In 2005, we were, for the first time, given the movie star known as Bradley Cooper in the cult classic, Wedding Crashers, and ever since the, Cooper's acting ability has evolved tremendously. For the next four years following Wedding Crashers, Cooper took on minor supporting roles in such films such as Yes Man and He's Just Not That Into You. At this point in his career, nobody had really high expectations for the still amateur in the business. Never did we envision him being a top-tier name in Hollywood.
Then came 2009.
The Hangover.
Todd Philips' instant classic of a movie was Cooper's first true lead role, and he proved to the world that he can deliever the goods. With a supporting cast that included Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Justin Bartha, it would be easy for Cooper to get lost, but he steps up to the plate and hits a homerun. The Hangover went on to become the third-highest grossing R-rated movie of all-time behind The Passion of the Christ and The Matrix Reloaded and spawned The Hangover Part II, which become the fourth-highest grossing R-rated movie of all-time in 2011.
Cooper had then established himself as an actor more than capable of anchoring a blockbuster. He could choose virtually any path he wanted to, but instead, he resorted to his previous failure-like movies in such disasters as Case 39 and All About Steve. He attempted to get back to superstar status with The A-Team, the film adaption of the classic television show starring Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. However, the movie bombed at the box office (only managing $77.2 million on a $110 million budget) and it was largely considered at a critical failure (47% on Rotten Tomatoes).
But unlike before, Cooper kept trying to break into superstardom. In March 2011, he co-starred with Robert De Niro in Limitless, but that duo still couldn't ignite the box office, only grossing about $79.2 million. Then came the before-mentioned The Hangover Part II, putting Cooper right back into Hollywood's spotlight and forgiving his recent blunders.
Once again, Cooper had the Hangover success to put him anywhere he wanted, but he apparently didn't learn from his first mistake, starring in recent duds as The Words and Hit and Run, which have combined grossed only about $22 million.
But then I read a review of his next film, Silver Linings Playbook, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, and a word was mentioned in the same sentence as Bradley Cooper that I had never anticipated: Oscar. Bradley Cooper should be considered an Oscar candidate? This past month, Silver Linings Playbook debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, one of the many Oscar indicators. The film came in with very limited Oscar buzz, but it ended up winning the festival's equivalent Best Picture and also thrusting Cooper, Lawrence, De Niro, and director David O. Russell's name right to the front of the pack for this year's Academy Awards. Then, another Cooper film, The Place Beyond the Pines debuted as well. Co-starring Ryan Gosling, this film also acquired positive word-of-mouth and once again, Cooper and Oscar was in the same sentence. However, The Place Beyond the Pines doesn't have a distributor this year, so it won't be released until next year and therefore preventing it from being in this year's race.
But Cooper has delievered two Oscar worthy performances, and in 2014, we could introduce Cooper as a two-time Oscar nominee. Is this a new and improved Bradley Cooper? Is this the Cooper we can expect from this point in his career on? Next summer, we'll see Cooper in The Hangover Part III, but afterwards, we'll see him in an untitled movie....directed by David O. Russell, potential Oscar gold again.
Maybe Cooper has learned from his mistakes in the early part of his career. Maybe he has realized that he does have legitmate talent and deserves better than the romantic comedy. He needs to stay on this path of success becasue if he does, he can truly become one of Hollywood's finest actors. If he doesn't, he'll probably end up like Matthew McConaughey, a respected actor but no hardware to prove it.
Bradley Cooper's career is at a crossroads. Here's hoping he chooses the road less traveled....the road that leads to the Hollywood Hall of Fame.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Wake Up, Hollywood!
Ever since we were given The Dark Knight Rises on July 20, which has to this point grossed roughly $440 million, the box office has steadily declined to give the people one of the most disappointing months of the year, being capped off by the past weekend of September 7-9 earning the "award" of lowest grossing weekend since 2008, with The Possession topping the weekend at only $9.3 million. The distribution companies have put a lot of stock in a lot of films that have disappointed at the box office, so the question has to be asked: why?
Why is the box office in its worst shape in four years?
