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Nicole's Top 10 Love 'Em / Hate 'Em MoviesAug 28 '07 (Updated Feb 25 '08) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Ah, the love/hate relationship. A long time ago I thought about doing a write-off that focused on actors or actresses you normally couldn’t stand, and yet there was one movie you could not deny that they were more than halfway decent in. You could either not like the actor/actress on a personal level or you just don’t think he/she can act. While I may never do that particular write-off, it did inspire this particular top 10 list. The first five movies are all movies I enjoy and have either an actor or actress in them that under regular circumstances I can’t take but somehow I really enjoyed them in these. The second group (mostly because I ran out of people for the first group, haha) is a bit of the opposite. The movie sucked in some way, but otherwise I enjoy the actor because they do have skill. So here they are, take ‘em or leave ‘em. I’m sure everyone has their own love/hate movie/actor relationship. Hate the Actor But Loved ‘Em In This Movie: 1. Gone In 60 Seconds - Angelina Jolie I don’t like Angelina Jolie in much of anything. She has never impressed me, and her attitude and strangeness outside of the silver screen gets a bit grating – and I don’t even follow what all these Hollywood people do. The only reason I might hear of something is because the media puts it, oh, EVERYWHERE. Still, in this movie with her bleached blonde dreadlocks, she was pretty decent. She acted the part as was needed and was even fun to watch as she stole cars and messed around with the boys as the only girl. I can’t deny her that. 2. The Faculty - Elijah Wood Ok, so I guess maybe I shouldn’t really use the word “hate” because I don’t hate Elijah Wood. At all. I just don’t think he’s a good actor. Please don’t mention Lord of the Rings to me because he drives me nuts as Frodo. I always try to give him the benefit of the doubt in that movie, like maybe he was supposed to act like a weak puppy with those sad eyes and constant pained smile. Ugh, but it’s still annoying. However, I often forget that yeah, that was Elijah Wood in The Faculty because he did a great job. I was busy enjoying the action and plight of the characters instead of thinking, “Geez, I wish Elijah Wood wasn’t in this.” I can also give him props for Deep Impact 3. Top Gun - Tom Cruise We all know this movie is the one crowning achievement of Tom Cruise before he went the way of all other Hollywood people. *cue the look that says, “Boy, he’s a wack job.”* True, I don’t really know if he’s nutty or not, but for the longest time Tom has bored me. He does a fair job taking on character personalities, but for the most part he’s been around so much he’s just Tom anymore. Everyone loved Top Gun for the plot, music, and acting. And yes, even I have to admit that as much as I am not a Tom Cruise fan, he was pretty sexy in that movie. (But Val Kilmer was hotter). 4. The Truth About Cats and Dogs - Uma Thurman I really can’t stand Uma Thurman either. A lot of guys think she’s sexy – I’m not a guy, but I can try and see through a guy’s eyes sometimes and agree, but not this time. I fail to see the sex appeal and I also fail to see what is so great about her. Most of the time I just don’t buy what she’s selling. Poison Ivy? Are you serious? That made me want to cry over the death of cool Batman villains the world over. The cartoon Poison Ivy was a thousand times better. I think the irony in all this is that the first time I ever saw Uma Thurman was in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and I really enjoyed the movie and the relationship between Thurman’s character and Janeane Garofalo’s character. Cute, believable albeit a little goofy, and pleasant to watch. Too bad I haven’t seen that since. 5. Gothika - Penelope Cruz Oftentimes I think an actor or actress gets hyped up for all the wrong reasons. Penelope shares some of the similar issues of Angelina Jolie in that I never really understood what all the hype was over her. Sometimes I suppose it’s because of some independent film I haven’t seen because it’s never released to us peons or because everyone thinks she’s the hottest chick since the last hottest chick (again, I never saw this. I don’t think she’s any prettier than myself or most of us Epinions ladies for that matter). However, in Gothika, while not the best movie ever or even the best scary movie ever, Penelope does a great job with her character. I really did feel sorry for her and want