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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 11, 2019 5:23:49 GMT
Oh, she's absolutely terrific. Of the 80s actresses, she be one of the more undervalued, if only because despite three Oscar nominations, I can't really remember the last time she got a really big juicy major part. One of performance of hers that I don't think gets enough mention is Copycat. Not a great movie or anything, but a pretty solid thriller where her a psychiatrist, and Holly Hunter a cop, teaming-up to track down and stop some serial killers. I love how "shut-in" she is when it comes to her performance at first, showing a lot more of a vulnerable side, but gets more erratic as the film progression. It's fun to watch. Been some years since I saw Copycat, but I remember being really impressed by Weaver in it. I feel like it came out after Seven, when there were a wave of serial killer thrillers, and sort of got lost in the mix. She was obviously incredible in The Ice Storm and Death And The Maiden ( opposite Ben Kingsley at a period in his career when he had Daniel Day-Lewis type selectivity in projects to go with DDL level acting form) . But you are right...She hasn't really Had a meaty awards level role on film in years. But really, does any American actress of Streep's get any Oscar calibre roles offered to them? Jessica Lange has found her thing on TV being Ryan Murphy's muse but it hasn't translated into anything meaningful on film. Glenn Close literally had to beg and scrape for years to produce the films herself that gave her the last two Oscar nominated roles she had. Streep really did destroy an entire generation of actresses in regards to opportunities for prestige roles on film. Weaver is still the reigning queen of Sci-fi (she'll be all over pop culture for the next decade with the Avatar sequels) and has never seemed overly thirsty for Oscars, so I doubt she much cares. But she should definitely recieve an honorary Oscar, if a competitive one doesn't look like it'll happen. She's my second or third supporting nom for The Ice Storm. She's incredible in that film. She should have gotten more recognition when the movie came out in 1997. Yeah, that's completely fair. Older roles for actresses in Hollywood are basically for Streep, and everyone else gets to have the scraps. More interestingly I'm surprised she hasn't done a TV series for Showtime or HBO, considering that where the best roles for older actresses these days seem to be. I know she did The Defenders, but that was more supporting, and that show wasn't successful enough to get a second season, even before Disney pulled the plug on The Netflix partnership. I'm also curious to see how they'll back her Grace character in the Avatar sequels, considering she perished in the first film. I'm sure it'll be super-contrived but hey more Sigourney is never a bad thing.
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Post by bob-coppola on Jul 11, 2019 12:56:02 GMT
bob-coppola asked for this a while back, so here goes Sigourney WeaverGenre: Sci-Fi/Action
Has there ever been a more influential female star in sci-fi and action filmmaking?Weaver wasnt the first action heroine in the genre.... Jane Fonda' s Barbarella predated Weaver's Ellen Ripley in Alien by more than a decade. But Ripley was a paradigm shift in how female heroines in the genre could be portrayted. Not just as sexpots designed to titilate male audiences (which essentially is what Barbarella was) but as tough, competent badasses not restricted by their gender or defined by their capability of turning on male viewers. Weaver was the perfect actress to bring about this change in dynamic. A versatile, multi-oscar nominated actress in the same class as someone like Meryl Streep, there was also a no-nonsense toughness to her. In Weaver's hands, Ripley could be vulnerable, but could overcome fear and dig deep to complete any mission. I believe without Ripley as his template, James Cameron (who directed Weaver in Aliens) would not have completely revamped Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor from The Terminator from a typically frightened "scream queen" female protagonist in his first film to a jacked up, badass, tough as nails warrior in T2: Judgement Day.
Weaver is all over the Sci-fi action landscape, even today. Avatar and it's 20 zillion sequels have her in it. But today's female genre action heroes owe a great debt to the grit and toughness Weaver brought to the genre. When you watch Buffy or Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot's version) or Captain Marvel today, they all have a bit or a lot of Ellen Ripley in them.
Weaver for the win, all the way! I read somewhere - don't know if it's true - that the screenwriters wrote Ripley not as a man nor as a woman, but figured out later what the gender of the character would be later. I think that, if true, is so cool 'cause Ripley is a model in how to write an action hero not only for female parts, but for male ones too. She's got both brains and brawns, but also a soul, you know? She doesn't even need a fleshed out backstory in the first Alien movie to feel like a three-dimensional person. That, of course, is not only due to the writing, but to Weaver's tour-de-force acting, an entirely game-changing performance.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 11, 2019 16:08:33 GMT
Russell Crowe
Genre: Period Drama
When Chris Rock first hosted the Oscars in 2005, he went into a hilarious and impassioned rant taking aim at overexposed stars such as Jude Law. But Rock, an astute observational comic had this to say about Russell Crowe:
" Russell Crowe to me is one of the greatest actors in the world. I think all period pieces should star Russell Crowe....if you set your movie in the past, it's best to get Russell's ass! I don't care if you doing a movie about three weeks ago...you need to get Russell Crowe. Russell will do the research about three weeks ago. He will cut his hair like three weeks ago.He will talk like three weeks ago. And you'll close your eyes and listen and say "that sounds like three weeks ago"!
