christian bale | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Darren

Even four years after is original release, The Dark Knight casts a pretty big shadow. Not only is it the best Batman movie ever produced, and easily one of the best stories to feature the character in any medium, it’s also a wonderful piece of cinema on its own terms. Christopher Nolan is an astounding craftsman, and one who constructed his superhero sequel without ever feeling the need to dumb down. The Dark Knight is a wonderfully effective and stunningly constructed piece of popcorn cinema, but it’s also the most profound and engaging (and, importantly, even-handed) meditations on the War of Terror that Hollywood has produced. It’s bold and accessible, but it’s also intelligent and engaging. More than an astoundingly impressive blockbuster, it’s just a superb piece of cinema.

It all goes up in flames…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: aaron eckhart, batman, batman begins, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, film, gary oldman, gotham, harvey dent, heath ledger, joker, Movies, non-review review, review, two face | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Public Enemies

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Darren

I want to love this film. I really do. I enjoyed Miami Vice, so devoted am I to the cult of Mann and his study of the modern man lost in the world of violence and suffering. And Public Enemies has a lot going for it, it does. A fantastic cast, a better-than-fantastic lead, a solid script. On the other hand, the film is, technically speaking, a mess. And not the good kind of mess.

Don't get Christian Bale angry... He won't like you when he's angry...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: billy crudup, christian bale, crime, fbi, film, high definition, history, j edgar hoover, john dillinger, johnny depp, michael mann, Movies, non-review review, public enemies, public enemy number one, review | 11 Comments »

Christian Bale & Johnny Depp’s Set Diaries from Public Enemies!

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Darren

I’m not a big fan of posting stuff I find on-line at the blog (I’ll generally link to the article and offer my own reaction to it), but this was too fun to pass up:

Television Without Pity has this lovely photo journal contrasting Christian Bale and Johnny Depp’s approach to making Public Enemies. Click the link or the picture. It is one of the funniest film-related articles I’ve read in quite some time.

Check out our own review of the film here.

Then we stopped by a Steak n Shake for a Steakburger (I love those fucking things), but the waitress forgot my fucking chili. I knew it was going to be a problem when she didn't fucking write anything down. "It's all up here!" she said. FUCKING LIAR. How does someone get to become a waitress without the ability to remember a fucking order?

"Then we stopped by a Steak n Shake for a Steakburger (I love those f@!?ing things), but the waitress forgot my f@!?ing chili. I knew it was going to be a problem when she didn't f@!?ing write anything down. "It's all up here!" she said. F@!?ING LIAR. How does someone get to become a waitress without the ability to remember a f@!?ing order?"

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: christian bale, film, funny, johnny depp, Movies, parody, public enemies | Leave a comment »

Are Publishers of Embargoed Reviews Public Enemies?

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Darren

Damn you, Billy Joel! No I’m stuck humming Leningrad! (Cold War kids are hard to kill, under their desks in an air raid drill!)

Anyway, it looks to be a relatively quiet week, cinema-wise. The calm before the proverbial storm when Transformers 2 arrives at the American Box Office. Us Europeans got it first and trust us – it ain’t that great. The real movie we’re looking forward to next weekend is Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. The king of crime dramas working with both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale on one of the most compelling true-crime stories in American popular history – what’s not to like? We’d tell you, but Universal is taking down all those early reviews, so we best be careful. I guarantee half the people reading this post will be lawyers from Universal.

Universal have a novel approach for dealing with reviewers breaking the embargo...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: christian bale, embargo, johnny depp, michael mann public enemies, public enemies review, review, review embargo, universal | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman Begins

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Darren

Batman Begins has been somewhat overshadowed by the success of The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolan’s original reimagining of the Batman mythos is a compelling and clever examination of one of pop culture’s most enduring icons. I think there’s a case to be made that Batman Begins represents the best superhero origin story ever told in film – and quite possibly the definitive introduction to Batman and his world. The key isn’t collecting bits of trivia to explain the finer details, although the script from the Nolan brothers and David Goyer certainly does that. Instead, Nolan dares to examine the psychology of Batman. Richard Donner’s Superman famously boasted that you’d believe a man could fly. Nolan makes you believe that a man would dress up as a giant bat to fight crime.

Swooping ahead of the competition…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman begins, Bruce, bruce wayne, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, gotham, Henri Ducard, Movies, nolan, non-review review, ra's al ghul, review, richard donner, scarecrow, The Dark Knight, tim burton, Wayne Enterprises | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Prestige

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Darren

Last week we caught The Prestige on Network 2. It’s a breath-taking movie that tends to get lost among 2006’s other magic-themed outings (Scoop and The Illusionist). A well-crafted magical treat, I think that the film might be Nolan’s most well-crafted to date. And – a little to my surprise, I must admit – my girlfriend enjoyed it as well.

"Are you watching closely?"

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: christian bale, Christopher Nolan, film, hugh jackman, magic, Michael Caine, Movies, non-review review, review, scarlett johansson, The Dark Knight, the prestige | 8 Comments »

Does Christian Bale Suffer From Sean Penn Syndrome?

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Darren

I like Christian Bale. Or at least, I want to like Christian Bale. Having watched him since American Psycho (joining relatively late in his career-to-date but earlier than most), I am continual impressed by the quality of his acting. Yet I find it very hard to refute when my brother begins justifying his hatred for the erstwhile Welsh thespian. Eventually – after much soul-searching – I figured out why. Christian Bale suffers from what might be termed ‘Sean Penn syndrome’. In short, he’s an incredibly talented douchebag.

Is this the face of a highly talented douchebag?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3:10 to yuma, apocolypse now, batman, batman begins, celebrity tantrums, charlie chaplin, christian bale, douchebag, equilibrium, johnny depp, marlon brando, mcg, orson welles, public enemies, russell crowe, sean penn, sean penn syndrome, tantrums, terminator, terminator: salvation, The Dark Knight, transformers | 1 Comment »