Jeffrey Wright is probably one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood right now. His depth and versatility measure up to that of the most praised and celebrated actors in the business, yet he hasn't been able to really breakthrough.
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Jeffrey Wright is probably one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood right now. His depth and versatility measure up to that of the most praised and celebrated actors in the business, yet he hasn't been able to really breakthrough.

Yes, he has been in several big movies recently - Lady in The Water, Casino Royale and The Invasion - but he still hasn't quite become a star. Until recent times, you probably would have heard your diehard, film-buff friend mention him and think to yourself, "Who the hell is that?" Well he is most known for playing Peoples Hernandez in 2000's Shaft alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Christian Bale. Wright delivers a brilliant performance, transforming himself into a Dominican gangster who controls a neighbourhood in New York. Hernandez quickly makes enemies with Shaft, when he teams up with Bale's yuppie character Walter Wade, Jr. "Oh, that was him!" is what you're probably thinking now. Wright has also had roles in Ali, The Manchurian Candidate, Broken Flowers and Syriana.

Watch out for him in the future because his time is coming and who knows, maybe a few years from now he'll get the worldwide recognition he Wrightly deserves.

Everything about this movie is brilliant! I mean it, the story, the acting, the pacing, the themes, even down to the visual style what with the film zooming out from a brick wall that has the title of the movie written in graffiti into the very...
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Everything about this movie is brilliant! I mean it, the story, the acting, the pacing, the themes, even down to the visual style what with the film zooming out from a brick wall that has the title of the movie written in graffiti into the very room the forthcoming scene is about to take place in, to the stunning ice rink scene at the end!

Now it's not the kind of movie you'd expect Paul Walker to act in. Yeah that's a silly notion, it's going along with stereotypes and using his past roles to judge any role he may ever take in the future. It's a down right silly thing to do 'cause he's an actor and he's gonna act, but you still can't help thinking why is Pauley in this movie? Putting all that aside he does an absolutely fantastic job in what is quite simply a hallmark performance in the young actor's career. That coupled together with a cast of talented actors in supporting roles and the solid writing and direction from My Wayne Kramer make this a must see. Wayne Kramer? "Who's that?" I hear you say. I don't blame you, he hasn't exactly got the Scorsese haze floating around him but he sure does have the talent. To put your mind at ease, he did a lovely lil movie called "The Cooler" with William H. Macy, who I cannot forget seeing in Mystery Men. Ever since that role I've found it hard to take him seriously but he is an actor with depth. Kramer also helmed another great but relatively unknown number called Mindhunters which features a blend of very well known to well known to err, who's that again cast of actors. Check out both of those movies sometime too.

Anyways back to Running Scared. Now the movie starts off with a scene that could either be a flashback or quite literally the start of the movie, either way it hooks you and I guarantee you'll want to keep watching, even if its to make sense of it all. Regardless of why you haven't switched off, or walked out if you happened to catch it in the cinema, is because what is about to ensue is a rocky ride around town! Paul Walker's character Joey tries to track down his neighbor's kid Oleg, played by an up and coming young actor Cameron Bright, and more importantly the gun Oleg stole from him and used to shoot his abusive gangster affiliated uncle Anzor, played by Karel Roden, who's been in quite a few good movies himself. The gun itself is a character in the movie as it was also used to kill one or two dirty cops prior to it finding its way into Oleg's hands. You could say the gun acts as a catalyst for all the events that surround it. While Joey frantically searches for the gun we encounter the scum of the earth, all in one movie, by way of Joey, Oleg and his woman Teresa, nicely played by the sexy Vera Farmiga. Dirty cops? Check! Gangsters? Check! A Prostitute and her pimp? Check! Husband and Wife murderer/pedophile team? Err double check! Now if that isn't enough to satisfy your appetite than I think the twists will in the story will!

Overall this movie is just wonderful and I urge anyone who considers them self a film buff, fanatic, lover, or whatever to check it out. Running Scared is easily one of the most entertaining movies of 2006. Are you not entertained? Yes I bloody well am!

