Remembering a great actor like Anton Yelchin…
It brings up a lot of emotions…
And a lot of heartfelt, hard to forget, heels-dug-in performances…
I want to showcase the memorable moments where this amazing actor left a lifelong, lasting impression…
Let’s take a chronological look at the best, most memorable, and possibly even unknown to you, Anton Yelchin Movies, that you may not have seen…But should.
Hearts In Atlantis (2001) – This Stephen King adaptation tells the story of Bobby Garfield, played by Yelchin…An eleven year old boy who befriends a mysterious man named Ted Brautigan, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins…A man with psychic abilities and a troubled past…The two form a father and son bond…A weird symbiosis of sorts…One protecting the other…This was the first time I saw Anton Yelchin, and it was a moving, intense, and heartfelt performance.
Huff (2004-2006) – This Showtime series starred Hank Azaria as the troubled title character…He’s a psychiatrist whose world and own psyche just might be falling apart…One of the grounding forces in his life, is Byrd, his wise-for-his-years son…The character of Byrd, was skillfully played by Yelchin…And, although he was the youngest member of the cast, he was by far the one with his shit most together…And the kind-hearted performance was so memorable that my wife will see him in a film and yell…”Byrd!”
Alpha Dog (2006) – In this true-crime film from director, Nick Cassavetes…We see through a smudged, smoke-filmed window into the life of a California drug dealer…In this one, Yelchin plays Zack, the kid brother of Jake, played by Ben Foster…Jake owes money for drugs, and when he doesn’t pay up, the dealer and his gang of miscreants abduct Zack and hold him hostage in an attempt to coerce Jake into ponying up the dough…This is a tragic tale of lost ways…A desire to belong…And the doomed to fail machinations of a life of crime.
Charlie Bartlett (2007) – In this delightful dramedy, you get to witness one of those stunning moments where greatness meets greatness…Yelchin acts opposite the uber-talented, multi-faceted Robert Downey Jr., who stars as the high school principal…And each performance, elevates the other…Yelchin stars as the title character, a modern day Ferris Bueller, a student who rapidly rises in the popularity ranks due to his adept skills as an amateur psychiatrist who works out of one of the school’s bathroom stalls…He falls for the principal’s daughter, Susan, played by Kat Dennings…This creates some obvious conflicts between Downey and Yelchin…Which create some truly unforgettable moments.
Star Trek (2009) – Next up for the talented young actor, was a reboot of an almost fifty year old franchise created by J.J. Abrams…Yelchin goes back to his Russian roots and channels the essence of the well-known character, Checkov…His performance of a character that the world had grown accustomed to, was somehow both original, as well as a spot on capture of Walter Koenig’s original performance. His authenticity lended a much needed street cred to a franchise that could have been sunk by hardcore fans of the original cast and series.
Terminator: Salvation (2009) – Release just two weeks after Star Trek, Yelchin’s next performance was once again bringing to life a character from a popular science fiction franchise…This time it was the character of Kyle Reese, a younger version of the man who travels back in time to save Sarah Connor in the first Terminator film…The original Reese was played by Michael Biehn…Who when we meet him, is a hardened soldier who has been through Hell with the future version of his own son…This version of Reese is younger, gentler, and still somewhat filled with hope…A part that Yelchin thankfully endowed with more humanity than I could have ever imagined.
Fright Night (2011) – In this remake of Tom Holland‘s 80’s horror classic…Yelchin plays Charley Brewster, our main character…Who just like in the original…Believes that his next door neighbor is a bloodsucking vampire…That vampire…Named Jerry, was played by a charmingly vicious Colin Farrell…The story was incredibly true to the original film, yet still managed to be a refreshing remake…All of this of course, I credit to the endearing take on Charley Brewster that Anton Yelchin brought to the screen.
Odd Thomas (2013) – Based on the popular series of novels by author Dean R. Koontz…Yelchin plays the title character, who has an uncanny connection to those that have sort of shrugged off their mortal coil…Odd is a regular guy in a small California town who when he’s not excelling at the fine art of fry-cookery, is seeking justice for the trapped souls that come to him for help…The cast is made that much more incredible with the addition of Willem Dafoe as the Watson to Odd’s Sherlock, Chief Wyatt Porter…The two work together to create a system that facilitates their unconvential justice…Odd lays the destructive ground work…And Chief Porter cleans up his mess…Yelchin’s performance brought a well known character to life…Made him believable…Made him admirable…Made him loveable.
Rudderless (2014) – This film, directed by the talented William H. Macy…Tells a story about loss, and grief…But also about healing, and starting over…Billy Crudup stars as Sam, a father whose life has fallen to pieces since the death of his son…When his ex-wife drops off a box of their son’s assorted possessions, among them is a collection of demo tapes that he had recorded…Sam begins to teach himself these songs to try and reconnect with the son he misses…After performing one of them at an open mike night…Enter Yelchin as Quentin…A young musician, who not only befriends the lonely Sam, but in a case of divine reciprocity, both men help each other heal their respective wounds…Most dramas do not have a twist ending, or a twist anything for that matter (Come on, you didn’t really think the dude in the Crying Game was a chick, did you?)…But this one does…And it’s a doozy.
Green Room (2016) – Jeremy Saulnier is one of my favorite new directors…His debut Murder Party, and his sophomore effort, Blue Ruin, became two automatic classics for me…In this one…Saulnier tells the tale of a punk rock band who while traveling the Pacific Northwest, get a gig performing at a concert…The rural venue just so happens to be a Neo-Nazi skinhead joint…When one of the band members witnesses a murder…The entire band has been destined for disposal by the leader of the Neo-Nazis, played by a surprisingly menacing Patrick Stewart…Yelchin reunites with Imogen Poots from Fright Night…So the two of them can battle evil once again…This was sadly the last film starring Anton Yelchin to premiere before his untimely passing.
Anton…
You touched my heart so many times…
But this time…
You broke it…
May you rest in peace.
The Video Store Clerk 