"Wimbeldon" with Bettany is a quite good film for it's genre. The best actor in bad films is Peter Cushing, who always gave it all in serious interpretations in silly films, like all the weird dracula films, many starring cristopher lee
philip seymour hoffman in pretty much anything - the abortion of a film that was Along Came Polly or Mission Impossible 3, take your pick. Seymour Hoffman is great.
p.s. - I kind of agree with Keromde on Godfather 3, it's not great, but it's not terrible.
The accolade of worst performance in a great movie has to go to Jessica Harper for Suspiria. The movie is mind blowingly awesome, but Harper's monotone, emotionless performance was the one glaring weak link in the entire film.
I really enjoy the over-the-top nature and vibe of Machete, but Jessica Alba is downright cringe-worthy in the film. I suppose you could argue that she's never been particularly great in anything though.
Great acting in a bad film - Christopher Walken in Welcome to the Jungle...... This has got to be the winner! I saw it the other day and the only thing keeping me watching was Walken
You know I've seen the Karen Carpenter film, and the actual line is "his chubby sister..." not "chubby, hmm..."
Harrison Ford is pretty abysmal in Blade Runner, and I'm not just talking about the rubbish tacked-on voiceover, but I think I might be alone in thinking this.
Worst performance in a great film: Keanu Reeves in the Matrix, Tom Cruise in Rain man and Minority Report, Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction and From Dusk Till Dawn, Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, Jake Gyllenhal in Donnie Darko.
@2109917162 I disagree, Tarantino was pretty good in Dusk Til Dawn (which is hardly a great film), mainly because he's playing an intensely creepy character, which suits him down to the ground. I do agree though that in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs where he casts himself as a gangster his performances are buttock clenchingly embarrassing to watch.
I think that the first Matrix film is really, really good. Keanu Reeves, well, less so. A lot less so. Almost always the only reason when, late at night, I decide not to play my DCD copy of The Matrix.
Harrison Ford in Blade Runner reminded me of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, only Blade Runner is obviously superior, but Harrison still strikes me as constantly bewildered and a bit wooden in that one.
I loved Drive but don't really rate Bryan Cranston's performance very highly.
Shelley Duvall in The Shining maybe? It's a strangely enjoyable performance but not exactly skilled.
All the cast in Suspiria. Love that movie but no-one can act in it. Possibly makes it better tbh.
Has to be Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare In Love! Fortunately the movie is THAT good that even her unwavering awfulness won't stop me watching it again and again.
pretty much agree about Inland Empire being 'dull and painful'...I have still only watched about 2/3 of it, but I do want to like it and want to persevere...as I find it hard to believe that Lynch can make a 'bad film', and I don't think anyone can call it a 'bad film' because every Lynch film is his vision, his brainstorm...just because it's hard to get what he was trying to do does not make it a bad film...I found the scenes with Dern's foul-mouth whore character painful though...love rabbits
Daniel Radcliffe in Order of the Pheonix; one of only two genuinely good films in the series (the other being 7B), he still manages to give me splinters in my eyes whenever he's on screen.
@Darthpenguino that would be BAD acting in a GREAT film. you have it backwards. i dont agree though, he was solid in that movie, which wasnt a great movie. he was awesome in poa and 7.1 and 7.2
Gotta go with Reece Witherspoon in American Psycho, out of her depth to no ends. Bale, Dafoe and Theroux bring the house down and she's sat on the side wooden as the chair she sits on.
@Filmzie I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one mate, her character was meant to be a ditzy, dumb vaccuous blonde and I think she pulled it of with ease. Intentionally or coincidentally though, we'll never know.
The Hunted is a solid suspense movie had the worst performance of Benicio Del Toro's career and one of the best performance of Tommy Lee Jones' career. So Strange. The scene where Benicio is being interrogated was so embarassing, I don't know why Friedkin didn't do a retake.
I liked Priest. Thought it was going to be awful. It's not great, but pretty entertaining. I absolutely have to see Tiptoes now. Sounds so dreadful. McDowell is terrific in Caligula, which was a miserable piece of garbage.
Best performance in worst movie: how about The Iron Lady? I saw it last night, walked out of the theatre. The film looked try-hard, incoherent and amateurish.
I have problems with most American film critics. I just discovered Mr. Kermode and I have to say that I'm impressed. Maybe it is the difference in culture but you make more sense critically than most of my fellow Americans.
Worst performance in best film - Justin Timberlake in The Social Network. My shoulders sag every time I watch it and he turns up, and every time I watch it I secretly hope he won't be in it this time.
i can't belive my favourite movie got the worst movie award! unsentimental bastards! worst acting in the best movie slumdog millionaire warrants that .
I actually love "Inland Empire". Laura Dern's performance is god-like, I agree, but the atmosphere and the overwhelming feeling of dread is more effective in "Inland Empire" than in any other film he made. Now, I'm not saying it is his best. I prefer "Mulholland Dr.", "Lost Highway", and "Blue Velvet", but "Inland Empire" hooks you in and does not let go. It easily holds my full attention over its three hours even after seeing it a half a dozen times.
worst performance in best movie: Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Why can't he not tilt his head whenever a word comes over his lips?
The best line in this movie is by Winona Ryder. She's talking about a letter she received by Kenus Character and goes something like this: "It's so cold and distant...nothing like Jonathan!" But it's everything like his style of acting.
@skinwalkerxxx well it takes experienced actors to pull something like this off, without having to force themselves. And I think both, winona and keanu didn't have that experience. But compared to Keanus performance Winona did a really good job.
The thing with most Coppola movies is, that he shoots scenes that seem forced. Like the Garden scene in Dracula or the bedscene in Outsiders. It's unnatural and therefore the acting seems unnatural. Only good actors can pull that off.
@JustNoise Copolla got away with it on the Godfather movies I think because the writing was so great and the actors went above and beyond with what they had. But in most of his movies it feels like play acting with a bunch of scenes cut together rather than an organic story on screen. I think he direct like a construction worker.
As for Dracula I think the whole love story between Winona and Oldman felt forced. I can almost hear Copolla screaming "you are supposed to be in love!"
@skinwalkerxxx I completely agree with the first part. But still, I like his films somehow very much. I think you can feel a sort of love for moviemaking.
One of the worst: Shelley Duvall in The Shining. I'm not in the least bit surprised that Kubrick lost his temper with her repeatedly throughout the production, she may as well have been playing Olive Oyl again. Oh how she flails.
Dear mr. Kermode, in my opinion it has to be Roy scheiders performance in jaws! Even considering that jaws was filmed back in 75 , Scheider must ve known that facing a raging shark would release a various number of emotions! But throughout the entire movie he doesn't seem to be able to transport FEAR and DESPERATION. Yes, he screams a lot, his acting is very physical but when man is confronted with something so wild one would freeze and be in shock. He couldn't deliver, the movie itself could.
@Jacquie12321 I disagree. He delivered emotions the way a real man would. Wich is hard to imagine in this day and age of girly emotional manboys. Scheider delivers an incredible performance all throughout the movie as a haunted MAN struggling with everything that happens to him. The way he goes into semi-depression after the mother of the boy that was killed slapped him was terrific. He doesn't whine and cry and smash things up, he just shut down completly.
@agmor1 Oh, come on? Some of these other choices are just duff: Michael Sheen in Tron: Legacy? I like Michael Sheen, but he was easily the most annoying thing in that film. If you are going to pick an actor from that film, go for Cillian Murphy, who does a lot with very little.
Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972)
Perfect movie, Montana is not even an actor, the real shock comes when reading the book and you notice what Luca Brasi is supposed to be. But like i said before, the movie is perfect.
@aikighost Wow as in you found There Will Be Blood entertaining, gotta be honest, it had its moments, but they were few and far between and the only thing that kept my attention was Daniel Day Lewis. He was totally believeable
Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, for me knowing that his scenes where lit that way and he was in the shdows because he was paranoid about being seen fat, completely ruined those scenes for me because his ego was more important than the film.
Chris Tucker in "The Fifth Element". 2/3rds into the movie, he steals the show, and not in a good way. I'm pretty sure George Lucas used Tucker's performance as the blueprint for Jar Jar Binks.
Does anyone remember the big fat mobster from On the Waterfront who shouted "definitely!" all the time? He's got my vote as worst actor in a great film. I don't suppose he had a big enough part to win it really but I've always thought that he was absolutely horrific.
The appropriately named Stephen Lack in David Cronenberg's SCANNERS. His acting is so awkwardly stilted, it's as if the original lead actor dropped out at the last minute and Cronenberg just dragged some hobo off the street to replace him. Despite this, the film is a masterpiece of body horror thanks to the gruesome special effects, a career defining performance by Michael Ironside, and David Cronenberg's deft direction.
@bswiders Great shout, I only saw it for the first time recently and thought the same myself... However, I have heard (and this may not be true, but anyway) that Lack was SPECIFICALLY INSTRUCTED by Cronenberg to portray the character in that vacant manner, and apparently in other movies Lack shows much more acting acumen.
Still though, it is a performance of almost masterful blandness in an otherwise outlandishly brilliant movie.
For me it has to be Shelley Duvall in The Shining. Every scene she is in you nearly have to turn down the volume to adjust to her mouse like screeching. With the amount of crying she does in the movie you nearly feel like crying yourself but for the wrong reasons. It's as if she thinks that all you have to do to gain praise is to cry for half of a movie, Like Nicholson I wouldn't mind putting an axe through her skull.
Although I loved Ryan O'Neal's understated performance in Walter Hill's "The Driver", I thought he was bland & hopelessly miscast in "Barry Lyndon", my favourite Stanley Kubrick film. I'm genuinely shocked Malcolm McDowell wasn't cast as the lead. Sure he's best known for shocking roles in films like "A Clockwork Orange" and "Caligula, but watch McDowell's comparatively reserved performance as HG Wells in Nicholas Meyer's "Time After Time" for a hint of what might have been.
Anne Hathaway in the The Dark Knight rises?... well it's yet to be seen. Or perhaps Tom Hardy in that film will fit the topic of 'best in worst' more.
Dennis Hoper in Blue Velvet. The movie is brave and extremely uncomfortable to watch in a good way. But as soon as Hopper turns up and starts over-acting I have to close my eyes and stick cotton in my ears and wait until the scene is over. Truly awful, yet maybe Lynch was trying to.... no can't do it, AWFUL.
@tomcrito27 I believe you meant "gibberish". If you did, you completely misinterpreted his performance. You ought to be smacked senseless for thinking such a thing. It seems as though you people who try to define someone's acting performance as either "good" or "bad" don't even understand the subject. To just perform simple everyday things realistically can even be considered fairly good acting. He's supposed to be the personification of insanity, which Marlon Brando acts out perfectly.
