FORD V FERRARI Review

Ford v Ferrari is what one would call a well-rounded picture. Meaning, that it is wholly and completely a feel-good movie while also carrying a significant amount of weight. In other words, it will break your balls and your heart at the same time. It is big, flashy and somewhat indulgent large-scale studio filmmaking in the most classic sense of the idea as director James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan) casts two larger than life personalities to portray two larger than life personalities against the backdrop of an historical event that is globally appealing yet couldn’t feel more American at its core. This is somewhat ironic given the type of racing Matt Damon’s Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s Ken Miles are seasoned in and the kind the Ford Motor Company is interested in engaging in is far more popular in the rest of the world than it is the United States, but like I said...well-rounded. While Ford v Ferrari boasts an impressive ensemble cast and truly immersive racing sequences that sometimes almost literally put you in the driver's seat the film is at its best when focusing on those two larger than life personalities and dissecting these men who, in many ways, are rightfully convinced of their own certainty but who take blows to their egos when they have to deal with things they aren’t expressly exceptional in. Whether it be Shelby coming to terms with his fragile mortality, Miles dealing with the bureaucratic nature of corporations as his intelligence and skill come face to face with entitled money and extending even to Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts, who's terrific) as he-someone who has every reason to believe he's in full control of every aspect of his life-is humbled in an instance where he comes to not only realize, but understand that there are things he simply can't understand and will never be able to control. Ford v Ferrari isn't necessarily about the tampering of men's egos and it doesn't aspire to explore the manifestations of as much through these cars and the amount of risk being taken by their drivers, but more it seems to seek to better understand these people through this thing they've given their life over to whether it be out of passion or inheritance. With such strong attitudes and strong points of view on display these characteristics are naturally lent to the film itself giving the entirety of the production this sense of confidence and control; both of which a good movie and a good driver require in order to be successful.

Official Trailer for FORD V. FERRARI Starring Christian Bale & Matt Damon

While Walk the Line was unfortunately released under the shadow of Ray, I always found it to be the more arresting film and have since been a loyal fan of director James Mangold; cheering him on as he made his way through the super hero genre with the character of Wolverine and coming to re-define the genre in many ways with Hugh Jackman's farewell to the character in 2017's Logan. Mangold has of course had his missteps (we won't harp on Kate & Leopold), but I didn't seem to mind Knight & Day as much as most and thought the 3:10 to Yuma re-make was quite fascinating. In his latest, an adult drama in the purest sense of the phrase, Mangold reunites with Christian Bale to tell the story of two men, American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles (Bale), as they battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. Written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Fair Game, Edge of Tomorrow) along with Jason Keller (Escape Plan) with the screenplay itself being credited to Mangold, it's almost surprising a movie like this can still be made on the scope it has and with the grandeur this production seems to entail (this thing looks amazing) while not having been backed by Netflix or Amazon. Rather, 20th Century Fox is breaking out these big guns this awards season as this was originally scheduled to be released this summer, but was pushed back for a better chance at awards consideration. The film will no doubt be touted as Mangold's follow-up to his critically and commercially successful Logan that features two "movie star" names at the top of their games telling a fascinatingly wild story that will appeal to a variety of audiences alike. A film version of these events has been in the works for some time as the story goes that Shelby and Miles were dispatched by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) themselves to build an entirely new vehicle from scratch that could finally defeat Ferrari. This is all to say that while Bale and Damon look to be at the top of their game if the trailer is any indication the true scene-stealer will be Tracy Letts as Ford II as he gets to close out this teaser in pretty fantastic fashion. Ford v Ferrari also stars Caitriona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Ray McKinnon, Noah Jupe, and opens on November 15th.

VICE Review

Doing what is right is boring. Following the rules is boring. Doing what is wrong is entertaining. Bending and breaking the rules is amusing. Movies should not be made about politicians, but given most politicians don't do the right thing rather often and tend to break and bend the rules to fit their own needs and agenda as frequently as they need to it is no surprise there are plenty of television shows and movies based around and on political figures. There is a brief scene in Adam McKay's latest film, Vice, based around the life of Vice President Dick Cheney where he is teaching one of his daughter's how to fish and she asks if the trick of baiting the fish with a live worm is right or wrong-you know, morally. Cheney replies that, "It's not right or wrong, it's just fishing." His daughter admits to not wanting to hurt the worm, but her father summarizes his justification for the sport by stating, "You find out what they want and you use it to catch them. The family gets to eat." It is with this perspective that Cheney seemed to approach his political career as well-it also exemplifies how every single line and aspect of McKay's film is integral to the portrait the writer and filmmaker is painting. "It's not right or wrong, it's just what needs to be done." What McKay is really exploring through Vice though, is this idea of how does a man go on to become who he is? The film describes life as being a series of events that contain certain moments that are so delicate, that they are akin to a stack of teacups with a saucer in between each where-at any moment-one could fall in any direction and change the course of the future forever. Unfortunately, there's no way to know the future and which way things will fall, but while McKay is keen to note that Cheney more or less fell into the roles he would eventually allow to define the purpose of his life largely due to the involvement of his wife, what he seems particularly interested in dissecting is how Cheney came to view the job of serving the country and how he interpreted that responsibility as it becomes very clear that Cheney and his staff were experts at interpreting things strictly in the way they wanted and in what would benefit their cause best. What McKay is truly attempting to do is bring about a case concerning how Cheney had his hands in so many pies, either for reasons of his own agenda or for what he truly thought was best for the country (it's hard to tell from one issue to the next), and that the result of these meddling's effectively changed the course of history. McKay wants the viewer to not only read that tagline that could easily be misconstrued as a piece of hyperbole and understand it, but to grasp it and take to heart; to truly understand the ramifications of this single man's actions in determining the fate of millions upon millions of other people's lives.

