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Michael Sheen

I really like Michael Sheen, when he's playing people from real life. There is, however, another Michael Sheen, the British actor most known for his role as David Frost in Frost/Nixon. This second Michael Sheen likes to star in the Underworld franchise and is currently making the second film in the Twilight series, New Moon. We need to stop this second man from ever making movies again. It's one thing to want to do genre movies in between more serious work (though I'd argue playing Frost or ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair isn't the most challenging work an actor can do), but this is becoming embarrassing. There's a right way to do genre movies, and a wrong way.

For example, there are rumors floating around these here Interwebs that Sheen is up to be the villain in the next James Bond movie: he'd play Blofeld in this scenario. Who knows whether or not the rumors have any truth to them, but that is how you do a genre movie. Sure, it's too early to tell if the movie would be any good, with or without Sheen, but it's not a bad start. A good step he's making, one that is definitely happening, is his supporting role as the White Rabbit in the 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland from director Tim Burton. This may not be a genre film in the strictest sense, but it's also no highbrow true story. Sheen's work is stronger than some critics give him credit for, usually because he manages to play understated characters against more colorful types. We can only hope he decides to stop playing supernatural characters in cheesy schlock.

Christopher Walken

I know, Christopher Walken is awesome. And he is, don't get me wrong. Intentional or not, he has amazing comic timing (if I say the word "cowbell," most of you will know what I mean). He is frequently the best thing in each movie he's in. However, he is frequently the only good thing in each movie he's in. I sat through Balls of Fury, a painful 90 minutes punctuated by a few good laughs provided by Walken. Domino is generally terrible, but he's interesting to watch. Gigli - yeah, I saw it (if it's any consolation, it was free, I was reviewing it, and boy, did I hate it). He's good, but for five minutes. Why can't Christopher Walken choose better projects? He's a good actor.

If you watch him in Catch Me If You Can, another underrated movie, you'll find him surrounded by equally talented people; I'd argue his work is elevated by the quality that permeates the rest of the film. I wonder, though, if the whole joke perpetuated on "Saturday Night Live," that Walken's just an oddball, has rubbed off on the actor; does he really believe this is all he has to offer? God, I hope not. He's obviously not content with not working, but someone needs to make sure the next project this man is in deserves his many talents; even the people behind Hairspray knew to let him dance for a few minutes.

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