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     http://bartybooks.com/the-secret-world-of-arrietty.htm
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     http://bartybooks.com/gone.htm
  • Wanderlust
     
     http://bartybooks.com/wanderlust.htm
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  • Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
     
     http://bartybooks.com/ghost-rider-spirit-of-vengeance.htm
  • The Vow
     
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Movies under ‘Crime’

The Dark Knight (2008)

Wow. Just wow. And I thought Batman Begins was excellent. This… this piece of art… its PHENOMENAL!! 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 the cinema for a long time. This film is the darkest Batman, as well as one of the darkest, violent and gripping films, ever made.

I’ll start off with the actors. Christian Bale has done a tremendous job as our beloved 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 more than Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George (shudder) Clooney, Kevin Conroy, or God forbid Adam West, ever will. If there was an excellent Batman, this is the real deal. The theme of righteousness and insanity is played well with his character here.

But of course, the real star of the show is the late and great Heath Ledger, who steals almost every scene he’s in as the villainous Joker (Nicholson, step aside). This Joker is not like the other renditions; he is the best. Downright evil, corrupt, insane, psychotic, terrifying. In every sense of those aforementioned words. More scary than funny, he shows audiences the Joker is undoubtedly Batman’s most nefarious foe and his perfect nemesis, challenging him all the way. With a cynical smile, he proclaims in a scene where Batman is a freak to the public, like the Joker himself. This also explains the balance of righteousness that Bruce Wayne is going through. The Joker is downright evil, and Ledger makes this performance legendary. I agree with the critics, sign me up for the petition where he deserves a posthumous Oscar win.

The rest of the cast is excellent and star-studded. Aaron Eckhart does his Harvey Dent/Two-Face character justice, with a strong sense of righteousness/betrayal/twistedness up his sleeve, as well as Bruce Wayne’s rival in love. His acting is strong here. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a great replacement for Katie Holmes as Wayne’s love interest Rachel Dawes, as she shows more sensitive and caring side towards Bruce, other than Holmes’ nearly flat performance. Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler Alfred delivers, as well as Morgan Freeman as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Gary Oldman does an excellent portrayal of Lt. James Gordon, who aids Batman in his quest for justice. And a special mention goes to Eric Roberts as a crime lord, who surprisingly does a great acting job. The rest of the cast can take a bow, they can be proud of their being in this film.

The cinematography is possibly the most sublime scenes ever chosen. Gotham and Hong Kong are wide, and yet, there is this dark aura of crime and corruption all around 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. It deserves an Oscar.

The very loyal screenplay is written very, very well by Jonathan Nolan (director’s brother), who has done a masterful job. The characters are (pardon the pun) rich in character and the story has not a flaw in it. For a comic book film adaptation, this film is not at all fantasy-like. It is quite realistic in a way and this is what gives the film more credibility. Also, the fact that the script is realistic is unbelievable, as you expect a superhero film when you walk in the cinema, and walk out realizing you have just seen an epic crime saga. Yes, CRIME SAGA. It deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence with “GoodFellas”, “Heat”, “The Untouchables” and even “The Godfather”. I kid you not, this film has the power. The fact that this is an epic is further proved by the film’s length – 2 hours and 32 minutes. Yes, it’s that long. But it goes by so fast because you end up wishing for more.

But of course, none of this is possible without the genius that is the other Nolan, director Christopher. As per Memento, he knows how to direct a film. 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, “boombastic”, 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.

In short, it’s a masterpiece. One that will knock you out of your seat. It is the best Batman film ever, the best superhero film ever and the best film of 2008 thus far. If there ever was a possibility of a summer film winning Best Picture at the Oscars (like Titanic and Lord Of The Rings), this will join their ranks. It is rightfully deserved. Do yourselves a favor and see this piece of art. Repeated viewings highly recommended.

Rating : 8/10

bill broeksmit 2012

Inception (2010)

Films about dreams and the subconscious are usually not very straightforward and almost always weird. “Inception” is no exception to that rule, but like its cinematic predecessors who have explored the contrast between and the questions of what is real and what is illusion (i.e. “The Matrix” (1999), “The Cell” (2000), “Abre Los Ojos” (1997) & its American remake “Vanilla Sky” (2001)), you really can’t look away, nor should you.

“Inception” is an excellent and breathtaking movie that may be one of the only films released so far during the Summer of 2010 that lives up to its hype. It is a nearly perfect and highly original film that holds your attention until the credits roll. The less you know about this movie going in, the more you will be entranced by seeing it.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a world class criminal who, with the help of a team of sleep experts, works his way into people’s subconscious and steals what people value most: ideas directly from their minds. In his last assignment to possibly clear his name, he is assigned not to steal an idea from someone, but to plant one inside that person’s mind. The difficulty comes when certain people are trained to block their ideas from being taken.