Worst performance in the best film? Jonathan Rhys Meyers in one of Woody Allen's greatest recent efforts, Match Point. His performance is the one thing keeping it from nearing the greatness of Allen's best, Crimes and Misdemeanours.
WORST PERFORMANCE IN A GREAT FILM? Keanu Reeves in "Much Ado About Nothing". The man can barely act in an American film, and does best in films in which he is required to say little i.e. "The Matrix", "Johnny Neumonic". Casting him in a classic Shakespearean comedy...what was the casting director working under Kenneth Branagh thinking?
@DarkProf1 Couldn't agree more. 'The Matrix' and 'Much Ado about Nothing' represent the ultimate polar opposites of casting decisions. What was Kenneth Branagh thinking giving Keanu Reeves a role requiring acting?
@Sevlech That's a decent shout. Love that film too, and he is pretty unimpressive right enough (which was a shame, given the importance of his character)
As much as i love Ray Winstone, his accent in 'The Departed' is awful. Keanu Reeves has stunk up many a good film - The devils Advocate, The Matrix, Dracula...
@RandomStandardGuy Back to hell with you young scallywag. Mr Reeves is an awesome actor.
I have one. I've given this a little thought. Not a lot, but a little. Ray Charles in The Blues Brothers. Sure his music is great but his acting is laughable.
@JerkyFraser BB is my favourite movie of all time, despite having so many bad performances in it. Ray Charles is one example, but the whole backing band (except Mr Fabulous) seem to struggle with anything other than the music.
However I think Keanu Reeves in Bram Stokers Dracula is fairly poor in what is a great film
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldermort. Everyone is wonderful in those film but I found Ralph's performance awful as I had a completely different performance in my head when reading the books. He played it like a pantomime and I imagined it more sinister and tortured.
Jesse Eisenberg, he gets good scripts but He is a black hole that sucks in all the charisma around him, And pairing him off with Kristen Stewart in Adventureland? Well, that was awful too, but not the question.
I was going to say Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, but his confused portrayal of Neo is actually appropriate for the role. However, Reeves still caught my eye in Bram Stoker's Dracula, with a horrendously bad Johnathan Harker. I feel bad saying this too because even though he's a bad actor, for whatever reason, I still really like him.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. He's as wooden as always, and the only reason he's at all bearable is every other actor is working as hard as they can to make him look good. His character is more interesting in that film the less he is on the screen.
My second nomination is an unpopular one, but I would say The Dark Knight and Christian Bale. Bale's Batman voice is deeply unpleasant. I hated every moment he had the suit on and was talking. I think he tried too hard to snarl one-liners constantly.
@TheSamuraiGoomba That was Nolan's fault, not Bale's. Although that growly voice is definitely there in Batman Begins, it's not nearly so pronounced, which is why most people didn't comment on it. In TDK however, Nolan digitally altered it in post-production to sound even more "non-Bruce" and just about everyone hated it and blamed poor Bale. Let's hope he doesn't do it again in TDKRi, especially given the complaints about Bane. Two incomprehensible characters!
@BlackMoonLilith Mmm, good point. Perhaps the female lead in TDK deserves re-nomination as the worst character. Now that I think about it, my other complaint (with Batman's constant one-liner dropping in TDK) is also Nolan's fault more than Bale's.
Even so, I wish Kevin Conroy could find work as Batman outside of the animated shows.
For me, and correct me if I'm wrong but it would have to Stephen Fry in Gosford Park. What starts as an exploitive look at life in a country estate during the early 90's turns ventures off track towards the 3rd half as Stephen Fry is introduced as the bumbling inspector but acts more like he's walked off a Peter Seller's movie on his way to present an episode Q.I. Fantastic film, unnecessary performance.
Kim Basinger in Batman, I really liked Tim Burton's take on the dark knight but man was this woman annoying, she did nothing but scream in reaction to anything that happened. Fair enough a lot of bad things happen to her in that film, but for the love of god woman, give your lungs rest!
"Wimbeldon" with Bettany is a quite good film for it's genre. The best actor in bad films is Peter Cushing, who always gave it all in serious interpretations in silly films, like all the weird dracula films, many starring cristopher lee
ventricity 6 days ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Got to agree with Julian Sands. I thought Leaving Las Vegas was absolutely superb, but Sands is just terrible
thecarreyman2323 6 days ago
Jeff Bridges in the remarkably unremarkable, dull Coen Brothers remake of an already not so good John Wayne film.
Transformers2themax 2 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
good performance in bad film:
philip seymour hoffman in pretty much anything - the abortion of a film that was Along Came Polly or Mission Impossible 3, take your pick. Seymour Hoffman is great.
p.s. - I kind of agree with Keromde on Godfather 3, it's not great, but it's not terrible.
WAAAAAAAAAAAY 2 weeks ago
Most recently - Meryl Steep in the rubbish The Iron Lady.
ardbastard1 2 weeks ago
Great use of Chubbyhmmm.
josefvickers 2 weeks ago
The accolade of worst performance in a great movie has to go to Jessica Harper for Suspiria. The movie is mind blowingly awesome, but Harper's monotone, emotionless performance was the one glaring weak link in the entire film.
LH270677 2 weeks ago
Surely Arnie in either of the first two Terminators?
meu02136 2 weeks ago
I really enjoy the over-the-top nature and vibe of Machete, but Jessica Alba is downright cringe-worthy in the film. I suppose you could argue that she's never been particularly great in anything though.
