Author: Ian D.

In a classic late 2000’s episode of South Park – Tomorrowland Part 1, Mel Gibson fresh off his most recently Jewish-tirade gives the military a profanity laced description of how basic film plotting works. After interviewing the likes of Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan the men staring at a shirtless Gibson twisting his nipples say exasperatedly, “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch knows story structure.”

When Keanu Reeves graced us with his presence as John Wick in 2014 it was perhaps the most welcome surprise at the cinema that year. Two old Hollywood stuntmen (Chad Stahelski & David Leitch) knew the power of Keanu and placed the man in a series of increasingly wild situations to shoot his way out of. The man barely even spoke (if there was ever a better example of understanding Keanu’s strengths…I haven’t seen it) – like any great action star, he let his punching do the talking.

The erotic thriller has been dead at the movies for some time. In the 1980’s Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas seemed to have the genre on lockdown, steaming up the screen every other year. The genre was very popular but ultimately gave way to the blockbuster and gangster movie explosion of the 90’s. Lately the genre has been attempting a small comeback. In 2014 David Fincher gave us Gone Girl – based on the obscenely popular book by Gillian Flynn.

US Airways Flight 1549 and the BP Oil Spill are two of the most harrowing moments of the last decade. They are singular moments in American history where working class people overcame enormous odds to achieve the impossible. Both are inherently cinematic if for one small problem – the events surrounding them are slight, random humanity.

There is no more reliable A-lister at this point than Tom Hanks. He mixes Oscar-worthy performances (Bridge of Spies, Captain Phillips) with watchable, middle-of-the-road cable fodder (Saving Mr. Banks, A Hologram for the King) with ease. He’s always recognizable, even with his weird hair choices (Da Vinci Code series I’m looking directly at those wispy locks) yet somehow believable as he bobs and weaves between roles.