Is there anyone who can play charming yet unsettling like Denzel Washington? Even when he’s not playing a legitimate anti-hero, there’s always a vague sense of threat from his characters, in the stillness of his face and the wryness of his delivery.

Washington uses the trademark sociopathy to great affect in “Safe House”, the new spy thriller meant partially to re-charge Ryan Reynolds career after the “Green Lantern” disaster of 2011. Reynolds seems to exist mostly to get out of Washington’s way, the tactic followed by every white guy in a Denzel Washington movie which I like to call the “Ethan Hawke Defense.”

Matt Weston (Reynolds) at the beginning appears to have the un-sexiest job in the CIA, as a keeper of a CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. He spends most of his time listening to French language tapes in an empty room, and telling elaborate lies about his work to his French national girlfriend. His uniquely boring life is upended when Tobin Frost (Washington) a former agent who’s been selling secrets for almost a decade, inexplicably wanders into a U.S. Consulate and allows himself to be captured (the trailer gives you a rough approximation of what will happen next).

Cape Town is shown in gritty, stunning glory, and director Daniel Espinosa makes the best use of location shooting I’ve seen in a long time. The city operates as both an ally and a potential enemy to the two fugitives, from its upscale downtown, to the chaos of Green Point soccer stadium, to the maze of a shanty town. There is very little politics in “Safe House”, but Espinosa doesn’t ignore the realities of Cape Town either, allowing the city to tell the story and add to the sharp realism of the action sequences.

The cat and mouse game at the heart of the story is a little played, and frankly most of it is stolen from other spy movies anyway. But the exquisite little details, ingeniously picked by the director and his stars, allow you to forget that this is a story that’s been told before: a spectacular crane shot of truck barreling through a shanty town’s throughways; the jaunty smile Frost gives when taking pictures of himself to add to a forged passport, the way Weston hugs his girlfriend and buries his face in her hair. The details make this movie special, make it more than just another Saturday-night throwaway picture. Washington’s charming villain is just the cherry on top.

Ryan Reynolds, 34, and Scarlett Johansson, 26, have separated.

According to People, they commented in a joint statement, “After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we’ve decided to end our marriage. We entered our relationship with love and it’s with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn’t expected, it’s certainly appreciated.”

It was reported that Johansson initiated the split. Ironically, last month, Reynolds was named as the People’s sexiest man alive and commented that marriage life was “You get to hang out with your best buddy every day.”

The couple had a private ceremony surrounded by their close family and friends back in September 2008 in Reynolds’ hometown, Vancouver.

Ryan Reynolds was named as this year’s sexiest man alive by People magazine, a title George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp have been named in the past.

The actor told People, “My body naturally wants to look like Dick Van Dyke. When I stop training, I turn into a skin-colored whisper.”

Regarding the title that he got, he commented, “You just have to go with the flow. This gives my family entre into teasing me for the rest of my life.”

He also mentioned his wife Scarlett Johansson, “Now it’s going to be, ‘Sexiest man, take out the garbage.’ That does sound better. The most difficult part is going to be organically working this title into a conversation with random strangers.”

MTV also talks about that he played some sexiest roles in several movies, such as “Definitely, Maybe” “Van Wilder” “The Proposal” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Green Lantern.”

The opening credits to “Buried” are misleading. As sparse, drum-heavy music plays, and viewers follow a cartoon line down, down, down, they are being set up — for an homage to Hitchcock, for a somewhat conventional thriller, for an exciting yet ominous experience. But here there is no spiral staircase, no convention, and excitement is replaced by, at times crippling, fear.

Ominous, though, ominous they got.

Paul Conroy (the surprisingly good Ryan Reynolds) is a contracted truck driver in Iraq, and as the movie opens we find him gagged, bound, and “Buried” in a coffin. He has nothing but a lighter and a cell phone. Reynolds is the only actor who appears in the film (although many are credited and have speaking roles), and most of the time we are only inches away from his face. The entire 94 minutes of this exercise in claustrophobia depict Paul’s struggle to find help, fighting both a bureaucratic nightmare and a crappy wireless signal.

