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An actor I feel is massively underrated is David Morse.
He is really good. I just watched 12 Monkeys lastnight. One thing I noticed about that movie, though... David Morse, while he doesn't have a big part at all in the movie, he was a very important character. He's the one that contaminated most of the world's population with the virus. Yet, he never got a screen credit at the end of the film. At least, that I've never noticed.
In my opinion, the most underrated actor is a really good friend of David Morse's, and they've done a lot of films together... Doug Hutchison.
Doug Hutchison played the part of Percy Wetmore, the mean prison guard in 'The Green Mile', and he was also the bad guy in 'Bait'. Hutchison has also had roles in 'I Am Sam', 'A Time to Kill', and one of my favorite movies, 'The Salton Sea'. He also played Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-boosting serial killer with a hinging skeleton on 'The X-Files'. God, he looks so creepy.
Speaking of 'The Salton Sea' and being underrated, in my opinion, DJ Caruso is one of my favorite directors. But he's still pretty young, so I'm sure he'll get his props soon enough.
As for the most overrated actors, Ben Stiller takes the cake. Other than 'Permanent Midnight', which wasn't that good, he's the same regular, slightly awkward character in every film. Even in his 'crazy' characters, his humor is still dry and cheeky. And directing 'Reality Bites' doesn't redeem any of his qualities.
Quoted from SimplyScripter
Overrated Director- Quentin Tarantino
I don't know why, but I got a feeling this thread's going to go downhill very fast. I think you might have just opened a can of worms better left untouched, Zack.
I'm not saying I exactly disagree with you. I do like Tarantino a lot. But he has faltered in my eyes from time to time.
Knowing how other people feel about Tarantino, though, it looks like the Moderators are going to have their work cut out for them in the next couple days.
Cilian Murphy - not sure if he's really that underrated because he is a fairly big name. It just seems every movie I see him in, his performance resonates with me above everything else. He can play a sympathetic good guy like in 28 Days Later or a real creep like in Batman Begins.
Elisabeth Moss - She played the presidents daughter Zoe in The West Wing and currently stars in the series Mad Men. Alot of young actors are people that just happen to photograph well. She seems like a true actor to me, very expressive with deep, soulful eyes.
OVERRATED:
As for QT - he had his moment of greatness and then got caught up in the hype. He simply doesn't have the self-discipline to sustain himself over the long haul, much like what happened to Orson Wells - he started off great with Citizen Kane and then ended up doing b-movie roles towards the end of his career.
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." - Albert Einstein
You know, I like QT's movies. I think all of them actually. I think the thing with him and his "dwindling" popularity is that what he does isn't as much of a secret any more.
When Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction came out, everybody thought that they were these groundbreaking films, but they really weren't. They both had similar elements to films that had been made years earlier, but people just didn't catch on to it back then.
His newer projects like Kill Bill, Death Proof, and the upcoming Inglorious Bastards don't get the same luxury. Now it's "Oh, that's just a Quentin Tarantino Version of "Game of Death" "Random Kung Fu Movie" "Random Spaghetti Western" "Vanishing Point" or "Dirty Dozen". I mean, people are calling out old titles while the stuff is still in development for christ's sake. It's a tough wall to get around, I imagine. Then again, is that a shot at his directing or writing abilities?
One thing I will give the guy credit for, and a big reason of why I'm a fan of his other than just his films, is that he makes the movies HE wants to see.
QT is overrated, but it seems his glow is wearing off. I still think Jackie Brown is his best work. He needs to do another Elmore Leonard book. And fast. I haven't seen Death Proof but Kill Bill had me tossing in the towel on him.
Overrated - P.T. Anderson Eli Roth ( although I don't think anyone serious about movies actually thinks he's good, he just has a big "fanboy" following) Asian wire fu & monster movies
Underrated - I'd agree on David Morse. First saw him back in the 80's in a little Richard Donner film called Inside Moves, he was great there. One of these constantly working guys who isn't a household name.
13 feature scripts, 2 short subjects. One sale, 4 options. Nothing filmed. Damn.
Currently rewriting another writer's SciFi script for an indie producer in L.A.
Nicholas Cage - This guy is a robot of an actor. He even makes the same face on the cover of every movie poster. What's worse is that even though he always seems like he's clinically depressed, he always gets the roles of really clever, charismatic people. Needless to say, he can't pull it off and yet he's a star. He was good in Raising Arizona and Adaptation but other than that, overrated.
Rob Zombie - Really, he only made one original film: House of 1,000 Corpses. After that was a sequel and a remake. The sequel wasn't bad but still, he doesn't have much to show for himself. While his first two films were good, Zombie can't do much else than blatant exploitation plus the only characters he's good at writing are stereotypical white trash. His abilities are limited and yet, he's being hailed as a horror legend. Not the case.
Wes Anderson - Where do I begin? First off, his characters are completely unlikeable. They're rich, snobby upper class families who, for whatever reason, are depressed out of their minds. Who's to care about them? Anderson goes onto get good actors to appear in his films but he makes them all act the same. They don't even act at all. Their deadpan expressions make them all look like Nicholas Cage. Thus the talent of each and every actor is squandered. There's no substance to his films at all. You would think he knows that considering he tries to make up for it by painting every frame with bright colors and weird costumes.
Zack Snyder - How this guy even made a name for himself, I don't know. He made a decent remake of a classic horror movie but his directing style is by-the-book to the extreme. He's got no stylistic signatures whatsoever. They could've gotten any commercial/music video director to make DOTD and it probably would've looked exactly the same. Then there's 300. Again, by-the-book, just on a bigger scale. Nothing there to separate him from the flock. Yet people love the guy. I don't understand how someone can get so much praise for doing the same stuff everyone else with his background would do.
