Christian Bale

‘Knight of Cups’ is repetitive, heavy-handed, “First World” navel-gazing at its most self-indulgent. But my god is it beautiful!

‘The Big Short’ is a work of seething rage and trampled idealism

It’s impressive enough that most actors can go from role to role in quick succession. But the world likes to freak out when that transition is visible. With the release of the new boxing film Southpaw last weekend, the internet has been filled with videos and gifs of Jake Gyllenhaal’s transformation into a boxer. It took …

After American Sniper was the biggest box office draw of 2014, it seems anyone will pay to see Bradley Cooper in uniform again. Deadline reports Cooper is set to produce Ghost Army, a World War II story about an agency tasked with feeding the Nazis fake intelligence about the actual number of American troops, with the …

There’s nothing short about the list of big name actors in the cast for the upcoming movie by Anchorman helmer Adam McKay. Deadline reported on Tuesday that Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Brad Pitt are set to join Melissa Leo and Marisa Tomei in McKay’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book, The Big Short: …

Exodus: Gods and Kings Written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine & Steven Zaillian Directed by Ridley Scott UK/USA/Spain, 2014   Perhaps the End Times are finally upon us.  How else to explain a year that began with Russell Crowe playing Noah and ends with Christian Bale as Moses?  Whereas Darren Aronofsky’s Noah reached …

After Aaron Sorkin referred to his casting as a lock two weeks ago, it seems like Christian Bale will not be playing Steve Jobs in the Sorkin-scripted biopic directed by Danny Boyle. The Hollywood Reporter broke on Monday that Bale, who was said to be in talks for locking up the role, has dropped out …

UPDATE 10/23: Aaron Sorkin confirmed via an interview with Bloomberg that Christian Bale will take the role as Steve Jobs, saying he’s “going to crush it”. Sorkin went on to say that Bale will appear in every frame of the film and has more dialogue than most actors have in three films. “We needed the …

For almost 50 years, Batman has graced the silver screen.  Whether working solo or accompanied by sidekicks and associates, Gotham City is continually saved by his enduring presence.  Even though the eight theatrical live-action films featuring the Caped Crusader have had their ups and downs, there is no denying his appeal as a lead character. …

“What are you?’ That question has been on many a criminal’s mind for numerous decades. Out of absolute fear, these evildoers stare into the face of darkness personified, a creature of the night that is a true symbol of justice. I’m talking of course about Batman, the Dark Knight, a crimefighter who strikes fear into …

It’s time that we get over the Dark Knight Trilogy. Yes The Dark Knight is a great movie. But Batman Begins is just a good movie and The Dark Knight Rises with it’s absurd plot holes and magic orphan vision is like Prometheus with a cape. The fundamental problem with Nolan’s ultra-realism is that it can’t support …

Picking out ten moments from The Dark Knight Trilogy, what is essentially one epic journey encompassing 459 minutes, is an almost impossible task, as it leaves out so many wonderful scenes enriching the story or bewitching the audience.

Christopher Nolan has earned carte blanche by dint of not just vision and execution but depth; he always buries material under the surface. Are you watching closely?

Such is the current culture in the filmmaking world that the very notion of suggesting ‘remake’ is considered sacrilege, but the problem isn’t in the concept, it’s in the choices. The worst thing you can do in the writing room, and on the set, is mishandle a great story. It is these motion pictures, not the Verhoven classics or yesteryear horror flicks, that require a second attempt.

American Hustle Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell Directed by David O. Russell USA, 2013 Watching American Hustle puts one in mind of the old anecdote relayed by the late Roger Ebert. He wrote of a child prodigy, invited to play an impossibly difficult piece of music on piano for one of …

Out of the Furnace Written by Brad Inglesby and Scott Cooper Directed by Scott Cooper USA, 2013 In the last few years, American filmmakers have turned to the bleak parts of the country, both to explore the sharp, darkened corners of our current psyche, and to depict a world stuck in the past. Films like …

Fiction always has a habit of overlapping, whether intentionally or not, since storytelling is built on only a few choice templates. Your plot can include three headed aliens in an intergalactic pissing contest with ghost humans, or simply be a gritty fable about the perils of alcoholism and social stigma, it doesn’t matter. The plot …

Cinema is a kind of uber-art form that’s made up of a multitude of other forms of art including writing, directing, acting, drawing, design, photography and fashion.  As such, film is, as all cinema aficionados know, a highly collaborative venture. One of the most consistently fascinating collaborations in cinema is that of the director and …

American Psycho Directed by Mary Harron Written by Mary Harron & Guinevere Turner (original novel by Bret Easton Ellis) US, 2000 Upon release in 1991 and in the intervening years, many words have been spoken of Bret Easton Ellis’ bestselling novel American Psycho; gruesome, disgusting, misogynistic, ultimately un-filmable. Mainly because of its stream of consciousness …

Reign of Fire Written by Gregg Chabot & Kevin Peterka Directed by Rob Bowman UK, Ireland, USA; 2002 Batman, The Man With No Shirt, and a bunch of dragons walk into a post-apocalyptic bar. If not a decent joke, that should at least make for a solid movie, right? In the not-so-distant future, a British …

The Dark Knight Rises Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan Directed by Christopher Nolan USA, 2012 In retrospect, it may have been impossible. 2008’s The Dark Knight managed to be the greatest comic-book adaptation of all time by, essentially, cheating. It stripped the genre of its most outlandish acts of superheroism, and imbued its …

The Dark Knight Rises Directed by Christopher Nolan Written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan USA, 2012 Christopher Nolan doesn’t half-ass things. Unlike a lot of summer-movie directors, he knows how to deliver a true spectacle. His dedication to telling a complete story about one of pop culture’s most beloved superheroes is remarkable. This determination …

Newsies Directed by Kenny Ortega Written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White Starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret Why do we like the things we like? Sure, this may be a almost hilariously simplistic and loaded question, but one that can be fascinating to consider depending on the topic. Think of …