Denzel Washington (Training Day, American Gangster) vulnerable? Sure, we’ve seen that before. While there are more exceptions than rules, we have seen Washington play roles where his character doesn’t always have the answers or is susceptible to outcomes beyond his control. These films include Flight, Man on Fire, Out of Time, John Q, Fences, and He Got Game. But scared? Outside of John Q, I don’t know if there’s a movie where one of his characters has been so frantic that he is completely hidden from the confident and poised Denzel that we expect and love. All of that changes in Dan Gilroy’s Roman J. Israel Esq., his follow-up directorial performance after blazing onto the Hollywood landscape with 2014’s Nightcrawler.
Category Archives: Carmen Ejogo
Selma (2014)
Selma has a movie that will leave many audience members clapping as the film concludes. It’s a feel-good movie and an important one for all generations to see. Older generations may have forgotten some of the critical details over the years. Younger generations may be exposed to this for the first time, or at least for the first time outside of a textbook or one of those dry 45-minute, made-for-education documentaries. I am happy this movie received a PG-13 rating rather than an R rating. It is an essential movie for everyone to see. I will not ever cheer or hoot and holler at the end of a movie. That isn’t my style. I was talking with my mom the other day, and she said people stood and clapped at the end of Unbroken. I found Unbroken to be one of the most overrated, bland movies. Selma certainly isn’t that, and I was happy there were some cheers at the end of this movie.