hanshotfirst1138

The first time I saw him really impress me and rethink my dismissal of him as a pretty boy was in The Departed. Now that I've seen more of his performances, I know I totally misjudged him and that he's an impressive actor.

Brack

Did no one see What's Eating Gilbert Grape, or The Basketball Diaries (or This Boy's Life or Marvin's Room, for that matter)? The guy has been doing solid work for 20 years. Hell, he was the best thing on Growing Pains when he appeared near the end of that series.

Solid Snake

For some reason I can't stand his work before catch me if you can. Dunno why.

auto

Other than Gilbert Grape, I agree.

DaveyJoe

I think Leo tries too hard. He overacts almost every time, he'd be well suited for theater, but when it comes to movies, I prefer subtlety, which he has none. He was great in Gilbert Grape and Basketball Diaries, but he keeps choosing roles which require intensity, he doesn't have much range. I liked his performance in this movie, because he let his comedic muscles flex a bit more, but he's usually playing characters that don't amount to much more than bulging eyes and forehead vein.

JumpCutz

As much as I love Scorsese ...this movie is an obviously glitzy tour of excess, entertaining too be sure, but merely a trifle of a film, a second tier film in his cinematic oeuvre. Still better than most everything I saw last year and that alone is a testament to his filmmaking skill.

4/5

Matthew Chmiel

That's actually incorrect.

The Rich Mahogany edition of Anchorman was released first as a Best Buy exclusive in 2010. When Best Buy lost exclusivity rights a year later, the Rich Mahogany edition was discontinued and Paramount re-released only the first disc to all other retailers. The Rich Mahogany edition was brought back in print back in December to promote the sequel.

Brack

He's the best on-screen Gatsby. That's I guess faint praise, since the 70s version was lacking.

Stuff like Blood Diamond, and Revolutionary Road didn't have much bulging eyes and forehead vein. He's pretty low key in The Departed, for the most part.

RichC2

The Departed was a lot of shouting on cellphones. I like Leo, I don't think he's a great actor but he's a pretty good one. But then I've never been one of those people that judge a person off heart-throb or single role statuses like some folks did with Brad Pitt and DiCaprio, I have friends that missed Snatch and Fight Club due to biases toward one, and some that haven't seen a Scorsese movie in a decade because of it.

Brack

I guess it all comes down to personal taste, but I can't think of too many screen actors of Leo's age/generation who are significantly better. That doesn't equal greatness, of course.

inri222

RichC2

He turns 40 this year, so I guess his "generation" would be Christian Bale (40), Bradley Cooper (39), Jude Law (42), Ben Affleck (42), and Tobey Maguire (39 this year). So Yes, I'd have to agree he is near the top of that list.

EddieMoney

Best part of the movie: Margot Robbie. And her tits.

RichC2

And her everything.

DaveyJoe

Leo's not bad, he just doesn't have much range, and I wouldn't list him as one of the best of his generation. I watched Bernie for a second time last night and I just love Jack Black's performance in that. He sings, he does comedy, he does drama, it's a very good performance, and I can't picture Leo pulling off a role like that.

Brack

I don't think we should picture Leo in that role, as not every role is meant to be played by anyone. To make a counter argument, do you see Jack Black pulling off ANY of Leo's roles? Exactly.

DaveyJoe

I think Black is more capable of disappearing into a role. He WAS Bernie, I never see Leo do that. Jack Black's done serious movies like The Jackal. I think comedy is harder to do than drama, and if Jack wanted to play an intense Leo character, he could.

Brack

You didn't answer my question. Yes, he could play a type of role, but could he play any of the ones he's done already just as well? Seriously?

DaveyJoe

Jack Black doesn't have the leading man look for movies like Titanic, but I do believe he's got more talent than Leo. I didn't find Leo to be very convincing in his roles in Gangs of New York, Blood Diamond, and The Departed, so I'd be happy to see Black give them a shot. I can't imagine him being any worse than Leo was in GONY.

A lot of talented actors are at a serious disadvantage in Hollywood because they don't have the look. Acting talent is nice, but it won't get you very far if you're not also beautiful. Actors like Leo are serviceable, but we inflate their worth because they are handsome enough for leading man status. The internet loves Leo because he went from being a heartthrob in Titanic to working with some of the best directors of our generation. I give him credit for his career, he does a great job getting constant work with guys like Scorsese, Spielberg, and Nolan, but I don't think his performances are great, too much overacting.

