The Silver Screen Oasis

This is such an interesting read from all of you. As I have been looking at your lists, I realize that many of your favorites are mine, too. I really hadn't put together a list in my mind, but seeing these names got an "Of course!" response. Most interesting to me are the directors. I had never thought about how many times I've seen a particular director's name on the opening credits, and felt a buzz of anticipation. Thanks to all of you for giving my idea real focus. Hope others continue to list their favorites.

Yo, Adrianne!

pktrekgirl wrote:Johnny Depp (IMO the most talented actor around today...

I agree. And I also admire him for taking so many risks in the roles he accepts.

dfordoom wrote:

pktrekgirl wrote:Johnny Depp (IMO the most talented actor around today...

I agree. And I also admire him for taking so many risks in the roles he accepts.

I like to think of him as a modern day Burt Lancaster.

JohnM wrote:Meryl Streep has done this, as well.

I just can't watch anything with her in it. I have never believed in any character she has ever played.

JohnM wrote:Because she's always "acting".

Yes. And you can see the quotation marks when she's acting!

JohnM wrote:While I agree that Depp is an excellent actor, I also have issue with the fact that sometimes his characterizations are without regard for their place in the film as a whole. Meryl Streep has done this, as well. Perhaps it's just me; but I sometimes find myself wondering what their characters are supposed to be, within the context of the film I'm watching. They stand apart from the film, and I find that somewhat annoying. Not always, just sometimes. Regardless, he's excellent at what he does.

Well, I think that it Johnny Depp's case, it might be because his characters are often so unique. Some are odd, some quirky, some downright bizarre. In only a couple of films has he played a 'normal' person...and in those films, every OTHER character in the film was abnormal, so he even stood out THEN.

I think that's why I love him so much. He takes these really risky roles - roles that could very easily flop and look positively absurd if not done with an injection of that 'something extra'...and makes them work.

Even from his earliest work, it was there. Look at Edward Sissorhands...or Benny & Joon (a film in which his character is a depiction of a cross between Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton...in love with a mentally ill girl). Or look at Sleepy Hollow... Or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

And Ed Wood...well, Ed Wood was one WEIRD guy, you know? And his character in Chocolat was not exactly the most normal guy on the planet either.

And then turn around and look at What's Eating Gilbert Grape - a film in which he plays the only NORMAL character in the entire thing.

And then we have Captain Jack Sparrow. Special effects or no - as Orlando Bloom so aptly put it recently - at first, they thought they were making a movie about a Disney ride.

But by the end of it, throngs of people (myself included) thought Johnny Depp was ROBBED of an Oscar. For a friggin' CGI-intense PIRATE movie.

I mean, that film could have been SOOOOOO lame. But instead, here we are awaiting Pirates III. And IMO, Johnny Depp is in large part the reason.

Hi all-
Checking on from the TCM boards. This looks like it might be a fun place to be!

Stars I always watch:
There aren't a lot, because I'm prejudiced against war movies and westerns. I shear off from anything with words like "battle" or "squadron," "cheyenne," "canyon, " "west," etc in the titles, no matter who's in them. (usually)

Marlene Dietrich
Katharine Hepburn
Cary Grant
Bette Davis
Ginger Rogers
William Powell
Mischa Auer
Lucille Ball (not Lucy)

Can't think of any modern stars, really, except maybe Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan (cute phase).

Speaking of Johnny Depp, took the kids to see the latest Pirates movie last night. Not sure I liked it--interesting mythological angle--but I think they pandered a little too much to the adrenaline junkies. But for me the most surreal moment was when Johnny Depp doing Keith Richards was on screen with Keith Richards playing his father. Loved it.

dfordoom wrote:

JohnM wrote:Because she's always "acting".

Yes. And you can see the quotation marks when she's acting!

I have been saying the same for so many years, and have been accused of being shortsighted or something by outraged self-appointed connoisseurs of fine film.

Just because someone is in a serious (most of the time even ponderous) movie doesn't make that person a great actor. Like so many other actresses I don't care much for, I think Streep's dramatic performances are humorless, and it should be possible to convey a sense of humor even in a "serious" portrayal. My position has always been that I like Streep much, much better in comedies, where she doesn't try to be the successor to Bernhardt, but just plays a part and looks like she's enjoying it.

She is someone who would generally cause me to avoid any film that had her name in the credits, unless it was a comedy.

Streep was a lot of fun to watch in "The Devil Wears Prada." Much more fun than Anne Hathaway.

jdb1 wrote:

dfordoom wrote:

JohnM wrote:Because she's always "acting".

Yes. And you can see the quotation marks when she's acting!

I have been saying the same for so many years, and have been accused of being shortsighted or something by outraged self-appointed connoisseurs of fine film.

Ah yes, I know that feeling well!

traceyk wrote:because I'm prejudiced against war movies and westerns. I shear off from anything with words like "battle" or "squadron," "cheyenne," "canyon, " "west," etc in the titles, no matter who's in them.

Yes, same here!