If a movie doesn't appeal to an audience, the audience won't show, and therefore, the box office will bomb. Pretty simple, right? If the viewer isn't compelled by the marketers to pay $8 for a two-hour plus long movie, they won't. Movie prices are escalating, and if we won't to get folks back to the theater, the industry must give them a reason to, and the only way they can do that is offer high quality films instead of the mediocre ones that the past weeks have brought to the table.
On Rotten Tomatoes, five of the top ten movies at the box office this weekend are "certified rotten," which easily means that at the most, only half the people that rated that movie liked it. That means five movies are "certified fresh," but that could be misleading when you take a closer look at it. In order to be "certified fresh," 60% of the raters must have liked it. Three of those movies have a rating of 64%, 65%, and 66%, borderline rotten. That leaves only two movies that are legitimately fresh.
People go to the movies to be entertained. If word on the street is rotten, people today are not going to commit two hours of their time and spend $8 plus for something that is widely considered rotten. The reason that the box office is now at a four-year low is that no movies are worth seeing at the moment. The Watch had the starpower of Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill along with a late summer release and still only managed to gross $34 million. Total Recall had the original classic's grace and the appeal of Colin Farrell, but only grossed $58 million on a $125 million budget. The Bourne Legacy had the graces of Matt Damon's original trilogy and the surging stardom of Jeremy Renner, but only grossed $104 million, $17 million behing Damon's The Bourne Identity, the previous lowest of the series. The Campaign had Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis in a political satire in an election year and still just made $80 million. The Expendables 2 had every action star of the past half-century and only managed $76 million, roughly $28 million behind the first installment. Lawless had Tom Hardy coming off The Dark Knight Rises and a supporting cast of Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, and Jessica Chastain and only grossed $24 million to this point.
Now, people have proven that if you give them a reason to show up, they will. In March, The Hunger Games recorded the fifth-highest opening weekend in history en route to a total gross of $408 million. The Avengers recorded the highest opening weekend ever at just over $207 million on track to $621 million, third most all-time. Brave steadily recorded $233 million thanks to its Pixar brand and positive word of mouth. And of course, The Dark Knight Rises grossed $161 million opening weekend and onward to $438 million and counting. But if you pay close attention, you'll notice something: all four films were certified fresh coming in at 84%, 92%, 77%, and 87% respectively. In fact, this year's top seven highest grossing movies are certified fresh. If people like what they see, they'll shell out the money.
But that's the problem: we have too many movies nowadays that leave people underwhelmed.
So I call on Hollywood to step up their game....now. Quit talking about how bad the box office is and instead, give us those movies we all want to see instead of the ones we feel obligated to see.
Wake up, Hollywood! You've created this mess with your lack of creativity and sloppy moviemaking! Now, you fix it! We're just the buyers of your great product, and we want to buy your product, but if your product isn't worth buying, we'll simply stay away. Give us reason to buy, and then we'll happily see you at the movies again.
Why is the box office in its worst shape in four years?
If a movie doesn't appeal to an audience, the audience won't show, and therefore, the box office will bomb. Pretty simple, right? If the viewer isn't compelled by the marketers to pay $8 for a two-hour plus long movie, they won't. Movie prices are escalating, and if we won't to get folks back to the theater, the industry must give them a reason to, and the only way they can do that is offer high quality films instead of the mediocre ones that the past weeks have brought to the table.
On Rotten Tomatoes, five of the top ten movies at the box office this weekend are "certified rotten," which easily means that at the most, only half the people that rated that movie liked it. That means five movies are "certified fresh," but that could be misleading when you take a closer look at it. In order to be "certified fresh," 60% of the raters must have liked it. Three of those movies have a rating of 64%, 65%, and 66%, borderline rotten. That leaves only two movies that are legitimately fresh.
People go to the movies to be entertained. If word on the street is rotten, people today are not going to commit two hours of their time and spend $8 plus for something that is widely considered rotten. The reason that the box office is now at a four-year low is that no movies are worth seeing at the moment. The Watch had the starpower of Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill along with a late summer release and still only managed to gross $34 million. Total Recall had the original classic's grace and the appeal of Colin Farrell, but only grossed $58 million on a $125 million budget. The Bourne Legacy had the graces of Matt Damon's original trilogy and the surging stardom of Jeremy Renner, but only grossed $104 million, $17 million behing Damon's The Bourne Identity, the previous lowest of the series. The Campaign had Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis in a political satire in an election year and still just made $80 million. The Expendables 2 had every action star of the past half-century and only managed $76 million, roughly $28 million behind the first installment. Lawless had Tom Hardy coming off The Dark Knight Rises and a supporting cast of Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, and Jessica Chastain and only grossed $24 million to this point.
