The Dark Knight

It’s impossible to watch The Dark Knight and not miss Heath Ledger. The man was absolutely brilliant in this film and it makes me a bit sad that they won’t be able to continue his character’s storyline in the franchise. They may recast eventually, but whoever takes that role will be measured against his Oscar winning performance.

In this film Bruce Wayne begins to think that he wants to give up the bat and hand this job of saving Gotham over to someone else but he discovers that it’s a mantle he can’t shake. Batman & Bruce Wayne learn a great lesson in this film, one that comes at a price.

The theme of this film is stated by one of the characters – “It’s always darkest just before the dawn” – it’s a theme that I am hoping will influence the next installment as well. Perhaps, a glimmer of light will begin to break on Gotham again.

Batman Begins

Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
Originally uploaded by puppetmister

So you know by now, that I think this is the movie that re-invented the hero movie. There’ just no way around it; Bryan Singer started to make the comic book film legit with X-Men but Christopher Nolan made the genre solid, and realistic in Batman Begins.

Even if I wasn’t a rabid fan, I don’t think many people could disagree with me that Christian Bale is the perfect choice to play Bruce Wayne. In the prior Batman film incarnations Bruce Wayne was played by good actors, but many had issues with the dual role; Michael Keaton played a great Batman, but didn’t look the part of Wayne, Val Kilmer looked great in the suit and as Wayne but just lacked a connection with either, and George Clooney Played a great Wayne but didn’t connect with Batman – not that the latter two were helped by the stories they were given. Bale however, connects with the entirety that is Bruce Wayne and Batman. He manages to pull of the two faces of Bruce Wayne – the batman, and the billionaire forced to live outside the batsuit. The difficulty with playing this character lies not in his dual identity, but the fact that if Wayne had his way, he’d never take off the suit; once he creates batman he becomes batman, and Bale captures that process in a very graceful way.

Christopher Nolan is living proof that creativity and studio blockbusters can go hand in hand.

The Dark Knight

Every time I watch The Dark Knight it holds up. It is just as tense, thrilling and masterful as the first time.

What I have to compliment Nolan and crew on most of all is how well they stayed to the mythos behind Bruce Wayne & the Joker while making the story their own. They spent the time alluding to enough of the comic book cannon that fans feel vindicated and honored rather than ignored; it’s something that only Christopher Nolan and Jon Favreau have done with the characters they’ve been given. No one has ever done this with Superman, and only slightly so with Spiderman, and a whole slew of other characters.

I hope Gary Oldman was not guessing at Comic-Con when he said the third film would begin filming next year. I want them to make a movie as great as the first two but I am quite anxious to see Bruce Wayne on screen again.

Harvey Dent: The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel's told me everything about you.
Bruce Wayne: I certainly hope not.

Public Enemies

like the movies.
Originally uploaded by Ryanwiz

John Dillinger was good at what he did – robbing banks – and he had fun doing it. Unfortunately for him the still new FBI was hot on his tail, as was the crime syndicates who were upset as his exploits were pushing through laws that made their illicit activities even more illegal than they already were. Still, Dillinger did what he loved to do, live fast, play hard and spoil the girl of his dreams.

Michael Mann is a great director. However, Public Enemies is more proof that he needs to give up his love of digital cinema and get back to film. This movie looked bad. You could see the video in almost every shot; it was flat, dull, and every time the camera moved too quickly you could see very flaw in the frame. It seriously looked like it was shot on a much less expensive budget, with a consumer camera. It drove me nuts.

I also have to say that while I love Michael Mann, Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and everyone involved with this film I am really not a big fan of it. Public Enemies is entertaining but not a movie you need to see twice. It almost feels as though the film had too broad a focus and therefore did not actually delve into the characters or issues the way it appeared they tried to delve into those issues. No character was fully developed and nothing was fully explained – that’s kind of an issue when you are dealing with a historical even most of the audience didn’t live through. Dillinger’s history and motivations never became clear to me, and I was confused about his life; the last time I had this unexplained feeling in a movie was watching Man On The Moon.

Director: Michael Mann
Writers: Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann & Ann Biderman
Pete: David Wenham
John Dillinger: Johnny Depp
Homer: Stephen Dorf
Melvin Purvis: Christian Bale
J Edgar Hoover: Billy Crudup
Billie: Marion Cotillard

Melvin Purvis: What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?
John Dillinger: Coffee.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight
Originally uploaded by Yamal Taha

A lot of anticipation preceded The Dark Knight and I am sad to say that one of the most tragic deaths of 2008 with Heath Ledger also aided in the buzz surrounding the film. However, after watching this film multiple times I can still say that The Dark Knight deserved the praise it received.

I never truly expected The Dark Knight to be nominated for best picture but I do think that it deserved it, and that Christopher Nolan deserved a nomination for best director. The Dark Knight is a technological and artistic masterwork that simply put should have received some kind of recognition beyond technical awards, especially in light of the films that actually ended up nominated. However, I suppose this does give me room to make a Superman movie that perhaps the Oscars will recognize and break the taboo.

Everytime I watch The Dark Night I am astounded by the performance of Heath Ledger. Watching him not only makes me sad that he can never reprise his role at Joker but that he can never again bring his talent to the screen.