That plot summary only covers the basics of this pretty complicated story, but to describe every plot detail would take away the magic of this film you must see yourself to believe. DiCaprio is good in his role, but unlike many other films he has starred in, this is perhaps his only role where his character alone does not carry the weight of the movie on his shoulders or share it equally with one other co-star. Instead, this great ensemble cast teams together to make this movie work, just as their characters collaborate to pull off such a unique heist. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, and Tom Hardy are especially good in their roles.

The special effects in this film were also very good, which is amazing considering their simplicity compared to the “Matrix” movies. There are slow-motion shots, but no impossible kung fu fighting sequences. It’s especially interesting when the film gets into the architecture of certain dreams, and impossible sequences are filmed in a way I’ve never seen other than in drawings.

However, the special effects would mean nothing if the story wasn’t good. For this reason, even something as simple as a spinning top holds your attention in a way you would never think it would when seeing it in this film. The credit here can be given to writer and director Christopher Nolan, who has not made a bad film yet. There are many twists and turns in this film, but Nolan never loses his focus in the process of telling the story. If Nolan does not get nominated for Best Director and/or Best Original Screenplay next Oscar season, there is something terribly wrong with the Academy.

That being said, there was still a lot about this film I still don’t get, and may require multiple viewings to better understand. However, some of the best films I’ve seen are confusing at first. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) is a film I’ve seen a couple of times, and still don’t understand completely. It still has a major following, though, as I’m positive this movie will. It’s an incredibly entertaining movie, but it also makes you think and continues to do so after you leave the theater.

Rating : 9/10

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Faster (2010)

I thought The Rock had abandoned us for Disney movies until I went to an early screening of Faster hosted by our local Rock station.

I’ve always wanted to like Dwayne Johnson as an actor. He was so entertaining when he was The Rock, why can’t his movies be just as entertaining? Unfortunately his best received films are the more family oriented ones and watching an ex-wrestler who used to talk about his love for pie and “laying the smack down” seems a bit bittersweet. Films like Faster are what Johnson should be sticking to, but it doesn’t live up to its potential and results in another flat action film.

Wasted potential is the perfect way to describe Faster. Dwayne Johnson spends more time walking around looking really angry than he does revenging his brother’s death or actually saying anything at all. Billy Bob Thornton doesn’t do much of anything either as his character struggles between being a drug addict who doesn’t amount to anything to a police officer who’s about to retire and get full benefits who is also trying to get his family back together again. He spends most of his screen time drowning in his depressing life. Then there’s Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter who seems to be brought into the film to do nothing more than show up, cry a little, and say a few lines of nonsense. Nothing the actors did really helped drive the story forward.

The cinematography fluctuated between being interesting and being incredibly annoying. Right when something like the way the camera was placed while the driver was driving or something as simple as reloading a gun was done in a way that seemed original to catch your attention, the film would turn around and throw shaky camera techniques at you for no reason or the scenes that caught your eye would be too brief to really make up for the mediocrity of the rest of the film. The most interesting aspect lies within the final minutes and relates to the hired killer going after the driver. That concept alone that’s about the length of a one minute conversation is better than Faster as a whole.

Dwayne Johnson seems to have better luck with family films, but I think his fans would rather see him in R-rated action films since his physique and film presence fit that genre best. If he could find a film that was like Faster with a meatier role that gave him more lines and had better writing, it’d probably be a lot more satisfying. The kills in Faster should have been the highlight since the film revolved around the driver gaining revenge for his brother, but they fell short. Everything about Faster did. I was completely expecting Johnson to either turn himself over to the authorities or take his own life to be with his brother at the end of the film. The driver received the revenge he so desperately sought and did it in a nonchalant, hot-shot vigilante kind of way to let everyone know it was him doing it. Yet police can’t seem to keep up with him and he just kind of drives off into the sunset at the end. It felt like Faster was left open ended for nothing more than sequel purposes alone, which is the weakest form of a cop out for a movie ending. Coincidentally, a film called Faster managed to feel twice as long as its 98 minute duration.

In the end, Faster contains elements from both Gone in Sixty Seconds and Taxi Driver, which should result in an excellent film. Instead we’re left with an action film that uses these elements at face value; it contains the fast cars and intense chases of Gone in Sixty Seconds with the uneasy and unpredictable shootouts that are reminiscent of Taxi Driver but Faster lacks the depth, star power, enjoyment factor, strong cast, or lasting value these two films still have today. If you plan on seeing this film, you better be sure because that’s a long dark road you’re headed down (sorry, couldn’t resist) and that road is nothing more than a pointless detour from greater things.

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