Official Trailer for VICE Starring Christian Bale

I'm not someone who delves much into or cares to delve much into politics, but I am someone who is fascinated by the ins and outs of as much. I enjoy political movies, House of Cards sucked me right in and had I been the right age when West Wing was in its prime I probably would have loved it too (I should probably go back and check that out, actually), but it does take a special something about a politically-heavy piece of film or TV to pique my interest given my general lack of interest in the topic overall and lucky for me-Vice has a lot of special somethings that make me more than eager to see it. I questioned whether or not the film might even be released this year given all we'd seen up until this point were a few unauthorized stills of star Christian Bale heavily made-up and as the film hadn't been included in any of the major fall festival line-ups it seemed unlikely to bow this year, but it now seems this will be the wild card in this year's Oscar race. Vice chronicles the rise of Dick Cheney (Bale) and how he, though his eight years as the power behind the throne in the Bush Administration, was able to reshape America. Now, of course it's interesting that Bale will be transforming once again to play the former vice President, but what makes the film all the more engaging is the fact Bale is re-teaming with his The Big Short director, Adam McKay, for the project. McKay, who has also made Will Ferrell's best films in Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys jumped into the big leagues in a major way with 2015's The Big Short and if this trailer is any indication it should be fascinating to see how his take on Cheney will inform the current state of our country. I also love the use of The Killers track in this spot. The enticing elements don't stop at McKay and Bale though, as Amy Adams is playing Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell is Donald Rumsfeld, Tyler Perry is Colin Powell, and Sam Rockwell will no doubt make for a glorious George W. Bush-I mean, his performance in this trailer alone is enough to garner him another Oscar. Vice is set to open on Christmas Day and one can only hope that is a wide release day.

First Trailer for MOWGLI from Director Andy Serkis

While it always seemed odd Warner Bros. would craft their own take on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories that spurned a 1967 animated Disney film that was recently re-made by Jon Favreau it is becoming all the more clear that Warner Bros. take on the material couldn't be more different than the light, largely comedic tone Favreau and team took with their realistic-looking 2016 feature. In his second directorial effort, following what was the rather standard, but kind of terrible Breathe last awards season, Serkis has gone fully over to the blockbuster realm of filmmaking of which he has had plenty of experience. When putting it in perspective, the guy has worked with a for directors ranging from Peter Jackson to Steven Spielberg to J.J. Abrams and of course, most recently, Ryan Coogler, and so it is natural for Serkis to have segued into crafting his own visual wonders while exercising his storytelling skills as well. And to be honest, Mowgli looks more impressive than I was anticipating with what is clearly some work left to be done on the CGI, but with as killer a cast as Warner Bros. has assembled to bring this to life and the tendency to lean more into the source material it will be interesting to see how this similarly inspired, but what is so clearly a vastly different finished product varies from the other iterations of Kipling's work. Watch the first trailer below along with a behind-the-scenes featurette. The film stars Serkis as Baloo, with Rohan Chand in the titular role as well as Christian Bale as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Cate Blanchett as the sinister snake, Kaa; Benedict Cumberbatch as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate, Vihaan; and Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui, and Freida Pinto. Mowgli opens October 19th, 2018.

HOSTILES Review

There are opening scenes and then there is the opening scene to Hostiles. Why do people treat one another the way we have for all of history? This is the question the opening sequence within director Scott Cooper's (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) latest brutally forces us to ponder. The United States, since its inception in 1776, has only not been in conflict with itself or another country for a total of eighteen years. Why are we like this? What is it in our human nature that allows us to always be at odds with others and their inclinations? It's a fascinating and broad mentality to deconstruct, but dammit if Cooper doesn't try his darndest in what is itself a seeming deconstruction of the classic American Western. Maybe it's the fact I haven't seen as many classic Westerns as I should in order to be able to understand where Hostiles goes wrong in its breaking down of the mythos of the old west, but for what it's worth, Cooper's film feels pure in its intent to accurately portray this time period and the dynamics that existed in as honest a fashion as possible-no matter how gruesome and no matter who comes out looking worse. This opening sequence then, which I won't go into detail about here, is an immediate and gut-wrenching reminder of the fact hate is often one in the same no matter where it comes from, but is often not seen as hate from the perspective from which it comes. In Hostiles, Cooper examines all the complexities of war and the purpose of the meanings behind words like honor and courage while stripping them down to not so much the definitions we've come to immediately relate to such words, but more the intent behind them. It's a rather simple suggestion, a simple consensus to come to even, but as history has shown us there is typically a lot of bloodshed and a lot of lives lost in the process of trying to come to such a consensus. And so, Cooper communicates these simple, but resounding themes through a straightforward story that is executed with the scope of that grand American Western. Channeling this idea that somewhere along the lines of history we found war to be the most effective tool of persuasion into a narrative that is able to say much more with the implications of the events it documents rather than serving as an excuse for an adrenaline rush via the shootouts or misplaced pride in whatever side you might genetically fall, but more in being an understanding of the value of life and how much of it has been lost over what comes down to little more than inconsequential details.

KNIGHT OF CUPS Review

More and more Terrence Malick's films are becoming a collection of interesting images and random thoughts more than anything resembling coherence. The dialogue is sparse, the music more integral than ever, and yet rather than getting better at telling stories through these tools it seems the auteur peaked with his first attempt at such a loose narrative in his masterpiece The Tree of Life. Much like the more in tune with itself To the Wonder Malick directs Knight of Cups as if he is writing a poem. And by doing so he continues to stray further and further from conventional methods despite exploring themes we've seen touched upon many times before. Of course, one can't dock a filmmaker for being unoriginal in this day and age as it is the way in which they explore these emotions that really counts. The approach is clearly what is to be appreciated here while it is the ability to actually convey the sense of emotion and conflict that Malick is exploring that is coming up short. Once again the director is touching upon something of a "meaning of life" quest though this time through the eyes of a Hollywood writer rather than a Southern family in 1950's Texas or a woeful couple and pastor in the open planes of Oklahoma. We enter this indulgent environment through the guise of Christian Bale. I say guise for despite the fact we see the physical representation of this well-known actor there isn't much to suggest the true nature of who this character he's playing is much less what his journey might be about. Rather, it seems Bale has been left to figure out as much about his character of "Rick" as we have. While such methods as giving your actors only a character description instead of a fully formed script might help in capturing the natural development of said character's state of mind, for the viewers this doesn't remain consistently engaging enough for us to care what journey these characters are going on. Even worse is the fact that Malick is using such storytelling techniques in order to elicit more emotion from his actors and in turn his audience, but with Knight of Cups these attempts feel emptier than ever. Whereas Tree of Life really transcended the large themes the director was tackling through his pure filmmaking artistry Knight of Cups feels as numb as the Hollywood lifestyle it looks to comment upon.