Director Rodrigo Cortes somehow manages to make the film engaging throughout. The pacing is brilliant, and he tries to balance the overwhelmingly intense subject of the film with some humor, although I found myself feeling guilty for laughing at Reynolds’ helpless character, even though it was clear I was supposed to.

And this is where the film falters: the experience of watching “Buried” can only be described as grueling. The lack of music, the ever-present sound of labored breathing, the extended periods spent in complete darkness, and the screams of terror Conroy elicits create a tangible discomfort that drove me to spend half the movie gripping my knees in the fetal position.

Combined with the film’s heavy-handed political commentary — which was necessary but clunky — this feeling of complete helplessness took away any enjoyment I could have had in watching the film. Cortes accomplished something great with this film by testing the limits of a conventional thriller, and in that aspect, it could be described as an intriguing study.

If you ask me if this is a good movie, the answer is yes: Reynolds is superb, and despite a few missteps, the directing is almost mind-boggling. But if you ask me if I liked this movie, the answer is even easier: no.

PARK CITY, Utah — Go behind the scenes of Ryan Reynolds’ new film “Buried” with Blast in this video interview, where we talk to Reynolds about what it was like being the only star of a film, being shut up in a coffin all day, and returning to the basics of classic filmmaking. Director Rodrigo Cortez weighs in about what it’s like working with Reynolds and how he pulled off a movie with one character on one set for 88 minutes.

News travels fast, but in case you haven’t already heard, Johnny Depp was named “sexiest man alive” by People magazine for the second time.

People descibed the 46-year-old (I know, wow) actor as “the king of cool with killer cheekbones.”

Depp last won the honor in 2003, and this year, he joins the likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney in winning twice. After Depp, the rest of the top five are Ryan Reynolds at number two, Jake Gyllanhaal at number three, Bradley Cooper at number four, and Robert Downey Jr. at number five.

Rabid Twilight fans might be disappointed to know that Robert Pattinson ranked 15th, but the rest of us will wonder how he ranked so high.

Pick up People magazine to check out the full list.

“Variety” is reporting that Ryan Reynolds will get the coveted lead role in “Green Lantern.”

Reynolds, 32, also played Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” He will reprise the character in the movie of the same name in 2011.

The BBC notes that Reynolds is now the first actor to portray characters for DC and Marvel.

Reynolds beat out short-listers Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake for the Green Lantern role. The movie is scheduled to begin filming in November.

There’s yet another superhero movie coming out soon called The Green Lantern (as if anyone’s ever heard of that, but Superman and Spiderman are way done, and there are only so many excuses producers can use to make a movie with a hunk in a spandex suit.)

But the movie itself isn’t the center of the gossip – it’s who will play the main character, hot-shot pilot Hal Jordan? ‚ So far, according to Laineygossip.com, the major contenders are as follows: ‚ Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, and Henry Cavill.

Ryan Reynolds apparently doesn’t belong on this list because he’s scheduled to star in Deadpool, but maybe he’d back out for a bigger offer? ‚ There’s no doubt he looks the part (all of these guys do) but his dramatic acting skills have yet to be truly tested.

Bradley Cooper – well, he’s really good at playing an arrogant douche bag, so I guess that fits.

Justin Timberlake – Has anyone seen Austin Powers? ‚ Is it not obvious to everyone that this kid cannot act?? ‚ Sure, he can pull off an SNL skit, but that doesn’t mean you throw him up on the big screen for a summer blockbuster!

Henry Cavill – if you guys don’t know who this is, he’s the tall, dark and British hunk on the TV show The Tudors. ‚ He was also the first choice of Stephenie Meyer to play her brooding vamp, Edward Cullen, but was passed over because he was too old.

Which brings me to my next point: ‚ Don’t these guys all seem just a tad….OLD??? ‚ I mean, all of these guys are hovering by their thirties, and if I am asking for a hero, he’s gotta be at least 25 or younger. ‚ Anyone heard of Shia LeBeouf? ‚ Emile Hirsch? ‚ Hayden Christensen?

Who do you think deserves to star in The Green Lantern?

