 Newspaper View
 Print
 Email
 Comment
 RSS
 Bookmark
If you would like to bookmark this article you will need to Login to your tulsaworld.com account
close
The best (worst, and bits) of Bruce
Bruce Willis stars as Hartigan, a soon-to-be-retiring policeman incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, in "Sin City." Rico Torres/Dimension Films
By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Published: 9/25/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 9/25/2009 4:55 AM
It's been 20 years since Bruce Willis became a movie star of yippee-ki-yay huge proportions. Through star-power leads, well-chosen supporting roles and occasional cameos, he has now made 60 films.
He has made the good, the bad and the ugly. He's still going strong at 54 because he's made great pictures on multiple occasions.
His newest film is "Surrogates," and movie No. 60 is a science-fiction thriller that opens Friday. If it sounds like something he's done before, well, he's done it all. That mix of tough-guy cool and comedy chops wins over both the men and the ladies (and the ladies do love him).
If you need a Bruce fix, there are many flicks to choose from — and several to avoid. Bruce might not say that, but hey, sometimes you just have to crash that Honda.
Must-see Bruce
Die hard (entire series): The first film
became a much-copied genre flick
(“Under Siege” = “Die Hard” on a big
boat), but it had what others didn’t: An
almost unmatched combination of one
of the cinema’s great heroes (Willis
makes John McClane the Everyman
and action-man at the same time) facing
off against a definitive villain (Alan
Rickman’s Hans Gruber).
Pulp Fiction (1994): The over-the-hill
boxer who fights back when the fix
is in, and who keeps his head amid
hillbilly sadists and hit men. Anything
to retrieve that watch.
Nobody’s Fool (1994): Willis looked like
he was learning on the job from Paul
Newman, and the result was a performance
that
made people think of him as
something other than an action star.
12 Monkeys (1995): He’s done the
world-weary tough-guy bit many times,
but rarely better than with his inmate
sent back in time to save the world.
The Fifth element (1997): From the
moment we see futuristic New York
City taxi driver Korben Dallas, we know
he is supercabbie.
The Sixth Sense (1999): His restraint
in this film allows us to believe in his
character before the big twist.
Sin city (2005): Among the many
morally questionable heroes in this saga,
Willis is just right as the noble protagonist.
Planet terror (2007): As a chemically
unbalanced Special Ops soldier in this
homage to exploitation films, Willis hilariously
pokes fun at his action-film persona.
Cool cameos
The Player (1992): Male action star
(an uncredited Willis) saves the girl
he loves (an uncredited Julia Roberts)
from death row in the movie-withinthe-
movie. A perfect satire.
Charlie’s Angels — Full throttle (2003):
A bad movie that Willis temporarily
lifts with humor when his gray-wigged
character is taken out by terrorists.
Ocean’s 12 (2004): He plays himself.
He does it well.
Astronaut Farmer (2006): In a walk-on
role as a veteran astronaut, he quickly
brings his star-presence, then gives the
movie back to Billy Bob Thornton.
Nancy Drew (2007): A nice nod as
another movie-within-a-movie star
who briefly crosses paths with the girl
detective.
Avoid at all costs
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990):
Read Tom Wolfe’s book. Don’t watch
the movie that temporarily trainwrecked
the careers of Willis and Tom
Hanks.
Mortal Thoughts (1992): Willis is believable
as a scumbag husband who’s
murdered, but the rest of the movie is
bunk.
Striking Distance (1993): One of his
earliest failures in the overheated
crime thriller genre, Willis plays a cop
patrolling a waterway. He flounders
throughout.
Color of Night (1994): A year older,
none the wiser in this sex thriller. Willis
gets naked and begins his career in
older man-younger woman liasions.
Mercury Rising (1998): This vomitous
thriller brought Willis an award-winning
role — a Razzie Award.
The Whole Ten Yards (2004): Willis
sleepwalks through his role in one of
the most unneeded sequels ever.
Michael Smith 581-8479
michael.smith@tulsaworld.com
By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Newspaper View
Print
Email
Comment
RSS
Bookmark
If you would like to bookmark this article you will need to Login to your tulsaworld.com account
close
 |
|
