For as terrific an actor as Denzel Washington is (and he is one of the absolute best), he makes many movies. And very often, he plays a cop or detective. As a result, some of these movies and his performances get lost in the shuffle. When I think of his performances in Unstoppable, The Taking of Pelham 123, Deja Vu, Man on Fire, and Out of Time, I think of one big blend. Outside of Man on Fire, the performances don’t stand out. And while his performance in Man on Fire is brilliant, it would have been better remembered had it not been lumped with these other, lesser, movies. With that said, his performance in Flight is one of his best performances and will be remembered for a long time.
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Category Archives: 2012
American Reunion (2012)
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that American Reunion ruined the American Pie franchise (which to me includes only the movies with Jason Biggs – American Pie, American Pie 2, American Wedding). Still, it was a movie that did not need to be made. American Pie is one of the ten if not five, funniest movies ever made. To me, There’s Something About Mary started the trend of over the type R Rated comedies that have since become one of my favorite genres. And While There’s Something About Mary is a classic, and she is remembered as the movie that opened the doors for these other movies, American Pie took the idea to the next level. Much like the first ten minutes of The Ring informed its audience that you are about to be freaked out for the next two hours, the original American Pie let its audience know that you would be laughing so hard for the next hour and a half that your sides would be hurting by the end.
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21 Jump Street (2012)
The odds that a movie comedy remake of a television drama that, while critically acclaimed, ran for just five full seasons could be a blockbuster movie you think would be rare. I would think the same thing. And when I first saw the preview of Chris Miller’s (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Shrek the Third) 21 Jump Street, my first thought was why. After finishing the preview, I thought this would be a disaster. I was wrong. While I hadn’t heard a single person say this movie was bad, it still sat next to my DVD player for over two weeks after its Netflix envelope arrived. Channing Tatum (Stop Loss, Public Enemies) and Jonah Hill (Moneyball, Superbad) are decent actors. I’m certainly not going to go out of my way to watch a movie because one of these two is the star of it. As a duo, I thought they wouldn’t work. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this movie.Jeff Who Lives At Home (2012)
The unassuming yet hilarious Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man) further shows his range in the low-grossing but critically acclaimed Jeff Who Lives At Home. The movie, co-written and co-directed by brothers Mark and Jay Duplass (Cyrus, Baghead), is classified as a comedy but is more than just a barrel of laughs. Some true-to-life scenarios are tackled here and not passed off to get a chuckle from the audience. These include seeking personal life fulfillment, dealing with aging alone, and a terrible sense of self when learning that your partner is having an affair. I compare the movie to Little Miss Sunshine or Juno, but it’s much funnier, and the more dramatic storylines occur more naturally and aren’t as forced on you. Jeff Who Lives at Home is a good movie on your couch on a rainy Saturday afternoon. While it will never wow you, if you let it, it will surprise you and leave you with a good taste in your mouth.
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Lawless (2012)
Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior) is quickly establishing himself as a leading man in Hollywood. Since really coming onto the radar after 2010’s Inception, Hardy went on to win audiences over in the surprisingly good Warrior before donning a mask as Bane and becoming 2012 biggest villain in The Dark Knight Rises. In a movie full of top-notch acting, Hardy turns in the performance of his young career in John Hillcoat’s (The Road, The Proposition) Lawless.
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