Richard Gere in Rhapsody In August 

Rhapsody In August was a late-period gem from Akira Kurosawa, a meditation on how contemporary Japanese society deals with the horrors which rained down on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Its central cast are worn down by time while the spiritual drain of WW2 puts hangdog grimaces on their faces. And then there’s Richard Gere, who pops up with an air of Hollywood radiance so shimmering he may as well turn to the camera and proclaim: ‘Don’t worry foreign investors, I’ll make sure western audiences find this palatable.’ Sometimes glamour works, but the shallow beauty of Gere proves a tone-deaf counterpoint to this otherwise downbeat tale of loss. Amazing cheekbones though. 

Eddie Redmayne in Jupiter Ascending

Eddie Redmayne’s purple period came when the world was suffering from Downtonitis, a serious condition which elevates any male actor with a clipped accent and a trust fund larger than the GDP of Switzerland to the upper echelons of stardom (see Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and, for Americans who truly value poshness over talent, Jack Whitehall). All this despite Redmayne giving painfully mannered performances that reduce Oscar-bait cinema to amateur dramatics. His nadir was Jupiter Ascending, a high camp sci-fi dud from the Wachowskis which let him chew scenery until he choked and began regurgitating all over the filmgoing public. 

Jared Leto in, well, everything

Jared Leto in House Of Gucci (mamma mia!). Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (smell the cheese). Jared Leto in Tron: Ares (why make an AI so punchable?). Jared Leto in Fight Club (plus side: watching him get punched is satisfying). Jared Leto in Blade Runner2049 (intoning at random isn’t interesting, Jared, it’s grating). Leto’s agent must have something on every power player in Hollywood. How else has this one-man ruiner of method acting maintained his career?