Have been watching quite a few thrillers on DVD lately.  Latest one was The Shining.  

Kubrick is certainly a great director; the brooding, ominous atmosphere is just fantastic.  And Jack Nicholson is certainly memorable in it.  But I reckon he goes way over the top.  He's just mugging, huffing and puffing like crazy right through the film.  It's almost comical.

Still, not that unusal for Jack Nicholson.  He really cranks it up in The Departed, also.

Personally, I think he's really overrated.  He's an incredibly charismatic actor who knows how to dazzle people with his trademark facial expressions, vocal tricks and mannerisms and just keeps shamelessly using them.

Still, they've earned him a fortune and endless adulation.  Hardly surprising, I suppose ...