Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Heath Ledger (The Joker), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Dark Knight page.
This movie is as good as everyone else is saying it is. Go see The Dark Knight (preferably in IMAX, so it takes over almost your entire field of vision) in a theatre! I thought the switch back and forth between the scenes filmed for IMAX (which take up the entire IMAX screen) and the rest of the movie. Due to the fact that the film was very well remastered for the IMAX screen, the difference is not as drastic as it would seem and most of the scenes that were filmed in IMAX are the scenic skylines, Batman flying in, etc. Fortunately, a couple fight scenes and the one big chase scene were also filmed in IMAX and those are amazing!
I've heard a lot of people talking about Heath Ledger getting the Oscar this year and I can definitely see why he would. So far, I haven't seen a performance I'd rank higher this year. I don't see as many movies in a theatre as I used to see, but I do still rent a lot of movies. One of my friends argued that he didn't think Heath Ledger should win, since he's dead. Although I don't think the fact that he's dead should increase his chances of winning, if Ledger had the best acting performance of the year, he deserves the Oscar. Can you imagine anyone wanting to win the award this year if they didn't actually do a better job than Ledger? They'd always be thought of as the one who won the Oscar, since Heath was dead. That makes no sense to me. Award the best performance whether the person is alive or not at the time of the awards ceremony.
The costumes, makeup, scenic design, orchestrations, acting, ... are all wonderful. I'm sure if you love Batman you've already seen The Dark Knight at least once, but if you've somehow missed it, go see it now. It's great!
There are also many amazingly funny lines in The Dark Knight, which I won't ruin for you. Enjoy!
Grade: A
Labels: 2008, Aaron Eckhart, action, Christian Bale, comics, crime, drama, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, movie, mystery, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clive Owen (Theo Faron), Julianne Moore (Julian Taylor), Michael Caine (Jasper Palmer), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Luke), Claire-Hope Ashitey (Kee)
For complete info, see IMDb's Children of Men page.
This movie was interesting, but seemed to leave gaps in the story a bit too much. The acting is wonderful, the costumes and sets are great, but at times the story meanders along with no clear purpose.
Children of Men takes place in 2027 in a world where humans can no longer reproduce. Most of the movie centers around the one pregnant woman trying to get to the "Human Project," which many think is only a myth. The concept was definitely interesting, though the opinions of those trying to stop Kee's plans to get to the "Human Project" weren't thoroughly explained.
This dark movie is hardly a thriller (which is where Netflix classified it), but it is an interesting drama set in a dark not-so-distant future. It's definitely worth renting if you missed it in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2006, adventure, Clive Owen, drama, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, movie, sci-fi
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Hugh Jackman (Robert Angier), Christian Bale (Alfred Borden), Michael Caine (Cutter), Piper Perabo (Julia Angier), Rebecca Hall (Sarah Borden), Scarlett Johansson (Olivia Wenscombe)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Prestige page.
From what I've seen on IMDb and some other sites, it seems that the majority thinks The Prestige beats The Illusionist in the battle of the magic-based movies in 2006. I disagree. I found parts of The Prestige interesting, but it was much more predictable than The Illusionist and didn't have a story that really intrigued me. The fact that some of the movie is a flashback makes it a bit more interesting, but the story and special effects don't impress me as much as those in The Illusionist
I'm glad we watched The Prestige. It's a pretty good movie, with an exceptional cast. I'm sure when it's on HBO and other movie channels in a few months that I'll watch it a few more times, but The Illusionist is the one we'll own on DVD (once the Blueray/HDVD battle is settled).
I definitely recommend renting The Prestige if you missed it in theatres. There aren't many special effects, so you can easily enjoy the movie at home without thinking that you're really missing out on seeing the special effects on the big screen. The story is interesting and the cast is wonderful.
Grade: B+
Labels: Christian Bale, drama, fantasy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, movie, Scarlett Johansson, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Nicolas Cage (David Spritz), Michael Caine (Robert Spritz), Hope Davis (Noreen)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Weather Man page.
Definitely glad that we rented this through Netflix instead of seeing it in a movie theater, but it was enjoyable. Not the typical Nicholas Cage flick. Michael Caine was wonderful as always and the rest of the cast was great, too! The story definitely dragged in a few parts, but most of the time it held my interest.
Worth the time to rent it now that it's available on DVD.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, comedy, drama, Michael Caine, movie, Nicolas Cage
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred), Liam Neeson (Henri Ducard), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes)
For complete info, see IMDb's Batman Begins page.
I've been a fan of Batman for years. Not the comics, but all the animated series, the old TV series, the first Batman movie (Jack Nicholson made a great Joker, didn't he?), etc. When I heard about Batman Begins, I thought there was great promise, but realized that they could crash and burn. (Did you see Batman & Robin? Unfortunately, I did.)
I went to see Batman Begins in IMAX, since I figured if the movie was well done, this would be the best way to appreciate it. I am very impressed with what Christopher Nolan did with the Batman story and I can't wait to see his next movie, even though I heard the Joker is going to be in it and I don't see how anyone can follow Jack Nicholson's Joker.
Since I haven't read the Batman comics, I don't know if this movie was close enough to those for the fans of the Batman comics to be happy. They definitely moved pretty far away from what I knew of the Ra's Al Ghul character's story, but the story, special effects, and acting were so great that it didn't bother me.
If you like Batman, you've probably already seen this movie and I hope you enjoyed it as much as my fiance and I did. If not, then you may still want to check it out, since it's a great action flick.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2005, action, adventure, Christian Bale, comics, crime, drama, IMAX, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Nicole Kidman (Isabel Bigelow/Samantha), Will Ferrell (Jack Wyatt/Darrin), Shirley MacLaine (Iris Smythson/Endora), Michael Caine (Nigel Bigelow)
For complete info, see IMDb's Bewitched page.
I thought the concept of re-doing Bewitched (one of my favorite TV shows growing up) by including the behind-the-scenes stuff and having a witch play Samantha in the new TV show was brilliant. Unfortunately, the reality of the movie Bewitched wasn't quite as great as the concept.
It was cool to see Kristin Chenoweth on the big screen as a friend & neighbor. She's one of my favorite actresses from Broadway, so I'm glad she got a role with such major actors.
I think this is a funny movie and definitely worth renting if you're a big Bewitched fan, but don't expect it to be as magical as the original. Very few things are...
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, comedy, fantasy, Michael Caine, movie, Nicole Kidman, romance, Will Ferrell
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tobey Maguire (Homer Wells), Charlize Theron (Candy Kendall), Delroy Lindo (Mr. Rose), Paul Rudd (Wally Worthington), Michael Caine (Dr. Wilbur Larch)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Cider House Rules page.
This movie about a man raised in an orphanage who decides to see the world is very well done. I haven't read the book, but the movie was a very good period piece. The cast is amazing and the oscar nomination was well-deserved. I'm glad I got to see The Cider House Rules before the awards, so that I can have a well-formed opionion about who deserves to win. It doesn't have my personal vote for best picture, but I believe it deserved the nomination.
Be prepared for ups and downs in this movie, but it's well worth seeing.
Grade: B
Labels: 1999, Charlize Theron, drama, Michael Caine, movie, Paul Rudd, romance, Tobey Maguire
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:20 PM show | 0 screams