Angelina Jolie is not a good actress. I don’t think she’s ever made a good movie. Looking at her imdb page:
Wanted
Beowulf
A Mighty Heart
The Good Shepherd
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Alexander
Sky Captain
Taking Lives
Beyond Borders
Original Sin
Lara Croft 1&2
Gone in 60 Seconds
She’s basically the female equivalent of Colin Farrell.
Tim J., I think you’re definitely on to something. I’ve seen about four or five of those movies, and I’ve regretted all four or five of them. The Colin Ferrell analogy is also apt because both actors’ attractiveness is also highly overrated.
Jolie was very good in Girl, Interrupted as well as in A Mighty Heart. And Mr. and Mrs. Smith was great fun, she was great in that role. But I agree that her looks are way overrated.
A Mighty Heart was a movie that would have garnered a number of actresses an Oscar.
Jolie cannot act with any depth whatsoever. Her only emotion is staring into the camera and somehow enlarging her eyes–which is impressive, but devoid of any emotion.
Brian, good point. A lot of movie stars aren’t necessarily good actors. Then there are movie stars who I suppose are great actors but just play variations of themselves. (i.e. Jac Nicolson)
I would put Keanu Reeves in the same bad actor/good movie star category. Although, I don’t even think he’s that good of a movie star. Schwarzenegger might be a better comparison.
I kid you not, you can usually tell the quality of an action film by the extent to which the characters in its posters adhere to weapons safety rules while holding a weapon. The fact that she appears to be breaking every single rule in the picture above is quite telling.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 20, 2008 @ 11:43 am
Eric, so THAT was the problem with Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.
There you go. And the fact that the script was written by a 9-year old didn’t help.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 20, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Thanks. I’d finally just finished blocked Ballistic out of my brain. Then kabaam it’s back.
That’s undoubtedly the worst movie I’ve ever had the misfortune of paying for. What made it worst is how sincere the director was. But man he was in Ewe Boll territory.
Wanted has a 93% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It’s clear that many people like it. Even you, dear reader, may end up liking it. If so, I apologize. For me, it was too ultraviolent, too fake-Matrixy, too cliche. It represented some of what I hate most in action movies since The Matrix. Maybe I would love it if I saw it again, but I doubt it.
So — if you end up seeing Wanted and like it, I am glad for you.
Here’s a description of the protagonist, from Wikipedia. Again, this is the protagonist.
24-year-old account manager, Wesley Gibson, was a pathetic, cubicle-dwelling hypochondriac. His boss frequently chewed him out and his girlfriend regularly cheated on him with his best friend. His depressing life plodded on interminably and it seemed to him that he would never amount to anything. However, one day, Wes was contacted by The Fox, who revealed to him that his father, who had been absent through out Wesley’s life, was actually a super-criminal called The Killer who had been recently assassinated, and that Wesley had inherited his perfect aim and uncanny skill with any weapon in addition to the name, twenty-five million dollars and his father’s place in the fraternity. Wesley entered a new life amongst his father’s former associates, a group of super-villains who secretly ruled the world. He starts training to be the sadistic killing machine with no empathy, performing acts such as raping celebrities, strangling his old Geography teacher, and looking for his father’s killer. Ultimately, this lifestyle leads him into conflict with a subgroup of these super-villains led by the insane Mr. Rictus.
It’s directed by the man behind Night Watch and Day Watch, both of which feature interesting visuals and neither of which feature likable protagonists. Perhaps he is a natural for this material.
To be fair Steve, it does look like they changed it a fair bit from the book. But it does look like it’s an unoriginal Matrix inspired mess. The only thing that looks worse in Hancock.
Clark, they didn’t change it that much from the book. These are still assassins that take pleasure in their jobs. It’s actually a pretty messed-up movie in terms of its message.
Wow, really Susan? Every time the trailers play in any theatre I’ve been in there’s general ridicule. I’m guessing Hancock will be to Will Smith what Last Action Hero was to Swartzenegger.
The CGI in Wanted was OK, though. At least they were having fun with the effects. It’s kinetically interesting. I just wish it weren’t so completely irredeemable in terms of characters, message and plot.
That’s funny. We need to have a post on “Babysitter-Worthy Movies”. Movies that are worth paying the extra $20 for to get a babysitter. I guess it’s like the Seinfeld “Sponge-Worthy” episode.