I don't think we should praise somebody just because well, he's the best we got. When a heartthrob comes out of nowhere with a decent performance, we overpraise it because nobody expected it. Same thing happened with Mark Whalberg who went from an underwear model rapper to have some solid roles in Basketball Diaries and Boogie Nights. Mark was really good as Dirk Diggler, but he's not a great actor with much range, he's closer to Leo than Gary Oldman. Praising an actor for being more than just a hearthrob is like getting hyped at the Special Olympics.

Actors like Jack Black are relegated to supporting roles because they're not handsome enough for the Hollywood machine. The list of actors in Leo's generation is remarkably unimaginative. There are tons of actors that are better than Leo. Michael Fassbender, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Min-sik Choi, Matthew McConaughey, Kang-ho Song, Tadanobu Asano.

Leo has done 5 movies with Scorsese and hasn't come close to giving a performance like DeNiro in Taxi Driver or Raging Bull. Is that because Scorsese has lost his touch as a director, or Leo just doesn't have it in him? I think it's the latter. Daniel Day Lewis achieved greatness working with Marty, and embarrassed his costars in the process.

inri222

Exhibit Q :



Joaquin Phoenix
James Franco
Michael Shannon

Brack

To his defense, just because Leo had like one movie where he was a "heartthrob" (Titanic, maybe even Romeo and Juliet). Before that, and afterward, nothing. Guys like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fit the bill more, with their early career choices.

McConaughey has proved he can act again, but he has done too much rom-com crap to take him too seriously, yet. His Magic Mike character was a retread of his from Dazed and Confused ("Alright, alright, alright") Leo's not even 40 yet. If he stops doing that crap, he's up there. Ejiofor has never impressed me (need to see 12 Years a Slave still). Fassbender is the only guy on the list that I would argue is "better" in that he can play subdued roles very well. And I only speak English, so I'd be hard pressed to say anyone is a good actor if I don't know how the character should sound in their native tongue.

James Franco? Seriously? The only movie I've seen him give a memorable performance was 127 Hours. I like his comedic stuff, but still.
Michael Shannon is pretty one-note (I need to see him in The Iceman though, looks interesting)
Joaquin Phoenix? He's up there too, especially playing himself in I'm Still Here.

I just disagree that all those actors are far superior. All are good in their own way. And I'm in the minority probably, but I think DDL is overrated as of late (he was channeling John Huston the whole time in There Will Be Blood, and I didn't think he was all that in GONY either. Good in Lincoln).

RichC2

Watch Take Shelter and follow it up with Premium Rush. That's the full range of Michael Shannon

inri222

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master, Gladiator, Two Lovers, Walk the Line, Her
James Franco - Milk, Spring Breakers, 127 Hours
Michael Shannon - One-note yes, but just about everything he has done he hits it out of the park and makes it look natural.

DaveyJoe

Let's not underplay the pop culture phenomenon that was Titanic. I'm not sure how old you were when that movie came out, but it was huge. I was 12 and Leo definitely had full blown heartthrob status. He was everywhere, and all the girls loved him. He was so hearthrobby that there was major backlash against him among teenage boys. Leo ultimately won us over with his later career choices. I agree with you about his overall career, any actor could have squandered their career in the shadow of a movie like Titanic, but Leo has made really smart career choices and carved out a niche where he can stand on his own as an actor.

Tom Cruise isn't very impressive as an actor, he was good in Magnolia but he's a prime example of what I'm talking about with Hollywood's emphasis on looks over talent. Good looking guys like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Leo are going to have so many more opportunities to become big stars than people like Paul Giamatti. Brad Pitt was really good in Kalifornia and Tree of Life, but he wouldn't have a career if he didn't have great abs in Thelma and Louise.

See, why can't we take McConaughey seriously? There's nothing wrong with doing rom-coms, movies can just be fun sometimes. That's the problem I have with Leo, I watch him and I'm thinking 'why so serious?' It's like he equates great acting with seriousness. Just because I don't like McConaughey's rom-coms doesn't mean he's not a great actor. His appearance in The Wedding Planner doesn't take away from his great performances in A Time to Kill, Frailty, Killer Joe, etc.

I haven't seen 12 Years a Slave yet but Ejiofor was great in Red Belt, Dirty Pretty Things, and Children of Men. He's certainly got Leo beat in the accent department.

James Franco is so good:


I thought he gave a good performance in Pineapple Express. I don't understand why we can't take comedic performances more seriously. Most actors say that comedy is harder than drama, and I'm inclined to agree. Franco's done comedy and drama well, but Leo tries too hard to be taken seriously, and I just don't see much range from him as an actor. I think we tend to confuse seriousness with good acting.

Why So Blu?

Watch Runaways to get some middle-ground perspective on Shannon. He rocks.