The Preacher's Wife

 The Preacher's Wife (1996)

Starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine, and Justin Pierre Edmund

Directed by Penny Marshall

Written by Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

The Little Things

 The Little Things (2021 - Oscars 2020)

Starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto

Directed by John Lee Hancock

Written by John Lee Hancock

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Starring Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, and Carmen Ejogo

Directed by Dan Gilroy

Written by Dan Gilroy

Summary (in 500 words or less):  When his law partner at his small practice dies, Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) joins a bigger practice and discovers some facts about his new bosses that go against his morals.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Movie Review - Fences

Fences (2016)

Starring Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, and Mykelti Williamson

Directed by Denzel Washington

I will readily admit that I walked into Fences expecting to be bored.  Its length of 140 minutes coupled with the boxed-in nature of filming an adaptation of a melancholy play that takes place essentially in a single house was a bit of a turn off.  Oddly enough, all of my fears came true in certain ways, but I managed to still enjoy director Denzel Washington's take on August Wilson's popular play thanks to some fantastic performances and a storyline that really kicks into gear in its second half.

Washington is Troy Maxon, a trash collector and former baseball player who never made it into the Major Leagues and admittedly holds a bit of a grudge because of it.  He lives in a sizable home with his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and his teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo) who is finding great success with high school football, landing on the prospect list of several colleges.  Troy, who was shafted by sports in the past, refuses to allow Cory to dream his life away with the promise of a future in sports and demands that the teen earn a living through hard work like himself.  Needless to say, this causes a rift in the house not just between Troy and Cory, but also between Troy and his wife and leads to a second act turn of events that changes the course of the Maxon household forever.

Fences takes a while to really get going.  The whole piece is a talky affair, but the first forty minutes or so are filled with some lengthy diatribes by Troy or his best buddy Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson) that do little to advance the plot despite admittedly adding to the overall character of Troy himself.  However, once the actual conflict takes shape, the film starts to roll with Denzel certainly taking the lead reins and driving the ship as both its star and director.  Some have said Washington is too "actorly" or "stagy" in this flick, but I found him utterly captivating as a grizzled man who's done his share of wrong things, but wants nothing more than to create a life for his son better than the life he himself had.  This desire is palpable, showing itself in Washington's intense portrayal which is matched with equal ferocity by Viola Davis whose mild-mannered and somewhat subservient Rose turns from a typical 1950s housewife at the beck and call of her husband to a take-no-prisoners head-of-household when Troy's actions lead the Maxon family down a path they never could've expected.  Washington and Davis play exquisitely off one another in their tender moments, but simply excel when the late August Wilson's script requires them to really explore their truest, basest, and fiercest emotions in the film's second half.

This is a tough play to expand beyond the walls of the Maxon house and director Washington rarely explores another venue.  Yes, this leads the film to be a bit static at times and come off feeling rather simplistic particularly in the film's first hour.  However, Washington really manages to create an ever-building sense of emotional tension as the film progresses and its release in the final scenes is the payoff for which we'd waited.  Still, Fences can't quite escape the "boring" moniker even from someone who enjoyed it like myself.  It's not a film I'd particularly ever want to watch again, but it's a film that I appreciate and feel is ultimately worth seeing at least once since Washington and Davis give two of the best performances of the year.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Flight

Flight (2012)

Starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Brian Geraghty, Tamara Tunie, James Badge Dale, and Melissa Leo

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

As of late, Robert Zemeckis has not been a director you could rely on for solid product.  Caught up in the motion capture world, the director hasn't helmed a live action film since 2000's Cast Away.  Needless to say, his recent track record is one of the reasons I waited a long time to check out Flight and it's a shame since now I can't recommend it to folks since it's already departed from most theaters.

