Jack Nicholson

I was reading about him in the papers this morning, so I figured I’d start a thread.
The guy is raw, just pure animal instinct. That’s exactly what makes him special. He isn't exactly winning any bodybuilding contests or beauty pageants, but man, that look of his—you can't teach that. His gaze is absolutely terrifying.
Does anyone remember One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? It’s easy to act smart when you're surrounded by lunatics. He even helped save Easy Rider with that small role of his.
Then there’s that unforgettable scene with Fay Dunaway in Chinatown. Or that weird romance in Huston's last film, Castaway (back when he was actually married to Huston's daughter). My best friend swears Wolf is Nicholson's best work; says he can see the predator in him. Does anyone remember Titanic? That same year, As Good as It Gets picked up an Oscar for acting. So, which Batman is the best?
It’s Nicholson, obviously (though DeVito was great too). Anyone who’s seen A Few Good Men definitely remembers "You can't handle the truth!" That scene is legendary. Then you've got The Border with Keitel... critics hated it, but I thought it was excellent. Of course, you can't hit a home run every time, so there were some mediocre ones, like Hof, The Witch from Eastwick, or Man Trouble.
But if you ask me, his two absolute best performances are in The Shining and The Postman. That's where he really peaked.
Why am I rambling on like this? Honestly, I have no clue. 😁

Timothy Cox2 said:Why am I even writing all this down?

Well, obviously—you've got nothing better to do... 🙂 😁

Karen Fowler57, you absolute legend 😁

Jack is the absolute king. 🙏 👍

Jack is an absolute legend 🙂

Jack is an absolute legend.

He’s easily one of my all-time favorite actors. 🙂

HA HA HA!!

This is just ridiculous... Timothy Cox2 actually takes the time to write something constructive, and all everyone else can come up with is: "he's a god, he's a king, he's the man"... You guys are really something else...

Anyway, Nicholson is definitely one of the top ten actors out there. It's hard to pick his absolute best performance (personally, I’d say One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), but Timothy Cox2 missed one movie where Jack absolutely shines: Terms of Endearment... Every single scene with him and Maclaine is pure gold!

By the way, did you guys know that guy was the father of his daughter's best friend? And that he smashed the window of a Mercedes that accidentally got in his way in traffic?

A total rebel, what else is new... 🙂

Jack Nicholson was hands down the greatest actor of his generation, right up until they completely botched it by handing him that long-awaited Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which basically turned the guy into the most nominated actor ever, but also kind of a permanent underdog). He never quite recaptured that lightning in a bottle he had in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Task, Chinatown, or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Back then, you could just feel he was the real deal—this guy had an actual presence, this electric energy radiating off him. But after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, he just became a caricature of himself, looking totally self-satisfied, like he was stuck in this "I'm finally a big-fucking-movie-star" headspace. That signature smirk, the way he looked at you, those eyebrows... it all just turned into this repetitive, routine gimmick he leaned on until it wore thin. Don't get me wrong, the roles were decent, but they lacked soul. Nicholson is the textbook definition of how an Oscar can actually wreck a person's raw talent and potential (yeah, that’s a conversation worth having!).

It wasn't until recently, though, that I caught a glimpse of that old-school Nicholson in The Pledge. And from what I've gathered, About Schmidt is sniffing around that same territory too.

If you ask me, the absolute peak Nicholson ever reached was in Five Easy Pieces.

Man, Carl Bennett78, this Movie is such a snooze fest... let's just start an argument about something instead 🙂

Maybe it’s because of watching About Schmidt? 🙂

Honestly, my favorites have to be One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, and that relatively recent one, As Good as It Gets... man, the guy has presence. Just pure charisma. He gets totally lost in his roles, almost to a manic degree. Oh yeah, speaking of "manic," I can't stop thinking about his Joker... even as a comic book character, he’s just fantastic.

BTW, when is Schmidt coming to our side of the pond?

Carl Bennett78 said:Jack Nicholson :: About Schmidt

It looks like Jack Nicholson might be cutting back on the budget. This absolute icon has started doing his own PR instead of letting a big agency handle it!

He was actually seen recently wandering outside a theater in Los Angeles, trying to talk a couple of tourists into seeing About Schmidt.

"I hear About Schmidt is good," the seasoned pro told them—though the pair clearly had no clue they were chatting with a legend!

When they asked how he could be so sure, he just shrugged and said, "I don't know, I just like the guy in it. I can't recall his name, but I hear he's alright."

Once he finished playing street promoter, the Oscar winner strolled off to catch his own pick—Pinocchio.

So, this guy mentioned that his libido just isn't what it used to be, and honestly, looking at Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt, he really does look quite old—like, incredibly old.

I haven't checked out The Pledge yet, but last year I watched the original version based on the book by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It’s called It Happened in Broad Daylight, released back in 1958, and it's widely considered one of the best American movies ever made. I highly recommend it.
redowl90: I haven't gotten around to watching Terms of Endearment yet, unfortunately.

Timothy Cox2 said:I haven't gotten around to watching The Pledge yet, but last year I checked out the original version based on the book by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It's called It Happened in Broad Daylight from 1958, and it's widely considered one of the best American films from that era. Highly recommend it.
redowl90: Unfortunately, I still haven't seen Terms of Endearment.

I actually watched The Pledge, and honestly? It didn't do much for me. The plot just felt totally unbelievable. :\

ruggedjackal46 said:I watched The Pledge and it just didn't do it for me. The story feels totally unrealistic. :\

SS: Maybe the plot was tweaked to fit American standards. The movie I mentioned is basically a nod to Hitchcock, just set in a different language. I'll definitely check it out, even if I'm not exactly a fan of Penn—though he has pulled off some solid roles, like in Karlitov's Way and Color.

Timothy Cox2 : In Huston's last movie, "Castaway"

Actually, Huston's final film was "The Dead" back in 1987.
🙂 BHD

Timothy Cox2, you aren't acting alongside Sean Penn in this movie; you're talking about that actress with the last name Penn who starred in Terms of Endearment, though I can't quite recall her name right now.

ruggedjackal46 & wuk : The Legend of Zrinski-Frankopan 😁
wuk: You're right. I hate even saying this 😁
ruggedjackal46: I know, but he was the director and there was just something primal about those movies. But honestly? You're right.🙂

edit: I wrote wuk above but I meant :vuk (aka bhd) because they aren't the same person and I didn't want any confusion.

Timothy Cox2, you're absolutely right, I completely blanked on the fact that he actually directed the Movie. My bad.

As for that whole thing about the Zrinski-Frankopan dynasty, honestly, it’s hands down the most boring book I’ve ever picked up. Total snooze fest.

kozz said:The man mentioned that his libido just isn't quite what it used to be back in the day.

Well, I believe I heard that same thing myself; I suppose he's simply getting older. Regardless, though, the man is an absolute legend, and his entire presence is truly iconic!