Kiwi Film Review: Top 10 Actors

Surprisingly this is the list that so far has taken me the longest to decide. All of these actors are top notch actors, including the ones in the honourable mentions list. All of these actors have either won Oscars themselves or have been in Oscar winning movies. I still feel bad about not being able to fit a couple of people in the Top 10 so please check out the honourable mentions as well.



10.) Daniel Day-Lewis
Oh Daniel, what a treasure he is. The first movie I saw him in was Gangs of New York and I fell in love with him, funny I know because he's a total bad-guy and it not attractive at all, but I just knew, he was amazing. Later I saw There Will Be Blood, In The Name Of The Father, and most recently, Lincoln. However, I think he is most famous for My Left Foot for which he won an Oscar. So far he's won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for his performance in Lincoln, and I'm pretty confident he'll be winning the Oscar as well. I'd watch any movie he was in, he is magnificent, and I think he's one of the greatest character actors of our time.

Check out my review for Lincoln HERE

9.) Leonardo DiCaprio
Surprisingly I like Leo before Titanic, he was in Growing Pains which just so happened to be one of my favorite TV shows growing up. However, the love came when Titanic was released. Funny enough, I was far too young to actually see it then, but because of the huge Leo frenzy I saw him everywhere. I remember once I heard that a bunch of the stars were coming into St. John's because they were heading out to see the location of where the Titanic actually sunk. I just so happened to be out here and begged my parents to bring me to the harbour to see the love of my life, and they did so, unfortunately I saw no one, and he wasn't even one of the cast members coming in. Very disappointing. Little did I know that I would grow to hugely respect his amazing talent. The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Inception, Shutter Island, Catch Me If You Can, Body Of Lies, and most recently in Django Unchained. I'm also extremely excited about his next role in The Great Gatsby.
Check out my review for Django Unchained HERE

8.) Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon has had a pretty diverse career, I think the film he's probably best known for is Footloose, but the films I love him in were actually ones that I hadn't heard of until I found them in the $5 bin at Walmart. My favorites of his are Mystic River, Sleepers, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13, X-Men First Class. Stir of Echoes was also pretty good. He's in a new TV show called The Following that came out this month. Theres only been a few episodes but so far its very good. The thing I like about Kevin Bacon is that he can play both a hero and a villain amazingly well. I mean, he's one of the most horrifying people of all time in Sleepers, but in films like Footloose and Apollo 13 he's the great guy. Sleepers and Mystic River are such awesome movies, if you haven't seen them yet, please do so ASAP.

Check out my review for Mystic River HERE.




7.) Edward Norton
Edward Norton is an awesome actor. He has been in such masterpieces as Fight Club, American History X, Primal Fear,  Red Dragon, The Painted Vail, and The Illusionist. He also played Bruce Banner/Hulk in the last Hulk movie (not including The Avengers). Chances are he normally doesn't come to mind when thinking about your favorite actors, but seriously just look at that list and tell me he doesn't deserve the number 7 spot on this list? Between Fight Club, American History X and Primal Fear, I just listed some of my favorite films. All of them would definitely be in my top 25. If you haven't seen these, especially the first 3 or 4, do it now because you're very much missing out.

6.) Sean Penn
Where do I begin with this Oscar winning actor? His first big hit was Fast Times at Ridgemont High as the classic character, Spicoli. Looking at his list of works there was actually a pretty big gap between that film, and another film I've even heard of. I don't think its until Dead Man Walking that I see another film I've heard of, and I haven't even seen that one. I think the role that made him a household name was his role as Sam Dawson in I Am Sam, one of the saddest movies of all time. After that we have 21 Grams, Mystic River, The Interpreter, Milk, Fair Game, The Tree Of Life, and most recently Gangster Squad. He has won 2 Oscars for Actor in a Leading Role for Mystic River and Milk. He has also been nominated for I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown and Dead Man Walking.
Check out my review for Mystic River HERE.

