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duchess_of_pieREVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: 3:10 TO YUMA
i don't like westerns. i really liked this movie. i liked how you pull for both characters. i liked the ending. i liked the acting and the browned teeth and the old west violence. alan tudyk gets all the laughs. i didn't even know he was in it until he showed up. love him.
the biggest flaw was a casting mistake. luke wilson shows up in a minor role as a mean-spirited railroader. he doesn't accomplish anything, his role is not important to the film in any way. it's just jarring to get to that point in the movie (more than halfway through) and see luke fkn wilson being dirty and mean. it throws you off because he's cast against type and below his "star" status. it's just distracting and takes you out of the movie.
other than that, four stars.
end review.
after the movie, they set up chairs at the front of the theatre. christian bale came walking up the aisle just an arm's length away, joined by ben foster who plays russel crowe's creepy evil #2. (ben is otherwise known for playing angel in X3 and the stranger in 30 days of night.) and the talkback was okay. the hostess was a moron with retarded questions and i think christian was a little resentful of it because he was pretty taciturn for the first part. ben did most of the talking before christian got warmed up. it was a SAG event, and i think they expected something more than a theatre full of young wannabe actors.
*sigh* the questions that were asked.... you know, i came to a realization that there are SO many people here trying to make it big in hollywood like that's really a realistic goal. and they come to these events to ask christian bale how he did it and how he prepares and what his favorite roles were blah blah blah. really. if you come here to get into film, 1) it takes a really long time to establish yourself, 2) you're not going to make it huge, and 3) you've got to do it your own way, not like christian bale, not like marlon brando, not like kiera knightly. you just do it your own damn way.
anyway. christian was nice about answering. he's a soft-spoken mumbler, christian. i guess that really shouldn't be a surprise. and most of his answers were no-brainers. he's been acting in films since he was young, so he didn't have a "how i did it" story. about his preperation time he says that you can't over annalyze everything. gabe and i had a secret "celebrities are boring people too" giggle when he said that between takes he likes to "stare at the walls and just think about some things." and duh, an A-lister like bale is not going to tell you what his favorite roles are when he has to have a balanced PR. it's just not good for business to make public statements about your career that way.
actually, it was ben foster who was the most interesting. a girl in the audience (who flipped her hair and introduced herself as an actress but not a film actress a stage actress who's not opposed to acting in film *gross*) asked them what their biggest obstacles were making the film. christian said that he gave the director a hard time about counting bullets, which got a big laugh and was hugely unsurprising. but ben said that he had a tough time getting over the fear of hefting this role alongside bale and crowe. it was fascinating to hear an up-an-coming established professional say that he was nervous and how he did everything to put himself in the moment and not think about it, because that's what professionals do. and it is. you do the role, no matter who's in the scene with you. anyway. it was nice to hear that, even at that level, you can still be scared and humble.
the whole evening put a lot of things into perspective for me.
anyway. i'm sad to report that christian has lived in america too long and almost all of the welsh is out of his voice. there was a word here or there that hinted at celtic beginnings, but you'd have to be in the know to even catch it. and it was your regular cinema lighting, and chrisian's eye sockets are very deep so his eyes were dark shadows most of the time. um, what else. he was very clean shaven and very simple in a burgundy button-up shirt and black jeans. end report.
i don't like westerns. i really liked this movie. i liked how you pull for both characters. i liked the ending. i liked the acting and the browned teeth and the old west violence. alan tudyk gets all the laughs. i didn't even know he was in it until he showed up. love him.
the biggest flaw was a casting mistake. luke wilson shows up in a minor role as a mean-spirited railroader. he doesn't accomplish anything, his role is not important to the film in any way. it's just jarring to get to that point in the movie (more than halfway through) and see luke fkn wilson being dirty and mean. it throws you off because he's cast against type and below his "star" status. it's just distracting and takes you out of the movie.
other than that, four stars.
end review.
after the movie, they set up chairs at the front of the theatre. christian bale came walking up the aisle just an arm's length away, joined by ben foster who plays russel crowe's creepy evil #2. (ben is otherwise known for playing angel in X3 and the stranger in 30 days of night.) and the talkback was okay. the hostess was a moron with retarded questions and i think christian was a little resentful of it because he was pretty taciturn for the first part. ben did most of the talking before christian got warmed up. it was a SAG event, and i think they expected something more than a theatre full of young wannabe actors.
*sigh* the questions that were asked.... you know, i came to a realization that there are SO many people here trying to make it big in hollywood like that's really a realistic goal. and they come to these events to ask christian bale how he did it and how he prepares and what his favorite roles were blah blah blah. really. if you come here to get into film, 1) it takes a really long time to establish yourself, 2) you're not going to make it huge, and 3) you've got to do it your own way, not like christian bale, not like marlon brando, not like kiera knightly. you just do it your own damn way.
anyway. christian was nice about answering. he's a soft-spoken mumbler, christian. i guess that really shouldn't be a surprise. and most of his answers were no-brainers. he's been acting in films since he was young, so he didn't have a "how i did it" story. about his preperation time he says that you can't over annalyze everything. gabe and i had a secret "celebrities are boring people too" giggle when he said that between takes he likes to "stare at the walls and just think about some things." and duh, an A-lister like bale is not going to tell you what his favorite roles are when he has to have a balanced PR. it's just not good for business to make public statements about your career that way.
actually, it was ben foster who was the most interesting. a girl in the audience (who flipped her hair and introduced herself as an actress but not a film actress a stage actress who's not opposed to acting in film *gross*) asked them what their biggest obstacles were making the film. christian said that he gave the director a hard time about counting bullets, which got a big laugh and was hugely unsurprising. but ben said that he had a tough time getting over the fear of hefting this role alongside bale and crowe. it was fascinating to hear an up-an-coming established professional say that he was nervous and how he did everything to put himself in the moment and not think about it, because that's what professionals do. and it is. you do the role, no matter who's in the scene with you. anyway. it was nice to hear that, even at that level, you can still be scared and humble.
the whole evening put a lot of things into perspective for me.
anyway. i'm sad to report that christian has lived in america too long and almost all of the welsh is out of his voice. there was a word here or there that hinted at celtic beginnings, but you'd have to be in the know to even catch it. and it was your regular cinema lighting, and chrisian's eye sockets are very deep so his eyes were dark shadows most of the time. um, what else. he was very clean shaven and very simple in a burgundy button-up shirt and black jeans. end report.
