Indie Gems: The Machinist

-
A must see for any fan of Bale's.

Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is an industrial worker who hasn't slept for months. His rail thin frame shows it. Trevor begins to question his own sanity after an accident at work. He sees a man named Ivan, (John Sharian) but no one else can. "No one ever died from insomnia" Trevor remarks at one point, but can you go crazy from it?

Christian Bale reportedly dropped down to about 125 lbs to star in this film. (Then he bulked up quickly to play Batman no less) His body is terrifying, he looks so unhealthy and he did it all for this roll. Trevor isn't a simple character, and Bale gave everything for this performance. The film's dark twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. The film was shot in Barcelona, Spain but was made to look like Las Angeles, CA. I thought the film makers did a really good job of making the mostly grey scenery look convincing and fit in with the gloomy tone of the film.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "If you were any thinner you wouldn't exist." - Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh)

Comments

  1. Candice FrederickDecember 26, 2010 at 5:47 PM

    this was such a terrifying role and movie. Bale was astonishing. it's a shame this wasn't more recognized during awards season. really good movie. borderline manic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MovieNut14December 26, 2010 at 6:53 PM

    AHHH! THE PICTURE! IT BURNS!!!! But I think I found a picture to cancel that one out:

    http://www.premiere.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/christian-bale-american-psycho2/651499-1-eng-US/christian-bale-american-psycho.jpg

    You're welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 28, 2010 at 10:36 AM

    The picture ...

    Loved this though. Should watch it again soon, I can relate to the insomnia.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more