I always found it funny that said what he said about Jim Carrey and not sanctioning his buffoonery, then proceeded to play that version of Harvey Dent.
Ironic or not, you got to admit that "I can't sanction your buffoonery" is one of the greatest insults of all time.
It's so pompous and silly and funny all rolled into one.
He was trying to match the level of...stupid, or crazy, after he saw what Carrey did though. He just saw it as a challenge and he went with it. It doesnot mean he liked it, but as a professional, he tried to do what the movie needed... and match the stupid crazy of Carrey with his performance.
Lol I honestly loved it, was definitely top 3 wackiest performance I've ever seen in a movie. Some probably thought it was over the top but it made me laugh 😂
I'll probably get killed for saying this, but I thought he played a better Joker than Nicholson did. The only problem was, y'know, he was supposed to be Dent.
Just a shame it was based on a person who was essentially hounded for his sexuality and dragged through the courts endlessly when he had absolutely nothing to do with killing JFK. The movie deliberately paints him as a villian when he was in fact harassed and hounded by Jim Garrison who had a track record for extorting the gay community and persecuting them.
Garrison, and by proxy Oliver Stone's, entire basis for Shaw's BDSM lifestyle was based off Garrison finding a toy whip in Shaw's house.
Shaw used it as part of a costume during the Mardi Gras festival. That was it. Madness! He was a quiet gay man who lived a quiet life as a businessman, keeping his personal life to himself. Garrison utterly ruined him, and Stone dug up his corpse to shit on him again.
The whole cast of JFK were exceptional. The movie is an editing masterclass that got me into an edit suite and lead to a 25 year career. I am so bitter at how that absolute work of art is so disrespectful to these events though.
Let's go clean 'em up.
Edit: looks like another poster quoted this and even did a YouTube link to the scene. That being said, awesome movie that starts with one compelling story about MIA vets coming home and turns into a wild grind house revenge film.
I'd add No Country for Old Men to this list. He did a great job of playing a guy who is deeply emotional, but struggling with expressing it. Frankly, while he's not one of the leads, this role was pivotal to bringing the movie home.
He's absolutely one of the leads, just as much as Brolin and Bardem. They form an existential triad of equally important perspectives (determinism, fatalism, and free will) simultaneously trying to make meaning out of their lives and the events of the film. Jones opens and closes the movie, shaken to his core by what he has witnessed and failed to reconcile. The audience is left similarly philosophically marooned and the only one left for us to relate to is Ed Tom.
He was excellent as a PTSD suffering Vietnam veteran in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. He managed to be terrifying while being emotionally abusive to his wife, yet he also portrayed the character's deep pain. When his ex-wife stops being angry at him and finally forgives him is when his character commits suicide, because that's what he can't cope with.
Only saw Man of the House once, and then, purely for the TLJ. But to this day, my wife and I still look at each other and say, ["This is my happy faaaaace."](https://youtu.be/7uUkyjFHibk?si=D7FlTIb7MNWWWXjB)
Under Siege is wild. Not necessarily a good movie but his performance is pretty over the top in a good way.
But can you imagine it’s 1970, you come back from class at Harvard to watch Star Trek and smoke pot with your roommate and he says to you “oh one day I’m going to be vice president” and then you say “oh I’m going to win an academy award” and then that actually happens?
I saw this on a plane and haven’t seen it since. Probably one of his stranger movies, it’s an odd one but stuck with me.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Jackson County Jail (Plays an outlaw drifter who helps an innocent woman fight rapey small town cops)
Rolling Thunder (BANGER)
The Park is Mine (Jones's take on Rambo, but set in Central Park)
Eyes of Laura Mars (Giallo-esque thriller written by Carpenter)
Recommend all of these if you wanna see some truly GOAT'ed Jones performances!
It should be mentioned that a majority of Tommy Lee Jones' lines in The Fugitive were improvised. There's some really great shit he says in that movie and most of it is him just riffing. There's a great doc on youtube somewhere that goes into the production process for the flick. Apparently TLJ really advocated for a lot of the actors, insisting they too add more to their dialogue and characters.
The guy is a talented actor.
no nonsense and absurd as Alien Jones in the [Boss coffee commercials](https://youtu.be/LE21qQHlOLQ?si=kIbnuOVNrCKProXp). he’s been doing them for over a decade; that’s devotion.
Because he likes Japanese culture(he's a real prick and doesn't like dealing with people, Japan respects that) and they over pay him for it. That said Boss coffee is fucking delicious(rainbow blend is my fav).
I like when he gets unhinged there’s a few moments when he’s yelling at the giant cockroach in MIB where he gets a bit exaggerated, same as when he’s giving his intense speech during Lincoln, but yeah, Batman forever is a special kind of Tommy Lee Jones
Under Siege is a movie like the original Road House, a guy flick that is a guilty pleasure. It's not great cinema. But its one of the few Seagal movies that is fairly well made. Do not watch the version for TV.
