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Reviews
Batman Begins (2005)
Worth the wait!
(Spoilers...) Like most people who have written a comment on this movie, I'm very positive about it.
It takes a very good movie to deliver the goods after a year of waiting, but that's just what this one did. From the beginning to the end, it was a blast! One of the things that I loved about "Batman Begins", is that finally we get to see where the Dark Knight gets his toys.
The Batmobile in this movie is a failed military project from Wayne Enterprises. The new car doesn't have the stylish "batwings" the old cars had, but it's much more realistic because of that! The only thing that's wrong with it in this movie is that nobody who worked on this project at Wayne Enterprises recognizes it when it's involved in a televised chase through (and over) Gotham City! The rest of his equipment is from the same source: an obscure area buried deep within the Wayne Towers (Wayne Enterprises headquarters) under supervision by Lucius Fox, a brilliant engineer who was "promoted" to this department to keep him out of the boardroom.
Christian Bale is excellent as Wayne/Batman, a role which sounds simple, but isn't! (Great actors like Clooney & Kilmer have failed!) With Bale's character, you can see the man "clearly has got issues", as he himself says (as Wayne about Batman) at one point in the movie. I would have liked to see a bit more of his playboy-routine (I'm buying this hotel...), but that's just me.
Michael Caine has proved again what a talented man he is. Even though he has a limited role in this picture, he makes it a significant contribution to the story. He puts more of a father figure in his Alfred, which makes the character seem more real.
At the end of the day, "Batman Begins" delivers what it's title promises: We see the beginning of the Batman. We see his fears, his drive, his training, the discovery of the Batcave and, as mentioned before, the origins of his equipment. All this is brought to the viewer in a fascinating story.
Nolan has really made this "Batman Begins" work, and even though it's no competition for his earlier "Memento" (wich is one of my favorite movies of all time), it's a movie he can put on his resume with pride!
Michel Vaillant (2003)
Bits and pieces from the comics moulded into one movie... (Spoilers!!!)
I've seen this movie just a couple of days ago, and I must say that I have mixed feelings about his movie.
I'm a huge fan of the Michel Vaillant comics, ever since I was still a kid. In fact, I think that Michel Vaillant is partially responsible for the fact that I'm a complete car nut.
However, the movie has disappointed me with the fact that they have taken various elements from different comic stories, and put them together in one new story. For example, the dream sequence in the beginning of the movie is taken from the comic 'Number 13 on the starting line', the trick of blocking the doors of Cramer's rally car at the rally checkpoint is taken from 'The cursed Safari'.
Another thing that bothered me was the sequence in wich Michel laps Le Mans with his eyes closed to impress Julie Wood. The real Michel Vaillant would never show of like that.
One last thing: the Le Mans 24 hours feels like a sprint race in this movie. I really didn't had the impression that it lasted 24 hours.
All in all, this movie wasn't perfect, not by a longshot, but it was entertaining. And isn't that the intention with a movie?
Birthday Girl (2001)
Sex, Wodka and stealing some money.
The main character, John, is a very shy man who has been doing his boring job at a local bank for ten years. Because he's not very good at meeting women, he's ordered a Russian mail-order bride. When she arrives it soon becomes clear that she (Nadia/Sophia - Nicole Kidman)doesn't speak English.
Her lack of communication is soon forgotten when John discovers that she is dynamite in the bedroom. She wants to do everything, all the time. Slowly, John falls head over heels for this woman.
But then, one day, it's Nadia's birthday, and she has invited 2 Russian friends to celebrate. From that moment on, things start to change for John, and he'll soon feel like he's in hell...
Vanishing Point (1971)
The best road movie ever?
Before I saw this movie, I had read a lot about it. I'm a car-enthusiast, and in a lot of car magazines this movie is praised for the action that takes place on the road.
The main character, Kowalski, is very convincing, but the real star in the movie for me was obviously the beautiful bright white Dodge. The sound it makes is unbelievable, and the car is slipping and sliding all over the road (and sometimes offroad).
The movie in itself isn't bad either. In the beginning you see a part of the end of the movie, but you don't see the ending of that sequence. Through the entire movie, I was curious what would happen to our anti-hero at the end.
If you like cars and haven't seen this movie: GO SEE IT! If you're not a car fanatic, it is quite a good movie.
9/10 in my opinion.
Le Mans (1971)
This movie is fantastic!
This movie may not be famous for the swift dialogue, but it's the first racing movie that has gotten me on the edge of my seat.
Along with "Vanishing Point" and the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" this movie is one that can't be missed on a car enthusiast shelf.
The duels between the Porsche and the Ferrari is some of the best racing footage I've ever seen. The movie also gives a very good impression of how it must feel to race for 24 hours.
9,5/10
Speed Zone (1989)
Very nice if you're into cars.
I've seen this movie for the first time when I was a kid. I loved it then, and I love it even today. Strictly speaking as a movie, this one isn't very good. But if you like nice exotic cars, than this is one movie you really must see. It's supposed to be a continuation of the Cannonball Run movies with Burt Reynolds, but it has a very different style. In the first 2 movies you also get very weird cars such as an ambulance, but in this movie you only see exotic sports cars (Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW, Ferrari, ...). Try it, and judge for yourself...