Before there was Asterisk Tom Cruise, he was simply known as Tom Cruise. While still a gifted actor, he is not turning in as many memorable performances as he used to. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the once most bankable movie star in the world has several worthy credits to his name.

We begin with, Top Gun (1986, Dir. Tony Scott), not his most critically acclaimed role, but it’s hard not to say that this 80’s blockbuster is Cruise at his most likeable. After Risky Business, Cruise was a star. After Top Gun, he became the man we all have come to know. As Lt. Pete Mitchell (call sign Maverick) Cruise delivers the looks girls ogle over and the confidence men desire. I will not look down upon a person who dislikes Cruise as the person he has become today, but I will look down on you if you dislike Cruise as the movie star if you’ve never seen Top Gun, which still stands to this day as one of the most entertaining action movies one can offer.

Cruise continued to hit it big, including a great performance in the Best Picture winner Rain Man and his first Oscar nominated performance as a wounded veteran who protests in Vietnam in Born on the Fourth of July. While on paper these may his finest roles, but for me, it’s his performances in the career choices he made after becoming the world’s unstoppable movie star. Cruise pocketed $75 million for Mission Impossible in 1996, but that’s not the highlight of his year. He gave a wonderful performance in Jerry Maguire (his second Oscar nomination), both funny and touching, deep and true. Teaming up with Cameron Crowe, the film gave Cruise another force among box-office draws. He was a hero of the action genre as well as mastering the romantic-comedy. At the time, it’s as though the words “You complete me” became the moviegoer’s decisive response upon viewing his work.

Cruise was not only rolling as an audience favorite, but continued as a critical darling in his great supporting role as Frank T.J Mackey in Magnolia, Paul Thomas Anderson’s courageously weird take on a day in the life of nine characters who all connect in one way or another (picture Crash on crack).  Cruise is electric as a sex guru who leads a seminar called “Seduce and Destroy, which can help men get women to sleep with them. In his third Oscar nomination (for supporting actor this time around), Cruise displayed a side we rarely get to see. It’s a riveting portrayal.

After that, he did Mission Impossible II, made another chunk load of change (the film itself was the highest grossing film of 2000, making $215 million domestically), and maintained his status as the world’s hottest movie star. Then he did Vanilla Sky, which got critically dismantled, but personally, I found it fascinating. A remake of the Alejandro Amenabar film “Abre Los Ojos” (Open Your Eyes), the film is a very daring choice for Cruise, consisting of a psychological thriller wrapped around some big Science Fiction themes. Re-teaming with Cameron Crowe, the film deserved more attention to Cruise’s successful attempt at playing such a different role. It proved that he could do ANY kind of movie he wanted and STILL have it gross over $100 million.

One year later, another $100+ million hit and another critically acclaimed smash. Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report is one of Cruise’s best blockbuster roles. Not only did it open to rave reviews, it’s considered to be one of Spielberg’s finest. When that’s the case, the lead actor’s performance must be recognized.

Tom Cruise isn’t the world’s biggest movie star anymore. However, we must remember that he was once, for a long, long time. Almost two decades of cinema has his name written all over it, as both a commercially and critically ordained movie star. Will he reclaim his thrown? While he’s still pulling in some strong performances (Valkyrie was criminally underrated), it remains to be seen.

Note: Cruise will be re-teaming with his Vanilla Sky co-star Cameron Diaz in James Mangold’s upcoming summer action-comedy Knight and Day, opening on June 25, 2010.

I know Meryl gets all the accolades (deserved as they are) and ol’ Helen Mirren is holding up so well, both in looks and in acting chops, and pound for pound the Halley Berry’s and Amy Adamse’s of the world are probably classically prettier, but for me the full package is Jodie Foster.

Below are eight reasons (I have plenty more I just didn’t want to be typical) why I love her. These are in no particular order, just as they came to me really, particular moments of the lady’s acting or maybe something from her life that assures me Jodie Foster is the girl for me. Now if she’d just return my phone calls, my last name isn’t Hinckley after all.