Now, people have proven that if you give them a reason to show up, they will. In March, The Hunger Games recorded the fifth-highest opening weekend in history en route to a total gross of $408 million. The Avengers recorded the highest opening weekend ever at just over $207 million on track to $621 million, third most all-time. Brave steadily recorded $233 million thanks to its Pixar brand and positive word of mouth. And of course, The Dark Knight Rises grossed $161 million opening weekend and onward to $438 million and counting. But if you pay close attention, you'll notice something: all four films were certified fresh coming in at 84%, 92%, 77%, and 87% respectively. In fact, this year's top seven highest grossing movies are certified fresh. If people like what they see, they'll shell out the money.
But that's the problem: we have too many movies nowadays that leave people underwhelmed.
So I call on Hollywood to step up their game....now. Quit talking about how bad the box office is and instead, give us those movies we all want to see instead of the ones we feel obligated to see.
Wake up, Hollywood! You've created this mess with your lack of creativity and sloppy moviemaking! Now, you fix it! We're just the buyers of your great product, and we want to buy your product, but if your product isn't worth buying, we'll simply stay away. Give us reason to buy, and then we'll happily see you at the movies again.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Summer 2012 in Review
Labor Day marks the end of summer for the movie industry, and this summer has been full of absolutely great movies. With this, I'm going to share with the some of the highlights.
The summer got started off with a bang on the first weekend of May with Marvel's The Avengers. The comic book giant was faced with a claimed impossible mission: bring together the world's most popular superheroes, put them in one movie, and make that one movie epic. Mission: accomplished. Director Joss Whedon made this movie work in the grand scheme of things, but credit has to be given to the cast, led by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johannson, and Samuel L. Jackson. They all bought into the idea, and it shows by becoming the third highest grossing film in history.
To say the least, the standard that The Avengers set was so high that it would be near impossible to reach it. In the following two weeks of May, we're given two good, not great, movies,: Dark Shadows and Battleship. Both were successful in different aspects. Dark Shadows worked because of star Johnny Depp. No other reason. Without Depp, it probably would have been unbearable to watch, but as always, Depp comes to the rescue and in the process makes a pretty good movie. Battleship didn't have the luxury of great acting (outside of Liam Neeson), but instead, it relied heavily on special effects. The special effects were great and single-handely made this movie enjoyable.
The last week in May gave us Men in Black III. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return to their iconic roles, but the true star of this movie is Josh Brolin, who plays a younger Jones and absolutely nails it. Like the first two, the premise gets out of hand at times, but unlike the others, you feel something at the end thanks to one of the best endings I seen in recent memory. We can only hope we haven't seen the last of the MIB.
June came and was shockingly pretty successful. Week one brought us Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron. At first glance, I was skeptical. But to my pleasant surprise, it delievered. Hemsworth shines with Stewart and Theron holding their own in one of the best of the summer.
The second week brought us two totally different films: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus. Madagascar 3 was by far the best installment of the popular franchise. Like MIB 3, this one connected emotionally, and any time an animated movie can do that, they deserve some praise. Prometheus was director Ridley Scott's much welcomed return to the science fiction world, and he tackles a prequel to the film that gave him his start, Alien. While it didn't answer all the questions we had (in fact, it probably raised more questions), the sheer scope of it all was fantastic and the story was compelling and exciting, turning this sci-fi film into one the best of the year, not just the summer.
The next weekend brought us Rock of Ages, starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, and Russell Brand. It was pretty nice to take a stroll down memory lane to the land of the 80's. With countless catchy songs and a surprisingly good story, Rock of Ages was a very good movie.
