LaKeith Stanfield Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of LaKeith Stanfield-whose latest project "Haunted Mansion" releases in theaters tomorrow.  

LaKeith Stanfield's Filmography Ranked:

18.Sorry to Bother You (D)

17.The Incredible Jessica James (C)

16.Miles Ahead (C)

15.Someone Great (C+)

14.Crown Heights (C+)

13.The Girl in the Spider's Web (B)

12.The Purge: Anarchy (B)

11.Snowden (B)

10.The Photograph (B+)

9.Knives Out (B+)

8.The Harder They Fall (A-)

7.Selma (A-)

6.Dope (A)

5.Straight Outta Compton (A)

4.Short Term 12 (A)

3.Judas and the Black Messiah (A)

2.Uncut Gems (A)

1.Get Out (A)

Top Dog: Get Out (2017)

After making a pretty great career himself for in the world of acting/sketch comedy, Jordan Peele wasted no time announcing himself as a special filmmaking talent with one of the most assured and masterful directorial debuts in the history of cinema. Courtesy of a tone that perfectly mixes hilarious satire with disturbing psychological horror and a group of actors that knew exactly what notes they needed to hit to make this balancing act, Get Out ends up a smart, wildly entertaining mediation on race relations in the United States and the current face that racism has taken on in this country (well maybe not totally current, since Nazis, the KKK and other blatant hate groups have become a LOT more prevalent again since this was made).    

Bottom Feeder: Sorry to Bother You (2018)

In terms of recent attempts at satire that I've seen, this just might be the worst of the bunch. Boots Riley demonstrates that he was coming into this whole making movies things from another creative medium by making something that is so eager to take shots at so many of America's ills (capitalism, corporate  greed, cultural appropriation, people of color acting/speaking differently to make white people more comfortable with their presence, violence in media) at the same time that it never develops a cohesive message and boasts such an awkward, stiff comedic rhythm that almost none of its jokes land. 

Most Underrated: Short Term 12 (2013)

Years before Brie Larson, Rami Malek, Destin Daniel Cretton, Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Beatriz and Stanfield were winning awards and getting the chance to be in or direct blockbusters, they were cutting their teeth on a tiny indie drama that never really received much fan fare outside of the Grand Jury Prize at South by Southwest. Short Term 12 is one of those intimate DIY films that beautifully tackles a tough subject matter (the plot focuses on a woman in her mid-20's who manages a group home for troubled teenagers who is forced to reckon with the suppressed demons from her childhood when she bonds with a new resident whose history of self-harm and neglect/abuse from a parent are eerily similar to her own) by treating it with honesty and empathy. Bringing a combination of grace, care and authenticity to every aspect of the film is precisely why so many people from this project are doing big things in Hollywood today.       

Most Overrated: Sorry to Bother You (2018)

As I outlined above, I feel that Sorry to Bother You wastes a bunch of gifted actors (Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Danny Glover, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Kate Berlant David Cross, Lily James, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson) on a brutally unfunny mess of a movie that tries to say/do far too much in under 2 hours.