mulli]

Am I being a homer?? Maybe I am a bigger Stallone fan than I recognize?? LOL.... I dunno,...all the Rocky movies make me cry, so maybe I give Sly more than his due in some cases.... but I loved over the top.

No worries man. I will admit to seeing Over The Top more than once.

Good job.

 

[oaken1]

No worries man. I will admit to seeing Over The Top more than once.

Good job.

I often get an emotional attachment to movies I can relate to. I had a son stolen from me and when I got him back after eight years, the hardest part was trying to undo the lies and such he had lived with. It was very frustrating and made it hard to just bond with the boy....worked out fine though! But I think that may have some affect on why I like Over the Top.
Same issue with Rocky Balboa... I am a big dude, but getting up there in age now...that same son beat me in wrestling for the first time recently... I cannot dunk anymore....and no more stiffies at the drop of a hat that last all night long,lol...... So I really felt like I could relate to old Rocky just wanting to prove he is still a man, he aint dead yet.
Fortunately, I have a well documented hormone imbalance,...so I can get away with it if I am caught crying during those kinda movies,lol. Just gotta remind the lady that my shot is due tomorrow,lol.

 

[Gaddabout]

Christian Bale turned in one of the best performances of the last 10 years with The Fighter. His acting was so good he made Mark Wahlberg look good. That's really hard to do. He was acting for two!

 

[Zeno]

Christian Bale turned in one of the best performances of the last 10 years with The Fighter. His acting was so good he made Mark Wahlberg look good. That's really hard to do. He was acting for two!

I agree. Bale was excellent in The Fighter.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Christian Bale turned in one of the best performances of the last 10 years with The Fighter. His acting was so good he made Mark Wahlberg look good. That's really hard to do. He was acting for two!

yeah, Bale was INSANE in The Fighter. I mean, I literally got lost n that character being insane. Best performance of the year and to be honest, if the movie didn't drift away from in the second half and it was more about his redemption helping his brother, it might have been one of the best sports movies of all time. That first hour where he was a central focus was down-right epic filmmaking. I thought I was watching a Goodfellas version of a sports movie. Once he went away tho, it kinda became a sports movie by numbers.

 

[Gaddabout]

yeah, Bale was INSANE in The Fighter. I mean, I literally got lost n that character being insane. Best performance of the year and to be honest, if the movie didn't drift away from in the second half and it was more about his redemption helping his brother, it might have been one of the best sports movies of all time. That first hour where he was a central focus was down-right epic filmmaking. I thought I was watching a Goodfellas version of a sports movie. Once he went away tho, it kinda became a sports movie by numbers.

Well, the movie had to the follow (true) fairytale ending, so the movie had to shift to Wahlberg. That was the payoff and the point of doing the moviel. I think I understood what Russell was trying to do, doing a compare/contrast to highlight just how much Ward had to overcome. The movie wasn't about boxing. It's about family, expectations, small towns. For all the alleged 'Zeitgeist' Social Media supposedly captured about the last decade (I call total BS on that), this movie was a much better slice of real America. Melissa Leo was also awesome as the mother. When Bale and Leo were on screen, it felt less like watching a movie and more like voyeurism into the real living room of a low-income Massachusets family. All the other charicatures they threw in there (Amy Adams, the sister, the father) did nothing to slow down the power of those two primary performances. In this case, Wahlberg was perfect because he didn't get away as a milquetoast lead. He could mumble and mug his way through the movie while the other two created angst he never had to express. We just felt sorry for him all the way through.

I loved this movie, obviously, but more than just best of the year. It's one of the best I've ever seen.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well, the movie had to the follow (true) fairytale ending, so the movie had to shift to Wahlberg. That was the payoff and the point of doing the moviel.

I understand this, but even though Wahlberg did a decent job, I just thought the second half wasn't nearly as involving as the first half where I was literally thinking... this movie's just knocking it out of the park... an all-timer.
I even texted in the middle of it (no, I didn't do this in the movie theater, I watched it at home on an Academy Screener) to my closest movie buff friend that I was watching greatness and he had to see it halfway through.

I think I understood what Russell was trying to do, doing a compare/contrast to highlight just how much Ward had to overcome. The movie wasn't about boxing. It's about family, expectations, small towns. For all the alleged 'Zeitgeist' Social Media supposedly captured about the last decade (I call total BS on that), this movie was a much better slice of real America.

I don't know about that... Social Network really showed what the youth of this country is capable of right now and how that is shaping America moving forward... and I thought it was mesmerizing all the way through. But, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Watched American Psycho for the first time last night.

Christian Bale is BRILLIANT!

 

[Pariah]

Watched American Psycho for the first time last night.

Christian Bale is BRILLIANT!

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[azsportsfan01]

If you are going to have a list of best actors there is no way you can leave Bryan Cranston off. I know it is a list of movie stars but Cranston is one of the most versatile guys out there. Look at what he did as Dr. Tim Whately (Seinfeld), Hal (Malcom in the Middle) and now as Walter White (Breaking Bad). Hell he was very good as Buzz Aldrin in the HBO miniseries whose name is escaping me at this moment.

 

[Dr. Jones]

From the Earth to the Moon.

Loved it.

 

[Pariah]

From the Earth to the Moon.

Loved it.

Is this supposed to be in the documentaries thread? :safe:

 

[Dr. Jones]

If you are going to have a list of best actors there is no way you can leave Bryan Cranston off. I know it is a list of movie stars but Cranston is one of the most versatile guys out there. Look at what he did as Dr. Tim Whately (Seinfeld), Hal (Malcom in the Middle) and now as Walter White (Breaking Bad). Hell he was very good as Buzz Aldrin in the HBO miniseries whose name is escaping me at this moment.

Answering his question. Great mini-series though.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Answering his question. Great mini-series though.

It gets my vote for best mini-series ever unless Band Of Brothers gets tossed into the category.

Steve

 

[Dr. Jones]

It gets my vote for best mini-series ever unless Band Of Brothers gets tossed into the category.

Steve

I think you have to toss BOB in there.

HBO is so awesome.

I am praying it comes out on Blu-Ray some day.

Back to Bale.... Love this guy. American Psycho. The Machinist. Prestige. Both Batmans. Even Empire of the Sun.

GREAT ACTOR!!!

 

[MigratingOsprey]

I agree that Bale continued his strong run with The Fighter .... just absolutely captivating

 

[PortlandCardFan]

I swear Bale was really on crack!!! Awesome performance!!!

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Even aside for the cracked out nature and his interaction at the crack house and/or with his family .... what I think I liked the most was how he carried himself as that small city hero ..... in his mind he really was the pride of lowell and people responded to him ... the way he carried himself, the way he interacted with the public, even the way he carried himself in prison ...... he was the guy, even if his life was in shambles

 

[Mulli]

Based on overratedness, Paul Giamatti. Except for his roles as Harvey Pekar and "Pig Vomit."