2 movie reviews with Christian Bale

3:10 to Yuma

I've been watching this guy since Batman Begins which was quite the sleeper for me. In 3:10 to Yuma he plays a rancher with a wooden leg that is forced to deliver a fiendish Russel Crowe to justice (or maybe just to a train). The movie has Peter Fonda as an old coot bounty hunter which seems just perfect. The coolest side character has to be the evil Charlie Prince (Ben Foster, remember The Punisher's friend with all the face jewelry?) He's a stylish, quick gun with no conscience. {kewl!} The story is a little disconcerting as good and evil shifts places from time to time fueled by the genius outlaw's (Crowe) manipulation and malice or good will; we never quite know which. The crook ends up judging himself guilty which is a nice twist but somehow follows well. The rancher has also the job of winning his son's lost respect which the outlaw wins simply by being an outlaw. Well directed, well acted 4.5 Sparklies

Equilibrium

In the Orwellian "Equilibrium" the respect he seeks is in himself. He plays an assassin-class cleric that must root out all art that has been rated for emotional content in a Nazi-esque culture damaged by war that removes reference to emotions to avoid a repeat of a world ruled by violence. Everyone is dosed daily with a prozac-like substance to avoid becoming a "sense offender."

Partly because he misses one of his doses, he falls in love with a women (the very lovely Emily Watson) whose lover he has killed. His son in this movie comes off as a Hitler-youth that he is afraid of and suspects of turning in his own mother. A little heavy on the need to suspend disbelief as humans really can't do much without feelings. The action is cool and Bale is convincing Well directed, well acted 4 Sparklies

Cal Gravatt