I hope that Nolan’s Batman films break the comic book conventions and the third one knocks it out of the park.

Alfred Pennyworth: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
Bruce Wayne: Batman has no limits.
Alfred Pennyworth: Well, you do, sir.
Bruce Wayne: Well, can't afford to know 'em.

Batman Begins

The Cast
Originally uploaded by Matt Garland

Batman Begins does not get old.

While I loved The Dark Knight I have to say that I will probably watch Batman Begins much more. Nothing against The Dark Knight, it’s just that Nolan’s first installment fits my own thematic outlook much more. While it is never a bright and cheery movie the tone and characters in Batman Begins are much more hopeful and optimistic than the follow-up film.

In the light of Natasha Richardson’s recent death I found myself paying much more attention to the performance of Liam Neeson. When I first heard Neeson was playing the films villain I wasn’t sure what to think about it. Nolan managed to trick us all into thinking it was in fact Ken Watanabe playing Ra’s Al Ghul instead of Neeson so when it was revealed that he was in fact the immortal Al Ghul was Neeson it was quite a surprise. He was a perfect Ra’s Al Ghul.

Nolan has proven time and again that he can make great movies. Like Bryan Singer before him, he took a comic book movie and made it a movie that transcended what other people would have seen as limitations.

Alfred Pennyworth: It's a problem with the graphite, sir. The next 10,000 will be up to specifications.
Bruce Wayne: At least they gave us a discount.
Alfred Pennyworth: Quite. In the, uh, meantime, Sir, may I suggest you try to avoid landing on your head?

Terminator Salvation

Baba ile Oğul
Originally uploaded by terminatorizm

Yes, yes. I saw Terminator Salvation two times in a row. What was I supposed to do? A friend wanted to go and so I went. It was fun.

I actually enjoyed seeing the film more on the second viewing and I have to day that is probably because through my entire first viewing I was constantly tense…I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was on pins and needles most of the film the first time because I love the first two films so much that I didn’t see any way that another installment of Terminator could add to the franchise after the disaster that was T3. Thank goodness my faith in McG paid off. I’d heard him speak so passionately about Terminator at last years Comic-Con and begun to get a sense that he of all people could make a worthy follow-up to Cameron’s visionary story. McG exceeded.

One of my favorite things in Terminator Salvation is that though the film has switched entirely to John Connor and away from Sarah we still get Sarah Connor in the film. Those that have followed the Connor’s since Terminator know that she recorded a series of tapes for John to prepare him for the future to come, the war with the machines and how he came to be. Now a grown man without his mother by his side to fight with him, John uses those tapes constantly in an effort to stay on top of the machines and the war to come.

As much as I loved McG’s vision of the future I still miss James Cameron at the helm. However, I hope that since Cameron isn’t there McG can perhaps get Linda Hamilton to reprise her iconic role if the story dictates it…

Marcus Wright: What day is it? What year?
Kyle Reese: 2018.
Marcus Wright: What happened here?
Kyle Reese: Judgment Day happened.

Terminator Salvation

Ölümcül Dövüş
Originally uploaded by terminatorizm

In Terminator Salvation we are finally in the post-Judgment Day war, but we are early in it – the resistance is still learning to fight against the machines, and the machines are still fighting against John Connor. John Connor is finally dealing with the future his mother warned him about, the one he lived his life preparing for. He thought he was prepared for it until Marcus Wright arrives and shocks John completely – Marcus is a terminator but believes he is human. I have to say that no Terminator film will ever match Cameron’s original films, but this one is a good addition to the series.

What was so great to me about Terminator Salvation is how McG has explored the mythos of Judgment Day and John Connor. By placing the audience early in the war we get to see the continued journey of how John Connor becomes the leader of the resistance. You see when we come into the movie John is not the leader. John is high in the resistance but there is a central command that does not accept him as leader. The writers and McG have explored a very simple concept of John Connor as savior; because of Sarah, John has the knowledge of the machines and the war, and knows that he is who can end it all but while a great many people accept Johns story there is another group of people that think he is what amounts to a false prophet. John has to fight for his position as leader of the resistance.

This is the first Terminator movie that has not had a plot directly related to time travel. However, as the core of the films deal with time travel it does come up in this film. The primary thing that John Connor has to deal with is not only pushing forward to beat down Skynet, but finding his father Kyle Reese. At this point in time Kyle is actually younger than John, but John must find him, protect him and shepard him into the soldier that he will send back in time to protect his mother without Kyle ever knowing that this is what is happening. And after a lifetime of growing up never knowing his father, John Connor will finally meet him.

What I am still weighing in my mind is the character of Marcus Wright. I can’t say that I disliked the character, and I think that upon further viewing I will in fact like him more, but the character was a bit odd to me. I think my only reasoning is that never before has a main character entirely taken focus off one of the Connor’s. However, his character served a great purpose in the film and was pretty dang interesting so I can’t complain. I do however wish that Kate Connor was further explored as it felt like there should have been more to her in the movie.

Terminator Salvation has gotten a lot of crap, and I have to say that most of it is probably coming from people that still won’t accept McG as a credible director. However, he seems to be on a string of well done movies, it began with We Are Marshall and if it continues past Terminator Salvation I’d say I can safely call McG a dang good director. I’d take him over Michael Bay any day.