Tim, that would be logical. All the people who watched the sponge-worthy episode and found it funny are probably parents now and would appreciate the (somewhat) sad turn of the phrase…
For me, that list would include anything Colin Firth does. Even if it was 5 hours of reading a phone book.
“These are still assassins that take pleasure in their jobs. It’s actually a pretty messed-up movie in terms of its message.”
I guess that’s where I saw the movie differently, SG. I never felt like the movie ever actually asked us to take it seriously. The movie is a live-action video game. I was no more disturbed by the film’s “message” than I am by Mario, the happy assassin of Goombas.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 28, 2008 @ 11:12 am
Eric, in the abstract I would typically agree with you. It’s not like I dislike all movies with a little killin’. But this went pretty far past the line, and suggested that we should find Wesley Gibson’s path to be an admirable one. I think on most levels the film was pretty repugnant.
Here’s a description of the protagonist, from Wikipedia. Again, this is the protagonist.
24-year-old account manager, Wesley Gibson, was a pathetic, cubicle-dwelling hypochondriac. His boss frequently chewed him out and his girlfriend regularly cheated on him with his best friend. His depressing life plodded on interminably and it seemed to him that he would never amount to anything. However, one day, Wes was contacted by The Fox, who revealed to him that his father, who had been absent through out Wesley’s life, was actually a super-criminal called The Killer who had been recently assassinated, and that Wesley had inherited his perfect aim and uncanny skill with any weapon in addition to the name, twenty-five million dollars and his father’s place in the fraternity. Wesley entered a new life amongst his father’s former associates, a group of super-villains who secretly ruled the world. He starts training to be the sadistic killing machine with no empathy, performing acts such as raping celebrities, strangling his old Geography teacher, and looking for his father’s killer. Ultimately, this lifestyle leads him into conflict with a subgroup of these super-villains led by the insane Mr. Rictus.
This description applies to the book, none of the bolded portion has anything to do with the movie. I’ve read the book and seen the movie, the movie is much better and the movie Wesley retains much more of his humanity to the end of the film.
It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either. I wouldn’t put it in the shit sandwich territory that I’d put Transformers.
I am not kidding. This is the biggest crapball I have had the misfortune of sitting through in a long, long time.
Comment by Supergenius — June 18, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
Awesome review. Thanks for the warning.
Comment by Geoff J — June 18, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
good to know i’m not missing out on anything. cuz i really wanted to see it for whatshisname.
Comment by aubrey — June 19, 2008 @ 1:29 am
james mcavoy.
Comment by aubrey — June 19, 2008 @ 1:30 am
Angelina Jolie is not a good actress. I don’t think she’s ever made a good movie. Looking at her imdb page:
Wanted
Beowulf
A Mighty Heart
The Good Shepherd
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Alexander
Sky Captain
Taking Lives
Beyond Borders
Original Sin
Lara Croft 1&2
Gone in 60 Seconds
She’s basically the female equivalent of Colin Farrell.
Comment by Tim J. — June 19, 2008 @ 7:23 am
Tim J., I think you’re definitely on to something. I’ve seen about four or five of those movies, and I’ve regretted all four or five of them. The Colin Ferrell analogy is also apt because both actors’ attractiveness is also highly overrated.
Comment by BTD Greg — June 19, 2008 @ 7:41 am
The Good Shepherd was, in my opinion, a good movie. But Jolie didn’t exactly have to do much in it.
I never saw the movie she was nominated for. (Did she win? I don’t follow the Academy Awards closely)
Comment by clark — June 19, 2008 @ 9:22 am
I think, if memory serves, she won a supporting actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted. Never saw it.
I couldn’t stay awake through the Good Shepherd.
Comment by Tim J. — June 19, 2008 @ 9:27 am
You can’t print that.
Comment by Susan M — June 19, 2008 @ 9:37 am
So it doesn’t go to 11?
Comment by a random John — June 19, 2008 @ 10:26 am
I liked Mr.and Mrs. Smith, it’s a fun popcorn movie.
The book Wanted was based on started off great, but soon became a load of crap. So I didn’t have high hopes for eh movie.
