Michael C. Hall for The Riddler in Batman 3

Christopher Nolan, the director of the previous two and most recent Batman films (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), is currently on work in post-production with his latest film, Inception. I am a huge fan of Nolan's work and I, like most of the movie buff's out there, want to know more about the development of the latest Batman feature. As of right now, Christopher Nolan has signed on to direct the third installment, while his brother who has previously co-wrote the last two is set to pen the script again with David S. Goyer. I have heard word that this film with complete the trilogy and will end the story Nolan has created in a concluding fashion instead of leaving any open story plots for future sequels. This is all fine with me. Why not create for yourself your own trilogy and complete it successfully at your own terms? Peter Jackson got to do it with Lord of the Rings, Francis Ford Coppolla did it with The Godfather Trilogy (arguably with the third one being a let-down), and so why can't Nolan with Batman?
SPOILER ALERT for those of you who haven't seen the Dark Knight....oh who am I kidding, everyone has.
The Dark Knight ended with Heath Ledger's Joker getting taken into custody (or so it seems) and Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face falling to his death. Thats all fine, except Nolan had planned on having Ledger back for the third film. Circumstances have it, this is indeed not possible and Ledger's Oscar winning performance is widely regarded as one of the best acting jobs for a villain in recent memory. So what to do now? Well the worst thing Nolan could do is have a new actor play Heath Ledger's Joker. No one wants to see this character be hacked down by someone copying the late actors brilliant work. So a new villain must take on the caped crusader. I personally feel Catwoman would be a great addition seeing how Rachel Dawes, the object of Bruce Wayne's affection in the previous films got blown to kingdom come by the Joker. Catwoman would be a great love interest and side-plot character done less like the Halle Berry incarnation and more like the Michelle Pfeiffer one. What a great dark place to take Batman's character and have Bruce Wayne further loose himself in his mask by having Batman fall in love instead of Bruce Wayne! But there is one character that needs to be included in the new Batman film.
The Riddler. He would be perfect for this film. Gotham could presumably be recovering from the Joker's attack and with Batman as their current villain, the script would be smart to have the Riddler pop in as an almost "Jigsaw"-esque terrorist that leaves riddles around town and cause Batman to come back as the hero the city needs. But who could play a darker version of the Riddler? It would have to be an actor completely different from Jim Carrey to give the audience a completely different experience than the one they had with the Riddler in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. The web was a-buzz when Johnny Depp's name was dropped around by the likes of Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. Depp is one of the best actor's of our time and would fit this role well, but I believe he is too big a name for this kind of part. Someone would have to be different enough from Heath Ledger's Joker and not live in his shadow, while also not being big enough a star to take away the limelight needed for Christian Bale in his final performance as Batman. So I nominate....
Michael C. Hall! He's perfect and I implore anyone to argue with me about this. Why hasn't anyone mentioned this before? If he gets casted, I would have called this before anyone else I know and that will make me feel even happier (but that's beside the point). If anyone has seen the show Dexter, Michael C. Hall plays the role of "America's favorite serial killer", Dexter Morgan. Dexter balances a family, his job as a blood-spatter analyst, and his urge to kill people. He only chooses to kill murderer's, however, which gives him enough of a code to get away as the hero of the Showtime series. Hall has given award worthy work with his dark nature, soothingly creepy narration, and hilariously disconnected style with the rest of humanity on the show. He would be perfect taking on the dark knight, Christian Bale. Can anyone think of someone better?

Michael Keaton- Underrated Actor

Recently I have re-watched a bundle of movies that coincidentally starred Michael Keaton, so his performances have been on my mind lately. I have always been a fan of his ever since I saw the 1998 film Jack Frost. Now I know that movie is not exactly a classic in any respect ( I mean come on, it involves a dad coming back to life as a snowman), but it introduced me to Keaton as one of the coolest male leads on screen.
The next film I saw him in was Batman Returns, when I went through my Batman faze that I guess I am still in to this day now that the Christopher Nolan adaptations have come out. But his work as Bruce Wayne in that film, and in the first Tim Burton film (Batman, 1989), really showed me what an actor could do in a film. He had a swagger to him as Bruce Wayne, the millionare with a "super-secret". He walked with the confidence and control a superhero would have but seemed like the every-man all the same. He was dark, funny, and completely engaging. If Christopher Reeve made film-goer's believe a man could fly, Michael Keaton made me believe that a man could run around in a bat-suit, save Gotham City, woo women, and still find time to sulk in the dark like a brooding gentlemen.
Now I've also heard he was not the first choice for this role and when he was casted, many Batman fans were outraged because of his small build and his previous works in comedies, case in point- Mr. Mom. But this is what makes me think of him as an extremely underrated actor. He is versatile. I bought him in Mr. Mom and laughed along with it, just as much as I bought him in the Bat-suit.
Keaton's best performance on screen, in my opinion, was as the title character in Tim Burton's first film with him, Beetlejuice. In this film, a couple played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin die accidentally and become ghosts, learning about the after-life and being introduced to a character named Beetlegeuse. This character is zany and dark, with cartoon sounds going off through his actions that make him stand out as the comic relief of the film. He is almost the out of place cartoon character in the live action piece. Keaton is only on screen for 19 minutes of the film and yet he is the title character and the one who is remembered.
Keaton was born in 1951 and at 59 years old, he's not getting the lead roles he once did. Now I have seen him play a lot of father roles (some examples included Post Grad and First Daughter). He is also a very good voice actor, having worked on Pixar's Cars and Toy Story 3. Now I know that there are plenty of other actors to be mentioned for their work having been more memorable and other actors who have won plenty of awards for their work. But where are the accolades for this guy? He has never won a major acting award (Golden Globe, SAG award, Oscar) and I wish he would have been recognized for the character's he has created. Maybe I just like him because of the nostalgia I get when I re-watch his earlier films and remember how much I wanted to be Batman or Beetlejuice, but I definitely think he is one of the most underrated actors of recent memory and this is my way of getting out my frustration.

