Denzel Washington

Out of Time
$14.98
I have no idea how well the film did at the box-office, but at home, watched via DVD and TV monitor, it was certainly a hit in my living room. Washington is at the center at all times even when he is not actually on screen. Its all for the best since his good-humored lusty young police chief unifies the plot and action providing the golden thread which holds the whole thing together. There is an adequate degree of suspense, a good deal of anything but straitlaced straight arrow behavior, and a good assortment of featured players for him to negotiate with, but in the end it is Washington's show. It is due to him that what might have been a hokey third rate cop in the hole show or a cheap lusty cop in bed and out sexpot ill-tasting stew, is turned into an almost James Garner can of humor-suspense-at heart good natured action film...with the barest minimum of shoot-'em-up bloodletting. I liked this one and I am pretty sure most of you would like it too.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
$28.96
The movie was just okay, nothing to write home about or expect an award nomination for. Travolta did a very good job in his role, but Denzel was weak with his acting in this movie. Also the ending just fell short, after all the drama...then pop! it's over.

The Great Debaters
$14.95
The Great Debaters is a wonderfully acted, well produced film about the first college debate between a black team, Wiley College, and a white team. (In the movie, the white team is Harvard, but in fact it was USC.) The plot of the movie revolves around the struggles of the debating team to achieve recognition during an era in which civil rights were a mere glimmer on their progenitors' eyes. (Not surprisingly, several of those progenitors were members of the debating team.) The outcome is predictable, so in that sense, this is a "feel-good" film. But the purpose of the film wasn't just to make us root for the underdog. The Great Debaters was clearly intended as a vehicle to portray the origins of the civil rights movement.

The movie makes some departures from historical events, but these were not of a nature to detract from the story. Where the final debate took place is not particularly important. What is important is that the film accurately depicted the hurdles faced by the black community in the 1930s. This was an era in which "justice" was often administered at the end of a rope, and in which being black was a crime in and of itself. The horrifying scene in which James Farmer, Jr. (who eventually became one of the "Big Four" of the civil rights movement), witnesses a lynching encapsulated the purpose of this film, which was to explain the need for civil rights. The debates, themselves, while probably departing significantly from the originals, served to present the arguments used by later civil rights advocates, notably Martin Luther King, Jr.

Unlike many films based on "true stories" the Great Debaters tackled the larger social issues of the times. Because these issues--the rights of minorities, the rule of law, constitutional authority--are still pertinent, still subject to heated discussion, and still worthy of our undivided attention, the great debate continues.

Ricochet
$5.98
This is a typical Denzel Washington film: well-acted, rough language, a racial theme and an involved story that holds your interest. A lot of his movies fit those categories.

Washington plays a preacher's kid and its nice to see he has such respect for him.So many times, Hollywood portrays fathers and especially clergymen in a bad light. John Lithgow is the villain and is such a crazy over-the-top loon he's fun to watch. There are no lulls in this story, yet the action scenes weren't overdone.

It gets predictable in the end but I like the analogy in the film to the classic movie, "White Heat." I was sorry to see a few things: once again, white people are all the bigots; Lindsay Wagner, television's nice lady of the past, now using very profane language here and looking hard.

Overall, this sometimes looks like a "B" action film more than a classy one but it's still an interesting crime film that sports a few different angles. It may not be one of Washington's better-known efforts (less than 20 reviews here), but it is still entertaining.