Looking Back, With Anger: Inside Man (2006)
Eric Blume here to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Spike Lee's Inside Man, which remains his biggest box office hit.
When this tightly-plotted bank heist movie was released a decade ago, it promised a heavenly trio of huge stars: Denzel Washington, two time Oscar winner; Clive Owen, fresh off his first nomination for Closer; and Jodie Foster, coming off two solo box office successes (Panic Room and Flightplan). A decade later, only Washington (the least interesting actor of that trio) still works with annual frequency in major pictures. He lends effortless dynamism and charisma in his usual everyman role. Unfortunately its been lazy sailing for him ever since with one major exception (Flight).
Watching Inside Man again, it’s the loss of both Owen and Foster as regular cinema fixtures that burns, which is ironic since the film demands little from them. [More...]