Rock was pretty on point in his observations. Crowe is such a methodical and dedicated actor, that he will put in the time and effort, that in addition to his significant talent, makes him one of the premiere actors in film history in being able to bring a wide array of historical roles to life with a level of believability few can match. He matches the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington in this ability, among near-contemporaries. From a brutish 1950's LA Cop in LA Confidential to a British Naval commander in the Napoleonic era in Master And Commander to a rogue cowboy in 3:10 To Yuma, to a Roman Gladiator, there seems to be no historical period Crowe cannot believably assimilate himself into. He's become underrated these days, because in part to paraphrase Marlon Brando (another legend of period piece acting)...He's "run out of faces". We know Crowe's tricks and it's tough for him to surprise anymore. It's also possible he's lost a fraction of the intensity he had in his 30's and early 40's. But there is no question that his ability, especially in this most diverse and challenging of genres, puts him among the finest of screen actors. A scene from LA Confidential:
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 11, 2019 20:16:44 GMT
Been some years since I saw Copycat, but I remember being really impressed by Weaver in it. I feel like it came out after Seven, when there were a wave of serial killer thrillers, and sort of got lost in the mix. She was obviously incredible in The Ice Storm and Death And The Maiden ( opposite Ben Kingsley at a period in his career when he had Daniel Day-Lewis type selectivity in projects to go with DDL level acting form) . But you are right...She hasn't really Had a meaty awards level role on film in years. But really, does any American actress of Streep's get any Oscar calibre roles offered to them? Jessica Lange has found her thing on TV being Ryan Murphy's muse but it hasn't translated into anything meaningful on film. Glenn Close literally had to beg and scrape for years to produce the films herself that gave her the last two Oscar nominated roles she had. Streep really did destroy an entire generation of actresses in regards to opportunities for prestige roles on film. Weaver is still the reigning queen of Sci-fi (she'll be all over pop culture for the next decade with the Avatar sequels) and has never seemed overly thirsty for Oscars, so I doubt she much cares. But she should definitely recieve an honorary Oscar, if a competitive one doesn't look like it'll happen. I'm also curious to see how they'll back her Grace character in the Avatar sequels, considering she perished in the first film. I'm sure it'll be super-contrived but hey more Sigourney is never a bad thing. C'mon...this is Sci-fi, and they've already brought her character back this way in the Alien franchise. Cloning. Or clone bodies. Contrived, but the most obvious route
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 12, 2019 2:04:05 GMT
I'm also curious to see how they'll back her Grace character in the Avatar sequels, considering she perished in the first film. I'm sure it'll be super-contrived but hey more Sigourney is never a bad thing. C'mon...this is Sci-fi, and they've already brought her character back this way in the Alien franchise. Cloning. Or clone bodies. Contrived, but the most obvious route Oh yeah, I should have thought of that. I feel kinda silly, it is sci-fi after all. If anything Grace will probably come back as a "clone". I remember reading an article a few years ago where they said she was playing a different "character", so I'm assuming it won't be the same Sigourney Weaver role that we saw from the first film, in terms of characterization. The recent "rumor" was that she would playing the villain this time around, which I'd be down for, although I don't expect them to actually go that route.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 12, 2019 19:49:21 GMT
Cary Grant
Genre: Comedy (Screwball & Romantic)
Has there ever been a more influential leading man in screwball and romantic comedy?
The short answer is no. From the oveure of that other very famous comedic Grant (Hugh) to most of the non-dramatic stuff George Clooney puts out (including his Coen Brothers stuff) to the a huge swathe of Matthew McConaughey's pre-Mconissance rom-com career, the spirit of Cary Grant has infected almost every leading man who dared to dabble in these forms of comedy. Denzel Washington when he decided to do a romantic comedy, instinctively knew who the measuring stick was. So he took Grant's The Bishops Wife, renamed it The Preacher's Wife, channeled Grant's effortless charm, and gave himself the most successful and fondly remembered of his comedy projects.
When the late, great Christopher Reeve was tasked with bringing the role of Superman to life, Reeve decided to model the Man Of Steel' s alter ego Clark Kent, on a Cary Grant screwball comedy protagonist. And it was a masterstroke of a decision. Grant is even influencing acting choices in the Superhero genre.
The movies are numerous. Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday, The Philidelphia Story....and many more. Grant owned his niche like no other, and it secured his legend.
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sirchuck23
Based
Bad news dawg...you don't mind if I have some of your 300 dollar a glass shit there would ya?
