Yes. You read that heading right. Samuel L. Jackson just turned 64 years old(How many people when asked would have gotten his age within 5 years? 10? Seriously, I thought he was in his mid-fifties tops). In honor of his unbelieveable birthday, this post is dedicated to SLJ's pop culture accomplishments, both good and bad(much more quality work then awful, but there are definitely a few career moves he'd rather forget about). Lets get's right to it.
*Before we start, if you want to take a look over his career, I've linked to his IMDB page HERE.
Everyone knows what Mount Rushmore is, right?(If you don't, how in the hell did you make it this far in life? Seriously, that's 3rd grade level American History information. It's just above making your own American flag out of construction paper.) Well, these are the top four films in the SLJ cinematic canon as chosen by me(I'm guessing if you'd ask 100 people their top 4 Jackson films, you'd easily get 75-90 different responses. He's that popular and has a film list that solid, but I digress). One caveat about the choices, the movies had to feature SLJ prominently in a starring role(sorry "Coming to America" & "Goodfellas"). These four are not ranked, as it was almost impossible to narrow it down to the following selections, although the first film listed is an easy number one and virtually no one can argue with that.
Anyone reading this, knew this film had to be on here(Remember that hypothetical 100 person survey from the paragraph above? I'd say this movie would be on close to 99% of the responses.). It is the role everyone immediately thinks of when SLJ's name comes up. As Jules Winnfield, Jackson absolute blew every other A-lister in the movie out of the water. His take as the bible quoting, jheri-curl toting, gangster badass is still considered one of the coolest movie characters EVER. He was even nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar losing out to Martin Landau(proving once again that Academy voters have the decision making capacity of a garden slug).
Which led, of course, to a veritable genius creating this image(proving once again the internet can provide wonderous things.)
Now we're moving into the less obivious choices for best Samuel L. Jackson films. Much like Pulp Fiction(which also starred Bruce Willis), DH:waV showed that Samuel L. Jackson could not only carry a film where he's not the "main" character, but he could also star in a solid to the core action film. He's much less subdued in this than as Jules, but after Jules you can only bring the intensity down. The dynamic between Jackson's character, Zeus Carver, and the gruff voiced uber-man John Maclaine doesnt feel forced and their interactions throughout the film are unforgettable. The plot of DH:waV is clever and at least reasonably believable unlike the preceding film where AN ENTIRE AIRPORT is taken hostage by a grand total of 8 guys, or the Die Hard film that followed where the United States is shut down with help from the "I'm a Mac" guy(AND there's another Die Hard movie coming out next year where MacLaine, who has to be 70 years old by now, apparently takes out an entire Russian super mercenary team. Needless to say, I don't have high hopes for it).
Die Hard With a Vengeance _ Through The Park by hulu
The Incredibles? Yes, the Incredibles. In my mind, its easily one of the best Pixar film's they've ever made, which says a lot. Part of this is due to it's central use of super heroes, but I dare anyone to watch it and not be thoroughly enjoyed. This is also the only SLJ film on this list that has a rating below PG-13, allowing it to be watched by people of all ages. The Incredibles proved SLJ didn't need f-bombs, to entertain the masses.
Ok, You're probably thinking I'm batshit nuts for putting Loaded Weapon on this list, but it is MY list and I still find this movie absolutely hilarious(Funny/sad story about Loaded Weapon. I bought it at one of those used DVD stores for $5 dollars and when I brought it up to the counter, the cashier looked at it and then to me and just said "Really?". I figure I'm one of 12 people in the entire world that owns this film on purpose).
If you havent seen it, which is more than likely the case, it's a parody of all the buddy cop movies that were being cranked out in the eighties. SLJ actually made this before Pulp Fiction and it didnt get him blacklisted from Hollywood so that say something. It's definitely one of those "so bad it's good" movies in my book, and most of the jokes have that "Airplane!" or "Hot Shots" humor to them.
A few SLJ Movies that missed the cut: Jackie Browne(or better known by it's original title; "Pulp Fiction 2: The Fictioning"), Long Kiss Goodnight(surprisingly good action flick but I couldn't get past a blonde Geena Davis as a super assassin), Sphere(fantastic book, decent movie dragged down by a god-awful performance by Sharon Stone)
Several Movies that SLJ wishes he could destroy every copy of each that exists: SWAT, Formula 51, XXX, XXX:State of the Union, The Spirit
More great movies like "Coming to America" & "Goodfellas" that SLJ starred in but was far from the headliner: True Romance, Patriot Games, Jurassic Park, any Marvel movie where he plays Nick Fury*(except Iron Man 2)
*The two actors who've played Nick Fury on television or film? David Hasselhoff and Samuel L. Jackson. Possibly the greatest upgrade EVER.
And finally....the best Samuel L. Jackson death scene ever:
Needless to say, Samuel L. Jackson has had one the greatest careers in film history. In fact, he is the HIGHEST GROSSING film actor of all-time. Over the next year or so he has a bevy of films coming out or rumored to be in production, including the new Robocop, another Captain America film, a solo Nick Fury movie, Avengers 2(AWWWWWW YEEAAAHHH!), and a new XXX film(Are you kidding me?!). Chances are most of these will further soldify SLJ's legacy as the toughest 60 year old actor in Hollywood, but we already knew that. Here's to man whose provided us with countless hours of entertainment and numerous unforgettable quotes.
In closing, Happy Birthday Samuel L. Jackson! You're one bad-ass mother-fucka!
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