Movie Review Report

Along with the rest of the world I have been waiting for this movie to come out since I saw Batman Begins. I am a huge fan of Christian Bale (and have been since I saw Newsies in 1992, love that movie!). And then all the anticipation with Heath Ledger’s death and his portrayal of the Joker… there was no way I was missing out on opening weekend. The first theater we went to was completely sold out for the weekend (!!) but we lucked out and found a theater that had openings for the last show on Sunday night at 10:20. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this record breaking opening. It’s all very exciting. So much so that I thought there was a small chance the movie wouldn’t live up to the hype; I came to the conclusion that it did… for the most part.

Short plot summary from imdb.com:

Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham’s new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker’s crimes grow more and more deadly.

This movie really was awesome. All the special effects, gadgets, cars, motorcycle, explosions, make-up; it was all just unbelievable. Christian Bale was amazing as usual, he is such an awesome Batman (although I am also a big fan of Val Kilmer but that has nothing to with this). The most amazing part of the whole movie is that Heath Ledger’s Joker really did live up to all the hype, which I find amazing. He stole the show without a doubt. If he does end up getting an Oscar for it, it would be well deserved. Another thing I thought was awesome was what they did with Two-Face. When they finally show his face it’s so creepy you can’t keep your eyes off of him.

I did however have a few small problems with the movie. First of all, I was mad that Katie Holmes was replaced with Maggie Gyllenhaal. I hate when they replace characters; it distracts me. And as much as I hated Katie Holmes in the first one, I hated Maggie MUCH more. She is so funny looking and not believable at all in the role she’s playing. Besides the fact that for some reason she was extremely annoying the entire movie. The other reason I was ever so slightly disappointed was because (and this is my own fault) I was expecting to see more of a back story on the Joker and find out more about why he was the way that he was and they were very vague about the whole thing. I understand that that’s the way they chose to depict the character but I just wanted to know more, like what they did with Two-Face.
Overall, this movie is not only a must see, but you must see it in the theater. It will be much more enjoyable on the big screen because it’s such a huge production.

I know this may seem like a low rating but I just can’t say that I loved it yet. Maybe after a watch it a couple more times…

My Rating:

Really Liked it

The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight review, movie review, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Katie Holmes, Batman Begins

As previously stated, Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors of all time, so it was one of the main reasons I wanted to see this movie. Plus I was interested because you don’t see many western movies out nowadays do you?

3:10 to Yuma is a remake of the 1957 film of the same title based on a story by Elmore Leonard. Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a struggling rancher who is unable to make payments on his land and barely able to support his wife and two sons. When the infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is captured nearby, Dan offers to join the group to escort him to the train station to catch the 3:10 to Yuma Prison, in exchange for $200. The group faces a difficult task, to get Wade to the station on time before his gang catches up to them, and also keep a close eye on the conniving outlaw. Dan is doing this as much for the money and he is to prove to himself and his family that he’s more than just a failing rancher.

This was such a great movie. It reminded me of the old time classic westerns. It was very well made and not cheesy at all, like most other attempts at western films recently. Some people are saying that this movie may be paving the way for more western movies in the future. I would agree with that…as long as upcoming westerns can meet the high expectations set by this movie.

Both Christian Bale and Russell Crowe did an amazing job in this movie. Bale continues to amazing me with one great performance after another. And apparently there isn’t an accent he can’t perfect or a genre he isn’t able to conquer. He has played so many different characters and been believable in every one.

I would definitely recommend this movie. Even if you’re not a fan of westerns, it’s worth watching it just to see the great performances and the classic story.

My Rating:

Really Liked it

Review: Rescue Dawn

3:10 to Yuma, movie review, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, western

Rescue Dawn came out on DVD this past week and it is an amazing movie. Definitely the best rental you could’ve picked up this week. I actually went to see it at the theater when it came out and I really liked it.
Christian Bale is one of my all time favorite actors and he is amazing in this movie.

Rescue Dawn is based on the true story of Deiter Dengler (Christian Bale), a German-American fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. His plane was shot down during his first bomb run and he was captured and put in a POW camp. During his imprisonment, he retains his upbeat attitude and creates a plan for him and the other prisoners to escape.

Steve Zahn plays one of the prisoners and also did an amazing job. The acting in the film was really incredible. The most amazing thing about the movie is that it is based on a true story. When you see how Dieter reacts to the circumstances he finds himself in it is really unbelievable that not only he could survive, but also keep his positive attitude and encourage the other prisoners.

Christian Bale’s performance is incredible as usual. In this film he had to lose a lot of weight throughout the filming to show his diminishing condition. This isn’t the first time he has changed his appearance drastically for a movie. He lost over 60 pounds to prepare for The Machinist and immediately after gained 100 pounds in order to play Batman in Batman Begins. His dedication to his work shows in all of his amazing performances; Rescue Dawn is no different.
I would definitely recommend Rescue Dawn, it is an extremely uplifting, incredible story and the acting is equally as impressive.

My Rating:

Really Liked it

Review: Blood Diamond

Rescue Dawn, movie review, Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Vietnam War