Woodshatter 2 weeks ago
Great acting in a bad film - Christopher Walken in Welcome to the Jungle...... This has got to be the winner! I saw it the other day and the only thing keeping me watching was Walken
woolfy1982 3 weeks ago
Really agree with Dr.Kermode on Godfather III.
michey1978 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@michey1978 I agree too. The problem the film has is twofold; 1) We didn't really need it IMO and 2) It followed two Best Picture winners
reptongeek 2 weeks ago
Ralph Fiennes in The Matrix, Sam Worthington in Avatar.......
MrBronwaugh 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
You know I've seen the Karen Carpenter film, and the actual line is "his chubby sister..." not "chubby, hmm..."
Harrison Ford is pretty abysmal in Blade Runner, and I'm not just talking about the rubbish tacked-on voiceover, but I think I might be alone in thinking this.
davidfgranger 3 weeks ago
The entire cast of Clerks (minus Jeff Anderson) in Clerks has to be the worst performance in the best film.
MMJackx2yz 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Winona Ryder (bad) in The Age of Innocence (great).
The whiney villager who's always crying in Seven Samurai.
Blunders1000 3 weeks ago
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Best Performance in worse film: Alan Rickman in HP.
prigg88 3 weeks ago
Jessica Alba in "Sin City" (if we're talking about bad acting in great films).
Markunator 3 weeks ago
Not an entirely bad movie but John Savage in the beginning of the Crossing Guard.
AzaleaZoeliz 3 weeks ago
I'm one of the only people who loves Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, so I have to nominate Mia Wasikowska from Alice In Wonderland
NicholasTuckVlogs 4 weeks ago
Amen to the inclusion of O'Toole in Troy.
blokey8 4 weeks ago
Worst performance in a great film: Keanu Reeves in the Matrix, Tom Cruise in Rain man and Minority Report, Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction and From Dusk Till Dawn, Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, Jake Gyllenhal in Donnie Darko.
2109917162 4 weeks ago
@2109917162 I disagree, Tarantino was pretty good in Dusk Til Dawn (which is hardly a great film), mainly because he's playing an intensely creepy character, which suits him down to the ground. I do agree though that in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs where he casts himself as a gangster his performances are buttock clenchingly embarrassing to watch.
davidfgranger 3 weeks ago
And while the Kill Bill films are pretty stupid and dull by any standard, Uma Thurman, especially in "volume" 2, was pretty awesome.
jazzzjasper 1 month ago
I think that the first Matrix film is really, really good. Keanu Reeves, well, less so. A lot less so. Almost always the only reason when, late at night, I decide not to play my DCD copy of The Matrix.
jazzzjasper 1 month ago
Gina Gershon in "Showgirls".
eatthefield 1 month ago
Robert Downey Jr. in Less Than Zero
davidalexsouth 1 month ago
Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation
davidalexsouth 1 month ago
@davidalexsouth Terminator salvation the best movie you have seen?
mitzibishi 1 month ago
Gabriel Byrne in Miller's Crossing
Greyjew001 1 month ago
Worst performance in the best film can be none other than Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.
Teeg32 1 month ago
@Teeg32 Seriously? I thought he was excellent!
2109917162 4 weeks ago
Harrison Ford in Blade Runner reminded me of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, only Blade Runner is obviously superior, but Harrison still strikes me as constantly bewildered and a bit wooden in that one.
I loved Drive but don't really rate Bryan Cranston's performance very highly.
Shelley Duvall in The Shining maybe? It's a strangely enjoyable performance but not exactly skilled.
All the cast in Suspiria. Love that movie but no-one can act in it. Possibly makes it better tbh.
uiogu 1 month ago
@uiogu the Shelley Duvall Shining bit rang true with me, even when i was a kid i shuddered at her performance
mitzibishi 1 month ago
Worst Performances in Good Movies: Leonardo DiCaprio in every biopic film.
k97cross 1 month ago
I think Wiley Wiggins in "Dazed and Confused" is hard to touch in the "awful actor, brilliant film" stakes.
FamousMortimer 1 month ago
Star Wars: Episode III is definetly a step up from the other two prequels. But Hayden Christensen is still dreadful as Anakin.
Alexmo555 1 month ago in playlist More videos from kermodeandmayo
Has to be Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare In Love! Fortunately the movie is THAT good that even her unwavering awfulness won't stop me watching it again and again.
LeiYingLo 1 month ago
Keanu Reeves in Much A Do About Nothing
goosefat101 1 month ago
pretty much agree about Inland Empire being 'dull and painful'...I have still only watched about 2/3 of it, but I do want to like it and want to persevere...as I find it hard to believe that Lynch can make a 'bad film', and I don't think anyone can call it a 'bad film' because every Lynch film is his vision, his brainstorm...just because it's hard to get what he was trying to do does not make it a bad film...I found the scenes with Dern's foul-mouth whore character painful though...love rabbits
SROCeallaigh 1 month ago
@justnoise no, this movie is just as terrible
woolfy1982 1 month ago
which character did julian sands play?
open0Fire 1 month ago
love actually is one of my favorite romantic comedies
MrRodney1985 1 month ago
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aguerobummer 1 month ago
Daniel Radcliffe in Order of the Pheonix; one of only two genuinely good films in the series (the other being 7B), he still manages to give me splinters in my eyes whenever he's on screen.
