What was Denzel Washington thinking? Fresh off roles in 1998’s The Hurricane (Academy Award Winner – Lead Actor), the nationally recognized 2000’s 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 probably was receiving dozens of roles at a single time. And yet he chose to accept the lead role in unproven Nick Cassavetes’s (Alpha Dog, She’s So Lovely) 2002’s John Q.
Category Archives: Ray Liotta
Marriage Story (2019)
Uninspiring. Unmoving. Overrated. Slow. Basic One of my most anticipated movies of 2019 was just that. The production department created one of the best series trailers for Noah Baumbach’s (The Squid and the Whale, While We’re Young) Marriage Story. In one trailer, lead Nicole (Scarlett Johansson – Lost in Translation, Match Point) is reciting a prepared letter that she wrote about all of the things that she loves about soon-to-be ex-husband Charlie (Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman, Paterson). It’s a voice overlay where we see the two interacting with each other, both through good times and bad, flashing to scenes with their young son Henry and others in some sort of courtroom. It ends with Nicole saying to Charlie, “I think we should talk.” He responds with, “Okay.” The two sit uncomfortably, looking at each other for a good five seconds (an eternity in a trailer) before he says, “I don’t know where to start.” In the second trailer, it’s a reversal. Charlie recites the prepared letter that he wrote to Nicole. A different series of similar scenes plays in the background, and the ending is the same. It’s clear that this movie is about some sort of fractured relationship. We are left clinging for more.
Kill the Messenger (2014)
After stints in movies that have limited his ability to showcase his range (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy), the talented Jeremy Renner returns to the type of film that has helped establish him as one of America’s best, under the radar actors. With Academy Award nominations in back-to-back years (The Hurt Locker – Best Actor, The Town – Best Supporting actor), Renner brings his acting prowess back to the big screen for the first time in four years in Michael Cuesta’s (Showtime’s Homeland) Kill the Messenger. While researching this movie, I learned that Renner is signed to continue the Bourne, Mission Impossible, and Avengers franchises. Now while I’m never going to chastise an actor for getting as much money as they can, it would be my wish that he exit two of these three series (the Bourne series is tired and played out, and there is no need for his character in the Mission Impossible franchise) and concentrate on roles that bring out more of the actor in him. Then, of course, he would still have The Avengers movies for name recognition and bigger paydays. I feel like this man has a handful of Academy Award nominations (and hopefully a couple of wins) in his future if he continues tackling these more character-driven movies.
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The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
The Place Beyond the Pines is a place you do not need to visit anytime in the near future. Director Derek Cianfrance and Ryan Gosling (Drive, Half-Nelson) team up for the first time since the 2010 instant classic Blue Valentine. I can honestly say that they recaptured their magic for the first third of this movie, but ***spoiler alert***then Cianfrance went and killed off Gosling. After that, this movie tail-spun into the ground. The Place Beyond the Pines is told in three stories (all roughly 45-55 minutes). In this review, I’m going to spoil everything. So either you’ll stop reading now and see the movie on your own, or you’ll heed my advice and read this post instead of seeing this wreck of a film.
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Narc (2002)
Jason Patric can play a police detective as well as anyone can. Patric would have been excellent on a show like The Shield. Seeing Patric in a reoccurring role and watching him delve deeper and deeper into his character, regardless of which direction that character might have gone, would have been something special. But Patrick has always been, and probably always will be, a silver-screen performer. He is undoubtedly not an A-lister, and his role has become few and far between. But, outside of Speed 2: Cruise Control, he always brings his A-game. For Patric, that involves grit, determination, and a deep understanding of the character he will be portraying. In my opinion, Patric was born to play the roles of undercover detectives, police officers, narcs, etc. He’s got the look. He understands the lingo. He’s scuzzy enough to pull it off but can invoke just the right amount of sympathy for viewers to believe in him and know that he’s one of the “good guys.”
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