Diane Ladd

May 31, 2009

Diane Ladd

Three time Oscar nominee, most memorable for me as the fiesty waitress in the great Scorsese film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which led to the blight upon humanity sitcom Alice. She was also absolutely terrifying in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, probably mostly due to an unorthodox method of lipstick application. She’s been nominated for three Oscars, and she gave birth to Laura Dern, which means she must have slept with twitchy movie star Bruce Dern at least once, another terrifying thought.

Ten best roles: 10) Kingdom Hospital 9) Chinatown 8) Mrs Munck 7) Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 6) The Wild Angels 5) All Night Long 4) Something Wicked This Way Comes 3) Wild at Heart 2) The World’s Fastest Indian 1) Rambling Rose

Percentile rating: 85.78

Peak Period: Hers is more stretched out than most, as she’s got great wide chronological gaps between her strongest roles; I am going to go with 1981 – 1995 (All Night, Something, Wild, Rambling, Munck, which she also wrote and directed)

Neighborhood: Aurore Clement, Daniel Craig, Benicio delToro, Angie Dickinson, Carrie Fisher, Peter Gallagher


Christopher Lambert

May 30, 2009

Christopher Lambert

He’s a Highlander, by God! Actually, he’s a pretty charismatic actor of French lineage who landed a couple of high-profile roles as a young man (notably Tarzan). He’s mostly been featured in direct-to-video stuff that’s a cut above most direct-to-video stuff.

Ten best roles: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes 9) North Star 8) The Target 7) Highlander 6) Hercule et Sherlock 5) Max et Jeremie 4) Knight Moves 3) Fortress 2) Nirvana 1) Subway

Percentile rating: 84.31

Peak period: 1993 – 1997 (not his most popular period, but he strung together some nice parts)

Neighborhood: (it’s like an Olympic Village) Yvan Attal, Beatrice Dalle, Michel Duchaussoy, Ciarin Hinds, Terrence Howard, Sally Kellerman


Lorenzo Lamas

May 29, 2009

Lorenzo Lamas

A King of grade-Z direct-to-video action flicks. Did nine seasons on Falcon Crest. Son of Fernando. When they make movies that include the sleazy (sleaziest?) side of the film industry, the names of the fake movies alluded to in those films sound just like the titles of LL’s actual films, as you can tell by his…

Ten Best Roles: 10) The Immortal 9) Dark Waters 8) Final Impact 7) CIA II: Target Alexa 6) Mask of Death 5) Terminal Justice 4) The Rage 3) Take Down 2) Viper 1) Body Rock

Percentile rating: 70.28

Peak period: 1993 – 1997

Neighborhood: Elizabeth Banks, Julia Blake, Josh Brolin (though, to be fair, this is pre-No Country for Old Men Brolin), Jane Horrocks, Mia Kirshner, David Krumholtz


Shia LaBeouf

May 25, 2009

Shia LaBeouf

It’s just a personal preference, but I don’t like him. I don’t find him at all convincing; most everything he does pulls me out of the movie scene, like he’s winking and saying “Hey, look how precocious I am.” Transformers was a mess, and he made it harder to get through. The last Indiana Jones movie was so bad that I hope they just let the franchise die, but the implication that this kid’s going to carry it is absolutely crazy. It’s like trying to re-awaken the Godfather franchise with the Jonas Brothers.

Ten best roles: 10) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 9) I Robot 8) Holes 7) The Battle of Shaker Heights 6) Constantine 5) Eagle Eye 4) The Greatest Game Ever Played 3) DIsturbia 2) A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints 1) Transformers

Percentile rating: 77.62

Peak Period: 2007 – Now

Neighborhood: Henry Czerny, Dana Delany, Kevin Dillon, Vincent Gallo, Ernie Hudson, Don Knotts


Project update: A-K

May 24, 2009

To recap: this ongoing project is an attempt to determine which actors who are “currently working” have amassed the most impressive selected filmographies. The basic technique is explained in a post from nearly three years ago. You can find it if you search the blog for the term “Robert Forster”.

