The not so great Leonardo Di Caprio becomes great once again

Such an impressive biography,so many smartly chosen roles,so many great directors on his path,so much luck,incredible wisdom and perseverance.....and yet I wish he stopped doing films after "Catch me if You can".

I loved Di Caprio when he was a child.His looks,his spunk,the fierce childish energy,constant rebellion and loads of rough talent were impressive.His debut with Robert De Niro in "This boy's life" was brave and strong,his extremely childish appearance suited the role and he was poignant.It is very encouraging to see a young actor who seems at ease in such a serious cast.

Di Caprio continued daringly,with "What's eating Gilbert Grape", his absolute best role ever.
He was a force of nature in his early years, his still childish looks in complete opposition with his courage,he lived and breathed his roles and the audience believed him completely,enraptured by this prodigy.He never halted,he was never shy of his famous partners.He broke your hearth and made you laugh and there was never a moment of doubt that yes,he was that boy,Arnie Grape.A great talent was born and it just kept getting better.

"The quick and the dead" brought a somehow different actor. Bold,gritty,seductive, funny and once again he was at ease with serious stars like Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone.And "The Basketball diaries",another brilliant depiction of young troubled hero,masterful.This was Di Caprio in his early twenties,when his extremely boyish looks suited the characters he played,when he was still a young boy who played young boys.

I didn't like him in "Total eclipse", his portrayal of Rimbaud was a total miss since Di Caprio had none of the decadence and perversion essential for Rimbaud but since he was excellent in "Marvin's room" and fantastic in "Romeo + Juliet" I quickly forgot it.Once again,this kid was thrown among serious professionals in "Marvin's room" and once again he thrived, repeating all the qualities that made him great in his previous work.

"Romeo+Juliet" was his first collaboration with controversial Australian genius Baz Luhrman.It is a sumptuous movie,an exaggerated amusement park full of secret pleasures and the first glimpse of all great skills Luhrman has. Music,costumes,camera,set design ,all magnificent but never overwhelming the actors.It was a love story, pure and simple and Di Caprio and Claire Danes found each other in this brave movie.They were sincere and powerful and their emotions raw and pure.

And then came the world wide fame,the one and only "Titanic". Nothing would ever be the same again for Di Caprio,in best and worst sense.He became a megastar and he bore the burden well.He was decent in the movie even though he and Kate Winslet were,and remain, a really gauche couple.Jack Dawson was a good role for him,he was funny and vivacious and  seemed unfazed by the grandiosity of the project.

He continued with a few very good roles.I loved "Celebrity" and he was excellent in "The beach".Those were still the roles that suited him best,young rebel,experimenting with adult life,risking a lot, never lacking the audacity.

But the moment he was supposed to play adult men,something went very wrong."Gangs of New York" was en epic disaster and the only comfort for the Di Caprio could be the fact that a genius like Daniel Day Lewis was his partner in shame.

The last Di Caprio role I liked was "Catch me if you can",an amusing comedy where he used his spunk once again.From there on,everything was just a a variation on the theme:

- a wunderkind, growing up painfully,trying to find his place under the sun,coping unsuccessfully with adult characters

There were some excellent movies,there were some glimpses of what he could be if he only grew up but never again did Di Caprio manage to bring back the pure talent and force he showed in his first movies.

You simply couldn't believe him, he was a  tabula rasa,an empty canvas without motivation,passion,appeal or strength.We expected a lot maybe but rightfully so, he was brilliant in some of his early movies so we just waited patiently for him to finally come back.There were glimpses of possibilities,like "Departed" or brushes with his former self,like "Django Unchained", to keep us alert.

One couldn't but admire his flair for good roles,his tenacity and perseverance but the magic was gone.He was just a good looking aging Peter Pan,nothing more.It's a pity but it's a fact.In spite of his rich and admirable biography,he never again touched the sky he held in the palm of his hand when he started.And since he was so smart and cautious in choosing his roles,he should have known that something was missing from each and every  interpretation he gave his audiences.

His looks are definitely a problem since he still looks like a child,but it's far more than that.And the sublimation of all his failures arrived in "The great Gatsby".

