What if Scorsese and Cruise kept going?

Have you seen Collateral? Cruise was very menacing, far from nice; he was believable every second he was on screen. With his performance in that film, I could maybe see Tom Cruise as Henry. But back then, he was a little nice. And as I said, Liotta was the perfect choice anyway.

You're gonna educate me? Ha ha ha. Well, you did a fine job by being quite elaborate. Jeannie, you're entitled to your opinion, and I'm not going to attempt and change yours nor will you change mines. DiCaprio to me, is a one-trick pony. The closest he ever came to absolutely owning a role was nearly 20 years ago, everything else he's done has never been mesmerizing and whenever paired up against a real actor, he usually ended up getting destroyed (Daniel Day-Lewis in GONY). You may find it ridiculous that some people consider Cruise a superior actor to DiCaprio in many ways, but I myself find it ludicrous that DiCaprio is not only considered one of the "greats," but is mentioned in the same breathe as De Niro or Brando. He impressively went head to head with De Niro in This Boy's Life, but that was a long time ago and I can't give him any more credit than that (plus De Niro practically owned his scenes). Nothing he's done in the past 10 years has been risk taking, unpredictable, and acting wise, he always comes off as "DiCaprio" and never becomes the character; complete immersion into a role is something he lacks greatly. There's no real depth, raw and naturalism from DiCaprio's acting as well. I could forever discuss the reasons as to why I think nothing special about Leo as an actor, but I don't want to sound pretentious by listing actors from hundreds of films who possessed great technical acting skills that put DiCaprio to shame. He gets so much respect yet the numerous unknown actors who's acting ability truly ignites the screen with "acting genius" status, never get their acknowledgement. Seeing the trailer for "Django Unchained," it looks like Leo is not only having fun, but smiling in a role for a change, something he hasn't done in over a decade. But, the acting itself looked pathetic and forced, especially when you compare it to the clip of Joaquin Pheonix's acting for "The Master" trailer, now that was acting! Just that small clip alone, was greater and far more eerily convincing acting than anything I've ever seen from DiCaprio. All I'm saying really, is there's nothing special about DiCaprio's "talent," for me at least; so many actors in films live a role, not just play one on screen as Leo does. I've seen the majority of his work, and when it comes down to it, he's just decent. He gets the opportunity to work with great directors and somehow convinces many (such as yourself) that he's some acting genius... just no. Now on to Tom Cruise, he may not be Oldman, D'Onofrio, De Niro, etc, but he's given performances that can match their best work (maybe one of De Niro's top 10), and is an overall tremendous versatile actor who's talent gets overshadowed by his personal life or "big action star" image. What makes Cruise a better actor to me is first and foremost his naturalism and effortless presence in his films, something DiCaprio lacks and thus, forces his acting that it feels fake. Tom Cruise's last great role might've been in "Collateral," but his work in "Valkyrie," "Tropic Thunder," the upcoming "Rock Of Ages," (not a movie I'm looking forward) not only featured Cruise playing a CHARACTER (not himself), but it was unpredictable, risk-taking, and far from repetitive *cough unlike Leo's cough* boring work. Leo has become too hackneyed for me -- and to others it appears so too. Cruise continues to put out these unexpected roles quite well and doesn't do the same thing. By the time he was Leo's age back in 99, he had already proved to be one of the most versatile and finest actors of his generation, and till this day he takes roles which are interesting to see -- once in a while. Tom easily could've played ANY role DiCaprio has done in the past 10 years by the time he was 35. There's a certain brilliance in Cruise's acting that is painfully underappreciated by many, but I'm one of those who's noticed his talent. Finally, what makes Tom Cruise a superior actor -- to me -- is his natural and effortless performances in "Risky Business," All The Right Moves," The Color Of Money" and "Rain Man" -- his incredible and believable transformations in films such as "Born On The 4th Of July," "Magnolia" and "Collateral" -- his equally great transformation and almost thespian turn in "Interview With a Vampire" -- and lastly, his always entertaining roles that are supported by his memorable acting -- "Mission: Impossible," "Minority Report" and "Tropic Thunder." Apologies for the long post, but having run into some of your previous posts, it seems that you don't take kindly to people who don't share your own opinion, and so I thought I should make myself very clear of my own opinions, which will stand. One final thing I should mention of Cruise's acting in Collateral, a tour de force performance that makes me forget about this DiCaprio fella -- the subtly, facial experressions, and utter commitment Cruise had in this film was spectacular. In particular, the scene where he's sitting down having a chat with the jazz club owner then unexpectedly shoots him dead, is flawless acting. One minute the character Vincent is enjoying a guy's story -- this is the most relaxed and peaceful we see him in the entire film -- next thing you know, he shoots the guy dead with such fierce. But, as he gently lays the dead man's head on the table, the look on his face changes, it's almost like he regretted doing this, a sign of remorse to be exact, but quickly shuns away any emotions... this precise moment, is acting Leo has never even come close to showing he's capable of, and surely not effortlessly. Cruise's range of emotions in this single scene was amazing, truly the work of an actor with great technical skills. Whenever DiCaprio needs his character to suddenly display a range of emotions, his acting goes like this: Okay, cry. Now, I'm mad. Now I have to scream and yell. Now, be silent and calm... now, do this all over again! It's so in your face how he does it that any genuine emotions he attempted to accomplish failed terribly. The way Cruise slowly shifted his emotions in that scene I mentioned, proves to me alone that he IS a much better actor. And there's many other reasons, as I stated already. I like you Jeannie, but I don't agree with you on this. Have a good day.


Oh, my god. I'm in line to see Meryl Streep strip? NO BLOODY WAY!