Rescue Dawn (2006)

Christian Bale is one such versatile actor in Hollywood, who i always love to watch in big screens.. I got impressed & started liking him after seeing his performances on 3:10 to Yuma, American Psycho, The Machinist, & The Prestige.. 
I don't want to include Dark knight in my series, Because it is Heath Ledger who stole the entire show.. Why on earth Heath passed away so early?? :-(

Please Watch "The Machinist" if you get a chance.. Its a kind of art film drama - in which Christian Bale starved himself for this role to loose much weight so as to appear like a guilty person who hasn't slept for almost one year.. Oh man! You can see even his bones projected out his gaunt body..

What you guessed is correct..
Yes! - He holds the records of most weight lost (28 kgs for "The Machinist") and gained (36 kgs for"Batman Begins") for film roles.. (Source: IMDB)
Do you believe in this transformation??
Trust me - The Machinist & Batman Begins are his back to back movies & he made this transformation possible in a interval of just 7 months..

Lets talk about Rescue Dawn now..
I watched "Rescue Dawn" (directed by Werner Herzog) recently a month ago & thought of writing about it here.. Somehow, I forgot it.. Its based on a true story of an optimistic US Army pilot's ('Dieter Dengler' - played by Christian Bale) epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War..

If you are looking for a nail biting, tension filled, explosion based escape movie - Please excuse..
Rescue Dawn is not such a sort of film.. I wont be surprised if people say this movie is a documentary version of Dengler's escape attempt.. Yes, Its a too realistic movie..

Here the real prison is not the prison camp itself, but the whole jungle.. I am not going to explain how the escape attempt goes.. Just go ahead & watch it.. I am sure you will accept why this movie is tagged as EPIC SURVIVAL..



Here also you can see Christian Bale goes from a cheerful/young flyer to the tortured and starved.. Its not only Christian Bale, but his fellow mates who escapes along with Christian Bale also gave a decent performance.. Jungle locations where this film is pictured is also good. It has some heartwarming moments & some funny moments too by Steve Zahn.. Especially i liked that poop joke :-)

If you enjoy quality films, I highly recommend Rescue Dawn..
Others - Please step away & watch Rambo Series.. :-)

Related Links:
Rescue Dawn @ IMDB
Rescue Dawn the Truth

Trailer:


Cheers!!

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

This infamous movie Dog Day Afternoon got released on 1975, directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men fame) with my favorite Al Pacino in lead..



Bank robbery plot described in this movie was entirely true and happened in early 70-s, on a hot summer day (that is what the title means).. You might have seen many "Robbery-Hostages-Situation" sort of movies.. DDA is also the same sort of, but i liked it more.. From the very beginning, DDA takes an hysterical tone & most of the dialogues are almost like shouted.. (Especially that "ATTICA!!!").. Yes, Its a Roller-coaster emotional ride..



Firstly i have to say - You can see Al Pacino at his best in DDA.. Yes, DDA is purely a One-Man Show in which Al Pacino carries the whole movie..
Till yesterday it was Scarface, my most favorite Al Pacino's movie.. After Scarface I use to see Al Pacino as "Tony Montana" (role played by Al Pacino)..Now thats been added with this Dog Day Afternoon's "Sonny".. Yes, He had me believing that he was actually the real Sonny.. You can really see the stress that he was feeling through out the whole movie..

Moments i loved for Al Pacino:
1) The way Al Pacino dictates his last will and testament after he almost knows that he's definitely gonna die or put away on bars for a really long time..
2) Famous "ATTICA!!" scene with the dialogue - "Kiss Me.. When i'm being f**ked, I like to get kissed on the mouth"..
3) Telephony conversation between Al Pacino & his gay guy friend (sort of eunuch?)



On the top it was Sidney Lumet.. I loved the way how he notched up the homosexual sub-plot in DDA which gives more effect on the whole story.. (Yes, Al Pacino raid the bank only to fund his homosexual lover's sex change operation.).. He made this movie not only as a Thriller, but also touches the social elements - How Sonny is being drowned by the expectations of wife, lover, children, friends/attitude of the mob to the whole situation/70-s Gay community in America etc.,

Final Kick:
As per me, DDA is a good piece from the golden age of American cinema - the '70's.. Even though its aged - Al Pacino, Sidney Lumet & all of the diverse characters will keep you engaged for 2 hours..

Related Links:
Day Day Afternoon @ IMDB
John Stanley Wojtowicz & his Bank robbery attempt  @ Wiki


Trailer:



Cheers!!