i was wondering what some acting performances were that there was so much hype for and the performance never lived up to it in your opinion...

Robin Williams in Aladdin is the first thing that jumps to my mind. That movie was dated the second it came out and all it is is a vehicle for Robin Williams to be Robin Williams. I liked Robin Williams just fine but I didn't need to watch him do nothing but an animated version of his talk show/stand-up persona. Even after his death he continues to get praise for that "performance" and I simply don't get it.

that seems to be an oddity with Disney films. they never seem dated. i guess his "brand" of humor was what makes it feel so old today. need to see that one again though...

NOT!

I just wanted to take the piss out of the inevitable anti-Ledger Joker posting. He earned his posthumous Oscar. Ledger was legendary and deservedly so.

Natalie Portman in "Black Swan." Good film, good performance, but disappointing as a follow up to Aronofsky's amazing previous film (and Rourke's flawless performance).

Bronco Billy Anderson - THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903)

Him and Heath Ledger in THE DARK KNIGHT.

Recent performances that got attention in which I didn't think it was much of a stretch for the actor. Flame away....

Channing Tatum - Foxcatcher
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years A Slave
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Jesse Eisenberg - Social Network

No, Yes, No, Yes, and Yes.

I don't think Jeff Bridges did anything special in Crazy Heart, nor did I think Sean Penn was particularly great in Milk.

It was a lifetime achievement Oscar for Bridges, compensating for the half dozen he could have won before.

Speaking of Sean Penn, I did not care for him at all in Mystic River. I also found that whole film to be grossly overrated.

Now see, THAT'S the Sean Penn performance (and movie) I really like. But I'm biased when it comes to anything made by Eastwood - he's one of my favorite American directors (probably third after Scorsese and Spielberg).

I thought he was great in that film which IMO along with The Outlaw Josey Wales & Unforgiven are Eastwood's best as a director.

I almost agree, except for me, A Perfect World is neck and neck with Mystic River.

Although I've not seen Jersey Boys or American Sniper, the only Eastwood directorial effort that I have ever disliked is Mystic River.

It was noted at the time that Disney in general tried to avoid topical and timely references so they wouldn't get dated, and Aladdin was a major exception.

makes sense.

This.

The ham-fisted performance by Roberto Benigni was just awful, and the movie Life Is Beautiful was not just a terrible movie, but was also a badly done rip-off of Charlie Chaplin films.

How Roberto Benigni's performance won the Best Actor Oscar (any of the other nominees would've been a better choice!), much less got nominated, is beyond me.

+1

Mystic River is the most egregious example of the Law of Conservation of Characters outside the goddamn cook from Hunt for Red October. The killers appear in all of one scene, which has no purpose but to establish that they exist. Any director of real quality would've recognized how obviously mechanical the scene is and found a less obtrusive way to establish the killers' existence.

Sandra Bullock The Blind Side.

And add Sandra Bullock in Gravity to that, where all she did was either talk low to herself or just yell a lot. It's not a great performance at all, despite somehow getting nominated for an Oscar.

(Note that I like Gravity as a whole, but it was a talented director firing on all cylinders that made the movie work so well, not Bullock's merely adequate at best performance.)

I guess I'm the lone Roberto Benigni fan. While Life Is Beautiful may not work as well as his other movies, I was delighted that the Best Actor Oscar went to someone giving a broad comedic performance instead of the usual realistic depiction of a real life person/mentally challenged/for your overall body of work.

Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle. Not only was the film a total wannabe "Goodfellas" bore, but her acting was cringe-inducing it was so over-the-top.