There are many terrible movies out there, and a fairly solid number of amazing ones, but finding people who’ve been involved in the production of movies on either end of these extremes? It’s not the easiest thing in the world. Take an acting legend like Daniel Day-Lewis, who has been in at least one 10/10 movie, or something many would consider 10/10 worthy: There Will Be Blood.
He’s generally been selective with his roles, and so even if his worst movie (it’s probably Nine) is quite bad, it’s not, like, 1/10-level bad. And, yes, this endeavor is going to be a bit more subjective than your average ranking, and you may disagree with some movies below being highlighted as perfect, and others highlighted as irredeemable, but it was a fun challenge regardless. Most of these actors are prolific and have been acting steadily for decades, so after a while, mathematically, the odds do increase that one’s filmography will contain at least one masterpiece, plus one or more movies that are irredeemably bad.
10
Nicolas Cage
From ‘Face/Off’ (1997) to ‘The Humanity Bureau’ (2017)
Trying to watch everything Nicolas Cage has starred in makes for a chaotic experience, to say the least. He’s been in more than 100 movies, and you best believe that not all of them are good. Some are even nothing but bad, which is a clunky way of putting things, but these movies are clunky, so it’s what they deserve, probably (looking at you, Left Behind, The Humanity Bureau, and 211).
That same journey through the filmography of Cage, though, will also unearth some absolute masterpieces. And yes, Face/Off is a masterpiece, as a weird sci-fi movie and as a ridiculous action blockbuster. If you’re more into quieter weird movies, then Mandy is quite exceptional, and even if Leaving Las Vegas isn’t perfect in every single way, Cage’s central performance is, and it deservedly won him an Academy Award, too.
9
Tom Hanks
From ‘Saving Private Ryan’ to ‘The Polar Express’ (2004)
Image via DreamWorks Pictures
While plenty of movies try to capture the feeling of being in a nightmare and succeed, with it all feeling intentional, some are nightmarish for reasons that didn’t feel intended. Enter The Polar Express, which is an animated movie, sure, but done with motion capture, and so Tom Hanks really is front and center, just in an uncanny way. Oh, and he plays multiple roles, which somehow adds to the horror.
To his credit, other than The Polar Express, Hanks has had a pretty steady acting career. Even the notorious The Bonfire of the Vanities isn’t bad enough to be a 1/10.
Some people might be fond of The Polar Express, especially those really into Christmas, yet it’s being counted here as the nadir of Tom Hanks’ career. To his credit, it’s otherwise been pretty steady. Even the notorious The Bonfire of the Vanities isn’t bad enough to be a 1/10. And then, on the other end of things, Hanks was, of course, in the hard-to-fault Saving Private Ryan, and if you’re willing to include some more animated movies, the first three Toy Story films are basically perfect too.
8
Ellen Burstyn
From ‘The Exorcist’ (1973) to ‘The Wicker Man’ (2006)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Ellen Burstyn has been in plenty of non-horror movies, but she applies for this present ranking because of two. She was in The Exorcist, and that’s an all-timer as far as the horror genre’s concerned for hopefully obvious reasons—being timelessly unsettling and also very effective as a drama on top of being a horror movie. It was elevated horror before it was cool or before it was a term.
And then you’ve got The Wicker Man (2006), not to be confused with The Wicker Man (1973), which is a classic that was released the same year as The Exorcist. But 2006’s The Wicker Man is a disaster on just about every front, outside some sporadic scenes of unintentional comedy (and the aforementioned Nicolas Cage was another cast member/casualty of that film).
7
Al Pacino
From ‘The Godfather’ (1972) to ‘Jack and Jill’ (2011)
It’s hard to pick out the bestAl Pacino movie , but it’s a little easier to pick out his worst . It’s probablyJack and Jill , and even then , he’s not in that film a great deal , and is the closest thing it has to a good element .Adam Sandler could maybe also appear in this ranking , ifUncut Gems is considered perfect , but he’s been in too many less-than-great movies to be an interesting – or eye-opening – inclusion .