THE BIG SHORT Review

In the context of the film it makes perfect sense, but to audiences smothered in cinematic choices this holiday season The Big Short is unfortunately one of the more forgettable titles. It helps marginally that the faces on the poster are four of Hollywood's heaviest hitters with Brad Pitt bringing in the biggest pull (and ironically putting in the least amount of screen time), but even this won't be enough to distract moviegoers from what might be a saturated market made worse by a complicated story that has been relayed in sardonic terms by the director of Anchorman. Of course, if you've payed attention to any of Adam McKay's work you'd know the director of Anchorman and other such Will Ferrell comedies including Talladega Nights and The Other Guys is actually the perfect choice for a film that desires to tell of the housing market crash that occurred in America in 2008. It is a story in need of sharp social commentary, of a mind that might give the boring numbers game an insightful twist and McKay is able to deliver on all fronts by crafting a final product that is as funny and stinging as it is heartbreaking and tragic-a detriment, almost, to the American spirit. And yet, throughout the over two hour runtime the film never ceases to be breathlessly entertaining. There is so much going on, so many words being spoken, so many deals being made, and so many new characters being introduced at such rapid rates that we never have time to settle in, but rather stay perched on the edge of our seats. With its hands in so many different pots it would be easy for the The Big Short to go off the rails, but somewhat unexpectedly the film finds a certain groove in its latter half that, while not matching the frenetic speed of the first two acts, brings in the necessary levity that strikes the perfect balance between both the ridiculousness of the situation and the dire real world consequences. McKay, working from his and Charles Randolph's screenplay that is based on the book by Michael Lewis (The Blind Side, Moneyball), is able to remain so laser focused on what makes these characters so interesting in their own right that the fact they exist in this compelling real world situation is only icing on the cake.

First Trailer for THE BIG SHORT Starring Brad Pitt

It was with an unexpected twist that Paramount decided to unveil the first look at director Adam McKay's (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys) first foray into more dramatic territory, The Big Short. With Paramount having a somewhat tepid year when it comes to any possible awards contenders it looks like the studio will be banking big on McKay's latest. The film certainly has the star power to be a contender as the likes of Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell head this thing up with a plethora of solid character actors filling in the supporting roles. While this is good news for those of us that love movies one has to wonder if it was a wise choice to place another film in an already crowded market. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens clearing out the majority of December all of the late awards bait is either opening on Christmas Day or in platform style in the following weeks after the major holiday. This will make movie-going a little less horrible for those who don't live in major cities through January, but now the question will be who will rise to the top? Given neither The Revenant, Joy, Concussion, or The Hateful Eight are likely to budge from their Christmas day spot, one has to assume Paramount has some pretty positive feelings about their product. Following four outsiders who saw the impending global economy collapse coming in 2008 the film tracks them as the housing market crashes. The Big Short also stars Melissa Leo, Tracy Letts, Finn Wittrock, Hamish Linklater and opens on December 11th before expanding wide on December 23rd.

First Trailer for Terrence Malick's KNIGHT OF CUPS

It was announced yesterday that one of the two Terrnece Malick films shot in 2012 would finally be making its debut at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. Malick is such a reclusive director that any such news is good news and things only became more real when we also received a trailer for the film. I've been a fan of Malick before I realized who Malick was, salivating over the visuals and restrained approaches in The Thin Red Line and The New World before allowing The Tree of Life to blow my mind and subsequently forcing me to dig back deeper into his filmography. Lately, Malick has been producing at a much faster rate than he ever has before and while reviews were something of a mixed bag for 2013's To The Wonder I enjoyed what the director was doing and couldn't be more excited to see what he does next. It seems next he has chosen to tackle the Hollywood lifestyle and the easy corruption and distraction that such a path can create in taking us away from what may be the more valuable things in life. It certainly feels like something of a departure for Malick especially considering his last two features have been chock full of the countryside and the encapsulation of what could be called "the simple life." It is ultimately thrilling to see the director we may now think of as not necessarily limited, but more focused on one area of life to break out and try something vastly different. Titled Knight of Cups and starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas, Brian Dennehy, Isabel Lucas, Imogen Poots, Wes Bentley, Freida Pinto, Teresa Palmer and Armin Mueller-Stahl the film will make its premiere in February and presumably show up in theaters some time next year.

