Seriously, y'all have clammed up and it's driving me nuts because I want to talk about him the way Johnny wants a club sandwich. Herewith, an experiment: What should my next five Keanu acquisitions be?

Here's what I own or have seen so far, ranked from greatest to least in order of my love for the movie and/or Keanu's character:

Constantine
The Replacements (I'm legit in love with Shane Falco and it ain't just because he's pretty)
Speed
The Devil's Advocate (the closest he's ever come to tour-de-force acting)
The Matrix trilogy
Hardball
The Lake House (would've been higher but for the weak link of Sandra Bullock)
47 Ronin
The Gift
Sweet November (he was mostly great, but I despise the premise)
A Walk in the Clouds (low-ranking not because of Keanu, but because the chick needs to learn some impulse control before hooking up with anyone else)
Much Ado About Nothing (saw it forever ago but I don't remember him being as bad as everyone said)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (probably will never see this one again as I actually walked out of the theater midway through the first time)
Point Break (low-ranking because it's been so long since I've seen it)

So...hit me with it. Which five should I see next, and why? All perspectives welcome. If you think my ranking is crap, you can tell me that too. But for the love of Duck, say SOMETHING.

It's probably a sign I've been away for this fandom for too long that I can't pull out recs from the top of my head, so I'm depending on my conveniently-located file folder whose first page is a handwritten list of all of Keanu's films and his respective characters.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. because it is most excellent and hilarious and with humour that has held up remarkably well.

I Love You to Death, because it is also hilarious, but in a darker way.

A Scanner Darkly, because most people seem to think it's one of his best performances. I didn't like the movie much, but that's mostly because I loved the book and it just didn't live up to the awesomeness that I had imagined in my head. But they tried; and it apparently has the reputation of being one of if not the most faithful adaptations of a Philip K. Dick book.

Feeling Minnesota. It has this very subtle weird sense of humour that I love, but lots of people didn't appreciate. Like... Keanu's character is called Jjaks because there was a typo on his birth certificate; there's a scene where a dog barks at him and he barks back; there's a scene where two grown men chase each other round and round a tiny round table...

If you have access to them (they might be back up on YouTube), I love a lot of Keanu's early work:

Young Again (the Zac Efron movie 17 Again was a remake of this), The Night Before (it also has such a weird sense of humour), Babes in Toyland (because it has singing), Permanent Record (I don't really know why I like it, but I do); and River's Edge is the film that first got Keanu noticed, so if you're into dark gritty teen dramas filled with angst, check it out.

and that's way more than five. Mostly comedies. Keanu is awesome at comedies. Early!Keanu films somehow feel a lot more Keanulike. The newer stuff is more mainstream and commercial, whereas these are the ones that usually only the fans know about.

And rewatch Point Break, just because it's a fun movie.

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River's Edge - One of the best of his early roles.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - The role that got him his surfer dude image.

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I spend way too much mental energy trying to figure out why critics hate him so much. I know it has something to do with B & T, but I don't entirely understand why that would happen if he was getting good critical notices for things like River's Edge prior to B & T. Was it maybe because he was not as well known commercially until B & T, and the greater commercial notice was due to a role that harmed the accurate perception of his abilities? Just spitballing here, attempting to grasp how someone who starts out with good reviews spends the following decades getting torn apart. It would be one thing if critics thought he sucked right from the off, but apparently that was not the case.

I think something similar happened with Leonardo DiCaprio after Titanic. Before that he was critically praised for What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, etc. After Titanic there was a pretty long phase, where he was deemed just an other pretty face.

Unfortunately, while the critics seem to have embraced DiCaprio again, this is not the case for Keanu. I guess Keanu's style is a bit harder to appreciate. *shrug*

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Unfortunately, while the critics seem to have embraced DiCaprio again, this is not the case for Keanu.

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Odd, as I think DiCaprio's been one-note for years. I can only liken it to Pierce Brosnan's Remington Steele-era acting, during which he actually seemed to give a shit, vs. later years such as his Bond-era acting, during which he phoned everything in.

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I guess Keanu's style is a bit harder to appreciate.

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(I know I'm preaching to the choir here, so feel free to skip the next part. I'm posting it to test myself a bit because it really bugs me when I can't figure out and articulate what I think about something.)

After seeing the way he immerses himself so completely in each character he plays, I'm no longer sure he has a style. He's said that his approach to roles winds up creating a new entity based partly on himself and partly on the character, but I think he doesn't give himself enough credit. The third entity that winds up getting created is totally outside himself, something I've never seen any other actor do. And provided I don't blink, I get a universe of feelings from him that shows me everything I ever needed to know about whatever character he's playing. I almost never appreciate it the first time because I'm so powerfully drawn to whatever previous movie/character of his I happen to be rewatching 800 times (right now it's Shane in The Replacements).

Anyway, it is a gradual seduction with him, to be sure. I find I have to mine each character slowly and separately, but they all reward me with an abundant supply of gold.

Thumbsucker
Henry's Crime

... and I don't see Man of Tai Chi anywhere. Please tell me you watched that. :|

Generation Um.... I love, love, love, love, love that movie.

Street Kings
The Devil's Advocate - it's (IMHO) one of the best roles in his carer :)
A Scanner Darkly
The Gift

Aaaand......

Side by side - which is not a movie, but a documentary about movies and movie making,
and Keanu absolutely nailed as an interviewer asking all the right questions :)
Definitely worth seeing if you love films and are interested in the technical process of creating the movie magic! :D

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Thumbsucker
Henry's Crime

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I'm very interested in the latter and was thinking it should be in my next five anyway. Thumbsucker seems weird but I'll give it a shot.

