Spotlight On... Jake Gyllenhaal!

Hey Guys x

Next up for my 'Spotlight On' series - Jake Gyllenhaal!

Jake's been on my radar for a while, but I didn't decide to properly watch his filmography until earlier this year, and I can't believe that I waited so long! It's only while I was going back through his films to choose which ones to include that I realised how many completely amazing movies he's been in.

So of course, I had to include him in the series!

Favourite Movies: Southpaw, Nocturnal Animals, Prisoners




I really really tried to pick just one, but there were so many more that I wanted to include, so even whittling it down to these three was really hard, but these are the three that I've chosen because not only are they all amazing in their own right, but they're all so vastly different.
Southpaw is about a boxer who, after winning a huge fight, hits rock bottom and loses everything that mattered to him - but can he get his life back?
Nocturnal Animals (which I've spoken about on the blog a lot because of how much I absolutely loved the book that it's based on) is about a woman called Susan (Amy Adams) who is reading the disturbing first novel written by her ex-husband.
Prisoners is about a man whose daughter goes missing, so he decides to take the law into his own hands.
Not only is Jake amazing in each of the roles that he plays in these movies, the movies themselves are incredible stories told in amazing ways by amazing directors.

Least Favourite Movie: Lovely and Amazing



There are probably other movies that I could put down as 'least favourite', but for those others I can kind of see why other people liked them, but for this one, I don't understand the high Rotten Tomatoes rating, because I just didn't get it. It was a bland story, not particularly well written, and almost the entire story-line surrounding the adopted young daughter was a bit weird to me.
It's about four sisters who try to find contentment in their lives, even if that means doing things that they wouldn't normally do.

Most Underrated Movie: Source Code


I can't speak highly enough about this movie, and if I could, I would make everyone watch it just because of how good it is. You know when you choose a film on a whim, and by the time it's finished you feel like you've lost time because you've been so engrossed that nothing else mattered? Because that's what this film did to me. It stole time from me (which is ironic because stealing/rewinding time is a huge part of the plot) and I didn't even care because it was just that good. At the time of writing this, it's on UK Netflix, so watch it!
It's about a helicopter pilot who is forced to live the last 8 minutes of someone else's life to prevent a tragedy.

Most Overrated Movie: Enemy


Now before I talk about this film, I have to preface this by saying that I am 99% sure that the film is only overrated to me because it went right over my head. Jake was amazing in it, and I highly respect Denis Villeneuve as a director and filmmaker (he also directed 'Prisoners'). So because of that, I know that there's nothing wrong with the film and I just didn't get it. After watching it, I spent hours online reading theories and watching explanation videos, and none of the explanations pleased me enough to put all the confusion about the story together (if anyone gets the significance of the spiders, please explain it to me!) but yeah, it went over my head and I didn't, and still don't, get it.
It's about a college professor who discovers an actor who looks just like him and becomes obsessed with him.

Movie That Everyone Should Watch: Brokeback Mountain


Does this even need an explanation? Usually when I'm watching an actor's filmography, I don't watch any movies twice (mainly because I keep track of how many movies I watch, and watching the same movie twice in a year doesn't count, so I rarely ever do it), but for this movie, I watched it twice. And I only watched it twice because it's so heartbreaking that twice was all I could handle.
It's about two men, working on a ranch, who fall in love, but due to a number of outside factors, their love is doomed from the beginning
This is a beautiful movie, and as the category name suggests, everyone should watch it.

Best Work Behind the Camera: Stronger


Jake produced this film, and from the way that he talks about it in interviews, you can tell how much work went into it, and how much he did to make sure that he portrayed Jeff Bauman in the best light possible, while also being truthful about the flaws of the man and the way that this incident changed him.
It's about a man called Jeff Bauman who loses both his legs during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
This is a powerful, incredible story that, like the movie above but for vastly different reasons, everyone should watch.

Most Anticipated Movie: Spider-Man: Far From Home


This came out this week, and I am so excited to see it! After Avengers: Endgame, a new Spider-Man movie is exactly what Marvel fans need. I've already heard good things from critics, so I'm hoping that it lives up to my high expectations - and with the addition of Jake, I'm sure it will!

Best Character: Lou Bloom


It seems blasphemous that I've almost finished this post and haven't mentioned 'Nightcrawler', but it'll definitely get a couple of honourable mentions because it's a great movie! But the great thing about the movie is the character that Jake plays, Lou Bloom. He is a man who would do everything and anything possible to be successful - honestly this character is scary, and written/portrayed so incredibly well.

Honourable Mentions

Favourite Movie: 'Zodiac', 'Stronger'

Least Favourite Movie: 'The Good Girl', 'Moonlight Mile'

Most Underrated Movie: 'Demolition'

Most Overrated Movie: 'Wildlife'

Movie That Everyone Should Watch: 'Stronger', 'Okja', 'Nightcrawler'

Best Work Behind the Camera: 'Nightcrawler'

Best Character: 'Jack Twist'


What's your favourite Jake Gyllenhaal movie?

Lou