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS Review

What can you say about a film that is fine for what it is and nothing more? Exodus: Gods and Kings is a movie, it has entertaining moments, looks fantastic and while I obviously didn't love it there is certainly no reason to hate it either. The real problem is the fact there's no vision or passion behind the project. Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) is nearing eighty and in his aging state seems intent on pumping out films at a quicker rate than ever before. Since the massive success of Gladiator at the dawn of the millennium the director has not gone more than two years without making a film and more times than not he delivers one on an annual basis. With a project on the scale of Exodus though, one might imagine he'd have to take more time for prep and the development of visual effects at the least, but moreso for the necessity of trying to really make something substantial. Scott hardly seems interested in making anything of note these days though and instead is a misguided storyteller somewhat fascinated by history, more interested in spectacle and with no sense of impassioned faith, not even in his own work. I can only imagine what might come of an elder Scott picture were he to really take the process step by step and first develop the script he is given, this one patched together by four different screenwriters, then move on to planning a visual representation of that story that might actually allow the audience to become invested or feel a part of the action that is unfolding in front of them. Scott clearly has no problem getting budgets to secure the epic scope of his films nor is there an issue with attracting top talent to headline his movies, but instead of using these advantages to his advantage they are wasted on mediocre products that have consistently ended up feeling more like cogs in the machine than any type of exception to the rule. One might expect a Biblical epic in the vein of Cecil B. DeMille with a more contemporary approach to serve as fascinating for the generations that find Charlton Heston's version dated, but instead we receive more of what we are conditioned to. Exodus: Gods and Kings is less an inspired retelling of a story we all know and more another attempt by Hollywood to cash in on a pre-established brand.

First Trailer for EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS

While Ridley Scott may not have had the best luck in terms of critical or commercial success lately with his latest he has seemed to place all of his figurative eggs in the baskets of those that have whether it be in story or the actors conveying it. This year alone we've had several religious-themed films made on small budgets only to reap big rewards (God's Not Dead, Heaven is for Real) as well as secular takes on bible stories such as Noah that maybe didn't make as much money as expected ($359 million worldwide on a $125 million budget), but were well-received by the majority of critics if not as ecstatically as one might expect a new Darren Aronofsky film to be. Into this mix Scott will place his take on the story of Moses and in doing so has recruited the likes of Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton to bring this famous, well-worn story to life. This kind of precedent didn't exactly bode well for Noah which the studio felt it had to place a label in front of and ultimately seemed too grand a jump for those resting comfortably in the Bible belt, but if Scott's filmography is any indication this film will be more in the tradition of grand historical epics than innovative interpretations and artistic expression. That is what the trailer seems to hint at anyway as the focus is on the scope of the kingdoms and the richness of the detail as much as it is the character and story. Scott knows how to make an epic in the vein of old Hollywood though and has had success in doing so. Is he simply re-hashing one of his last great original efforts with the packaging of the now reliable religious angle? We'll see, but if the trailer is any indication this will at least be a thrilling picture if not necessarily an insightful, motivating work as its source material intends to be. The film also stars Aaron Paul, Sir Ben Kingsley, John Turturro, Sigourney Weaveopens and opens on December 5th. Hit the jump to take a look at the new Exodus: Gods and Kings trailer and posters.

EDITORIAL: The Best Actor Race 2014

Leonardo DiCaprio should probably win an Oscar this year, but he won't and that doesn't really matter because he is a movie star and we all understand he is a serious one. Is being a movie star better than being an Oscar winner? Cuba Gooding Jr. probably wouldn't think so, but I'm sure Jason Statham would argue that point and just for the record: he would win. What would winning an Academy Award, an Oscar if you will, actually do for DiCaprio anyway other than symbolically confirm (for him, maybe) what the masses already believe? It is a reasonable question to ask as the Oscar voters seem to have grown more disconnected with mainstream audiences the past few years than even the despicably contrarian critics seem to be lately. This brings in a more interesting question though as there have been plenty of discussions surrounding the film in which this DiCaprio performance takes place. The Wolf of Wall Street has been accused of many things, both from general audiences and those who participated in the actual events it's based on, but strictly as a film it fulfills what both mainstream audiences and critics are typically looking for in their movies: entertainment as well as higher art. It has succeeded in being successful not only from a financial standpoint (over $300 million worldwide on a $100 million budget), but also in creating ongoing conversation that debates the point of the amount of lewdness and profanity in the film and whether it's glorifying excess or simply holding a mirror up to society and forcing us to take a hard look at what we've made the points of our lives out to be. This is a film that will continue to be discussed and won't simply fade out of public consciousness and this status is owed, in many ways, to the presence of someone like DiCaprio in such a film.

AMERICAN HUSTLE Review

From its inception a lot was expected of American Hustle, or "American Bullshit" as it was once called, director David O. Russell’s follow up to his Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook that put an actor in every major category and was even able to take one of those home. The key element of Russell’s films since re-certifying himself as a force to be reckoned with was the frenetic energy with which they carried themselves and while his latest is no different this time around it feels like there was nowhere specific to focus this energy and so it gets sprawled across a multitude of characters and a convoluted plot that concerns itself with con artists, IRS agents, mobsters and politicians. It seems unfair that with the good will Russell garnered not only with Silver Linings, but also with The Fighter that he immediately be expected to deliver more great cinema simply because he is working in the same time period and has recruited the same group of actors from each film to make up a stellar cast because it almost seems it would be impossible to deliver. The problem is, expectations were set so high that critics and cinephiles automatically assumed it was going to be quality movie-going and so they have seemingly lapped up this picture to be what they wanted it to be rather than taking it for what it actually is: a solid piece of Scorsese tribute with a cast that transcends the messy script. It is hard to say whether this would have come off as a better film without the expectation or if the expectation indeed helps it appear more impressive considering that is what we expected. Either way, I was never particularly excited about the film as I wasn’t familiar with the events that inspired it, but more I was excited to see what Russell would do with his impressive cast and his old school setting. I really enjoyed Silver Linings and I absolutely adored The Fighter for being able to take a stock story and make it more than that, with performances that never failed and lifted the material above the standard and maybe I, too, was hoping for that to happen here. I simply found it hard to really dig into the film as it never pulled me in and kept me there the way those last two efforts have. And that may be a problem as well, both that we expected American Hustle to be of the same quality and to do many of the same things to our senses that those two films elicited, but this is a different film altogether and to take it on those terms alone would be to realize by no means is this a bad film, it also isn’t one of the best things I’ve seen this year.

