Actors worth following, part 4
This list continues from part 3.
George Clooney
Clooney was one of the initial stars of ER and then took off to make movies. He’s also directed several movies, including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Clooney has the most masterpieces on this part of the list, but doesn’t come close to Tom Hanks’ total.
- Masterpieces
- The Descendants
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Gravity
- Ocean’s Eleven
- Ocean’s Twelve
- Great movies
- Burn After Reading
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Out of Sight
- Tomorrowland
- Up in the Air
- Good movies
- Ocean’s Thirteen
- Solaris
Johnny Depp
Depp starred in the TV show 21 Jump Street before Tim Burton picked him to star as Edward Scissorhands. He has had a string of duds lately but he could still return with another winner.
- Masterpieces
- Don Juan DeMarco
- Finding Neverland
- Great movies
- Benny & Joon
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Chocolat
- Ed Wood
- Edward Scissorhands
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
- Good movie
- Corpse Bride
- Mediocre movies
- Alice in Wonderland
- Dark Shadows
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
- Sleepy Hollow
- Transcendence
- Bad movie
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Bill Murray
Murray is very funny, and the movies he’s made later in his career have been generally terrific. For one thing, he has had a very fruitful relationship with director Wes Anderson.
- Masterpieces
- Broken Flowers
- Groundhog Day
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
- Moonrise Kingdom
- Great movies
- Charlie’s Angels
- Get Low
- Lost in Translation
- Quick Change
- St. Vincent
- Good movies
- Ghostbusters
- Ghostbusters II
- Scrooged
- Mediocre movie
- City of Ember
Jack Nicholson
It’s been a while since I watched a Nicholson movie — he seems to have retired. He made a bundle of cash for playing the Joker in Batman. He also directed a few movies, including Goin’ South.
- Masterpieces
- About Schmidt
- As Good As It Gets
- Great movies
- The Bucket List
- Goin’ South
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Something’s Gotta Give
- Good movies
- Batman
- The Witches of Eastwick
- Wolf
- Good but not my type of movie
- The Departed
- Worth watching once
- Mars Attacks!
- Not-so-great movie
- Anger Management
Brad Pitt
Whether he’s stuck in an insane asylum with Bruce Willis, robbing a casino with George Clooney, or being a vampire with Tom Cruise, Pitt will grab your attention.
- Masterpieces
- Interview with the Vampire
- Ocean’s Eleven
- Ocean’s Twelve
- Twelve Monkeys
- Great movies
- Burn After Reading
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Legends of the Fall
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- World War Z
- Good movie
- Ocean’s Thirteen
Natalie Portman
Portman was astonishing as a kid in Léon. At the time she signed up for the Star Wars prequels, she could be forgiven for thinking they would be great. Aside from those disasters, she’s always worth watching. She recently directed her first movie, A Tale of Love and Darkness.
- Masterpiece
- Léon: The Professional
- Great movies
- Beautiful Girls
- Garden State
- Thor: The Dark World
- V for Vendetta
- Good movies
- Closer
- Thor
- Worth watching once
- Mars Attacks!
- Bad movies
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Christina Ricci
Ricci made a splash as Wednesday Addams in 2 Addams Family movies as a kid. She starred in the TV show Pan Am, which only lasted one season.
- Masterpiece
- The Addams Family
- Great movies
- Addams Family Values
- Black Snake Moan
- Buffalo ’66
- The Ice Storm
- The Opposite of Sex
- Pecker
- Penelope
- Not-so-great movie
- Sleepy Hollow
Julia Roberts
Roberts burst on the scene in Pretty Woman and has been delighting audiences ever since.
- Masterpieces
- Erin Brockovich
- Ocean’s Eleven
- Ocean’s Twelve
- Great movies
- Charlie Wilson’s War
- Conspiracy Theory
- Duplicity
- Larry Crowne
- Mona Lisa Smile
- Notting Hill
- Pretty Woman
- Runaway Bride
- Stepmom
- Good movie
- Closer
Saoirse Ronan
From period pieces to action movies — whatever kind of movie Ronan is in, you won’t be able to take your eyes off her.
- Masterpieces
- Atonement
- Brooklyn
- The Way Back
- Great movies
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- How I Live Now
- Good movies
- Byzantium
- Hanna
- Mediocre movies
- City of Ember
- The Lovely Bones
Winona Ryder
Ryder starred in some brilliant movies as a kid, including 2 of Tim Burton’s. The last thing I saw her in was the 2009 Star Trek, in which she had a small role as Spock’s mother. But I’ll still be on the lookout for anything she’s doing that looks interesting.
- Masterpiece
- Edward Scissorhands
- Great movies
- Alien: Resurrection
- Beetlejuice
- Girl, Interrupted
- Heathers
- Mr. Deeds
- Reality Bites
- Mediocre movie
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula
July 8th, 2016 at 9:29 am
I found How I Live Now almost impossible to watch, even though it’s a great movie. For some reason, it really got under my skin and made me feel really uneasy…
July 9th, 2016 at 10:12 am
Possibly because it’s set in the present, and seems like it could happen? If so, I had a similar reaction to Will McIntosh’s book “Soft Apocalypse.”