Director: McG
Writers: John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris
John Connor: Christian Bale
Marcus Wright: Sam Worthington
Blair Williams: Moon Bloodgood
Dr. Serena Kogan: Helena Bonham Carter
Kyle Reese: Anton Yelchin
Kate Connor: Bryce Dallas Howard
General Ashdown: Michael Ironside

John Connor: We've been fighting a long time. We are out numbered by machines. Working around the clock,without quit. Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are listening to this,you are the resistance.

Newsies

In the early 20th century the labor unions began to take over and there was a publishing war between the newspaper barons, and when the newpapers decide to make up some of their profits by taking money away from the already struggling newsies the kids get inspired and decide to fight back.

Newsies is a fan favorite, uplifting, musical starring a very young Christian Bale in the main role. In concept this film is quite odd – teens being forced to work before child labor laws were in place, newspaper barons, trolley strikes, fancy foot work and show tunes; yet, Newsies works because it completely commits to what it is and never flounders for a second.

While Newsies is silly at points, and definitely hurries some plot points along like any show stopping musical, it is full of a great set of characters that make the film memorable, and songs that drive the point home without being stuck in your head for days afterward.

What is perhaps most jarring to me about Newsies is the realization that Christian Bale’s early career was more than just Empire of the Sun - Bale was a full fledged child actor that has managed to morph into one of the biggest stars today. I can only hope that Bale will continue acting for many years to come so that the audience can continue to watch his progress through the silver screen and see what Bale will be like when he is the next Sean Connery.

Director: Kenny Ortega
Writers: Bob Tzudiker & Noni White
Jack Kelly: Christian Bale
David Jacobs: David Moscow
Denton: Bill Pullman
Pulitzer: Robert Duvall

Jack Kelly: You only took 20 papes; why?
David Jacobs: It's a bad headline.
Jack Kelly: Well, dat's da foist thing ya gotta learn - headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes.

Velvet Goldmine

Velvet Goldmine
Originally uploaded by isobelo

Very rarely do I see a movie that just eludes me – Velvet Goldmine is one of those movies. It’s been two days since I watched the film and I still am not sure if I can form a full opinion on it. I think that Velvet Goldmine was a visually spectacular movie with great direction and acting, but after that I really have no idea.

The film is pretty complex and simple all in one. It is about British glam rock in the 1970’s, specifically the rise an fall of fictional character Brian Slade who staged his own murder and then his career went even further down the tubes.

I think part of my problem with Velvet Goldmine is that the story structure is based on a device, it is told in flashback through interviews by journalist and former glam rock devotee Arthur Stuart. The device didn’t work for me. I could figure out Stuarts past and how that worked into the story, and even his broken down present but it almost seemed like there was no connection between his past and his present. It made me unable to connect with the character.

Toni Colette plays Brian Slade’s wife Mandy in the film and honestly for me she was the best character and the best performance in the film. When she meets Brian he is young and struggling and she is the first person that takes a chance on him and marries him. They live together happily admitting Brian’s preference for open love and both sexes until the stardom goes to Brian’s head and he meets Curt Wild, and slowly but surely through the process Mandy becomes the forgotten one, the joke in the entourage. Colette plays it beautifully and you see her love for Brian be slowly replaced with disappointment and confusion as time moves on.

Part of me really thinks that this film feels like a first draft. I vaguely feel as though it should be remade someday as a musical and then it will be a perfect film.

Director & Writer: Todd Haynes
Curt Wild: Ewan McGregor
Brian Slade: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Arthur Stuart: Christian Bale
Mandy Slade: Toni Collette
Jerry Devine: Eddie Izzard

Curt Wild: We set out to change the world... ended up just changing ourselves.
Arthur Stuart: What's wrong with that?
Curt Wild: Nothing, if you don't look at the world.

The Prestige

The Prestige
Originally uploaded by Vincent Yeh ©

I have waxed poetically about The Prestige before – but that doesn’t stop me from doing it again. This is a great movie. Quite honestly I cannot find a single flaw in it no matter how hard I try. “Are you watching closely” is the motto woven throughout the film and I can say that I have been watching closely and I still get as much satisfaction out of The Prestige as I did the first time I saw it.

I see a lot of movies, as a result it takes a very unique movie to cause a real jump, fright or tension in me – I recognize the signs and everything that is put into that moment on film so it’s hard to catch me by surprise. No matter how many times I see The Prestige it still makes me tense. This is a story about two rival magicians whose rivalry becomes violent; these men do some really dastardly things to one another until it’s so out of control that they couldn’t stop if they wanted to and every time they do something new to one another I still cringe in anticipation. For me this means Christopher Nolan did his job well.

This is a movie driven by two very powerful actors, two actors that people love and respect but somehow it still doesn’t seem that they truly get the recognition they deserve. In The Prestige Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale manage to do the impossible – they both manage to remain a dominating presence on screen without letting either actor steal the picture. They are amazing to watch and absolutely entertaining to their very core.