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 13, 2019 3:30:31 GMT
Eddie MurphyGenre: ComedyQuite simply in my opinion, the greatest comic actor ever. This man had tremendous success in every facet of comedy from standup (including Delirious and Raw his standup specials), to tv sketch comedy (became the star and face of Saturday Night Live at age 20), to his legendary run in movies. Eddie at his apex I believe was just on another level. He broke through in films in 1982 with a co-starring role in 48 Hrs. as Reggie Hammond, the fast talking, slick, convict released from prison to help Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) catch a former associate of his. The unexpected chemistry between Nolte and Murphy along with Walter Hill's direction helped this film become a hit and Murphy announcing his arrival in movies. To prove 48 Hrs. wasn't a fluke, he followed that up with Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then became a bonafide A-List movie star with his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and put his stamp as the biggest comedic actor on the planet. With Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America rounding out his 80s run, Murphy was already a comedy legend before he hit the age of 30. Coming to America saw Murphy use his ability to transform himself into different characters (he showed this talent during his SNL run as well) and bring the house down with how hilarious they were, like the great Peter Sellers before him. He returned to this well again in 1996 with his remake of Jerry Lewis 1963 film The Nutty Professor where he did a herculean task of playing all but one of the Klump family members. Had the comedy genre not have historically been treated as the ugly stepchild by the Oscars, Murphy would've been more than deserving of an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Nutty Professor was one of Murphy's biggest hits in a while when it came out and was deemed as sort of a comeback for him since before than the 90s were seen as a slump for him. In 1999, comedy lovers were treated to a dream team up when Eddie starred alongside another comedy legend, Steve Martin, in Bowfinger. A funny spoof on Hollywood and movie making, Eddie played two totally different characters in Kit Ramsey (a funny sendoff of his own actual persona) and Jiff, a nerdish, naive lookalike who's manipulated into pretending to be Kit so Bowfinger can make his film. I daresay Bowfinger could've been another Oscar nomination for Murphy if again the Oscars were kinder to comedy films..this scene alone explains his rare comedic gifts Since that time though unfortunately, Murphy has moved to doing forgettable kids movies and has seemed to lost his drive and motivation for comedy. He was finally nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls but lost out because he had the misfortune of also having the dreadful Norbit out in theaters during the voting process. He's also had success as a voice actor for the animated film series Shrek as Donkey, but his fans wishing he could return to the greatness he showed in the 80s and late 90s are still waiting and perhaps will never see that Eddie Murphy again. Regardless, Eddie Murphy has had a legendary long career in Hollywood and his impact not only on the Comedy genre in regards to movies but Comedy itself as a performance art form is unarguable. In relation to comedy actors, he's the GOAT. Honorable Mentions: Boomerang and Life, two of his underrated films
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 13, 2019 4:02:17 GMT
Eddie MurphyGenre: ComedyQuite simply in my opinion, the greatest comic actor ever. This man had tremendous success in every facet of comedy from standup (including Delirious and Raw his standup specials), to tv sketch comedy (became the star and face of Saturday Night Live at age 20), to his legendary run in movies. Eddie at his apex I believe was just on another level. He broke through in films in 1982 with a co-starring role in 48 Hrs. as Reggie Hammond, the fast talking, slick, convict released from prison to help Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) catch a former associate of his. The unexpected chemistry between Nolte and Murphy along with Walter Hill's direction helped this film become a hit and Murphy announcing his arrival in movies. To prove 48 Hrs. wasn't a fluke, he followed that up with Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then became a bonafide A-List movie star with his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and put his stamp as the biggest comedic actor on the planet. With Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America rounding out his 80s run, Murphy was already a comedy legend before he hit the age of 30. Coming to America saw Murphy use his ability to transform himself into different characters (he showed this talent during his SNL run as well) and bring the house down with how hilarious they were, like the great Peter Sellers before him. He returned to this well again in 1996 with his remake of Jerry Lewis 1963 film The Nutty Professor where he did a herculean task of playing all but one of the Klump family members. Had the comedy genre not have historically been treated as the ugly stepchild by the Oscars, Murphy would've been more than deserving of an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Nutty Professor was one of Murphy's biggest hits in a while when it came out and was deemed as sort of a comeback for him since before than the 90s were seen as a slump for him. In 1999, comedy lovers were treated to a dream team up when Eddie starred alongside another comedy legend, Steve Martin, in Bowfinger. A funny spoof on Hollywood and movie making, Eddie played two totally different characters in Kit Ramsey (a funny sendoff of his own actual persona) and Jiff, a nerdish, naive lookalike who's manipulated into pretending to be Kit so Bowfinger can make his film. I daresay Bowfinger could've been another Oscar nomination for Murphy if again the Oscars were kinder to comedy films..this scene alone explains his rare comedic gifts Since that time though unfortunately, Murphy has moved to doing forgettable kids movies and has seemed to lost his drive and motivation for comedy. He was finally nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls but lost out because he had the misfortune of also having the dreadful Norbit out in theaters during the voting process. He's also had success as a voice actor for the animated film series Shrek as Donkey, but his fans wishing he could return to the greatness he showed in the 80s and late 90s are still waiting and perhaps will never see that Eddie Murphy again. Regardless, Eddie Murphy has had a legendary long career in Hollywood and his impact not only on the Comedy genre in regards to movies but Comedy itself as a performance art form is unarguable. In relation to comedy actors, he's the GOAT. Honorable Mentions: Boomerang and Life, two of his underrated films Eddie Murphy also has one of the most remarkable breakout stories ever. He was discovered for SNL, and made his film debut only at 21, and he was already a star overnight. His sly, wisecracking humor and eventually "multiple character roles", made him a hit with audiences. Heck his concert film Raw, is still the highest grossing comedy concert film ever. You know you aren't super popular, until you have a comedy concert top the chart (his idol Richard Pryor also had quite a few popular comedy concerts for reference). Of course Murphy also had dark period after Harlem Nights, before The Nutty Professor put him back on track, where he starred in a number of flops, though I will also defend Boomerang, a movie I quite enjoy, that also feature him doing a different role, his sole pure attempt at being a Romantic lead. To me Murphy represents a sort of talent that is practically dead in the movie world. The "comedic superstar", big draws who were usually guaranteed to make you laugh, even if there movies weren't always great or even that good. In the 80s you had the likes of Murphy, Williams, and Murray and in the 90's you had Carrey, and Sandler among others. Even Will Ferrell is a more recent example. While there are plenty of talents comedic actors, that sort of "big comedy personality", seems like a real rare breed in the movies these days. It's very depressing to read that the highest grossing straight comedy this year was A Madea Family Funeral with just 73m, when movies like Animal House, and Coming to America, and Ghostbusters, and Liar Liar, and so on, use to gross blockbuster numbers. The rise of Netflix and other online stream like every other thing, have made the genre seem obsolete to most modern moviegoers.
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sirchuck23
Based
Bad news dawg...you don't mind if I have some of your 300 dollar a glass shit there would ya?