5.) Gary Oldman
Like Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman is an amazing character actor. I think his most famous roles would be as Officer Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy, or Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films. However, he has had many successful films including JFK, Dracula, Léon the Professional, The Fifth Element, Air Force One, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Lawless. Somehow even with that insane list of performances, he's only been nominate for one Oscar for his role as George Smiley in in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 
Check out my review for The Dark Knight Rises HERE

4.) Christian Bale
Christian Bale is definitely best known for his role as Batman, but I don't know if most people are aware of just how fantastic of an actor he is. He is known for his intense method acting. He lost 63 pounds for his role in The Machinist, and went down to 121 pounds for The Fighter. His earliest hit was when he was a child in Empire of the Sun, then Newsies. A few years later he was in the well known period film Little Women. Since then he has been in such amazing films as American Psycho, The Machinist, Batman Begins, The Prestige, 3:10 To Yuma, I'm Not There, The Dark Knight, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies, The Fighter (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and The Dark Knight Rises. I really think that The Dark Knight trilogy has been mostly under-appreciated. Granted, I am biased because I love them so much, but I can't believe none of them have gotten a best picture nomination at the Oscars. 
Check out my Dark Knight Rises review HERE.



3.) Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe quickly became one of my favorite actors after seeing A Beautiful Mind, but he's been in other amazing films that helped me put him at number 3. L.A Confidential, Gladiator, Master and Commander, Cinderella Man, The Insider, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Body of Lies, State of Play, The Next 3 Days, and most recently Les Misérables. He has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Insider and A Beautiful Mind, and won for Gladiator. I'm sure these will not be his final nominations, as I'm sure he has a few more amazing films to come. He's actually visited Newfoundland a number of times, so it is my life dream to see him in a coffee shop someday down town. I think I would die of joy if that happens.
Check out my Top 10 Films Of All Time list HERE

2.) Tom Hanks
I think Tom Hanks is one of those people who you just can't not like. He just seems like such a great guy, and he's even more talented then nice somehow. Its pretty amazing considering how many amazing films he has under his belt, most people would let the amount of success he's had go to their heads, but not good ole' Tom.  Some of his biggest hits include Big, Turner & Hootch,  Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Toy Story, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can, The Polar Express, The Da Vinci Code, and his most famous film Forrest Gump. He was also in Cloud Atlas last fall which made my Top 10 Films of 2012 list. He has won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role two years in a row (1994 and 1995) for his roles in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia. As surprising as it is, he's made many more films then I have listed, thats just a condense list of his most well known films. This man has made some amazing, heartwarming, and life altering films. Do yourself a favor and look up his acceptance speeches for both of his Oscars, an unbelieveably amazing man who definitely deserves the #2 spot on this list.
Check out my Top 10 Films of 2012 list HERE
Check out my Cloud Atlas review HERE

1.) Kevin Spacey
I adore Kevin Spacey. He has such an unusual but impressive career. Spacey has been in such movies as The Usual Suspects, Se7en, A Time To Kill, L.A Confidential, American Beauty, K-PAX, Pay It Forward, The Shipping News, The Life of David Gale, Superman Returns, 21, Moon, Margin Call, Horrible Bosses, and currently he's in the original Netflix show House Of Cards which is currently a pretty big hit. He's won two Academy Awards, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Usual Suspects 1996, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for American Beauty in 2000. American Beauty reached #2 on my Top 10  Films Of All Time list, and if I'd had a top 20 I think another 2 or 3 of his would have inched their way on there as well. I really love this guy, when I found out that he had been in The Shipping News (filmed here in Newfoundland), I was so excited to know that he knew where it was. I will watch any film that he's in, and I can't wait to see what he has next, and the next season of House of Cards!
Check out my Top 10 Films Of All Time list HERE



Honourable Mentions: Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Colin Firth, Robin Williams, Sam Rockwell, Christoph Waltz, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins.

Kiwi Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

IMDB: 8.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%(critics), 92%(audience)
Roger Ebert: 3/4 stars

Stars: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

Release Date: 20 July 2012
Described by IMDB as: "Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in which he took the rap for Dent's crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with Bane's plans to destroy the city."

*This review has some SPOILERS*

 I really loved the whole opening scene of this film. I mean, I knew the whole time that Bane(Tom Hardy) was one of the "prisoners", but I don't think Nolan was necessarily trying to hide that, I think you were probably supposed to be aware of that. When the other plane hooks on and it pulls the first plane forward and the wings break off, amazing shot, so cool. I loved at the end of that scene when Bane(Hardy) and his scientist prisoner are hanging onto the rope, and the plane lets go and falls down around them. It looked amazing! Very Nolanesque. He just keeps getting bigger and better stunts. The scale of this film is so much larger then the last two, its really amazing.