Although the film starts with a harrowing and excitingly well shot plane crash sequence, we soon discover that while the film revolves around the aftermath of this tragic accident, its focus is really on the troubled Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), the pilot of that fateful flight who while being hailed a hero for saving 96 of the plane's 102 passengers is really a lost soul himself.  Whip is an alcoholic and in order to mask that from others, he snorts a nice cocaine chaser to give him the "uppers" that he needs to function.  On the day of the fateful accident, Whip had some substantial amounts of these substances in his system and, despite performing an extremely successful landing that all parties involved admit could have been much worse, this puts him on quite the hot seat.

As Whip struggles with the aftermath of the accident, he finds some solace in a recovering junkie named Nicole (Kelly Reilly) who is striving to better herself and overcome her addictions.  Unlike Whip, Nicole wants to rid herself of the toxic substances she often relied on and the two, while initially seemingly two peas in a pod, begin to drift apart as Whip continues his ongoing downward spiral into addiction.

Denzel Washington is great here in perhaps his best role in years.  "Playing drunk" always runs the risk of going over-the-top and Denzel reins things in, taking a more quiet and inward approach.  Despite the rather introspective nature of the performance, we're always well aware of the thoughts going on in Whip's frazzled mind.  There's a subtlety in certain scenes that is surprising and lovely and shows the talent that Washington brings to the screen.

Zemeckis also gets some great performances from his supporting cast as well.  Don Cheadle is strong as a lawyer assigned to Whip's case who tries to be the voice of reason for the drug-addicted Whip.  Bruce Greenwood plays Whip's loyal friend with equal parts care and concern.  John Goodman is a hoot in a small role as Whip's dealer and Tamara Tunie and Brian Geraghty prove quite successful in small roles as members of Whip's flight crew.

However, much like I was moved by Washington's performance, I was equally bowled over by Kelly Reilly -- a British actress entirely convincingly portraying an American Southerner -- as Whip's new girlfriend Nicole and James Badge Dale in a very small, one-scene role as a nameless cancer patient who tries to imbue a sense of "life's short so embrace what's best" into both Whip and Nicole.  As the three actors find their characters meeting in a stairwell to sneak a smoke while recovering in hospitals for their various ailments -- Whip after the plane crash, Nicole after an overdose, and the cancer patient facing head-on the end of his life -- they speak of life, death, faith, love, and fear.  It's a powerful and beautiful scene that I won't soon forget.

Flight falters ever so little towards the end becoming a tiny bit preachier than it should and ending on a slightly cornier and more uplifting note than the film had heretofore deemed feasible or plausible.  Still, this one was definitely a winner and certainly worth checking out when it comes out on dvd in the upcoming months.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - Safe House

Safe House (2012)

Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Robert Patrick, and Sam Shepard

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

I can't say that Safe House is original in the slightest.  I feel like I've seen everything presented in this thriller before.  Still, thanks to some strong performances from Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, a quick pace, and a solid (if by-the-books) story, director Daniel Espinosa's first English-language venture is promising (and certainly entertaining) enough to indicate the possibility of success in the young auteur's future.

Matt Weston (Reynolds) is a young aspiring CIA agent stationed in South Africa.  Set to watch over a safe house, his days are filled with boredom, dreaming about the possibility of an upward move within the government agency.  One evening, Weston receives a call that a guest is coming to the house and when the visitor arrives, Weston immediately recognizes him as Tobin Frost (Washington), an ex-CIA operative who has since gone rogue and taken up some criminal activities.  Frost is on the run from some nasty fellows who want a microchip he has obtained and the only way of saving himself was to turn himself in to the US consulate in Cape Town.  Needless to say, the CIA safe house is soon compromised and the young Weston is forced out onto the streets of South Africa with the experienced and untrustworthy Frost where the young agent's skills are put to the ultimate test.

Safe House's biggest problem is that while it attempts to build drama by insinuating that there is a double agent within the CIA, director Daniel Espinosa foreshadows any type of surprises this revelation may have created via his camera work.  Fifteen minutes in, I already was well aware of how this movie was going to end.  That's not to say that there weren't some interesting twists and turns along the way, but the conclusion of the movie is ultimately too obvious and a bit of a letdown.