1.) “Contact”’s moment of contact. While her turn at lovely scientist Dr. Ellie Arroway  in the 1997 movie is perfect, there is a scene early on in the film where Jodie as Ellie is listing to her satellite feed while sitting on top of her car. She suddenly hears what will turn out to be the initial broadcast from Vega.  How Jodie Fosters plays her surprise here, the choices she makes (to be quite honest, although I hear people say this all the time, what the hell do any of us know about what ‘choices’-or anything else-a great actress has at her disposal) that breathtaking second she hears and realizes what it is she is actually hearing, is beautiful. Of course there is a little matter of how stunning she looks when she dresses for the Presidential party a few scenes later, showing how Foster can play both ends of the spectrum of a tantalizing attractive woman, but for me that moment on the hood of her car listening to the alien’s hello is one of my favorite in all recent moviedom.

2.) The Accused’s post contact. While Foster’s Sarah Tobias in 1988’s “The Accused” gained her first “Best Actress” Oscar (Jodie Foster would get two of the little gold men before she was thirty) there are moments in this movie that are just so honest one tends to forget they are watching Jodie Foster play a part. And while the entire rape on the pinball machine is harrowing to be sure, when Sarah breaks free of her torture and runs out of the bar, the way Foster plays the sheer terror flight-for-her-life moment is priceless.

3.) Dining out in Carny. A carnival comes to a small town and Jodie Foster’s eighteen year-old townie “Donna” meets and joins Gary Busey’s “Frankie” and Robbie Robertson’s “Patch” in this loosely plotted 1980 late-night H.B.O. cult movie. Often overlooked in the Foster cannon of films, this slice-of-life turn marks one of J.F.’s sexier turns. “Carny” happens to make my top list of all-time faves (and yes I know I am in a minority here) but Jodi Foster’s Donna is too real. There is an especially chillingly moment when Donna, Patch and Frankie enter a diner on the road and are beginning to be harassed by locals. The way Foster handles the situation, at once proud and so sad makes the movie.

4.) Those first moments as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. All of J.F.’s 2nd Oscar winning performance in the 1991 thriller is spot-on but I’m especially reminded of her genius in the first minutes of her first confrontation with Anthony Hopkins’ stunning (and Oscar winning) Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins himself commented on this scene and how he realized he was in the presence of a world-class actress when he witnessed Foster’s reactions to him in this pivotal scene.

5.) Schooling-Despite how busy she was and could be as a working well-known actress, Jodi Foster was determined to see her education through. In 1980 she graduated as best of her class from the French College of Los Angeles then went to Yale to study English Lit, where she graduated in 1985.

6.) Iris in the diner. “Taxi Driver”-great film, great cast, great writer and one of the best director’s ever-Foster’s portrayal of 12 year-old prostitute Iris in this 1976 classic earned her a “Best Supporting Actress” nomination. Watch her in the diner scene with De Niro’s Travis Bickle as she pours sugar onto her bread and asks “Are you a Scorpion?” when talking over Bickle’s possible astrological sign. Heartbreaking stuff, and again because Foster manages to take her words- Paul Schrader’s script this time-and make them so freaking real!

7.) Stealing hearts and home-Foster’s 1988’s turn as Katie Chandler in another under-appreciated movie “Stealing Home” is poignant stuff for any man who can beg of ‘that older woman’ from their past. For me though, the moment comes when she runs with Billy down to the end of the boardwalk with her arms outstretched, as if flying off the end of a pier. A disjointed film even at the best of moments, I was never so sure the juxtaposition between the then and now of the characters ever really works, and though this quiet film is by far Mark Harmon’s movie-and he is damn good in it-J.F. steals every scene she is in.

8.) 1973’s Tom Sawyer. Jodie Foster is Becky Thatcher! She lights-up the screen as the most famous tomboy, from the second you see her (and this for me is a moment worth including here) as she does through this entire relatively faithful adaptation.

