The Weekly Five (Ten): Liam Neeson

No-one shouts as well as Liam Neeson. He sounds angry, yet dignified. Respectable, but you know he means business. And it’s for this reason, among others, that he’s now considered one of the greatest actors of his generation.

His new thriller, Unknown, opened Friday.

10. Schindler’s List (1993)

I know Schindler’s List is generally rated much higher than this, but I really wasn’t the biggest fan. Neeson, on the other hand, I loved. And the villain, played by Ralph Fiennes, just gave Neeson a terrific foil.

9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

Neeson’s voice has long been one of his greatest assets, and here he voices the Jesus-like lion, Aslan. He makes you forget even James Earl Jones in The Lion King for a while, when it comes to animated talking lions.

8. The A-Team (2010)

Much maligned upon its release last year, The A-Team was too swiftly lumped in with other of its ilk, such as the inferior The Losers. In truth, it’s excellent, funny, and well-acted. Three things The Losers isn’t.

7. Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

A heavy, sometimes too much so, Irish drama, Heaven is brought up by its excellent stars: Neeson and James Nesbitt (Bloody Sunday).

6. Love Actually (2003)

Part of Richard Curtis’ excellent ensemble romcom, Neeson had one of the better parts, as a single step-father.

5. Darkman (1990)

Neeson takes one of his weirdest roles here, as a badly burned scientist-turned-vigilante. Sam Raimi directed this movie, which pretty much tells you all you need to know.

4. Ponyo (2009)

This might be the one time Neeson has been miscast, because he really doesn’t fit the role of weirdo transvestite sea-god. Whatever. It’s still a great movie.

3. Gangs of New York (2002)

Neeson’s only here for about eleven minutes, but what an opening. He completely owns the screen until Daniel Day-Lewis kills him. (That’s not a spoiler, by the way).

2. Batman Begins (2005)

After kinda failing with the whole “badass mentor” things with The Phantom Menace, I was skeptical about this one. Well, I was wrong. ‘Cause Chris Nolan’s a fucking genius.

1. Husbands and Wives (1992)

One of the most underrated Woody Allen movies, Neeson is here part of an excellent ensemble along with Allen, Judy Davis, Sydney Pollack, and, of course, Mia Farrow.

Honourable Mentions: He adds class to the really kinda terrible Clash of the Titans

Dishonourable Mentions: He really has a knack for picking awful movies to be in lately: Kinsey (2004), Chloe (2010), After.Life (2009), and the so-bad-I-refuse-to-admit-its-existence prequel, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Next Week: Owen Wilson

Review: The A-Team

Director: Joe Carnahan

Actors: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson, Jessica Biel, Patrick Stewart

Genre: Action

Year: 2010

Rated: PG-13

Finally, a good summer movie. After the shit-storm that was Prince of Persia, the underwhelming Iron Man 2, and the…fine, pretty good Losers, we finally have a summer movie that knows what it means to be a summer movie. Smart when it needs to be, blows stuff up just the right amount, and has a great cast. Yeah, that feels about right.

The plot is pretty standard, but that just gives perfectly cast actors Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), and Sharlto Copley (District 9) more of a chance to do what they do best.

The one letdown is UFC fighter Quinton Jackson, because he doesn’t bring enough humor to his role. I mean, honestly, his character has “PITY” and “FOOL” tattooed on his knuckles, and he still has no fun. Bradley Cooper has perfect comic timing, Liam Neeson is a god, and giving a major role to an actor with only one movie on his resumé is risky, but Sharlot Copley paid off big time.

Grade: B+