Chris Knight for President

Oh Val...what happened? Val Kilmer is the man. He really is. I mean...I liked Red Planet...no one else seemed to but I enjoyed it. It was completely ridiculous but come on it was like the third DVD I ever bought, give me a break (on an aside thinking about it, it was the second, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Red Planet, Heat, Analyze That) Looking back on it, I think I have Val to thank for my existence. Between Red Planet and The Saint I was a Val addict at a pretty young age. My parents let me watch The Saint before i was vaguely aware of the concepts of Cold Fusion, I think it might have been all the disguises or the soundtrack that hooked me.

Anyone who honestly says they didn't want to be Chris Knight from Real Genius is outright lying to you. Who doesn't want to be popular, slick, and well a genius? Real Genius came out before Val was even remotely famous, that little window in an actor's career where they curiously seem to do their best work.

Val has certainly taken some risks over the years and it's kind of hard to label him into a certain category. He's like the less successful Johnny Depp, even though dear Johnny Boy seems to be obsessed with contemporary pieces lately where he gets to dress up or hang out with Tim Burton for a couple of months. A good example of his willingness to take risks was the film The Salton Sea where Val plays a drugged out musician. There is some extensive fake tattoo work done, as well as an edgy performance. Personally I enjoyed most of it, Wasn't the best drug related movie I've seen (See: Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream) but it wasn't the worst either.

Then their are the Val head scratchers. Honestly Val, At First a Sight? Really? Do I have to continue this paragraph? Let me just say...love in this case is blind..very blind indeed.

Basically for every awesome Val moment See: Doc Holliday in Tombstone also see "Ice Man" in Top Gun. There are the Top Secrets and Thunderhearts of the world.

Kilmer is such a good actor not because his roles are so powerful or his scripts well written. He is a good actor because his movies are generally pretty bad. You sit down and watch them, pick them apart piece by piece. "Oh the lighting is way off", "Hey, I can see the mike boom". But Val is ever present and shows flashes of brilliance in most roles that remind you how cool or good the movie could have been. Its like "28 Weeks Later," You want so much to like it, even though there is weak character development, streaky plot and script, and in all honesty could have used another 20 or so minutes of explanations. Yet you find yourself drawn to it, you don't know why, you know you shouldn't be but somehow you are. Maybe its because you know how good it could have been and know its potential, even though its already failed to live up to it.

I guess we all have a little Chris Knight in us. Maybe thats what keeps us going. That rebellious yet smart drive to have fun, but in the end do whats right.