Reign of Fire

Reign of Fire is a vastly underrated movie that really never garnered much attention. Sure, it was cheesy and low budget, but the indomitable Rob Bowman didn't pull any punches in this futuristic drama about dragons. Giving a scientific edge to a creature based in fantasy, this film proved to be a rather refreshing step in science fiction, which means it won't be a well received one. Even if this film barely makes its money back, at least it leaves the door open for other fantastic ideas in the science fiction genre. Of course with a film like this it makes me laugh when people are so critical of the plot holes such as where they get this never ending fuel and such. All I have to say to those that are critical is it is a movie and it is meant to entertain, not to mention the fact that the whole movie centers around dragons. To see this movie it is important that you go into it wanting to escape reality and realize that it is meant to just simply entertain the audience.

Bale and McConaughey play their roles perfectly. Both of them show that they are able to carry films and prove so in the future. Their bipolar dynamic was especially excellent, creating tension not just in beliefs but also in culture and devotion to country.Bale plays the reluctant leader of a community who sees his sole purpose as to protect the members of the community. Having witnessed his mother's death he plays everything safe, only to finally take risks once he was finally backed into a last corner. a foil to McConaughey's American macho militarist icon. McConaughey, whose finely chiseled face can be seen staring in mirrors in `Thirteen Conversations About One Thing,' is having a lark playing a brute here, but in the moments when he isn't shouting, he gives Van Zan almost as much conviction as Bale gives Quinn.

The dragons themselves make the least interesting contribution to the film and except for the final confrontation which almost "gets there" they are really secondary to the film itself. If you were to actually record the amount of dragon "screen time" I doubt it would be 18 minutes....and most of them are not far off laughable. While the special effects were only so-so they could have given us stronger scenes with the dragons to help us understand the terror they have wreaked. Because unfortunately, we see the dragons get released, and then it goes to the world basically destroyed. I would have loved to see a little more back story into the destruction and the rise to all the dragons. . Curiously, that aspect alone should have wrecked it for me...but it didn't - I found the "wasteland asharamas" totally credible and involving.

While this is far from the best sci-fi and won't be talked in the same realms as some of the other sci-fi classics, Reign of Fire is very serviceable. It is always interesting to go back and see movie that may have been overlooked and see how some of the characters have become Hollywood heavy hitters. Bale gave a strong performance and this is definitely a movie that one can enjoy from time to time. I am giving Reign of Fire three buckets of popcorn out of five. While this is not a must have movie, it is one that I would make time to see.

-The Movie Man-

The Dark Knight

I think with this movie review I could take away the title and also take away the movie poster and just simply say the phrase "Why so serious?" and you will immediately know what amazing movie I am reviewing is that of The Dark Knight. Nolan picks up right where he left off from Batman Begins, but while the first one was dark and gritty, he took this one another step further with the nemesis of the Joker. The Dark Knight is more then just a movie it is a phenomenal piece of art. Everything in this movie from the scale, to the acting, the atmosphere, the music, the action, it's all art. I have not experienced this level of greatness in a movie in a long time. This film is the darkest Batman, as well as one of the darkest, most gripping films, ever made.

Bale continues his gritty portrayal and does an excellent job as our caped crusader, who has a flawed personality that hangs on the balance between righteous and crazy. His perception of justice causes an emotional and personal shift, whether he is a rich guy who fights crime in a suit or just a regular guy who is sick of all the injustice in Gotham City and decides to give the psychopaths a dose of their own medicine. Because of this, and Bale's tremendous acting, the Bruce Wayne character is justified, and we, the audience, emphasizes with Bale's flawed hero. Bale plays the role of righteousness versus insanity in such a way that it plays so well together.

Ledger though is the real star of this show, as he steals the show with every scene that he is in as the villainous Joker. This rendition of the Joker though is like no other before and is truly the best. Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is downright evil, psychotic, corrupt, insane and even a little terrifying. With a more scary then funny rendition, he shows audiences the Joker is undoubtedly Batman's greatest foe and his perfect nemesis as he challenges Batman every step of the way. With his cynical smile and his proclaiming that Batman is a freak to the public just like him. This helps to show us the reason behind Bruce Wayne's struggle with the balance of righteousness. Ledger though makes this role legendary. 

