The World of Christopher Nolan Part 4-Batman Begins

"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up."

Batman Begins....I don't even quite know where to start when I want to talk about this movie. It is just amazing in so many aspects. Although, many people would say that I have a bias because Christian Bale has been my favorite actor since I was a little kid. I remember hearing that Bale would be playing the iconic Batman, and becoming super excited. For me this was going to show everyone what an amazing actor Bale is and finally make him the household name he always deserved to be. (Even if he never really liked the attention. It doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve it.)

When Warner Brothers began to look into restarting the Batman franchise, there really could not have been anyone better than Nolan to take this task on. Batman has always been one of the more fascinating super heroes. He has always been so much darker than all of the others, and when one really stops to think  about it, he doesn't have any "super powers." (My super hero knowledge is not that extensive, but I would like to say that I believe he is one of the only ones...please correct me if I a wrong!) The driving force behind Batman has always been his own metal state. (I don't mean crazy, I mean his thoughts and feelings) Being that Nolan seems to really be interested in the metal state of people, and how it effects them and the events that occur around them, what better person then to explore this character. I really loved that Nolan decided to focus on the idea of fear.

Fear is what made Batman who he is in every way. Bruce Wayne blames himself for the death of his parents, and he attributes that to his own developed fear of bats from when he fell down into a hole. Fear is what Bruce uses to train, and it is what he ultimately uses to create this symbol of Batman. To strike fear into the heart of his enemies. It is also what the villain uses to try to destroy Gotham City, a toxin to create fear and panic. Again he uses such a simple human emotion, a simple human reaction, and was able to rebuild an entire franchise around it.

As with everything though, a great script (and one of this magnitude) is nothing without a strong cast to support it. I really thought that Bale did a wonderful job as Bruce Wayne. He has always had this uncanny ability to really portray those darker and deeper characters. His Batman is where many people are divided. I did not think that his Batman was bad at all. I actually loved his Batman, especially in this movie. One really has to remember that this was the creation of Batman. He was still finding himself. Not only as an actor finding a character, but Bruce Wayne was still trying to discover WHO and WHAT Batman was himself. Just as this was a new character for Bale, this was a new character for Bruce. And if the only thing that you have to complain to be about is the voice. I am going to say right now....get over it. You are really just looking for something if that is all you have to say about the performance. Because re-watching the movie today, it really wasn't as bad as everyone really makes it out to be.

Now I know that Bale was not the only star in this movie, there are just so many to talk about. I really loved the choice of Gary Oldman for Gordon. I thought he was perfect for the role, and it was nice to see him in a role that is not quite what I am used to him playing. Cillian Murphy did a wonderful job as the creepy scarecrow, but he always does those roles justice. I also love seeing Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman and they were a nice balance to the sometimes impulsive Bruce Wayne. And of course it would be terrible to not mention the amazing Liam Nielson when discussing this movie, because everything is just ever better when he is around. Katie Holmes would be the only one that I really have any complaints about. I felt like everything seemed a bit forced with her, not very natural and honest, but that is just me. If that is my only complaint great movie! Nothing more to say.

Watch it right now....and get ready...because in less then 12 hours...the Dark Knight is going to rise for the last time with Nolan and Bale behind the wheel.

"Its' not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you."



The World of Christopher Nolan Part 1- Following

"Everyone has a box."

In honor of the release of The Dark Knight Rises this week, I decided to go back and review all of Christopher Nolan's films. He is one of my favorite directors of all time, and it is never a bad thing to watch a Nolan film, and I always have something to say about everything, so what better place than my own movie blog. (and it's a great way to pass some time while in the hospital :oP ) I thought it fitting to watch his movies in order of their release. It is always interesting to watch a director's progression and growth. So, I started with his 1998, black and white movie, Following.
Following appears a first to have a very simple story line, a young struggling writer, Bill, follows people in order to help inspire his writing. One of his marks notices him one day and approaches him. This man, Cobb, turns out to be a thief. (Fun fact: also the last name of DiCaprio's character in Inception) Cobb begins to teach him the ropes of breaking and entering. Seemingly basic storyline correct? Nothing is ever basic with Nolan, and that is why is his amazing.

This movie is categorized as being a film nor, which is a fancy word for a stylish crime drama. I found that this particular film really reminded me of some of Hitchcock's (my favorite director ever, he stands above everyone else) This movie, much like his second film Memento, does not start at the complete beginning of the film. It goes back and forth from the beginning of the story, the end of the story, and even at times the middle of the story. Being that this was his first full-length feature, this could easily be a disaster for an experienced director, let alone a brand new one. He did a wonderful job though. He has such a way with reveling little things piece by piece, without giving to much away, but making you think that you have everything figured out. Then he hits you again with something new. What is great about this, is that it is never something to far fetched that it is unbelievable, it is just something that you probably didn't think about, even though all of the pieces were there for you to figure it out yourself if you looked close enough. This has been a talent of his throughout all of his films. I thought that the cuts in between the scenes could have been a bit smoother, but this is a directorial and debut, and a very low budgeted film, so I can't complain to much.

Another thing that I loved about the film is that it was filmed in black and white. Many people now a days are a bit turned off by black and white movies (my cousin's boyfriend being one of them :op). I feel that black and white movies force us to focus on the important aspects of the movie, the story. This generation of movie goers are so used to the special effects and how big the expectations are, but what they are forgetting is what is at the heart of every movie-The Story. I thought that this was a great choice for this particular film. There was nothing that was lost without color. You focused on the story and the characters.
What also amazed be about this movie was the focus of this idea of voyeurism. This movie was made in 1998, a few years before the Internet boom, and the insane blow up of social media. Cobb talks to Bill about how all people have a box that contains all of these intimate items, and that knowing someone has taken a look into this box, excites them a little. They don't really take much of anything, but they are observing and peaking....they are making judgements based on the things that they see displayed in their homes. I didn't think that this was very far off of what we all do in all of our social media outlets. I thought that aspect of the movie was the most interesting.  
All in all this was a great start for Nolan's career. You can see different things that he was playing around tired to perfect with his later films. Memento has many of the story telling tricks that he used in this one. If you are a Christopher Nolan fan at all, this is a must see. The acting is nothing special, but for me it really didn't need to be. If you appreciate Alfred Hitchcock at all, this is also a must see. I think that is definitely has many remnants of his film style as well. Watch it from a distance, quietly at first, and then feel yourself become lost in a world you never intended to be in.