Darthpenguino 1 month ago 6
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@Darthpenguino No, absolutely no. OOTP and DHpart2 are bad films, with DHpart2 being the worst in the series. OOTP, either the second or third worst.
prigg88 3 weeks ago
@Darthpenguino that would be BAD acting in a GREAT film. you have it backwards. i dont agree though, he was solid in that movie, which wasnt a great movie. he was awesome in poa and 7.1 and 7.2
MrBurgundy76 1 week ago
@Darthpenguino oops sorry just saw the whole video...
MrBurgundy76 1 week ago
Gotta go with Reece Witherspoon in American Psycho, out of her depth to no ends. Bale, Dafoe and Theroux bring the house down and she's sat on the side wooden as the chair she sits on.
Filmzie 1 month ago
@Filmzie I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one mate, her character was meant to be a ditzy, dumb vaccuous blonde and I think she pulled it of with ease. Intentionally or coincidentally though, we'll never know.
bennyboyjones 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@bennyboyjones
Fair play, just not a fan of hers, i'll also have to say Cameron Diaz in everything
Filmzie 1 month ago
The Hunted is a solid suspense movie had the worst performance of Benicio Del Toro's career and one of the best performance of Tommy Lee Jones' career. So Strange. The scene where Benicio is being interrogated was so embarassing, I don't know why Friedkin didn't do a retake.
skinwalkerxxx 1 month ago
@ParadymeFlux Interesting you say this because I think he does a great job
woolfy1982 1 month ago
@justnoise He is a bit... sort of... Edward Nortony.
It is difficult to say but I never really feel convinced by him in any movie he is in
woolfy1982 1 month ago
@woolfy1982 Not even in American History X?
JustNoise 1 month ago
I liked Priest. Thought it was going to be awful. It's not great, but pretty entertaining. I absolutely have to see Tiptoes now. Sounds so dreadful. McDowell is terrific in Caligula, which was a miserable piece of garbage.
TheArchangel68 1 month ago
Worst performance in best film- Edward Furlong in Terminator 2. He just came off as an annoying hipster and a smartass.
SilentJoe13 1 month ago
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Worst performance in best movie: Sofia Coppola in Coppola's GodFather Part III
DoctorHello 1 month ago
Worst performance in best movie: Keanu Reeves in Coppola's Dracula
DoctorHello 1 month ago
Best performance in worst movie: how about The Iron Lady? I saw it last night, walked out of the theatre. The film looked try-hard, incoherent and amateurish.
DoctorHello 1 month ago
I have problems with most American film critics. I just discovered Mr. Kermode and I have to say that I'm impressed. Maybe it is the difference in culture but you make more sense critically than most of my fellow Americans.
MichaelSirois 1 month ago
Worst performance in best film - Justin Timberlake in The Social Network. My shoulders sag every time I watch it and he turns up, and every time I watch it I secretly hope he won't be in it this time.
RescueTheSlags 1 month ago
Nicholas Cage in Kick-Ass.
Bigmaghf 1 month ago
i can't belive my favourite movie got the worst movie award! unsentimental bastards! worst acting in the best movie slumdog millionaire warrants that .
puzZzlewithpans 1 month ago
Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds.
ParadymeFlux 1 month ago
I actually love "Inland Empire". Laura Dern's performance is god-like, I agree, but the atmosphere and the overwhelming feeling of dread is more effective in "Inland Empire" than in any other film he made. Now, I'm not saying it is his best. I prefer "Mulholland Dr.", "Lost Highway", and "Blue Velvet", but "Inland Empire" hooks you in and does not let go. It easily holds my full attention over its three hours even after seeing it a half a dozen times.
TennesseeCinephile 1 month ago
Worst performance in a best film:
Surely if we believe the movies to be great then the quality of the acting is almost irrelevant?
That said, Edward Norton, Orlando Bloom and Keanu Reeves..... for every movie they have collectively made
woolfy1982 1 month ago
@woolfy1982 What do you have against Edward Norton?
JustNoise 1 month ago
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woolfy1982 1 month ago
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woolfy1982 1 month ago
Best performance in a worse film: The bees in The WIcker Man.
TheVoidedPresence 1 month ago 13
David Bowie in The Prestige? That was so odd.
TheAuthentics 1 month ago
worst performance in best movie: Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Why can't he not tilt his head whenever a word comes over his lips?
The best line in this movie is by Winona Ryder. She's talking about a letter she received by Kenus Character and goes something like this: "It's so cold and distant...nothing like Jonathan!" But it's everything like his style of acting.
I still love him.
JustNoise 1 month ago
@JustNoise I thought Winona's performance was rather forced
skinwalkerxxx 1 month ago
@skinwalkerxxx well it takes experienced actors to pull something like this off, without having to force themselves. And I think both, winona and keanu didn't have that experience. But compared to Keanus performance Winona did a really good job.
The thing with most Coppola movies is, that he shoots scenes that seem forced. Like the Garden scene in Dracula or the bedscene in Outsiders. It's unnatural and therefore the acting seems unnatural. Only good actors can pull that off.
JustNoise 1 month ago
@JustNoise Copolla got away with it on the Godfather movies I think because the writing was so great and the actors went above and beyond with what they had. But in most of his movies it feels like play acting with a bunch of scenes cut together rather than an organic story on screen. I think he direct like a construction worker.
As for Dracula I think the whole love story between Winona and Oldman felt forced. I can almost hear Copolla screaming "you are supposed to be in love!"
skinwalkerxxx 1 month ago
@skinwalkerxxx I completely agree with the first part. But still, I like his films somehow very much. I think you can feel a sort of love for moviemaking.
