I once thought of him as a great actor, but looking back, I think his career has been pretty uneven. He's had his share of stinkers, see Rampart and the ridiculous magic movie.
I feel like I'm tired of looking at his ace, his performances are so predictable.
Really? Maybe you're right. But I can tell you that even some of the legends of Hollywood were in movies that bombed at the box office. I am not sure of this, but for a while it seemed that he was really type cast in comedies and sometimes it just was not a good fit. I think what he has done in the past decade is prove that he can do comedy if it is the right kind for him, but also that he can do some remarkable drama parts as well.
They call John Travolta as the "comeback kid" and it was not because his career took a nosedive, it was because he too was being type cast in parts that were all the same and he had to stop it. So he took a break and when the right part came, it proved that he could still be a funny guy but he also proved that he could do all sorts of movies, play the good guy or bad buy, be funny or serious.
To be honest, some of the best movies that I have seen Woody Harrelson in are his more serious, drama movies. I guess it must be tough to be in acting. You do one thing to get your name out and from then on it seems as if all the studios want to do is recreate that character. I loved Welcome Back Charter and Travolta was hilarious in it, but he also credits the people he worked with for him being funny in the show. I think it is the same for Woody. North Country was an outstanding movie and that kind of part seems to go very well with him.
Actors are always being judged by their last movie and that is not fair. Also, some movies are edited to death so many good scenes that would have explained a few things do not get cleared up until the directors cut or unrated version comes out.
I hope that makes sense.