Movie #229 - Gladiator

Gladiator
2000 - Rated R - 2 hr 35 min
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tommy Flanagan

Obviously, with a Latin teacher in the house, this is a favorite around here.  What I like most about this movie -- aside from the realistic interpretation of the time period -- is its ability to appeal to different tastes.  It's not just an action film, or a historical film, or a drama film.  It has a unique blend of elements that allow you to get pulled into the story line, root for the main character, and escape to another world for a couple of hours.

It's long, for sure, but it doesn't drag.  That's another bonus in my book.  You really don't mind sitting through two and a half hours, because that's what you need for a thorough telling of this story. 

One critique is the clear-cut bad guy vs. good guy.  No one roots for Commodus.  Maybe you shouldn't, but I always like a movie with a multi-dimensional rivalry and a little bit of gray area.  But I guess there's something to be told for this movie's traditional standpoint.  Stories from that time were indeed clear-cut, so it makes sense this one would be too.

A favorite, since my very first watch. A+

Movie #192 - Face/Off

Face/Off
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 18 min
Director: John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Tommy Flanagan

John Woo can't help himself.  There must be doves. There must be artsy, self-indulgent cinematography. There must be gratuitous explosions. 

Obviously, this movie has all three. It also has one of the weirdest premises ever. Two men, the criminal and the man he wronged, switch identities...faces, bodies, voices. All of it. And then, OH NO! The good guy's trapped in the bad guy's body, cuz the bad guy killed the doctors that did the procedure and burned all the evidence that it even took place. No one will ever find out! And the bad guy, dressed as the good guy, is sleeping with the good guy's wife!

Still with me?

Nicolas Cage plays the bad guy, but when the bad guy's in John Travolta's body, he actually does a better job.  Nic Cage is better when he's got the good duy trapped in his body.

I'm getting confused now, so I'm gonna stop.  But you get the idea.  It's confusing, and we're nowhere near this kind of science. Besides, who would EVER do this? EVER?!  It seems like someone had a crazy idea and built a plot around it, just to shoot some of the action scenes and the who's-who stuff.

Ugh.