The Best Of The Rest
[Redacted] may be dead. Let's move on.
I watched Dark Waters the other night, a legal thriller starring Mark Ruffalo from 2019. Good movie. It does exactly what legal thrillers should do. There are folders overflowing with documents, paranoia sequences and an ending that gives you little hope in the world at large.
It also stars Mark Ruffalo who seems to be gearing up for a career renaissance of sorts. Ruffalo is a great actor—as evidenced by Zodiac, Spotlight, Shutter Island, 13 Going on 30 and many other films—who got sucked into the Marvel vortex and had to wear a lot of polka dots on his face so he could eventually turn into a CGI monster. We’ve probably missed out on quite a few stellar Ruffalo performances but with a meaty part in Poor Things upcoming, it seems like his career’s back on track.
Because it’s a bit quiet at the box office (I still haven’t seen the Taylor Swift film), I wanted to give some recs on the best movies, non-Marvel of course, of the leads of those films. Check them out in other things that are so much better.
Also, The Marvels looks pretty damn bad and is tracking poorly. We may finally be out of the woods.
Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
We’ve discussed Oppenheimer here enough lately, so let’s throw it back to 2005 before Iron Man became RDJ’s entire personality and shtick. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by Shane Black is a dark comedy/crime thriller with Downey, Michelle Monaghan and Val Kilmer. It has a similar vibe to the likewise Shane Black-directed The Nice Guys and is a perfect Christmas movie.
Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie
Chris Evans is a real enigma because he’ll pop up in extremely entertaining popcorn fare and then turn around and make three of the worst movies you’ve ever seen. He has Knives Out, Snowpiercer and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but I wanted to give a shoutout to 2001’s Not Another Teen Movie, which feels like a blueprint of sorts for this year’s best comedy (so far) in Bottoms. Both are raunchy high school comedies that satirize a certain type of movie while also loving the genre fully. Evans uses his movie-star looks to great use in this one playing a loveable airhead. It’s his Scott Pilgrim Lucas Lee character but on the football team.
Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story
I’ve written about Lost in Translation and Johansson’s Wes Anderson work enough here, so let’s jump back to 2019’s Marriage Story. I actually watched this one sitting next to Katie Holmes at the New York Film Festival, so there’s a fun little anecdote for you. Everyone was crying. Fun times. The Noah Baumbach-penned divorce love story is one of those perfectly crafted movies that makes you mad that it jumped to Netflix so quickly. ScarJo is kind of remarkable in it as she tries to keep it all together. If Saoirse Ronan wasn’t nominated for Little Women, Johansson would be my Oscar pick. Alas, neither of them won. Renée Zellweger won for Judy, which is … lol.
Chris Hemsworth in Bad Times at the El Royale
It’s too bad very few people (I know) saw this movie because it fucking rules. It somehow stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman and Chris Hemsworth in a cult bank-robbery neo-noir thriller. I don’t even know where to start this one but Hemsworth is unbelievable as the charismatic cult leader that uses his wiles to the best of his abilities. Don’t want to spoil anything, but check this Drew Goddard movie out.
Brie Larson in Room
It’s interesting how Brie Larson made this movie, won an Oscar and then made an executive decision to never be in anything good again. Larson is unbelievable in Room, one of the most feel-bad movies in recent history. It’s about a woman and her son who are held captive and it’s as tough a watch as there is. Larson deserved that run of awards, and I wish she would go back to making compelling stuff like this and Short Term 12 instead of Captain Marvel and car commercials.
Tom Holland in The Lost City of Z
This was a real jumpscare for me as I was watching this Charlie Hunnam exploration film randomly one night and all of a sudden, Tom Holland showed up. You need more of a warning for Tom Holland to just pop into a movie halfway through. And … he’s good in it. This James Gray movie based on the David Grann novel is a bit slower and more existential than most adventure movies, but I strongly recommend it. And now you know Holland’s in it. Something you should be aware of before watching.
So, we could do this all day as Marvel has made an infinite amount of movies and has hired every actor you’ve heard of. Here’s a few more. Just because.
Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994)
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
Jeremy Renner in Arrival (2016)
Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
Zoe Saldana in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Dave Bautista in Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Karen Gillan in Dual (2022)
Letitia Wright in Mangrove (2020)
Okay, I think we’re done here. That’s enough. I’m just listing movies at this point, which I guess is what this newsletter is all about, but also I’m tired. Bye.