Mostly starting this thread to find out about some awesome b-movie actors. Those who will influence the quality of a film just as much as the the bad director or screenwriter (in the opposite direction).
Of course I don't mean watching every TV-movie performance or simple cameo. Just movies where they lead. These kinds of actors are usually in every god damn scene of the b-movies they do.
Eric Roberts
I immediatly think of him because it is this compulsion that made me want to see Star 80 so much. It's hardly a b-movie though. BUT, I think he's so good that I also like his really b-side stuff like Nature of the Beast or La Cucaracha.
Mickey Rourke
He has a bit less leads than Roberts in actually not terrible movies, mostly smaller roles. But he makes good on them and is a definite scene stealer. Just like Roberts, wherever you cast him he will deliver. My favorite movie of his is Angel Heart. The twist is not really a twist because you see it coming like one hour before they reveal it but I always argued that that was on purpose and wasn't meant to shock anyone. Rumble Fish also rocks. But these are not b-movie really, the first one stars Robert De Niro and the other is a Francis ford movie. His b-movie career is a bit pathetic, but he's always fun to watch act.
Nicolas Cage
Any film with Nic Cage in every scene deserves to be watched. I will only make two exceptions for this: Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Windtalkers. They suck. Really, really suck. He doesn't have a whole bunch of b-movies be they are really good. Deadfall is probably the b-est. I mean the b-est, not the best. But it's pretty good. Cage is over-over-the-top in it. Like, the top is miles below him. He's out of the top's gravitational pull. The top is so far away that if he goes further up he will actually go back towards the top and eventually go under the top. Probably travelling through time in the making.
Crispin Glover
Apparently, one of the most extreme performance of Cage is the first thing he ever did. It's the same thing for Glover. And it's not over: THEY WERE TOGETHER
It's called The Best of Times. A TV show where Crispin is the narrator and breaks the fourth wall apparently... must be se awesome.
Gotta go, I'm way late in my work. Ciao friends.
I mean, aside from the greats who are good at picking script. I really like Michael Cera. I love his delivery.
Elias Koteas, Bill Fichtner and Peter Stormare always seem to put in great work.
Quote from: Pas Rap on February 23, 2010, 12:52:18 PM
Deadfall is probably the b-est.
I can't wait to watch this. It's in my Queue but I'd never heard of it till I saw this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZhciDUvnlY) on youtube a few months ago. It looks to be a Cage Classic on par with Vampire's Kiss.
Quote from: Stefen on February 23, 2010, 01:33:06 PM
Elias Koteas, Bill Fichtner and Peter Stormare always seem to put in great work.
Great picks. Weirdly, I have come to know Fichtner and Stormare from the shittiest TV show, Prison Break, and now enjoy seeing their faces.
Koteas I like him since watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a kid, and he also comes from where I live.
Quote from: pete on February 23, 2010, 01:29:20 PM
I mean, aside from the greats who are good at picking script. I really like Michael Cera. I love his delivery.
Good point to exclude good script pickers like let's say DDL (... though I heard Nine was shit)
Do you like Michael Cera enough to like blablabla Infinite Playlist?
of course not, but I liked him enough to start watching it.
I have a new thing now, I can't watch romance films where the girl arbitrarily kisses the guy first without any reason to.
^haha, that's a good rule.
Quote from: pete on February 23, 2010, 03:41:58 PM
I have a new thing now, I can't watch romance films where the girl arbitrarily kisses the guy first without any reason to.
Haha, yeah, you said that before - why do you have such a problem with it? It DOES happen, you know...!
Also: Elias Koteas is a good call. Any fans of him who haven't seen Exotica need to immediately.
I said "arbitrarily", meaning it's not just because the girl also likes the guy, but the fact that the writer can't write a proper kiss so he just thought it'd be quirky or whatever to have the girl kiss him for no reason.
philip seymor hoffman. any film.
Okay, fair enough, but you've also said
Quote from: pete on November 25, 2009, 07:36:26 PM
I still can't stand the whole string of recent romantic comedies for young people where the quirky girl kisses first. that's shameless fantasy.
as if it's a girl kissing first itself that's a shameless fantasy. Clearly not a big deal - I just wanted to voice support for the girl-kissing-first convention, which is hardly outlandish.
