Jamie Foxx can do just about anything. whether it’s stand-up comedy, singing, song writer, or being an Academy Award winning actor, there isn’t much the man can’t do. With that in mind–and the release of Project Power on Netflix–we decided to take a look at the Best Ever Jamie Foxx Movies. Let us know @SiftPop what your ranking is!
Fanatic Frank here to take his chance to plug Law Abiding Citizen, the 2009 thriller starring Jamie Foxx and Gerald Butler. Butler is a father who lost his wife and kid to a home invasion, and Jamie Fox is the attorney that doesn’t want to risk ruining his incredible win streak and pleads the killers out. One killer gets a death sentence while the other eventually goes free. Butler has had enough with the system and uses his government training to kill everyone involved in the case. Foxx is brought back into the fold in a deadly game of cat and mouse with Butler trying to prove he’s killing all these people from his jail cell. Fox delivers a perfect performance. Seriously, check this film out. Here is a little bit of trivia for you. Butler was tied to the movie for over 2 years to play Foxx’s character and it wasn’t until shortly before filming Butler asked Foxx if they could trade roles. Neato. (Frank Kemp)
There is no other film that quite encapsulates the smash mouth, brutality, and rawness of professional football like Any Given Sunday. There is a level of authenticity that Oliver Stone brought to this film with the on and off field antics. While the film contains an impressive cast which includes the likes of Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid and James woods, it is Jamie Foxx that truly shines. Jamie Foxx plays the eager bench warming, third string quarterback, Willie Beamen. When starting QB Jack “Cap” Rooney is injured, Beamen makes the most of this opportunity and displays his impressive talents on the field. The film felt like life imitating art, since this was a huge opportunity that Jamie Foxx seized and made a name for himself in Hollywood. Foxx is charismatic in the role and you get to see his character go through changes as the film progresses, for better or worse. Beaman sees the ugly side behind the game and the pressures both on and off of the field. The cinematography of the film had a grainy, frenetic quality to it that leant itself to appear far more real. Sound design coupled with the onfield perspective of the visuals made the viewer feel each hit delivered. Any Given Sunday was the perfect vehicle to truly show the talents of the young and hungry Jamie Foxx. (Joseph Vargas)
Am I even allowed to say the name of Jamie Foxx’s character in this film? For the sensitive eyes of any children who might read this article, I will refer to Foxx’s character simply as Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones has the fortune of meeting an idiotic trio of miserable employees who make the incorrect…and racist assumption that he is an expert in murder. What a concept! Horrible Bosses brings a dynamic group of comedic actors including Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day playing a group of friends who hate their bosses. They hate them so much that they want to murder said horrible bosses; But, they know nothing about murder so what should they do? Enter Mr. Jones. Complete idiocy ensues highlighted by fantastic and hilarious performances from Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston (playing completely against type), and Colin Farrell. Plenty of big names command the screen but never sell Jamie Foxx short on his comedic drinking through a straw. (Shane Conto)
The 1990 Gulf War was over in approx. 100 hours; air power completely obliterated the enemy. In a war like that, what do the guys on the ground do? As it turns out, not a whole lot, and Jarhead was the first movie where it hit me how badly marketing can mess up an excellent movie’s reception. To appreciate Jarhead, you must approach it like a drama/documentary: various clips and scenes are edited together with a rough storyline and voiceover, lacking a typical story arch and resolution. If you go in expecting a semi-modern Saving Private Ryan, you will be let down. If you go in expecting to see why any service member laughs at the phrase “Hurry up and wait”, and you will be surprised.
While Jarhead is a chance for the leads of Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard to shine in their roles, Foxx’s SSgt Sykes steals almost every scene he is in. In addition to being one of the more realistic drill sergeants put on film, he gets to deliver the best lines in the movie. Foxx might come across as a caricature of a career Marine, but I have met Marines like him, and their attitudes and mentalities are spot on. When he says, “I thank God for every f**** day he gives me in the Corps”, he is not being sarcastic. He means it utterly. And that rigid devotion, both to the men under his command and to the organization bigger than him, is what helps give this movie it’s weight. (Donald Skidmore)
I mean, can we all just say POWER. That’s what this movie delivers. An adaptation of the popular stage musical, this pseudo-biopic of girl group Supremes has everything you could want in your high drama, song filled stakes. You have shady businessmen, jealous friends, betrayal, intrigue and some pretty impressive pipes! I mean singing so impressive that it won Jennifer Hudson her Oscar. Packed with an even more impressive cast alongside her such as Eddie Murphy, Queen Bey and Jamie Foxx himself, it’s a movie that really shows the depths of people’s dreams, and how sometimes that ambition can overshadow everything – even when it shouldn’t. I’m going to be honest, Foxx is not the standout performance here, but that doesn’t mean this is one you should miss And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going anywhere until you sit down and watch this film! (Alice Micheli)
Maybe people will stop tryin’ to kill us once they realize how charming we are. Destin Daniel Cretton is one of the sneakiest good directors. Between Short Term 12 and Just Mercy, he is a proven master of emotion and how to convey that in characters and story. Just Mercy is the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a recent Harvard grad, seeking to defend death row inmates who were wrongfully convicted and on one of his first cases, encounters Walter McMillian portrayed excellently by Jamie Foxx. Let me tell you two things about this movie. The first is that there isn’t anything in this movie that you haven’t seen before. But the second is that each performance is great, the story is an incredible one absolutely worth telling, there are characters you love and hate and many that start bad but are completely redeemed, you will be emotionally devastated and uplifted, and you will feel the injustice in the American judicial system. Just Mercy is a perfect movie to help you understand, navigate, and empathize with the way society currently is. (Aaron Schweitzer)
