Actors:

So, I was sitting around the house the other day, cruising the movie collection and taking in the expansive DVDs that I own. I have nearly five hundred DVDs covering most genres and themes and then I have six of seven seasons of different shows that I do enjoy watching continuously. While making this slow stroll through DVDs and memories of watching said DVDs I became captivated by the men who lead these all star casts and have the capability to hold an audience captive with their powers of presence and their commanding style of speech. So I decided to do a top five favorite actors and describe the first movie I saw them in and the favorite movie with them in it.
So here we go, TOP FIVE FAVORITE ACTORS.

5: Tommy Lee Jones:
I first saw Tommy Lee Jones in Coal Miner's Daughter. This bio pic of Loretta Lynne's life is a typical film with typical standards of what you would expect some back woods life leading into stardom would be. At the time I felt that the good ole boy that Tommy Lee Jones portrayed was true to the point and familiar with the good ole boys I personally knew. Future movies I was to see Tommy Lee Jones in proved him to be a spectacular presence in any action film and an intimidating figure in any suspense film. My favorite movie with him is kind of a draw between No Country For Old Men and In the Electric Mist. In both films he plays a law enforcement officer with life long experience and in both films he manages to put up a fearless front while secretly hiding a fearful knowledge of how far the evil of man truly goes. Tommy Lee Jones is a stand up for any film and lets the viewer understand that even if the plot of the movie is subpar the acting provided will be first rate.

4: Alec Baldwin:
I don't remember the exact film I first saw Alec Baldwin in. I can saw that he has been in so many films, both good and bad, that he is clearly a familiar face in any element he is in. I can say that no matter what character Alec Baldwin portrays be it a cop, lawyer, salesman, doctor, whatever, he makes that character his own and brings his odd sense of style and movement to the screen to make that character familiar to the audience. I have to say that my favorite movie with Alec Baldwin is The Getaway staring his then wife Kim Basinger and Michael Madsen. In the film Alec Baldwin plays a master thief who is on the run after a big job goes bad. While the movie is rather standard and there are no twists and turns that the audience cannot see or predict, the gem of the film is Baldwin's ability to completely own his character. His speech, his movements, this moments of rage and of fear, are completely in tune with his character and completely in the believable range. By the time the movie is over Alec Baldwin has left no doubt to his audience that he is a powerhouse and capable of anything.

3: Mickey Rourke:
Recently Mickey Rourke has gotten what some Hollywood bigwigs would call a second chance and his career has once again been jump started with films as Iron Man 2 and The Wrestler Mickey Rourke has always been a eye catcher in my book with his ability to bring a character to terms with his own life choices and his own personal grief. In his early years he played soft spoken, handsome men with ghost ridden pasts and haunting features. As years progressed the characterisms of Mickey changed, hardened, and his portrayal of characters followed. The first film I saw Mickey Rourke in was Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man in which he plays a deep thinking biker on the war path with corrupt big business. Yes the film would never win Oscars, but it was a fun guy film that earned its spot in my collection. My favorite film with Mickey is hands down The Wrestler in which he plays a broken down old professional wrestler on the downslide of life. Never before have I seen an actor reflect his character so much that it becomes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. While The Wrestler did win alot awards I would say that Mickey got cheated out of his Oscar.

2:George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon:
Now I know that this can be considered cheating but I always rank these three together because I enjoy their ability to act just as much as I enjoy reading about them as people. I first saw this group together in Oceans 11 and own the complete set of the Ocean's movies. I find that any movie any of these three actors are in I enjoy and in the end own and happily add to my collection. No matter what their on screen presence is powerful, meaningful, and applicable to whatever genre of film they find themselves in be it comedy, action, suspense. The thing I love the most about these gathering of men is the fact that they have a sense of humor about their craft and about themselves. There is nothing more aggravating then watching some windbag of an actor, not going to mention names, go goes into such detail when inflating their own egos that they forget that they too are human beings. These three actors have no problems at poking fun at each other and at themselves and it is this ability that makes them both great and human and I find that in Hollywood that is a unique and rare combination. My favorite movies are George Clooney's Up in the Air, Brad Pitt's Inglorious Bastards , and Matt Damon's Good Will Hunting. In all three films these actors totally engross themselves in a character and completely forget about the world they left behind. In these movies there is no movie star, only the character, and it reflects in the awards these films win due to the stellar ability of three jokers who have no problem laughing at themselves.

And Number one: Jack Nicholson:
Now this should be no surprise here. I first saw the master in One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest and he's been making an impact in my movie watching ever since. I don't know if it's Jack Nicholson's ability to become the characters he plays or if it's his ability to mold all the characters to refelct his personal quirks but I can say that I'm hooked. Any film that he's in, I enjoy, it's a given. I do have to say that my all time favorite movie with the man is The Shinning, in which he takes an average family man and transforms him into a raging, murderous psycho, that's always classic.

Now I know you're out there crying out, "John, what about Al Pichino and Robert De Nior or Christopher Walken," and my answer to that is elements of greatness such as those should be everyone's favorite and if not then you should stop watching film all together. And I do have other favorite actors, just in different categories, which I'm sure we'll later see. These are just my five personal addictions, if they're in it, I'm seeing it. It's just that simple.

Well until next time folks.
J

Ps: Blogs to come include, other favorite actors, Actors to watch out for, and bad remakes take over Hollywood.