Quote from: polanski's illegitimate baby on February 23, 2010, 07:12:29 PM
philip seymor hoffman. any film.
Even "Along Came Polly"? That's commitment.
you're right. matt dillon then...
"Crash", "One Night at McCool's", "You, Me, and Dupree", "Old Dogs"...
Pwnt.
hoffman, of course. he's hilarious in Polly ...what little i've seen.
jackie earle haley has become another one. so interesting in everything. and always totally different. he tricked me into thinking watchmen was a good movie when he was on. carey mulligan's on her way too.. so's fassbender. oh and of course jo gord lev. that two-movies-in-one alternate timeline thing he did looks TERRIBLE but i may still watch it anyway.
kingsley elevates everything he's in, though i could not finish sound of thunder for the life of me.
as far as "b-movie" people go... that's tougher. samuel l. is always a strong draw.
you can't counter an argument in this thread by simply listing bad films. it's not interesting that way - who hasn't done a shit film or a film that you don't like? the question is who you'll watch in a film, not who you'll watch in a film that you will still like after you've seen it. the latter is tough. there just are actors that I like that I'll give chances to despite the odds, that's a funner discussion than "Matt Dillon starred in Crash". Listing bad films like criminal records feel like a tactic from high school cinema club. Which I'd love to be a part of if my school had one but my school sucked.
Exactly right pete! Doesnt matter if the movie is bad, you just really like watching this actor going.
PSH and Koteas are really worthy leaders in popularity so far
ANNA FARIS
and
RYAN REYNOLDS
EDIT: MATT DILLON. NOT PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN. :bravo:
I didn't look at the original post...B movie actors....
Steven Seagal. Once upon a time I could say I had seen all of his movies, but then he discovered the direct-to-video racket and even though the USA channel gives me a chance every night around 3am to catch up on them, I can't bring myself to do it. Still, his 80s and early 90s movies are great fun and he's always the main ingredient. Under Siege is also a favorite still.
Ryan Reynolds. Has the talent to do more, but he satisfies himself with bad movies. Just Friends is hard to turn off when it comes on TV. He's really charming and very likable. I think Ghostboy once said he makes bad movies better than they are. I agree. He is also from British Columbia and has the good sense to be a devoted Green Bay Packers fan. That alone means he can do no wrong in my book.
Scarlett Johansson. For the fact she wore a Green Bay Packers jersey on Rachael Ray with Reynolds once, haha.
Haha I seem to remember stefen also liking Ryan Reynolds a lot.
I do, too. I even watched that one called Waiting with Justin Long that NOBODY in the world ever saw. I liked it. I caught it at 2AM on a weird channel in Costa Rica in english with spanish subtitles. I just realized that this also stars Anna Faris! Children with Angels, this one's for you!
He reminds me a lot of Ben Affleck, who also does a better job than what media/people give him credit for. Conviction piece: his last role in Extract (the Mike Judge thing wih Jason Bateman). He was so Reynoldsy in that.
I think I've posted this before. But here ya go GT.
Seagal when he was a badass and a good actor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMu2xNBpyQc
Seagal when he was a badass and a good musician:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qw5bKTBQE
one of those two statements about Seagal was not sincere.
Ralph Fiennes is always good.
also, Zooey, but this dedication may change as the last few films I've seen her in have been anything BUT impressive (GIGANTIC?!), and I'm beginning to think she should stick to singing. :(
Yup, my man crush on Ryan Reynolds goes back to the Van Wilder days. He's a good actor but he's in some bad movies (which he usually makes better).
He's become quite the star the last couple years, it seems. I hope he translates this to making good movies and not just cashing in.
Quote from: Gold Trumpet on February 24, 2010, 06:11:54 AM
I didn't look at the original post...B movie actors....
Me neither... hence i was obviously sarcastic regarding Matt Dillon...
No one's mentioned THE B movie actor - Bruce Campbell
I only watched 2 seasons of Burn Notice because of 2 things
1)Pete's recommendation
2) Bruce Campbell
Evil dead, bubba ho-tep and maniac cop are three of my favs.