At least one disclaimer is necesary. I am going through actors alphabetically, and in almost 4 years, I have only completed letters A-K. Actors were included for assessment if a film in which they appeared had been released within three years of the date I completed their assessment. Because of that, some actors who have actually passed are included, and will be on the list until I cycle back around to them. I have limited time to work on this project, and so I am just shrugging this glitch in the system. So yes, I fully understand that Anne Bancroft, may her soul rest in peace, is certainly not a current actor, but I will stick to my original assessment until I roll back around to her.

I believe that the updating of established assessments will go faster than the first one, and hope to eventually be able to update on a two year cycle, where it seems it is going to take at least 6 years for me to complete these initial assessments.

Here’s the current 100 “most accomplished” working movie actors.

1) Robert DeNiro 2) Woody Allen 3) Dustin Hoffman 4) Clint Eastwood 5) Catherine Deneuve

6) Gene Hackman 7) Robert Duvall 8) Harrison Ford 9) Gerard Depardieu 10) Harvey Keitel

11) Julie Christie 12) Sean Connery 13) Johnny Depp 14) Richard Dreyfuss 15) Nicolas Cage

16) Jeff Bridges 17) John Cusack 18) Tom Hanks 19) Anthony Hopkins 20) Mel Gibson

21) Diane Keaton 22) Albert Finney 23) William Hurt 24) George Clooney 25) Bruno Ganz

26) Michael Caine 27) Michael Douglas 28) Kevin Costner 29) Ben Kingsley 30) Tom Cruise

31) Isabelle Huppert 32) Nicole Kidman 33) Mia Farrow 34) Jane Fonda 35) Daniel Auteuil

36) Ellen Burstyn 37) Ralph Fiennes 38) Bob Hoskins 39) Tommy Lee Jones 40) Judy Davis

41) Dennis Hopper 42) Kevin Kline 43) Alan Bates 44) Emmanuelle Beart 45) Maggie Cheung

46) Matt Dillon 47) Richard Gere 48) Jeremy Irons 49) Faye Dunaway 50) Juliette Binoche

51) Matthew Broderick 52) Isabelle Adjani 53) Glenn Close 54) Anjelica Huston 55) Russell Crowe

56) John Hurt 57) Leonardo DiCaprio 58) Leslie Caron 59) Holly Hunter 60) Albert Brooks

61) Ethan Hawke 62) Peter Fonda 63) Jodie Foster 64) Samuel L Jackson 65) Jim Carrey

66) Jackie Chan 67) Ian Holm 68) Sandrine Bonnaire 69) Willem Dafoe 70) Antonio Banderas

71) Catherine Keener 72) Morgan Freeman 73) Gabriel Byrne 74) James Caan 75) Keith Carradine

76) Helena Bonham Carter 77) Val Kilmer 78) Julie Andrews 79) James Garner 80) Lauren Bacall

81) Kevin Bacon 82) Elliott Gould 83) Bruce Dern 84) Colin Firth 85) Anne Bancroft

86) Ed Harris 87) Michael Keaton 88) Cameron DIaz 89) Michel Bouquet 90) Kirsten Dunst

91) Hugh Grant 92) Alan Arkin 93) Jacqueline Bissett 94) Woody Harrelson 95) Anouk Aimee

96) John Goodman 97) Steve Buscemi 98) Giancarlo Giannini 99) Matt Damon 100) Angela Bassett


Harvey Keitel

May 24, 2009

Harvey Keitel

He’s incredibly overlooked, probably because he doesn’t have the versatility (or at least hasn’t displayed it), but he’s amazing at what he does. There’s always something almost brutish, usually just underneath the surface, in almost every part he plays. He uses “menacing” in a variety of ways, and has used that quality in an awful lot of great movies that would not have had half of their power without him. He’s a king, and deserves to be considered among our greatest actors. Here’s a film festival for you.

