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slightlymad22
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Pretty Woman (1990)
A sleazy, rich business man manipulates a prostitute into lowering her hourly rate from $100 per hr to $31.25 per hr for 6 days
Okay, so I couldn't sleep last night and came across Pretty Woman on Disney+!! Because I'd discussed it earlier in the day, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm going to do this review in a pros and cons style.
I'll start with The Cons
1: The excuse for Edwards girlfriend not being at the big party, and the following week, is very weak. She says he gave her no notice. It's later revealed the following week is the result of a years worth of work. Someone detail orientated like Edward would have given her enough notice. Then again, there is no movie, if she is there, so
2: Kit isn't really a nice person, spending the rent money on drugs and acting like it's no big deal
3: How did Edward drive the car fine when leaving the party, but now he is struggling? He must have stopped at some point. It's L. A
4: She says Edward can't afford her for the full night, knowing he is staying in the Penthouse suite. Before only charging him $300.
She said she earns $100 an hour, but charges $300 for the entire night?? Gere was having breakfast when she got up, the next morning. She was there a minimum of 8 hours at least, so she was on $37.50 an hour
5: Edward says on the phone he enjoys the possibility of things going wrong, but earlier he stated he is rarely surprised, as he likes to plan everything.
6: Gere says he ordered everything on the menu. What he shows her, is Pancakes with strawberries, scrambled egg and bacon, some stale toast and some croissant's that are half eaten So this posh hotel is no more impressive than a McDonald's breakfast menu!!
7: Julia Roberts is not only a noisy eater she talks with her mouth full
8: Jason Alexander is actually right. He should have been at the meeting. But this successful business man who leaves nothing to chance, is taking the hooker he has known for 12 hrs max
9: Sleazy Gere hires Roberts as an employee, to attend functions with him and have sex with him!! Sleazy!! As he "doesn't have time for romantic complications" Was there even a contract??
10: $3,000 for 6 days?? Her hourly rate just keeps getting lower and lower. Assuming she has 8 hours sleep at her hourly rate of $100 per hr, she should be getting closer to $10,000. Over the course of say 12 hours Wealthy and sleazy Richard Gere has manipulated a poor prostitute into dropping her hourly wage from $100 per hr to $31.25. Yeah, he is a good guy
11: Julia Robert's who knew the way to Gere's hotel from her street corner has to ask Kitty where to buy nice clothes??
12: Okay those shop attendants are dicks, but why is Vivian shocked?? This isn't her first day in the world, I'm pretty sure as a prostitute she was told she was not welcome, somewhere, before
13: Boring property take over talk. Wall Street, this movie isn't
14: Richard Gere says he will order her food, then Robert's asks who ordered it, when it arrived 🙄
15: Richard Gere is just so gross, paying the shop attendants to be nice to Roberts gives off serious 'Look how great, your Daddy is Princess' vibes
16: Roberts spends an "Offensive amount of money", but only leaves the store with one new outfit and six bags (one I'm assuming had the outfit she was wearing, when she went into the store)
17: I hate the Roy Orbison song Pretty Woman. When I used to go to this one pub, every weekend. A guy I didn't care for, sang it poorly, every Fri, Sat and Sunday!! I hate the movie for reminding me of him. Petty, I know 🤣🤣
18: Gere saying "You look like a lady" is so sleazy!! She always looked like a lady!! Just maybe not one up to his standards or definition of 'a lady' creep!! Someone tell me when he is a charming romantic man??
19: Gere tells sleazy Jason Alexander, who I'm sure he knows is a creepy scumbag, Roberts is a prostitute
20: Gere shouts "Vivian, I'm talking to you!! Get back here" before adding "You are my employee"
21: He just happened to have $3,000 cash on him, to throw on the bed. He is paying her in full, before the six days are up, her hourly rate went back up to $50 an hour. Still half of what she was earning at the start of the movie.
22: Edward is possessive and toxic as f, when he tried to excuse his actions. But he says he didn't like her talking to another man with a smile, and Robert's is okay with it.
23: I hate to say it, but sleazy Jason Alexander is again, not wrong
24: Roberts smiles when Gere says "When you're not fidgeting you look very beautiful" so many things wrong with that comment!! I guess ladies in Gere's world don't fidget and are just perfect
25: He says she is very tall, she was probably taller in her boots at the beginning
26: The opera scene is such crap!!