If you would like, respond with some actors and actresses you think deserve praise for their work on screen who you feel have been underrated these days.

Shutter Island- Review

Shutter Island. Wow, what can I say about this movie. This is probably the first review I think I have ever written where I am typing literally right after I saw it. I have had no time to really let it sink in, this is just my opinion and my reaction to what I have just seen and i'll tell you it is a whole cluster of mixed emotions.
The film is directed by the great, Martin Scorsese. Going into this movie I tried to place my finger on what everyone always says is amazing about Scorsese. What is his signature style? He basically always makes films about misfits, the mafia, or extremely troubled individuals. Scorsese, in a nutshell, is a master at crafting films around characters. He loves his characters and makes them come alive because he directs actors so well. This is probably because he seems to have a muse (Harvey Keitel, Robert De'Niro, Leonardo Dicaprio) and work with him for so many movies that they meld together and create genius after understanding each others style and influence so well. This is at least what I get out of him. I feel Travis Bickle from Scorsese's Taxi Driver could be one of the greatest character piece's of all time. The film followed that one man until you felt so connected to him and then it yanked you around so you cared about every dilema and dark place he fell into.
Now who is the main character of Shutter Island you may ask? Teddy Daniels, played by Dicaprio in his fourth film with Scorsese, is a duly appointed federal marshall assigned to check out a missing person on Shutter Island with his partner Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo. The movie follows the two characters through the island, seeing the inner workings of the institution and suddenly feel the paranoia of their situation. They feel as though the doctors are against them and that there are cracks in the organization, and suddenly they are no longer safe on this island.
Now all I kept hearing about was how crazy the ending of this movie was. This film came out February 19th and since the opening weekend all my friends have said is "the ending is nuts!" and "the ending is trippy!". I will not spoil anything about this films story but let's just say, like the characters, just when you think you are safe in the story, it will flip you on your side. But the problem is I have seen this ending before in many other films. I felt I was being betrayed and was ready to hate the film and how crazy they wanted to delve because compared to other films of the past ten years, the twist seemed almost ordinary. But Dicaprio is truly in a one-man show here, carrying this film and making it un-ordinary. I would recommend this in a second just because when the twist rolls around, you feel for Dicaprio and his baby-face of hurt and worry. You begin feeling all the troubles around him and his world turn upside down. He is one special kind of an actor.
Scorsese has his usual rack-focus shots, slow-motion actions, and beautiful details that one could call his "trademark". To go back to the beginning of my review, these and his characters are his "style" and any Scorsese fan should see this film for that alone. In my humble opinion, I do not necessarily agree that he will be remembered centuries from now as the "Picasso of film" as Dicaprio stated at the Golden Globes last year (paraphrasing naturally). But he is a film-maker to be remembered and this is a film to be seen. I give it 3 out of 4 stars for a long strange trip I was put on that, come to think of it, was well worth the wait.

Sidenote: I felt this film was heavily influenced by old Alfred Hitchcock films. The perfectly placed piano notes, the dream sequences, the over head shots throwing in two actions at once. It all screamed films like Psycho and Vertigo and I applaud Scorsese for utilizing Hitchcock's techniques, if that was what he was going for.

My Top Ten Favorite Films (Part 2 of 2)

Hello again, this is a continuation of my last blog where I wrote about my favorite films of all time. Of course all of these films are my favorites but this is the best ranking I could muster.

