A to Z Challenge 2020 - Films That Begin With “T”

Takers (2010)
Director: John Luessenhop
Starring: Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon
Brief Thoughts: Idris Elba first game to my notice saying the seemingly idiotic phrase, “That’s what we do, gents, we take.” Literally only he could pull that off. That’s magnetic screen presence for you. The thing about the current state of film is that something like this can’t be made. Paul Walker here points in the direction of where they are, the Fast & Furious series, but there really ought to be more space for them. Anyway, also by far Hayden Christensen’s most badass film appearance, before prequel backlash officially scuttled his career.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Adams
Brief Thoughts: One of my all-time favorite comedies, and by default favorite Will Ferrell film (and by default favorite pairing with John C. Reilly), highlighted by Sacha Baron Cohen as his French rival (here’s more of that Pink Panther legacy from my dad), and Amy Adams as she was still climbing the Hollywood ladder and proving every step of the way how awesome she is.

Thirteen Days (2000)
Director: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp
Brief Thoughts: Some of my Kennedy hero worship stems from my mom (she soured on him in part because of the whole infidelity thing, but she never shook him entirely). Even if you think JFK is hogwash, there’s still Kevin Costner’s other, seldom celebrated film where he gets to play alongside history, this time spotlighting the Cuban Missile Crisis. The thing I hate about how history can sometimes be viewed is that it seems easier to fixate on how some people get into trouble, rather than how they get out of it. The most brilliant thing Kennedy ever did was get out of this crisis. Even if historians are loathe to give him credit, at least there’s this film to pay adequate tribute.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson
Brief Thoughts: Martin McDonagh made two brilliant films with Colin Farrell (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths), but when he was finally accepted by the Hollywood mainstream, and audiences in general, Farrell didn’t get to go along for the ride (he’s my favorite actor). Instead, McDonagh brings along Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson, who adequately translate his tendencies to a fully American setting, and help him look like the Coen Brothers in the process. Context is everything.

Timeline (2003)
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Gerard Butler, Paul Walker, Anna Friel, David Thewlis
Brief Thoughts: Here’s Paul Walker again, looking like he had a bright, varied career ahead of him (at least the Fast & Furious series took off!). In a supporting role: Gerard Butler, in a “manly man” role before 300 made it irresistible to cast him as such. Based on a Michael Crichton book. (Crichton, somehow receding from memory as a literary and cultural touchstone...)

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Director: Richard Schwentke
Starring: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams
Brief Thoughts: Saw the movie first, later read the book. Love both of them. The movie gets targeted as a “creepy romance” (as does Rachel McAdams’ other time-related movie, About Time, which for the record is equally delightful) by viewers unable to appreciate complicated ideas. Another highlight of Eric Bana’s brief turn as a Hollywood favorite.

Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story (2006)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Steve Coogan
Brief Thoughts: Back during the years it seemed Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote film would never get made, I sort of received Tristram Shandy as the closest we’d get. Based on another, more obscure, literary adventure, one I read (mostly) but got thoroughly turned around by, becomes a different kind of treasury entirely by Steve Coogan giving viewers a unique tour of it as he stars as the star of a movie as it’s being made, allowing him to comment hilariously on everything. The only thing I’ve seen remotely like it is the far, far more sober Looking for Richard (equally brilliant).