Benjamin McKenzie Movies
As a University of Virginia grad sans a degree in drama (he balanced a dual major in foreign affairs and economics), the neophyte Hollywood thesp Benjamin McKenzie first cut his teeth on-stage, at the Williamstown Theater Festival. McKenzie went professional with a move to the City of Angels only a few short months after graduation (late 2001), where he traveled the road of most aspiring actors. He began small, with bit parts in various television series (including JAG and The District), but landed his big break with one of the main roles on Fox's teen drama The O.C. (2003), starring Peter Gallagher (sex, lies, and videotape), which quickly became a popular hit. As Ryan Atwood, the boy from "the wrong side of town" who shakes up the lives of the Cohen, Cooper, and Nichol clans, McKenzie made an indelible impression with audiences and became a series fixture.McKenzie made his big-screen debut in 2005's indie comedy drama Junebug, appearing alongside Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, and Alessandro Nivola. The Sony Classics picture, about a worldy big-city art dealer (Davidtz) who grapples with culture clash when she first meets the family of her new husband, stole critics' hearts, and -- in time -- went down as one of the best-received sleepers of the year. McKenzie's performance as the irritable, repressed Johnny, Amy Adams' husband and the less intellectual of the family's two brothers, impressed viewers. McKenzie would next appear in the thriller 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino, in 2006. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Emmy Award-winners John Wells, Ann Biderman, and Chris Chulack team to produce this gritty, fast-paced police drama that takes viewers into the lives of cops, criminals, their victims, and their families. Veteran Los Angeles cop John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) has been assigned the task of training ambitious rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie), who isn't sure he has what it takes to become a police officer after witnessing his superior's no-nonsense approach to the job. Meanwhile, Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King) takes care of her elderly mother while she's not patrolling the streets with her unhappily married partner Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott), and Detective Daniel "Sal" Salinger (Michael McGrady) presides over gang detectives Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) and Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro) while patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) dreams of becoming the first woman to join the SWAT team. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin McKenzie, Michael Cudlitz, (more)
- 2008
Dalton Trumbo's haunting anti-war drama comes to the screen for the second time in this filmed version of the stage play starring Ben McKenzie. On the last day of World War I, American soldier Joe Bonham is hit by an artillery shell and instantly rendered a quadruple amputee. Later, as Joe regains consciousness in his hospital bed, he realizes to his horror that he has also lost his senses of sight, smell, sound, and speech. Though Joe's capacity for reasoning is in tack and his brain is still fully functional, it's locked in a broken shell of a body, leaving him hopelessly trapped in his own imagination. His only means of communicating with the outside world is to tap his head in Morse code, but do the doctors even realize what he's trying to say? Eventually, his desperate message gets through: Joe wants to be put on display as a living example of the devastating cost of war. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin McKenzie
Phil Morrison, who collaborated with screenwriter Angus MacLachlan for his acclaimed 1990 short, Tater Tomater, joins forces with MacLachlan again for his feature-film debut, Junebug. Junebug takes place in rural North Carolina. Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), a sophisticated Chicagoan who owns a gallery devoted to "outsider art," goes south in an effort to woo an eccentric painter (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to her gallery. She brings along her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), a native of the area, and the couple stays with his family. Peg (Celia Weston), George's mother, gives Madeleine a rather chilly greeting, and seems to think she's a poor match for her eldest son, while his father, Eugene (Scott Wilson), is a bit more welcoming, in his quiet way. George's younger brother, Johnny (Ben McKenzie), is still living at home with his very pregnant wife, Ashley (Amy Adams), and seems to feel nothing but resentment for George. For her part, Ashley is a gregarious young woman, and she's immediately smitten with her "new sister." Junebug was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, (more)
Hook up with what's coming down as the Core Four romances of Ryan-and-Marissa and Seth-and-Summer may (or may not) go from very over to very on, Sandy and Kirsten face choices that could trainwreck their 20-year marriage, felon (and Ryan's brother) Trey gives Newport living a try, Julie's lurid past comes back to haunt her, and other new hunks and hotties become part of the coastal scene. Live. Laugh. Lie. Cheat. Grow. Share. Connive. Love. In California's beach paradise, they do everything under the sun.
- Starring:
- Peter Gallagher, Benjamin McKenzie, (more)
Destined to run an impressive 27 hour-long episodes (as opposed to the usual 22), season one of The O.C. wastes little time in setting up its premise: trouble-prone teenager Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), booted out of his Chino home and apparently foredoomed to a life of crime, is "rescued" by idealistic pro bono defense attorney Sanford "Sandy" Cohen (Peter Gallagher). Over the initial protests of his former beauty-queen wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), Sandy invites Ryan to live in the pool house of the Cohens' lavish Newport Beach home in California's very upscale Orange County. Quickly making friends with the Cohen's intellectual-loner son, Seth (Adam Brody), Ryan also makes a good impression on his attractive next-door neighbor Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) -- much to the disgust of Marissa's jock boyfriend, Luke Ward (Chris Carmack). Unfolding in a serial-like fashion, the remainder of the season details the disintegrating marriage of Marissa's parents, Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan) and his avaricious wife, Julie (Melinda Clarke) (who later has an affair with the cast-off Luke); Sandy's job switch, which causes friction in his relationship with Kirsten vis-à-vis his sexy new law partner Rachel Hoffman (Bonnie Somerville); the decision by Sandy and Jimmy to jointly purchase Newport Beach's favorite restaurant, the Lighthouse; Marissa's self-destructive behavior during a vacation in Mexico, and her ill-fated association with the duplicitous Oliver Trask (Taylor Handley); Seth's dilemma as he tries to choose between two girlfriends, Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) and Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong); and the disruptive machinations of Kirsten's high-rolling father, Caleb (Alan Dale), and her hedonistic sister, Hailey (Amanda Rhigetti). The cliffhanger climax of The O.C.'s first season is dominated by two major events: the wedding of the series' two most selfish and mercenary characters, and some devastating news delivered by Theresa (Navi Rawat), Ryan's former girlfriend from his Chino days. ~ All Movie Guide
Jon Avnet directs Al Pacino in the thriller 88 Minutes. Pacino plays university professor Jack Gramm, who occasionally assists the FBI in matters of forensic psychiatry. His recent testimony against a freshly convicted criminal seems to be the reason he has gotten a scary phone call informing him he will die in 88 minutes. As with the like-minded thriller D.O.A. (both the original and the remake), the protagonist must use his skills in order to track down who has hatched this evil plot and hopefully prevent his own demise. Alicia Witt and Leelee Sobieski co-star as the professor's star students. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, (more)