Comment by jjohnsen — June 19, 2008 @ 10:56 am
On what day did God create Wanted, and why couldn’t he have rested on that day too?
AB
Comment by Aaron Brown — June 19, 2008 @ 11:05 am
So how did you get to see it and write about it? I thought they always put you under moratoriums.
Comment by Clark — June 19, 2008 @ 11:11 am
Jolie was very good in Girl, Interrupted as well as in A Mighty Heart. And Mr. and Mrs. Smith was great fun, she was great in that role. But I agree that her looks are way overrated.
Comment by Rusty — June 19, 2008 @ 11:40 am
Clark, I saw that movie for purposes of reviewing it, and that’s what I did.
Comment by Supergenius — June 19, 2008 @ 11:46 am
Mr. & Mrs. Smith? Kulturblog’s credibility takes another hit.
Let’s get back to bashing U2 and analyzing the the complex relationships of teenage romance novels.
Comment by Tim J. — June 19, 2008 @ 11:51 am
A Mighty Heart was a movie that would have garnered a number of actresses an Oscar.
Jolie cannot act with any depth whatsoever. Her only emotion is staring into the camera and somehow enlarging her eyes–which is impressive, but devoid of any emotion.
Comment by Tim J. — June 19, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Tim, I’ve never voted in favor of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It blew chunks. I have heard good things about Girl, Interrupted.
Comment by Supergenius — June 19, 2008 @ 11:57 am
Jolie may not be that good of an actress, but she’s a hell of a movie star.
Comment by Brian G — June 19, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
I feel so bad for her kids. They don’t know what it’s like to go outside and not have cameras in their faces.
Comment by Susan M — June 19, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
Yes, but the kids Angelina adopted from third world countries really hit the lottery. Are you kidding me?
Comment by Brian G — June 19, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Brian, your #19 is spot-on.
Comment by Supergenius — June 19, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
While I agree that she hasn’t done much since, her performance in Girl, Interrupted is among my all-time favorites.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 19, 2008 @ 2:21 pm
Brian, good point. A lot of movie stars aren’t necessarily good actors. Then there are movie stars who I suppose are great actors but just play variations of themselves. (i.e. Jac Nicolson)
Comment by Clark — June 19, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
I would put Keanu Reeves in the same bad actor/good movie star category. Although, I don’t even think he’s that good of a movie star. Schwarzenegger might be a better comparison.
Comment by Brian G — June 19, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
Angleina was great in A Mighty Heart.
And you’ve got to admit, those movie posters for Mr. and Mrs. Smith were totally hot.
Comment by Kevin Barney — June 19, 2008 @ 8:19 pm
Hmmm. I’ve heard of damning with faint praise, but this is more like praising with faint damns.
Comment by MCQ — June 20, 2008 @ 12:06 am
I kid you not, you can usually tell the quality of an action film by the extent to which the characters in its posters adhere to weapons safety rules while holding a weapon. The fact that she appears to be breaking every single rule in the picture above is quite telling.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 20, 2008 @ 11:43 am
Eric, so THAT was the problem with Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.
Comment by Supergenius — June 20, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
There you go. And the fact that the script was written by a 9-year old didn’t help.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 20, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Thanks. I’d finally just finished blocked Ballistic out of my brain. Then kabaam it’s back.
That’s undoubtedly the worst movie I’ve ever had the misfortune of paying for. What made it worst is how sincere the director was. But man he was in Ewe Boll territory.
Comment by clark — June 21, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
Wanted has a 93% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It’s clear that many people like it. Even you, dear reader, may end up liking it. If so, I apologize. For me, it was too ultraviolent, too fake-Matrixy, too cliche. It represented some of what I hate most in action movies since The Matrix. Maybe I would love it if I saw it again, but I doubt it.
So — if you end up seeing Wanted and like it, I am glad for you.
Comment by Supergenius — June 24, 2008 @ 12:29 am
Television Without Pity goes both ways - the review of movies they haven’t seen yet says you’ll feel dirtier and stupider for watching it, but the review of movies they actually have seen says it’s definitely worth seeing.
Comment by Heather P. — June 24, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
Here’s a description of the protagonist, from Wikipedia. Again, this is the protagonist.
Comment by Supergenius — June 25, 2008 @ 11:23 am
Wow. Just… Wow.