Once again,he worked with Luhrmann.But unlike before,this time Luhrmann simply sank his complete cast in the opulence of effects,tricks,beauty and fantasy of his movie.They exist merely as puppets of this cruel master,without a chance to do anything but serve as decoration,tableaux vivants. And among them Di Caprio is by far the worst.Gatsby is a wonderful role but better men have already failed where Di Caprio wanted to shine.Redford had the ideal looks but his Gatsby was simply Redford all over again,not Gatsby.

And Di Caprio took the worst approach,his Gatsby is also Redford but without the looks.He took many of Redford's tics,he moves like a puppet,he has no passion,no sexual appeal or emotional substance,nothing.Of course,he is undermined by artificiality Luhrmann expected from his actors but so was Carey Mulligan and yet she gave a glimpse of humanity while Di Caprio was simply grotesque.It was sad to watch him dissolve but maybe it was all for good.

Maybe finally he will discover what is wrong and have a serious long talk with his former self. Maybe he will take a break and come back as a man who feels once again  right in his skin,maybe we will benefit from a new and improved Leonardo Di Caprio.

Because it can hardly get any worse than Gatsby.

And I can't be happier to say that he is back,with a vengeance.

In that brilliant scary epic that is "The Wolf of Wall street", Di Caprio has finally gone back to his source,he took a big gulp from the magical fountain of his original talent and took us all on an unforgettable ride.

His Jordan Belfort will remain one of the best performances ever seen in the movies,the idiotic addict who managed  to con all,the psychotic product of the specific moment in human history.

He has everything,the brute force,the skill, the magic,the audacity,the discipline,the magnificent span of that devastating talent he showed us when he was just a boy.

He is genuine and disgusting,he is a genius and a retard,and there is not a moment of respite from the human disaster called Jordan Belfort.

The unbelievable becomes believable with Di Caprio's magic and there is nothing left but to admire his brilliance.He has proven to all of us who doubted that he is still that same sparkling boy from Gilbert Grape,that he can still,when given the right role,create miracles.

The questions were rised about the morality of such a tale.In my mind,there is no doubt about the depths of sordidness of the Belfort's character,not a single moment when I didn't think how did that ridiculous disgusting criminal managed to pull it off.
Nothing in the movie suggested that the director or any of the creators wanted to glorify those despicable idiots.They were simply put in front of us,and the frenzy,extravagance and obscenity of it all is unfortunately very real.

In the sublimation of excess,Di Caprio never lost his balance,he managed to give us all the hysterical eccentricities of Belfort's character without becoming a caricature.

As absurdly as this may sound,he was balanced even in the most extravagant actions,he was calculated but still passionate and even when he let go completely, he stayed in control.

It was a very difficult role,perfect but difficult.There was the trap of covering the lack of conviction with noise and effects but he didn't fall into it.He stayed focused,he stayed precise and most admiringly,he was a perfect partner for all the amazing actors who worked with him.

It was the role of his life,his "Citizen Cocaine",as the journalist Rachel Syme smartly wrote.

Once again,I have seen and re-confirmed my opinion of the greatness of acting talent.Even when it gets lost for many years,the pure talent is always capable of re-inventing itself,of shining once again so brightly that, for a moment, it just hurts to look.

Christoph Waltz or the incredible chance of meeting a great director

 I remember Waltz from a very successful Austrian tv series "Kommissar Rex". He was a killer that the German shepherd Rex and his detective chased in one of the episodes. Honestly,I can't say why I remembered him, but I did and I recognized him many years later him when "Inglourious basterds" came.

And he was really brilliant as Hans Landa, he has a sort of  calm, mean energy,his  face and voice transform easily, making him a credible psychopath.He is a bit theatrical but not exaggerated and it was exactly the right approach for the role.The camera likes him,he is a frail man but somehow he gets threateningly big with sheer force of camera movement and good acting.

He is a disciplined master of his body and his gestures are always measured and poised.
Even though he is not a strikingly handsome man,he is sexy and somehow darkly so.

Waltz had all  these qualities during his long tv career in Austria and Germany but the chance of meeting a great director who knew exactly how to use his best features is what propelled Waltz and made him an internationally acclaimed actor, winner of two Academy awards and almost 50 different acting awards.

