Underrated

We watched two movies this week:  Begin Again and Foxcatcher.

Twenty minutes into Foxcatcher, I grew curious about John du Pont and his immense wealth, so I glanced at his Wikipedia site on my iPod while watching the movie.

The very first sentence ruined the movie, so yeah … don’t do that.

All three actors worked outside of their normal lanes in Foxcatcher.  The movie is just okay, but it isn’t because these guys can’t act.  I think it’s that there just isn’t much of a movie to be had from the plot elements.  You can only do so much with something based on true events.  I think of it as, perhaps, 3.5 of 5 stars.

But, that’s a tangent.  Rambling.

It was only a coincidence that we watched two Mark Ruffalo movies in a week, but starting with Begin Again, and then Foxcatcher, it struck me just how diverse an actor he is.  He’s not an in-your-face star and blockbuster action and suspense is not his calling card.  Ruffalo plays emotional roles, where character is critical, and he does a fantastic job of it.  He’s the ultimate supporting actor and the subtle lead.

Okay, I guess he is Dr. Bruce Banner in the Avengers movies, but even then he is the mild-mannered superhero, right?

Ruffalo is from Wisconsin, but hey, nobody’s perfect.  Okay, that’s a bad joke, I’ve never been to Wisconsin.  Next time you’re wondering what movie you should watch, you’d probably do well to check out any of .  He might be underrated, but maybe that’s why he’s so fantastic.