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... and I don't see Man of Tai Chi anywhere. Please tell me you watched that. :|

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I will...as soon as I watch it. :) He seems maybe somewhat over the top from the bits I've seen, but I definitely get the sense of a baddie. And his last line is absolutely chilling. At any rate, I'll reserve full judgment until I see the whole thing.

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Generation Um.... I love, love, love, love, love that movie.

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Interesting choice. From audience reviews I've read, that one seemed to divide even some of his more ardent fans. Why do you like it so much? Not to accuse you at all; I'm genuinely curious as to your reasoning. You can mention spoilers if you like; I'll still see it either way.

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Keanu absolutely nailed as an interviewer asking all the right questions

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Thanks for the rec. That doesn't surprise me; in the interviews I've seen he seems to have such a passion for good storytelling. That's one reason I hope he does more directing in addition to getting more good leading roles (I personally think John Wick and The Whole Truth sound pretty promising).

wrote about it here
http://www.whoaisnotme.net/kmdb/reviews.php?id=12gen
and in the movie's thread, which is quite a case study in itself ;)

Because I had to wait two years to be able to watch it, and I learned the value of patience.

Because I love it. And love, as we all know, cannot always be explained, let alone reasoned (with) ;)

Also, subtlety, understatement, minimalism, non verbal language, and possibly one of Keanu's best performances up to date ? In this movie.

As for the sudden change in critical reaction to Keanu, I think a good amount of that had to do with his public persona- he did not like the spotlight at all, and in his early fame days would for instance refuse interviews, or be abrupt and rude to journalists, sometimes for good reason (they pry a lot). And basically it's never a good idea to piss off the people who'll be writing about you.

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I find I have to mine each character slowly and separately, but they all reward me with an abundant supply of gold.

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Yes. :D

Matrix Triology ( because it's awesome) Bill And Teds Excellent Adventure ( I loved this movie as a kid and still enjoy it) The Gift ( I just love the movie and watched it several times. Keanu did an amazing job playing Donny. Sometimes I just don't get the anger vibe from him, he nailed it in The Gift) I Love You To Death ( Keanu's hair cut alone made me crack up, very funny movie) I can't think of my 5th choice??? I am perplexed every time I watch Gen Um & MOTC because I know I missing something... Frankly it pisses me off. So, it's a tie.

Yeah, I found an interesting interview with Anna Wintour recently, where she was asked about her reputation as being intimidating. Here's what she said about it:

"I think that's just something that's been fabricated by certain elements of the media (...) As you well know, when something is out there, particularly in today's world, it just gets exaggerated (...)"

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eba6pf3HrtE

It's the same thing with Keanu; some jealous idiot once wrote that he was a bad actor and not very bright, and it spiraled out of control. Yes, part of it was Keanu's "fault", because he's always been very private and not interested in all that fake Hollywood glam, but most of the negative stuff written about him is fabricated and greatly exaggerated.

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Yes, part of it was Keanu's "fault", because he's always been very private and not interested in all that fake Hollywood glam, but most of the negative stuff written about him is fabricated and greatly exaggerated.

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I absolutely cannot fault him for wanting his privacy, as I know no one else here would. In one of the old interviews on this site, the interviewer makes a subtle but important distinction between him and other stars who make similar privacy claims - that Keanu actually means it and his actions over the years have borne that out, as opposed to stars who whine about privacy and then whore out their personal lives or whatever for publicity.

The more interviews I watch with him, the more I'm convinced that he just wants to act. He's happy when he's working and (just a guess) probably miserable when he's not. He's not about ego or costar drama or details of his private life. He really just wants to show up and do the work, which is respectable on a level I don't often see in my general observations of Hollywood.

->

https://www.google.hr/search?q=dr+evil+quotation+marks&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=u43BU72nGML-ygPDlIHICg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1352&bih=608#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=6vcWJ1_D4AdCFM%253A%3Bl8lOThvVlCZXdM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffourthfloorannex.com%252Fimages%252Fsoup%252Fdrevil.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffourthfloorannex.com%252Fsoup%252Fquotes.php%3B320%3B220

I admire Keanu and have great respect for him and his work. This world needs more people like him.

A question for Anakin: I have problems with formatting, I cannot quote, add an image, etc. Am I doing something wrong, or is there a glitch in the Matrix? :D

I really love Prince of Pennsylvania an early work. It just somehow represent facets of Keanu's own character in my opinion.

Then I love his grace in Little Buddha. Although back in the day I was disappointed that the film was a present and past tense piece. I would have loved to simple take part in the life of The Buddha.

And a movie that was already mentioned I like to recomment is Street Kings and excellent performance by Keanu.

P.S.: And same with me, I also love Generation Um ... it is a very subtle performance and no other actor in the A-league could have played that character that well, in my eyes.

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And same with me, I also love Generation Um ... it is a very subtle performance and no other actor in the A-league could have played that character that well, in my eyes.

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Thanks very much for the recs. I can say with certainty that Generation Um is not a movie I would care in the least about but for the fact he's in it. But one of his lines I caught from a trailer or clip has really piqued my interest - something like "It gets so much worse when you're older." The way he said it, with this raw truth and amazing insight into the character, has really been haunting me. And digging into the subtleties of his work is like a feast for my emotions and senses. :)

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But one of his lines I caught from a trailer or clip has really piqued my interest - something like "It gets so much worse when you're older." The way he said it, with this raw truth and amazing insight into the character,

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True, all that is there.
But how can you tell without previously having seen the movie?

I'm just asking, because the trailers for this movie are misleading...

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But how can you tell without previously having seen the movie?

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I can't. Everything I described is based solely on that one line of dialogue I heard him say. I think he must have been born with multiple souls, because I see a new one on display with every character he plays. I'm not sure what you mean by "misleading," but from the forum thread and your review, I don't expect a happy ending.

One. Line. Of. Dialogue. The man is a walking master class.