Comment by Clark — June 25, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
Over rated acting yes. Looks? I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.
Comment by Natalie — June 25, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
It’s directed by the man behind Night Watch and Day Watch, both of which feature interesting visuals and neither of which feature likable protagonists. Perhaps he is a natural for this material.
Comment by John C. — June 25, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
To be fair Steve, it does look like they changed it a fair bit from the book. But it does look like it’s an unoriginal Matrix inspired mess. The only thing that looks worse in Hancock.
Comment by Clark — June 25, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Clark, they didn’t change it that much from the book. These are still assassins that take pleasure in their jobs. It’s actually a pretty messed-up movie in terms of its message.
John, I liked Night Watch a great deal.
Comment by Supergenius — June 25, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
I’ve always found a lot of Angelina Jolie’s movie choices kinda weird, considering all the causes she’s involved in.
I think I’m gonna like Hancock, based on the commercials I’ve seen.
Comment by Susan M — June 25, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
Wow, really Susan? Every time the trailers play in any theatre I’ve been in there’s general ridicule. I’m guessing Hancock will be to Will Smith what Last Action Hero was to Swartzenegger.
Comment by clark — June 25, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
Hancock will be a huge hit, but I’m not that excited about it.
Comment by Brian G — June 25, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Magic 8-Ball says: Hancock will be terrible.
Comment by Supergenius — June 25, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
The CGI in Wanted was OK, though. At least they were having fun with the effects. It’s kinetically interesting. I just wish it weren’t so completely irredeemable in terms of characters, message and plot.
Comment by Supergenius — June 25, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Dude. I love Last Action Hero.
Comment by Susan M — June 25, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
I actually liked Last Action Hero as well. I can understand why it bombed, but I found it to be quite entertaining.
Comment by Ivan — June 26, 2008 @ 9:35 am
I just handed off my Hancock tickets to some friends who will provide us with a review tomorrow. I could not bear it.
Comment by Supergenius — June 26, 2008 @ 10:13 am
Man. We can’t wait to see Hancock. We may even spring for a babysitter for the first time for it.
Comment by gabby — June 26, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
gabby,
That’s funny. We need to have a post on “Babysitter-Worthy Movies”. Movies that are worth paying the extra $20 for to get a babysitter. I guess it’s like the Seinfeld “Sponge-Worthy” episode.
I’m holding out for Batman in a few weeks.
Comment by Tim J. — June 26, 2008 @ 3:11 pm
Tim, that would be logical. All the people who watched the sponge-worthy episode and found it funny are probably parents now and would appreciate the (somewhat) sad turn of the phrase…
For me, that list would include anything Colin Firth does. Even if it was 5 hours of reading a phone book.
Comment by gabby — June 26, 2008 @ 3:53 pm
Here’s a far more articulate version of what I was trying to say.
Comment by Supergenius — June 27, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
Gabby,
Does that mean you’re gonna be rushing to see Mama Mia? Ugh.
Comment by a random John — June 27, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
booo!!
ya’ll are the biggest haters..
angelina is very very pretty and her acting isn’t bad.
the movie as a self is probably gonna be the best movie in the summer of 2008.
ya’ll really need lives.
Comment by aaayyyee!! — June 27, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
“These are still assassins that take pleasure in their jobs. It’s actually a pretty messed-up movie in terms of its message.”
I guess that’s where I saw the movie differently, SG. I never felt like the movie ever actually asked us to take it seriously. The movie is a live-action video game. I was no more disturbed by the film’s “message” than I am by Mario, the happy assassin of Goombas.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 28, 2008 @ 11:12 am
Eric, in the abstract I would typically agree with you. It’s not like I dislike all movies with a little killin’. But this went pretty far past the line, and suggested that we should find Wesley Gibson’s path to be an admirable one. I think on most levels the film was pretty repugnant.
Comment by Supergenius — June 28, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
This description applies to the book, none of the bolded portion has anything to do with the movie. I’ve read the book and seen the movie, the movie is much better and the movie Wesley retains much more of his humanity to the end of the film.
It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either. I wouldn’t put it in the shit sandwich territory that I’d put Transformers.
Comment by jjohnsen — June 30, 2008 @ 2:38 pm