There are many actors in Europe and elsewhere in the world who are as good as Waltz and probably a few who are better.

Majority of them is also happy and content with success in their own countries and wouldn't dream of trying somewhere else.But for those who are not and who are eager to launch a serious international career,the most important step is meeting a great director who knows how to present their assets and who is genuinely interested in their acting skills.

Everything starts and ends with directors.Great scripts can be ruined by awful amateurs,wonderful actors massacred by ego maniacs,and every detail in movies depends eventually from the director.He is the one who knows how to choose his crew and most importantly his actors.
The best casting director in the world cannot convince a bad director to take a talented actor instead of a hyped hack.And the best cast can't help the movie if that one person who is responsible for them doesn't know what to do.

Waltz was a lucky guy,and it is best seen if we watch the movies he did without Tarantino,"Water for elephants","Green hornet","Carnage".

He is always good, sometimes  far better than his co-stars but if those were his first movies in Hollywood he would never had the career he has now.

And his second Oscar in Tarantino's "Django unchained" proves my point.

So a loud "bravo" and "good luck" for Waltz and a whisper for all the actors around the world who would like to take one step further:

- yes,agents are important but Taylor Kitsch also had a decent agent who took him to the slaughterhouse called "John Carter" so please please try and start Your career with a great  talented director who is genuinely interested in You and everything will come easily after that

I miss Hilary Swank

Dear Hilary,

for so many years You have entranced the public with your talent.

Ever since we saw You in "Boys don't cry" we knew that there will probably be no one like You in a long long time.It was a daring path,from various tv roles to an Oscar win and You did it,bravely and perfectly.
Brandon Teena was one of the most heartbreaking characters in movies and You managed to portray  it without ever going over the top.The movie is a feast for every  afficionado, a small,unpretentious story about very serious issues.And it was an excellent chance to show what true acting talent really meant,what brave and curious actress could do with a great script.

A star was born then and You continued fiercely,landing interesting roles that did You credit and bursting very soon in another  dreamlike role ," Million dollar baby".
There was a slight  danger of overdoing it,we thought Eastwood dumped to much grief  and pain on Your shoulders but once again You proved that modesty and finesse can go a very long way,straight to Your second Oscar.

 You have everything, looks,character,charisma,talent and knowledge of how to use that great talent sparingly and wisely.You have skill,You have heart and You captivate  every scene so completely that you need very strong partners. Still,even with weaker ones,you are a generous co-star who helps them.You are unpretentious and very very courageous and basically You can play everything to perfection.

But what I love about You is the fact that You never give up,You put the same effort in every role You play, however uninspiring it may appear.Everything You have done was brilliantly played but it's a pity that there were so little adequate challenges for Your talent.

One of my favourites is definitely "Amelia", I love Mira Nair so I am impatient to see whatever she does.And in Amelia there was also a benefit of watching my favourite actress so the pleasure was complete.It is a beautiful movie,opulent and moving and it was a great role for You.Another fearless and unconventional character that so obviously suited You.

So dear Hilary,please listen to a true fan's tiny whisper:

- even though I have nothing but enormous respect for the seriousness of Your efforts in really questionable movies,I think it's time to become more selective about Your projects since we are all impatient to congratulate You on Your third Oscar!

The marvelous newcomer Jack Reynor

The best part of my work as an agent and later casting director was discovering new talent, and being  an avid  tv and movie consumer, I continue to look for new interesting faces all the time.

There are many young actors and actresses who deserve our attention today but there is rarely a newcomer who has a chance to show us all the richness of his talent in a great movie made by an astonishing director.

Jack Reynor had that chance.I saw the movie "What Richard did"  by pure coincidence, the dvd cover looked interesting so I decided to take a look,without knowing neither the director Lenny Abrahamson nor any of the actors.

It was absolutely exquisite,the kind of movie I prefer,small,intimate,dealing with important questions and masterfully created. From the beginning, You are drawn into an almost documentary world of Dublin golden teens,their life during few days of summer vacation.And till the end  You could be nowhere else but there, swept away by the artistic perfection of it all.