Tom Cruise seems to be more acknowledged for his 2005 meltdown on The Oprah Winfrey Show and his devoutness to the controversial realm of Scientology than for his acting accomplishments, past and present.  Is it that easy to overlook the fact that Cruise just happens to be one of the top 100 movie stars of all time?  Can we be so quick to disregard that his mere presence in a film easily encourages box office success?

It appears that many of us may be in dire need of a reminder as to why Tom Cruise earned our respect and theatre-going loyalty in the first place.  From 1990-2000, he was nominated for three Oscars and won three Golden Globes.  Appearing in 36 films with at least ten more projects on the horizon, Cruise shows no sign of slowing down, and why would we want him to?

By revisiting five of Tom Cruise’s most outstanding performances, I think we can all regain renewed fondness and appreciation for an actor who should always hold our favor.

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Nominated for an Oscar and recipient of a Golden Globe for his passionate portrayal of Ron Kovic, Cruise impressed the world over in Oliver Stone’s return to the Vietnam War era.  Cruise poignantly transforms from a young man, proud and eager to fight for his country, into a wheelchair bound antiwar activist.  As Kovic accidentally kills one of his own men and is paralyzed from the waist down courtesy of a bullet wound, Cruise takes us on a painful journey as we witness a man deteriorate into an inebriated wreck.  Cruise’s profoundly emotional performance enables us to remember that Born on the Fourth of July is not merely a film itching to make a statement on war; it’s about the collapsing ideals of a country and of the men who inhabit it.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Cruise’s performance in Neil Jordan’s take on the Anne Rice novel is a statement to just how versatile he is as an actor.  What’s interesting about Cruise even being casted in the film is that he was unwanted.  Avid fans of Anne Rice’s novels and Anne Rice herself claimed they hardly approved of Cruise’s placement in the film.  After Anne Rice and all the other skeptics viewed the film, they quite quickly retracted their Cruise bashing.  Cruise not only managed to prove convincing as creature of the night Lestat de Lioncourt, but he made the character oddly charming and convincingly dangerous.  Cruise’s Lestat fits comfortably well in this dark gothic horror, evoking fear, humor, and intrigue in all who encounter him.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Cruise again was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of sports agent Jerry Maguire.  Many can argue that Cuba Gooding Jr. stole the show here, including the Oscar, but Cameron Crowe gives us a side of Cruise we’re not too accustomed to seeing—comic.  Cruise masterfully delivers his lines with excellent timing and throws physical humor into the mix, clearly putting all of himself into the performance.  Needless to say, it pays off.

Magnolia (1999)

Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey yet again proves his versatility as a performer and his skill, earning another Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.  Paul T. Anderson’s Robert Altman-like film has a lot going on from raining frogs to characters breaking into song (Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up), but the film seems to permit its actors to give some of their best performances.  As a misogynistic motivational speaker, one would find it exceptionally effortless to loathe Mackey as he energetically tries to pump up his male audiences with the testosterone they seem to be so devoid of.  But Cruise delivers a delicate sensitivity alongside Mackey’s abhorrent personality traits. When Cruise’s Mackey finally emotionally breaks down at his dying father’s (Jason Robards) bedside, it’s difficult not to break down with him.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

I realize that this movie isn’t Mission Impossible or The Last Samurai, but I feel Cruise’s performance in Vanilla Sky is highly underappreciated.  The first mark against this film is that it is a remake of Open Your Eyes (1998), so people naturally attack Cameron Crowe’s attempt at tackling the complexly themed dream material.  What this film manages to do beautifully is establish a dreamy, trance-like tone via cinematography and a quietly stunning score by Nancy Wilson.  The film is penetrating, thought provoking, and imaginative, and we’re guided throughout by Cruise’s heroic stature.  He handles his character of David Aames with flawless ease, and takes us on a compelling exploration of longing, desperation, and the kind of possibility found only in dreams.

