In about four days from now, every movie that I watch and review for the blog is going to be a horror film for a month. So, I figured I would try to get in some movies that I have always wanted to see and Crash is definitely one of them. The film follows Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock) and her DA husband (Brendan Fraser), Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon) and his partner Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), a Latino lock smith (Michael Peña), a Persian store owner (Shaun Toub), a car thief (Ludacris), a black detective (Don Cheadle), and a African American couple (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton) as they navigate and collide in Los Angeles in a stories of race, tragedy, and redemption. The film also stars Tony Danza (Who’s The Boss) as Fred, Keith David (Men At Work) as Lt. Dixon, Jennifer Esposito (Summer Of Sam) as Ria, William Fichtner (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Flanagan, Karina Arroyave (Lean On Me) as Elizabeth, Loretta Devine (Death At A Funeral) as Shaniqua Johnson, Larenz Tate (Dead Presidents) as Peter Waters, Bahar Soomekh (Mission: Impossible III) as Dorri, Jack McGee (Moneyball) as Gun Store Owner, Bruce Kirby (Stand By Me) as Pop Ryan, and the film was directed by Paul Haggis (Casino Royale).
I wanted to start this paragraph by telling how uncomfortable this film was and is going to be to review. There is so much racism and hatred in this film that it’s absolutely insane, but I suppose that maybe this is how some people felt back in 2004 and even into today. I honestly thought before watching the film that it was going to be about the program entitled CRASH in Los Angeles, but boy was I surprised right off the bat. They explore racism in every sense of the way that you can imagine from stereotyping all Middle Easterners and Latin Americans. The film also explore racism as far as how a situation is perceived by a different individual and how some humans are just stuck in their ways. Crash is an excellent film, but it’s one of those films that just when it looks like things are about to get dim, it’s lightens right up, but then falls back down. It truly is a roller coaster ride of a film. Sandra Bullock does an amazing job playing a racist bitch in the film because she is very convincing. Just about every single person in the film does an excellent job like Ludacris being a disillusioned individual or Don Cheadle who is forced to make hard decisions that will benefit others whether it’s right or wrong. Jennifer Esposito has a scene in the film where she just looks so sexy, I was jealous of Don Cheadle at that moment. The film is available on Netflix and I think it’s one you should check out, but be prepared. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
For today’s film, I picked one from one of my favorite actors of the 21ST Century in Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, The Machinist). The film I chose for today is Equilibrium which is a Sci-Fi, action, drama film. It is sometime in the future after the third world war and we know live in a fascist society where feelings are being monitored to prevent war, greed, and uprising. Christian Bale plays John Preston, an agent who is in charge of destroying artifacts that invoke feelings and destroy anyone who violates the law and feels. After missing a dose that prevents him from feeling, he starts to realize why his dead partner (Sean Bean) and a prisoner (Emily Watson) would sacrifice their lives for feelings. Preston then goes on a crusade to protect the resistance and correct all of the wrongs in the world. The film also stars Taye Diggs (The Wood) as Brandt, Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) as Seamus, Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) as Father, Angus Macfadyen (Braveheart) as Dupont, William Fichtner (The Dark Knight) as Jurgen, Maria Pia Calzone (Gomorrah) as Preston’s Wife, Matthew Harbour (I’m Not There) as Robbie Preston, and the film was directed by Kurt Wimmer (Law Abiding Citizen).
First of all, I have to say that I loved the concept of the film, but I have a couple of issues with it. My one problem with the idea is despite being given a dose to try and prevent you from feeling, how is it that you don’t feel anything? There are a couple of instances where Taye Diggs’s character cracks a smile at Bale during the film and you are meaning to tell me that is not a violation? I do however understand that the drug makes you a mindless drone who carries on with a mundane life in a world where everything is mundane including the color of cars (all cars are completely white with no details). There are instances in films that you see an actors performance and you instantly see similarities in other roles. For example, much of the way he carries himself in this film is very similar to the way he portrayed Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight trilogy. I am not saying that is a bad thing because this is definitely one of my top Bale films besides American Psycho and The Machinist. The action in the film is something else that I wanted to talk about because I wish I saved this for Ass Whoopin Wednesday it is so bad ass. Christian Bale is a total bad ass and the action sequences are truly amazing. The whole film overall is amazing from top to bottom and check out what happens to Taye Diggs in the film. The film is currently on Netflix as we speak, but I have no idea for how long. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade because it’s special effects, acting, and action sequences are all amazing.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 