Pixar's Brave was next. Pixar had to respond with authority after last year's critical disappointment, Cars 2, and they rose to the occasion, giving us a movie that deserves to mentioned in the same breath as Wall-E, The Incredibles, and A Bug's Life. I'm not ready to put it in the same breath as a Finding Nemo or a Toy Story, but it is worthy of being called a Pixar classic.
The final week of June brings us two films: Madea's Witness Protection and People Like Us. Tyler Perry's return to his cross-dressing Madea was just as hilarious as his previous installments and only left me wanting more Madea. People Like Us, starring Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, was a widely over-looked film, but why? The story is top-notch and the cast was at the top of their game. The ending was absolutely great and if you haven't seen it, check it out.
July had some pretty loftly standards to live up to after a pretty impressive May and June. Fourth of July week brought us The Amazing Spider-Man. The pressure was on to justify rebooting this series with a new cast, new director, and retelling of a story we already know, but Marvel once again rised to the occasion with a fantastic film. Andrew Garfield more than fills the shoes of Tobey Maguire as the Peter Parker, and his supporting cast, led by Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field, showed up as well. One can only hope that there's more coming from the webslinger.
Then came Ice Age: Continental Drift. The fourth installment of the widely popular franchise brings the typical comedy and silliness that we're used to. Nothing new in this one, but still solid entertaiment.
Then, one of the most anticipated weekends in movie history came with the release of The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan had the weight of the world on his shoulders to follow-up his insanely incredible The Dark Knight, and he more than delievers. The cast, led by Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway, give us not only a great superhero movie, but just a great movie overall. It currently sits atop my best of all-time list. Enough said.
Which movie would be brave enough to follow that colossal hit? Step Up: Revolution. With a cast that I've never heard of and a franchise I've never taken interest in, I really don't know what compelled me to see this, but leaving it, I was moderately happy that I did. It reminded me a lot of the classic, Dirty Dancing. That's a pretty solid comparison.
When I looked at August, I approached the movie schedule with great excitement but also with hesitation. All the films had potential, but they also all had question marks. Week one gave us Total Recall. I'm still not sure why they chose to remake the Arnold Schwarzeneggar classic, but they did, and gave us a solid movie. I'm still not sure Colin Farrell can become a dynamite leading actor (he's much better in a supporting role), but he comes to play in this movie, and it shows.
The next week brought us three totally different movies. The first of which was The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. This absolutely hilarious take on the political campaign trail was a fantastic idea, and they couldn't have got a better duo to star.
Hope Springs was next, starring veterans Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. While having a very adult themed premise, the reason I saw it was for Jones, as he once again shines in everything he does. Streep, as always, delievers, and brings us a fairly good movie.
The highlight of the weekend was The Bourne Legacy. A Jason Bourne themed movie without Matt Damon? I know it's weird, but Jeremy Renner is more than capable of taking over the franchise. I was skeptical going, but I left there feeling that the franchise still has some in the tank.
It's tough to follow that strong of a weekend, but lo and beyond, the next weekend did with another trio of greats. The first was The Expendables 2. I was a huge fan of the first actioneer, and my hopes were high going in, and then, you give Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Bruce Willis more screen time, and add on Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van-Damme, and Liam Hemsworth to a cast that already included Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Terry Crews. Let's face it. You couldn't go wrong.
The next was the stop-motion hit, ParaNorman. I told myself that I would only see this movie if the reviews were beyond good. They were, so I checked it out, and it was surprisingly pretty good. With an ending that is heart-warming, ParaNorman was a surprise hit.
The final film was The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Disney can't go wrong in my book, and given this source material, I knew that this was a homerun waiting to happen, and it was. Sweet and filled with endearing performances, Timothy Green gave us our second surprise hit of the weekend.
The next week brought us Premium Rush, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. With non-stop action and a strong story, this one gave us a worthy late summer addition to the list.
The final weekend of the year brought us Lawless. If you want to know how I feel about this one, check out my first blog- "Tom Hardy is For Real."
Summer was, as you can see, incredible. The remainder of the movies left this year have an awful lot to live up to. So we bid summer 2012 goodbye, and say hello to the wonder of Oscar season!