Posts: 2,712
Likes: 4,820
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 13, 2019 4:19:39 GMT
Eddie MurphyGenre: ComedyQuite simply in my opinion, the greatest comic actor ever. This man had tremendous success in every facet of comedy from standup (including Delirious and Raw his standup specials), to tv sketch comedy (became the star and face of Saturday Night Live at age 20), to his legendary run in movies. Eddie at his apex I believe was just on another level. He broke through in films in 1982 with a co-starring role in 48 Hrs. as Reggie Hammond, the fast talking, slick, convict released from prison to help Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) catch a former associate of his. The unexpected chemistry between Nolte and Murphy along with Walter Hill's direction helped this film become a hit and Murphy announcing his arrival in movies. To prove 48 Hrs. wasn't a fluke, he followed that up with Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then became a bonafide A-List movie star with his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and put his stamp as the biggest comedic actor on the planet. With Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America rounding out his 80s run, Murphy was already a comedy legend before he hit the age of 30. Coming to America saw Murphy use his ability to transform himself into different characters (he showed this talent during his SNL run as well) and bring the house down with how hilarious they were, like the great Peter Sellers before him. He returned to this well again in 1996 with his remake of Jerry Lewis 1963 film The Nutty Professor where he did a herculean task of playing all but one of the Klump family members. Had the comedy genre not have historically been treated as the ugly stepchild by the Oscars, Murphy would've been more than deserving of an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Nutty Professor was one of Murphy's biggest hits in a while when it came out and was deemed as sort of a comeback for him since before than the 90s were seen as a slump for him. In 1999, comedy lovers were treated to a dream team up when Eddie starred alongside another comedy legend, Steve Martin, in Bowfinger. A funny spoof on Hollywood and movie making, Eddie played two totally different characters in Kit Ramsey (a funny sendoff of his own actual persona) and Jiff, a nerdish, naive lookalike who's manipulated into pretending to be Kit so Bowfinger can make his film. I daresay Bowfinger could've been another Oscar nomination for Murphy if again the Oscars were kinder to comedy films..this scene alone explains his rare comedic gifts Since that time though unfortunately, Murphy has moved to doing forgettable kids movies and has seemed to lost his drive and motivation for comedy. He was finally nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls but lost out because he had the misfortune of also having the dreadful Norbit out in theaters during the voting process. He's also had success as a voice actor for the animated film series Shrek as Donkey, but his fans wishing he could return to the greatness he showed in the 80s and late 90s are still waiting and perhaps will never see that Eddie Murphy again. Regardless, Eddie Murphy has had a legendary long career in Hollywood and his impact not only on the Comedy genre in regards to movies but Comedy itself as a performance art form is unarguable. In relation to comedy actors, he's the GOAT. Honorable Mentions: Boomerang and Life, two of his underrated films Eddie Murphy also has one of the most remarkable breakout stories ever. He was discovered for SNL, and made his film debut only at 21, and he was already a star overnight. His sly, wisecracking humor and eventually "multiple character roles", made him a hit with audiences. Heck his concert film Raw, is still the highest grossing comedy concert film ever. You know you aren't super popular, until you have a comedy concert top the chart (his idol Richard Pryor also had quite a few popular comedy concerts for reference). Of course Murphy also had dark period after Harlem Nights, before The Nutty Professor put him back on track, where he starred in a number of flops, though I will also defend Boomerang, a movie I quite enjoy, that also feature him doing a different role, his sole pure attempt at being a Romantic lead. To me Murphy represents a sort of talent that is practically dead in the movie world. The "comedic superstar", big draws who were usually guaranteed to make you laugh, even if there movies weren't always great or even that good. In the 80s you had the likes of Murphy, Williams, and Murray and in the 90's you had Carrey, and Sandler among others. Even Will Ferrell is a more recent example. While there are plenty of talents comedic actors, that sort of "big comedy personality", seems like a real rare breed in the movies these days. It's very depressing to read that the highest grossing straight comedy this year was A Madea Family Funeral with just 73m, when movies like Animal House, and Coming to America, and Ghostbusters, and Liar Liar, and so on, use to gross blockbuster numbers. The rise of Netflix and other online stream like every other thing, have made the genre seem obsolete to most modern moviegoers. I agree with everything you said. Those "comedic superstars" are rare. Kevin Hart is probably the closest thing to that today, but comparing him to the likes of Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, and Jim Carrey is laughable, their comedic skills and timing were just on another level. I thought Melissa McCarthy was going to have one of those superstar like runs after Bridesmaids and she did have The Heat, Spy, and Identity Thief do great at the box office, but her comedy films have been making less and less money and they're getting crappier. The less said about The Happytime Murders the better. So I don't know how much she has left as it relates to comedy and maybe that's why she's focusing on more dramatic material like Can you ever forgive me? But like you said Eddie's career has been up and down, his 90s was pretty bad until The Nutty Professor and since 1999 he went the kids movie rout for the easy paychecks. You wouldn't be wrong to think he just doesn't have the ambition for it anymore and its hard not see that when he pretty much accomplished everything a comedian could dream of doing.....before he turned 30. Hell being the face of SNL would be a dream for some comedians in their 40s and he accomplished that before it was legal for him to drink alcohol. He was a wunderkid in a way. He was so big in the 80s he released a sort of corny song with "Party All The Time" and it ended up being in the Billboard Top 10 singles for 1986...lol..it was crazy how big of a star he was.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 13, 2019 4:38:09 GMT