So , Al Pacino . Al Pacino it is . His 10 /10 movies are numerous , albeit most of them are from quite a few decades ago , likeThe Godfather , its sequel ,Dog Day Afternoon , andScarface(1983).In more recent years , he’s also had roles in movies that might well be classics one day< , once enough time has passed , including in the likes ofOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood andThe Irishman.
6
Robert De Niro
From ‘Goodfellas’ to ‘Little Fockers’ (2010)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
While on the topic of someone who was inThe Godfather
‘, here’sRobert De Niro
‘, who was in the second film , just not on screen at the same time as Pacino , since De Niro ’ s scenes were all flashbacks . The two did star in‘Heat’a couple of decades later ,and that movie ’ s pretty much perfect… but between‘The Godfather Part II’&‘Heat’, De Niro was in maybe even more classics than Pacino.
You’ve got‘Goodfellas’,‘Once Upon a Time in America’,‘Taxi Driver’,‘Raging Bull’,and‘Brazil’, among others. De Niro has generally been more prolific than Pacino , which means he ’ s also been in a few more stinkers , including the genuinely abhorrent‘Little Fockers’,‘Dirty Grandpa’,and‘Righteous Kill’. Okay ,the last of those might be more of a 2 /10 than a1 /10 , but that ’ s not saying much. It ’ s only worth acknowledging because it ’ s the movie Pacino and De Niro were both in that ’ s not good(their other three –‘The Godfather Part II’,‘Heat’,and‘The Irishman’-are all winners).
5
Samuel L. Jackson
From ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993) to ‘Cell’ (2016)
Technically,Samuel L. JacksonwasinaverysmallroleintheaforementionedGoodfellasbuttherewereothermoviesofhisearlyinhiscareerthatwerearguablymasterpieceswherehisroleswerealittlebigger(likeinJurassic Park&Do The Right Thing).HewasinacoupleofmasterfulearlyQuentin Tarantinomovies too(Pulp Fiction&Jackie Brown)becomingveryrecognizablebyaboutthemid-pointofthe1990s.
Like Nicolas CageandRobertDeNiro,Jacksonisincrediblyprolific,andsohimappearinginsomefairlyterriblemovieswasprobablyaninevitability.Ofthose,Cell©mightbetheworstwhichisabadadaptationofStephen Kingnovelthatalreadywasn’tverygood.Onthesubjectofmisfires,Oldboy(2013)&ArgyllewerealsoprettyterriblethoughSamuelL.Jacksonwasnowhereclosetobeingtheworstthingfoundineither.
4
Christopher Walken
From ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994) to ‘Gigli’ (2003)
Whilehisrolewasn’tasbigasSamuelL.Jackson’s,Christopher WalkenwasalsoinPulp Fiction&The Deer Hunter.Hisworstmovieisprobably‘Gigli’&healsosortofjustbargesinto thatforafewminutesdoeshisthingandthenleavesaboutasgracefullyasonecouldfromamovie like(Gigli)(Pacinowasalsointhatoneregrettably).
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3
Judi Dench
From ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) to ‘Cats’ (2019)
Judi Denchisoneoftheall-timegreatEnglishactresses,andherworkhasn’tjustbeenonthebigscreen,yet someofthefilmshestarsinhavebeenamazing.CasinoRoyale forexampleisprobablythebestmovie she’sinasMwhile shealsohadsmallrolesintwo pretty muchperfectShakespearefilmadaptationsdirectedbyKennethBranagh:HenryV&Hamlet.
Unfortunately,DenchwasalsooneofthemanypeoplewhoendedupinthetrainwreckthatwasCats.It’sagonzoanddisastrousmusicalthatisasbadaspeoplemakeitouttobe.Anyoneinthatwho’salsobeeninatleastoneclassiccouldtechnicallygointhisrankingalongsideDench(likethealsolegendaryIanMcKellenwhosefilmographynow-andforeverincludesboth<CatsandLordoftheRings).
