Movie #299 - Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved
1994 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbe, Isabella Rossellini, Miriam Margolyes, Johanna ter Steege, Valeria Golino

I first saw this movie in high school on a friend's recommendation.  And since then, it's always stuck in my mind for some reason. This was my itnroduction to the fabulous character actor that is Gary Oldman-- nearly unrecognizable in his role as Ludwig van Beethoven.  Brilliant, too.

Immortal Beloved takes place after the composer's death, as his secretary (Jeroen Krabbe) searches high and low for the woman Beethoven referred to as his "immortal beloved, his other self."  He interviews three women important to Beethoven during his life to determine which of them has inherited his estate.  Putting the pieces together not only solves the question but also opens one of the women's eyes to a mystery from her own past.  It's bittersweet and heart-breaking, so romantically tragic.

I don't know how much of this is based on fact, but they take a historic figure and give him more humanness than the history books do.  Really well done, from beginning to end.  I love this one.

Movie #277 - Air Force One

Air Force One
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 4 min
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, William H Macy, Dean Stockwell

"Get off my plane."

Perhaps the only line worth quoting from this presidential action flick, it's delivered with such commitment, you can't ignore it.  Not as iconic as "No ticket," for sure, but a stand alone line that deserves some notice.

Harrison Ford is perhaps the most kick-ass president modern cinema has ever seen.  Is he a good president? We don't know. Can he re-hijak his hijaked plane? Absolutely.  I can't imagine George W Bush moving like this, but Obama might have a chance.  Don't mess with him, Gary Oldman, I bet Obama's got moves.

In any case, this movie's entertaining - if completely implausible - but not one you absolutely must see.

Movie #261 - Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 18 min
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane

These movies are jam-packed with acting royalty, aren't they?  Seriously. If I could write a book series and have all of these actors in it, wow....  I can't even tag them all, that's how many there are! Blogger won't let me, stupid Blogger.

So this has always been my least favorite book.  It's too long, too dark, too much brooding.  But that's the whole point. I love it for what it represents to the series: Harry's adolescence ending, his painful adulthood beginning.  And isn't Imelda Staunton just the perfect "headmaster" you love to hate?  There are many great things about this book, all of which are captured here.  Not the least of which is Helena Bonham Carter's introduction as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of my favorite characters of all time.  Honestly, how crazy is this woman?

I guess I love this one for being unapologetically true to what it has to be, but it's still uncomfortable to read/watch.  I only wish there was more of the Weasley twins war on Umbridge in the movie.  That stuff is gold.

Movie #260 - Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
2005 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 37 min
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Timothy Spall, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, Robert Pattinson, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Clemence Poesy, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Brendan Gleeson, Miranda Richardson, Gary Oldman, Shirley Henderson, Ralph Fiennes

The biggest book so far and it's the choppiest movie.  Maybe I'm overly critical because this is my favorite book in the series.  I'm not even partial to Hermione's S.P.E.W. subplot but I'm still mad it's not in the movie.

Still, they do a great job bringing the big stuff to life - the TriWizard Tournament, the Voldemort confrontation.  Although I didn't like the cerebral quality they gave to the maze.  It's supposed to be monsters, not their own personal demons.  Anyway, aside from this, my only other critique is the director's apparent mis-steps in some seasons.  Hermione overreacts here and there, Dumbledore basically attacks Harry in one scene -  acts that are largely out of character to the seasoned HP fan, maybe not so for the untrained eye.  It feels like Newell didn't get a full grasp of some of the relationships here.

And also, everyone needs a bloody haircut in this movie...

Oh yeah. Screw you, Twilight, for making Cedric Diggory a vampire. We had him first, you jerks.

Movie #259 - Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004 - Rated PG - 2 hr 21 min
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Bonnie Wright, David Thewlis, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Dawn French, Emma Thompson, Julie Christie, Timothy Spall

Watching these in a row, the actors are growing up right before my eyes. Actually, it's kinda cool.  It's also fun to watch the story unfold in succession like this.  It's not fun, however, to watch several 2+ hour movies in a row. My butt's starting to hurt somewhere around the end of this movie.

Still, this movie takes a marked turn away from the happy-go-lucky Hogwarts vibe that Chris Columbus established.  It's probably got a lot to do with the new director, but it aptly captures the feeling of the third book. Bleak, sad, dreary.  It's an important segue for Harry to go from Yay I'm a Wizard! to Crap, Voldemort Wants to Kill Everyone and I have to Stop Him.  Rowling does a good job in the series translating this to us and Cuaron was the right guy to take over for this film.