27: Why is there a shot of the World Trade Centre in a movie set in California?
28: Roberts explains she doesn't want a relationship where he sets her up in a condo and just pops through town, leaving her some money to last until his next visit
29: Roberts acting is horrible when she was talking about being a little girl, on the balcony
30: Sleazy Gere punching sleazier Jason Alexander, doesn't make Gere any less sleazier
31: How does Robert's know what Gere did was good?? What evidence is she basing this on?? All she knows is Alexander told her Gere blew the billion dollar deal!!
32: Pretty sure Gere didn't invent the concept of wanting more!! Didn't he see Oliver?? Or even his own country's history of what the white man did to the indigenous tribes??
33: Roberts knew that one car honking was different than every other car honking in L. A🤣🤣 she could hear the opera music at that point
34: So what has changed, since she said she didn't want a relationship where he sets her up in a condo and just pops through town, leaving her some money to last until his next visit. Gere is still going back to New York. Why do people think this is a happy, romantic ending??
Pro's
1: Julia Robert's is hot in the blonde wig and boots
2: Okay Julia Roberts is cute, singing in the bath
3: Roberts spitting the chewing gum out was funny
4: Her going back to the shop is satisfying, and there is no denying it's still quotable to this day
5: Hector Elizondo is always good on screen (except in Beverly Hills Cop 3)
6: His part is only small, but I love Ralph Bellamy in anything
7: It does have a decent soundtrack with classics like It Must Have Been Love by Roxette and King of Wishful Thinking by Go West
So to summerise Pretty Woman. A sleazy, rich business man, in L. A for a week of business meetings, manipulates a nice prostitute (we know she is nice as she doesn't do drugs, like her flatmate) who is struggling to get by, into lowering her hourly rate from $100 per hr to $31.25 per hr for 6 days. He buys her some nice clothes and a hot dog, from a vendor, but constantly demeans her and is pretty toxic throughout. The week ends, when she refused his offer to extend the arrangement. She goes back to her apartment looking to start a better life, away from prostitution (she has some nice clothes now). The sleazy rich man turns up and they kiss on the fire escape. No promise of what is in the future. Probably the arrangement she rejected earlier.
Awful.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
My Second Favourite Movie Of The Year
I just got out of Deadpool and Wolverine
For me, Marvel has been hit and miss since Avengers Endgame, whilst I liked Guardians of The Galaxy 3 and did not hate Thor Love & Thunder, like some. It has not really delivered since 2021's Spiderman: No Way Home.
I thought Deadpool and Wolverine would be good. I didn't expect it to be this good. It is hilarious (it's pretty much a straight up comedy) and is very R Rated, with a lot of fun action sequences. The Like A Prayer action sequence is a joy to behold. The movie not only gave me everything I wanted, but everything I didn't know I wanted. Think of it as a Buddy cop movie set in the MCU that is surprisingly emotional at times.
Ryan Reynolds always knocks it out of the park as Deadpool, his non stop talking, should get annoying, but it never does, at least for me. When you see how good Hugh Jackman is here, you will want him to stick around in the MCU. I can't see any other actor, stepping into his shoes, so soon after this. If Logan was "goodbye", this was "I'm back".
The cameos are not what you expect at all,but are amazing. Some of them are not even cameos, but actually service the story. They are very satisfying. There is a lot of spot on industry commentary from Reynolds, too. I think comic book readers/fans will get more out of it, as some of the jokes (especially during a montage) went over my head, but got big reactions in my screening.
There is almost nothing to complain about (outside of my pet hate in Marvel movies, I'm really looking for something to complain about). Though I'm sure, some will find reasons to.
There is a nice, touching BTS playing during the end credits, before an end credit scene.
For me, Deadpool & Wolverine has dragged the MCU back on track. This reminded me of the early days of the MCU. My second favourite movie of the year. If this doesn't pull audiences out of superhero fatigue, nothing will. This should have huge rewatchability, so I'm expecting huge repeat business. This is the most fun you will have at the cinema, this year. See it soon, before some of it is ruined for you.
