Posts Tagged ‘christian bale’
He’s one of America’s finest directors, but his previous film, Miami Vice (2006), was a huge disappointment. So, how has the collaboration of Michael Mann with two of the younger generation’s leading actors, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, worked out in Public Enemies (2009)?
Ho, hum. The Terminator franchise takes this reviewer as far back as his early teens, when James Cameron’s dark, moody and genuinely thrilling first installment confirmed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s megastar status in 1984. It was followed, in 1991, by Cameron’s equally good sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, then by Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
In 1957, audiences were introduced to poor rancher Dan Evans (then played by Van Heflin) and the number-one outlaw of the land, Ben Wade (Glenn Ford), in Delmer Daves’ original. Evans has to feed his family, but the poor harvest and weather aren’t doing him any favours – and, as Wade has been captured, a volunteer is needed to escort him to the town of Contention, to put him onboard the 3:10 train to Yuma jail, hence the title. Evans signs up – and the fun begins.
The Knight is always darkest just before the dawn…
We’ve come a long way from Zok!, Pow! and Splat! The Batman has always been a bit of an outsider in the comic-book realm. He has no special magical powers, relying instead on his wits, instincts and physical strength to fight crime, alongside some impressive gadgetry.
Don’t you just love movies that play games? Joseph L Mankiewicz’s Sleuth (1972) obviously springs to mind, as does the more recent Memento (2002), directed by the same wunderkind, Christopher Nolan, who here takes us on a playful but dark journey into the disappearances and deception of turn-of-the-20th century magicians.
My name is Colin and I’m a Batman fan. I have been Batman-free for two years. There, it’s out of the way. As regular readers will know, James is the one who generally goes to see the films that have subtle metaphors and maybe actually mean something. Me? Yes, I watch them too but every so often I like escapist movies with an inordinate amount of gratuitous violence and pyrotechnics. So, it was with enormous pleasure I came to know of two movies coming up that fit the bill nicely.





