Denzel Washington (Flight, He Got Game) and Ethan Hawke (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Boyhood) began their careers in 1985. Washington has a more storied career with four Oscar nominations between 1987 and 1999 (Cry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane). The underrated Hawke had starred in movies such as Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, and Hamlet before the turn of the century. But it took Antoine Fuqua’s (Southpaw, Tears of the Sun) gritty, determined, and so far over-the-top Training Day for these two Hollywood heavyweights to meet on the big screen for the first time. The result is the crowning acting achievement of each actor’s career.
Category Archives: Genre
Fathers and Daughters (2016)
Sometimes, when I’m at home looking for something to watch, I’ll say an actor’s name to my voice-activated remote control. After recently rewatching and reviewing 3:10 to Yuma, I wanted to see what other Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Cinderella Man) movies I might want to rewatch or see for the first time. When I saw Fathers and Daughters, a movie I had never heard of before, I decided to play the trailer. Within 30 seconds, I stopped the trailer. I had been teased enough to want to watch the movie without knowing more about it. I didn’t need to read any reviews, which may have turned me off. I saw it was a relationship movie centered on a past traumatic event involving Crowe. That was all I needed.
A Perfect World (1993)
David Mackenzie’s critically acclaimed Hell or High Water, a 2016 movie nominated for Best Picture, reminded me of a quiet, subdued gem from 1993 that undoubtedly inspired a director just entering his prime. Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) was fresh off Unforgiven (a movie that earned him his first Best Director Oscar win as well as Best Picture of the Year) and the critically acclaimed, equally fan-adored In the Line of Fire. A Perfect World was Eastwood’s third movie between 1992 and 1993, the most successful two-year period of the most exceptional director/actor combination in cinema history.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
The Western genre is dying. Gone are the days of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, et al., and the era of Westerns in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Once a staple in American cinema, those films are now few and far between. Years could pass before a good Western connects with critics and audiences alike. Unforgiven reset the standard in 1992, connecting with critics and audiences alike while earning nine Oscar nominations and taking home four, most notably for Best Picture. Others have followed. Appaloosa, Hostiles, True Grit, Tombstone, and Open Range were big-budget movies that hit the screen with reckless aggression. True Grit was the most successful with critics (10 Oscar nominations, but no wins), but even its success pales in comparison to Unforgiven.
John Q (2002)
What was Denzel Washington thinking? Fresh off roles in 1998’s The Hurricane (Academy Award Winner – Lead Actor), the nationally recognized 2000s Remember the Titans, and 2002’s Training Day (Academy Award Winner – Lead Actor), Denzel was arguably at the peak of his acting career. He likely commanded (or was close to it) more guaranteed money per film than any other actor in America. He was probably receiving dozens of roles at a time. And yet he chose to accept the lead role in unproven Nick Cassavetes’s (Alpha Dog, She’s So Lovely) John Q.