Tag: Denzel Washington

Film Review: “Highest 2 Lowest”

Lee and Denzel’s fifth collaboration is a mix of many highs and 2 many lows

David King (Denzel Washington) strolls through the office in ‘Highest 2 Lowest.’

It’s tough to avoid comparing a remake to the original, especially if the original is a five-star masterpiece. Such is the case for Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, which is based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 procedural crime drama, High and Low (which is based on a 1959 book, King’s Ransom by Ed McBain). Kurosawa’s High and Low explores stark class divisions within post-war Japan, challenging the characters with life-threatening moral dilemmas and utilizing a detailed police procedural plotline to expose these divisions, literally and metaphorically. Lee moves the 1960s Japan setting to a present-day New York City, shifts the protagonist’s business empire from a shoe company to a music label, and abandons High and Low’s slow burn pace for a thriller, all of which deliver a mixed bag of results. Continue reading “Film Review: “Highest 2 Lowest””

Film Review: “Gladiator II”

Gladiator II forgoes emotion in favor of blood and spectacle

In the summer of 2000, Gladiator reinvigorated audiences’ desire for the sword-and-sandal epic. This subgenre had mostly been relegated to the “classics” section of movie rental stores, with the likes of Spartacus and Conan the Barbarian. And yet, the subgenre died out again after the Gladiator copies had their swings at glory in the early-2000s. Unfortunately, very few directors like Sir Ridley Scott have the talent to produce a sword-and-sandal epic. So here we find ourselves, in 2024, and Sir Ridley is again hoping to re-popularize the subgenre with Gladiator II, a sequel to the Best Picture and Best Actor Oscar-winning 2000 film. While undoubtedly entertaining from start to finish and featuring a stellar Denzel Washington performance, Gladiator II suffers from the flaws of “sequelitis” and an insecurity about whether audiences recall the original film. Continue reading “Film Review: “Gladiator II””

Film Review: Fences

Powerful performances anchor heavy family drama

Young Cory (Jovan Adepo, l.) doesn’t see eye to eye with his father Troy (Denzel Washington).

If you’re finishing up Christmas dinner later this evening and contemplating a trip to the cinema for a new release the whole family can enjoy, you may be better off today with Hidden Figures, and not Fences. That’s not to say Fences doesn’t warrant a recommendation; it certainly does, but let’s just say during a time of year in which your own family issues and simmering resentments might be coming to the forefront, watching another family going through the same may not be high on your list.
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Film Review: 2 Guns

Quote for the poster: This movie will blow away your expectations!

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg steal a bit more money than they were expecting in 2 Guns.
Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg steal a bit more money than they were expecting in 2 Guns.

There are two reviews I can write about the new Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg vehicle, 2 Guns. The first is for people who have not seen the trailer or read a synopsis. These people are going to be rewarded by a movie with some true surprises, well-hidden character twists, and an all-star cast doing good work. The second is for people who have seen the film’s marketing. For them, I expect the experience to be terrible, as they already know the answers to all the questions the film asks. For them, and this “them” unfortunately included me, it’ll create anger for a ruined experience. Continue reading “Film Review: 2 Guns”

Spinning Platters Interview: Robert Zemeckis on “Flight”

Robert Zemeckis and Denzel Washington on the set of FLIGHT

François Truffaut once said that a great movie is the perfect blend of truth and spectacle. This is one of Robert Zemeckis’ favorite quotes, and as evidenced by his staggering filmography, a guiding principle in his work. From his 1984 action-comedy Romancing the Stone onward, he has displayed an virtuosic ability to craft culture-defining megahits that use cutting-edge technology to tell unforgettable stories. Comedic VFX-driven comedies like the Back to the Future films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Death Becomes Her led to such powerfully soul-searching dramas as Forrest Gump (which won him the Oscar for Best Director), Contact, and Cast Away (which came out a few months after his deliciously sinister suspense flick, What Lies Beneath). Zemeckis’ interest in new filmmaking technology then led him on a decade-long detour into animation, and for a time, it seemed like we may have lost the visionary who so radically broadened the horizons of live-action film. But now, twelve years after his last non-animated movie, he is back with Flight.

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