OUT OF THE FURNACE Review

There is something both numbing and strangely profound about the second directorial effort from Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). There is a menacing grim to the overall proceedings, yet it is almost impossible to not feel enlightened by what we see unfold on screen and by the development (or lack) of character and the insight that we gain as to why these people that Out of the Furnace zeroes in on are so compelling without being considered extraordinary. Where director Cooper and his cast excel are in how they don't decide to focus or rely as heavily on the events in which the story documents because in all honesty it feels that after about fifty or so minutes the narrative comes to somewhat of a halt and the momentum slows incredibly despite the fact what we see unfolding has yet to come to fruition and it remains unclear if things will turn out in the best interest of our lead character Russell Blaze (Christian Bale). Still, what keeps the ship from sinking is the fact that Cooper and his gritty eye keep the focus on the actors and the characters they are portraying and allow those performances to carry what might have otherwise been a sometimes silly, most of the time studied account of the backwood folks that apparently live in the hills outside of New Jersey. The site of an old steel town that allows the town resting below it to feel like it's stuck in the mid-70's, Cooper is clearly paying homage to the films of that era (namely Deer Hunter), this is where the story is set circa 2008, right around the time Obama was elected President and this little statement is used (as Killing Them Softly not-so subtly stated last year) to re-enforce the state of the economy at that time. All of this is effective in building the atmosphere and setting the tone for a film that knows who its characters are, where they've come from, but more importantly what little they likely have to look forward to and Cooper lets the weight of the narrative rest on their shoulders rather than the twists and turns we might expect from the more plot-driven revenge film that this has been made out to be in the marketing. Out of the Furnace isn't necessarily an exceptional film, but it provided a substantial amount of thought-provoking ideas in terms of the mentality of man in a remote region and the reasoning for a life that seems more simple than most would like to even consider. No, there is nothing exceptional here, but it is a solid film nonetheless with both Bale and Casey Affleck giving audiences something to remember it by.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Fall 2013

It has been somewhat of a rough year for film. Though at the time of this writing I've found two or three films I absolutely loved this year and left a lasting impression on me with several others being great, but not necessarily anything exceptional. Exceptional is what we are always looking for as we head into the latter part of the year and studios begin to offer up their Oscar bait. 2013 will be no exception, but the surprise this year is just how many blockbusters have been saved for the final quarter. There are usually one or two December releases that stand to be critical and box office champions, but most are more adult fare that do well with critics and have long legs when it comes to box office numbers. While there will be plenty of these kinds of films still vying for a place on the ballot come next February there are also a fair amount of well-made films that are part of franchises that studios are looking to make a pretty penny on. Whether it be Marvel, young adult adaptations, or re-makes there is something for just about everyone on the docket for the remainder of this year. It was a tough task, to narrow down four months of releases to just ten films, so I've naturally included a quick briefing on five extra flicks that almost made the list at the end of this article. As for the big ten, I can tell you that I'm seriously anxious and optimistic for each and every one of them. Also, just because a film didn't make any part of this list doesn't mean I don't think it will be good; it could mean I'm just not as excited for it as the films that did make the list and it could also be due to the fact I haven't seen much from it at this point. Both guaranteed blockbusters such as the next Hobbit film and smaller fare that has received great festival buzz like J.C. Chandor's All is Lost didn't make any part of this list, but that isn't because I don't want to see them. There promotional material just didn't get me as excited for as the films listed below did. The way I look at it, the following ten films are what I would choose to see were I limited to only that amount for the rest of the year. So here we go...

First Trailer for OUT OF THE FURNACE

Out of the Furnace wasn't really on my radar until just recently when production stills began to be released, followed by the poster and today we have the first trailer for the film which comes from director Scott Cooper. I am a big fan of Cooper's directorial debut Crazy Heart and while this sophomore effort looks to tackle the same type of people geographically it also seems to come with a completely different tone and a story that has several layers of topics it intends on tackling. This on top of a stellar cast that features Christian Bale in the lead lends serious expectations to the film. Bale looks to be the perfect balance of brooding and genuine as Russell Baze, a steel worker, who is forced into a vengeance mission when his brother (Casey Affleck) goes missing after getting involved with the likes of Woody Harrelson who runs a crime ring that deals with some intense hand to hand combat. Harrelson may very well steal the show in what looks to be a downright evil role while supporting players at the caliber of Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Sam Shepard and Zoe Saldana only lend to what looks like an intense drama filled with thrilling moments. Though I wasn't aware of the film (and its potential for greatness) until just recently it has quickly jumped to one of my most anticipated films this fall and as it looks to have more atmosphere, raw style, and several great performances in a single film as any other upcoming Oscar-bait (here's looking to you The Monuments Men). Out of the Furnace opens in limited release on November 27th and expands wide on December 6th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and be sure to let me know what you think.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Review

Much like its predecessor, The Dark Knight Rises is not just a movie but an experience that deserves to be viewed for the impact it will leave on you. I will do my best to keep my personal love for the series contained and not to the point I find no faults with it, certainly there are a few and I can notice that and take those into consideration when evaluating the film. Still, when discussing a movie of this magnitude I also feel that it cannot seriously be taken as a commonplace review, a piece of entertainment that can be so easily dismissed. Even if it did not meet the expectations of what one might have wanted from the film, it can not be denied that it will still be of a higher quality, more of a thoughtful, ambitious, and exquisitely made movie than you have seen or will see the rest of the year. I was completely happy with it. The Dark Knight was a piece of work that will likely stand the test of time and be considered more of a landmark film than this third entry if not for anything other than the performance and character Heath Ledger created. There appears no such disoriented character in the third and final movie but that second film earned this final chapter the opportunity to be even darker and more of an orchestrated chaos tale that reaches a scale no longer seen in cinema today. This is, in many ways, a throwback to those grandiose films of the past that brought to life the unthinkable through practical thought. It is an inspired movie that does justice to the two films prior and brings the story of a man halted in his development and driven to extreme lengths for the cause of justice to a beautiful and satisfying close.

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) slowly allow the real world back in.