her to get out of the situation in order to be happy. Love the Actor But Hated This Movie: 1. It - Tim Curry Holy crap, after this movie, I couldn’t believe I wasted hours of my life on it. A pathetic excuse of a “scary” movie adapted from a Stephen King novel, with no real explanation to anything, the moment it came to the end I think the first words out of my mouth were ”Are you serious?” or maybe something in relation to the wasting of life time. The clown character is played by Tim Curry, and though the movie is utterly worthless, I absolutely love Tim Curry. I get all giddy when I think of him in Legend and I snicker when I think of him in Clue. I was sad when I missed the Psych episode with him in it. I’ll have to catch it on the rebound. 2. Dreamcatcher - Jason Lee I think the general consensus on this movie is that it sucks. Big time. Another adaptation of a Stephen King movie that failed miserably both on execution and scariness. A.k.a. waste of my time. Too bad Jason Lee was in it – he’s a fun actor and I like seeing him in random places. Maybe it would have been a better movie if Jason was a demon. He’s cute and I really like his voice. And maybe this movie could have been cooler if Thomas Jane had been able to blow up more stuff. 3. Spawn - John Leguizamo Ok, I have to let you all know right now, I don’t hate Spawn. Rather, Spawn makes me laugh in a “Omigod, I can’t believe this” sort of way. Like you just can’t take the movie seriously. It was a good contender for the “Dumb but Fun” category. I do watch this movie, but for one reason and one alone. Johnny boy. I freaking love John Leguizamo. If you didn’t know, John plays Clown. Yeah. He’s basically crouching the entire time. He cracks me up like nothing else. I don’t know what Clown is really supposed to be like, but I don’t care. I love him here and whenever Spawn is on, I’ll be sure to tune into the parts with John involved. 4. Se7en – Morgan Freeman While I don’t necessarily hate this movie, I can’t watch it. I saw it once and once was enough. I can’t even really pin down why I refuse to see this movie. I said once to my mother, “It’s sick,” and though it is I don’t think that’s the reason I never want to see it again. Maybe it’s the idea that the world is so sick anymore you would question whether or not to even have a child, which I think about off and on and it bothers me. Whatever the reason, I won’t watch this movie, though I do like Morgan Freeman. I considered putting Brad Pitt, but I never got into him and he’s begun to grate on me in ways Morgan never has. Over-hyped media coverage turns me off. Besides, Morgan beats out Brad on sheer number of movies as it is. Glory is a particular favorite of mine. 5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Gary Oldman Again, I may not hate this movie, but I think it was a huge disappointment. All the ugly and unnecessary changes the director made (color, continuity from the first two movies, and I do hate the werewolf). My favorite Harry Potter book comes onto the screen in a lackluster way that severely annoyed me the first time I saw it. Still very disappointed even now. The best I can do is say that the Dementors were very well done and Buckbeak was pretty good. Then there’s Gary Oldman. He makes a great Sirius and he’s such a great actor. Personally, when I watch a movie and can’t even make the connection that it’s the same actor, obviously you’re doing something right. He ceases being Gary Oldman and totally becomes his character. It’s great and I love it. Can you believe he’s Zorg in The Fifth Element? Hahaha. Honorable Mention: (For the "Hate the Actor" category). George Clooney. I don’t hate ole Georgey, but his acting is not as good as everyone seems to think it is. It’s never “George Clooney is Batman” but more like “Batman is George Clooney.” I fail to see the variations in the man’s acting work. He’s just…..George Clooney. Never really takes on the persona of the character he’s supposed to be portraying. I can give him two movies though where he did a pretty convincing job, Ocean’s 11 though for the most part he’s still himself, George just seems very suave and thief-like, and One Fine Day that I actually found cute. So what do you love...or hate? NT Nicole’s Top 10 Top 10 Lists: Top 10 Dumb But Fun Movies Top 10 Feel Good Romance Movies Top 10 Die Laughing Movies Top 10 Hell Yeah! Movies Top 10 Fun for Fun Movies Top 10 Animated Goodness Movies Top 10 Back Then Movies Top 10 Movies Living in Obscurity Top 10 Movies the Award Goes To...  |
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