Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is that not why you are here?

Gladiator

I first saw Gladiator when I was eleven and I didn't like it. I was way too young to handle the violence or understand and appreciate the subject matter. Plus I had a distractingly awful stomach ache, which was worsened by the violence. Ten years later I decided to give Gladiator another chance, seeing how almost everyone who's seen it sing its praises. Well, I understand. It's an extraordinary piece of filmmaking and acting.

I first must say that the idea of gladiators is appalling. People cheering on men while they fight for their lives, this doesn't scream entertainment to me. Killing animals, killing each other, you Romans should be ashamed of yourself. There's better things you could've put on in the Colosseum.

My friends and I have an unnatural and hard to explain love for Russell Crowe, so I felt like I was betraying him by not seeing this movie again. What an outstanding performance. Crowe plays his roles with such ferocious intensity, he is truly one of our generation's finer actors. His intense physical and emotional commitment to his rules is admirable. You love him as much as his soldiers and the people of Rome. Crowe's intensity translates into Maximus's determination, confidence, and resilience.

Gladiator also produced a phenomenal performance with Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, the temper tantrum throwing emperor with daddy issues and loose morals when it comes to his feelings towards his sister. Phoenix shows great range with this character, giving his Commodus's vulnerable and fragile side along with his mental instability. Phoenix's eyes are piercing and strongly convey Commodus's madness. He speaks his lines slowly and moves like a serpent, emphasizing how he could explode at any moment. Thank God Phoenix's crazy antics where a stunt, let's hope he returns to film very soon.

Rounding out the cast are great performances by Djimon Hounsou as Juba, a fellow gladiator and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Commodus's sister and an ex-flame of Maximus. Hounsou is great in all his roles; it's a given. He has great chemistry with Crowe and provides great backbone. Nielsen holds her own with the boys, much like her character is forced to do. Nielsen infuses Lucilla with a strength and patience a woman in her situation needed, especially when your mentally unstable brother wants to sleep with you and then kill you and your child.

There are some truly memorable scenes in Gladiator. The opening battle sequence is photographed beautifully; hell hath no fury like the Roman Empire gone a' conquering. All the fight scenes were well choreographed and looked very natural. Cinematographer John Mathieson also created some stunning images. Maximus's body floating towards his home and his hands brushing the grass are all moving. Furthermore, the gladiators, senators, and soldiers carrying his body, honoring him as a soldier while Commodus's body lays alone is powerful. Mathieson and director Ridley Scott really know how to turn up the intensity, tension, and emotion.

The script apparently went through several re-writes, even as it was being filmed, but one can't tell. The film flows at a good pace and tells a powerful, moving story. Gladiator has several memorable and quotable lines; picking one for the title of this post was tough. But even when I didn't like Gladiator, I really liked that line. Plus the scene where Lucilla finally releases Maxmius really tugs the heart strings.

The film's 100 million dollar plus budget was put to good use. The sets and art direction are realistic, the acting superb, the music and writing all top notch. So glad I gave Gladiator another chance. I was really missing out.

Jonathan Groff in Taking Woodstock
The ensemble in Taking Woodstock was so strong; nobody strongly stood out as weaker than the rest. But this was Jonathan Groff's first big film role and he nailed it. He gave a sweet and sensible performance as Woodstock organizer Michael Lang. Groff had an incredibly calming presence, relaxing everyone around him in a chaotic environment. It's like he exhales marijuana, chilling everyone out. He knocked it out of the park and I hope he appears in more and more films as the years go on. The boy's got talent.

Netflix

Gone Baby Gone-Loved this!
The Wild Bunch-Classic.
Paper Moon-Really liked this the first time I saw it.