Russell Crowe had about as good a five years as any actor has in the late 1990s – 2000s with films like The Insider, LA Confidential, A Beautiful Mind, and Gladiator. Not only is Crowe a chameleon as a dramatic actor, he’s an outstanding action star, and if the sometimes temperamental star is in the right setting, he has a very sardonic, dry comedic prowess. He helped kick off the DC Extended Universe, doing a better Jor-El than Marlon Brando (granted it helped that no one ever cared less about a part than Brando did being Jor-El) in Man of Steel, but aside from that and 2016’s The Nice Guys, good parts have been rare for Crowe in the last decade. I’m not sure if the Australian star has lost his desire, or if he’s burned too many bridges, but when you can light a fire under him, he’s one of the best actors alive, so hopefully the right part will come his way soon. Continue reading Russell Crowe’s 10 Best Movies→
Christian Bale’s career is already entering its fourth decade of excellence. The actor, whose first starring role was in 1987 in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun at age 13, already has a career’s worth of outstanding roles and an Oscar for his performance in David O. Russell’s The Fighter. For most, Bale is the definitive Batman in the definitive super hero trilogy: Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. Nolan and Bale put a stamp on Batman that others will be living up to as long as the character exists. Bale also teamed with Nolan in The Prestige and with Russell again in American Hustle for wildly different roles in two outstanding films. Bale is an intense, character-driven actor who has twice lost massive amounts of weight (Rescue Dawn & The Mechanic) for roles. Bale gained 109 lbs for Batman Begins after losing 63 lbs for The Machinist. Bale went from 121 lbs to 230 lbs in only six months which overshot what Chris Nolan wanted for his Batman, so by the time filming began, Christian Bale had dropped to 190 lbs. For Vice, Bale did the reverse and gained over 40 lbs. to play former Vice-President Dick Cheney. The dedication paid off, and Bale continues to be one of the most dynamic actors working today.
Christian Bale’s Best 10
1. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) Bruce Wayne/Batman
2. The Prestige (2006) Alfred Borden 3. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) Dan Evans
4. American Hustle (2013) Irving Rosenfeld
5. The Fighter (2010) Dicky Eklund
6. The Big Short (2015) Michael Burry
7. Henry V (1989) Robin
8. Rescue Dawn (2006) Dieter Dengler
9. Empire of the Sun (1987) Jim
10. Little Women (1994) Laurie Honorable Mention: Equilibrium (2002) John Preston
Latest vs. Greatest looks at directors, actors, actresses, screenwriters and composers to assess the state of their career as it stands. We’ll look back at the latest 10 movies the artist has done, rate them and then average them out to see where they stand today. We’ll also rank their 10 greatest movies and give them the same treatment to compare what they have been doing to their very best work. (A quick side-note: if an artist is/has been a regular on a TV show we’ll also grade the seasons individually; artists need 10 projects to qualify).
Roughly ten years ago, if you wanted a prestige actor to anchor your film, you really could do no better than Russell Crowe. Ten years later, Crowe seems to have lost all passion for acting, mostly sleepwalking woodenly through a series of mediocre films. It’s not something that you can put your finger on and trace as easily as Johnny Depp’s descent into addictive twitchiness, but the decline is just as steep. Crowe just seems to have lost the passion to act. I saw a little of that fire back in Noah and it made me think that possibly the right project could turn things around, but then I watched Winter’s Tale last night and so I’m really trying hard not to let that color my entire article. Continue reading Russell Crowe’s Latest 10 Movies vs. Greatest 10 Movies→
Latest vs. Greatest looks at directors, actors, actresses, screenwriters and composers to assess the state of their career as it stands. We’ll look back at the latest 10 movies the artist has done, rate them and then average them out to see where they stand today. We’ll also rank their 10 greatest movies and give them the same treatment to compare what they have been doing to their very best work. (A quick side-note: if an artist is/has been a regular on a TV show we’ll also grade the seasons individually; artists need 10 projects to qualify).
It’s hard to believe, but Christian Bale’s career as an actor has already lasted 28 years. Bale, who’s only 40, started in 1986 in a TV movie about Anastasia. 28 years and he already at 40 has a body of work that most actors would be satisfied with for a career. Bale’s not satisfied though. He has a hunger to act; to inhabit another persona that surpasses any actor I’ve seen in the modern era. I don’t think this guy is ever going to be done. I think he’ll act from cradle to grave.
This movie never got the attention it deserved. Aside from Unforgiven, James Mangold‘s 3:10 to Yuma remake is the best Western of the last 25 years. Russell Crowe gives one of my favorite performances of his career as outlaw Ben Wade. A surprising treat is Peter Fonda as a craggy old bounty hunter that’s been tracking him for years. After ONE of Wade’s captures, he’s being escorted by Christian Bale and company to the railroad station to take the titular train to Yuma. The sheriff is ragging on Wade and then he does something stupid. He says something about Ben’s mother.
If you haven’t seen this or just dismissed it as a meh western, give it a try. I loved every minute of it.