One person that I seem to inadvertently ignore every time I write about a movie that has him is the phenomenal Michael Caine. In this film Caine plays Cutter, the man behind the magic tricks, the man that makes all of the magic happen. As always he is witty, charming and capable of assuaging the audiences fears or driving home the gravest of messages. Michael Caine is truly talented and needs more than the one Oscar he has.

Perhaps my absolute favorite aspect of The Prestige is the fact that no matter how many times I watch it I come up with more questions about the film. When I watch so many movies on a constant basis having a film enthrall me and make me question what I’m seeing is the equivalent of a trip to Disneyland for someone that never gets to go, it’s a special treat that I absolutely adore.

Cutter: Now you're looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.

Little Women

The story of Little Women has been told for generations about the March family, husband and wife blessed with four daughters as different as can be: Meg the perfect Victorian beauty, Jo the imaginative tom boy, Beth the sickly sister with a giant heart, and Amy the youngest sister who desires wealth and society. The four sisters grow up, meet men and their lives and relationships change forever both by their actions and the changing climates around them.

The sad part is I only have one hang-up with the story of Little Women both in regards to the book and the movie. It infuriates and mystifies me that Jo rejects Laurie when he proposes marriage to her; even before I was a Bale fan this act confused me. To this day I don’t understand why Jo does this when the two characters are so perfect for each other from a narrative stand point. This is the only point where I have to stand back and realize that in the end Little Women is a novel loosely based on Louisa May Alcott’s own life – so I guess she rejected the real life Laurie too.

I really appreciate the subtle hand Gillian Armstrong uses in her treatment of Little Women. Armstrong has an eye for the rhythm of Victorian life in a way that most directors might not, and I have to imagine that being a woman gave Armstrong an extra ability to empathize with the titular women and really be able to delve into the trials and joys of their lives without seeming to demean or cheapen them.

Eventually, I will have to do what I’ve never been able to do and read the novel that this movie is based on…and track the ancient film version down where the actresses are actually wearing hoop skirts and clothing strange to the era.

Director: Gillian Armstrong
Writer: Robin Swicord
Jo March: Winona Ryder
Friedrich Bhaer: Gabriel Byrne
Meg March: Trini Alvarado
Older Amy March: Samantha Mathis
Younger Amy March: Kirsten Dunst
Beth March: Claire Danes
Laurie: Christian Bale
John Brooke: Eric Stoltz
”Marmee” March: Susan Sarandon

Amy: Do you love Laurie more than you love me?
Jo: Don't be silly! I could never love anyone more than I love my sisters.

The Dark Knight

Batman - The Dark Knight - Trailer #3 - 22
Originally uploaded by Lyricis

Of course I bought the deluxe edition of The Dark Knight the day it came out and I bought the Target exclusive version that had the cowl packaging. I actually sat around all day at work, excited that I would own the DVD in a few hours. Yes, I am a dork, but you all knew that. However, my love of this movie goes well beyond my adoration of Christian Bale. I am one of the people that truly thinks this film is one of the best Batman stories committed to the Batman cannon.

One of my favorite things about The Dark Knight is the script itself; everything about this movie begins with such a well written script. It has been hard to place what is my favorite moment in The Dark Knight but waiting for it to come out for me to own, and watching it again I realized what it was. There is one image, one scene that has stuck in my head since the my first viewing. [Do not read if you do not want to be spoiled.]

Batman is in the high rise building with the Joker pinning him down, he manages to turn the tables and flip Joker off the ledge to what you assume will mean he is plummeting to his death; instead Batman fires one of his handy grappling devices and catches Joker by the feet hauling him back to the ledge and suspending him upside down. Joker blows in the breeze and laughs maniacally. What makes this scene work for me so well is the synchronicity of the dialogue and camera work that comes next as Joker delivers a speech that sums up the relationship of Batman & Joker perfectly starting with “this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”.

Verbally every line that is delivered in this monologue is perfect and succinct. Joker will never give up and he loves having an opponent like Batman to fight, he knows Batman will never give up because he can’t have peace in a world where someone like Joker exists but he will not cross the line that it takes to defeat men like Joker. Joker & Batman know that to defeat Joker, Batman would have to become like Joker. This speech is hook, line and sinker the perfect summary of everything Joker is an always has been in any serious form of the story – he is a psychotic, conscious-free villain to the very core who doesn’t wreak havoc for the profit but for the joy of it.

While this beautiful bit of writing is going on visually Chris Nolan clues his audience into the meaning of this exchange. Batman strong and powerful is consistently large and visible in his shots, but Joker goes on a visual journey. When Batman first hoists him up he is portrayed visually as powerless – upside down and swaying, he has no control. However, as he verbally defeats Batman the camera begins to turn until Joker is right side up, visually this is a more powerful and dominant position to be in. When you combine the visuals with the monologue it becomes incredibly obvious – Batman has won the battle, but Joker is fighting the war.

Joker’s speech is a perfect one from an intellectual stand point. I have been sitting and wondering for quite awhile between Joker and Batman who is the “unstoppable force” and who is the “immovable object”. Immediate evidence would suggest that Joker is the former and Batman the latter, but when you really sit down I am pretty sure you could come up with evidence for the other side as well.

