My oh my, Adrien Brody, what has become of your career? Since winning the Best Actor Academy Award in 2002 for his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman in
The Pianist, Brody’s career has been hit or miss
. His successes were
The Village (2004), the under-appreciated
The Jacket (2005), and the blockbuster remake
King Kong (2002). Brody has also had starring roles in such box office failures as
Hollywoodland (2006 – $14.3 million box office revenue),
The Darjeeling Limited (2007 – $11.7 million),
Cadillac Man (2008 $8.1 million), and
The Brothers Bloom (2008 – $3.5 million). In 2010, Brody had five movies set for release. Two of those films have been completed but have since been shelved. A third (
The Experiment) went straight to DVD. A fourth (
Splice) made just $17 million at the box office. The fifth,
Predators, grossed $52 million but would have earned that money regardless of Brody’s presence.
Continue reading Predators (2010) →
Aside from having perhaps the worst movie title in the history of movies, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a stunning film and one that can be appreciated by anyone willing to give it its due diligence. Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe – Gladiator, Cinderella Man) is the captain of the HMS Enterprise. This British ship protected the Pacific Ocean from Napoleon’s French forces, who sought to invade England. As directed by the Queen of England herself, his job is to intercept any attacking vessel from the French fleet.
Takers, John Luessenhop’s first attempt at a big-budget movie, falls flat on its face before it ever gets going. Takers is an entirely unoriginal, formulaic, good guys versus bad guys movie. It’s one of those movies where the trailer tells a better story than the actual film. With a cast that includes Matt Dillon (There’s Something About Mary, Wild Things), Idris Elba (HBO’s The Wire, Obsessed), Paul Walker (Joy Ride, Running Scared), T.I. (American Gangster, ATL), Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Jumper), and Jay Hernandez (Friday Night Lights, Hostel), among others, I thought that at least I’d be entertained with the acting. Heck, the R&B singer Chris Brown was even in this movie.
The one thing I kept focusing on during my viewing of Salt was that this movie was written specifically with the idea that Tom Cruise would be playing the lead role. Instead, Cruise opted to co-star with Cameron Diaz in the romantic adventure Knight and Day. And while Knight and Day was pleasantly entertaining and a movie I recommend, Cruise would have preferred to have Salt in his filmography rather than Knight and Day. I believe he took Knight and Day because the role allowed him to be a quirky, jovial type of character and also because many might identify Salt as a Mission Impossible franchise movie.
I am the first to admit that I am not as big a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen-directed movies as most people are. While I did enjoy Fargo (1996) and A Single Man (2009), I wouldn’t say I liked Miller’s Crossing (1990) and Barton Fink (1991). While I thought No Country for Old Men was pretty good, it was not close to being the best movie from 2007. Then there are the other Coen-directed movies I would prefer to see. These include Burn After Reading (2008), The Ladykillers (2007), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), or O Brother, Where Art Though? (2000). I appreciate a good Western. Once True Grit was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, it became a no-brainer that I saw the movie, despite my reservations about the Coens.