Howl’s Moving Castle
A young hatter called Sophie encounters a witch who turns her into an old woman; she finds an ally in a wizard called Howl. Hayao Miyazaki found inspiration in both…
Newsies
In 1899, New York’s newsboys launch a strike against the city’s publishers, led by a 17-year-old (Christian Bale) who dreams of going west. A musical that teaches its audience about…
Thor: Love and Thunder
When Gorr (Christian Bale) finds a powerful sword and a reason to kill every god he encounters, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gathers a team to stop him, including his ex-girlfriend (Natalie…
Henry V: Branagh and the Bard
Photo: Renaissance Films When I was a teenager, my class was treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s ”Hamlet”. It was not a bad production; the young leading actors later became…
Dark Knight Rises: The Bat vs. Bane
Christian Bale. Photo: Warner On the night of this film's intensely anticipated premiere, a 24-year-old man attacked a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado and murdered 12 people. The horrendous act…
Terminator Salvation
In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) thinks he has found a way to defeat the deadly machines, but he also needs to track down a teenager (Anton Yelchin) who will…
I’m Not There: A Multitude of Voices
Cate Blanchett. Photo: The Weinstein Company Todd Haynes knows how to suck up to Bob Dylan. When contacting the legendary artist's manager to obtain permission to use Dylan's music in…
The Dark Knight: Say It With a Smile
Heath Ledger. Photo: Warner "Why so serioussss?", hisses the Joker as he flashes his retarded grin. This is after committing several murders, throwing Gotham City into disarray and before trying…
Batman Begins: A Very Dark Knight
Christian Bale. Photo: Warner As it turned out, the definitive adaptation of “Batman” was not made in 1989. The Tim Burton movie showed a Caped Crusader quite different from the…