Reign of Fire (2002)

Film of 2012 #53

I have now seen this film several times, it is a Dragon fantasy brought into the real world and really it is a post apocalyptic world. Where Christian Bale and Gerard Butler are trying to keep a group of survivors alive after Dragons are released into the world and they have taken over. It is set about 15 years after the destruction of the world and is part of the struggle to survive and does some interesting things with the young children. The action kicks off when an American GI comes in played by a shaven headed bearded Matthew McConaughy playing what is essentially the bad guy of the piece.

This is by no means a classic film and has many flaws but I have to say that I really enjoy it and it is a film that I will go back to watch again, it possibly comes under the guilty pleasure category. The story is like a classic story brought in to a modern setting, Christian Bale's character is only looking to survive and outlive the Dragons, and Matthew McConnaghey is your Dragon Slayer, he is hard and brutal but in the end it is only because to survive he needs to be, the hip flask is a great example of this. The fact that Christian Bale's character is there at the start and sees the first Dragon and he does not want to be the leader but he is there and needed so he does it.

This film I think is trying to do something more than the material and the people involved can achieve and I think as a book it would work really well. They needed to focus either more on the dilemma and the difficulty of the Christian Bale character or they needed to go all out action, they get caught in the middle and it just does not work like they want it to. I can watch this and enjoy it and will revisit it again in the future I know this as it is a film I like to go back to, it is a strong 3 star recommend but you have to know it has flaws when you go into it.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)

Film of 2012 #37

The TV adaption from 1954 starring Peter Cushing as Winston Smith, while I know the concept and idea behind 1984, I have never read the book or actually seen a version of the story so this was my first view of the story right through. Or was it, I have actually seen a Christian Bale film called Equilibrium which I really enjoyed and after seeing this film realised that it is a modern retelling of the same basic story. So while watching this I did keep thinking back to Equilibrium but it did not detract from the enjoyment of the performances from Peter Cushing and Yvonne Mitchell, there is also a supporting role for Donald Pleasence. So for those unaware of the story from George Orwell it is set in a future where Big Brother is an all powerful figure at the head of The Party and the society they have created is montired and the greatest crime is thought crime which results in brainwashing. 

I have never read the story but presume as this is one of the first film adaptations that they have stuck pretty close to the source material and it still resonates as much as it would have back then. I think that in the 1950's and 60's when the Cold War was happening there will have been a greater impact and importance on the freedoms and i think that back then the fear that we could end up in a society like that portrayed in 1984 would have been more believable, In today's world while we worry that our freedoms are being infringed nothing like 1984 is likely to happen in the short term.

I want to see the John Hurt portrayal of the character before saying if you need to see this version as a recommendation, I think the story should be seen so if you can only see this version then you should see it and the story is worth seeing in some format, even if it by watching Equilibrium. This version gets 3 stars from me and is worth seeing how the story was told in 1954. It is available as a Public Domain download, not the best quality but good enough yo enjoy.

The Fighter (2010)

TV Texas, 20th March 2011.

Now this recommendation came to me from a very strange place, my father, now I am a movie fan and go to the cinema about once a week and watch as many films as I can, my Dad goes once a year and is usually really unimpressed with whatever he sees. He went to see the Fighter and actually took the time to recommend it to me, so I had to try and see it.

I got the opportunity while in Texas with @Timbo_T we bought it on box office and sat down to watch it with beers in hand, I have to say that I loved it, the only thing other than my Dad's recommendation was an answer Micky Ward gave in an interview that Christian Bale played his brother to perfection "It was like looking at Dicky." To paraphrase his answer, so I was piqued with the recommend from my Dad was keen to see it and I loved it.

Mark Whalberg not always the best actor actually gives Micky some character and you feel for and learn to like him and understand the decisions he makes. The based on a true story always gets to me but this story as one I was vaguely aware of (they had made a movie about it) was compelling and enjoyable. The people are real and the struggles and decisions they make are real and you actually want them all to win, the Oscar nods were well worth it.

I give this 4 out of 5 stars, again I only drop the 1 star due to based on a true story which always means that there might be lies and also the imagination of what could have been is lost to me, go and see this film as soon as you can.