These are not my favorite actors, just actors that have been in a lot of movies I’ve seen.
Tom Hanks: Terminal- great story, made me cry when Forrest Gump didn’t. Great performance, and a convincing accent to me. Really unique plot and an interesting antagonist.
Daniel Day-Lewis: There will be Blood- honestly this performance is the reason I decided to write this blog. Some of the best acting from an already incredible actor. Many powerful scenes in this movie.
Willem Dafoe: The Grand Budapest Hotel- I mean what a cool character, that scene with the fingers. Anytime he was in a scene it was more interesting. Also, John Wick was a good movie with him in it- but not really because of him. I notice Dafoe is in a lot of movies I watch but rarely plays a big role in them (besides Spidermen).
Leo: The Departed- probably a controversial pick but a terrific cast and director. It’s intense and funny, Leo really delivered. At its core, this movie’s characters are what make it special, you really feel like you know them and you’re invested in their fates.
In an interesting turn of events, Ed Skrein, who was originally set to star in Hellboy, backed out of his role this summer because of his character’s mixed-Asian decent. Now, I’m upset that not enough people are talking about this. Hollywood is known for casting white actors in place for roles that are for people of color. However, Ed Skrein is the only actor, that I’ve heard of at least, that has declined a role because of this reason.
This is big news because of how rare it is. We’ve seen actors and actresses with amazing, prolific careers ignore whitewashing and accept a role that a person of color deserves. Earlier this year, Scarlett Johansson played main character Major Mira Killian, adapted from the Japanese manga series Ghost in the Shell. The movie barely saw any profit, less than 70 million made in its entire box office career. Matt Damon starred in the Great Wall, a movie literally about a white man leading a gigantic Chinese army against monsters attacking the grand fortress. Most recently, Netflix released Death Note, starring Nat Wolff, another adaptation of a popular Japanese manga.
Talking about Death Note for a moment, back in 2015, when Nat Wolff was announced as the film’s lead, Light, there were obviously mixed responses. One came from up and coming actor, Edward Zo, who was denied the opportunity to even audition for the same role. Why? Because he was “too Asian.” Here is his story below:
Something he said really stuck with me. “Hey, your story is really cool. Everything about this story is awesome, except you,” he said, when explaining what whitewashing feels like. What directors are doing is taking away the authenticity of a story. You don’t see white actors playing slaves, it’s not their story to tell. Manga, a style of Japanese comics, is quintessentially Japanese. Not white. What you get are stories that stay with Japanese adults and kids alike. Why take that essential part away in the movie version?
Photo Credit: imdb.com
What I just talked about are just actors stealing roles from Asian, more specifically Japanese, actors. I could show hundreds of examples of Hollywood whitewashing. Some older movies even use blackface and yellowface instead of just hiring people of color. What all these movies have in common nowadays are their social media outcry based on their faulty casting. I hope that Skrein’s decision and the obvious negative effects it has on a movie’s reviews will deter Hollywood from whitewashing in the future.
Without any doubt, Shia Labeouf is his own #1 fan.
The actor has been knownfor going to great length to gain attention in the media. Most recently, he decided to watch all of his entire filmography in reverse chronological order, while a live stream recorded every minute of the 72 hour Shia-Fest.
This endeavor, which he has titled #ALLMYMOVIES gained quite the following in the past week.Remarkably enough, the live stream didn’t feature the actual films being watched, but the reactions to the films by Shia himself.
In another peculiar twist, the live stream did not have sound, so the audience watching online had no clue which movie he was actually watching. From the moment Labeouf took his seat, dressed in a large winter coat with the hood on, looking remarkably like a homeless man, the event had already set the stage for being strange.The emotions of Shia varied from happy to sad to embarrassed to bored to excited to just being asleep.At times Shia’s reactions were satirical at best, such as the time he burst out laughing in a particularly racy scene in Nymphomaniac.Throughout the entire 3 day spectacle Shia also donned some of these exceptional faces
Shia went through a plethora of emotions… and also took a siesta
An intriguing way to spend half a week
Riding the Struggle Bus
Nearly a hundred people queued up to view the screening live, most of these people being students of one of the Universities in New York City, where the screening took place. For a man who doesn’t want to be famous, Shia Leboeuf goes to some very great lengths to gain attention.
Everyone has a favorite pastime, something they do when all else fails. Mine is watching movies. And let me be clear on something – I’ve watched a lot of movies.
It’s because of the amount of movies I’ve watched that I’ve decided to make this post.
To be honest, I’m not a very big fan of most the movies which are in theaters these days. There are a few here and there that get a laugh out of me, but other than that they just aren’t as good as others out there.
For example, The Dictator. This is by far not my kind of movie. I went to go see it when it was out with some friends, and despite the racism, sexism, and just plain offensiveness of this film, I actually found it quite funny.
A movie along the same lines which I didn’t particularly enjoy was 21 Jump Street. I mean, it’s funny, it’s got Channing Tatum in it (obvious plus), and it’s a good concept. But let’s face it. How many other movies are out there with the exact same story line? The answer is way too many.
Act of Valor came out last year, and I went to see it with my dad while my brothers were with my mom. This was a hard movie to watch, but that very possibly could have just been me. I have a tendency to be a bit squeamish at times. All in all though, I thought this was a good movie. An aspect of it which I found particularly interesting and appealing was the fact that the actors were real Marines. It added an element of reality.
Almost everyone has heard of the romance Dirty Dancing, and I’ll admit to having a small crush on Patrick Swayze. This film is decent. It has everything one could want in a romance. Dancing, rebelling against parents, guy from the wrong side of the tracks… You get the idea. But although I do love this movie, I don’t find it to be very original. At least not anymore.
The Rebound however is a movie I enjoyed quite a bit. It was funny, and although it was predictable, there was an element of difference to it. And I love Catherine Zeta-Jones. Especially in her other movie, No Reservations.
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