The cast was fantastic,young Irish actors, all of them incredibly natural and credible so it was immediately obvious that they must have been led by a brilliant director.

And among them the leading actor, Jack Reynor, owned the movie from the very first moment,made it completely his without ever suffocating his partners.
He has everything: looks,talent,charisma and instinct.He is spontaneous,nuanced, he has excellent control of his physique, his gestures are never superfluous,his emotions are raw, pure and yet very precise, which is rarely seen in very young male leads.


Reynor's talent is incredible and he was very lucky that "What Richard did" was his breakthrough.My only worry was that if he didn't have really good people taking care of his career, he might make some wrong steps very early. Helas, my worst  fears were confirmed just 2 days  after I saw him playing Richard when I read about Michael Bay offering Raynor a role in "Tranformers 4".

And that is exactly the wrong move for someone so talented . Not that I don't appreciate Bay and his action movies but there is a type of actor who should never enter the world of Hollywood mega spectacles,studio deals,sequels and franchises.And that is Reynor.

Before him, the same mistake was made by Andrew Garfield with "Spiderman". Garfield was also a fantastic newcomer in "Boy A",clever,heartbreaking and powerful,continued wisely with the "The social network" and then he was lost in predictability of becoming a super hero in a big production franchise.

Unlike Reynor,Garfield doesn't have that golden boy looks but in Reynor's case it may become a burden.

Garfield and Reynor,as different as they are,both posses a pure versatile talent that comes very rarely and should treat it very cautiously,with infinite respect by choosing adequate roles,without succumbing to the pressure of money,fame,quick success or whatever it is that guides them.

So my whisper to Reynor:
- be very very careful,some mistakes can never be corrected and some chances never come back.
- work only with brilliant directors since they are the most important people in your career

What is happening with Ryan Gosling?

There are actors with limited talent who manage to become decent  by enormous effort and some smart career choices.And then there are the really talented and brilliant actors who work hard,succeed very quickly and then suddenly loose themselves.

With over 40 nominations and more than 20 wins in various actors awards, Ryan Gosling  is/was probably the most promising thirty-something Hollywood actor. He started young and with hard work and some excellent choices he managed to become a true superstar.

He is serious,bright,committed,he knows his strength and manages well his weaknesses,he made good career judgements and fought bravely for his stardom.Still, for me it is always Ryan Gosling I am watching instead of the character he should play. And since he is truly talented I am probably harsher on him than he deserves.It always seems to me that there is one small step he should take to become really perfect and yet I can't decide what step is that.

His career choices were thoughtful,with some outstanding movies and among them my favourite, "Lars and the real girl".I love him in comedies in general but Lars had something special,the awkwardness,the determination to live his own love life the way he wanted it and the touching commitment to the girl of his dreams.Gosling was excellent, the best harmless weirdo I have seen,never falling in the trap of being simply ridiculous.That was certainly the role that could have gotten him important awards.

He loves to play problematic youth and it's a pity that the movies he chooses in this genre are often  average or really bad.He is challenged by this kind of roles,and in spite of his boyish good looks he generally nails it."The believer" could have been a great movie,the story was compelling and Ryan took his chance bravely.He was good,he was fierce,he was disgusting when needed but the movie in general was to slow and the rest of the cast was simply pale.A similar role was played by Russel Crowe in "Romper Stomper" and Crowe had the advantage of having just the right looks for the part.Ryan's pretty face  sometimes seems a burden since he needs to outplay it.

There were also "Murder by numbers", "Fracture" and "All good things".He is good in playing disturbed young men and among those I would pick All good things,probably because of Kirsten Dunst who was an excellent co-star.And yet there is something lacking in his psychopaths,as if Gosling has a certain limit he never dares to cross.

"Stay dead","Half nelson" and "Blue valentine" gave us another form of disturbed,and he plunged in it convincingly.He is always at his best when there is a passionate love interest for him since he really really falls in love with his partners but among the mentioned roles I prefer his performance in "Half nelson" that earned him  the Oscar nomination.

I didn't forget "The notebook",the notorious romantic drama with Rachel McAdams.Gosling was very good,their romance real and the movie became a legend in its genre.