Eddie Murphy also has one of the most remarkable breakout stories ever. He was discovered for SNL, and made his film debut only at 21, and he was already a star overnight. His sly, wisecracking humor and eventually "multiple character roles", made him a hit with audiences. Heck his concert film Raw, is still the highest grossing comedy concert film ever. You know you aren't super popular, until you have a comedy concert top the chart (his idol Richard Pryor also had quite a few popular comedy concerts for reference). Of course Murphy also had dark period after Harlem Nights, before The Nutty Professor put him back on track, where he starred in a number of flops, though I will also defend Boomerang, a movie I quite enjoy, that also feature him doing a different role, his sole pure attempt at being a Romantic lead. To me Murphy represents a sort of talent that is practically dead in the movie world. The "comedic superstar", big draws who were usually guaranteed to make you laugh, even if there movies weren't always great or even that good. In the 80s you had the likes of Murphy, Williams, and Murray and in the 90's you had Carrey, and Sandler among others. Even Will Ferrell is a more recent example. While there are plenty of talents comedic actors, that sort of "big comedy personality", seems like a real rare breed in the movies these days. It's very depressing to read that the highest grossing straight comedy this year was A Madea Family Funeral with just 73m, when movies like Animal House, and Coming to America, and Ghostbusters, and Liar Liar, and so on, use to gross blockbuster numbers. The rise of Netflix and other online stream like every other thing, have made the genre seem obsolete to most modern moviegoers. I agree with everything you said. Those "comedic superstars" are rare. Kevin Hart is probably the closest thing to that today, but comparing him to the likes of Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, and Jim Carrey is laughable, their comedic skills and timing were just on another level. I thought Melissa McCarthy was going to have one of those superstar like runs after Bridesmaids and she did have The Heat, Spy, and Identity Thief do great at the box office, but her comedy films have been making less and less money and they're getting crappier. The less said about The Happytime Murders the better. So I don't know how much she has left as it relates to comedy and maybe that's why she's focusing on more dramatic material like Can you ever forgive me? But like you said Eddie's career has been up and down, his 90s was pretty bad until The Nutty Professor and since 1999 he went the kids movie rout for the easy paychecks. You wouldn't be wrong to think he just doesn't have the ambition for it anymore and its hard not see that when he pretty much accomplished everything a comedian could dream of doing.....before he turned 30. Hell being the face of SNL would be a dream for some comedians in their 40s and he accomplished that before it was legal for him to drink alcohol. He was a wunderkid in a way. He was so big in the 80s he released a sort of corny song with "Party All The Time" and it ended up being in the Billboard Top 10 singles for 1986...lol..it was crazy how big of a star he was. Kevin Hart can be good, and clearly has his audience, but we're in a much different era in terms of original comedies, and even "box office legs". It's not surprising that his biggest film Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle had him paired up with a bunch of other recognizable names. Same with McCartney, who also probably recognizes that, hence why she's branching out, outside of dumb comedies. That Eddie Murphy single being as big as a hit as it was is crazy. That could definitely could only happen in 1985, and it even led him to a brief career as a serious singer. He was on top of the world at one point. I do wish Murphy was a bit more ambitious these days. Sure he's had a long career, and he probably never needs to work a single day. But he hasn't really been in much in the past decade. I'm not sure that Coming to America sequel is such a great idea (seems like his attempt to recall his glory days), but that My Name is Dolemite Netflix film, sounds like it has a lot of promise, and I'm down with Murphy branching out and doing more drama. It's something he's rarely done, and it's mostly been good. Dreamgirls, and the second half of Life for example, show that he can be a really solid dramatic performer when he pushes himself.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 6:42:59 GMT
Eddie MurphyGenre: ComedyQuite simply in my opinion, the greatest comic actor ever. This man had tremendous success in every facet of comedy from standup (including Delirious and Raw his standup specials), to tv sketch comedy (became the star and face of Saturday Night Live at age 20), to his legendary run in movies. Eddie at his apex I believe was just on another level. He broke through in films in 1982 with a co-starring role in 48 Hrs. as Reggie Hammond, the fast talking, slick, convict released from prison to help Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) catch a former associate of his. The unexpected chemistry between Nolte and Murphy along with Walter Hill's direction helped this film become a hit and Murphy announcing his arrival in movies. To prove 48 Hrs. wasn't a fluke, he followed that up with Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then became a bonafide A-List movie star with his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and put his stamp as the biggest comedic actor on the planet. With Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America rounding out his 80s run, Murphy was already a comedy legend before he hit the age of 30. Coming to America saw Murphy use his ability to transform himself into different characters (he showed this talent during his SNL run as well) and bring the house down with how hilarious they were, like the great Peter Sellers before him. He returned to this well again in 1996 with his remake of Jerry Lewis 1963 film The Nutty Professor where he did a herculean task of playing all but one of the Klump family members. Had the comedy genre not have historically been treated as the ugly stepchild by the Oscars, Murphy would've been more than deserving of an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Nutty Professor was one of Murphy's biggest hits in a while when it came out and was deemed as sort of a comeback for him since before than the 90s were seen as a slump for him. In 1999, comedy lovers were treated to a dream team up when Eddie starred alongside another comedy legend, Steve Martin, in Bowfinger. A funny spoof on Hollywood and movie making, Eddie played two totally different characters in Kit Ramsey (a funny sendoff of his own actual persona) and Jiff, a nerdish, naive lookalike who's manipulated into pretending to be Kit so Bowfinger can make his film. I daresay Bowfinger could've been another Oscar nomination for Murphy if again the Oscars were kinder to comedy films..this scene alone explains his rare comedic gifts Since that time though unfortunately, Murphy has moved to doing forgettable kids movies and has seemed to lost his drive and motivation for comedy. He was finally nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls but lost out because he had the misfortune of also having the dreadful Norbit out in theaters during the voting process. He's also had success as a voice actor for