The cinematography is truly some of the most amazing scenes. The cities of Gotham and Hong Kong are  

wide, yet there is this dark aura of crime and corruption all around of them. It really blends in well with the film, giving it a distinct and unique look. Quite simply, this is the best Gotham city in any Batman rendition. Wally Pfister has done an excellent job. To accompany the atmosphere is the tremendous music score by movie music maestros, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. With talents like these, the score is unforgettable. It is tension-building at times, and throbbing and glorious yet dark/moody during others.

Nolan has done it again. Nolan has made his "I will always be remembered" movie, this is the crown jewel in his portfolio. Perfect directing, perfect story, perfect balance between action and drama, everything is perfect. The dramatic scenes are engaging and the action sequences are crisp, thrilling, and will blow you out of your seat. Nolan's direction is tense, whip-smart, kinetic and smart. All of the action sequences are realistic, "bombastic", and CGI is used only when necessary (Steve Spielberg and George Lucas, take note). The new vehicle and some gadgets look cool and stylish and do not take away the film's credibility and realism. There are a lot of action sequences to boot, some of them combining themes from above. You will have to see them to believe them. The brothers Nolan have done it again.

Seriously, to me this film does not have a single flaw in it that I can see.  After having seen this movie and knowing how amazing of an improvement this film was I am truly looking forward to seeing what Nolan and Bale do in the third installment. For the perfect acting, amazing cinematography and the fact that this movie truly is a masterful piece of art I am giving this movie five buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a truly must have DVD.

-The Movie Man-

The Prestige

The Prestige takes us back to recreate a period in show business at the turn of the century in which the competition between magicians was intense and serious. Much of the film rings true as the lead characters go to the point of an all consuming obsession to outdo all others and to become the best. It's an easy step to accept that such unwavering determination spills over into deadly territory, as rival magicians suave Robert Angier and audacious Alfred Borden each seek to wreak continuing revenge upon the other.

The story, although adapted from a novel, really feels like the perfect fit for Nolan, as the machinations of the two men become increasingly convoluted and blinded by their egos as the back and forth matching of wits that will keep you guessing. As the game grows increasingly deadly, and threatens to consume all they love, the film becomes a fascinating study in single-mindedness. The introduction of Tesla adds yet another twist, as the film shifts from real-but-possible stage illusion to steam-punkish sci-fi. This transition is a hard note to pull off, since the beginning of the film doesn't quite suggest such a direction, but if you're willing to let Nolan lead you on the journey into increasingly fantastic realms.

Jackman and Bale give amazingly strong performances that make the viewer feel the full emotions of the two magicians as they move done this path that almost makes you feel pity for each character. Hugh Jackman was excellent as the angry, obsessive magician trying to gain back his life by revenge. Christian Bale was equally impressive as the mystifying, secretive showman, never letting out his secrets until necessary. Michael Caine rocked in supporting everyone else's parts with his curiosity. For me the greatest surprise in this movie was that of the acting of Rebecca Hall as the wife of Borden, she ends up giving such a strong performance that really Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of Olivia ends up being very flat and almost forgettable. The oddest casting though was that of David Bowie as Tesla. I felt that the superstar status of Bowie really takes away from the part in many respects, but in the end I was really surprised at how great of a job Bowie did and that he really gave a great showing of the eccentricities in his portrayal of Tesla.

The writing on this film was superb. While it had its moments where the dialogue was cheesy, especially during a lot of Johansson's lines, for the most part Bale and Jackman are amazing with their delivery of lines, and really play so well off one another. I think though for such a great movie that does such a great job at being amazingly suspenseful, it has one line that is going to be so memorable that for me nothing brings such great chills as the simple phrase "Are you watching closely."

This movie is a solid on the edge of your seat thriller that will entertain all movie viewers no matter what types of genres they prefer. For solid performance and great direction by Nolan I am giving this movie three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie that the serious movie watchers need to have.