The Ice Road (2021)
Worth A Watch
I just watched 2021's Ice Road on Netflix
Liam Neeson routine dtv action flicks tend to bore me. But the premise sounded okay, it had Lawrence Fishburn supporting and was written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, the man behind my favourite Punisher movie (the one with Thomas Jane, John Travolta and Roy Scheider) and he had a hand in Die Hard With A Vengence (written by) and Armageddon (screenplay/story) so I decided to give it a go.
It is not perfect, and I probably would have enjoyed it more, if I watched it in the winter , instead of summer, but overall, I enjoyed it!!
It was obvious who the bad guy was, but Liam Neeson plays the type of loyal, stand up guy, you would follow into such a situation.
Although there is some ropey CGI explosions, it is intense, sad and touching, well acted and just the right length. Certainly more than worth a watch.
Twisters (2024)
Glen Powell Has Movie Star Charisma
I just got out of Twisters.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't get that into it. It was just too cliche and too predictable. It's paper thin characters and generic script, are spread too thin over it's long run time (it feels really long) and there was no stand out imagery like in the first movie. I thought something cool might happen with some wind turbines, but no.
This is billed as a sequel, but I only spotted one call back (You could watch this, without seeing the 1996 movie), and it's just another morden day reboot, that is nothing we have not seen before.
Although a bit too CGI, the tornado's looked great, but after a while, I just stopped noticing, as it never felt real. I zoned out during the relentless technobabble (they talk A LOT) and the dull and cringey (pretty much one sided) love triangle, was a just a waste of screen time.
In the original movie Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt were costars and for their tornado team to work, it needed both of them. That's not the case here. It's all about the girl.
Daisy Edgar Jones was fine (giving off mid 80's Cynthia Gibb vibes). She is certainly easy on the eye; but her character was not particularly likeable, but everyone is drawn to her and everyone talked
About how great she is, her character shouldn't be the lead (a character even calls her "the real story") or she needed to be better written, as she is just a generic female lead.
Glen Powell is on top form, and he has that movie star charisma. He reminds me of the 80's early 90's Kevin Costner. Anthony Ramos does what he can with his thankless role, sadly David Corenswet (the new Superman) doesn't stand out, as one would hope and I always like to see Katy O'Brian in a movie (She was amazing in Love Lies Bleeding, one of my favourite movies of the year) but it's only a small role.
It's not a bad movie, it's certainly more than watchable and has some interesting fun moments, but I checked my watch a few times, to see how long was left.
Sadly, this was not the summer blockbuster I was hoping for. More disappointingly, unlike the 1996 movie, it's just not a lot of fun. Watch the 1996 movie instead.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Misleading Ad Campaign
I just got out of A Quiet Place: Day One
It wasn't what I was expecting, based on the trailers, I was looking forward to seeing the carnage of Day One and everyone figuring out, silence is golden and that they need to be quiet. I didn't like that almost everyone learned to be quiet, off screen. So it was nothing we have not seen before. Characters trying to get from A to B (the point B, being stupid), whilst trying to be quiet.
Keeping it spoiler free, the movie starts off with a huge reveal (not in the ad camping) regarding a main character, that robs the movie of something.
Lupita Nyongo (brilliant, how does she not get more work?) and Stranger Things, Joseph Quinn (giving young Robert Downey Jr vibes) are both great and have good chemistry!! They share some nice, tender, human scenes (thought the script never makes it clear, why their characters connect so quickly and deeply) in what is a pretty sad and depressing movie. Not what was advertised, at all.
The CGI looks good and there are a few genuine jump scares.
This really doesn't seem like a franchise movie, it's much smaller in scale and scope (despite taking place in New York City, on the first day of an alien invasion) than the first two movies and that is a compliment, as it adds to the intimate and claustrophobic atmosphere, but from the trailers, his looked to be the biggest of them all.
I will say, that cat was way too quiet. It constantly took me out of the movie, how quiet it was being.
It sounds like I hated the movie, I didn't. It is a well made movie, with some fun action sequences that made me want to eat a margarita pizza. I just didn't love it, as much as I'd hoped and I think it's a missed opportunity.
Hit Man (2023)
Caught Me By Surprise
I just watched Hit Man on Netflix
Plot In A Paragraph: A professor moonlighting as a fake hit man for his city police department, descends into dangerous territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services.
