Films starring Helen Mirren that I've seen:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Shadowboxer
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
State of Play
RED
Arthur
The Debt
Monsters University
RED 2
Trumbo
Eye in the Sky
The Fate of the Furious
Best Performance: RED (2010)
Casting Mirren as a wisecracking elite assassin was a god damn stroke of genius by the creative team behind this great action comedy. After cementing her legacy with roles in stone-serious period dramas and experimental arthouse movies, Mirren almost seem relieved to spend an entire film shooting huge guns, trading quips with her equally great co-stars (Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman) and just having a good time. As great as some of her recent dramatic output has been (Eye in the Sky, Trumbo), I'd love to see this acting legend tackle some more charismatic smartass roles before she leaves the industry.
Casting Mirren as a wisecracking elite assassin was a god damn stroke of genius by the creative team behind this great action comedy. After cementing her legacy with roles in stone-serious period dramas and experimental arthouse movies, Mirren almost seem relieved to spend an entire film shooting huge guns, trading quips with her equally great co-stars (Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman) and just having a good time. As great as some of her recent dramatic output has been (Eye in the Sky, Trumbo), I'd love to see this acting legend tackle some more charismatic smartass roles before she leaves the industry.
Worst Performance: Shadowboxer (2005)
To be fair, Mirren's performance is the best part of this bizarre family drama masquerading as a crime/action thriller. However, the Oscar Winner still looks like she's merely seconds away from nodding off the entire time she's on screen here. Seeing an actress that's usually fully committed to her characters completely slum it was incredibly odd and I'd be surprised if Mirren displayed this level of indifference in a film ever again.
Best Film: The Fate of the Furious (2017)
No other series spits in the face of franchise fatigue like The Fast and the Furious does. The Fate of the Furious is the eight installment, but thanks to its goofy tone, flare for staging creative, exciting action sequences and a strong ensemble cast that possesses infinite chemistry, this absurd blockbuster juggernaut is as entertaining as ever. Hopefully the reported behind-the-scenes tension between Dwayne Johnson and Tyrese Gibson doesn't suddenly kill this franchise's unique magic aura.
Worst Film: Shadowboxer (2005)
When you put Lee Daniels (Precious, Fox's Empire) in charge of an action thriller, this is the type of strange, absurd clusterfuck you end up with. With its barrage of abstract montages straight out of the pretentious arthouse filmmaker playbook, horrific performances from veteran actors (Cuba Gooding Jr., Mirren, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephen Dorff, Mo'Nique) that seem ashamed to be a part of the production and enough poorly-conceived tearjerker plot developments to fill a year's worth of programming on the Hallmark Channel, Shadowboxer puts forth a distinct, often unintentionally funny brand of ineptitude that will likely never fade from my memory bank.
When you put Lee Daniels (Precious, Fox's Empire) in charge of an action thriller, this is the type of strange, absurd clusterfuck you end up with. With its barrage of abstract montages straight out of the pretentious arthouse filmmaker playbook, horrific performances from veteran actors (Cuba Gooding Jr., Mirren, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephen Dorff, Mo'Nique) that seem ashamed to be a part of the production and enough poorly-conceived tearjerker plot developments to fill a year's worth of programming on the Hallmark Channel, Shadowboxer puts forth a distinct, often unintentionally funny brand of ineptitude that will likely never fade from my memory bank.
Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". The next victim of my praise and ire will be "Peter Rabbit" star Margot Robbie .
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