For all the people clamoring for the follow-up film I have one thing to say. Be patient. There was about three years between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight but it was worth waiting for wasn’t it? Nolan & Bale’s next movie’s won’t be Batman movies, but this doesn’t mean they won’t make another; both of these men are seriously committed to their craft and don’t want to make a movie just to make some money. So ignore the rumors about who’s been cast as Catwoman, Riddler, etc – they are fake – and just let the men work at their own pace otherwise you’ll end up with a movie more like Spiderman 3 and less like a genuine tale worth telling.

The Joker: You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
Batman: You'll be in a padded cell forever.
The Joker: Maybe we can share one. They'll be doubling up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds.

Laurel Canyon

Laurel Canyon is a really dang good movie, but I have a feeling it will infuriate some people.

When the story begins Sam and Alex are moving from the east coast to the west coast; Alex is getting her PhD to go along with her MD and is working on her dissertation and Sam has earned a psychiatric residency at a prestigious southern California hospital. Sam’s mother Jane is a record producer and they will be staying in her lavish Laurel Canyon home while she is away having just finished a record. The problem is that when they arrive they discover that Jane has not finished her record and she (and therefore the band) are inhabiting the house. Thus begins the real problems – Sam hate the world his mother forced him to grow up in and doesn’t realize that Alex is utterly drawn to Jane’s world because it is utterly different than her own.

This movie truly is not carried by one member of the cast but all three of the leads. Frances McDormand, Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale are phenomenal under the direction of Lisa Cholodenko. While this is a very broad statement I do think this may be one of the best movies directed by a woman that I have seen in a few years. While a large chunk of how much I enjoyed this film can probably be attributed to the incredible talents of the cast Cholodenko’s skill shines through in everything from her music choices to the shots she chose to edit together. Perhaps it is merely my recent distaste of Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight talking but you can see the purpose behind ever shot that Cholodenko uses in a scene and they draw you further into the characters and the story. While this may seem like the most basic element of filmmaking you would be surprised to see how many people cannot do this well.

Part of what I like is that Laurel Canyon in my opinion raises questions about which character did the worse thing. You may assume Alex because she physically cheats (and who it happens with), Sam because he emotionally cheats or Jane because she enables all of this to happen. There is no way to truly calculate each parties guilt and through all the emotion and caring each person has for the others they still all messed up.

Perhaps the best thing about Laurel Canyon is how very real it feels. The open ending adds to this and is one of the primary reasons Laurel Canyon will divide audiences. Sam and Alex being the film in a nearly picture perfect relationship but by the end of the film they are not ready to walk blissfully into the sunset – in fact you don’t know where they characters would go once the film ends. The emotional turmoil that the characters go through in the movie makes you wonder what you would do in that situation and be very glad you are not in their shoes.

Director & Writer: Lisa Cholodenko
Jane: Frances McDormand
Sam: Christian Bale
Alex: Kate Beckinsale
Sara: Natascha McElhone
Ian McKnight: Alessandro Nivola

Alex: We just hadn't planned on a change of plan.
Jane: Well who plans on a change of plan? I mean, that would be sorta paranoid, don't you think?

The New World

Since 1969 Terrence Malick has only directed five movies and written less than a dozen; as such when he does make a movie I tend to pay attention. His last movie was The New World. Malick is an eccentric filmmaker, one known for tackling subjects differently than anyone else, and actually making his movies in ways no one else ever would. The New World is a great example of this; Malick released the movie, then at least once pulled all the prints, had the film re-edited and released the film again. This second version is the version on DVD and the version that I saw.

The New World is the story of the Jamestown settlers that came to Virginia in 1607, primarily the story is about Pocahontas and her encounter with John Smith all the way through her death when she marries John Rolfe. The story is not told in a traditional way; there is very little actual dialogue, most of the film’s dialogue is told through voice over, and that switches between Smith, Rolfe and Pocahontas. The film is a beautiful character piece on all three characters, but as Pocahontas ties them all together she is really the focus of the film.

What I enjoyed about The New World is really what I enjoyed about Malick’s other films like The Thin Red Line. Malick really likes to let his stories weave together almost on their own and you discover the characters as they discover themselves - it almost feels as though he is shooting so much he only really knows what the film is going to be after he is done editing. I also like that Malick makes the landscape just as much a part of his films as the characters are – he shoots things that you would never consider shooting.

One of the most beautiful things about the piece is how the music fits seamlessly into every inch of the film. As there is very little dialogue the movie becomes about the visuals and the sound, the film truly feels as though it was edited to music instead of having the music placed in the film – knowing how Malick works I wouldn’t be surprised if that were actually the case.

The only downside to The New World is that like all of Malick’s movies it feels very long, and can be hard to get into if you are not used to Malick’s filmmaking style. However, seeing Colin Farrell and Christian Bale in the same movie might be worth it for some people.

Director & Writer: Terrence Malick
John Smith: Colin Farrell
Pocahontas: Q’orianka Kilcher
John Rolfe: Christian Bale
Captian Newport: Christopher Plummer

John Smith: If only I could go down that river. To love her in the wild, forget the name of Smith. I should tell her. Tell her what? It was just a dream. I am now awake.