Movie #202 - The Fifth Element

The Fifth Element
1997 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry

Ha! Oh, this movie.  It's like campy sci-fi and, in my experience, people either love it or hate it.  Which side of the fence do you fall on?

So, Bruce Willis plays McLane in space, from what I can tell.  And what is Milla Jovovich? Why is she beaming throughout this entire movie? And why is her hair orange? Anybody? Bueller?

Gary Oldman has a Southern accent. Are you aware of this?

Mostly, this movie is a big mess. But I guess it's so bad, that it's kinda funny.  And it gets in your brain somehow and the next thing you know, you're walking around saying "mooolty pahsss."

Movie #146 - The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight
Warner Bros Pictures
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 32 min
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy

If you haven't seen this movie yet.... oh man. Do you live in a cave? How are you reading this post? Honestly, I'm concerned about you. This is a MUST see. MUST. So get out of your cave and go find a rental store... oh wait a minute. You have the internet. Get a Netflix account and download the movie already, for crying out loud.  Watch it in your cave, I don't care. 

There. Much better now.  Now you understand. This movie, from beginning to end and all the way through the middle, is awesome.  Sure, Christian Bale's Batman voice is a little weird. And yeah, the Two-Face plot at the end feels like an afterthought.  But, my God, is Heath Ledger brilliant or what?  Some have said that we only love this movie so much because it was his *last* film (technically, that's not true... ahem, Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but we're not on I yet.) But if he were still alive (oh....now I'm sad), I'd still think this movie and his performance were frickin' fabulous.

If you're not an action or comic-book-based movie fan, that's fine. You don't have to be to appreciate the artistry of this movie. The tone is perfect, the plotline engaging, and the performances top-notch.  I'm gushing, I know. But I give credit where it's due and - after watching all those 90's Batman movies last month - I'm really glad they decided to give this franchise a re-boot.  And while Heath Ledger will be sorely missed for a long, long time, I'm glad we got this parting gift from him.

Movie #58 - Batman Begins

Batman Begins
Warner Bros. Pictures

2005 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 20 min
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe


I remember when this movie came out thinking, "Another Batman? Why?" But after watching those last four, I can see what the franchise needed a new start. In Batman Begins, the slate gets wiped clean and Christopher Nolan takes a stab at how Batman became the Batman. And some clever bits and pieces are added to deepen his character.

This movie takes the comic-ness out of the story and makes it more accessible. Batman isn't just one-half vigilante and one-half playboy. Instead, we get to see his relationship with his father, how deeply scarring it was to lose his parents, how his childhood friend can affect him, and how his training made him what he is. Plus, it's fun to watch Christian Bale train with ninjas, just sayin'.

Christian Bale may not be the best Batman, but he's great at the gritty, wounded hero thing. He could do without the Batman voice, as I'm sure most people would agree, but it's a small criticism in an otherwise entertaining movie.

I really enjoyed this movie when I first saw it in the theater and I still like it now. My only regret is that the sequel The Dark Knight is filed under D... or else I'd be happy to move onto it right away.

Netflix Movie: The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli
Silver Pictures
2010 - Rated R - 1 hr 58 min
Directors: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Jennifer Beals

I figure if I'm reviewing the entire wall, I might as well include reviews for the non-wall movies that Mike makes me watch. Not that I didn't want to watch The Book of Eli, I just would rather spend the time chipping away at that list of 600+ movies.

Anyway, we watched the Netflix DVD yesterday and I did thoroughly enjoy it. Denzel, as always, was fantastic in this post-apocalyptic movie (my third apocalyptic movie in three days... and 28 Days Later is only two short movies away). I was a little skeptical of Mila Kunis, the would-be bad ass runaway who tags along, but in the end, her wielding a machete wasn't quite so unbelievable as you'd think. The plot was fairly predictable, but the twist at the end got both Mike and I (which is saying something, because he's tough to surprise). Although it would have been nice to see Denzel do his own action sequences, but I guess that's what happens when awesome actors start aging. Oh, Denzel!

Overall, I highly recommend it for an action/adventure with a spiritual twist. Great casting, strong plot, and really interesting look at what society after the nuclear "flash" would be like.

Now, back to the wall.