What would our most recent movies be without Samuel L. Jackson? The ubiquitous go-to black man in films of the past decade, Mr. Jackson rode alongside Bruce Willis, talked over Brad Pitt and helped John Travolta out of those “Look Whose Talking” movies. But the man is a lot more then just a sidekick or the guy a producer goes to when Don Cheadle is not available or Morgan Freeman is too old.

Here are ten of what I feel are the Samuel Jackson’s best turns, (in chronological order) and why the man really is a powerhouse.

1.) “Jungle Fever”-Claiming he was pretty much drugged up at the time he played the crack-addled brother to Wesley Snipes’ Flipper in Spike Lee’s 1991 film, Jackson is superb as Gator Purify. Playing a jumpy desperate character that in any other actor’s hands would have been nothing more then a plot-moving, scenery-stealing cameo, Jackson illustrates the quivering theme of this movie about so much more then interracial romance. And he does steal every scene he is in, the crack-house confrontation between Gator and Flipper is a priceless as it is scary.

2.) “Pulp Fiction”-A star-making turn to be sure. Playing off what many consider John Travolta’s comeback, Jackson’s Jules Winnfield in the 1994 Tarantino blockbuster delivers pure pearls of dialogue, like “I’m the mother fucking foot master” we can’t forget. Jackson’s relish over Q.T.’s philosophizing moments are nearly as priceless as the Jheri curl he sports.

3.) Playing a much smaller and much quieter part in 1995’s David Caruso vehicle “Kiss Of Death” (also with a menacing and buff Nicolas Cage) Jackson’s understated Calvin Hart is a cop with an axe to grind against Caruso’s Jimmy Kilmartin in the beginning, but by film’s end provides information needed for the movie’s twist. He is a huge presence in this film certainly not his.

4.) It was big buddy picture time with Bruce Willis in “Die Hard: With A Vengeance” as Jackson’s Zeus Carver becomes the unwitting partner to a what, at times, becomes a quite silly race through NYC. Jackson offers a put-upon workingman with a deep intelligence-something these movies needed by this time-and even though it boasts Jeremy Irons as the bad guy, Jackson offers a respite of dignity here.

5.) “A Time To Kill” sees Jackson as a father avenging the rape of his daughter in what I feel is not only an underrated Samuel Jackson part but an underrated movie as well. Looking much older then his years and mostly in jail for what really is a Matthew McConaughey/Sandra Bullock thriller, supporting actors like Jackson (along with Oliver Platt and Kiefer and Donald Sutherland) shine so brightly they lift what is rather a more mundane Grisham novel into a taut little film. You truly feel the pain Jackson’s Carl Lee Hailey is going through as he suffers through what he feels was the only course of action left to him.

6.) A quiet film not too many people saw, 1997’s “Eve’s Bayou” has Samuel L. playing the lead male role. A film about mystery, magic and adultery, Jackson is the well-appointed charming bayou doctor, Louis Batiste with as many secrets as he has charm. This is as much a star turn as Jackson will ever accomplish.

7.) 1997 saw S.L.J teamed up again with Tarantino in “Jackie Brown”. His slinky Ordell Robbie is every ounce an arch criminal, as menacing as Jules from “Pulp Fiction” but with absolutely no heart; Ordell’s demise can’t come soon enough. Again Jackson plays with his look here, so much you tend to loose track that this is indeed Samuel L. Jackson as this sticky sweet bad guy.

8.) One of my favorite Jackson turns in one of my more favorite M. Night Shyamalam-a-ding-dong movies, Elijah Price is the fantastic foil to Bruce Willis’s “superhero’ David Dunn in “Unbreakable”. The movie revolves around the idea of comics as mythos as much as it does around the startling performances by Jackson and Willis.

