Admittedly, I'm a latecomer to the fan club of John Cusack. I didn't fall for him until "Gross Point Blank", possibly the best assasin movie of all time (well, there's Leon, but after watching the unrated version of that I just felt a little ill,...
[+] Read Full Review

Admittedly, I'm a latecomer to the fan club of John Cusack. I didn't fall for him until "Gross Point Blank", possibly the best assasin movie of all time (well, there's Leon, but after watching the unrated version of that I just felt a little ill, so that's out for me.) My husband had to introduce me to "Better off Dead" (ok, it's goofey, but I get the appeal). Then The Journey of Natty Gann, which I loved, but then he's in a lot of stuff I wouldn't particularly want to watch, despite him being cute as a button and talented. Sorry, perving on the actor only goes so far, ya know? It might be good stuff but it's not for me. Anyways, then he's in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which has the very best soundtrack I've ever head bar none (I mean, Clint Eastwood sings "Accentuate the Positive". Whoa! And he's good!). Then Being John Malkovitch... which is such an amazing mind-trip of a movie. It's surreal, but somehow exceedingly awesome, and I had some serious doubts. It's funny, too. He's perfect in that movie, him adn John Malkovitch both do this amazing thing between them where somehow they seem to swap bodies... it's the most incredable thing I've ever seen, a real acting job like you wouldn't believe. You sit there and laugh in disbelief...ok, enough about that, carying on. He does some weird stuff, but also some straightforward stuff - and brings something offbeat to everything he acts in. He's a personal sweetheart too, with ethics (!) - not a jerk at all - and that's saying something in Hollywood. Integrity! I could kiss him. Seriously. Except then my husband would be annoyed... Oh, well, I'd settle for a handshake then. And an autograph. He's awesome.

The trouble with Ralph is that he's so smart as well as so cute, and then you add that accent... It's irresistable. He does a bunch of decent movies, and then he does a flop like the Avengers, which I actually loved, but apparently nobody else...
[+] Read Full Review

The trouble with Ralph is that he's so smart as well as so cute, and then you add that accent... It's irresistable. He does a bunch of decent movies, and then he does a flop like the Avengers, which I actually loved, but apparently nobody else did. I'm glad he's gone Voldemort - playing the evil guy - because he was in danger fo being pigeonholed as the romantic lead in a bunch of sappy movies after "The English Patient" and "The Constant Gardner". He's got intense down pat though; that subtle not-overacting intense that just gives us girls goosebumps. Definitely my cup of tea, even if some of his movies aren't.

To say that Ian McKellen is an amazingly skilled actor is to state the obvious; he's been in movies since the 60's, and theatre before that - he started in Shakespear in England, for heaven's sake. He's been Gandalf (and I can't imagine anyone...
[+] Read Full Review

To say that Ian McKellen is an amazingly skilled actor is to state the obvious; he's been in movies since the 60's, and theatre before that - he started in Shakespear in England, for heaven's sake. He's been Gandalf (and I can't imagine anyone else in that role) and Magneto (somehow, ditto) and ...The Toad in Flushed Away? ZeBeDee in the magic roundabout? What's up with that? See, the man is a pro actor - he'll take voice parts, weird parts, work on strange movies - and somehow there's usually something respectable in everything he touches. You don't get to be a big-name star like him, looked on in awe by even big-name Hollywood types, by being a work snob.

Who is Kaiser Sose? Who is the serial killer describing the seven deadly sins in blood? Who's the middle aged husband doing pot and perving over his daughter's friend? Who's Lex Luthor? Who's the sweetheart teacher telling kids to Pay it Forward?...
[+] Read Full Review

Who is Kaiser Sose? Who is the serial killer describing the seven deadly sins in blood? Who's the middle aged husband doing pot and perving over his daughter's friend? Who's Lex Luthor? Who's the sweetheart teacher telling kids to Pay it Forward? They're all the same guy. He is a serious, serious genius, an actor on another level altogether. There are some actors that you just take seriously, and he's one of them. He hasn't hit the tripple digets for movies yet, but he's still a real pro. I won't be surprised to see him acting 20 years from now, just as strong as he is today. He does a wonderful creepy guy, and another wonderful sweet guy, and then the mix of the two that just gives you the giggling chills...