As I previously mentioned the first act would likely leave any fan of Batman or Nolan's films a bit worried about where all of this might be going and if he will be able to continue to pull of what is in many aspects a fantastical tale with many outlandish characters in a way that feels just as real and gritty as his previous entries in the Batman story. The opening sequence is very much like that of The Dark Knight, an introduction to our main villain in the film that exercises his capacity for destruction while illustrating their depth of thought. The clear distinction between that of the Joker and Bane is Bane's physicality. From day one it has been a question of how Batman might fare against a real physical threat, something he had never truly been asked to encounter before. In Bane's introduction we know nothing of what is to come but we can tell what he is planning will be something on a massive scale. The simple exchange between he and a henchmen where he tells the man he must sacrifice himself and there is no resistance to his word demonstrates the kind of power he has. That it is not simply an intimidation factor, but a superiority of intelligence that will lead him to be a formidable challenge for the Batman, especially considering Bruce Wayne has been retired for eight years and has become a recluse. What Nolan has always been praised for and has pulled off so flawlessly is his ability to mesh his story and spectacle. While this was pulled off in near perfect execution with The Dark Knight Nolan escalates the scale for his Batman swan song while twisting a tale to match that holds more surprises than any other chapter while still digging just as deep into the psyche of our protagonist.

The entire point in telling this story, the main theme throughout has been to create the character of Batman as a symbol rather than a man. To make the citizens of Gotham believe their savior could be any one of them. Bruce Wayne the man, has turned to these tools of "theatrics and deception" as a means to present his symbolic alter ego as a catalyst for change in a city his deceased parents cared so much for. As he discovered who he was, what he wanted and needed to be in Batman Begins this idea was only pushed and questioned further in The Dark Knight. With the antics of the Joker bringing up the dilemma of whether the way Bruce had chosen to go about achieving his hopes was actually inspiring change or inspiring an army who wanted to fight for what the Batman stood for. Bruce only ever wanted to bring Gotham back to the days of prospering economics and peaceful existence, but instead has seemed to inspire as much bad as good, possibly caused more trouble than he has been able to rid. There is more to the quest of Batman than going out and fighting bad guys one by one though, and that is what the symbol is present for. That is what made the ending of The Dark Knight so profound, so utterly unexpected, and leaving it open for what would no doubt be an even more engaging and complex third act.

Where The Joker wanted to watch the world burn, Bane (Tom Hardy) is here to pull the trigger on the grenade. 

And with that, Rises opens to what feels like a cold and barren time of peace. The twist here is that all of this, the low crime rates and prospering citizens, is all based on the lie that Batman killed the idealistic and righteous Harvey Dent rather than letting them know the truth in that even their "White Knight" was corruptable at the hands of the Joker. This has clearly weighed heavily on Commissioner Gordon (a wonderfully honed in Gary Oldman) as it does on Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne who is now more regarded as a Howard Hughes-type than the playboy billionaire we watched him pull off so well in the first two films. When Bruce is forced back into the world at the hands of two women, it is with an instant feeling of dread that he knows the lie can only be covered up for so long, before the roof's blown off and the truth is exposed. That is where the mercenary Bane steps in. As the bombastic terrorist, actor Tom Hardy has little more to work with than his eyes yet he uses them to his advantage as they speak mountains more than his muzzled mouth and muffled speech could ever manage. Bane comes to Gotham looking to finish what was started long ago. This leads to a somewhat similar trapping that Batman Begins fell into, having a weaponized tool from Wayne Enterprises stolen and used to his advantage but we buy it and Nolan learned from his misstep as the focus here is more on the characters motivations rather than following the structure of what a superhero film might be expected to fulfill. Tying in Wayne Enterprises also means the introduction to a new board member who catches the eye of a Bruce Wayne trying to re-introduce himself to a society he once stood at the top of. Miranda Tate, as played by one of three Inception alum Marion Cotillard, is sly and sexy, but is also the one relationship of the film that feels underdeveloped for proving to be such a critical point.

In what is a more minor, side character than I expected her to be (and also my biggest worry going into the film) is Anne Hathaway who ends up pulling off Selina Kyle with a sultry flair that does justice to her cat burglar profession while also possessing a fantastic sense of sarcasm that takes full advantage of those that underestimate her strength due to her sex. The character stays true to Nolan's world by being more of a femme fatale type con-woman rather than a campy thief who wears a costume to be provocative. Hathaway is never referenced to as Catwoman and I liked that choice of not labeling the characters with names as if they were media sensations. For the same reasons I love little choices like throwing "the" in front of Batman, it simply gives the whole world a better sense of credibility; not to mention reinforcing that allusion to the bat being more a symbol than a character itself. It is likely a wise choice that Nolan and his screenwriting collaborator/brother decided to keep Kyle to a minimum as her presence is certainly welcomed and her storyline integrated nicely into the multi-layered plot, but her character gets to no real exposition or backstory. There is far too much else going on here to give everyone their due, but the cuts are wisely made. We see what we need to see and though I feared if anything was going to shake the foundation Nolan had built for his bat trilogy that it might be Catwoman, I was proven wrong not only by Hathaway's performance but by the naturalistic sense with how she came to be a part of and continued to fit into the world of both Batman and Bruce Wayne.

Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) is a sneaky cat burglar.

