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26 Fresh Philip Baker Hall Movies
These are the most acclaimed films of Philip Baker Hall, the prolific character actor who started his career at age 30 in 1961. Hall had an especially strong run in the 1990s, where he appeared in some of the decade’s biggest movies, including Rush Hour, The Truman Show, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Insider, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia. Hall became especially associated with Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed those latter two movies, with their collaboration beginning with 1996’s Hard Eight.
This ’90s renaissance was precipitated by his classic guest appearance in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld, where he plays the relentless, hard-nosed library cop Lt. Bookman, lightly parodying the characters he rose to prominence with in the ’70s and ’80s on TV. Hall appeared in just about every major TV show of those era, including Miami Vice, Cagney & Lacey, and MASH. (And his 1984 film with Robert Altman, Secret Honor where he portrayed Richard Nixon, drew significant acclaim.) Most recently, he had long TV stints on The Loop and Modern Family. Hall had even more uncredited and memorably brief parts in Argo, Enemy of the State, The Rock, Say Anything, Midnight Run, and Ghostbusters II. —Alex Vo
#1
Critics Consensus: Intelligent, compelling, and packed with strong performances, The Insider is a potent corporate thriller.
Synopsis: After seeking the expertise of former "Big Tobacco" executive Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), seasoned TV producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino)
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#2
Critics Consensus: A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives.
Synopsis: He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive
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#3
Critics Consensus: A good-hearted film about a difficult topic, 50/50 maneuvers between jokes and drama with surprising finesse.
Synopsis: Adam Lerner has always tried to take good care of his health, so it comes as a cruel surprise when
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#4
Critics Consensus: Grounded in strong characters, bold themes, and subtle storytelling, Boogie Nights is a groundbreaking film both for director P.T. Anderson and star Mark Wahlberg.
Synopsis: In the San Fernando Valley in 1977, teenage busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) gets discovered by porn director Jack Horner
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#5
Critics Consensus: A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the '70s than he does on gory details of murder.
Synopsis: In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks
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#6
Critics Consensus: With Matt Damon's unsettling performance offering a darkly twisted counterpoint to Anthony Minghella's glossy direction, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a suspense thriller that lingers.
Synopsis: To be young and carefree amid the blue waters and idyllic landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s; that's
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#7
Critics Consensus: An eruption of feeling that's as overwhelming as it is overwrought, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia reaches a feverish crescendo and sustains it thanks to its fearlessly committed ensemble.
Synopsis: On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous
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#8
Critics Consensus: The witty and charming In Good Company offers laughs at the expense of corporate culture.
Synopsis: After years of working as an ad executive at a sports magazine, Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is demoted and replaced
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#9
Critics Consensus: An absorbing showcase for Philip Baker Hall, Paul Thomas Anderson's feature debut is a gamble that pays off handsomely.
Synopsis: A stranger (Philip Baker Hall) mentors a young Reno gambler (John C. Reilly) who weds a hooker (Gwyneth Paltrow) and
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#11
Critics Consensus: This late-period Harrison Ford actioner is full of palpable, if not entirely seamless, thrills.
Synopsis: After making a speech in Moscow vowing to never negotiate with terrorists, President James Marshall boards Air Force One with
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#12
Critics Consensus: The Contender wears its political heart on its sleeve, but strong performances and a solid screenplay help the end result add up to a gripping drama from either side of the aisle.
Synopsis: When the sitting Vice President dies, Senator Laine Hanson is chosen by the President to be the first woman to
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#18
Critics Consensus: A challenging piece of experimental filmmaking.
Synopsis: A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace (Nicole
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#19
Critics Consensus: An outstanding ensemble cast propels Kiss of Death, a noir-ish crime thriller that's slick and big on atmosphere, even if its script may only provide sporadic bursts of tension.
Synopsis: After his time in prison, Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) keeps his head down and provides for his wife and kids,
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#21
Critics Consensus: Witty and provocative.
Synopsis: As labor strikes break out throughout the country, New York is alive with cultural revolution. Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) commissions
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#25
Critics Consensus: While it won't win any awards for originality, the combustible chemistry between its stars means Rush Hour hits just as hard on either side of the action-comedy divide.
Synopsis: When a Chinese diplomat's daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, he calls in Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan)
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#26
Critics Consensus: Its semi-improvised structure finds Larry David squarely in his wheelhouse, but with few laughs and a muddled message, it doesn't live up to his usual standards.
Synopsis: An angry man concocts an elaborate plan for revenge when his old boss visits the island that he calls home.
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