Wait, is this the same Nicole Kidman from The Invasion?

[phantom_power]

I thought he was really good in Brokeback Mountain

He is enjoyable in A Knight's Tale and Ten Things I Hate About You as well. Nothing earth shattering, just good light comic acting

[Tiny Poster]

another, squandered potential one would be eric bana, he's been pretty under-whelming in most hollywood films he's done, mostly just ok, and you can see the studios think this too if you see the level of films he's beginning to appear in. gone are the days were spielberg would use him as a lead or he'd be considered a worthy co-star to brad pitt. Rewind to Chopper, his first film I think, and he was magnificent. One of the best ever performances I think, he just owned that role and pulled a de niro esque transformation off too.

He's good as the only sympathetic character in Funny People.

[Famous Mortimer]

Seth Rogen I'm normally not bothered by, but he was really good in "Observe and Report".

[phantom_power]

He's good as the only sympathetic character in Funny People.

He is ace in Munich as well

[Ignatius_S]

....The only actor I dislike who I haven't seen a truly great performance by is Brad Pitt...

I thought Pitt turned in a fantastic performance in Kalifornia. Although it won't be everyone's cup of tea, I rather like Johnny Suede – I'm not sure I would go as far to say it was a "truly great performance", but he serves the main role well.

....Bad surprises:

Robert De Niro in pretty much everything from 2000 onwards (especially Rocky & Bullwinkle)...

Oh, I rather enjoyed that – a very silly turn in a very silly film.

another, squandered potential one would be eric bana, he's been pretty under-whelming in most hollywood films....

He doesn't work exclusively in Hollywood, though.

He's not bad in Spartan. Also heard good stuff about him in Tombestone...

Spartan definitely benefits from Kilmer's presence and arguably, he carries the whole thing. Tombstone is worth catching.

[SavageHedgehog]

For my money Val Kilmer's more a case of someone who is talented, but often chooses/chose to go for sleepwalking through easy paychecks. I haven't seen much of his recent DTV work, but I suspect it might actually suit him in a strange way, as he's generally more interesting in genre fare and B-Movies; he was a lot of fun in Renny Harlin's awesome and hilarious Mindhunters for example.

I had little use for Tombstone and Wyatt Earp aside from Kilmer and Dennis Quaid's interpretations of Earp. Very different approaches, both very impressive.

[Cohaagen]

It's maybe not entirely in keeping with the thread, but I need to get out how annoyed I feel when people slag off Shatner. The man can act, and the idea that he can't is something that I'm sick of bumping into. It's like a wall of stupid received opinion that fuckwits have to lean on in the absence of an original thought. He clearly rises to good material - he's great throughout the whole of Wrath of Khan, but the scene in the Genesis Cave where Kirk meditates ruefully on a rootless life lived without responsibility is played brilliantly. Likewise the bit with Spock at the end.

[Noodle Lizard]

It's maybe not entirely in keeping with the thread, but I need to get out how annoyed I feel when people slag off Shatner. The man can act, and the idea that he can't is something that I'm sick of bumping into. It's like a wall of stupid received opinion that fuckwits have to lean on in the absence of an original thought. He clearly rises to good material - he's great throughout the whole of Wrath of Khan, but the scene in the Genesis Cave where Kirk meditates ruefully on a rootless life lived without responsibility is played brilliantly. Likewise the bit with Spock at the end.

Agreed, I've never understood that criticism.  You only need to watch an episode of Boston Legal to see that he's a very diverse and capable actor.

And I liked that Twilight Zone episode - he was supposed to be overacting, you numpties!

[The Roofdog]

Good post Cohaagen. "Shatner can't act" is the TV & film equivalent of "Ringo isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles"

[Nik Drou]

He was also very good in The Intruder, which by a happy coincidence is available in its entirety on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEViuhhVwEI&feature=related

[Egyptian Feast]

He was also very good in The Intruder, which by a happy coincidence is available in its entirety on You Tube.

A great performance indeed; according to Roger Corman, he was especially convincing to the extras in the crowd scenes, some of whom were rather impressed by his racist rhetoric. They thought he was supposed to be the hero. It was quite a risky film for it's time - Corman and co were pretty much run out of town once it became clear what type of movie they were making.