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Yahya Abdul - Mateen IIhas enjoyed a speedy ascending to prominence since his breakout yr in 2018 , but which of his film ranks well ? bear July 15th , 1986 , Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s road to stardom has been a continuous road of self - improvement and discovery in an effort to happen his limit , as trace by Abdul Mateen himself ( viaWall Street Journal Magazine ) . In this way , Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s early years exemplify perpetual motion , with the New Orleans - bear actor competing as a hurdler for the California Golden Bears and working as a city planner in San Francisco before pursuing his passion for acting full time .
Abdul - Mateen has not looked back since put down the part of Clarence " Cadillac " Caldwell in Baz Luhrmann ’s 2016 musical dramatic event seriesThe Get Down . In the subsequent whirlwind six years , Abdul - Mateen has enjoyed a meteorologic rise en route to becoming one of the most sought - after actors in contemporary acculturation , owed in part to his incredible range that has seen the New Orleans - acquit actor star in a divers range of writing style , include sci - fi , horror , drama , and biopics . Alongside taking household three laurels as part ofThe Trial of the Chicago 7 ’s star corps de ballet , Abdul - Mateen has also won the Critics ' Choice Super Award for Best Actor in a Horror Movie after his chilling execution in Nia DaCosta’sCandymanreboot . Abdul - Mateen ’s most recent role is in Michael Bay ’s interruption - cervix fastness thrillerAmbulance , in which he plays the affable banking concern robber Will Sharp .
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As a solution , Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s trunk of work since 2016 is a slim yet high - quality aggregation . From big - budget blockbuster such as James Wan’sAquamanto the more nuanced storytelling ofBoundaries , Abdul - Mateen ’s acknowledgment are already as eclectic as they are telling . Here ’s everyYahya Abdul - Mateen II movieranked from worst to good , includingAmbulance .
#13 - The Vanishing of Sidney Hall
Shawn Christensen ’s indie dramaThe Vanishing of Sidney Hallis a tremendously ill-conceived piece of filmmaking that pedals insouciant misogyny with almost every story development . The Vanishing of Sidney Hallcenters on a titular author as he cheats and drink his way across the united states , leaving a trail of heartbreak and trauma in his Wake Island . Christensen ’s almost risibly self - assured indie flick is basically an appeal to the male ego and phantasy interchangeably , with even a leading cast of Michelle Monaghan , Kyle Chandler , and Elle Fanning unable to redeem it from itself . Mercifully , Yahya Abdul Mateen II ’s part in the movie is rather nonaged as his first credited role , with Abdul - Mateen playing an English teacher who encourages Sidney ’s ( Hunters ' Logan Lerman ) writing despite his inappropriate input to the relaxation of his high school day stratum .
#12 - Baywatch
Sporting the cringe - hasten tagline " Beaches Ai n’t Ready " in the bulk of its marketing materials means Seth Gordon’sBaywatchreboot was never destined to be nuanced amusement . The sad truth aboutBaywatch , however , is that it beelines for the grossly outdated " joggle factor " of its tv predecessor without afford a 2nd sentiment to a cohesive narrative or establish a illusion of multi - dimensional characters . Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s performance is , unfortunately , as ham - fisted as the eternal sleep here , with his bumbling Sergeant Garner Ellerbee going through the distinctive " you ’re alright kid " cycle of distrust the protagonists before arriving to facilitate at the end following a modification of heart .
#11 - Sweetness in the Belly
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’sSweetness in the Bellyfollows Lilly ( Dakota Fanning ) , a British girl raised as a Muslim in Morocco after being abandoned by her parents . As a youthful woman in the early 1970s , she is sent to Ethiopia , where she falls in love with a Dr. mention Aziz ( Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ) , but they are separate when the Ethiopian Civil War begins . Based on the riveting Camilla Gibb novel , Sweetness in the Bellyfailed to hit the heights of its source material upon its 2019 release , in part due to the allegations of hush up surrounding the flick ’s lead role . However , more apposite here is the fact that Mehari ’s adjustment drop too little fourth dimension on Lilly ’s genetic struggles , which serves to diminish the movie ’s final , worked up coda .
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#10 - All Day and a Night
Netflix’sAll Day and a Nightamounts to an extremely frustrating feature film , with the movie ’s excellent theme and execution counterbalanced by a tired , cliched plot . All Day and a Nightsees aspiring rapper Jahkor Lincoln ( Ashton Sanders ) arrive in prison to dish out a life history sentence for murder before looking back on the days preceding his stop and the context of his childhood to receive clues to his way forward in living and his survival . Director Joe Robert Cole ’s movie is littered with leading turns , with Jeffrey Wright ’s JD and Adbul - Mateen ’s Big Stunna just two such deterrent example . These , however , are tempered byAll Day and a Night ’s deficiency of imagination , with the movie ’s narrative a wan caricature ofCraig Brewer ’s cult classicHustle & Flow .
#9 - Boundaries
The 2018 drollery - dramaBoundariesis prop up up almost single - handedly by the originative Christopher Plummer , whose round as the pot - dealing , devoid - spirited Jack Jaconi is a far cry from his common salvia purpose . Yet Plummer ’s excellence alone can not saveBoundariesfrom otherwise being a campaign - of - the - mill approach of eld fib in which an alienated father manages to find his daughter and her kinsfolk once again , with even the normally excellent Vera Farmiga seemingly bogged down inBoundaries ' minutiae . Although Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s cameo as Serge here is rather abbreviated , Boundariesmarks the start of his meteoric rise as an thespian , withAbdul - Mateen landing place hisAquamanpart off the back of this pic .