the animated film series Shrek as Donkey, but his fans wishing he could return to the greatness he showed in the 80s and late 90s are still waiting and perhaps will never see that Eddie Murphy again. Regardless, Eddie Murphy has had a legendary long career in Hollywood and his impact not only on the Comedy genre in regards to movies but Comedy itself as a performance art form is unarguable. In relation to comedy actors, he's the GOAT. Honorable Mentions: Boomerang and Life, two of his underrated films Great post! Hard to add to that. I'd agree that Murphy probably is the greatest comic actor ever ( Peter Sellers tends to get this nod more from cinephiles, probably in part because he worked with the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Hal Ashby, but in truth, Murphy could do everything Sellers could and more). People don't quite grasp the extent of his acting ability, because as you point out, comedy tends to be somewhat disrespected in craft terms when it comes to awards and such (Murphy should be a multiple Oscar winner, and for more than Dreamgirls). When you compare Murphy to Chris Rock, who may be the greatest stand-up comedian of all time (a claim Murphy also has, but I'd edge Rock ahead in that regard), as comic actors, you'll see the level of acting skill between them is a gaping chasm. And Rock is a solid comic actor, able to hold his own with the likes of Adam Sandler onscreen. But Murphy in terms of skill and range as a comic actor, is simply a completely different level.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 6:54:11 GMT
Eddie MurphyGenre: ComedyQuite simply in my opinion, the greatest comic actor ever. This man had tremendous success in every facet of comedy from standup (including Delirious and Raw his standup specials), to tv sketch comedy (became the star and face of Saturday Night Live at age 20), to his legendary run in movies. Eddie at his apex I believe was just on another level. He broke through in films in 1982 with a co-starring role in 48 Hrs. as Reggie Hammond, the fast talking, slick, convict released from prison to help Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) catch a former associate of his. The unexpected chemistry between Nolte and Murphy along with Walter Hill's direction helped this film become a hit and Murphy announcing his arrival in movies. To prove 48 Hrs. wasn't a fluke, he followed that up with Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then became a bonafide A-List movie star with his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop and put his stamp as the biggest comedic actor on the planet. With Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America rounding out his 80s run, Murphy was already a comedy legend before he hit the age of 30. Coming to America saw Murphy use his ability to transform himself into different characters (he showed this talent during his SNL run as well) and bring the house down with how hilarious they were, like the great Peter Sellers before him. He returned to this well again in 1996 with his remake of Jerry Lewis 1963 film The Nutty Professor where he did a herculean task of playing all but one of the Klump family members. Had the comedy genre not have historically been treated as the ugly stepchild by the Oscars, Murphy would've been more than deserving of an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Nutty Professor was one of Murphy's biggest hits in a while when it came out and was deemed as sort of a comeback for him since before than the 90s were seen as a slump for him. In 1999, comedy lovers were treated to a dream team up when Eddie starred alongside another comedy legend, Steve Martin, in Bowfinger. A funny spoof on Hollywood and movie making, Eddie played two totally different characters in Kit Ramsey (a funny sendoff of his own actual persona) and Jiff, a nerdish, naive lookalike who's manipulated into pretending to be Kit so Bowfinger can make his film. I daresay Bowfinger could've been another Oscar nomination for Murphy if again the Oscars were kinder to comedy films..this scene alone explains his rare comedic gifts Since that time though unfortunately, Murphy has moved to doing forgettable kids movies and has seemed to lost his drive and motivation for comedy. He was finally nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls but lost out because he had the misfortune of also having the dreadful Norbit out in theaters during the voting process. He's also had success as a voice actor for the animated film series Shrek as Donkey, but his fans wishing he could return to the greatness he showed in the 80s and late 90s are still waiting and perhaps will never see that Eddie Murphy again. Regardless, Eddie Murphy has had a legendary long career in Hollywood and his impact not only on the Comedy genre in regards to movies but Comedy itself as a performance art form is unarguable. In relation to comedy actors, he's the GOAT. Honorable Mentions: Boomerang and Life, two of his underrated films Eddie Murphy also has one of the most remarkable breakout stories ever. He was discovered for SNL, and made his film debut only at 21, and he was already a star overnight. His sly, wisecracking humor and eventually "multiple character roles", made him a hit with audiences. Heck his concert film Raw, is still the highest grossing comedy concert film ever. You know you aren't super popular, until you have a comedy concert top the chart (his idol Richard Pryor also had quite a few popular comedy concerts for reference). Of course Murphy also had dark period after Harlem Nights, before The Nutty Professor put him back on track, where he starred in a number of flops, though I will also defend Boomerang, a movie I quite enjoy, that also feature him doing a different role, his sole pure attempt at being a Romantic lead. To me Murphy represents a sort of talent that is practically dead in the movie world. The "comedic superstar", big draws who were usually guaranteed to make you laugh, even if there movies weren't always great or even that good. In the 80s you had the likes of Murphy, Williams, and Murray and in the 90's you had Carrey, and Sandler among others. Even Will Ferrell is a more recent example. While there are plenty of talents comedic actors, that sort of "big comedy personality", seems like a real rare breed in the movies these days. It's very depressing to read that the highest grossing straight comedy this year was A Madea Family Funeral with just 73m, when movies like Animal House, and Coming to America, and Ghostbusters, and Liar Liar, and so on, use to gross blockbuster numbers. The rise of Netflix and other online stream like every other thing, have made the genre seem obsolete to most modern moviegoers. I honestly don't think the 1990's was as bad for Murphy as people like to claim. Sure it was uneven, but he had some pretty decent outings overall. In addition to Boomerang (which I consider a classic), The Distinguished Gentleman may be Murphy's single most underrated film. It's very clever and very funny, especially if you enjoy satires on politics. Life and Bowfinger were great, and Mulan as well if we count animated projects.