The Machinist

Many people came into awareness of Christian Bale with Batman, but those of us in the know have been watching his films since before even American Psycho brought him into cult status. The man was in Empire of the Sun - Spielberg knows what he’s doing. Anyway, one of the astonishing things about Bale being in Batman Begins was what he did before. He lost about 60+ pounds to play the lead in The Machinist.

The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik; he’s a man that is so thin he resembles a human skeleton and he has been suffering from insomnia for at least a year. Day to day he goes to work in some sort of factory as a machine operator, visits Claire the prostitute with a heart of gold, and Marie the waitress every night for a cup of coffee. Though his weight is continually decreasing Trevor professes to be fine until he begins to see Ivan, a new arch welder at the plant. Once Ivan appears things begin to get bad for Trevor, accidents follow him and he soon believes his is part of a grand conspiracy but he cannot figure out the reason why all of this is happening.

I have a very large film vocabulary, as such I figured out part of the twist in The Machinist very early into the film; however, I was so interested in what the director was doing and the characters I did not turn off the film and by doing so I discovered that the film more than exceeded my expectations. While to me part of the twist was predictable, there was a larger part of the story that was part of the twist as well and I could not have predicted that. The ending of The Machinist takes the film from being well done but typical fare to a beautiful film that deviates from the standard. I know this is vague as I refuse to reveal the twist to you, but you will just have to trust me and see it for yourself.

I don’t feel the need to point out how much I adore Christian Bale as an actor again (because you do all already know that), but I do need to point out that he has been cited as the basic reason this movie got made. Scott Kosar has been quoted as saying he didn’t think the film would ever be made because he didn’t think they would ever find an actor that was willing to lose enough weight to be Trevor and there was no way the film would work without the weight element. Bale is known for throwing himself at a role, and he more than proved it by deciding to tackle the character of Trevor Reznik.

As a director one of the things I love the most about The Machinist were the visuals of the film. Not only was the film shot beautifully but the color palette was just spectacularly cool and beautiful. The entire film feels like it was died blue and this ads to the few punches of color that director Brad Anderson chooses to throw in there, and to the detachment of Trevor’s world from the rest of humanity.

This movie is gorgeous in all senses of the word but it is not for the faint of heart; on some level this film is also disturbing. However, all of this is rectified by the fact that this is a film that has a meaning to it and a deeper point than to just “entertain” the audience for an hour and a half.

Director: Brad Anderson
Writer: Steve Kosar
Trevor Reznik: Christian Bale
Stevie: Jennifer Jason Leigh
Marie: Aitana Sanchex-Gijon
Ivan: John Sharian
Miller: Michael Ironside
Nicholas: Matthew Romero Moore

Marie: Trevor, is someone chasing you?
Trevor Reznik: Not yet. But they will when they find out who I am.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

I know, I know. If a movie has Christian Bale or Robert Downey Jr. I’ll see it, so it’s no surprise that I am reviewing yet another Christian Bale movie. The shocking part is that I didn’t know A Midsummer Night’s Dream even had Christian Bale in it until I was playing around IMDB about a week ago. When I figured that out of course I had to Netflix it. I am sure most people know at least vaguely what the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is. However, Shakespeare is Greek to a lot of people to I might as well sum it up for you.

The play takes place in Athens and revolves around one of the noblemen who is finally getting married, the whole town is rejoicing. A small play company prepares a play for the event starring their best actor Nick Bottom – who is more than a little conceited about himself and his talents. At the same time there is a love triangle between Lysander, Hermia, and Demetrius. Lysander and Hermia are in love but Hermia’s father does not want the couple to be, and since Demetrius is in love with Hermia her father has consented to the marriage of Hermia to Demetrius. The problem of course is that Hermia does not love Demetrius but her friend Helena does love Demetrius and he won’t give her the time of day. Meanwhile, in the forrest surrounding the city the fairies play but Oberon king of the fairies and Titiana his wife fight.

When night falls Lysander & Hermia flee into the woods to escape her forced marriage and are pursued by Demetrius and Helena. Oberon decides to betwitch Titiana to fall in love with a beast (Bottom who is turned into a donkey), but as he doe this he spies Demetrius spurning Helena and decides that she should have the love she deserves; as such he charges Puck with the mission to track down Demetrius and bewitch him to fall in love with Helena instead of Hermia.

In typical Shakespeare fashion this is where the problem occurs. Puck does bewitch the young Athenian man he finds in the forrest but it’s Lysander not Demetrius. Long story short Demetrius and Lysander both end up fighting over Helena and hating Hermia and both women are confused and angry – Helena thinking she is being teased and Hermia thinking Helena has done something to bring this about. All the while Oberon watches as Titania throws herself at a beast.

What I liked about this version was the fanciful world that was created for the night time in the woods. It did feel like it was an enchanted wood, something that a child would believe was infested with fairies and other magical creatures. What I did not like so much was that this world felt such like a sound stage that when we went to the daytime version of the woods (when the magic was broken) it looked so real it didn’t even seem like part of the same planet. I understand why this was done from a directorial standpoint, you would want two totally and completely different worlds, but there should have been something done in film stock, color palette, etc. to make the two worlds seem like they were part of the same film. I also did not understand the added little nugget having to do with bicycles…but I partially chalk that off to someone wanting to put Puck on a bike and wanting to do the gag with Lysander & Demetrius lifting Helena’s bike.