This one caught me totally by surprise, I had read awful things about it, but I really enjoyed it.
It's dark (especially the ending) and will not be to everyone's taste, I can see why people have problems with it, but I had a lot of fun with it.
Glenn Powell who also has a screenwriter and producer credit on this movie, easily carries it and the female lead, Adria Arjona is gorgeous and they have some good chemistry. All the cast do well, to be fair.
Richard Linklater's direction is spot on, it's not close to perfect, but I liked it.
Amazingly it's based on a real person. You see images of him over the end credits.
A Family Affair (2024)
Joey King Shines But This Movie Lacks In Every Area
I just watched the Netflix movie A Family Affair
Plot In A Paragraph: Zara (Joey King) an assistant to a self absorbed, egotistical movie star (Zac Efron) is alarmed when her boss starts a relationship with her widowed mother (Nicole Kidman).
This started off promising with the Wham! Song I'm Your Man playing over the opening credits. I enjoy silly rom/com's and movies that poke fun at an actor's ego (Like Michael J Fox in The Hard Way or Burt Reynolds in A Bunch Of Amateurs), so I thought it could be a fun movie. And then it got down to it. I predicted every second of this movie (They get together, overcome some obstacles, things go well, there is a misunderstanding and fall out, then cue the happy ending) not that it's hard with a rom/com lol
Joey King was a pleasant surprise and Kathy Bates is always a joy, but Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman really lacked any sort of sexual chemistry. The love scenes are uncomfortable to watch as they both look so awkward.
Like most Netflix movies, the movie does not make much sense, the characters are not believeable, the dialogue is awful, the direction is uninspired but Die Hard meets Miracle on 34th Street meets Speed sounds like something Netflix would make and I would watch, the day it dropped.
Efron, Kidman, King and Bates's talent is wasted here.
I watched it, so you don't have to.
Mother of the Bride (2024)
A Waste Of Talented People
I just watched the Netflix movie Mother of The Bride. Can you all tell I'm seeing someone, with me watching all these rom/coms 🙈🙈
Plot in A Paragraph: Lana's daughter Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) returns from London and announces to her mother (Brooke Shields) that she's getting married next month. Things become more complicated when Lana learns that the man who stole Emma's marrying is the son of the man (Benjamin Bratt) who broke her heart years ago.
This is as bad as rom/coms get unfunny, painful dialogue, totally predictable (two old lovers meet up, friction, friction, friction, they start to get on and it looks like they will get together, misunderstanding, stop talking, instead of being an adult and talking about it, then the traditional happy ending) I wonder how long it took the writers to come up with the 'walking out of the shower, without a towel' scene or the pickle ball to the genitals scene 🙄
I like Benjamin Bratt he is a charismatic guy, Brooke Shields was one of my first crushes, and is a talented comedienne; but I have not seen her be funny in anything in years (maybe her episode of Two & A Half Men or Hannah Montana, whatever was the most recent) and her face is frozen in an expression of shock. Miranda Cosgrove has always been a talented actress, and is a rare child actor whom seems to have avoided the many pitfalls. So it's a shame to see them waste their talents here.
Whilst the attempts at comedy were cringe worthy and the cast have zero chemistry, I did like the island setting as it was different from the usual Hawaii and Mexico.
I did chuckle once. Brooke Shields jokes about her dress making her look like Morticia Addams, whom she had played on Broadway in the Addams Family musical.
If I found out this was AI written, I'd believe it. On to the worst of the year list for this one.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
I Really Enjoyed It, More Than I Expected
I just got out of Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes
I really enjoyed it!! It has not dislodged Dune 2, as my favourite of the year, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Of the cast, Owen Teague is as amazing as Andy Serkis (high praise indeed) I always enjoy seeing Kevin Durand in something, so imagine my surprise to find out he is playing Proximus, he knocked it out of the park, Freya Allen is great as the human!! But Peter Macon stole the movie for me as Raka.
It looks stunning, the CGI is amazing, I saw no faults at all.
I can see some people thinking the first act is a bit slow, but I loved the world building early on. There was a lot of characters to introduce us to!! I'm amazed how attached I got to Noah!! Following Cesar, was not easy!! I loved Cesar!! But it was down to the world building early on.