-The Movie Man-

Batman Begins

After what I would call to be definite failures in the Batman franchise following Kilmer and Clooney's stints as Batman. The story is as good an origin story as you'll find - covering all the major (true-to-the-comic) events, and not wasting ages on them. We see Wayne's all-important training period and his connection to the Tibetan shadow-ninja clan led by Ra's Al Ghul. We see Bruce come up with ideas for his symbol, his costume, his gadgets, his car, his cave - it all fits so perfectly. Batman has always been my favorite superhero and so it has been great to see Batman come back with a great vengeance.

At the time of the releasing of Batman Begins I had never heard of the director Christopher Nolan, yet after seeing this movie I can definitively say that Nolan's directing surpasses that of Tim Burton's version of Batman. While a lot may say that is sacrilegious to go against Tim Burton's Batman, his Batman was still very cartoony and very over the top. One of the strongest features for Batman Begins is that it manages to be able to suck us in to believing that a superhero like Batman could be a reality one day. The technology is current, and we are not allowed to forget that Batman is still a flawed man under the costume who is not invincible like we can get sucked into so easily with a superhero movie.

For me the greatest aspect of this movie is that with it being an origin movie it is more of a focus on the character of Bruce Wayne and not just Batman. the movie focuses on the years of training and preparation to becoming Batman. You are almost teased throughout the first half of the movie, waiting to see the excellent Christian Bale in the costume, as it keeps holding back to keep you in anticipation. When Batman does finally turn up on screen, it is well worth the wait. In my opinion, Bale was born for this role and for the first time when watching a Batman film, I enjoyed the scenes of Wayne being Wayne as much as Wayne being Batman.

It is amazing the cast that they got for this movie such an all star cast. Everyone shines in there roles and really all the different characters do a great job at being solid without taking from anyone else in the scenes. For the comic book fans Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman is what they all long for a dark, brooding and tortured by his past, yet the hero we have come to love. Cillian Murphy plays an amazingly creepy, mad nemesis who has some outstanding scary effects.

The musical score provide by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer give a great score to accompany this movie. The thing that makes the score so powerful is that it does anything but overpower any of the scenes. The music is so subtle throughout the film that you barely notice it, yet it does one of the greatest things that music can do to us and that is enhance our emotions and feelings, which they are able to successfully enhance and boost the scenes.

This is not only just one of my favorite superhero movies but one of my favorite movies. The performances are amazing and Bale restores the power that Batman can bring to the theater. I love the new dark, gritty Batman that is more centered on the real life and not with all the outrageous over the top parts taken away. I am giving this movie four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a must have for anyone that is a true movie fan and any collection is not complete without it.

-The Movie Man-

Newsies

I am sure that most of you when you read that I was going to do a theme week with reviews of Christian Bale movies figured I would start out with either Batman Begins or Dark Knight. I decided I would throw a curve at everyone and review the 1992 Disney musical Newsies. I am sure most of you may not even remember that Christian Bale starred in this musical. For me this is a movie that never gets old no matter how many times I have seen it. It is just a solid movie that does not disappoint. While this seems like a great story it is great to know that it is based on actual events and Disney does a fairly decent job at keeping the story close to what actually happened.

With a great ensemble cast that all play so well off each other, in typical Disney fashion they give us a great villain played by Robert Duvall. Duvall does not disappoint and plays the big, greedy businessman perfectly. I think though the star of the film was the true surprise as Bale does an amazing job of not only just acting but also delivers on the singing and the dancing. The singing is believable as well in such a way that you almost buy into the fact that the real newsies may have sung to sell the papers.

The music of this musical, while I am not the biggest fans of musicals is nothing but catchy. I find myself that on any day that if any of the songs somehow pop into my head, it is stuck there for the rest of the day. The great part about it though is that the songs are very well written and really portray the story and even help keep the movie pacing moving. For me personally I think "King of New York" is probably my favorite song that actually gets popped into my head a lot. The biggest shame from Newsies though is that while the movie is very solid it did not do very well financially and it is very surprising for that with a Disney movie. Unfortunately both of Kenny Ortega's movie that he directed with Disney struggled financially at the Box office.

While most may think musical, it must be lame that is not the case because Newsies delves up its fair share of action. There are a couple of fights, and the newsboys use a lot of slang and slurs from that era that just make me chuckle. The movie delves up its own comic relief moments throughout. The character of Crutchy along with Pulitzer deliver the most one liners that help make such a dramatic story of a David and a Goliath lighthearted.