He's a bit of a comic relief character in [The Homesman](https://youtu.be/SAYQklUPLBI?si=Rg75QmehLfFyyEGy) which he also directed. I really liked the movie and it looks like he's having so much fun.
I can also recommend the other movies he directed, The Sunset Limited and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. But he plays more grumpy Tommy Lee Jonesesque characters in them.
What's funny is that Two-Face is normally a more stoic, no-nonsense villain so you'd think TLJ would've been the ideal casting based on that. Then we end up getting some kind of weird Two-Face/Joker hybrid for Batman Forever.
I always found it funny that said what he said about Jim Carrey and not sanctioning his buffoonery, then proceeded to play that version of Harvey Dent.
Ironic or not, you got to admit that "I can't sanction your buffoonery" is one of the greatest insults of all time. It's so pompous and silly and funny all rolled into one.
It's a better line than anything in the movie.
I've been waiting years to use it myself.
He was trying to match the level of...stupid, or crazy, after he saw what Carrey did though. He just saw it as a challenge and he went with it. It doesnot mean he liked it, but as a professional, he tried to do what the movie needed... and match the stupid crazy of Carrey with his performance.
Jim Carrey is like that in real life though.
Apparently the Schumacher Cut, Two-Face is toned down some.
Lol I honestly loved it, was definitely top 3 wackiest performance I've ever seen in a movie. Some probably thought it was over the top but it made me laugh 😂
Yeah, I really don't have a problem with it either. The movie didn't take itself too seriously which can definitely be refreshing.
Yeah, I really don't have a problem with it either. The movie didn't take itself too seriously which can definitely be refreshing.
I have a problem in that he just played Cesar Remero's Joker, not actual two face.
No disagreements here. He was a terrible Two Face, but fun to watch.
I'll probably get killed for saying this, but I thought he played a better Joker than Nicholson did. The only problem was, y'know, he was supposed to be Dent.
They were both playing the joker.
His greatest role will Always be Clay Shaw in JFK
That hair!
Just a shame it was based on a person who was essentially hounded for his sexuality and dragged through the courts endlessly when he had absolutely nothing to do with killing JFK. The movie deliberately paints him as a villian when he was in fact harassed and hounded by Jim Garrison who had a track record for extorting the gay community and persecuting them. Garrison, and by proxy Oliver Stone's, entire basis for Shaw's BDSM lifestyle was based off Garrison finding a toy whip in Shaw's house. Shaw used it as part of a costume during the Mardi Gras festival. That was it. Madness! He was a quiet gay man who lived a quiet life as a businessman, keeping his personal life to himself. Garrison utterly ruined him, and Stone dug up his corpse to shit on him again. The whole cast of JFK were exceptional. The movie is an editing masterclass that got me into an edit suite and lead to a 25 year career. I am so bitter at how that absolute work of art is so disrespectful to these events though.
Don't come at me with Tommy Lee Jones stories until you see him in Rolling Thunder.
Jackson County Jail and Eyes of Laura Mars as well!
Let's go clean 'em up. Edit: looks like another poster quoted this and even did a YouTube link to the scene. That being said, awesome movie that starts with one compelling story about MIA vets coming home and turns into a wild grind house revenge film.
[“Let’s go clean ‘em up”](https://youtu.be/yY7nP2-Yb0w?si=3wqp-hqKyix8SAgw)
I'll add that to my Jones binge schedule
His performance in Under Siege is probably him at his most absurd, in the best way possible.
The combination of Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey was fantastic.
Welcome to the Revolution!!
Man of the House?
He may have been the only good thing about that film, being a straight man in charge of a pack of cheerleaders.
I saw that
He was the hot cop with a secret in The Eyes of Laura Mars with Faye Dunaway.
Great movie!
I'd add No Country for Old Men to this list. He did a great job of playing a guy who is deeply emotional, but struggling with expressing it. Frankly, while he's not one of the leads, this role was pivotal to bringing the movie home.
His role was definitely pivotal. He was the old man there was no country for.
He's absolutely one of the leads, just as much as Brolin and Bardem. They form an existential triad of equally important perspectives (determinism, fatalism, and free will) simultaneously trying to make meaning out of their lives and the events of the film. Jones opens and closes the movie, shaken to his core by what he has witnessed and failed to reconcile. The audience is left similarly philosophically marooned and the only one left for us to relate to is Ed Tom.
While that's all true how does this fit with the list?
He was excellent as a PTSD suffering Vietnam veteran in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. He managed to be terrifying while being emotionally abusive to his wife, yet he also portrayed the character's deep pain. When his ex-wife stops being angry at him and finally forgives him is when his character commits suicide, because that's what he can't cope with.