When I first herd that a new batman movie was coming out I as over the moon. However, that quickly faded away when I discovered that it was not to be a sequel to the sequel to the sequel to the sequel or even a prequel but it was to be a remake....
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When I first herd that a new batman movie was coming out I as over the moon. However, that quickly faded away when I discovered that it was not to be a sequel to the sequel to the sequel to the sequel or even a prequel but it was to be a remake. This initially put me off because I thought, 'How the hell can you top the original?' It's a classic; we all know this. Eventually I got that itch, I'm a movie fanatic and I just love watching movies from Finding Nemo to The Godfather, from Star Wars to Old Boy. I watch pretty much anything and everything and like anything and everything. You do sometimes just get those movies that are a cut above the rest. I can safely say that this is one of them. I can also say accurately that this is one of the best movies I've seen this year because we are at the end of it, nearly. I hate it when in March you have people saying the best movie of the year, I didn't know that 3 months was a year...

The Writing - David S. Goyer, I love the dude. I do, I thought the Blade Trilogy was awesome and the Threshold pilot he wrote was definitely a great start to a gripping series. Nolan has not done many movies but Memento was amazing, definitely a cult classic and the The Prestige was good. He's a fellow Londoner who's made it big stateside and co-wrote a great screenplay for Batman Begins, so I gotta give him his proper respects.

The Cast - It's good that it had such a huge amount of talented actors from the UK. Christian Bale is just an amazing actor and anyone who says otherwise probably thinks that a lamppost could act better. Then you got veterans like Morgan Freeman who is one of the greatest black actors if not actors in general to ever grace the screen, if I do say so myself. I think Caine portrayed Alfred very well. Liam Neeson played the bad guy very well too and I also liked the fact that the bad guy was just as normal as Batman himself. I didn't even recognize Gary Oldman who is an actor I love because he just plays the bad guy so well in some of his other movies. It was good seeing him be the good guy for a change though. Tom Wilkinson played Falcone and did a very convincing accent. Katie Holmes was OK at best in her role. I just felt she didn't really sell it that much, she wasn't impacting enough. Now, I know all those actors are great, but I really have to say bravo to Cillian Murphy this guy is someone to watch out for. 28 Days Later was definitely his big break and I'm just amazed he pulled off an American accent so well; I almost forgot he was Irish. He is definitely a versatile talent and a great UK import. I feel that American cinema might see a lot more of him in the future.

The Batmobile - I think it's the best one so far, although the others were pretty awesome. I do honestly wish I had one, If I did, I would laugh at anyone thinking their special because they have a Porche, my damn car has a flamethrower as an exhaust pipe!

The Story - I very much enjoyed the story and I think it really showed his origin well. I liked the fact that everything was done in a very real way. All the gadgets pertained to present day perhaps 5 or 6 years on and they were not something that looked like it came out of a cereal box. This story is something that could very well happen in our world. The fact that Batman is just an ordinary frail man in a suit was really brought out a lot more in this movie. I was actually waiting for some silly super villain to come along but he/she never did which fitted the feel of the movie. I like the little ode to The Joker too, maybe that's a hint he will appear in the next one. (Edit: When I originally wrote this The Joker wasn't confirmed let alone cast.)

Complaints - Although I really really enjoy watching all the Marvel and DC movie adaptations my only complaint is that well they are PGs and 12s which means they are childish and watered down. I mean to be honest I find it quite silly that not one person in these moves says the F word or anything because to me that's unrealistic. In real life people swear, a lot. If the things that happen to people in these movies were to happen to me real life I know for sure I'd be cussing my head off. In the real world you don't get criminals watching what they say because they are breaking the law; I think censorship is the least of their worries. I did not enjoy the very fast editing for the fight scenes, I could hardly see what was going on. Did anyone actually hit anyone or did they just wave their arms and legs around near each others faces?

Overall this is a brilliant movie and I think it's safe to say that a new Batman Franchise is on the horizon. With the expectation of the "The Dark Knight" that should be called "Batman Continues" if you ask me, I think there will be at least 2 more movies. I'm glad to see that Bale is back as the Bat!

The question is will they all star Bale as The Dark Knight or will Warner randomly switch it up like before?