The summer got started off with a bang on the first weekend of May with Marvel's The Avengers. The comic book giant was faced with a claimed impossible mission: bring together the world's most popular superheroes, put them in one movie, and make that one movie epic. Mission: accomplished. Director Joss Whedon made this movie work in the grand scheme of things, but credit has to be given to the cast, led by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johannson, and Samuel L. Jackson. They all bought into the idea, and it shows by becoming the third highest grossing film in history.
To say the least, the standard that The Avengers set was so high that it would be near impossible to reach it. In the following two weeks of May, we're given two good, not great, movies,: Dark Shadows and Battleship. Both were successful in different aspects. Dark Shadows worked because of star Johnny Depp. No other reason. Without Depp, it probably would have been unbearable to watch, but as always, Depp comes to the rescue and in the process makes a pretty good movie. Battleship didn't have the luxury of great acting (outside of Liam Neeson), but instead, it relied heavily on special effects. The special effects were great and single-handely made this movie enjoyable.
The last week in May gave us Men in Black III. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return to their iconic roles, but the true star of this movie is Josh Brolin, who plays a younger Jones and absolutely nails it. Like the first two, the premise gets out of hand at times, but unlike the others, you feel something at the end thanks to one of the best endings I seen in recent memory. We can only hope we haven't seen the last of the MIB.
June came and was shockingly pretty successful. Week one brought us Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron. At first glance, I was skeptical. But to my pleasant surprise, it delievered. Hemsworth shines with Stewart and Theron holding their own in one of the best of the summer.
The second week brought us two totally different films: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus. Madagascar 3 was by far the best installment of the popular franchise. Like MIB 3, this one connected emotionally, and any time an animated movie can do that, they deserve some praise. Prometheus was director Ridley Scott's much welcomed return to the science fiction world, and he tackles a prequel to the film that gave him his start, Alien. While it didn't answer all the questions we had (in fact, it probably raised more questions), the sheer scope of it all was fantastic and the story was compelling and exciting, turning this sci-fi film into one the best of the year, not just the summer.
The next weekend brought us Rock of Ages, starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, and Russell Brand. It was pretty nice to take a stroll down memory lane to the land of the 80's. With countless catchy songs and a surprisingly good story, Rock of Ages was a very good movie.
Pixar's Brave was next. Pixar had to respond with authority after last year's critical disappointment, Cars 2, and they rose to the occasion, giving us a movie that deserves to mentioned in the same breath as Wall-E, The Incredibles, and A Bug's Life. I'm not ready to put it in the same breath as a Finding Nemo or a Toy Story, but it is worthy of being called a Pixar classic.
The final week of June brings us two films: Madea's Witness Protection and People Like Us. Tyler Perry's return to his cross-dressing Madea was just as hilarious as his previous installments and only left me wanting more Madea. People Like Us, starring Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, was a widely over-looked film, but why? The story is top-notch and the cast was at the top of their game. The ending was absolutely great and if you haven't seen it, check it out.
July had some pretty loftly standards to live up to after a pretty impressive May and June. Fourth of July week brought us The Amazing Spider-Man. The pressure was on to justify rebooting this series with a new cast, new director, and retelling of a story we already know, but Marvel once again rised to the occasion with a fantastic film. Andrew Garfield more than fills the shoes of Tobey Maguire as the Peter Parker, and his supporting cast, led by Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field, showed up as well. One can only hope that there's more coming from the webslinger.
Then came Ice Age: Continental Drift. The fourth installment of the widely popular franchise brings the typical comedy and silliness that we're used to. Nothing new in this one, but still solid entertaiment.
Then, one of the most anticipated weekends in movie history came with the release of The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan had the weight of the world on his shoulders to follow-up his insanely incredible The Dark Knight, and he more than delievers. The cast, led by Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway, give us not only a great superhero movie, but just a great movie overall. It currently sits atop my best of all-time list. Enough said.
Which movie would be brave enough to follow that colossal hit? Step Up: Revolution. With a cast that I've never heard of and a franchise I've never taken interest in, I really don't know what compelled me to see this, but leaving it, I was moderately happy that I did. It reminded me a lot of the classic, Dirty Dancing. That's a pretty solid comparison.
