I've liked Ben Foster since I saw him on the Disney TV show Flash Forward, the precursor to the similar and far less entertaining Even Stevens with Shia Labeouf. From his more comedic roles at the beginning of his career to the more dramatic in the last couple years I've always found him inherently watchable. He's had eclectic supporting roles in all kinds of films and TV shows from The Punisher to Freaks & Geeks to Alpha Dog.
A lot of the films he's been in have been underrated and a lot of his performances go unnoticed in films that aren't that good. Pandorum one of the best scifi films in the past couple years starred Ben Foster but didn't get much exposure. He grounds the film with an everyman quality that is a great conduit to enjoy this wonderful dark scifi horror flick.
30 Days Of Night was a terrible adaptation of the graphic novel of same name starring Josh Hartnett. Foster played The Stranger the only interesting part of the film and the only performance that reflected any reality. Worth sitting through 90 minutes of confusing mediocrity just to watch his turn.
The somewhat predictable teen rom-com Get Over It has some life because of Foster. He brings some unexpected menace to the Bruce Willis clunker Hostage. Bang Bang You're Dead a potentially hokey movie about school shootings carries much needed weight with Foster's performance as the troubled potentially homicidal teen.
In all his performances he brings a commitment and reality that jump off the screen and make you want to keep watching. Good movies, bad movies it doesn't matter. I'll watch Ben Foster do what he does because he believes it.
Most recently Foster's 3:10 To Yuma and The Messenger have brought him some much deserved exposure but I still think he's underrated. A working actor creating interesting roles and moving forward deserves some attention.
Check out his past films or keep an out for future ones. He is worth watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment