Horror films

Depending on the day and the mood I am in the horror genre is my favorite film genre. Just to be clear I do not like all types of horror films, and there are so many subgenres of horror that there is bound to be at least one film in the entire horror spectrum that you love and at least one that you absolutely cannot stand. My favorite types of horror movies are Stephen King-esque psychological thrillers a la Secret Window or Shutter Island or demonic horror films like The Exorcist or The Omen. One of the main reasons I believe I enjoy horror films so much is that they can potentially scare the hell out of you while at the same time entertain you. The feeling of having those two conflicting feelings at the same time is incredibly amazing. Some horror genres I cannot stand however are the splatter horror films that are nothing but blood and gore with little or no discernible plot. In my opinion any person with half a brain can make a film like that.

Training Day

I recently watched the movie Training Day at the insistence of my roommate. I was hesitant to watch this because I am not a big fan of director Antoine Fuqua, but I am a big fan of Denzel Washington so I decided to watch it. After the film I was instantly converted. Training Day's grittiness and bold honesty about the harsh streets of Los Angeles and the harsh beat that a narcotics officer has to face. The acting of Denzel Washington is phenomenal, before this role he had not really played many roles that required him to be harsh and street smart and he embraced this role wholeheartedly. Ethan Hawke also portrayed rookie narcotics officer Jake Hoyt very well, but Washington's portrayal of Alonzo Harris stole the show. The Oscar that Washington received for this portrayal was well-earned and I have also begun to be more receptive of Fuqua's films.

Leonardo DiCaprio's maturation as an actor

Now, more than ever, at age 36 Leonardo DiCaprio has proved that he is not just a actor for teenie-bopper fans of James Cameron's Titanic. DiCaprio has proved his reach as an actor working not only with Cameron but also with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Christopher Nolan. Scorsese has taken a particular liking to DiCaprio featuring him in 4 of his films (The Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and Shutter Island) and in Shutter Island particularly he showed his reach as an actor. After Titanic DiCaprio kind of fell into obscurity for a while getting a role in the God-awful film The Man in the Iron Mask. His career got rejuvenated when he played opposite Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. After that film he caught the eye of Martin Scorsese who put him in Gangs of New York and DiCaprio said working with Scorsese really improved his acting range, and he had 3 more chances to expand it with Scorsese. His most recent starring role in Christopher Nolan's excellent film Inception. DiCaprio has nowhere to go but up as a very talented relatively young actor.

Christian Bale

One of the most prolific and talented actors in modern cinema is Christian Bale. His mastery of accents and his amazing ability to gain and lose weight is amazing. In the film The Machinist Bale lowered his weight to 112 lbs. 6 months after completion of filming The Machinist he began work on Batman Begins and raised his weight to 180 lbs. Bale, though he is English, has many roles where he displays his amazing ability to keep an American accent for a prolonged period of time. One of my favorite films with Christian Bale is American Psycho. Bale has a reputation for doing many art house films and independent movies and American Psycho is a prime example of it. American Psycho is based on a controversial novel of the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis. Christian Bale is one of the actors that is going to be remembered as one of the greatest actors of his time.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Peter Jackson revolutionized the cinema world when he filmed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. These films were a massive success that even the Academy recognized when Peter Jackson received the Best Director Oscar. My favorite film of the three is The Two Towers because it is when Aragorn begins to accept his destiny as Isildur's heir and leads the people of Rohan in the defense of Helm's Deep against the forces of Saruman. The special effects in the entire trilogy are just amazing and some of the shots are the most beautiful I have ever seen. Peter Jackson is one of the people who inspired me to want to be a film maker in the first place. Jackson's ability to move away from splatter horror films into The Lord of the Rings trilogy really shows a maturity in his film making ability. Jackson has the exact type of career that I pray that I will have in the near future. I realize that this will only happen if I work incredibly hard and catch a few lucky breaks but I still believe that I can do this.

Christopher Nolan and his Films

As a huge Batman fan upon the release of Batman Begins I immediately began following Christopher Nolan religiously. Inception, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and Insomnia are some of my favorite films of all time. Nolan and his brother generally work on films together and are very hands-on with their props. The "Batpod" which was Batman's motorcycle in The Dark Knight was made by Christopher Nolan and his brother in Nolan's garage. Overall Christopher Nolan has a very good track record for making excellent films that are always critically acclaimed.

Al Pacino

Throughout his entire career Al Pacino has done nothing but make good films. Pacino burst into the forefront of Hollywood with his iconic role as Michael Corleone in the seminal Godfather trilogy. As they say the rest is history. Pacino went on to star in Scarface, Scarecrow, Dog Day Afternoon, Scent of a Woman (won the Academy Award for best actor), Any Given Sunday, Heat, and Insomnia just to name a select few. When Pacino was first selected by Francis Ford Coppola to portray Michael Corleone the producers (and Mario Puzo, the author of "The Godfather") expressed concern about his lack of main character experience and the fact that he is very short. Paramount wanted Robert Redford to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola was insistent on an Italian-American. Al Pacino is the classic example of what can happen with a few lucky breaks and having an abundance of talent.