QT - Of course. Once he stopped sucking ideas from ex-friend Roger Avery (after Pulp Fiction), QT became all about gimmicks and less about actually making good movies. He also doesn't seem to understand that no one is going to challenge that he's seen every movie ever made. For some reason, he feels the need to keep reminding people of that. The guy's going downhill. I think fame has really gone to his head, among other things... if you watch his interviews, the guy acts like he's in space. I think somewhere between Kill Bill and Grindhouse, the guy starting snorting a little too much yay.
Underrated:
Christian Bale - This guy essentially transformed himself into a body builder for American Psycho then cut down to a mere 80 pounds for the Mechanist. This guy will do anything for a role and no matter how poor the role is, he gives it his all and manages to stand out in movies that would destroy other actors (Reign Of Fire, Shaft). If this guy can stand out in bad movies, it makes perfect sense he'd steal any other movie that's actually decent. Batman Begins and American Psycho were amazing performances. Bale brought emotional and psychological depth to both characters I don't think too many other actors could. Finally, the guy's a chamillion of an actor and dabbles into just about everything.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - He's got a different style but pretty much everything about Christian Bale applies to this guy as well.
David Cronenberg - David Cronenberg NOW, that is. I think after the 80s, people lost interest in the guy when he dropped the body horror thing and started to go in a more psychological direction. He's still got a lot to offer the film world, I think, and has gone a lot of places others wouldn't think to go as far as the human mind is concerned. I think A History of Violence and Eastern Promises are a new begining for the guy. I'm looking forward to what else he has in store. Even before that, like it or not (I actually didn't so much), Crash got a lot of attention when it came out so Cronenberg's still definitely got the ability to turn heads and freak people out.
Park Chanwook - Most people has only seen Oldboy. That film is probably the best showcase of his abilities but still... he's done other stuff, people. He's definitely got a knack for filmmaking not to mention a good understanding of human nature, an interest to explore it, and a good sense of humor. That's all I gotta say about this guy.
In my opinion, the most underrated actor is a really good friend of David Morse's, and they've done a lot of films together... Doug Hutchison.
Doug Hutchison played the part of Percy Wetmore, the mean prison guard in 'The Green Mile', and he was also the bad guy in 'Bait'. Hutchison has also had roles in 'I Am Sam', 'A Time to Kill', and one of my favorite movies, 'The Salton Sea'. He also played Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-boosting serial killer with a hinging skeleton on 'The X-Files'. God, he looks so creepy.
Yeah, Doug is terrific actor. He played Percy Wetmore to perfection. Too bad you don't really see him very often anymore.
Down in the hole / Jesus tries to crack a smile / Beneath another shovel load
Christian Bale - This guy essentially transformed himself into a body builder for American Psycho then cut down to a mere 80 pounds for the Mechanist. This guy will do anything for a role and no matter how poor the role is, he gives it his all and manages to stand out in movies that would destroy other actors (Reign Of Fire, Shaft). If this guy can stand out in bad movies, it makes perfect sense he'd steal any other movie that's actually decent. Batman Begins and American Psycho were amazing performances. Bale brought emotional and psychological depth to both characters I don't think too many other actors could. Finally, the guy's a chamillion of an actor and dabbles into just about everything.
I disagree. Christian Bale is indeed a fantastic actor that steals the show in every movie he plays in, but I don't think he's underrated. He has quickly made a name for himself and has become a fan favorite. No, he isn't underrated or overrated... he is every bit as good as people make him out to be.
Christian Bale in my opinion is one of the best actors around at the moment, in fact I would have said the best if it were not for a certain Mr Hoffman. But underrated? no way. The guy has the lead role in two of the biggest big budget film franchises around. Batman of course but he has also been signed up to star in the re-imagined terminator movies. I don't think you can get much more A-list than Christian Bale at the moment. I really hope that he still continues to star in at least one indie project a year to keep reminding the world how good he is.
And again Philip Seymour Hoffman i would say is not underrated, you ask anyone with a passing knowledge of movies what they think of him and you will struggle to find anyone who would suggest he is not a giant of an actor in every sense of the word.
MikeP, I cannot believe you think that PT Anderson is over-rated!! Come on dude, you cannot really think that?
I love all the QT comments, I used to worship the guy, I think i got taken up with all the hype at the time. The guy is turning into a joke. Like mikep I think that Jackie Brown remains his best work, I watched Rev Dogs again last week and it was OK, but nothing like i remembered it being.
My underrated list?
Can I say George Clooney? I know that that sounds weird after what I said about Bale and maybe I am wrong but is the Cloonster not regarded more as a Cary Grant type in Hollywood rather than a serious actor? I for one think he is getting better and better everytime I see him and even I am turning into a bit of a fan, the guy can act.
I still think Bale's underrated. This is a screenwriting board. I imagine most people here would have an appreciation for his work. Outside of this board or rather outside the Internet, he's not as acknowledged. Most people only recognize him as Batman but don't really credit him as being a good actor, rather just the head of another big franchise. I don't know. In my experience, he's not as talked about as I feel he should be.
As for David Cronenberg, I should've made it more clear he's underrated NOW. Anytime someone mentions his name, it's about his previous work. Nowadays, he gets drowned out by the Eli Roths and James Wans who really don't deserve the credit they've been given.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, I guess I went off on a limb. He's not underrated. His talent is generally well acknowledged.
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