Idris Elba is an actor whose career has been equally divided between defining roles on both the big and small screens. A career television actor, Elba broke out in HBO’s The Wire as Stringer Bell and has continued to create and expand one of TV’s best charactes in DCI John Luther for the BBC. Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Asgard’s gatekeeper, Heimdall, gave Elba feature film exposure that has caused the actor’s star to continue to rise. Elba has probably had the best two years of his career over the last two using both his live-action talents in Beasts of No Nation and Molly’s Game as well as the intensity and versatily of his voice in The Jungle Book, Finding Dory, and Zootopia. Hero or villain, TV or film, voice or full presence, Elba commands the attention of audiences, and his best is yet to come. Continue reading Idris Elba’s 10 Best Movies→
Kevin Costner didn’t turn out to be the second coming of Gary Cooper that some people thought he would be in the late 1980s to early 1990s. A champion of sports films and westerns (genres he’s continued to revisit over and over during his four decade career), Costner’s meteoric rise, which peaked with the success of Dances With Wolves ended with legendarily horrific production nightmares on subsequent directorial efforts like Waterworld and The Postman. Costner’s star fell and fell hard. However, the actor has-in the past decade-reinvented himself as a supporting character actor and done better work there than he ever did as a leading man. Hidden Figures, Man of Steel, Molly’s Game, The Company Men, and more all feature Costner in strong supporting roles in ensemble films, and he’s become so good at it that his appearance in a film’s credits makes a film more appealing than it does when he was one of the biggest stars in the world. Continue reading Kevin Costner’s 10 Best Movies→
Aaron Sorkin has written Emmy-winning TV shows (Sports Night, The West Wing, The Newsroom) and Oscar-winning films (Moneyball, The Social Network), but Molly’s Game is the first one of his scripts that he also chose to direct. What does an Aaron Sorkin-directed film look like? Well, it’s a lot like his scripts as it turns out. It’s fast, it’s smart, it’s funny, and it’s brilliant. Throw in the performance of Jessica Chastain’s career, an astounding true story, and Molly’s Game is one of the best films of 2017.
Jessica Chastain is one of the most underutilized leading ladies in Hollywood. I’m not sure why Chastain doesn’t get more vehicles, but when she does, she’s absolutely riveting. She’s creating strong, complex characters in films like Molly’s Game, Zero Dark Thirty, and Miss Sloane. She’s also been a critical part of some of the best ensembles in recent memory in The Martian, The Help, and Interstellar. Chastain excels at creating layered characters that exude strength and vitality and her presence on the screen is the equal to any actress of her generation, so hopefully more quality opportunities will come her way as her career continues to progress. Continue reading Jessica Chastain’s 10 Best Movies→
Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week. This weekend one awards contender goes wide and one tired horror franchise kicks off 2018’s slew of upcoming franchise installments. Continue reading In Theaters This Week (1/5/2018): Insidious 4→