What idea the character of Selina Kyle does push forward in the film is that of the economic crisis that has always loomed over Gotham yet the fact remained there was an elitist group of wealthy that included our heroes alter-ego, Mr. Wayne. It has always been a fact of the story that Wayne was a billionaire and that this fact is what separated him from the others that could not make the statement he chose to make. In being born into such wealth he was not only blessed with money, but with what he came to see as a responsibility. Sure, this allows him the luxury of all the cool gadgets Lucius Fox (the always reliable Morgan Freeman) supplies him with, but in this large and deep movie Nolan also touches on this unavoidable fact in reference to the world around him. He is making a statement about the current status of our society and those who have too much, or all they want and those who struggle every day to get by. It makes a case for having a real message without alluding to the easy target of politics. I honestly don't think Nolan intends to mirror the political landscape of America at the moment with these themes and characters. Those parallels can naturally be drawn when such care is taken to provide a story about a society and how it functions when rooted in as stable a reality as Nolan has. What The Dark Knight Rises does is to show the economic downfall of its most prized possession: Bruce Wayne himself. He is bankrupted after years of neglecting his company and some slight tinkering from the new guy in town. And from here the bottom just continues to fall out from under him. Bruce Wayne, not Batman, is knocked down so many times in this film he is pushed to a point that is in one instance total desperation and determination. He is literally and emotionally forced to crawl out of a very dark place, that same place he fell into as a boy, and we are with him every step of that emotional journey. This not only solidified my belief in this movie as a success, but as a relevant and important piece of filmmaking that shows the basic elements of good vs. evil are much more complex when there is a history to them and the person fighting for good has just as much pain as those fighting for evil. It is even more powerful when we realize the strength it took in a person to fall into that former category.  

Speaking of those falling into the category of good, while Bane Terrorizes, Miranda Tate takes over Wayne Enterprises, and Selina Kyle slinks around with an agenda of her own that gets her caught up in the eye of the storm we also have Gordon who is put out of commission by the masked terrorist and a new character mysteriously titled with a generic name that sees something much more going on than the lie that has saved Gotham for the past eight years. In a role that almost takes over the duty of Batman for the first half of the film John Blake, a young and idealistic cop played in an environment of pure cynicism with vigor and heart by Joseph Gordon-Levitt quickly ascends to become the right hand man of the Commissioner. Through the course of The Dark Knight Rises Blake comes to be our view of the world. Our set of eyes as Alfred (played again, but with stronger emotionality than ever by Michael Caine) is limited to a shorter amount of screen time. Blake knows the truth of the conspiracy as we do, he understands that Batman is the hero, even moreso for what he has taken the fall for. In this idea that Batman and Gordon had to keep the truth of what really happened a secret from society in order for it to bring about change is where Nolan inclinates his biggest social commentary. That the idea that the truth is too much, too painful or damaging for people to handle is to say that we as a race, as a society of human beings are unable to deal with the harsh truth sometimes. That is a scary thought and as a movie goer it isn't exactly where you would like to see things go. This idea is turns out to be a positive attribute for the film though in that it never takes you down a road you feel you've traveled before. In all its layers of story with massive amounts of action we never know what is around the corner and with stakes that high, it matches the level of tension we felt as an audience while watching the Joker blow up a hospital or fail to corrupt the truly incorruptible.

Batman returns after an eight year absence to Gotham City.

With all of that said, this does feel like the true completion of the greatest trilogy ever put to film. Chris Nolan has taken movies about superheroes to a place no one has ever been before and will likely ever venture to again. Everything about the film is gorgeous, from the pounding and perfectly placed Hans Zimmer score (I especially liked how the music dropped out during the first showdown between Batman and Bane) to the cinematography by consistent Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister. Having over an hour of this two hour and forty-five minute film shot in actual IMAX makes this a must see in the format and hopefully a signal for Hollywood to change its trend of chasing the 3D and switch to this much more rewarding way of watching movies. It takes us back to a storytelling that creates a world we as an audience can get caught up in, lost even, not only because of its bigness but because the image is as important as the storytelling. The scale completely influences the story. It raises the stakes on a situation that was already extremely heightened. This story of great depth features an amazing ensemble, all of which are at the top of their game, only enhancing the quality of the viewing experience.  

Chris Nolan set the bar ridiculously high for himself with The Dark Knight, but this final film in his trilogy is every bit as visionary and as epic a piece of filmmaking. It should also be noted I think that each film is very much its own. With a mood to itself and an idea that takes each new movie that one step further into why this story is so captivating in the first place. Where Batman Begins was in many ways a story of romantic ideals, The Dark Knight was a sleek piece of chaos and The Dark Knight Rises is a bleak and painful account of how that chaos has left the world it affected. The verdict of a movie should always come down to the feeling it leaves you with though and with this film I left the theater after the credits and I was happy. It had a power over me, it left an impact with serious weight that captures a specific moment in time. I have no issue with acknowledging my moments of nervousness through the first few scenes in the film. Whether it be that my expectations were so high I began to worry too early this would not be what I wanted or maybe after repeat viewings I will actually find there is an incoherent tone to the first act remains to be seen, but I can look past a few small complaints because what this film builds to is one of the most satisfying experiences I have ever had with any kind of film.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Review

Much like its predecessor, The Dark Knight Rises is not just a movie but an experience that deserves to be viewed for the impact it will leave on you. I will do my best to keep my personal love for the series contained and not to the point I find no faults with it, certainly there are a few and I can notice that and take those into consideration when evaluating the film. Still, when discussing a movie of this magnitude I also feel that it cannot seriously be taken as a commonplace review, a piece of entertainment that can be so easily dismissed. Even if it did not meet the expectations of what one might have wanted from the film, it can not be denied that it will still be of a higher quality, more of a thoughtful, ambitious, and exquisitely made movie than you have seen or will see the rest of the year. I was completely happy with it. The Dark Knight was a piece of work that will likely stand the test of time and be considered more of a landmark film than this third entry if not for anything other than the performance and character Heath Ledger created. There appears no such disoriented character in the third and final movie but that second film earned this final chapter the opportunity to be even darker and more of an orchestrated chaos tale that reaches a scale no longer seen in cinema today. This is, in many ways, a throwback to those grandiose films of the past that brought to life the unthinkable through practical thought. It is an inspired movie that does justice to the two films prior and brings the story of a man halted in his development and driven to extreme lengths for the cause of justice to a beautiful and satisfying close.