When I was watching A Midsummer Night’s Dream I was actually shocked by the number of stars that are in the film. Back in 1999 (and judging from the DVD packaging) a lot of these actors weren’t nearly as well known. This totally explains why I didn't know Bale was in the movie. This was prior to Batman & American Psycho, as such Calista Flockhart got billing over Bale. He is not even mentioned on the packaging or shown in the art. Neither is Sam Rockwell.

I did also appreciate that none of these actors made me feel like they couldn’t do Shakespeare. There is always at least one actor in an adaptation that seems like they can’t handle the language or something similar that puts them out of the film for me. I really didn’t have that here. I did have a brief moment where I kept looking at Calista Flockhart and seeing Ally McBeal but that is my thing and has nothing to do with her performance.

On the whole I did find this film really enjoyable and think that it was a worthy effort as far as Shakespeare adaptations go.

Director: Michael Hoffman
Writers: William Shakespeare & Michael Hoffman
Nick Bottom: Kevin Kline
Titania: Michelle Pfeiffer
Puck: Stanley Tucci
Oberon: Rupert Everett
Helena: Calista Flockhart
Lysander: Dominic West
Demeterius: Christian Bale
Hermia: Anna Friel
Theseus: David Strathairn
Hippolyta: Sophie Marceau
Francis Flute: Sam Rockwell

Theseus: No epilogue, I pray you, for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse, for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed.

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 To Yuma
Originally uploaded by patchdrury

I am a self-described Christian Bale junkie. As such it is a wonder that I have a few films in my collection starring Bale that I have not yet watched. This needed to be rectified so I began by pulling out my copy of 3:10 to Yuma which I received as a birthday present last February even though I had never seen it.

I actually do have quite a few movies in my collection that I have never seen, but the funy thing is that I attempted to see 3:10 to Yuma when it was in the theatre – it just didn’t want to see me. Between projection problems and the print being uncared for the film broke twice in the first five minutes and I walked out refusing to sit through a movie I really wanted to see knowing that it would probably keep having glitches all the way through; but I digress, I received it about nine months ago and for some reason it has sat on my DVD shelf ever since. What can I say? I have a DVD collection that numbers in the triple digits.

3:10 to Yuma is a remake, but do not count that against it. The film is one of the most moving, poignant westerns I have ever seen. While I have not seen the original I cannot imagine weighing this version of 3:10 to Yuma against anything but itself it is that good. This is an action film/western that is actually very moving character piece about two men and how the choices they have made in their lives have led up to the moment they meet each other – each man changes the other in an indelible way.

The film centers around two very different characters, Ben Wade is a ruthless outlaw known for robbery and murder who is in charge of an equally ruthless gang and Dan Evans is a civil war vet who lost his leg to the war and has spent his time since caring for his family on a ranch in Arizona. Dan is perpetually down on his luck and feels the constant wane of his families respect. The two men come in contact when Ben robs a armored carriage near Dan’s ranch. Dan later goes into Bisbee (the nearby town) and inadvertently runs into Ben again and manages to help in his arrest. From then Dan agrees to help the group assigned to take Ben to Conviction city where they can get him on the train to Yuma prison. Ben goes along knowing that at any time he can outsmart the men and that his gang will be tracking him down. However, what he does not expect it to be so fascinated by Dan and through the journey though the two men do not really like each other they develop a kind of mutual empathy for the other which causes Dan to finally want to do the right thing to make his children proud of him and watching Dan changes Ben forever.

This is a western in the truest since and you can feel the dirt and grime that shooting on location created. James Mangold manages to take a very action filled story and turn it into a character piece about a good man who is down on his luck and a man who appears to be rotten to the core who turns out to have a little bit of good left in him. The action in the film is spectacular, but more than anything Mangold manages to make you interested in these characters which is something so many action movies seem to forget about.

I could watch Christian Bale read the dictionary, but I truly believe he is one of the best actors of our times and he again proves how capable he is of disappearing into a role in this film. I’ve heard directors speak about Bale and say that the best thing about him is that he isn’t as interested in the trappings of the script but that the character changes throughout it, and I think you can tell in his performace that he truly dedicates himself to this transformation.

Even if you don’t think you like westerns I implore you to take a chance on 3:10 to Yuma. The film is worth your time. After this film and Walk the Line, I am very excited to see where James Mangold will take me next.

Director: James Mangold
Writers: Halsted Wells, Michael Brandt & Derek Haas
Ben Wade: Russell Crowe
Dan Evans: Christian Bale
William Evans: Logan Lerman
Grayson Butterfield: Dallas Roberts
Charlie Prince: Ben Foster
Byron McElroy: Peter Fonda
Doc Potter: Alan Tudyk
Alice Evans: Gretchen Mol

Dan Evans: I've been standin’ on one leg for three damn years waitin’ for God to do me a favor... and He ain't listenin.

Rescue Dawn

Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

For some reason Werner Herzog intrigues me as a director. I cannot quite put my finger on why though other than he’s a director that is very interested in not just documentaries but in historical narratives. When I heard he was doing Rescue Dawn with Christian Bale I was incredibly intrigued but I was never able to get to the theatre to check it out.