Ten best roles: 10) Smoke 9) The Last Tempatation of Christ 8) La Mort en DIrect 7) Clockers 6) Bad Lieutenant 5) Thelma and Louise 4) Ulysses” Gaze 3) The Piano 2) Mean Streets 1) Reservoir Dogs

Percentile rating: 99.45

Peak period: 1992 – 1995

Neighborhood: Julie Christie, Sean Connery, Gerard Depardieu, Johnny Depp, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford


Diane Keaton

May 23, 2009

Diane Keaton

I am an unapologetic Woody Allen fan, and I loved Diane Keaton since I first saw her in Annie Hall when I was a high school junior, and started tracking back through her earlier stuff, which got screened fairly frequent at the student theater at Vanderbilt University, so saw Love and Death soon after Annie Hall, and I have followed her pretty closely ever since then. She went off on some pretty strange tangents, including the sex addict of Looking for Mr Goodbar, and the strange espionage of The Little Drummer Girl.

Woo boy, has she done some stinkers, but her best ten are among the very best among all current movie actors. I still think her best stuff is as Woody’s muse. If only she had been 30 years younger, they might still be together.

Ten best roles: 10) Crimes of the Heart 9) The Godfather Part III 8) Play It Again Sam 7) Manhattan Murder Mystery 6) The Godfather Part II 5) Sleeper 4) Reds 3) Love and Death 2) Manhattan 1) Annie Hall

Percentile rating: 98.79

Peak period: 1972 – 1977

Neighborhood: George Clooney, Albert Finney, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, William Hurt


Ben Kingsley

May 23, 2009

Ben Kingsley

I understand he is sick of Gandhi, and it’s easy to imagine, because he rarely takes such solemn roles anymore. He’s been great since the early 70’s, and now that he’s into his 60’s, he’s as free-wheeling with his role choices as any major star currently working. Great as a depressed hit man opposite Tea Leoni in You Kill Me, even better as a psychiatrist swapping counselling services for weed with a troubled teenage drug dealer in The Wackness, completely over the top as one of the baddies in Lucky Number Slevin, even if his films aren’t always great, he usually is.

Ten best roles: 10) Pascali’s Island 9) Oliver Twist 8) You Kill Me 7) The Whackness 6) Betrayal 5) Turtle Diary 4) Sexy Beast 3) Anne Frank 2) Schindler’s List 1) Gandhi

Percentile rating: 98.30

Peak Period: despite the Oscar in the 80’s, I am going with 2000 – 2008

Neighborhood: Michael Caine, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Isabelle Huppert, Nicole Kidman


Nicole Kidman

May 23, 2009

Nicole Kidman

She may be our Audrey Hepburn, if not our Katherine Hepburn. She’s got a pretty amazing list of accomplishments, and probably a good 10-15 years ahead of her.

Ten best roles: 10) The Interpreter 9) Margot at the Wedding 8) The Golden Compass 7) Dead Calm 6) Eyes Wide Shut 5) To Die For 4) The Portrait of a Lady 3) The Others 2) Australia 1) Moulin Rouge

Percentile rating: 98.12

Peak Period: 2001 – 2007

Neighborhood: Daniel Auteuil, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Mia Farrow, Jane Fonda, Isabelle Huppert


Kevin Kline

May 23, 2009

Kevin Kline

Something about him comes off like a 40’s or 50’s star, in the mold of Cary Grant. He’s very versatile, playing a wide range of character types from dead serious drama to the most cartoonish broad comedy (see, for example, A Fish Called Wanda.) Seems destined for an Academy lifetime achievement award if he can get another great role or two to shine the light his way. Married to Phoebe Cates, the lucky bastard.

Ten best roles

10) De-Lovely 9) A Fish Called Wanda 8) Silverado 7) In and Out 6) Sophie’s Choice 5) The Big Chill 4) Cry Freedom 3) Grand Canyon 2) Dave 1) The Ice Storm

Percentile rating

97.51

Peak Period

1982-1988

Neighborhood

Alan Bates, Emmanuelle Beart, Maggie Cheung, Judy Davis, Dennis Hopper, Tommy Lee Jones