However, buoyed by some very nice performances from Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds (the latter whom surprised me by being totally believable in an action role) and a solid supporting turn from Vera Farmiga who rarely (if ever) disappoints, Safe House is a good action piece that deserves a look.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli (2010)

Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis

Directed by The Hughes Brothers

You don't get too many big budget Hollywood films about religion these days...and The Book of Eli is ALL about faith.  It may try and cover it up with gruesome killings, but in the end, it's all about religion and how it has the power to both inspire and corrupt.

We're several decades in the future and the Earth is in some type of an apocalyptic state.  There are hints of a great war, but it's also obvious that the environment (with a sun so bright you've got to wear shades to avoid blindness) has changed as well.  Eli (Denzel Washington) is a walker - a lone man who after hearing about a better land in the west longs to travel there.  With his faith in guide and his bible -- the only bible left on the planet -- he sets off on his journey.  

Along the way, Eli meets Carnegie (a scenery chewing Gary Oldman) who runs a small "Old West-type" town.  Carnegie's only goal is to find a bible -- for he feels that having this book will allow him to gain as many followers as possible to go about performing his will.  He's not a nice guy, and good man Eli knows this and must do whatever he can to keep the Bible out of Carnegie's possession.

The story's moderately successful, but it goes on for much too long.  About thirty minutes in, I couldn't believe that there was still ninety minutes to go.  It doesn't help that Oldman and Mila Kunis who plays (for all intents and purposes) his stepdaughter don't fare too well acting-wise here.  Oldman's Carnegie is nothing but a Old West villain stereotype and Kunis just isn't a very good actress (here's hoping Darren Aronofsky can bring something good out of her in his next flick).

Some people are fans of the 300-esque nearly constant green screen backdrops, but they annoy the hell out of me and the Hughes Brothers employ them quite a bit here.  While it's not incessant, it's unnecessary.  If I wanted a comic book feel, I'd read comic books.  Some of the fight scenes they shot were choreographed quite nicely, but they never once felt the least bit believable.  Maybe they weren't going for "real," but despite looking neat, they came off as silly.

Still, this isn't a bad film, it's just an average one.  Denzel is certainly good and a re-watch of his performance would probably lead to even more nuances that I didn't notice the first time around -- that's a hint at the moderately interesting "twist" to the film.  But on the other hand, the film's twist makes certain elements seem even more ridiculous and unbelievable then they already appeared.  

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, and James Gandolfini
Written by Brian Helgeland
Directed by Tony Scott

A remake of a 70s flick, this updated thriller stays surprisingly fresh, in large part due to a very strong performance from Denzel Washington.

Washington is Walter Garber who has a job similar to an air traffic controller, but for the New York City subway system. Unfortunately for him, a group of guys headed by John Travolta's character Ryder decide to hijack subway train Pelham 123 and hold its passengers hostage.

There's nothing new here. It's a typical hostage situation movie, but Washington really raises the bar and makes it interesting. His character has an intriguing backstory that comes into play that adds an additional bit of depth to an otherwise straightforward character. Travolta isn't bad either and I really don't care for him typically at all. In fact, I would say he could be in my Top Five Least Favorite Actors. I find him very disingenuous in both real life and onscreen. That wasn't the case here, though. I actually found him quite good and shockingly believable as a bad guy.

I must admit that I'm a sucker for movies that happen in "real time" and that was certainly a plus here. The tension stays high throughout because of this. I glanced at director Tony Scott's imdb page and I realized that I actually liked quite a bit of his films (Enemy of the State, Deja Vu). It's not like he's a great auteur, but I tend to like the way he films things despite the fact that he's a little too spastic and quick-cut-happy for his own good. This film was a little more subdued...no real shaky-camminess here.

My major issue with the film is that once the film leaves the confines of the subway car in the final 30 minutes, it falls apart a little. A huge part of the climax hinges on a ridiculous coincidence that kind of ticked me off and ruined the end.

That being said, there are certainly worse movies out there and this one was a perfectly acceptable, somewhat exciting flick.

The RyMickey Rating: B-