and lately I find myself actively avoiding him 'cause that Jeff Bridges thing he does in most of his movies kind of gets on my nerves.
Is this thing a certain way/rhythm of speaking, gestures, and facial expressions?
Some combination of all of those I guess, I just feel like he has a shtick that he goes to all the time and to me it often feels smug. I don't hate him or anything, it just struck me in Adam and Matty's review of Goats when they said he's reason enough for them to see a movie.
I definitely recommend Door. It's his best performance this side of American Heart which I assume you wasn't impressed by?
I'll check out Door, don't think I've seen the other one.
He plays an ex-con in
American Heart, and his son (Edward Furlong) enters his life. And considering the smug factor, I say hold off on
Door and go with
Heart first. I think his work in
Heart is the one in which he disappears into the most.
EDIT: To think about it, his character in both of those films are pricks (don't recall them as being particularly smug nor his portrayal, but they might be to you), but in
Door it might go over better because of the reason he is why he is (i.e., character's past). Also he's not just a prick through and through. At the same time,
Door might not go over better because his mannerisms and the like aren't too far from his other performances. There's very little of that in
Heart as I remember it. So I don't know.