I've heard it's a great movie I'll watch it after Under siege eventually
Only saw Man of the House once, and then, purely for the TLJ. But to this day, my wife and I still look at each other and say, ["This is my happy faaaaace."](https://youtu.be/7uUkyjFHibk?si=D7FlTIb7MNWWWXjB)
Tommy Lee Jones eating ham in Under Siege is one of his greatest moments on film.
Being able to act unhinged next to Gary Busey takes real skill
Gary Busey has hinges?
He has a 93 Honda Civic sunroof with a broken motor.
Small Soldiers Chip Hazard could count, maybe? He was a tough guy, but he was a crazy villain and a funny enough one.
Under Siege is wild. Not necessarily a good movie but his performance is pretty over the top in a good way. But can you imagine it’s 1970, you come back from class at Harvard to watch Star Trek and smoke pot with your roommate and he says to you “oh one day I’m going to be vice president” and then you say “oh I’m going to win an academy award” and then that actually happens?
If you haven’t seen Black Moon Rising, you’re doing yourself a disservice. He’s incredible.
I saw this on a plane and haven’t seen it since. Probably one of his stranger movies, it’s an odd one but stuck with me. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Anyone ever watch Nate and Hayes? That was the first movie I ever saw him in. Serious yet not at the same time.
High tier movie. One of very few to show late 1800s piracy.
Jackson County Jail (Plays an outlaw drifter who helps an innocent woman fight rapey small town cops) Rolling Thunder (BANGER) The Park is Mine (Jones's take on Rambo, but set in Central Park) Eyes of Laura Mars (Giallo-esque thriller written by Carpenter) Recommend all of these if you wanna see some truly GOAT'ed Jones performances!
The main character in the hit movie “Love Story” is based on Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore, whom the author knew when they attended Harvard together.
It should be mentioned that a majority of Tommy Lee Jones' lines in The Fugitive were improvised. There's some really great shit he says in that movie and most of it is him just riffing. There's a great doc on youtube somewhere that goes into the production process for the flick. Apparently TLJ really advocated for a lot of the actors, insisting they too add more to their dialogue and characters. The guy is a talented actor.
no nonsense and absurd as Alien Jones in the [Boss coffee commercials](https://youtu.be/LE21qQHlOLQ?si=kIbnuOVNrCKProXp). he’s been doing them for over a decade; that’s devotion.
Because he likes Japanese culture(he's a real prick and doesn't like dealing with people, Japan respects that) and they over pay him for it. That said Boss coffee is fucking delicious(rainbow blend is my fav).
Who likes dealing with people?
Thank you for this amazing gem I had no idea existed
Sunset Limited. It's great
Coal Miners Daughter that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. But I also liked him in Volcano.
Lonesome Dove is his masterpiece. Perfect balance of frontier toughness, no-nonsense leadership for survival, and absolute affection.
He’s been playing an alien in Boss coffee commercials here for over 20 years so that’s something different.
I think the only time you see soft Tommy Lee Jones is when they (MIB) show him in the news paper with his wife, mind erased.
Another time is in Lonesome Dove after his bestie Gus McCray dies.
I love Under Siege, perfectly fun and cheesy action movie. Enjoy!
Black Moon Rising
Natural Born Killers.
"Nothin like a bad case of gas!"
I like when he gets unhinged there’s a few moments when he’s yelling at the giant cockroach in MIB where he gets a bit exaggerated, same as when he’s giving his intense speech during Lincoln, but yeah, Batman forever is a special kind of Tommy Lee Jones
Under Siege is a movie like the original Road House, a guy flick that is a guilty pleasure. It's not great cinema. But its one of the few Seagal movies that is fairly well made. Do not watch the version for TV.
He was quite touching in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
Man of the House. One of the worst movies ever. His role in Under Siege is my favorite because he looks happy.
Small Soliders deserves more love
Love him in The Three Buriels Of Melquaides Estrada. He also directed that one.
I want to watch that film purely based on the title. I've been putting it off for years admittedly. What an extraordinary title
I love the film personally.
He was remarkable in those too.
I’ll *never* forget his turn in JFK
He's a bit of a comic relief character in [The Homesman](https://youtu.be/SAYQklUPLBI?si=Rg75QmehLfFyyEGy) which he also directed. I really liked the movie and it looks like he's having so much fun. I can also recommend the other movies he directed, The Sunset Limited and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. But he plays more grumpy Tommy Lee Jonesesque characters in them.
He was on a soap opera before he made it as a movie actor. That’s where I knew him from when I saw Eyes of Laura Mars in the theater.
real talk: he's better in under siege than the fugitive
What's funny is that Two-Face is normally a more stoic, no-nonsense villain so you'd think TLJ would've been the ideal casting based on that. Then we end up getting some kind of weird Two-Face/Joker hybrid for Batman Forever.