UPDATE:

The decision may have been made! ‚ In a recent Tweet, Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man 2 (now filming) which stars Scarlett Johansson, revealed that “Green Lantern visited the set.” ‚ And who else might visit the set where Scarlett is working than her brand new husband and Green Lantern contender, Ryan Reynolds?

What do you think – is Favreau trying to get us all riled up, or could he really be spilling the beans?

While perusing the Internet Tuesday afternoon, I found myself sucked into the wonderfully time-wasting Entertainment Weekly photo galleries. The skillfully placed “stories” are photo accessories to the films opening that week, and this one happened to be “24 Rom-Com Clichƒ©s We’d Like To Retire.”

It only took about four clicks through the slides to realize which movie the EW gallery creator had seen to inspire such a gallery: “The Proposal,” which I had seen the night before. Yes, “The Proposal” had its media maven. Yes, there’s a last minute sprint. Yes, there’s a mischievous dog. Yes, “The Proposal” is nothing more than a collage of need-to-be-retired romantic comedy clichƒ©s.

Coming from someone who loved Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality,” she is past her prime for being a headlining star of a romantic comedy. Playing publishing queen Margaret Tate, Bullock is supposed to be channeling Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” but comes closer to Steve Carrell from “The Office.”

For a character referred to as “it” and a “witch” by her underlings, there is not enough of her alleged cattiness to justify the hatred and fear she instills. In an attempt to make Margaret easier to soften by film’s end, she becomes a caricature that is obnoxious rather than relate-able. The film wants her to be the next Miranda Priestly, but in order to make that evil “witch” believable and not whipped out of thin air, there should not be any falling in love at the end.

The main problem with the film is there is no reason Ryan Reynolds’ Andrew should ever fall in love with Bullock’s Margaret, and especially not over the course of three days after making his life miserable for three years. There are no hidden feelings underneath Andrew’s submissive following of orders at the beginning of the film: Margaret blackmails Andrew with his career in order to get him to agree to marry him. One late-night vulnerable conversation is not enough to make a man fall in love with a woman he didn’t acknowledge as a female until two days before, and I never quite understood why Margaret was any better for him than his young love who was unwilling to leave Alaska to be with him, Gertrude (Malin Ackerman).

What was proven by this film is that Ryan Reynolds should star in every romantic comedy ever made from here until eternity. His delightful combination of earnest emotion with slapstick comedy makes him the perfect male lead that could fit in every rom-com role, and makes the one believable character in the entire film.

Just having him in the film makes up for Sandra Bullock rocking out to “Get Low” while Grandma Annie (Betty White) dances around a fire worshiping Mother Earth. Tell me you expected that when walking into this film.

Even more demeaning (and going back to “The Office” references) is the character(s?) played by Oscar Nuƒ±ez. For an actor whose “Office” character, Oscar, is so offended by the racial stereotypes boss Michael Scott forces on him, I was disappointed to see Nuƒ±ez sink so low in his “Proposal” role. With his shoddy Hispanic accent and far too drawn out strip tease, I don’t know if I can respect Oscar in “The Office” the same way again.

What makes this movie worth seeing? You get to see Ryan Reynolds naked.

Super-stud Ryan Reynolds is gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly tomorrow, coinciding with the opening of “The Proposal,” a romantic comedy where he stars alongside Sandra Bullock.

The rock-hard Reynolds bares his summer bod for the mag, leaping through its pages shirtless, shooting water guns, showing off his amazing physique and still managing to make our hearts stop beating with that innocent, school-boy smile.

EW has provided a glimpse of the interview they had with Reynolds, whom they claim is as humble as he is hunky. ‚ However, Reynolds is very careful not to rely on his image as a sex symbol.

“If you take any of that seriously,” he said,” you need to be euthanized, ASAP.”

Instead, Reynolds relies on keeping himself busy with work and his new marriage to Hollywood vixen Scarlett Johansson. But if you think you’re going to get any details on Ryan and Scarlett’s private life in the article, think again. Reynolds is reticent on his personal life, neglecting to say anything about his married life except that it is “fantastic.”

See a sneak preview of the EW’s video interview with Reynolds here.