Writer/Director Edgar Wright is insanely creative. The methodology of Baby syncing up his route and getaway tactics to playlists is incredibly cool and satisfying. The opening chase scene is exciting and really shows that Baby is in his element when he is behind the wheel and tunes in his ear. Everything is orchestrated perfectly. Enter “Bats”, played by Jamie Foxx as the crazy destructive force that throws the rhythm out the window. Foxx’s performance is equal parts cool, hilarious, and terrifying. A perfect foil to Baby’s meticulous clockwork ideals. With a supporting cast of John Hamm, Lily James, and lead by the very smooth Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver gives you a heist flick that you’ll be tapping your toe to. (Evan Lucken)
Whoever thought that the old guy from the lottery commercials would ever get a biopic made about his life? Oh wait…Ray Charles was famous before that? All kidding aside, Ray is one of the most famous biopics of the century that started a surge of musical biopics. The film was also the other half of Jamie Foxx’s dual nominations at the Oscars. Foxx earned that Best Actor trophy with his incredible portrayal of the legendary musical artist. Whether it was his incredible energy as a performer or his troubled behavior as an adulterer and addict, Foxx captures the legend perfectly. Some might say it is just an imitation but this performance is able to capture so many intricacies as well as a range of emotion from love, anger, pain, and grief. We do not get many opportunities to see perfect casting, but Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles will always set the bar for biopic performances. (Shane Conto)
To date, Django Unchained is the only Quentin Tarantino movie I’ve watched in theaters, which I saw in 2012 with my buddy Fadi Saleh, better known as the creator of the YouTube channel Baracksdubs (I love you back). Anyway, in this film, Jamie Foxx plays a slave (Django) whom is purchased by Dr. King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) due to his knowledge on a man whose bounty the good doctor plans to claim, before freeing Django and taking him on as an apprentice bounty hunter in preparation to find the now former slaves wife, Broomhilda von Shaft (where have I heard that name before? Oh yeah, she’s played by Kerry Washington), who has since been purchased by the owner of the Candyland plantation Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Going in, some warning that this movie leans heavily into the R rating it has, with plenty of violence, but also deals a lot with very racist aspects of life before the Civil War including the death of a runaway slave and throws around the N word as if it was candy. To be completely honest, this film had moments in it that made me feel very uncomfortable, though I also feel like this was the goal of the movie in some ways: to show what life was like back during slavery and that it wasn’t a great point in our history. It also has plenty of aspects that I feel are worth commenting on, but that I am not the right voice to comment about them, as it is about an issue that I can’t ever hope to fully understand. Of course, being a Tarantino movie, this film lives up to lofty expectations, but is also a movie that is not for the faint of heart. (Joseph Davis)
The year was 2004 and Jamie Foxx ruled the movie landscape. Two Oscar nominations in one year…what else could an actor want? Despite the blatant category fraud, Jamie Foxx was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Max who is a cab driver with a dream. Max is the sympathetic protagonist of Michael Mann’s fantastic LA thriller, Collateral. What could get in the way of Max’s dream to own his own company? One of the most charismatic and fully greyed out hitmen to grace the cinema portrayed with incredible intensity by…Tom Cruise? Cruise’s performance is iconic but even he could not steal the scenes away from the game Jamie Foxx. With two top notch LEADING performances, Collateral is a classic of modern action films that transcended the genre to get Academy attention. (Shane Conto)
Honorable Mentions:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
You may be wondering what on earth The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is doing here on this list among so many great films (the truth is, I was going to write about Baby Driver before I was basically dared to write about this – and Evan did a great job with his blurb on that). Well, the answer to that question, dear reader, is that despite its many flaws, I tend to see what’s at the core of this movie instead of the movie as a whole, and I actually really love it. This is a classic example of studio interference ruining something which should have worked. If you know anything about the behind the scenes of this movie, then you know how it started off as a much more character-focused piece and it instead strayed into something which was meant to set up a shared universe. But you can see part of what was supposed to be there with the character moments (and I am able to see the forest for the trees in this instance), especially between Peter and Gwen, and it’s all very special and moving. And ultimately, that relationship with the acting duo of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone (my favorite actor and actress respectively) is what anchors this film and gives you something positive to find (plus it has really great action and music as well). So in the end, if you want to love something while still recognizing its flaws, that’s okay. And that’s where I am with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. (Robert Bouffard)
Due Date
Looking back when Robert Downey Jr was coming off of the success of portraying Iron Man, he also starred in a comedy directed by Todd Phillips in 2010 known as Due Date. After getting kicked off of his flight he must catch a ride with a wannabe actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to make it back in time for the birth of his newborn child. This was also coming off of the high that Galifianakis had with the well received first Hangover Movie, and deciding to team these two up is something I’m glad we got to see. It’s amusing to see Downey Jr get constantly annoyed with Galifianakis and how he ends up slowing down their journey when they seem to be getting just a little bit closer. This movie does follow the usual formula road trip movies tend to follow, but it’s the interactions between our two leads that makes it unique. Jamie Foxx also appears in here briefly and a scene involving him and a coffee can is easily my favorite laugh in the movie. So if you’re looking for a good comedic road trip movie to pass the time, then Due Date is a good laugh. (Alex Henderson)
Also see: Ali, Bait, Breakin’ All the Rules, Held Up, Miami Vice, The Kingdom, The Soloist, Valentine’s Day, White House Down