5. Back to the Future (1985): You ever watch a movie as a kid where you still enjoy it the same amount when you're older? This movie has never changed for me. This time-traveling flick revolves around a 17 year old eighties kid names Marty Mcfly, who I can honestly say is the coolest teen film character ever put to screen. Although his family life is less than cool, he is a skateboarding, guitar playing, girl-swooning charasmatic kinda guy we love to root for. When Marty see's what his old pal, Dr. Emmett Brown's new invention is, he is amazed to see it is in fact a time machine built into a Delorian. When he accidentally travels back in time to 1955, he interrupts his parents original way of meeting and in order to prevent himself from being erased from existence, he must get his parents back together and get back...to the future. Robert Zemeckis is a technological wonder-kins with movies such as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" most recently "A Christmas Carol" in his mix, this film is a showcase of special effects wonder, a great developing screenplay, fun characters we love, and a tense climax that has you on the edge of your seat. You do not want to miss this! Plus, this is the film that inspired me to play guitar. I mean, have you seen Michael J. Fox play his way through "Johnny B. Goode"!?

4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet have proven to be cinematic legends. I see this movie to hold their most true and heart-breaking performances. This film is also all about the screenplay that is put to screen so beautifully. It showcases what I feel is the most true and realistic love story set in an almost unreal and sci-fi background. When Winslets character, Clementine, breaks up with Carrey's character, Joel, she has her memory erased to forget their entire relationship at a memory erasing clinic called Lacuna Inc. Joel naturally does the same and we follow Joel's relationship with Clementine backwards through his mind as he forgets about her. We see how their breakup went and then go back to realize why he fell in love with her in the first place. The memory erasing and the breaking down of the set pieces instills fear in you as a viewer because you can imagine yourself running around your own brain in the process, fighting to keep all the memories you want. It's a groundbreaking love story that may take a second viewing to truly appreciate.

3. Forrest Gump (1994): As my dad will say about this movie, "I can turn on the t.v. and see this on on any day of the week and I can just sit down and watch it no matter where the story is at. I've seen it so many times and I can just enjoy every part of it. I love this movie!". I'm paraphrasing this but I have to say I feel the exact same way. Tom Hanks gives his best performance as Forrest Gump, the not-so intelligent but loveable character that throws around some of the most memorable quotes in film, such as "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get". "Forrest Gump" has many little stories that make up his entire life. We watch him grow up and meet the love of his life, Jenny. We see him go to war in Vietnam, and meet some of the American presidents, become a shrimp boat captain, and run across the country. Forrest is as pure as a character can be. We want him to succeed because he does everything for love and for being a good person as his mother and Jenny would want him to be. Zemeckis really shined with directing this film and I think the scene where Forrest talks to the gravestone of his loved one in the end, (I won't spoil who it is), is so moving you would have to be a robot to not feel how powerful Hanks is on screen.

2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): I would put the entire original Star Wars Trilogy on here but I picked this one film because it is my favorite. Sure the first Star Wars film established the main characters in the setting of "a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away..", fighting the good fight against the evil Galactic Empire and it's leader Darth Vader. But this is the film where everything became darker. You felt you started to really know the characters of Han and Leia when they began to fall in love and feel the danger around them. You felt Luke Skywalkers journey to become the hero that was needed to bring balance to "the force" and ultimately defeat the Empire. And I must say, if you did not know that Darth Vader was going to be Luke's father before you saw this movie...nooooooobody saw that coming. This is the greatest twist in cinematic history! Turning the most evil and sinister villain into a tragically flawed character needing to be saved by his son is amazing to me to this day! Plus the "Empire theme" by John Williams is epic as anything. I saw this in theaters in 1997 when they were re-released with added footage, but I have also seen the original cuts. Not too much has changed between them so don't think it hindered my experience, I only bring this up because anytime I watch this film, I immediately am brought back to being that kid who discovered what an action packed, epic sci-fi film could do to a person and how riveting the art of film could be.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994): This film has been my favorite since high school for a number of reasons. One of them being because the friendship between Tim Robbins character and Morgan Freeman's character is so moving. When you watch this film, you feel like you are their friend and you want to see them both get what they want. Number two being that the film takes place in probably the most hard and realistic setting: a prison. This Shawshank prison is a powerful setting because most of the entire running time takes place between the walls of the prison and you become so intune with the setting that you forget you could escape it as well. The third and most important reason I would say is that the ending is so moving. Seeing the main characters succeed after all the extremely hard obstacles they face has never been such a high payoff as in this film. This is a movie where the entirety of the piece is so moving that it feels like an experience you went through yourself, seeing the hardships of their prison life. When the characters finally get to where they have always wanted to be, something inside you feels lighter. Films can do this to you, they can inspire you. This film inspires me and makes me believe that anything can really be possible. You may have to crawl through a river of excrement as Andy Dufrane did in the film (hopefully not literally), but you can make it out as clean and happy as he did and feel freedom. The films message is that "hope can set you free", and it delivers it perfectly I must say.


Thank you for reading my list and please post you're favorite films as well!