He continued his path to greatness with important and critically acclaimed movies "The ides of march","Drive", "Crazy stupid love".I guess he had high hopes for Ides and Drive,he got a lot of important nominations,he was every one's favourite and yet the most prestigious awards didn't come his way.As for Ides, I was not surprised.The movie was predictable and boring,Gosling was good but all in all it was just a big hype.Drive was different,it was a good movie with some serious flaws but nevertheless a good movie and there is a general appreciation for so-called transformational roles among public and critics.

Crazy stupid love was excellent.The cast was superb,it was clever,entertaining  and touching and Ryan Gosling was exceptional.Funny,buoyant,he took us all by surprise and confirmed my opinion that comedy is a great genre for him.Globe nomination was great for Gosling but unfortunately with Jean Dujardin nobody stood a chance.

He was certainly disappointed, it was his best year so far and I can understand that he got tired of  not winning.That is my explanation for his lazy performance in "Gangster squad". The movie was average but didn't deserve the slamming it got.Some actors were great like Josh Brolin and Mireille Enos,some things were irritating but all in all I have seen far worse.But as for Gosling, he didn't even try.He made a mixed tape of his previous roles and got away with it.Casting Emma Stone as his partner once again was a safe and boring choice.

The same thing happened in the mess of a movie,"The place beyond pines". Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling together were a great idea but casting Eva Mendes with Oscar nominated actors was a great risk that didn't pay off.Once again Gosling made a medley of everything he knew and the result was disappointing.

Of course he is entitled to make mistakes but only a few.He is a great,serious actor,a hard worker and smart career planner, bright and talented artist.Since he is so smart,he has no excuse for lapses.And now he should stop,listen and learn from those mistakes.It is time to reflect very carefully what to do next.Certainly not direct and write a fantasy thriller???????I hope I am wrong but it seems like a recipe for disaster.

He has done so much already and he is still young.His next move should be very very careful,not calculated but attentive and passionate.He needs high standards since talent is a very precious thing and it is unforgivable to waste it.

A very loud and insistent whisper for Gosling:
- please just take a break and think hard about your next role
- don't experiment with directing,there are only a few Clint Eastwood stories in Hollywood
- talk to Jason Reitman asap or
- find a great comedy script and produce it,take Jason Reitman to direct it,I think You two would make a great team.

Unfortunately,Ryan Gosling is not listening to whispers,and he had a rude awakening in Cannes where his film was trashed and ridiculed.

What now?Desert island or finding a new agent?

Hopefully someone close to him will  convince him to rethink his career asap.

With best wishes but really worried,

Actors whisperer

Just relax Anne!

There is a girl who has everything,looks,talent,recognition, obviously fantastic agents, and yet.....there is something so tense in her that it makes you feel sad.

I saw her for the first time in tv series Get real and she was great,beautiful in an old fashioned way,funny and engaging.It was a decent show that also starred Jesse Eisenberg and Eric Christian Olsen and both of them did quite well later on.

Then the Princess diaries, nice movies that confirmed my first impression about her, it seemed to me she was about to be a star because she had so much on her side already. I kept waiting for the right role that would show her real strength and possibilities and it came soon enough.

Brokeback mountain.It should be every young actress dream to land a part with a genius like Ang Lee in a movie so powerful and poignant that it would last forever. She had a great partner in never better Jake Gyllenhaall (neither before nor after) and she was brilliant,courageous, always halting exactly on the fine line between passionate and pathetic,with a breathtaking physical presence on the camera. A great start for a serious acting career.

And she just kept going,making excellent choices.Devil wears Prada put her together with "dame" Meryl Streep,probably the best living actress in the USA.She took the opportunity and rose to the occasion,learning along the way from a living legend.She was flamboyant and her beauty was overwhelming.Then she had a lot of fun in Get Smart,also a great choice to star next to a great comedian like Steve Carell.

Becoming Jane was and is one of my favourites Anne roles,since her connection with James McAvoy was excellent and her old fashioned looks tend to shine in a costume drama.I thought she had great agents since her choice of the roles was until then very eclectic and daring but never calculated.

