Frank Grillo Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted relevant accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Frank Grillo-whose latest project "Copshop" hits theaters tomorrow. 

Frank Grillo's Filmography Ranked:

19.The Sweetest Thing (C-)

18.Edge of Darkness (C+)

17.Minority Report (C+)

16.Captain America: The Winter Solider (C+)

15.Donnybrook (B-)

14.Point Blank (B)

13.Boss Level (B)

12.Captain America: Civil War (B)

11.Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (B)

10.Black and Blue (B)

9.Homefront (B)

8.Zero Dark Thirty (B)

7.The Purge: Anarchy (B)

6.The Grey (B)

5.Gangster Squad (B+)

4.Wheelman (B+)

3.The Purge: Election Year (A-)

2.Warrior (A)

1.End of Watch (A)

Top Dog: End of Watch (2012)

Since pretty much all of the discourse surrounding the work of David Ayer of late has pertained to his unseen version of Suicide Squad, his other contributions to the world of cinema almost feel like they've been permanently buried. When Ayer's signature gritty style is at its peak, he is one of the most essential and interesting filmmakers working in the crime genre today. His third directorial effort End of Watch is arguably the best representation of what he brings to the table. Ayer takes the raw, tense atmosphere of his earlier works like Training Day and Street Kings, and attaches it to a story about two LA cops (Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena-both in elite form) who make an unexpected discovery during a routine traffic stop that puts them in the crosshairs of the Sinaloa Cartel. As engrossing and well-constructed as the crime elements are, the emotional core that stems from the strong development of the lead characters and how natural the deep bond between them feels is what pushes End of Watch well above the standard hard-nosed police procedural.     

Lowlight: The Sweetest Thing (2002)

Cameron Diaz enjoyed one of the greatest triumphs of her acting career with the gross-out romantic comedy classic There's Something About Mary . Her return to similar territory 4 years later with The Sweetest Thing wasn't nearly as successful. While there is a nice rapport between Diaz and her on-screen best friends Christina Applegate and Selma Blair that makes the buddy elements of the story work, The Sweetest Thing has a much lower joke hit rate and none of the deceptive heart that made There's Something About Mary such a uniquely excellent project.

Most Underrated: Wheelman (2017)

Before Netflix was churning out endless $150 million blockbusters and glitzy prospective awards contenders, they were getting their feet wet in the movie industry with cheap genre gems like this. Wheelman is a tremendous piece of minimalist B-movie filmmaking that relies on a fast-moving, conflict-filled story about a bank robbery getaway driver (Grillo) that inadvertently gets caught in the middle of a violent dispute between two rival Philadelphia criminal syndicates and the gritty charisma of Grillo to achieve its efficient, edge-of-your-seat thrills.  

Most Overrated: Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Solider stands alone in the Marvel universe because it's the only one of their films that's strictly ruined by the plotting. Chris Evans' first truly great turn as Captain America, the addition of Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Bucky's (Sebastian Stan) pivotal transformation into the Winter Solider and some really hard-hitting action sequences ultimately prove to be no match for the catastrophic damage the absurdly convoluted story, clunky pacing and endless expositional dialogue is able to inflict on the cohesiveness and enjoyability of the entire product.

Best Camp Classic: Gangster Squad (2013)

Gangster Squad is a film that is begging to be reevaluated by the Court of Public Opinion. Rueben Fleischer's star-studded gangster noir project that is mostly remembered for having to reshoot its climax following the Aurora shooting was never aiming to be The Godfather, Goodfellas or even A Bronx Tale. It was designed to be an over-the-top embrace of the most cartoonish elements of gangster movies and I firmly believe that it succeeds in doing so. The widely recognizable ensemble cast (Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Giovani Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Robert Patrick) outside of the perhaps too animated Sean Penn as the primary antagonist Mickey Cohen burn up the screen with their fiery overacting, the flurry of shootouts and car chases all are staged with a proficient amount of flash and the reworked ending is precisely the hammy fireworks show that a film that's all in on the style over substance philosophy should have.

Best Example of Deon Taylor's Slept-On Directorial Talent: Black and Blue (2019)

Given his tendencies to have quick turnarounds between projects, utilize shoestring budgets that ensure short shooting schedules and bankroll his own projects, Deon Taylor has been dubbed the Tyler Perry of genre movies. Also like Perry, Taylor is largely viewed as a hack because of these practices. While I can't defend the suspect writing that his features cans suffer from (The Intruder, Traffik), Taylor's knack for effectively building and sustaining tension over the course of an entire film tends to make his movies at least somewhat effective. Hand him some actors with real chops (Naomie Harris, Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp) and a functional script written by a third party (in this case, Flightplan scribe Peter A. Dowling), and he can make a film like Black and Blue that delivers the suspenseful, schlocky goods at a high enough level where you start to wonder what he could do if Jason Blum or Jordan Peele brought him in to direct a prime project with a great script.