Worst big-name actor working

I can see this, completely. Morgan Freeman is another actor who has played the same character several times, but does anyone really care? He does it so well and he's not annoying as fuck, so he gets a pass.

Agreed. It's the only thing I've ever liked him in. Of course, the movie has Bob Newhart in it, who is full of win. And Zooey Deschanel (which is probably about the only reason 95 percent of the guys on this board have seen it).

 

I haven't even heard of it, but I love Robin Williams so I might have to Netflix that one.

 

Wahlberg was pretty damn good in both Fear and Rock Star.

 

Based on a true story ... also a great performance by DeNiro in that one. Both a very sad and very uplifting film at the same time.

 

Travolta and Cage are in the Michael Caine Memorial Will Work for Food Hall of Fame. But they've both done enough good stuff to not be on the list. In the two of three performances in which he mails it in, Gere is perhaps the worst, but he occasionally shows he can do better. I think Pacino and DeNiro have gone from fastball to eephus pitches. And Robin Williams belongs nowhere near a worst list.

 

Michael Caine's not dead yet.

Or are you in mourning for his career?

 

I'm curious what performances of Travolta's you liked. Outside of Pulp Fiction, I can't say I've liked his performance in anything I've seen (though I recognize that many liked him in Saturday Night Fever and Grease, but musicals aren't really my thing). I could maybe give him 'Look Who's Talking.' But the bad list is extensive.

 

Mad City, Broken Arrow and Face Off are awesome. I also liked him in Wild Hogs and think A Civil Action is a damn good flick. The General's Daughter and Ladder 49 are good popcorn fun. I don't know if Bolt counts, but if it does, that film rocked.

He doesn't belong anywhere near the top of this list.

 

NOTE: Musicals kinda are my thing.

Grease was my favorite movie ever as a little kid. Plus, he held his own in Hairspray two years ago.

 

But in a film where he isn't singing and dancing, can he really hold his own? It's saying something when Howie Long doesn't turn in the worst performance in a film.

And once you notice that he always tries to give his character some sort of physical quirk, such as the face-touching in 'Face Off,' it's really difficult to take him seriously (I at first chalked that up to the 'face' theme of the movie and probable director influence, until I noticed he does it in tons of his roles).

It's like his process is: "I know, this character would usually hold his hand against his belt. That really brings out his personality!"

 

Travolta was pretty good in "Get Shorty".

I'm not sure that this is true, but I thought that I read that Elmore Leonard wrote the sequel book after the movie did so well, but Travolta refused to do the movie because his price had gone way up. By the time that he made some bombs and was willing to do "Be Cool", the momentum had gone.

For me, Keanu is awful.

 

I am pretty sure a movie can be enjoyable even if an actor is lousy. So I don't get the -- so-and-so has been in some good movies argument.

And there is a huge difference between and actor and a movie star. Actors act. Movie stars bring in paying customers.