THE DARK KNIGHT Review

If any film in recent memory has approached, if not in many a fans eyes reached, perfection it would be the second entry in Chris Nolan's Batman series, The Dark Knight. Everything about the film contributes to building the tension and every performance is spot on, but what will forever be remembered about the film, what will stand out no matter how great everything else was is the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. When it was announced the actor would be playing the manic and insane criminal there was no shortage of doubt in his abilities but then the teaser trailer premiered and we got our first taste of Ledger's interpretation and how different it would be from Jack Nicholson's. Ledger's Joker was a deranged lunatic of a man who only wanted to watch the world burn and does more than his part to see that ambition become a truth in the city of Gotham. No matter how many times I watch the film I find myself amazed at how much this transcends the super hero/comic book genre to become something entirely different, something more-a crime drama, a mystery, a story of love, loss, and chaos. I become more impressed with how complex the story actually is, the layers with which the Nolan brothers and David Goyer took to make sure every aspect of the story had its motivations set to serve the ultimate theories and themes that Nolan is trying to explore with his films. There was no greater experience than seeing the massive action set pieces, the swelling music, the mastery of the performances come together on the IMAX screen like they did the first time you watched The Dark Knight. There hasn't been one since and likely never will be again, but I'm hoping things come pretty close this week.

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) contemplates what it
means to be Batman.

At the end of Batman Begins when Gordon handed over the joker card to Batman we knew what was coming but not necessarily what to expect. Never did I imagine the film that would follow would be the defining moment of my movie going experiences. I literally felt privileged to be alive during the theatrical release of such a film and have the opportunity to see it as many times as I wanted to in the format it was meant to be seen in. For two and a half hours I was on the edge of seat in pure escapism and overtaken by the scope with which the film was operating. Nearly every scene has am iconic shot, or moment, or piece of dialogue to it. The opening bank heist scene, the "hockey pants" fight scene where a director finally acknowledged issues with the batsuit and made the change to best one yet for the most practical of reasons. There is the introduction of the "white knight" Harvey Dent and how he has come to the aid of Batman yet Bruce Wayne can't help but to dislike him because he takes the affections of Rachel away. Aaron Eckhart likely had one of the more difficult arcs to pull off but it was always destined to be overshadowed by Ledger's insane villain. Still, the Harvey Dent/Two-face transition for me is what helped the story match the visuals and the music in scope. The sequence where Batman kidnaps Lau from his secure office building in Hong Kong by plane or the one where the Joker crashes the fundraiser or when he blows up a hospital. The car chase where the batpod is first revealed and that moment when the 18-wheeler flipped. It was astonishing, mesmerizing, it had a power over you as a viewer. The freakish and disturbing antics of the Joker keeping us guessing as the plot thickens and comes to an unconventional climax that left your mind lingering with thoughts and questions that were a chilling surprise to how much a man in a bat suit could resonate with you.

The Joker was Heath Ledger's finest performance.

I saw the film no less than six times in its theatrical run and though I try my hardest not to allow my excitement and anticipation blind me from seeing any issues the film might have, it was truly hard for me to find any kind of major fault with the movie. Sure, it had a few issues in the second act, it might have drug a time or two, but it picked itself back up and Nolan understood his project so well that he never allowed the bleakness of the whole thing to outweigh the fact that it was entertainment or the fact that it was entertainment to outweigh what he wanted to explore in the Batman mythology. What he set out to make with the first film carries over in that every aspect was grounded in reality. This is a completely plausible story where a man makes himself more than a human being in the eyes of his enemies to scare them into seclusion. Christian Bale dug even deeper into his role the second time around, he became Bruce Wayne and in doing that was able to become the true identity of the man in Batman. Maggie Gyllenhaal took over duties for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes in a move I usually don't like at all, but Gyllenhaal left me wishing she had played the role in the first place. I look back, trying to imagine Holmes delivering the dialogue and the performance needed to make Rachel as great of an emotional pull as Gyllenhaal did in The Dark Knight and it just isn't possible. Then you have the trio of support for Wayne/Batman in the form of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman. Oldman truly inhabits the skin of Gordon in this film and Caine, in his somewhat limited screen time, delivered a nuanced and emotional performance that is strong when it needs to be and light only when necessary. Freeman does his thing, but adds an extra bit of charm in a few key scenes early on that allow us to look past his persona and buy into him in this world. Regardless of how good anyone else was in the film though it all comes back around to Ledger. That first real introduction to the Joker where he crashes the mob boss meeting and makes a real impression on everyone by inserting a pencil into a mans head is one of the greatest introductions to a character ever put to film.

Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Harvey Dent
(Aaron Eckhart) attend a fundraiser for Harvey. 

What would the film have been had Ledger not died months before its release? Did his death make the Joker he portrayed on screen all the more scary? Likely, a bit, yes. Still, four years later his performance sends chills down my spine. I don't know that the film would have been as massively successful money-wise and that will be a debate that goes on forever, but regardless of the loss of Ledger, the film is and would have been considered the pinnacle of comic book adaptations and left its audience anxiously awaiting what would come next. We have almost reached the point of seeing what that follow up will be and despite Nolan's efforts nothing he could have done would have been able to top what he made here. It is clear he put everything he had into The Dark Knight and with his third and final installment he will no doubt bring what will no doubt go down in history as one of the greatest trilogies of all time to a fitting close. There is something to be said for a film that did what The Dark Knight did but it is hard to put into words what a huge impression this movie left on me. I love the film to the point I could watch it with my eyes closed and still find it beautiful due to the soaring and grim soundtrack that evolved from the first film. It is a gorgeous movie in every demented sense of the word. It is an emotional rollercoaster, an exquisite film that demonstrates the kind of chaos and terrorism a truly disturbed individual can bring to the forefront of society. It is a mirror to society, a political commentary with hints of understanding to public perceptions and terrorism that gave it a more urgent cover to the psycho crime drama that its presented as. It is a masterpiece.