Movie Jail: This week's defendant is...Carrie-Anne Moss!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

This is Movie Jail, a unique maximum security prison that houses some of the worst writers, directors, actors and producers from Hollywood and beyond. Their crimes? The offenses vary from convict to convict but most of these inmates have contributed negatively to the film world to some capacity and his or her misdeeds have covered a long enough period of time that the authorities had to intervene. In each column a defendant is put on trial, arguments are made, and then it is up to YOU, the jury, to decide if the person is guilty or not guilty of crimes against cinema. Their lives are in your hands, dude.

The Defendant

The Case

The Prosecution: Knife Fight, Silent Hill: Revelation, Fireflies in the Garden, Love Hurts, Normal, The Chumscrubber, Suspect Zero, Red Planet, The Crew

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, when The Matrix and its sequels hit theaters in the late 90s and early 00s, the prosecution thought Carrie-Anne Moss was poised to become a huge star. The actress had also starred in Christopher Nolan's breakout film Memento, and had a supporting role in the Academy Award nominated movie Chocolat, so like many, the prosecution believed Miss Moss had a bright future ahead of her. So what in the hell happened?

The second and third Matrix films weren't as well received as the original, but the prosecution isn't going to blame Miss Moss for those movies' failures, because there were many big problems with those films, and the actress still did a pretty good job. The prosecution is sure most of the people working in Hollywood would also agree, so why didn't Miss Moss become a bigger star?

The problem is the actress has often been cast in completely unremarkable films that do little to help further her career. Knife Fight? Love Hurts? Have any of you even heard of these movies, let alone seen them? Well, you're not missing much. The other issue has been the size of Miss Moss' roles in her movies. How did she go from being one of the leads in a huge franchise to playing Kale's mother in Disturbia? Miss Moss has proven she's a talented actress, yet rarely gets a chance to show off her skills. The defense is probably going to argue she hasn't been in many films that are downright terrible, but isn't wasting your talents in mediocre movies almost just as bad? There are some that really like The Chumscrubber even if critics didn't love it, but almost any actress could have played Miss Moss' part, and she didn't bring anything to the role. Also for the record, some of Miss Moss' movies have been pretty awful, like Red Planet and Suspect Zero.

Miss Moss has also done some work in television, but nothing too impressive or memorable. The prosecution understands it can be harder for an actress to find great roles as they get older, but there are others that have had no problems getting great parts. Or at least parts better than playing Emily Browning's Mom in Paul W.S. Anderson's upcoming Pompeii. The jury might think Miss Moss isn't guilty of starring in too many horrible films, but she is guilty of letting her talents go to waste, and because of that, the prosecution believes she needs to spend some time in Movie Jail.

The Defense: Disturbia, Mini's First Time, Snow Cake, Unthinkable, Fido, The Matrix series, Chocolat, Memento

Ladies and gentlemen, one thing the defense has always believed when it comes to Movie Jail is someone can't go to prison for not appearing in movies. Miss Moss really hasn't starred in that many films since The Matrix Revolutions, and when she has, most of her parts have been small. This doesn't mean she should immediately be found not guilty by the jury, but we should actually take a look at her movie roles as of late, and not just assume that since she hasn't been in any big or important films recently, we should throw her ass in jail.

The prosecution already brought up The Chumscrubber, but the defense feels Miss Moss was excellent in it, even if the role wasn't that big. Some of her other performances have been great, but few people have seen her films to appreciate them. Snow Cake is a perfect example of a very good film with a strong performance by the actress, and it's unfortunate more people haven't seen the movie. Same goes for Mini's First Time and Fido.

Did the prosecution expect Miss Moss to only do action movies or something after the last Matrix movie was released? The defense thinks the actress should actually be applauded for not sticking to only one genre of movies, and there is quite a bit of diversity to her filmography as well.

The jury might still be wondering though why Miss Moss hasn't appeared in more films. Well, she has three kids, born in 2003, 2005, and 2009, so she's obviously been a little busy this past decade raising children. But she's still managed to do some good work during that time, and the defense thinks there are plenty of future projects that would be excellent for Miss Moss. How pumped would you be if she was cast in a new Marvel movie, or if Christopher Nolan announced he will be working with her again on a new project?

Trinity still gets this movie nerd excited, and the defense is positive he's not the only one. Putting Miss Moss behind bars would be the real crime, and I doubt the jury is going to send her to Movie Jail.

IN CLOSING…

Should Miss Moss be sent to Movie Jail because of her recent weak films, or is she just doing the best she can as working actress and as a mother with three kids? Should we expect more from the actress, or do you think she's done plenty of great, if underseen, work? Is Carrie-Anne Moss GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?

COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR VERDICT!

*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyways, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.

WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?

LAST WEEK'S VERDICT

The jury gave Renny Harlin the long kiss goodnight in last week's trial, declaring the director GUILTY of all charges. Some tried defending Mr. Harlin by pointing to his awesome early films, but most of the jury commented that he hasn't done anything great in a long time, and his most recent films have been garbage. Hopefully Mr. Harlin will return to directing exciting action movies once his sentence is up.

PREVIOUS VERDICTS

GUILTY Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, Tim Burton, The Farrelly Brothers, Michael Bay, Jessica Alba, Ice Cube, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry, Marlon Wayans, Julia Roberts, M. Night Shyamalan , Katherine Heigl , Cuba Gooding, Jr. , Tyler Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Happy Madison Productions, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis, Paul W.S. Anderson, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brett Ratner, Rob Cohen, Renee Zellweger, Shia LaBeouf, Renny Harlin