9.) “Black Snake Moan”-Sure he was known for another ’snake’ movie, but this one has a nymph Christina Ricci playing off Jackson’s broken blues guitarist God-fearing Lazurus. Certainly heavy-handed at times, but the tension between Ricci’s Rae and Jackson’s Lazurus who has her chained up (but still in her panties, thank God) makes for a damn interesting little flick. There are some truly heartbreaking scenes here as Lazurus struggles playing guitar, his life and pain about to burst out in Jackson’s perfect read on this lonely man.

10.) Albeit he is only sneaks in at the end of this 2008 hit, well past the credits in fact, introducing Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of “Ironman” made the audiences gasp as much for the fact that here was Nick Fury in the flesh, as the surprise that Jackson was playing the iconic comic book character. Certainly a snippet of screen time, still Jackson’s presence in this film, as all the above can’t be denied. And then when the guy gets to act…

Here is our selection for top gene wilder movies:

1)      Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factor – Yes, we actually put this movie at the top of the list because who does not like chocolate!  No all kidding aside this is an amazing movie.  It starts off following down on his luck Charlie Bucket.  He ends up getting a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and he ends up finding out just how strange and mysterious Willy Wonka truly was.  Gene played the part of Willy Wonka perfect and you could really tell that he was 100% into it and it showed.  Plus who knew that Gene Wilder was such a good singer?

2)      Young Frankenstein – This move is an offshoot of frankenstien but was made as a comedy and boy was it funny!

3)      The Producers – This is about a producer looking to scheme his way into riches.  He has the perfect plan but does it pan out?

12. Bruce Willis

11. Russell Crowe

10. Mr. T

9. Clint Eastwood

8. Lee Majors

7. The Dudes From Miami Vice

6. Jackie Chan

5. Burt Reynolds

4. Chuck Norris

3. Steven Seagal

2. Telly Savalas

1. Sylvester Stallone

5. Alex from A Clockwork Orange

Alex is the narrator and anti-hero of the novel, in which he does not supply his surname. In the Story Film, however, in addition to the surname “DeLarge”, we see several newspaper clippings (showing Alex returning to society following his subjection to the Ludovico treatment) where his name is printed as Alex Burgess, in a clear reference to the novel’s author, Anthony Burgess.

Alex is portrayed as a psychopath who robs, rapes, and ultimately murders for his own amusement. Intellectually, he knows that this sort of behavior is wrong, saying that “you can’t have a society with everybody behaving in my manner of the night.” He professes to be somewhat puzzled by the motivations of those who wish to reform him and others like him, saying that he would never interfere with their desire to be good; it’s just that he “goes to the other shop.”

He speaks Nadsat, a teenage slang created by author Anthony Burgess. The language is based on English and Russian words, and also borrows from bits of Romany speech, the Bible and schoolboy colloquialisms. He likes milk spiked with various stimulants (“milk plus”) or hallucinogens (“synthemesc”). The book goes into much greater detail about the nature of his drug use, describing how the customers at the Korova Milk Bar go away “into the Land.” Alex is very fond of classical music, particularly Beethoven, or, as he calls him, “lovely lovely Ludwig Van.” While listening to this music, he fantasizes about endless rampages of torture and slaughter to the point of orgasm.

4. Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men

Anton Chigurh, the main antagonist, a shadowy and sociopathic assassin, prone to extreme violence and philosophical musings. He is in his 30s, and has eyes as “blue as lapis… Like wet stones”. A man of dark and vaguely exotic complexion.

3. The Joker from The Dark Knight

The Joker has been referred to as the Clown Prince of Crime (or Chaos), the Harlequin of Hate (Havoc), and the Ace of Knaves. Throughout the evolution of the DC Universe, interpretations and incarnations of the Joker have taken two forms. The original and currently dominant image is of a fiendishly intelligent psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humor. The other interpretation of the character, popular in the late 1940s through 1960s comic books as well as the 1960s television series, is that of an eccentric but harmless prankster and thief. Batman: The Animated Series blended these two aspects, although most interpretations tend to embrace one characterization or the other.