Gary obviously knew way ahead of time that it's the bad guy who gets to play the interesting parts. He's done some amazing evil dudes, playing them to perfection. Then he comes out and plays Sirius Black - and because he does evil so well, he...
[+] Read Full Review

Gary obviously knew way ahead of time that it's the bad guy who gets to play the interesting parts. He's done some amazing evil dudes, playing them to perfection. Then he comes out and plays Sirius Black - and because he does evil so well, he brings that touch of doubt to Sirius that the character needed. Although my personal favorites are still his bad guys in the Fifth Element, True Romance and Leon. And can you believe him as Gordon in Batman? Now that's a change, but an amazing one - he does Gordon the way Gordon was always meant to be. Seriously, you wouldn't recognize him - he has more facets than a piece of bling.

He's been in over a hundred movies, taken a lot of bit parts, taken a lot of parts that could have been bad. He has a sense of humor, no massive ego, and unconventional looks. He's got a solid sense of professionalism and some skills honed over...
[+] Read Full Review

He's been in over a hundred movies, taken a lot of bit parts, taken a lot of parts that could have been bad. He has a sense of humor, no massive ego, and unconventional looks. He's got a solid sense of professionalism and some skills honed over years of working a craft. Impressive as all get-out, solid and talented and fun. My personal favorite at the moment is Alfred in Batman - he's fairly perfect for that role. (This might sound weird, but I always had a thing for Alfred. He was the prim and propper one, disapproving butler's sniff and all, but inside he was sort of a radical...) So Michael get s an A for all the years of hard work, and mad skillz, and general awesomeness.

At one point, I was certain he was just too pretty. Every girl I knew was in sighs over him, and that immediately set my teeth on edge: I was prepared to think him a talentless hack, a male model getting by on looks alone (as so many female...
[+] Read Full Review

At one point, I was certain he was just too pretty. Every girl I knew was in sighs over him, and that immediately set my teeth on edge: I was prepared to think him a talentless hack, a male model getting by on looks alone (as so many female actresses seem to do). I was prepared for contempt. Then I watched "True Romance" again - it's a bit part, but funny as .... and he played the crazy guy from 12 Monkeys, an edgy bit in a weird sci-fi film. You could not find a part more guaranteed to win me over. I was sold, hook line and sinker. Then he played Death. Death! I mean, how much cooler can one man be? And then he has the sense to dump the self-absorbed popular girl for the ethically concious hottie while acting in a movie about assasins... dear lord, the man's a genius. I forsee that years from now, when he's an old fart, he'll be one of those classic actors that get the wizard part. Awesome.

I liked him in Legend. When his ego was little, he was cute. I'm sorry to say, I didn't think he was cute in Top Gun. I didn't like him in Mission Impossible part 1. I didn't like him in part 2. I didn't like him in Cocktail or Rain Man or Born on...
[+] Read Full Review

I liked him in Legend. When his ego was little, he was cute. I'm sorry to say, I didn't think he was cute in Top Gun. I didn't like him in Mission Impossible part 1. I didn't like him in part 2. I didn't like him in Cocktail or Rain Man or Born on the Fourth of July or Days of Thunder. I was irritated that they put him in Interview with a Vampire - he wasn't how I pictured Lestat. That's when his starhood started getting in the way of the story being told. Then I liked him in Magnolia - he played a mysoginistic jerk - and in Minority Report. But then he had to star in War of the Worlds, and he screwed that up with the scene where Tom Saves the Day. It was, otherwise, a good movie. I'm just sick of hearing about him - so why am I writing about him? Because he's a large part of popular culture these days. Oh, and the scientology! Good lord. What a joke. (Ok, so if I get a death threat from them for criticizing them I'm *so* gonna blog it.) If he faded into obscurity from here on(fat chance) I'd be delighted.