The Best and Worst of Sam Rockwell

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Richard Jewell” star Sam Rockwell.

Films starring Sam Rockwell that I've seen:
The Green Mile
Galaxy Quest
Charlie's Angels 
The Hitchiker's Guide to Galaxy
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Choke
Frost/Nixon
Moon
Iron Man 2
Cowboys & Aliens
The Sitter
Seven Psychopaths
The Way, Way Back
Mr. Right
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Vice
Jojo Rabbit

Best Performance: Moon (2009)
It takes a special actor to carry a movie in which they share little or no on-screen time with another live person. Rockwell made this challenge look like a routine task with his work in Duncan Jones' excellent sci-fi drama Moon. His staggering, deeply nuanced performance as an astronaut who learns he's a clone while in the final portion of a three year solo mission maximizes the effectiveness of this claustrophobic psychological high wire act.

Worst Performance: Iron Man 2 (2010)
While the embarrassing theatrics/accent work of Mickey Rourke definitely overshadows him, Rockwell's hammy overacting as secondary villain Justin Hammer is still really egregious and contributed pretty significantly to the flaws that made Iron Man 2 one of Marvel's biggest missteps thus far.

Best Film: The Green Mile (1999)
Frank Darabont's second emotionally-charged prison film of the 90's is a phenomenal movie that I feel has become kind of underrated in recent years. Sure it's sappy as hell, but its unapologetically abundant sentimentality is often overshadowed by the terrific character development, remarkable acting and a flurry of genuinely devastating scenes.

Worst Film: The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
There weren't too many films I saw during my early teenage years that I deeply hated more than The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Two hours of pompous, self-congratulatory humor and convoluted time travel plotting featuring a revolving door of obnoxious characters is a surefire way to spawn a swirling vortex of rage within me.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” star Adam Driver.