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 13, 2019 13:10:02 GMT
48 Hrs, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America. His 80s run was exceptional!!! I really like the guy, I think he's the best comedic actor since Peter Sellers (alongside Williams who is a much more versatile).
He carried many films on his own, he collaborated with some major stars (comedic and not) like Martin, Stiller, Broderick, De Niro, Lawrence and of course Pryor.
He tried different genres like action and rom coms and two of his best performances was dramatic: Dreamgirls and Mr Church. Can't wait to see Dolemite Is My Name. Who knows, if it goes well maybe he'll end up at the red carpet.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 13, 2019 15:33:06 GMT
"I'd agree that Murphy probably is the greatest comic actor ever (Peter Sellers tends to get this nod more from cinephiles, probably in part because he worked with the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Hal Ashby, but in truth, Murphy could do everything Sellers could and more)."No..........just..........no ............
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 13, 2019 15:37:20 GMT
Eddie Murphy also has one of the most remarkable breakout stories ever. He was discovered for SNL, and made his film debut only at 21, and he was already a star overnight. His sly, wisecracking humor and eventually "multiple character roles", made him a hit with audiences. Heck his concert film Raw, is still the highest grossing comedy concert film ever. You know you aren't super popular, until you have a comedy concert top the chart (his idol Richard Pryor also had quite a few popular comedy concerts for reference). Of course Murphy also had dark period after Harlem Nights, before The Nutty Professor put him back on track, where he starred in a number of flops, though I will also defend Boomerang, a movie I quite enjoy, that also feature him doing a different role, his sole pure attempt at being a Romantic lead. To me Murphy represents a sort of talent that is practically dead in the movie world. The "comedic superstar", big draws who were usually guaranteed to make you laugh, even if there movies weren't always great or even that good. In the 80s you had the likes of Murphy, Williams, and Murray and in the 90's you had Carrey, and Sandler among others. Even Will Ferrell is a more recent example. While there are plenty of talents comedic actors, that sort of "big comedy personality", seems like a real rare breed in the movies these days. It's very depressing to read that the highest grossing straight comedy this year was A Madea Family Funeral with just 73m, when movies like Animal House, and Coming to America, and Ghostbusters, and Liar Liar, and so on, use to gross blockbuster numbers. The rise of Netflix and other online stream like every other thing, have made the genre seem obsolete to most modern moviegoers. I honestly don't think the 1990's was as bad for Murphy as people like to claim. Sure it was uneven, but he had some pretty decent outings overall. In addition to Boomerang (which I consider a classic), The Distinguished Gentleman may be Murphy's single most underrated film. It's very clever and very funny, especially if you enjoy satires on politics. Life and Bowfinger were great, and Mulan as well if we count animated projects. I was more referring to the fact that he did Beverly Hills Cop III, and Vampire in Brooklyn back to back, among others, both really big flops, and the perception was that, his career was sagging at the time, until The Nutty Professor. I actually enjoy quite a bit of his 90s films. 1999 is probably his last really good year too. He did Life and Bowfinger back to back, both extremely different roles and films for him.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 15:40:06 GMT
Did you seriously just come back in this thread to start up with me again over some random, off the cuff comment about Peter Sellers and Eddie Murphy?!! Are you that bored? Get lost, you jealous, egotistical narccistic idiot. Must piss you off that this thread is surviving just fine without your contributions after your much vaunted "retirement" from adding to it, so you need to roll in to derail it again by being an utter asshole. Like I said, you are just revealing your own true nature with this behaviour. Your immaturity and envious nature bleeds through. This is a good thread. Attempting to ruin it (yet again) is so on brand for you. Jealous prick!
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 15:48:57 GMT
I honestly don't think the 1990's was as bad for Murphy as people like to claim. Sure it was uneven, but he had some pretty decent outings overall. In addition to Boomerang (which I consider a classic), The Distinguished Gentleman may be Murphy's single most underrated film. It's very clever and very funny, especially if you enjoy satires on politics. Life and Bowfinger were great, and Mulan as well if we count animated projects. I was more referring to the fact that he did Beverly Hills Cop III, and Vampire in Brooklyn back to back, among others, both really big flops, and the perception was that, his career was sagging at the time, until The Nutty Professor. I actually enjoy quite a bit of his 90s films. 1999 is probably his last really good year too. He did Life and Bowfinger back to back, both extremely different roles and films for him. Yeah, I'd agree with that. Perception wise, his worst at films in the 90's seemed to come at such a concentrated period, that it did look pretty bad. But when looking at the decade as a whole, it added a lot to Murphy's legacy.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 13, 2019 15:50:33 GMT
Just sayin' to write that Peter Sellers couldn't do something is a pretty bold claim and you can't back it up - so why say it - so maybe you shouldn't say it at all unless you can, which you can't.
That's a pretty big random off the cuff remark. It's just a thread you didn't cure cancer, calm yourself, breath deeply, count to 10.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 15:54:45 GMT
Grow up. You are being a dick and deliberately trying to screw with this thread again.
Like I said, bored, narccistic, jealous and immature. Nobody paying enough attention to pacinoyes this week, so let's start some fresh drama with Pupdurcs. That'll get 'em to notice me again.
Get out the house or something and relax for a few hours. I'm not interested in your games.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 13, 2019 16:02:40 GMT
Just block me if you don't like it or don't reply. Otherwise deal with it?