When I looked at August, I approached the movie schedule with great excitement but also with hesitation. All the films had potential, but they also all had question marks. Week one gave us Total Recall. I'm still not sure why they chose to remake the Arnold Schwarzeneggar classic, but they did, and gave us a solid movie. I'm still not sure Colin Farrell can become a dynamite leading actor (he's much better in a supporting role), but he comes to play in this movie, and it shows.
The next week brought us three totally different movies. The first of which was The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. This absolutely hilarious take on the political campaign trail was a fantastic idea, and they couldn't have got a better duo to star.
Hope Springs was next, starring veterans Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. While having a very adult themed premise, the reason I saw it was for Jones, as he once again shines in everything he does. Streep, as always, delievers, and brings us a fairly good movie.
The highlight of the weekend was The Bourne Legacy. A Jason Bourne themed movie without Matt Damon? I know it's weird, but Jeremy Renner is more than capable of taking over the franchise. I was skeptical going, but I left there feeling that the franchise still has some in the tank.
It's tough to follow that strong of a weekend, but lo and beyond, the next weekend did with another trio of greats. The first was The Expendables 2. I was a huge fan of the first actioneer, and my hopes were high going in, and then, you give Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Bruce Willis more screen time, and add on Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van-Damme, and Liam Hemsworth to a cast that already included Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Terry Crews. Let's face it. You couldn't go wrong.
The next was the stop-motion hit, ParaNorman. I told myself that I would only see this movie if the reviews were beyond good. They were, so I checked it out, and it was surprisingly pretty good. With an ending that is heart-warming, ParaNorman was a surprise hit.
The final film was The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Disney can't go wrong in my book, and given this source material, I knew that this was a homerun waiting to happen, and it was. Sweet and filled with endearing performances, Timothy Green gave us our second surprise hit of the weekend.
The next week brought us Premium Rush, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. With non-stop action and a strong story, this one gave us a worthy late summer addition to the list.
The final weekend of the year brought us Lawless. If you want to know how I feel about this one, check out my first blog- "Tom Hardy is For Real."
Summer was, as you can see, incredible. The remainder of the movies left this year have an awful lot to live up to. So we bid summer 2012 goodbye, and say hello to the wonder of Oscar season!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Tom Hardy is For Real!
This past weekend, I took my weekly trip to the movies to see Lawless, the absolutely fantastic story of the Bondurant brothers starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, and Jessica Chastain. The entire cast was perfectly casted, allowing this movie to become one of my favorites of the year. As my friend and I were discussing the movie, however, we both agreed on one thing whole-heartedly: Tom Hardy is a beast! With so many stars in one movie, it's easy for one to get lost occasionally, but sometimes, one rises above the rest, and in Lawless, that one is Hardy. This realization caused two questions to arise in my mind: how good is he and and how good can he be?
My first encounter with Hardy was in Christopher Nolan's masterpiece, Inception. Taking a back seat, obviously, to the great Leonardo DiCaprio, Hardy plays Eames, a dream forger that can change into anyone he desires inside the dream (if you're confused, just go watch Inception). With a cast around him including DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ellen Page, Hardy steals the scenes his in. Leaving Inception, I began to get the feeling that that guy could be legit one day.
The biggest test, however, to how good an actor truly is is their follow-up film to their breakout role. For me, that follow-up role for Hardy was in 2011's Warrior, where he plays wrestler Tommy Conlon. Described as this genereation's Rocky, Warrior tells the story of two brothers, Hardy and Joel Edgerton playing Brendan Conlon, who are set on a collision course to the title match while also trying to reconnect with their alcoholic father, an Oscar nominated role played by Nick Nolte. These three actors where in top form in this film, giving Hardy his great follow-up he needed.
Where would go after these two? It was time for Hardy to break into a new genre: romantic comedy in the form of This Means War, starring Hardy, Chris Pine, and Reese Witherspoon. While most weren't a huge fan of the film, although I was, it was refreshing to see an actor of Hardy's caliber break the molds that people created for him and try something new.