I thought the character development in this film was really great in this film. Obviously it helps that there were 3 films to develop them over time, but still, even knew characters I felt were properly developed. I really liked the more vulnerable side of Bruce Wayne/Batman(Christian Bale) in this film, both physically and mentally he's been very beaten down since the last time we saw him, 8 years ago. Our first view of him is seeing him limping with a cane, which he does for the first 1/4 of the movie. When he gets past that you really see him break down when Alfred(Michael Caine) has "the talk" with him. Speaking of Alfred, how great was he in this film? He's not in it as much as the last two, but the scenes he is in are very emotional and powerful. You really get the full impact of his love for Bruce(Bale) in this film.

I've heard a lot of people saying how they didn't like Anne Hathaway, and I have to say that I wasn't completely sure she could handle this role, but I've loved her in other films so I wanted to keep an open mind. I thought she did an amazing job, her first scene when she's upstairs and you see the difference between her acting when Bruce finds her in the room, and her behaviour when he catches her having stolen from him was really fantastic. It definitely solidified her in the rest of the film for me. I'm glad that her first scene was such a great one for portraying her acting abilities because I didn't really think about it after that scene. Another thing I've heard a lot of criticism about is Bane(Hardy). Not so much the acting or the character, but the voice. I can definitely understand it because it is a pretty strange voice and sound but I think it fits the character well. It is a little hard to understand sometimes, but I don't think you really miss anything super important.

I absolutely love both Joseph Gordon Levitt and Gary Oldman in this film. Oldman as Commissioner Gordon is so good. He's an amazing actor in all of his roles, but I think that this character

I don't want to get too much into the storyline because I don't want to give anything away. This film has more story and substance then most movies I've ever seen. Some people have said that they think its too much, but I totally disagree. At no point is this film dull or long, its constantly exciting and I think it was exactly the right length of time. I loved how connected it was to both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight with lots of cameos of characters from the films and a ton of references to both. I'd be really interested in seeing if/how the Joker(Ledger) would've fit into it if Heath Ledger hadn't died before the filming began.

I loved absolutely everything about this film. The acting was outstanding, writing was amazing, and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. This film is a must-see, but I think that its important to watch the first two films first as this is definitely a well formed trilogy.

I'm giving it a 10/10. I have basically no problems with it at all. I'm a huge Nolan fan and a huge Batman fan so this is right up my ally. I watched it for the 4th time tonight, and it was still wonderful.

Kiwi Film Review: I'm Not There

IMDB: 7.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Roger Ebert: 3.5/4 stars

Release Date: 28 November 2007

Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Julianne Moore.

Written and Directed by: Todd Haynes.

Described by IMDB as: “Six incarnations of Bob Dylan: an actor, a folk singer, an electrified troubadour, Rimbaud, Billy the Kid, and Woody Guthrie. Put Dylan’s music behind their adventures, soliloquies, interviews, marriage, and infidelity. Recreate 1960s documentaries in black and white. Put each at a crossroads, the artist becoming someone else. Jack, the son of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, finds Jesus; handsome Robbie falls in love then abandons Claire. Woody, a lad escaped from foster care, hobos the U.S. singing; Billy awakes in a valley threatened by a six-lane highway; Rimbaud talks. Jude, booed at Newport when he goes electric, fences with reporters, pundits, and fans. He won’t be classified.”

I’m not entirely sure what I think about this movie. If I sleep on it and wake up tomorrow and have a different opinion, I will do an update, but as for right now I think I’ll say, I just don’t know. Overall, I liked it, BUT, it was very difficult to follow. Maybe if I had known more about Bob Dylan before watching it would’ve been easier to understand everything. I thought the acting was amazing, as was the concept, I just though it was I dunno, maybe could’ve been done a little differently. I’m sort of confused by whether this is the actual story of his life, or if its mostly fiction. I think I would’ve liked it better if all of the actors still played him, but actually had his name and just portrayed him at different points in his career/life. Its uncanny how well Cate Blanchett was able to portray Dylan. Also, was it just me or did we catch a glimpse of Heath Ledger’s dong? Nice. I think this movie mostly made me want to see a biography about him just so I could find out. I really wish it was more a movie about his life rather then what it was. I also wish that if it really was a story about his life, that it had been in chronological order, I think thats what made it mostly confusing for me, just how over the place it was. I think overall I’d recommend it to people who really enjoy movies. Again, I think it was well done, just sort of confusing.. pay attention.

I think I’ll give it a… 7/10.