2. Norman Bates from Psycho

The character is based on real-life murderer Ed Gein. In the sequel to the original film, Bates is released from the institution 22 years later, seemingly cured, and he meets Mary Loomis — Marion Crane’s niece — whom he falls in love with. However, a series of mysterious murders occurs, as well as strange appearances and messages from “Mother”, and Norman slowly loses his grip on sanity. The mysterious appearances and messages turn out to be a plot by Lila Loomis, the sister of Marion, to drive him insane again in order to get him recommitted, due to her eternal grudge against Norman for murdering her sister in the first place. The actual murders turn out to be the work of his aunt — Norma’s sister, Emma Spool — who shares the family’s history of mental illness and claims to be Norman’s real mother. Before Norman discovers this, however, Mary Loomis is shot dead by the police during a confrontation with Norman, and Spool murders Lila. When Spool tells Norman that she is his mother, he kills her and embalms her body while assuming the “Mother” personality once again.

Norman Bates is ranked as the second greatest villain on the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 film heroes and villains, behind Hannibal Lecter. His line “A boy’s best friend is his mother” also ranks as number 56 on the institute’s list of the 100 greatest movie quotes

1. Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal Lecter is described in the novels as being small and sleek, and with wiry strength in his arms. In The Silence of the Lambs it is revealed that Lecter’s left hand has the condition called mid ray duplication polydactyly, i.e. a duplicated middle finger^. In Hannibal, he performs plastic surgery on his own face on several occasions, and removes his extra digit.

Lecter’s eyes are a shade of maroon, and reflect the light in “pinpoints of red”. He is also said to have small white teeth and dark, slicked-back hair.

Got more? Leave comment and tell us about…

]]> http://alltopmovies.com/top-psychotic-characters-in-movies/feed/ 3 http://alltopmovies.com/666-girls-on-film/ http://alltopmovies.com/666-girls-on-film/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:30:37 +0000 AllTopMovies http://alltopmovies.com/?p=1101

SCARIEST!

Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) — The Evil Dead (1981)

Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) — The Exorcist (1973)

Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) — The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971)

Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) — Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Carol Moran (Barbara Hershey) — The Entity (1981)

.

Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) — The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005)

Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) — Ghostbusters (1984)

Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer) — The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Nancy Downs (Fairuza Balk) — The Craft (1996)

Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) — The Unborn (2009)

Angela (Mimi Kinkade) — Night of the Demons (1989)

Jennifer (Megan Fox) — Jennifer’s Body (2009)

SILLIEST!

Nancy Aglet (Linda Blair) — Repossessed (1990)

Delia (Catherine O’Hara) — Beetlejuice (1988)

Susie — (Briggita Boccoli) — Manhattan Baby (1982)

Sherri Martin (Jill Jacobson) — Nurse Sherri (1978)

Patti, Sharon, Debbie and Chris (Kerry Sherman, Sherry Marks, Alisa Powell, Hilary Horan) — Satan’s Cheerleaders (1977)

Delia York (Asia Viera) — The Omen IV: The Awakening (1991)

]]> http://alltopmovies.com/666-girls-on-film/feed/ 0 http://alltopmovies.com/matthew-mcconaughey-cannot-stand-up-by-himself/ http://alltopmovies.com/matthew-mcconaughey-cannot-stand-up-by-himself/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:55:30 +0000 AllTopMovies http://alltopmovies.com/?p=1088 Someone  caught this hilarious trend of Matthew McConaughey’s serious lack of balance in movie posters. He found the first three posters and we added EdTV, Surfer Dude, and We Are Marshall for more evidence that he needs people and trees to support him or he will fall down.

(Michael Madsen)

Reservoir Dogs, 1992

Besuited alpha male, particularly famed for impromptu ear-severing. A charming psychopath who likes to simmer and sit tight. Perks up when obscure Dylan-esque Seventies pop hits come on the radio and has a habit of flicking away cigarette butts just before something really nasty happens. Approach with due trepidation.