In the second act, it totally sent me down a rabbit path, with where I thought it was heading!! (Think Beneath The Planet of The Apes) but I was wrong lol
On to what I didn't like, there is one shot in the movie, I would have removed, if I was director, as it totally changed a character. I wasn't overly thrilled with the very end, and where it leaves the next movie.
I think it could have done with possibly a bit of trimming earlier on (yes I know I said I loved the world building) and more time given to Proximus.
Overall, I really liked it, bring on the next one.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Mckenna Grace Is Still The Stand Out
I just got out of Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom
It was okay!! I wasn't expecting much going in, as the trailers did nothing for me, but I really enjoyed Afterlife, so I went, hoping for the best. The final act is the best part of the movie for me, and even that was predictable and had its flaws. During the opening 45 minutes I was actually bored, though and about an hour and twenty minutes in, my son asked if I was enjoying it and I said "no"
There are too many characters (They could have said Finn Wolfhard's character went to college, and the movie wouldn't lose anything. Did we also need Podcast and Lucky back?) and there is too much fan service/nostalgia bait!! I never want to see the Stay Puft Marshmallow men again!!!
Mckenna Grace is the stand out, Dan Ackroyd is given a lot more to do and Paul Rudd is always fun to watch, but I was hoping for more from Annie Potts and Bill Murray is just a cameo.
This felt a lot longer than it's under 2hr run time, due to how much the first 80 minutes dragged.
It's perfectly set up for another movie, but I think they should just leave it here. If the do make another one, they need to trim the cast.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
Predictable But Fun
I just got out of Bad Boys 4
There are tons of jokes, loads of action (two brilliant set pieces) and overall, I enjoyed it.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have amazing chemistry, they are so good together!! But it's Martin Lawrence who steals this movie, he gets almost all the laughs. There is a switch in the dynamic of their relationship. Not sure how I feel about it. It was great to have Joe Pantoliano back and it a decent sized role.
Reggie, who is normally the butt of the joke, actually has a really good moment, that was one of my favourite parts of the movie.
Interestingly, I think the best two action scenes, did not involve Will Smith or Martin Lawrence.
It's not perfect as some of the jokes don't land, the bad guys were dull, I didn't feel any menace from them!! Some of the action was meh, the plots twists were predictable (I knew who the villain of the movie was, after their first scene) you never fall for any the red herrings, Venessa Hudgens isn't given much to do, after the third movie. Speaking of the third movie, I should have rewatched it, as I didn't know who a certain character was🙈
I was disappointed Theresa Randell isn't back!! Boycott it EvanB
If you didn't like part 3, you probably won't like this one. I'm sure lots will enjoy the heck out of it, too!!
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
I Wanted To Watch Part 2 Straight Awat
I just got out of Horizon, with my brother
We both really enjoyed it. I honestly, do not know what the critics, who have criticised this movie watched.
I get that it doesn't have traditional pacing or the usual character arcs (no traditional good or bad guys) and it ends with no conclusion or cliffhanger. It really is the beginning of a story, with multiple storylines. But the writing, acting, directing, cinematography (it's stunningly beautiful) and score are all superb.
Kevin Costner doesn't give himself a lot of screen time; he doesn't even turn up until after an hour. He is just one of the many storylines. Jamie Campbell Bower is a real scene stealer, as is Georgia MacPhale, but really everyone is great, Abbey Lee (a really energised performance), Owen Crow Shoe, Sienna Miller, Jon Beavers, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Ella Hunt, Tom Payne (Jesus in Walking Dead) Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Jeff Fehey and Kevin even managed to get a performance from Sam Worthington. An actor I have been very critical of in the past.
There is a raid by the Native Americans at the beginning, that was very uncomfortable to watch, as was a shocking attack on the Native Americans. There is a great; really intense scene at a Trading Post, that had me on the edge of my seat.
Honestly, we both said after a pee, we'd have quite happily went and watched Chapter 2, straight after it.
This is so beautifully shot, it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. I'll certainly be going back to watch it, again.
There were only 9 other people in the screening.
My rating on this may go up, when I seen the story as a whole.
