Tag Archives: actors

Josh Brolin’s 10 Best Movies

Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin, son of the veteran actor James Brolin, has been following in his father’s footsteps since he first appeared in Goonies over 30 years ago. Brolin has matured into one of the most reliable character actors in Hollywood (even though that character is usually some variation on either an oily creep or an affable modern cowboy, he still manages to make either one work very very well). Brolin has been part of extremely talented ensembles in memorable films like Sicario, Only the Brave, American Gangster, and In the Valley of Elah. A favorite of the Coen Brothers in films like Hail Caesar!, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit, Brolin is capping one of the more memorable summers in recent memories with three big sequels in less than two months. The most memorable film moment so far in 2018 was Brolin’s in Avengers: Infinity War as his uber-MCU villain Thanos’s “Snap Heard Across the Universe” still has comic fans breathing into paper bags.

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Paul Rudd’s 10 Best Movies

Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd is a freakishly affable human being. There are actors whose sheer talent makes all things possible for them. Rudd has built an entire comedic legacy out of being possibly the most likable person alive. Working in TV and Movies since his early twenties, dRudd has an extremely impressive resume of comedy hits in an era that has not been known for producing reliable laughs. Rudd managed to become the unofficial “seventh friend”, marrying Lisa Kudrow’s character in the final two seasons of Friends. His film career took off after the success of 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Rudd is one of Judd Apatow’s favorite actors, teaming with the director for The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Adding size-changing to likability, Rudd picked up another superpower when he joined the MCU as Ant-Man in 2015.


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Jeff Goldblum’s 10 Best Movies

Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum is an exceedingly unlikely movie star.  The man looks like a human goose and speaks in a cadence that suggests that he could be, at any time, doing slam poetry.  I have a fascination with Goldblum’s vocal stylings.  My grand movie idea (and we all have one) is to put him, Christopher Walken, and William Shatner in a car and simply film whatever happens.  It would be human jazz.  Goldblum first appeared as “Unnamed Freak #1” in 1972’s Death Wish.  As his career incredibly nears half a century you have to seriously admire what sheer nebbishness has accomplished onscreen.  Goldblum has to be paired with the right role because, let’s be honest, we’re pretty much always watching JEFF GOLDBLUM IN (insert name of movie).  But…if you have a quirky character who needs an actor who brings that in bushels, Jeff Goldblum can be the paprika in your casting stew.   Continue reading Jeff Goldblum’s 10 Best Movies

Samuel L. Jackson’s 10 Best Movies

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson, like fellow actors Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones, came late to superstardom.  Jackson was in his mid-40s when his career began to skyrocket with roles in Jurassic Park and his first of six partnerships with Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.  Despite the late start, Jackson quickly became known as one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood.  His filmography has over 100 movies on it as Jackson continues to make several film appearances every year.  A huge comic book fan himself, Jackson’s Nick Fury was the backbone of the early MCU.  His Nick Fury was so popular that the character in the comics was redesigned to bear his likeness.  His plus-sized personality and range continue to grow (practice, if nothing else, makes perfect) and heading into his 70s, Jackson is as big a star as he ever was.
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Tommy Lee Jones’s 10 Best Movies

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones has a career of crusty and cantankerous curmudgeons stretching back nearly 50 years.  From working oil rigs in Texas, Jones ended up at Harvard rooming with eventual US Vice-President Al Gore.  Despite some early successes in The Coal Miner’s Daughter and The Executioner’s Song, the veteran career actor really didn’t become a star until the early 1990s: after over 20 years of putting in his dues.  Lonesome Dove, JFK, Under Siege, and then his Oscar-winning turn in The Fugitive turned him into one of Hollywood’s most reliable actors.  Jones’s Texas roots always give him a grounded authenticity whether he’s playing a Man in Black, an ally of Lincoln, a military man or a grieving father.  He is a master of economy with emotional range, allotting just enough for what the scene requires, but always leaving the audience with a feeling that there’s more going on behind his steely gaze.  Quite simply, if you see Tommy Lee Jones is in a movie, you have to pay attention to it.
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