Just as I started wondering about her next move she landed a role of her lifetime in Rachel getting married.We have seen  there a completely different and surprising Anne Hathaway,at her best.All the nervous energy that we had a glimpse of in Brokeback mountain exploded and made her so fantastic that she got a well deserved nomination for the Academy award.It was a great little movie,with excellent acting performances and female characters so insufferable that  it was difficult to decide whom  to hate more.It is definitely Anne's best performance till today.

Of course she had to have some questionable choices, but even in the middle of the road movies she did well.I liked her a lot in Valentine's day and  in Love and other drugs. Brides war was  awful but it was interesting to see her opposite Kate Hudson,a girl who was once so brilliant that is very sad to watch her becoming a  rom-com queen.
One day was nothing special but still she never made me feel embarrassed for her performances except of course watching her struggle through the 2011 Academy awards.

To begin with, James Franco and Anne Hathaway are an awful couple.On every level.Disastrous.And in a situation that was doomed from the start she chose the worst possible road.Enough was said  so I won't dwell upon it but the only bright moment in that awful evening were her looks.

But for me it was the beginning of a new Anne Hathaway,nervous wreck as opposed to Anne Hathaway,shy and ambitious young actress.After the Oscars she became so anxious, edgy and  fervid that I began to feel sincerely sorry for her. The critics were harsh,the Oscars were a disaster,so what? The responsibility lies on the shoulders on those supposedly very smart and experienced people who chose her,not on hers.Every young actress in the world would have grabbed the opportunity and she was right to do it.She was awful but  it was the first serious faux-pas of her career and that puts it in some perspective.


The Dark knight series is obviously a must for many young actresses and it is a legend of it's kind so it was a good choice to bring her back to life after the Oscars even though I would never cast her as the cat woman.  

All in all she did a few not so great movies but she was decent even in those parts so I simply don't understand her nervous tension.There are many gossip sites that write about celebrities private lives,but I tend to focus only on their work and judge what they give me on the screen. I firmly believe that the public should discern between public,professional and private lives of actors and actresses and judge their work solely based on their performances.It is very difficult since media bombards You with insignificant and idiotic insight in their most private moments but they are supposed to bring us pleasure with their work,not with their personal life.Anne Hathaway is one of the few who has almost everything going for her and her nervous eagerness to please is about to harm her career significantly.

I am afraid that she will become so avid that she' ll make some careless choices. For now she is still holding on with Les Miserables,showing everyone that she can also sing. She was good and her effort deserves to be commended .She got an Oscar nomination and already a few important awards and I really wish that in all this triumph she just relaxes a bit.

So just a tiny whisper: just relax Anne, relax and enjoy, it's  Your time and it can hardly get any better so please just chill!

And for the love of God find another stylist,whoever is dressing You now is ruining Your perfect looks!
Actors Whisperer

Channing Tatum's magical career

 In summer of  2010. all of my daughter's friends were crazy about  some young hunk from the ultimate tear- jerker,"Dear John". He was presumably the best looking guy anyone has seen in years, a stud  with a gentle heart,and his abs were to die for.

As I was spending a disastrous summer in the city, faced with a crash of  my grand plans about moving to another country,the time I spent  in front of  all my screens was quadruplicated.

The guy seemed familiar,and finally I remembered him from a charming comedy "She 's The Man" with one of the best young comedians,Amanda Bynes (God,what happened to that girl??!)

He played a dumb hot football star Duke to her witty and smart Viola.I liked the movie,I liked his character so I gave him another chance as John Tyree.And he was good. Handsome and hot of course but also really good. And when I say good I mean good FOR the part and IN the role.Not good in the GREAT ACTOR category but exactly the right person for that specific job.And this is one of my norms for recognizing GOOD actors. 

He was decent, unpretentious and touching.It was a perfect role for him, not to complicated,spare and manly.But it is a pity that the very important part of his character,his ability to love someone so deeply and selflessly,didn't come to full expression because of the tragic lack of chemistry between him and Amanda Seyfried.

It seemed to me that this guy had huge potential and I continued to follow his career.

Immediately I rented all the "Step up" movies which were good (no.1), and average (no.2).But his acting was decent again, his dancing  excellent, and  it is always great to see a multi talented performer.