Newsies is a fun, action packed, musical that can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages, no matter what mood you are in. Newsies has the ability to take someone from having the worst day to wanting to even sing along with the movie. I am giving this movie three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five and it really is the movie that helped to let Hollywood know that Christian Bale would be an actor that would have to be reckoned with. this is definitely a great family movie that is well worth finding and adding to your own movie collection.

-The Movie Man-

Whip It

Whip It came out and was a generally overlooked movie when it came out in theaters Its opening week it finished in sixth place but had a rottentomatoes review percentage of 82%. Unfortunately the chick power of this movie kept a lot of movie goers away from it, and it was a shame that people judged this movie by the movie poster and have not been willing to give it a chance. While we did not make it to seeing it in the movie theater this was one that both myself and Kellianne have been wanting to see. Finally, after we added a netflix membership we got Whip It. I really enjoyed this movie and even though it may be considered by a lot to be a chick flick, it was one that was chock full of action.

While Whip It starts out slow, once it gets moving the brilliant ensemble cast meshes together and gives great chemistry. One of the greatest strengths for this movie was that of just when you thought that it was going to go the way of a sports romantic comedy cliche territory, the different surprising twists keep the movie original and refreshing. While the ensemble cast is great, this movie is clearly carried by Ellen Page and she does a great job at stepping into the role and easily shows how great she is able to control the material.

The production rate of this movie is naturally first rate with vivid colors and costumes that are in your face and even at times are over the top, but that is what we expect from Roller Derby. Drew Barrymore could not have done a better job in her directorial debut. She does a brilliant job to contrast the slow rural town life that Bliss has versus the fast paced one that flies around the Austin track. With the use of great camera work they place the viewer right in all the action. The last great aspect is that Barrymore's role is very low key and mellow, which is something you don't always get when you have an actor directing.

After seeing this movie I can't believe how overlooked this film has been. Ellen Page is continuing to show how great of an actress she is and that in the future she is one that you know will give you a great performance. I am giving this movie three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Be sure to put this movie on your netflix queue. It is definitely a movie that will entertain you. Of course one fo the great aspects of roller derby is the fun names that they give themselves. So those of you that read this review if you leave a comment, add what your roller derby name would be.

-The Movie Man- 

Grown Ups

Life here has been very busy with work and family so I have let the movie blog slip but don't worry we have still been watching movies so I have a bunch that are just waiting for me to write up reviews on. This past weekend while we were down in St. George we made a trip to the movie theater and were able to see Grown Ups. This movie was definitely enjoyable and funny, but as can be expected the plot is fairly thin and hinges around the death of their middle school basketball coach and the funeral bringing the five middle schoolers back together. After seeing this movie the first thing I thought was wow this was fairly clean for an Adam Sandler movie.

Of course with a movie like this the acting is not going to win any awards, but they are all serviceable in their roles. For me though I was surprised as Adam Sandler really gave a performance that shone. While the movie has its running gags of Kevin James being fat and Rob Schneider marrying a much much older women for me one of the best one liners was not even delivered by the main five characters but actually the kid that plays Chris Rock in middle school made me really crack up.

It would be impossible not to laugh at the good moments of this film, which seems like a long improvisation by these experts of comedy. There are some great lines and funny situations, certainly. No, its probably not the most memorable film of the year but if a feel-good experience is needed, this one should fit the bill. The cast is stellar, with all of the major actors doing fine and funny work. For the most part, too, they seem to work as an ensemble, passing around the catch phrases nearly equally. This viewer, however, wished that Rock had had a few more lines but he certainly makes the most of what he was handed. Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, and Joyce Van Patten, as the leading ladies, support the men nicely. The scenery, from the lovely wooded home to the riverfront, is a joy and the costumes, camera-work, script and direction are above average as well.

While this is not a movie that I will go out and try to buy immediately but it was well worth the price of the movie ticket. While a lot of critics hammered this movie I feel that those that are willing to go in with an unbiased mind they will be able to see this movie for what it is, just simply entertainment that will help you forget the troubles of the world. I am giving this movie three buckets of popcorn out of five. Be sure to go and see it or even rent it when it becomes available.

-The Movie Man-