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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
 Posted - 12/14/2006 : 1:48:00 PM
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One thing they said about General Douglous McArthur is that he can follow up a brilliant military victory with a obvious mistake.
So to can be said of Ben Kingsley. This guy can give a brillent performance in one movie and then go on to a complete flop. I would like to put on the table a Sainthood for Sir Ben. He's fast becoming a Patron Saint of Jabootu. This privlege used to be the sole honor of Michael Caine. I believe the time has come to add one to the mix.
Let me be clear. Ben is definately a good actor. But the fact stands that for every Gandhi, Schindler's List, Sexy Beast, and House of Sand and Fog you can also point to a Thunderbirds, What Planet Are You From?, A Sound of Thunder, and a BloodRayne.
He's the equivialent of alcoholic getting his 90 days of sobriety chit and then decides to celibrate with a one night bender. Needless to say, this leaves one confused about why he chooses to do obvious turkeys. So far it hasn't hurt his career.
But he is taking his share of flack because no one can fathom why he's made these choices.
Here are a few examples:
Peter Hyams and his cast seem determined to play this hokum with a straight face, except for Ben Kingsley, who is clearly trying to give the worst performance possible — it's almost as if he's begging Hyams to cut his scenes out of the movie.
By Jeff Vice;Deseret Morning News about A Sound of Thunder
Why an actor of Kingsley's stature would sign on for this hack work is a mystery.
David Hiltbrand; Philadelphia Inquirer about Thunderbirds.
dhampir, on a mission to take revenge against her vampire father (inexplicably portrayed here by a wooden and probably somewhat disoriented Ben Kingsley)
Robert Strohmeyer; filmcritic.com about BloodRayne
Kingsley and Madsen read their lines with all the enthusiasm of an automated operator chirping out a phone number
James Sanford; interbridge.com about BloodRayne
How will cinematic history judge this man? And why does he sign on to these travesties? As one review put, BEN! If you need money, hawk your Oscar. It's more dignified.
[img]http://ae.mercurynews.com/images//56/21/07-29-2004-07:56:21:866-thunderbirds_270x.jpg[/img]
Ganghi
Schindler's List
Sexy Beast
House of Sand and Fog
Thunderbirds
BloodRayne
What Planet Are You From?
A Sound of Thunder
________________________________________________________________________
"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
Edited by - Capt. Nemo on 12/14/2006 8:28:42 PM
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Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 2:11:29 PM
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| I think some actors (particularly ones like Kingsley, who came by success rather late in their career), really hate not working. If no worthy projects are coming, they'll take the travesties to pay the rent. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 2:43:24 PM
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Actually, it seems to be a British thing. They seem to continually need to be working. As such, they take on just about anything to fill the time.
Or maybe his agent has incriminating photos and Ben has to do whatever he says. :-)
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 3:30:46 PM
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| The Michael Caine syndrome, it might be called. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 4:48:41 PM
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| Or the Takashi Shimura syndrome, if you're a Japanophile. |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 12/14/2006 4:50:51 PM |
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Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 09:13:19 AM
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| Of course, it must be admitted that if Kingsley sat around waiting for another role matching his talents, such as Gandhi or Sexy Beast, he'd work about once every five years. |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 11:12:32 AM
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Hummmm....
Did anyone ever ask Ben what HE thought about working in these flicks? After all, Chris Lee, Peter Cushing, and Sir Alec Guinnes worked for George ( I'm a GENIUS! ) Lucas...and we still respect them, eh what?
Marvin the Paranoid Android to Buzz Lightyear "Too infinity and beyond-i've been there, its rubbish!"
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KDOT
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Edited by - Flangepart on 12/15/2006 11:13:20 AM |
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Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2006 : 5:44:13 PM
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Actually, IIRC, in Guinness's autobiography he made mention of George Lucas with the words "God bless him!", based on the fact that he felt he would never have to worry about his family's financial future again.
And I don't see why Guinness would feel about playing an iconic character like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the same way as, say, Jeremy Irons would feel about Profion in Dungeons and Dragons. While it wasn't Shakespeare, Guinness did a nicely understated bit of acting in Star Wars - nothing for which to be ashamed. |
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