JustNoise 1 month ago
One of the worst: Shelley Duvall in The Shining. I'm not in the least bit surprised that Kubrick lost his temper with her repeatedly throughout the production, she may as well have been playing Olive Oyl again. Oh how she flails.
ohjaysusisit 1 month ago 2
Daniel Radcliffe in all the Harry Potter films,and I do mean all the films.
suzukix5owner 1 month ago 2
I too subscribe to the view that The Godfather Part III is nowhere near as bad as people would have you believe it is.
Birddrz 1 month ago
John Wayne destroys The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Guedingen 1 month ago
Dear mr. Kermode, in my opinion it has to be Roy scheiders performance in jaws! Even considering that jaws was filmed back in 75 , Scheider must ve known that facing a raging shark would release a various number of emotions! But throughout the entire movie he doesn't seem to be able to transport FEAR and DESPERATION. Yes, he screams a lot, his acting is very physical but when man is confronted with something so wild one would freeze and be in shock. He couldn't deliver, the movie itself could.
Jacquie12321 1 month ago
@Jacquie12321 I disagree. He delivered emotions the way a real man would. Wich is hard to imagine in this day and age of girly emotional manboys. Scheider delivers an incredible performance all throughout the movie as a haunted MAN struggling with everything that happens to him. The way he goes into semi-depression after the mother of the boy that was killed slapped him was terrific. He doesn't whine and cry and smash things up, he just shut down completly.
skinwalkerxxx 1 month ago
His wife is teaching me at Uni.
mayer8356 1 month ago
Katie Holmes in Batman Begins was terrible. Yet it's still the best super hero movie ever made.
merrimac291 1 month ago
It's hilarious how much he despises Julian Sands.
SethHesio 1 month ago
Someone watched The Da Vinci Code five times just to watch a Paul Bettany performance? That's sad.
agmor1 1 month ago
@agmor1 Oh, come on? Some of these other choices are just duff: Michael Sheen in Tron: Legacy? I like Michael Sheen, but he was easily the most annoying thing in that film. If you are going to pick an actor from that film, go for Cillian Murphy, who does a lot with very little.
agmor1 1 month ago
Chris Tucker in the Fifth Element is the worst performance in a great movie.
MrTomVprosser 1 month ago
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Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972)
Perfect movie, Montana is not even an actor, the real shock comes when reading the book and you notice what Luca Brasi is supposed to be. But like i said before, the movie is perfect.
TheG00se81 1 month ago
Also, INLAND EMPIRE RULES. I loved it.
Bassbait 1 month ago
Um... half way into the video... waiting for NIC CAGE.
Bassbait 1 month ago
Daniel Day Lewis = best actor
There Will Be Blood = boring movie
SamHain1031666 1 month ago
@SamHain1031666 Wow, just wow.
aikighost 1 month ago
@aikighost Wow as in you found There Will Be Blood entertaining, gotta be honest, it had its moments, but they were few and far between and the only thing that kept my attention was Daniel Day Lewis. He was totally believeable
SamHain1031666 1 month ago
Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. Ken Watanabe et. All out shone him easily!
Rozilla 1 month ago
also Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, out her depth doesn't cover it, it really irritated me every time she was on screen, she was just so wooden.
apathyriot 1 month ago
Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, for me knowing that his scenes where lit that way and he was in the shdows because he was paranoid about being seen fat, completely ruined those scenes for me because his ego was more important than the film.
apathyriot 1 month ago
Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty"
PromisesWrittenWater 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Chris Tucker in "The Fifth Element". 2/3rds into the movie, he steals the show, and not in a good way. I'm pretty sure George Lucas used Tucker's performance as the blueprint for Jar Jar Binks.
bswiders 1 month ago
Andie MacDowell in Groundhog Day!
igorbiscan05 1 month ago
@igorbiscan05 good call! She's a terrible actress.
Muskateering 1 month ago
@igorbiscan05 she really is awful, deadpan delivery and no heart at all
MrCassavius 1 month ago
Not that it's a great film, but Keanu Reeves in Bram Stokers Dracula make a good film into something completely terrible and unwatchable.
Muskateering 1 month ago
why do people say godfather part 3 is crap when its amazing, in my opinion its better then the 2nd one !
ewanmagill666 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@ewanmagill666 I can't explain why Godfather 3 is bad in a comment: /watch?v=kTDaGhShGS8
BaubleRob 1 month ago
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Muskateering 1 month ago
Jim Caviezel in The Thin Red Line and Matthew Modine in Full Metal Jacket!
bolognamof 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Don't actually think he's a bad actor, but jesus Matthew Modine was easily the worst thing about Full Metal Jacket, an otherwise top notch movie.
It's the only one that comes to mind... Kermode is right - this is MUCH harder than picking out great performances in bad films!
arbeitsscheuer 1 month ago
Does anyone remember the big fat mobster from On the Waterfront who shouted "definitely!" all the time? He's got my vote as worst actor in a great film. I don't suppose he had a big enough part to win it really but I've always thought that he was absolutely horrific.
wemorris1001 1 month ago
The appropriately named Stephen Lack in David Cronenberg's SCANNERS. His acting is so awkwardly stilted, it's as if the original lead actor dropped out at the last minute and Cronenberg just dragged some hobo off the street to replace him. Despite this, the film is a masterpiece of body horror thanks to the gruesome special effects, a career defining performance by Michael Ironside, and David Cronenberg's deft direction.
bswiders 1 month ago
@bswiders Great shout, I only saw it for the first time recently and thought the same myself... However, I have heard (and this may not be true, but anyway) that Lack was SPECIFICALLY INSTRUCTED by Cronenberg to portray the character in that vacant manner, and apparently in other movies Lack shows much more acting acumen.