This movie is based on the true story of pilot Dieter Dengler and based on the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly also by Herzog. I know that some liberties were inevitably taken to translate this story to film, such as there being seven captives in reality but only six in the film; however, as best I can tell Herzog stuck to his documentary form and tried to keep Rescue Dawn as close to the real events as he possibly could. This story is about Dieter and that was Herzog’s primary concern, that the audience understand Dieter.

What Herzog chose to include in the film is a heck of a story. It begins on Dieter’s ship, just before Dieter is sent off on his first mission over Laos. He is subsequently shot down and follows orders to get rid of his radio and anything else that the Viet Cong can use against his shipmates; as a result he is unable to signal the rescue crew when they fly over his location over the next few days. Eventually Dieter is captured and put through various tortures before finally being taken to a POW camp where he meets other prisoners. Together he helps hatch a plan for their eventual escape.

The driving force of this film is Christian Bale. The only thing I can say is that he is so dang infectious in the role, as an audience member you can’t help but to like him. From opening to end all Dieter wants to do is fly and is so dang loyal to America because they gave him his wings. Bale makes Dieter a man you would follow any where, through any plan because you believe him capable of anything. He is a red-blooded American pilot which is odd as Dieter was German born and Bale is Welsh. Talk about confusing.

However, the surprise factor goes to Steve Zahn as fellow prisoner Duane. Duane is the only other soldier in the camp (the other prisoners worked for Air America) and bonds closely with Dieter. I have never seen Zahn in a dramatic role and he hits it out of the park. Comedians can truly be some of the best dramatic actors and I cannot wait to see more drama out of Zahn.

As a director, one of the most fascinating things for me when I watched Rescue Dawn was knowing that this film was shot in reverse chronological order. Because Herzog knew that the actors had to lose a lot of weight for the roles, and weight is easier to gain than to lose he shot the film starting with the end, and moved back to the beginning so that the actors could lose all of the weight and slowly gain it back through the shoot. Part of why this is so shocking for this film is because this requires your actors to start emotionally with the end of the story which in this case is the most emotionally gut wrenching part, and move slowly backwards to the opening which is much lighter and more idealistic – how the actors managed this I have no idea, but it works so incredibly well.

Director & Writer: Werner Herzog
Dieter: Christian Bale
Duane: Steve Zahn
Gene: Jeremy Davies
Squad Leader: Zach Grenier

Dieter: When I was uhh... five or somethin', I was looking out the window, with my brother... and we see this fighter plane was coming right at us. I was not scared. I was mesmerized! Because for me, this pilot was this all-mighty being from the clouds. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be him. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be a pilot.

The Prestige

The_Prestige08
Originally uploaded by earlyshen

The Prestige was on one of the movie channels last night and I accidentally tuned into it – and I could not turn it off. I forgot how brilliant The Prestige really is; it is an enthralling film filled with brilliant performances, a great cast and an amazing sotry.

I cannot tell you that the story behind The Prestige is simple as I do with some of my other reviews, nor can I tell you all about it as that would spoil the surprise. What I can tell you is that this film improves with every viewing because more layers of the story become clear to the viewer.

My favorite thing about the film is actually how it is structured; the film is structured like a magic trick. One of the characters sets up this structure at the beginning of the film; every magic trick contains three parts, the pledge where the magician shows you something ordinary but of course it isn’t ordinary, the turn where he takes the ordinary object and makes it extraordinary, and finally the prestige where the pay off of the magic trick is revealed - without the prestige the trick is worthless.

The pledge in this film seems so very ordinary; Cutter, Alfred, Robert & his wife Julia work for a magician and the Robert & Alfred have aspirations to become magicians in their own right. While performing a trick they have done hundreds of times something goes wrong and Julia is killed. Distraught, Robert blames Alfred for Julia’s death and both men leave their positions seeking to better the other as the world’s best magician a rivalry fueled by Robert’s anger at Alfred. Alfred and Cutter join forces to help bring Alfred’s magic to the public.

The turn is the middle of the film; Alfred has lived up to his word and created what appears to be the world’s greatest magic trick and no one can duplicate it. Alfred becomes massively popular and eclipse's Robert’s glory; the two men begin to compete even more than before and each forsee’s the other’s next step. Angered even more, Robert seeks to discover how Alfred’s illusion is managed and finally has Alfred stopped from performing his trick by having him arrested and tried for murder.

The prestige is what I cannot reveal, but it truly is the point in the movie where Christopher and Jonathon Nolan take what seemed to be an ordinary rivalry and turn it into something you never expected and a masterful bit of writing that makes the entire movie that precedes it more worth the viewing. Just like promised, the prestige of this film makes the entire movie worth watching again and again.

When I tell you that this movie is different I am not exaggerating. The story is more complex and layered that I can explain here without ruining everything for you. I think that this movie surprises and confuses people, but it is so worth your time.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher and Jonathon Nolan
Alfred: Christian Bale
Robert: Hugh Jackman
Cutter: Michael Caine
Julia: Piper Perabo
Olivia: Scarlett Johansson
Tesla: David Bowie
Sarah: Rebecca Hall

Cutter: Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".