Deja Vu (2006)
Illogical But Entertaining Enough
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to Deja Vu
If you can get on board with a lot of the technology (the ability to watch the past, through walls with audio) and time travel aspects, a lot of fun can be had with Deja Vu.
It's totally illogical, with incomprehensible definitions of how things work, and I still don't know how many time lines there were, but I recommend turning your brain off and just going with it, as it is entertaining, enough.'
Deja Vu grossed $64 million at the domestic box office and was the 42nd highest grossing movie of 2006.
Inside Man (2006)
Well Acted But Not As Clever As It Thinks It Is
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to his first movie of 2006, Inside Man
Denzel says "You saw 'Dog Day Afternoon.' You're stalling." The problem with name checking an amazing movie, is it just reminds you, you'd rather be watching that.
I remember liking this one, but I found it to be a let down, this time around. I found myself picking fault after fault with the movie. It's routine, cliche and not as clever as it thinks it is.
Christopher Plummer, as the bank president, doesn't look in his 90s, which he'd need to be given his role.
Clive Owen (Who we see in the first shot of the film, talking about the crime in the past tense, we know he won't be killed) says at the beginning "I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself" but he will say "two busses and a plane" several times, including one where he says "I've already told you" and he repeats himself to Jodie Foster, too.
Who is Jodie Foster's character?? I've just watched the movie and do not know!! She was so smug, and I was dying to see her exposed, but nothing came of it!! Great legs, though!
Every police interview is conducted without a single lawyer
The movie is well acted, but with three Oscar winners (Denzel, Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer) and three Oscar nominees (Willem Defoe, Clive Owen and Chiwetel Ejiofor) it's not surprising. And it does have some good ideas, but a lot of it, is just filler, padding out a bloated runtime, like Denzel's check cashing, coke bust hanging over his head or most of the scene's involving Jodie Foster, the possible outcomes of them storming the bank and all the talk about Big Willie and the twins.
I didn't hate the movie, but I remember it being better.
Inside Man was the 4th highest grossing movie of Denzel's career (behind Remember The Titans, The Pelican Brief, Crimson Tide) grossing $88 million at the domestic box office and was the 22nd highest grossing movie of 2006. His 5th best performing movie (behind The Pelican Brief, Crimson Tide, Philadelphia and Remember The Titans) at the time.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Enjoyable Remake
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to his second movie of 2004, the remake of The Manchurian Candidate.
As a fan of the original, I skipped this upon release. This was my first time watching and I'm glad I didn't watch the above trailer, as it gives away some big reveals.
This isn't in the same league as the original, but it's a damn good movie, in its own right. It keeps the same plot, but changes key elements, which helped make it seem fresh.
This would be the last time Washington was directed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Devil In A Blue Dress) who does a great job.
This is superbly acted by a great cast, that includes Meryl Streep, Jon Voight, Liev Schreiber (who worked with Denzel in The Hurricane), Kimberly Elise (who played Washington's wife in John Q), Jeffrey Wright,, Dean Stockwell (Al from Quantum Leap) and Charles Napier (Murdoch from Rambo: First Blood Part 2) pop up, as does Verna Farmiga and Anthony Mackie in one of his first big screen roles.
Random fact 1: Tina Sinatra, who was instrumental in deciding to remake the film, inherited the production rights from her father, Frank Sinatra, who played Bennett Marco in the 1962 version.
Random fact 2: Denzel Washington admitted before making this remake that he had never seen the John Frankenheimer original movie.
The Manchurian Candidate grossed $65 million at the domestic box office and was the 45th highest grossing movie of 2004.
Out of Time (2003)
A Loose Remake Of No Way Out
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to a movie, I had never heard of Out Of Time from 2003.
Directed by Carl Franklin, who directed Denzel in Devil In A Blue Dress, this is kind of like a loose remake of the Kevin Costner movie, No Way Out, there are a lot of similarities.
I enjoyed this one, I only really have one complaint, and that the movies quirky score often undermined some serious intense moments.
Denzel was paid $20 million for making this film. The gorgeous Eva Medes reunited with Denzel following Training Day and is as hot as ever, Man does she have a great ass. Dean Cain has a prominent role as an abusive husband and is also good.
I really liked the Florida setting of this movie, it felt fresh.
