Go ahead and now give the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor to Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). It might not be a far-off assumption as we are on the cusp of Oscar season. I would wait to hedge my bets in Vegas entirely, but it might be worth taking a flyer without knowing much about the other players who might be up for the award. Smith gives the best performance in his storied career as Richard, the father of (then) future tennis greats Venus Williams and Serena Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (Joe Bell, Monsters and Men) King Richard.
Category Archives: Jon Bernthal
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Perhaps a perfect popcorn flick for moviegoers who can close off their brains and enjoy a decent action story with some pretty good cinematography that also stars one of the most marketable movie actors of the last 25 years, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a movie that fails to capitalize on its potential. Outside of Maleficent, Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, A Mighty Heart) hasn’t had the best decade in front of the camera. However, her fanbase is still tremendous. Her opportunity to return to the action-adventure drama helped solidify her career (Salt, Wanted, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). She may have done enough to secure future starring roles with her physically impressive performance as a Montana smokejumper named Hannah. She was the highlight of Taylor Sheridan’s (Sicario, Wind River) movie that otherwise failed to deliver.
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
James Mangold’s (Logan, Walk the Line) Ford v Ferrari is the perfect movie to see in the theatre. It has action. It has drama. It has a clear protagonist. It makes you want to stand up and cheer for the good guys. This racing movie is much better viewed on the big screen than on a small screen at home. Likewise, a movie theater’s surround system is a better experience than any surround system you might have at home. With that said, this movie has gotten much better acclaim (91% critics, 98% audience on Rotten Tomatoes) than it probably deserved. I haven’t seen many racecar movies, but this movie fails compared to a film like Rush. However, this is a good and highly entertaining movie.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
Sometimes, movies have dumb names or names that are so obscure that you can’t even remember the title. This is the case with first-time directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz in the sentimental surprise summer hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. Starring protagonist Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen), whose screen chemistry with Shia LaBeouf (Man Down, Borg Vs. McEnroe) is instantaneous, the result is a sort of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn between two pals trekking and floating down the fictional marshland in North Carolina.
Widows (2018)
After watching Widows, I can very confidently say that if you team up director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame) and writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, HBO’s Sharp Objects), I’m going to have my butt in a theater opening weekend. I’ve heard about Widows for months and saw the trailer the day before I saw the movie. And I still haven’t seen the whole trailer. I only needed to watch the first half of it to know that it was a movie I wanted to see immediately. McQueen, who was narrowly beaten out for Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity), hardly seemed upset when, half an hour later, his 12 Years a Slave won topped Gravity (and others) for Best Picture of 2013. He’s been off the grid for the last five years (save for a few shorts), but he is back with a movie that might be better than any of his previous three masterpieces (12 Years a Slave, Shame, Hunger Strike). The only thing missing is an appearance by Michael Fassbender, but you won’t even notice.