Still though, it is a performance of almost masterful blandness in an otherwise outlandishly brilliant movie.
arbeitsscheuer 1 month ago
Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction!
stormsears 1 month ago
Eli Roth in Inglorious Basterds.
GSmyth85 1 month ago
Now you made me bring this up! I didn't want to, but for the purposes of this game.......... VAL KILMER - Heat. Let us never mention him again.
Pixiesforever7 1 month ago
Nooo - can't believe I missed this: Robert De Niro's chilling Al Capone in THE UNTOUCHABLES!!!
bimpson78 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
just watched trollhunter (on kermode's recommendation) and is pretty cool lol
frogtastic1000 1 month ago
@frogtastic1000 I thought it was dumb. the trolls looked like shit. why show them at all, when they can't afford a good animation?
JustNoise 1 month ago
Dexter Fletcher in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. His dialogue's laughable to start, but he really doesn't pull it off.
Steaminlidz 1 month ago
@Steaminlidz don't you mean vinnie jones lol
frogtastic1000 1 month ago
Alfred Molina "Prince of Persia"
onepurpose315 1 month ago
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Great Acting in a Bad film?
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, Jackie Earl Haley in Watchmen
Worst Performance in a Great Film?
Um.... Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction. Penelope Cruz in Blow.
martialbro5 1 month ago
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martialbro5 1 month ago
Hank Azaria in Along Came Polly.
matthewkoz 1 month ago
Hands down, numero uno - Ariane Koizumi in YEAR OF THE DRAGON. A film that is in my personal top twenty greatest films of all time.
RAIDERS58th 1 month ago
For me it has to be Shelley Duvall in The Shining. Every scene she is in you nearly have to turn down the volume to adjust to her mouse like screeching. With the amount of crying she does in the movie you nearly feel like crying yourself but for the wrong reasons. It's as if she thinks that all you have to do to gain praise is to cry for half of a movie, Like Nicholson I wouldn't mind putting an axe through her skull.
Breslaunt 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos 3
Although I loved Ryan O'Neal's understated performance in Walter Hill's "The Driver", I thought he was bland & hopelessly miscast in "Barry Lyndon", my favourite Stanley Kubrick film. I'm genuinely shocked Malcolm McDowell wasn't cast as the lead. Sure he's best known for shocking roles in films like "A Clockwork Orange" and "Caligula, but watch McDowell's comparatively reserved performance as HG Wells in Nicholas Meyer's "Time After Time" for a hint of what might have been.
bswiders 1 month ago
@bswiders agree with you on the driver
CortezDkiller 1 month ago
tom cruise in war of the worlds. hands down!
DizzD2008 1 month ago
Sam J. Jones in "Flash Gordon." It's a damn shame Kurt Russell turned down the role.
bswiders 1 month ago
Jeff Bridges's not surprisingly great performance in the True Grit remake.
Transformers2themax 1 month ago
Anne Hathaway in the The Dark Knight rises?... well it's yet to be seen. Or perhaps Tom Hardy in that film will fit the topic of 'best in worst' more.
ilovesteves 1 month ago
Dennis Hoper in Blue Velvet. The movie is brave and extremely uncomfortable to watch in a good way. But as soon as Hopper turns up and starts over-acting I have to close my eyes and stick cotton in my ears and wait until the scene is over. Truly awful, yet maybe Lynch was trying to.... no can't do it, AWFUL.
CortezDkiller 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix surely? Or maybe Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, a performance of sheer jibberish
tomcrito27 1 month ago
@tomcrito27 I believe you meant "gibberish". If you did, you completely misinterpreted his performance. You ought to be smacked senseless for thinking such a thing. It seems as though you people who try to define someone's acting performance as either "good" or "bad" don't even understand the subject. To just perform simple everyday things realistically can even be considered fairly good acting. He's supposed to be the personification of insanity, which Marlon Brando acts out perfectly.
Transformers2themax 1 month ago
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Worst performance in the best film? Jonathan Rhys Meyers in one of Woody Allen's greatest recent efforts, Match Point. His performance is the one thing keeping it from nearing the greatness of Allen's best, Crimes and Misdemeanours.
SeeLeekFilms 1 month ago
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SeeLeekFilms 1 month ago
WORST PERFORMANCE IN A GREAT FILM? Keanu Reeves in "Much Ado About Nothing". The man can barely act in an American film, and does best in films in which he is required to say little i.e. "The Matrix", "Johnny Neumonic". Casting him in a classic Shakespearean comedy...what was the casting director working under Kenneth Branagh thinking?
DarkProf1 1 month ago 2
@DarkProf1 Couldn't agree more. 'The Matrix' and 'Much Ado about Nothing' represent the ultimate polar opposites of casting decisions. What was Kenneth Branagh thinking giving Keanu Reeves a role requiring acting?
Pixiesforever7 1 month ago
@DarkProf1 I absolutely agree. Reeves is even worse than Jack Lemmon in Branagh's Hamlet.
bswiders 1 month ago
Julia Robert in Eat Pray Love.
aquapendulum 1 month ago
Robert de Niro trying to speak Italian in The Godfather Pt.2. Unwatchable. Thank god for the distraction of the subtitles!
brokenstyx 1 month ago
kermode you are right godfather part 3 wasn't all that bad.................
frogtastic1000 1 month ago
It's difficult to judge, since good movies can be brought down by one bad performance.