But no doubt about, Hardy's young career reached a peak in this past summer's blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises. After Christopher Nolan's unprecedented popular film, The Dark Knight, where Heath Ledger brilliantly portrayed The Joker and set a mile high bar for any villian who dares follow him, the pressure was on to not only make this movie great, but also create a villian for Batman that's worthy to follow Ledger. Nolan chooses Bane, the masked terrorist of Gotham City who would find much delight to see the city destroyed. Nolan calls on Hardy to fill the role, and Hardy more than delievers. I believe that Hardy delievered so much so that his portrayal of Bane should be as praised as much Ledger's Joker. Why not? Both were absolutely despicable and both actors brought a fresh take to a character that we've all seen before. A standard had now been set for Hardy.
The follow-up to a film like The Dark Knight Rises doesn't have to be great, but it's got to be pretty good. Lawless ended up being great with Hardy shining. I don't think it will, but I think this film is more than deserving of the Academy Awards' attention.
Next, we'll see Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road, bringing back a character that Mel Gibson popularized.
Hardy's career is just getting started. He's only 35 years old, and the sky is not even the limit for him! Before too long, I fully anticipate Hardy's name being called on Oscar Sunday. He's got the charisma of a Tom Cruise. The naturaly ability of a Tom Hanks. And the superstar qualities of a Denzel Washington. The last time I checked, those three are studs! Why can't Hardy do the same. So to answer the questions from earlier:
1) How good is he?
Tom Hardy is legit, my friends. One of the finest actors in the business.
2) How good can he be?
Watch out....we could be looking at Hollywood's next greatest actor....
He is for real.
My first encounter with Hardy was in Christopher Nolan's masterpiece, Inception. Taking a back seat, obviously, to the great Leonardo DiCaprio, Hardy plays Eames, a dream forger that can change into anyone he desires inside the dream (if you're confused, just go watch Inception). With a cast around him including DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ellen Page, Hardy steals the scenes his in. Leaving Inception, I began to get the feeling that that guy could be legit one day.
The biggest test, however, to how good an actor truly is is their follow-up film to their breakout role. For me, that follow-up role for Hardy was in 2011's Warrior, where he plays wrestler Tommy Conlon. Described as this genereation's Rocky, Warrior tells the story of two brothers, Hardy and Joel Edgerton playing Brendan Conlon, who are set on a collision course to the title match while also trying to reconnect with their alcoholic father, an Oscar nominated role played by Nick Nolte. These three actors where in top form in this film, giving Hardy his great follow-up he needed.
Where would go after these two? It was time for Hardy to break into a new genre: romantic comedy in the form of This Means War, starring Hardy, Chris Pine, and Reese Witherspoon. While most weren't a huge fan of the film, although I was, it was refreshing to see an actor of Hardy's caliber break the molds that people created for him and try something new.
But no doubt about, Hardy's young career reached a peak in this past summer's blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises. After Christopher Nolan's unprecedented popular film, The Dark Knight, where Heath Ledger brilliantly portrayed The Joker and set a mile high bar for any villian who dares follow him, the pressure was on to not only make this movie great, but also create a villian for Batman that's worthy to follow Ledger. Nolan chooses Bane, the masked terrorist of Gotham City who would find much delight to see the city destroyed. Nolan calls on Hardy to fill the role, and Hardy more than delievers. I believe that Hardy delievered so much so that his portrayal of Bane should be as praised as much Ledger's Joker. Why not? Both were absolutely despicable and both actors brought a fresh take to a character that we've all seen before. A standard had now been set for Hardy.
The follow-up to a film like The Dark Knight Rises doesn't have to be great, but it's got to be pretty good. Lawless ended up being great with Hardy shining. I don't think it will, but I think this film is more than deserving of the Academy Awards' attention.
Next, we'll see Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road, bringing back a character that Mel Gibson popularized.
Hardy's career is just getting started. He's only 35 years old, and the sky is not even the limit for him! Before too long, I fully anticipate Hardy's name being called on Oscar Sunday. He's got the charisma of a Tom Cruise. The naturaly ability of a Tom Hanks. And the superstar qualities of a Denzel Washington. The last time I checked, those three are studs! Why can't Hardy do the same. So to answer the questions from earlier:
1) How good is he?
Tom Hardy is legit, my friends. One of the finest actors in the business.
2) How good can he be?
Watch out....we could be looking at Hollywood's next greatest actor....
He is for real.
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