Out Of Time grossed $41 million at the domestic box office and was the 72nd highest grossing movie of the year.
Antwone Fisher (2002)
Excellent Directorial Debut
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to a movie I had never heard of Antwone Fisher
Denzel Washington's directorial debut, is amazing. It's also amazing to think this was Derek Luke's first movie. Joy Bryant is gorgeous Viola Davis has a small but stand out role, as does Verne's Watson, who I always like to see, and Kevin Connelly from John Q is here, too.
For his first effort, Denzel does an amazing job, as does all of the actors. Everyone should watch this movie. I'm not going to lie, I teared up at the end, even though I knew where it was going.
Disappointingly Antwone Fisher only grossed $21 million at the domestic box office and was the first Denzel Washington movie not to finish in the 100 highest grossing movie of the year, since Mississippi Masala in 1991.
John Q (2002)
Performances Lift Movie Over It's Short Comings
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to 2002's John Q..
Denzel was great (as a Dad, I certainly felt his panic and frustration), John Q.'s farewell to his son is some of Denzel's best acting, but it's screenplay is one of the worst I have seen Denzel appear in, I had to go all the way back to the TV movie, Licence To Kill. With some awful dialogue, it's all just so implausible and heavy handed with its message (which I agree with, by the way).
Kimberly Ellies, Robert DuVall, James Woods, Ray Liotta (with an awful haircut) and Anne Heche aid Denzel with the heavy lifting of trying to elevate material in which characters act unbelievably stupidly and say stupid things!!
One problem I had, was the movie clearly gave away the ending during the opening credits (which you again see at about the hour mark, when John said he was waiting on a miracle), so I found the build up towards the finale, tension free. Though I did get emotional at the end.
I always thought Michael a Keaton was in this movie, but a quick IMDB search shows it was the similarly themed, Desperate Measures with Andy Garcia.
Amusing fact, Kevin Connolly who played the boy who bullied Rocky Jr in Rocky V has a small role as one of the hostages.
John Q grossed $71 million at the domestic box office and was the 39th highest grossing movie of the year.
Overall, thanks to a great performance from Denzel and a solid supporting cast I enjoyed it.
I had to rent this one on Amazon, first one for a while, as I have managed to stream the last few. It was well worth the rental price.
Training Day (2001)
Denzel Makes History
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I just watched Training Day for the first time and it was in the cinema.
This review is a few days old, I wanted to wait until I had watched Remember The Titans, before I posted it.
Only his second time playing a bad guy (the first being 1986's Power) Denzel seems to be having a lot of fun, here. I always felt Ethan Hawke has always been a tad under rated, and he is great here. Scott Glenn is great in his supporting role. The gorgeous Eva Mendes has a small role Terry Crews (though I don't remember him speaking a line), Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg also feature in the movie.
As good as the performances are, you do need to seriously suspend belief. I'm not saying all of these events in one day are impossible; but wow. There were times when I was distracted by the need to trace back through the plot and try to piece together how events could possibly have turned out this way. As I left the cinema with my 17 year old son, we talked about the logic and plausibility of what we had watched. We both agreed it was better to go along for the ride, rather than think about it.
That's not to say we both didn't really enjoy it. I'm glad I watched it on the big screen and it will probably be in my top 10 Denzel movies come the end of his filmography.
In what was considered an upset Denzel won the Best Actor Oscar for Training Day. It was considered an upsetas Russell Crowe had won all the major precursor awards (Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice and BAFTA) for A Beautiful Mind.
With his Best Actor Oscar win for this film, Denzel Washington became the first black actor to win two acting Academy Awards.
When I was researching this movie, I found out Originally this film was supposed to be released in November 2001, with most of the original posters stating this. However, after the attacks on 9/11 Training Day was pushed forward to October 5, 2001 which was the original release date for Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage, which was pulled off the release schedule and was released in February 2002.
Training Day grossed $76 million at the domestic box office and was the 29th highest grossing movie of the year.
Remember the Titans (2000)
One of Denzel's Best
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I just watched Remember The Titans for the first time.
If I have not seen the movie, I don't watch the trailer beforehand, and less than two minutes in, I thought to myself 'Great another movie about race' and remembered why I got bored of Denzel movies in the first place.