Photos: JustJared.com

About as soon as the opening weekend box office returns from “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” were announced, Fox swallowed the blue pill and greenlit “X-Men Origins: Deadpool,” a “Wolverine” sequel and a third, unnamed project.

Deadpool, a fan-favorite character played by Ryan Reynolds in “Wolverine,” is a (crazy) mercenary who peppers his stories with wisecracks and quips. He has a healing factor that supersedes even Wolverine’s and is one of the most formidable fighters in the X-Men universe.

And that’s all well and good except for the fact that the awesome Deadpool of the comics showed up in “Wolverine” for about five minutes before his character was summarily (and literally, apparently) chopped up into little bits.

Indeed, one of the great failures in “Wolverine,” besides the laughable writing, horrendous production values, pathetic dialogue, and all-around terribleness, was in fact the treatment of Deadpool’s character.

So what do I have to say about a Deadpool movie?

Let’s break it down.

PROS

1. Done right (key word), Deadpool has the potential to make a very cool movie, as well as one that will make money at the box office. His character allows for the gritty, edgy superhero movies that have come into vogue since “Sin City,” “The Dark Knight,” et cetera as well as the comedic factor – like “Spiderman,” except not as lame.

2. Done right (key fucking word), Deadpool would be a redeeming addition to the X-Men franchise that has gone from a gleaming beacon on a hill to a festering joke populated with evil Hollywood-types who like to destroy childhood heroes as they laugh and count their money. “Wolverine” proved that there could be an X-Men movie even worse than “X-Men 3: The Last Stand” and that Wolverine could star in a movie that people would compare to “Daredevil” in terms of suck. But Deadpool could change all that.

3. Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds caught a lot of flak when he was cast as Deadpool. Most fans had a hard time seeing Berg as one of the most badass mutants in the X-Universe. But frankly, the guy proved that he can do action movies in his five seconds of “Wolverine” screen time and in his role as Hannibal in “Blade III” (and come on, folks, let’s not pretend that the Blade movies were anything other than sweet sword-fights, shootouts and vampires). I’ll even go one step further and change his status from “competent” to “great choice.”

CONS

1. “X-Men 3: The Last Stand” made most fans (and people with brains) want to kill puppies.

2. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” made most fans (and people with brains) actually go out and kill puppies.

3. Can we possibly trust Fox? Since Bryan Singer left the franchise to go fail at “Superman Returns,” the studio has clearly proven that they could honestly care less about the quality of the X-Men movies. I mean, who hires Brett Ratner for anything, much less for a huge, big-budget threequel with a big fanbase and fan anticipation? Who hires a director whose attitude is, “fuck the fans, we already have their money?” And it’s one thing to change the storyline or introduce new characters or ignore established comic book canon in order to make a better film — a comic book movie is still an adaptation. It’s another thing entirely to shit on comic book canon in favor of making a shitty movie.

4. Most people haven’t heard of Deadpool, including the studio zombies who make these decisions. Unless Wolverine is somehow involved (as most popular character in Marvel films and comics), will Deadpool a) get the budget (although a budget didn’t appear to help “Wolverine” any) and b) generate excitement (aka, will people see it because it’s an X-Men movie?).

5. LEAVE DEADPOOL THE HELL ALONE. LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HIM IN “WOLVERINE,” YOU MONSTERS!

So here’s what I think should happen. Drop the hokey and pretentious “X-Men Origins” business (Deadpool was NOT an X-Man, thank you), and besides Deadpool wasn’t in the original three X-Men movies. Don’t leech off of Wolverine’s popularity by making the movie some kind of “Deadpool and Wolverine, Duo Extraordinaire” and don’t even attempt to adhere to the (shitty) continuity in “Wolverine.”

Instead, reboot Deadpool in a movie of his very own, unrelated to the established X-universe on film. Sure, it can be an origin story, whatever. That’s what studios seem to be fond of these days. But make a movie for the character in his own right, not just because he fought with Wolverine a couple of times.

Most importantly, studios — read a fucking Deadpool comic. Seriously. Please.

And finally — for the love of Phoenix, don’t sew the character’s mouth shut. That’s half of what makes him awesome.