November 04, 2005

TOP 10 OVER & UNDER RATED ACTORS

(inspired by Winter, who is underrated)
Okay- skipping over the obviously overrated (Cameron, Tom, you listening?), here are my picks for the people that just aren't worth their bajillion dollar paychecks, along with the people who need either an Oscar, more roles, or both.

SO OVER.......................... WAY UNDER
Russel Crowe..................... Kevin Bacon
Ewan MacGregor ................Sam Rockwell
Denzel Washington............. Cillian Murphy
Tobey Maguire.................... John Leguizamo
Jeremy Piven...................... Alec Baldwin
Angelina Jolie..................... Marcia Gay Harden
Kate Hudson....................... Alison Lohman
Renee Zellweger.................. Maggie Gyllenhaal
Drew Barrymore................... Thandie Newton
Teri Hatcher......................... Catherine Keener

6 comments:

winnie niemeyer said...

GRRRRRRREAT list. especially sam rockwell & mag gyllaheahalel, and my new fave cillian murphy. i know everyone will disagree w/ me but i think meryl streep is soooo overrated. plus, she looks like a parrot.

Anonymous said...

ewan macgregor as overrated? perchance you missed 'trainspotting' and 'big fish'
jeremy piven is good too. and denzel? granted he plays the angry black man with something to prove, waaaayyy too much. but he's got some subtlty to him.
alec baldwin as UNDERrated? well, you are younger, so you missed his heyday, but i can assure you...alec is rated just right. as for underrated, let's not forget to include the triple named actors, philip seymor hoffman and john c. reilly. and the most egregious error of all... you left my man paul giamatti off the underrated list. forget 'sideways'; see 'american splendor' and come to your own conclusion. as long as it's the same conclusion as mine.

Anonymous said...

Meryl is a phenomenal actress! Stupid Golden Globes should've awarded her for 'Manchurian Candidate' instead of dummy Natalie Portman (another overratee, in my book).

i OWN Big Fish and i still think McGregor is overrated. He's better at choosing roles than he is at acting them.
Alec Baldwin just plain needs an Oscar. i don't think enough people consider him among the eschalon of Tom Hankses, Al Pacinos, and the other can't-miss leading men, and they should.
Denzel earned his 'Training Day' Oscar, but he has failed to impress me every single other time.
Hoffman, Reilly, Chris Cooper, and Peter Sarsgaard were all considered for the list, but i think they have enough of an indie and art-house following that, at least critically, they're NOT underrated.
Paul Giamatti is just going to have to do more movies before i can make an accurate conclusion.
And, i don't know, but Jeremy Piven just seems like a prick.

winnie niemeyer said...

sorry kal but id have to agree with travis' alec baldwin opinion, and also, i am rather a big piven fan too.

Whitney said...

ok, Paul Giamatti should definitely be on the underrated list because anybody that can manage to not suck while playing opposite of Amanda Bynes and that Muniz a-hole gets the gold star in my book.

others for consideration (OVERRATED): Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Frickin Julia Roberts (whom if you watch carefully has never actually developed a character other than variations herself), and Charlize Theron just because I'm SO jealous that she gets to be Aeon Flux. Also, Colin Farrell (I can admit that he sucks), Tom Cruise, and Dakota Fanning--who I just mainly want to hit in the face.
As for Underrated--Bob Hoskins. I love Bob Hoskins. (insert sigh) Also Mos Def or Jeffrey Wright or Joan Cusack who far as I'm concerned can do no wrong--I'm willing to forgive her for Raising Helen. And Phillip Seymore Hoffman has to be on there not just because he kicks ass in Capote but because he is the only reason that I've watched Along Came Polly more than once. Ditto for Red Dragon. And Peter Saarsgard is turning into Brian Cox (who is also underated) menaing as soon as he shows up in a movie I know he's the bad guy-- which I think is a gross misuse of his talent.

Piven I can go either way.

Anonymous said...

Julia Roberts is a given. Dakota "What Soul?" Fanning does not deserve my blog. i use to think Nicole Kidman was overrated, then i saw The Hours, and now i'm not so sure. i think she's good enough to skip the overrated list. i think Charlize is a bit overrated, but i didn't see Monster, so i can't say for sure. i think you have to see someone at their best to determine if their high ratings are deserved.

Mos Def is most definitely underrated. P.S. Hoffman will get an Oscar nom and maybe a win for Capote, so that knocks him out of the underrated category for now. Honestly, i don't think he's underrated at all, i think alot of people recognize his greatness.

i'm right about Piven. You all obviously don't read as much E!Online as i do, but someday you'll see that i'm right.