It's a Peter Sellers thing and that was a ridiculous comment so I replied......that's all.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 13, 2019 16:06:40 GMT
No blocking (yet). I still enjoy the fringe benefit of everyone seeing you behave like the type of desperate attention seeking troll you've so often mocked in the past You used to be so slick and cool under pressure. Sad to see you reduced to this
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 13, 2019 16:14:50 GMT
Well................if it's sad to see me reduced to this, well then I guess I can look forward to messing up your thread if you're going to reply to everything I say anyway like you're my slavish robot b*tch?
But yes, if you've admitted you don't know wtf you were talking about regarding Peter Sellers then, my point is made.....
Carry on.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 13, 2019 16:16:48 GMT
I was more referring to the fact that he did Beverly Hills Cop III, and Vampire in Brooklyn back to back, among others, both really big flops, and the perception was that, his career was sagging at the time, until The Nutty Professor. I actually enjoy quite a bit of his 90s films. 1999 is probably his last really good year too. He did Life and Bowfinger back to back, both extremely different roles and films for him. Yeah, I'd agree with that. Perception wise, his worst at films in the 90's seemed to come at such a concentrated period, that it did look pretty bad. But when looking at the decade as a whole, it added a lot to Murphy's legacy. Oh sure. The Nutty Professor opened a whole new platform for him to play multiple characters, and even Doctor Dolittle was the first of many "family films", that would make up his 2000s, for better or worse. I'd say the 90s were a significant decade for him, if only in a much different way when compared to the 80s.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 14, 2019 7:46:20 GMT
Wesley SnipesGenre: ActionIn many ways, I feel like Wesley Snipes could be be fairly considered to be one of the most underrated actors of all time. A great actor, but never really gotten the due of one. An explosive and powerful screen presence, Snipes actually made his mark in other genres as well, including comedy and certain forms of drama. For my money, Snipes's brilliant portrayal of batshit crazy gangster Nino Brown in New Jack City stands up with anything Al Pacino did in his swaggering Scarface or much of the seminal gangster work of James Cagney.But we aren't here to talk about Snipes in the Gangster genre. His contributions to the action genre are probably what he's best defined for among wider audiences, and likely contributed to his not being quite viewed as the master thespian some of his peers might be viewed as, despite the talent and charisma to burn. For my money, Snipes had one of the most impressive action runs of the 1990's, precisely because he was an action star (with the moves and everything) who could hold his own against the best actors on the planet. He kicked off his action career with Passenger 57 ( which could be fairly described as Die Hard On A Plane). That proved a success, so the following year in 1993 teamed Snipes with a movie legend Sean Connery, in the highly entertaining Yakuza action/crime film Rising Sun. Connery and Snipes being two actors who can generate chemistry with almost anyone proved an appealing pair.
In a show of absolute defiance, Snipes then went on to act opposite one of the reigning action stars of his era/generation, Sylvester Stallone in the sci-fi action blockbuster Demolition Man, and proceeded to absolutely steal the movie from Stallone (and everyone else). As the demented, bleach blonde villain Simon Phoenix, Sniper gave a skilled, wildly entertaining performance that was in many ways a precursor to the kind of really skilled villain performance esteemed actors started giving in blockbusters years later and got awards notice for ( ie Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or Javier Bardem in Skyfall).
After acting Stallone off the screen , Snipes continued to dabble in the action genre, as well as showing his versatility as an actor in several other genres. But in 1998, his biggest contribution to the action genre was born in Blade. A ground-breaking action/vampire/superhero mash-up directed by Stephen Norrington, Blade seemed to reinvigorate several genres at once with it's stylish approach. A huge part of the film's success was due to Snipes, who gave the role The gravitas and pathos of a serious actor, but also the physicality and martial arts skills of a world class and genre specialist action star. It was a beautiful combination.
There was a great sequel, Blade 2 directed by Guillermo Del Toro, and a third movie that is better left unspoken about. Snipes career had peaked at this point, and legal troubles and increasingly being cast in lower budget or direct to video action films hurt his lustre and career. But for a while there in A-list Hollywood film, Snipes was that rare unicorn: A legit action star and trained martial artist, who was also an exceptional actor.
Watch this brief clip from Blade, where Snipes delivers a brilliant one-liner, before finishing off a Vampire in a nice action move.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 14, 2019 17:29:48 GMT
Great choice. I think people forget just big Snipes really was. I think in his prime he was almost getting paid as much as Denzel was (coincidentally they both appeared in Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues, though that was much earlier on in Wesley's career, so he was supporting Denzel), and shared equal billing and screentime with big-stars like Stallone and Connery. However Snipes' made a lot of bad career choices as well, when he did Blade he was actually in need of a hit, because his last few films prior like Murder at 1600, and The Fan with DeNiro had proven to be costly duds, as well his attempts to chase that Passenger 57 money, with diminishing returns (Drop Zone, Money Train etc...). What ultimately did Snipes in though, was his arrogance in thinking that he didn't need to pay his taxes. This led to a career in straight to DVD actioneers for many years, which I don't think is fair, because unlike other action stars of the time who had also gone the straight to DVD route like Seagal, Snipes could actually act. Seeing any clips from the cheap looking Art of War 2, made me a bit sad.
I don't think Blade gets its due. Sure it's not what we think of as a conventional comic-book film, but I think its success proved that you could adapt lesser known properties, and have some level of success. Heck The Blade character himself had never had a series prior to that movie, some of the mythology of that film, like Kris Kristofferson's Whistler mentor character, was directly created for that film. Though, honestly, I probably prefer Blade 2 overall. It's just got some damn fine action sequences, and with del toro in the directors chair, it's really stylish overall, even if the movie does tend to overuse CGI a bit too much for my liking.
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