What to stream: Sit back, relax and enjoy these Josh Hartnett films
Published in Entertainment News
Things have been good for Josh Hartnett these past few years. The Y2K era teen star has established a fun new groove for himself, working in genre pictures like this week’s bonkers actioner “Fight or Flight,” directed by James Madigan, M. Night Shyamalan’s devious “Trap” from last year, and Guy Ritchie’s homage to “Heat,” “Wrath of Man” (2021). So in honor of “Fight or Flight” hitting screens this weekend, here’s the best of Josh Hartnett from both now and then.
Hartnett’s breakout came with two horror films in 1998, “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later,” a now-maligned legasequel in the Haddonfield/Laurie Strode/Michael Myers universe. What’s notable about this one is that Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother, horror icon Janet Leigh (“Psycho”), appeared opposite her daughter in the film (rent it on all digital platforms). But the more memorable film was “The Faculty,” directed by Robert Rodriguez, in which Hartnett plays a high school student who realizes that all the teachers are aliens (amiright?) Rent “The Faculty” on all digital platforms.
He also co-starred in Sofia Coppola’s sparkling and moody debut “The Virgin Suicides” in 1999, opposite Kirsten Dunst (streaming on Kanopy or available to rent). He leaned into the retro heartthrob role with Michael Bay’s bombastic 2001 World War II period piece “Pearl Harbor,” as the third in a love triangle made up of Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale (streaming on Hulu). That year, he also took his turn in an updated Shakespearean adaptation that were all the rage then, “O,” an adaptation of “Othello,” directed by Tim Blake Nelson and co-starring Julia Stiles and Mekhi Phifer.
The early aughts were good to Hartnett, as he also co-starred in Ridley Scott’s ensemble action drama “Black Hawk Down,” about the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. The film co-starred Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, Jason Isaacs, Orlando Bloom, Ewen Bremner, Tom Hardy and Hugh Dancy, and is available to stream on Netflix or Kanopy. In 2002, Hartnett starred in the bizarre celibacy rom-com “40 Days and 40 Nights” with Shannyn Sossamon about a man who meets the love of his life while he’s given up sex for Lent. The turn of the millennium was a weird time. Rent it on all platforms.
Hartnett turned to more action roles, in “Hollywood Homicide” in 2003, opposite Harrison Ford (stream it on Kanopy or rent), Robert Rodriguez’s comic book adaptation “Sin City” in 2005 (Paramount+ or rent), and “Lucky Number Slevin” in 2006, which is streaming on Starz (or rent). After a bit of a fallow period, he started to make his return to stardom in the Showtime series “Penny Dreadful” from John Logan and Sam Mendes, that imagines classic horror characters like Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and Dracula in Victorian London. Stream it on Paramount+.
But the Hartnett-assaince is fully upon us, with his co-starring role in Christopher Nolan’s best picture-winning “Oppenheimer” (2023), now streaming on Peacock, and the aforementioned “Trap” (Netflix or Max) and “Wrath of Man,” which is streaming on Tubi or available for rent.
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