22
Michael Fassbender
From ‘Inglorious Basterds'(2009)to’The Snowman'(2017)
Easilytheyoungestactorhere,MichealFassbenderr wastedverylittletimeappearinginanall-timegreatmovie,andthen wastedonlyatiny bitmoretimeappearinginsomethingthatalreadyfeelslikeanall-time terriblemovie.ThemodernclassicisandithelpsFassbendertathissupportingroleallowshimtobeatthcenterofwhatmightwellbethemovie’sbestsequence(theextendedandagonsizinglyintenseonethattakesplaceinatavern).
Lesserthanadecadeyear,FassbendewasalsoinTheSnowman,b/>There isnothingofvaluetobefoundinTheSnowman,anditdoesn’tevenhavethedecencytobebadinafunnyway,outsidefactthatFassbinder’scharacterisnamed“HarryHole.”TheSnowmanisanadirforvariousothercastmemberswithintheirrespectivecareersincludingthelikesofRebeccaFergusonCharlotteGainsbourgJ.K.SimmonsandValKilmer.
1
John Travolta
‘
From ‘Blow Out'(1981)toBattlefield Earth'(20000)
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LikehisFaceOffco-star,NicolasCageJohnTravoltahashadthemostchaoticofactingcareersquality-wise.He’syetanotheractorwhoappearedinPulpFictionandthat’scertainlyoneofhisbestmovies,butothermasterpiecesincludeBrianDePalma-directedmovieslikeCarrieandBlowOutaswellasTheThinRedLinewhichhasanabsolutelyenormouscastfilledwithanalmostdistractingnumberofrecognizablefaces(anamazingmoviethough).
Andthenyou’vegotjustasmanyall-timebadmoviesinTravolta’sfilmographyormaybeevenmore.LikewhatelsecanbesaidaboutBattlefieldEarthatthispoint?Well,beyondstatingthatthelikesofTheFanatic,Gotti,andThePoisonRosemightwellbejustasbad.LifeislikepickingJohnTravoltamovieatrandomtowatchyouneverknowwhatyou’regonnaget.
Easilytheyoungestactorhere,MichealFassbenderr wastedverylittletimeappearinginanall-timegreatmovie,andthen wastedonlyatiny bitmoretimeappearinginsomethingthatalreadyfeelslikeanall-time terriblemovie.ThemodernclassicisandithelpsFassbendertathissupportingroleallowshimtobeatthcenterofwhatmightwellbethemovie’sbestsequence(theextendedandagonsizinglyintenseonethattakesplaceinatavern).
Lesserthanadecadeyear,FassbendewasalsoinTheSnowman,b/>There isnothingofvaluetobefoundinTheSnowman,anditdoesn’tevenhavethedecencytobebadinafunnyway,outsidefactthatFassbinder’scharacterisnamed“HarryHole.”TheSnowmanisanadirforvariousothercastmemberswithintheirrespectivecareersincludingthelikesofRebeccaFergusonCharlotteGainsbourgJ.K.SimmonsandValKilmer.
1
John Travolta
‘
From ‘Blow Out'(1981)toBattlefield Earth'(20000)
<divclass'responsiveimgimgarticleitemstylepadding-bottom50%'dataimgurl'https//…'
LikehisFaceOffco-star,NicolasCageJohnTravoltahashadthemostchaoticofactingcareersquality-wise.He’syetanotheractorwhoappearedinPulpFictionandthat’scertainlyoneofhisbestmovies,butothermasterpiecesincludeBrianDePalma-directedmovieslikeCarrieandBlowOutaswellasTheThinRedLinewhichhasanabsolutelyenormouscastfilledwithanalmostdistractingnumberofrecognizablefaces(anamazingmoviethough).
Andthenyou’vegotjustasmanyall-timebadmoviesinTravolta’sfilmographyormaybeevenmore.LikewhatelsecanbesaidaboutBattlefieldEarthatthispoint?Well,beyondstatingthatthelikesofTheFanatic,Gotti,andThePoisonRosemightwellbejustasbad.LifeislikepickingJohnTravoltamovieatrandomtowatchyouneverknowwhatyou’regonnaget.