Fast forward two hours and I'm sat with tears streaming down my face.
Denzel is as great as he always is, I have yet to see him phone it in. I have always found Will Patton to be incredibly under rated, a young Ryan Gosling (in his second movie role) has a prominent part, I also forgot what a talent a young Hayden Panettiere was. Kip Pardew from Driven has a role, and is better here than in that movie, so I guess his bland performance in Driven was down to Harlin's directing, or maybe that movie shouldn't have been structured around him as he is much more effective as part of an ensemble, here. It's always good to see the gorgeous Nicole Ari Parker (Boogie Nights) on screen, but she isn't given much to do as Denzel's wife and Kate Bosworth has a small role as one of the players girlfriends.
It does have a few cliche moments and plot holes, but overall, I loved it.
Remember The Titans grossed $115 million at the domestic box office (to become Washington's highest grossing movie) and was the 18th highest grossing movie of the year.
Easily one of my favourite Denzel movies.
The Hurricane (1999)
Powerful
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to The Hurricane
WOW this is a powerful movie and it features one of Denzel Washington's greatest performances. I was blown away by this and I'm not going to lie I was teary eyed come the end.
All the cast are great, Clancy Brown Liev Shrieber, John Hannah, Dan Hedeya, David Paymer and Rod Steiger.
I can't believe I had never seen this before.
Denzel was nominated for an Oscar for his work here, but lost to Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) and an argument could be made that he should have won.
He did win a Golden Globe, though.
The Hurricane grossed $50 million at the domestic box office and was the 48th highest grossing movie of the year.
The Siege (1998)
Starts Out Strong But Loses It's Way
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to The Siege.
I went to see this movie at the cinema, when it was announced the teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace was playing before it. I didn't care for it then, and have never bothered to rewatch it.
Guess what, not much has changed. The film starts out strong, but it loses its way as it slogs to an ending you could see coming a mile away.
This was directed by Edward Zwick, the man who directed Washington in Glory and Courage Under Fire, so I had high hopes I might find it more enjoyable with a 46 year old head on, instead of the 21 year old who sat in the cinema.
It's strange to say as I'm a fan of her work, but Annette Benning is poor here, she just isn't believable. Tony Shalhoub on the other hand is excellent. Washington is his reliable self. I have yet to see a poor performance.
The Siege grossed $40 million at the domestic box office and was the 49th highest grossing movie of the year.
He Got Game (1998)
Touching Father & Son Movie
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to He Got Game
It's opening score irritated the hell out of me, sounding like it belonged in a low budget 70's horror movie, instead of a heartbreaker about a father and son.
It's well acted by a good cast involving Rosario Dawson and it's always good to see Ned Beatty on screen. But it's over long with a needless subplot involving Mila Jovovich.
Overall I enjoyed this one. I watched it for free on Disney+
He Got Game was considered a flop not grossing back its $25 million budget and was the 84th highest grossing movie of the year.
Fallen (1998)
Very Under Rated
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to his first of three movies, released in 1998, Fallen.
Alongside The Mighty Quinn, Fallen is one of Denzel Washington's most under rated movies. Outside of the super natural element, it is a pretty straight forward detective story and it moves along at a steady pace with good performances from top talent like John Goodman, Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini. And what a great, guy punch ending. I won't spoil it, incase anyone hasn't seen it.
Directed by Gregory Hoblit, whose previous movie was Primal Fear Fallen is one of my favourite Denzel movies.
Sadly, Fallen bombed upon release only grossing $25 million (on a $46 million budget) and was the 75th highest grossing movie of the year.
The Preacher's Wife (1996)
Pleasant Enough, But Should Have Been Better
Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to The Preacher's Wife.
This remake is a sweet enough Christmas movie, with a few laughs and a charismatic performance from Washington. But it could have been so much more!!
Lots of familiar faces pop up, but don't have much to do.
It is directed by Penny Marshall, so I'm surprised to write, at times it's plot seems to be held together by nothing more than 'things that need to happen before Whitney Houston sings again.'
The Preacher's Wife grossed $48 million and was the 33rd highest grossing movie of the year.
Given the success of The Bodyguard and it's soundtrack album, only four years earlier, all concerned must have been disappointed with these numbers.