Next was "Fighting" and  Shawn Mac Arthur.The character was well written and full of great opportunities for an actor. And he took them and played it perfectly.Even though it is essentially always the same guy Channing is showing us,I like him.He is kindhearted, sometimes burdened by his past,ingenuous but capable of surviving serious challenges,he is loyal and fierce,gentle and decent.
And Channing Taum is a generous partner,he gives his maximum to the role but leaves a lot of space for his co-stars.

His chemistry with Zulay Henao was excellent,far better then with Amanda Seyfried and till today I consider this to be one of his best performances.

"Stop-Loss" was my next stop and I was very excited since I am a big fan of the director Kimberly Peirce.

The movie was ok,not exceptional,but Channing played a correct partner to a very tense Ryan Philippe.

Since I started backwards,these were all roles that led to "Dear John" and in my opinion his big break in Hollywood blockbuster was well deserved.I still preferred him in comedies but I was excited to see what will come next.

And there it was,the not so great 2011.(for me neither so I was even more upset).Just a brief walk through some really awful movies(The dilemma,The Eagle,Son of no one,Ten years) and one that is an enigma for me (Haywire).

I understand the motives for working again with a director who loved him and who made two really good small movies before, but Dito Montiel blew it in the "Son of no one" and no one was there to save poor Channing (not even the legendary Al Pacino).He tried,he did the best he could but all in all it was awful.And it's a pity because the director showed us so much with so little means before.

I will spare everyone my opinion of his choice of the other roles, but  Zip in "The Dilemma" was strangely funny compared to the lack of enthusiasm of far bigger stars in the movie. 

"Haywire" is a movie I generally don't like nor understand  but Tatum was decent in it and it was a beginning of a cooperation that will prove him as one of the smartest actors in Hollywood.

2012. began with a disappointment but afterwards brought a lot of joy for me as Channing's devout follower. First let s talk about the disappointment, "The Vow".

Essentially it is not an awful movie,it did well at the box office but there is a constant problem with his female partners that culminated in this movie.Rachel McAdams is a beautiful woman and a good actress.And yet her Paige to his Leo was uninspired,irritating,cold and selfish (not as her character but as acting partner).

It was a nice romantic movie in which she did nothing except counter play a very humbled Tatum with a certain disdain that was not intended for her character. Another bad casting move when it comes to pairing him with his supposed love interests.

And then  no more romantic drama,just a great comedy."21 Jump Street" was pure perfection.His Jenko was exactly the role that he should do again and again,a role that puts all of his flaws in good use.He had a great partner,or to be precise partners,since all the cast with Jonah Hill as his co-star was brilliant.The simpleton who comes back in another era when the rules of popularity have changed had both heart and balls and endearing vulnerability thanks to Channing Tatum.

And finally "Magic Mike".Very smart and bold move,it could have easily gone wrong even with a great director like Soderbergh.But it didn't and I enjoyed it a lot. It was fun,it was serious and it was original.The cast ensemble was great and both Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer were excellent.

Tatum was completely himself and even though he had better roles,his creation of the movie project is what is so compelling.He let his partners play it to their best, which proves again that he is a very generous co-star. There is  one serious flaw in the casting department and that 's Cody Horn.But I have already said enough about the choice of his female partners.

The movie proved that he was one of the smartest young movie professionals in Hollywood.

There are great examples of actors who are clever enough to produce the kind of movies they love to star in,like Mark Wahlberg and on a completely different level Ben Affleck and I hope Channing Tatum will continue in that direction.He has overcome the prejudice that surrounds so many good looking actors and actresses,he has endured harsh criticism,he was ready to learn from his mistakes and proved that he can do much more than just act.

So here is my whisper to Channing Tatum:

- more comedies,less romantic movies,more Jenko less Leo

- very careful choice of dramatic roles,the affinity with the director is not always a guarantee of a good movie 

- expansion in production

And it seems that Chaning Tatum is listening to all our prayers and whispers,he continues producing,he did the next Jump Street movie and most importantly,he is triumphant with "Foxcatcher" premiering in Cannes to all around praise.
Finally ,a great dramatic role in a critically acclaimed movie with lot of exposure,Oscar buzz is already starting.
Congratulations!