This Entry Answers Cassandra's Questions

"And maybe the actors aren't selling out. They never had any real standards in the first place!"--Cass.
--I'm going to answer this question in a "top five format" to show how these mentioned actors made good movies and had standards before making movies that no one cares about.
Cuba's Top Five Good Movies:
1. A Few Good Men
2. Losing Isaiah
3. Jerry Maguire
4. As Good As It Gets
5. American Gangster
Nicholas Cage's Top Five:
1. Rumble Fish
2. Moonstruck
3. Raising Arizona
4. Leaving Las Vegas
5. Adaptation
Okay maybe Vince doesn't have much of a case, but he does have a few gems that need to be recognized:
1. Swingers
2. Clay Pigeons
3. Into the Wild
Kate Hudson, I found out hasn't been in that many movies, but two that I recognized and remembered that she was good in were:
1. Almost Famous
2. Dr. T. and the Women
3. (yeah it's going on here) The Skeleton Key--it grew on me.
Matthew McConaughey:
1. Dazed and Confused
2 Amistad
3. Frailty
4. Lone Star
5. A Time To Kill
"Nicholas Cage belongs in family and romance esque movies. I adored him in Family Man. To me every time I see him in an action movie, I can't help but to laugh because I think he is SUCH A BAD action star. He makes his movies bad."--Cass
I believe I covered him up above. Before he was known for his baaad movies and his predilection for naming his children Kal-El--he was known for being quite a good actor who made movies that were critically and commercially liked.
"I feel like Matthew has always made the same kind of cheesy romances that'll always sell great. Sometimes they're good cheese and something they're bad cheese. Same with Kate Hudson."--Cass
Again, I covered them above--I loved Matthew in A Time To Kill, he was so good which is why I'm sad that he keeps getting stuck in bad romantic comedies. Kate Hudson I found out hasn't made that many movies but she also once showed promise (she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Almost Famous) and now she's stuck in bad romantic comedies too.
"And what "amazing" movie had Vince been in? I mean, I think all of his movies are good and not great. Lookswise, though, he has let himself go. So sad."--Cass
Um, Swingers. That was the amazing movie.
"What would you say some of the best-looking actors were who have now REALLY let themselves go?"
Mickey Rourke, William Hurt, C. Thomas Howell, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez. I can't think of anymore right now.

Good Actors Who Make Bad Choices.

I hate when actors sell out. I know sometimes in order to get their name out there engraved in the minds of the public they have to make a big blockbuster in order to make the kind of credible awards season material that will get them respect and a lengthy career. But honestly? Some actors made a few good movies and delivered great performances and then just started making terrible movie after terrible movie, thus obliterating the promise they had shown--so that critics and the public have forgotten what made them great in the first place. Take poor Cuba Gooding Jr. for example, here's a man who was terrific in Jerry Maguire (he won Best Supporting Actor in 1996) and then he was good again in As Good As It Gets and then I'm not quite sure what happened but somehow this promising actor made a movie called Snow Dogs and a movie called Daddy Day Camp. I don't actually like Cuba to be honest because I think that in 1996 Edward Norton deserved that Oscar but that's besides the point--my real question is Cuba, what happened? Some people say he was good in Radio (I've never seen it, but the reviews weren't good and I stand by reviews most of the time) but I can't help but think that he made the blockbusters and then got stuck in them and along the way he lost his respect. Another prime example of a promising actor making poor choices is Nicholas Cage. Again I ask, what happened? Nicholas Cage was so good in Moonstruck, Raising Arizona, and Leaving Las Vegas and I think that right after National Treasure things just flew downhill for him fast. Now he's stuck in a mess of sequels and bad action movies. I just hope that these once promising actors can get out of their blockbuster ruts and remind of us of why we once loved them.
Top Five Promising Actors Who Now Suck:
1. Cuba Gooding Jr.
2. Nicholas Cage
3. Vince Vaughn
4. Kate Hudson
5. Matthew McConaughey
Alternate (in case one of the above decides not to suck anymore): Meg Ryan

Phases

My first post was going to be about the phases I go through with different actors, but yesterday's issue seemed so pressing that I just had to address it first. Anyway, I go through phases with different actors where I watch movies, tv shows, talk shows, etc. that feature the same person. I guess to explain better I could use a specific example: One phase that stands out in my mind is my Dustin Hoffman phase--I watched what I consider his essential films and then I worked through some minor stuff. In case anyone is wondering his top five films are:
1. The Graduate
2. Midnight Cowboy
3. Little Big Man
4. Tootsie
5. Rain Man
Although to be fair, I also love him in Kramer Vs. Kramer, Marathon Man and All the President's Men. I have to admit I've never seen his portrayal of Lenny Bruce (although I hear from my dad that he's excellent) I'll get around to it sometime.
Over the years I've gone through phases with so many actors that if I sat down and thought for a few minutes I could probably remember everyone. I love to think back on all these people that have influenced and inspired my love of movies because I learned that I love seeing actors give great performances; it just astounds me.
Right now I'm going through a Peter Sarsgaard phase and it's not that I just discovered him--because I've loved him since I saw him Boys Don't Cry when I was in high school. I just hadn't until now gone through a period where I watch a bunch of his movies in a short period of time. Speaking of him, I really want to see his latest release An Education because I think it looks like a movie that would intrigue me and because I hear the performances are great and I could go on and on, but since the movie is in limited release (which could be an entry unto itself and probably will be) I can't see it until it either comes to the Akron area or comes out on DVD (both of these things make me sad). My top five Peter Sarsgaard films are:
1. Boys Don't Cry
2. Shattered Glass
3. Garden State
4. Kinsey
5. The Skeleton Key--again it grew on me.
Alternate (s): The Dying Gaul, The Salton Sea
Top Five Most Memorable Phases:
1. Dustin Hoffman
2. Matt Damon
3. Renee Zellweger
4. Jude Law
5. Edward Norton

The Hangover

I was reading my go-to Oscar Blog today written by Dave Karger for Entertainment Weekly and he wrote about how there was speculation that the summer blockbuster The Hangover could potentially become an Oscar contender. I had to read this a couple times before it sunk in, would the Academy really stoop that low just to score some ratings? I always thought Academy members were much classier than that--guess I thought wrong. I mean come on! Why don't they just nominate The Ugly Truth and G-Force while they're at it? I was really excited when they announced that there would be ten Best Picture nominees because that meant more films to root for come February but now I'm reigning some of that excitement back in. Who knows I could just be jumping the gun and the Academy could prove me wrong. I hope they do.