#8 - The Greatest Showman
establish on the story and life of P.T. Barnum , God Almighty of the Barnum & Bailey Circus , The Greatest Showmanis raucous musical entertainment that acts as a vehicle for the talents of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul . As a musical debut , The Greatest Showmanshines brightly , creating a spectacle worthy of Broadway as Hugh Jackman ’s Barnum galavants across late 1800s New York City . However , as a moving picture , The Greatest Showmanpales in comparability to its soundtrack , with much of the film ’s narrative complex body part almost create entirely to domiciliate Pasek and Paul ’s euphony rather than focussing on Barnum ’s eccentricity and peculiar drive that made him a household name .
#7 - The Matrix Resurrections
Although go bad to capture the sheer verve and originality of the firstMatrixmovie , The Matrix Resurrectionsis still a self-colored return to theWachowski ’s dystopian time to come . The Matrix Resurrectionsis a picture show steeped in nostalgia , treating audiences to flashback and re - runs of classicMatrixmoments while still attempting to move forward with its enjoyment of update technologies such as Swarm Bots and Portals . Lambert Wilson ’s cameo as the exiled Merovingian is the pinnacle ofRevolutions ' new film editing - border satire , with the now drop character mouth off about the ills of social media plaguing the Matrix ’s inhabitants . While a far from a complete picture , The Matrix Resurrectionsdoes roleplay as a guidepost for Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s burgeoning contemporary attraction , with his faux - Morpheus performance another nostalgic wrinkle withinResurrections ' complex aesthetic makeup .
tie in : What come about To Morpheus ( Both Versions ) In The Matrix Resurrections
#6 - Aquaman
Standing as a stark silhouette against the grinding ennui of the majority of the DCEU first appearance at the time , 2018’sAquamanis bombastic , all - action superhero fare that veers between feel like a melodrama and a satire interchangeably . Arthur Curry ’s ( Jason Momoa)origin fib is undoubtedly highfaluting and is made all the more verbose by James Wan ’s gleeful direction , with his remission apparently to make the most loudly entertaining movie he possibly can . This is not to sayAquamanis without its flaw , containing the usual cheesy superhero dialogue and some refutable CGI , but it is nevertheless a must - take in feature as a will to making superhero movies as fun as they can possibly be .
#5 - Ambulance
#4 - First Match
Netflix’sFirst Matchis a movie that firmly fall into the " hidden gem " category , lodging a breakout public presentation from Elvire Emmanuel and cement Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s credential as a top - tier actor . First Matchfollows Monique , who , temper by years in foster care , decides that joining the all - boys wrestling team is the only mode back to her estranged father . The beauty ofFirst Matchis conductor Olivia Newman ’s willingness to narrate a raspy - around - the - edges story that grapples with the complexity of father - girl relationships while perfectly capsule each part ’s despair regarding feel stuck in their various situations .
#3 - Candyman
Nia DaCosta’sCandymanreboot is a imperial movie that effortlessly weaves horror preliminary with a riveting social commentary to produce a unequalled spectacle . Alongside legendary repugnance screenwriter Jordan Peele , DaCosta intertwines elements from Bernard Rose ’s originalCandymanand its Clive Barker source material to placateCandymanfranchise buff , while also summate a new twist on the creeping apprehension that Cabrini Green elicits in its various forms . Whereas Bernard Rose ’s movie talk on White anxieties and the ikon of the Black residential area in 1992 , DaCosta expands this tight conversation and artfully widensCandymanto fit a contemporaneous , yet equally troubling , genus Lens . Yahya Abdul - Mateen II is also absorbing as Anthony McCoy here , as his obsession withtheCandymanurban legendtakes him into increasingly excruciating territory . This is to say nothing ofCandyman ’s gruesome finale that brings McCoy ’s heritage into shrill , tegument - crawling focus as Barker ’s fable takes flight once more .
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#2 - The Trial of the Chicago 7
With an awe - inspiring ensemble cast including Yahya Abdul - Mateen II , Sacha Baron Cohen , Joseph Gordon - Levitt , Michael Keaton , Frank Langella , John Carroll Lynch , Eddie Redmayne , Mark Rylance , Jeremy Strong , Damian Young , and Ben Shenkman , Aaron Sorkin ’s rivet found on a true story narrative was always likely to be a riveting patch of film . This turned out to be exactly the case , withThe Trial of the Chicago 7taking home a slew of prestigious laurels in 2020 for its portrayal of the real Chicago Seven and their part in prod the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention . Put just , The Trial of the Chicago 7sheds lighton some shocking house truth that , while being feature in a dramatisation , are even more substantial and biting in contemporary culture - making it a compelling offer from Netflix and Sorkin alike .
#1 - Us
The beauty of Jordan Peele’sUsis how , despite its open subject matter of race , family , and the self - serve nature of capitalistic culture , the film ’s ultimate meaning is left open to debate . With this in mind , Us ' doppelgangers are as ambiguous as they are terrifying , stepping back and away from the shadows and tethered to " our " plane of being with little overt explanation . These " Tethered " could on the face of it be the worst reflections of the self , or evenly , they could represent a different walk of aliveness mirror back at the viewer , as well as contain unnumberable other meaning depending on stand . This knawing , nuanced affright is what Peele does best , withUsacting as a loom achievement that cement his position as a unique talent in 2019 followingGet Out ’s success . Usis also considered a huge springboard forYahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s career in 2019 , with his riveting flashback carrying into action as Russel Thomas / Weyland carrying more than a shade ofCandyman ’s Anthony McCoy that would arrive just two years after .
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