You're right, I should never have Exhibit A-ed any CW DC show as they're all terrible and dumb even though I keep watching them for god knows what reason.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:36 (three years ago) link
Something was going on with Olivier in the late '70s. It wasn't just The Jazz Singer ("I hef no son!") but also The Boys From Brazil, The Betsy, A Little Romance... he was just really leaning into accents to a distracting effect
I think he was a prize ham anyway, I dislike English stage acting. Richard III, there's a weird distracting accent for you.
― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:37 (three years ago) link
Olivier's fine in Carrie (not a ham) and The Entertainer (a ham on wry).
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:38 (three years ago) link
Bootlegs exist, thats what richard iii sounded like
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:38 (three years ago) link
He can look away, amused, in a scene where someone says a line of dialogue to make him do so
Bloom? Never.
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, February 2, 2021 4:34 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink
i love this as the qualifying bar
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:39 (three years ago) link
Ha, we had never watched any of them but thought they might make for a decent show to binge with our son. The first few seasons of The Flash were fine, but then it got dumb and Arrow was a little too dark for him.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:39 (three years ago) link
xp As an example with costner in mind!
Its an art, this, not a séance
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:40 (three years ago) link
Agree re glover, who is a fine, fine presence and possibly even actor on the cage scale
We are, as stated, looking for the bryan ferry of actors, not the dylan/van morrison of actors
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:41 (three years ago) link
olivier in r3 is about as good as the material deserves
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:43 (three years ago) link
imo the “tru acting” / “playing urself” dichotomy is being taken too seriously itt. people who can’t act can’t play themselves
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
Yep imo
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
Bloom/ratface tho?
Could never
i support the nomination of kit harrington. he's absolutely terrible in silent hill 3d: revelation, a movie i like bc it is kind of terrible but he's very bad in it still
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
ryan o neill, gene kelly, jude law, benedict cumberbatch
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
I've been neck-deep in Depression-era film over the past half a year or so and am struggling to think of anyone from that era who has been unjustly feted, as I've been pleasantly surprised that the big names have really lived up to their rep. W.C. Fields is maybe kinda terrible? I don't know if he really qualifies though because he's just a walking vaudeville act.
Oh, Lon Chaney Jr. was the worst. Nepotism run rampant, that.
Sorry to stir up so much controversy but it must be done.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:50 (three years ago) link
Ryan o neill yes
The rest, not close tbh
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:51 (three years ago) link
Kelly an awful actor but imo clearly called out at the onset the "special function" case
― Qanondorf (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:52 (three years ago) link
Yeah I'm not wild about Astaire's acting but that's not necessarily what he was there to do.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:53 (three years ago) link
xp im sorry i thought this was a thread
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:53 (three years ago) link
gene kelly
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:54 (three years ago) link
remind me post-COVID never to meet up with any of you to watch movies
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:55 (three years ago) link
You say that like that’s a bad thing
― wangdalf the blight (gyac), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 16:59 (three years ago) link
Jude Law is good in tons of things
i saw him i tate modern once and that was the only time he was convincing
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:01 (three years ago) link
He was fun in the late '90s when he played bitches.
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link
jude law was born to play the role of lenny belardo aka the young pope.
― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link
Lol I saw him in the Whitney once
― rob, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link
Not Depression-era, but I saw "Double Indemnity" recently and there's some terrible acting in that - not by the three leads I hasten to add.
― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:06 (three years ago) link
is there a "what makes acting good or bad iyo?" thread? I often find these discussions a little bewildering in terms of shared assumptions / frames of analysis
― rob, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:08 (three years ago) link
Can we nominate for particular subcategories of acting? There were a few scenes in that recent Kidman/Grant HBO thing (which was terrible) wherein Hugh Grant (who I'd say generally is okay and not terrible) was crying and it was maybe the worst and most embarrassing cry acting I've ever seen, really a spectacle. It was worse cry acting than I could have done. So I nominate him for worst cry actor on that basis.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:09 (three years ago) link
Natalie Portman. Like how is it possible to be the worst actor next to a newbie Chris Hemsworth in an MCU movie? And in everything else?
worst cry acting is Claire Danes, no contest
― Roz, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:10 (three years ago) link
xp^that level of specificity makes more sense to me, since the exact failure to convince can be pinpointed
anyway sorry to be chin-stroking on the worst actor thread
― rob, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:10 (three years ago) link
there are no bad actors, there's just poor casting, bad writing and bad direction
― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:12 (three years ago) link
Yes please break things down for those of us who are merely spectating the thread, permanently unable to develop insights into visual media in any way
Also gyac that username is incredible
― hiroyoshi tins in (Sgt. Biscuits), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:12 (three years ago) link
― Roz, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:10 (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink
this is a really odd thing 2 say
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:13 (three years ago) link
― rob, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 11:08 AM (thirty seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink
This has always been a little confounding to me, too. I'm often like 'wait, he/she is supposed to be good? and he/she is supposed to be bad?'. The clearest criteria I can think of for good acting is if you see enough of a particular actor being just a regular everyday human (or as close as actors ever get to that state) and then see that actor portraying a convincingly different person in a given project. Or just like Isabelle Adjani in Possession where I'm like 'you are channeling something from another world rn, holy shit'.
Bad acting is like 'I don't enjoy watching you, please get off my screen'.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:13 (three years ago) link
no there are definitely bad actors, jude law for instance
acting is v interesting and the criteria for being good are contextual
― plax (ico), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:14 (three years ago) link
jude law doesn't qualify for me. his attempt at a long island accent in vox lux is too entertaining
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:14 (three years ago) link
as with most things, driving etc.
xpost sorry old tumblr meme https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/09/claire-danes-homeland-cry-face
― Roz, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:15 (three years ago) link
Natalie Portman is a very good nomination for this thread. She generally reaches 'third-best actor in a high school production of Our Town' levels of acting performance.
― Vladislav Bibidonurtmi (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:15 (three years ago) link
Jude Law is hot
― Canon in Deez (silby), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:16 (three years ago) link
I think if Uncut Gems has taught me anything it's that acting is literally easy and anyone can do it if they're directed to just say lines and be themselves
(on film anyway, on stage you have to actually act)
jude law is good sometimes, usually in bad or forgettable movies though
― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:17 (three years ago) link
ive been in a couple movies and can confirm acting is easy
I think the worst actor is Tom Hanks
― Canon in Deez (silby), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:18 (three years ago) link
yeah I was going to mention that seeing films with "untrained" actors brings me close to Simon's "no bad acting" take
― rob, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 17:18 (three years ago) link