Korean Job Discussion Forums

[venus]

It�s sad C.B. puts in all the technical effort but is not a very talented actor nor does he have much charisma on screen.

Best role was American Psycho as art reflected life in that he played a man with only a surface persona.

He is to Di Niro what that spammy Korean ham nonsence (I mean why do they bother? Five hundred diffent brands of 5% meat spam in the cooler but not one company makes real ham - GAH! GAH! And as for Korean �Sausage� - it�s the same spam shite modelled into the shape of a sausage.... Frugh...! Why don�t Koreans like real ham? I don�t get it! They love pork, so why not ham? Perhaps they want to save absolutely every ounce of every pig for samguipsal...?) is to real ham.

Just my opinion.

[swetepete]

I disagree, and contend that he does indeed have range as an actor.

Certainly his bread and butter has been popcorn action flicks, like the 'Dragonfart' one, and (the much better, but still silly) 'Equilibrium,' and, indeed, 'Batman Begins.' But he's never bad in them; he does, in a way, elevate what is otherwise pretty low-grade ore.

Meanwhile, he does stuff like 'the Machinist,' and 'Harsh Times,' where despite a general lack of commercial success or critical respect, he becomes, each time, a very different character. Most Hollywood stars don't do that; when was the last time anyone saw an Al Pacino movie, or a DeNiro, where you could forget for even a tiny second that you were looking at a famous movie star?

If there is, in Bale, a shallowness, a certain insipidness of face and mannerism, that I think lends itself to great acting. To become the character, one needs to lose one's own characteristics; with the big name actors, all too often they are unable or unwilling to do that. And, sadly, they are not expected--or even permitted--to do so. It's the big names that put asses in the seats.

Sometimes, though, you get guys like Damon, Clooney, Bale, or Norton, who actually do take less glamorous roles, and put on weight or beards or ugly glasses, because they are--IMHO--actors before they are celebrities. Kenneth Brannaugh is one like that as well. But Nicholson? Ford? Cruise? Never. They're not bad actors, but they've lost their ability to really change for each role.

It'll likely happen to Bale as well, but, hopefully, not yet.

[Toon Army]

[genezorm]

[Demophobe]

I just saw "The Machinist". I thought that Bale was heroic in his dedication to the roll and considering the complexity of the character, I thought he did alright.

He was certainly withdrawn, sympathetic and tormented but let flashes of his former peaceful, suave, confident self shine through at times. All in all it was a good movie...a 7.5/10 for me.

He doesn't command the screen like some actors, but he has a subtlety that is strangely underwhelming. Unique, certainly.

[Doogie]

[Demophobe]