While not the best, I love "Cube", but Maurice Dean Wint's performance really annoys me
Sevlech 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@Sevlech That's a decent shout. Love that film too, and he is pretty unimpressive right enough (which was a shame, given the importance of his character)
arbeitsscheuer 1 month ago
As much as i love Ray Winstone, his accent in 'The Departed' is awful. Keanu Reeves has stunk up many a good film - The devils Advocate, The Matrix, Dracula...
RandomStandardGuy 1 month ago
@RandomStandardGuy Back to hell with you young scallywag. Mr Reeves is an awesome actor.
I have one. I've given this a little thought. Not a lot, but a little. Ray Charles in The Blues Brothers. Sure his music is great but his acting is laughable.
JerkyFraser 1 month ago
@JerkyFraser BB is my favourite movie of all time, despite having so many bad performances in it. Ray Charles is one example, but the whole backing band (except Mr Fabulous) seem to struggle with anything other than the music.
However I think Keanu Reeves in Bram Stokers Dracula is fairly poor in what is a great film
TomTomSGC 1 month ago
Let's not forget Julian Sands in 'A Room with a View'...
tristessa56079 1 month ago
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldermort. Everyone is wonderful in those film but I found Ralph's performance awful as I had a completely different performance in my head when reading the books. He played it like a pantomime and I imagined it more sinister and tortured.
Frellyouall 1 month ago
Christian Bale
Dark Knight
"BLURGH BLURGH BLURGH BLURGH HOCKEY PANTS!!!!!!!!"
etocadet 1 month ago
Jesse Eisenberg, he gets good scripts but He is a black hole that sucks in all the charisma around him, And pairing him off with Kristen Stewart in Adventureland? Well, that was awful too, but not the question.
GardenGnome118118 1 month ago
kermode i just watched tinker tailor soldier spy on your recommendation and i have to say it is pretty awful
frogtastic1000 1 month ago
@frogtastic1000 You also have to say why you thought so.
imaedacomment 1 month ago
I was going to say Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, but his confused portrayal of Neo is actually appropriate for the role. However, Reeves still caught my eye in Bram Stoker's Dracula, with a horrendously bad Johnathan Harker. I feel bad saying this too because even though he's a bad actor, for whatever reason, I still really like him.
petrietri 1 month ago
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. He's as wooden as always, and the only reason he's at all bearable is every other actor is working as hard as they can to make him look good. His character is more interesting in that film the less he is on the screen.
My second nomination is an unpopular one, but I would say The Dark Knight and Christian Bale. Bale's Batman voice is deeply unpleasant. I hated every moment he had the suit on and was talking. I think he tried too hard to snarl one-liners constantly.
TheSamuraiGoomba 1 month ago
@TheSamuraiGoomba That was Nolan's fault, not Bale's. Although that growly voice is definitely there in Batman Begins, it's not nearly so pronounced, which is why most people didn't comment on it. In TDK however, Nolan digitally altered it in post-production to sound even more "non-Bruce" and just about everyone hated it and blamed poor Bale. Let's hope he doesn't do it again in TDKRi, especially given the complaints about Bane. Two incomprehensible characters!
BlackMoonLilith 1 month ago
@BlackMoonLilith Mmm, good point. Perhaps the female lead in TDK deserves re-nomination as the worst character. Now that I think about it, my other complaint (with Batman's constant one-liner dropping in TDK) is also Nolan's fault more than Bale's.
Even so, I wish Kevin Conroy could find work as Batman outside of the animated shows.
TheSamuraiGoomba 1 month ago
Keanu Reeves in... Devils Advocate... and maybe the matrix?
YourVertigoso 1 month ago
Ray Winstone in The Departed.
jammydodgered 1 month ago
For me, and correct me if I'm wrong but it would have to Stephen Fry in Gosford Park. What starts as an exploitive look at life in a country estate during the early 90's turns ventures off track towards the 3rd half as Stephen Fry is introduced as the bumbling inspector but acts more like he's walked off a Peter Seller's movie on his way to present an episode Q.I. Fantastic film, unnecessary performance.
Flurbdurb 1 month ago
@Flurbdurb Watched it a couple of weeks ago and couldn't agree more. It's comforting to know you're not the only one .-)
Guedingen 1 month ago
Anthony Hopkins in the Wolfman.
MultipleInsurgents 1 month ago
Kim Basinger in Batman, I really liked Tim Burton's take on the dark knight but man was this woman annoying, she did nothing but scream in reaction to anything that happened. Fair enough a lot of bad things happen to her in that film, but for the love of god woman, give your lungs rest!
YTFCJonesy 1 month ago
The guy who commented about Antichrist is a tool. How can a movie be bad if the only two actors in it are both great.
Nopperabou 1 month ago
@Nopperabou Because a film is about more than just the actors?
RedlegsBluelegs 1 month ago
@RedlegsBluelegs That movie was two people in a cabin going crazy. Like I think having a kick-ass cabin would not be capable of rescuring the movie.
Nopperabou 1 month ago
Christian Bale is a retard.
TheAmerican732 1 month ago
Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's if someones not already mentioned it.
SteveTheMovieGuy1 1 month ago
Ahney Her and Bee Vang in Gran Torino.
MetroNationalNews 1 month ago
Worst Acting in a Great Film? Katie Holmes in Batman Begins.
Falland163 1 month ago