BuzzSugar

Movie Review: Rescue Dawn

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 06:00:00 PDT

The true story of Dieter Dengler is so astounding that director Werner Herzog felt compelled to tell it twice: first, in the 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and now in Rescue Dawn, a new movie starring Christian Bale as the German-born American pilot who escaped from a Laotian POW camp in 1965. The Vietnam War-era saga follows the soldier from his first mission, when he survives a plane crash only to be tortured and starved by Laotian soldiers before fleeing into the even more superhuman hardships of the jungle.

Best known lately for the 2005 documentary Grizzly Man, German director Werner Herzog is - to put it mildly - a very extreme director inclined to extreme film-making. (For his 1982 movie Fitzcarraldo, he famously filmed a steam ship being hauled over a mountain without the use of special effects.) So it makes sense that Herzog would be drawn to Bale, who infamously lost more than 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist. As crazy as both of these guys may be, their collaboration results in a brilliantly affecting piece of art, so

Rescue Dawn is easily one of Herzog's most mainstream movies, and it's refreshing to see such attentive film-making applied to a very watchable Hollywood movie. Though good war movies are often equated with frank depictions of horror - as with Saving Private Ryan - Herzog's more impressive method makes very careful choices about what to show and what not to show. In the process, he gives us a very intimate tale that overhauls the typical tropes of a Vietnam movie.

Because the film is told from Dengler's point-of-view, the viewer knows only what Dengler knows, and as a result, the film can't rely on cheap exploits or irony. For instance, Dengler is astonished that some of his cellmates have been imprisoned for two years - way before Americans knew we had troops in the region - and since he has no idea why his three Southeast Asian cell mates are in the POW camp, neither do we. Like our protagonist, who is crafting an escape strategy from the moment he arrives, we are concerned only with the here and now.

Bale is rightfully being heralded for his portrayal of Dengler, whose commanding personality convinces the prisoners to flee even as his body is wasting away. (In fact, Bale gets disturbingly thinner in every scene, indicating that they were filmed in sequence.) But just as impressive are the supporting actors, including Jeremy Davies (who, my friend pointed out, will have to take a career hiatus just to gain the weight back) and Steve Zahn as Dengler's fellow POWs.

In their most subtle interactions, the actors - particularly Zahn and Bale - craft characters whose only motivation is survival. In return, Herzog uses chaotic camera work and stifling cinematography to reinforce their suffocation and determination. It's an expert telling of a story that deserved to be told again.

Movie Preview: Rescue Dawn

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:49:01 PDT

Based on a true story, Rescue Dawn tells the tale of U.S. fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (played by Christian Bale), a German-American whose plane is shot down in Laos during the Vietnam War. A captured POW, he managed to organize an incredible and risky escape for a group of fellow prisoners.

From the trailer it looks like director Werner Herzog has created a tense and grim depiction of war with a little bit of hope tinging the edges. The movie is currently out in New York and L.A. and will open in other select cities as the weeks go by. To watch the trailer and tell me what you think,

Photo courtesy of MGM

Robert Pattinson Hangs With Bear Then Suits Up For Another Day in Cosmopolis

Katie Henry — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 11:02:10 PDT

Robert Pattinson relaxed on the balcony of his Toronto hotel yesterday with a few pals and his four-legged buddy, Bear. Rob's rescue dog usually travels with him from set to set, but last month Kristen Stewart took care of Bear while Rob promoted Water For Elephants throughout Europe. This morning the actor was back into character on the set of Cosmopolis wearing the same sexy suit and slicked back hairstyle he's been modeling for the role. Rob took a break from his dapper wardrobe last weekend during his trip to LA for the MTV Movie Awards. He graciously accepted the golden popcorn for best actor then shared the best kiss honors with Kristen before the couple were joined by Taylor Lautner to premiere the Breaking Dawn trailer.

Kristen Stewart Touches Down in Robert Pattinson's Hometown

Allie Merriam — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:26:39 PDT

Kristen Stewart was in her round sunglasses this morning when she touched down at Heathrow airport. She's in boyfriend Robert Pattinson's hometown of London for a few days, following a couple low-key weeks of rest after wrapping up work on Breaking Dawn. The end of shooting the Twilight series didn't offer much rest for Robert, who was then busy promoting Water For Elephants with costar Reese Witherspoon. Kristen was there to support him at various stops on the press tour and with kisses at the big NYC premiere. She stuck around the Big Apple afterward to hit up this year's Met Ball in a black and red Proenza Schouler number, and was later seen leaving the Bowery Hotel with her and Robert's rescue dog, Bear.

Matt Talks About the Fateful Decisions That Led to Meeting His Wife at The Adjustment Bureau Junket

Allie Merriam — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:30:09 PST

Matt Damon and his The Adjustment Bureau costar Emily Blunt were together in NYC recently to chat about their movie at the press junket. The film, which opens this Friday, features a shady government organization that intervenes in a fate-like way to affect the lives of ordinary citizens. Both Matt and Emily shared about the presence of fate in their own lives, with him telling a story about the romantic way he met his wife. Emily, meanwhile, revealed her original career plans and made a few jokes about Matt's skills as a dancer. They said:

Has fate ever intervened in your life in a similar way to how the Adjustment Bureau works with your characters?
Matt Damon: I think it would be Emily's chance to work with me. It must have been one of those moments.
Emily Blunt: I have one story that is pretty cool. I remember I didn't get into this very amazing school that my sister went to, and I wanted to be just like my sister. It's a school called Westminster in London, and it's fiercely competitive - she gets in because she's a brainiac and I don't because I'm obviously not. And so I basically remember being at 16 devastated and my life was over, and I was so sad and felt so inferior that I hadn't gotten in. So I went to my second choice school, which had a good drama department. I previously hadn't considered acting, and I did a play through my school that went to the Edinburgh festival. I got an agent, and he's still my agent! And now I'm here with you nice people. If I'd gone to Westminster I wouldn't be doing this job - guaranteed!
Emily, what would you be doing if you didn't act?
EB: I had this really impressive idea that I was going to be a translator for the UN and be fluent in Spanish. I was going to do modern languages in university.
And Matt, what was that sort of moment for you?
MD: Clearly, for me, passing up the chance to be in Avatar in order to do Green Zone was one of those moments. Because Avatar didn't do very well and the DVD of Green Zone is just going to . . . [laughs] No - I do end up thinking about jobs. There are so many roads not taken. There is this Garth Brooks song called "Thank God For Unanswered Prayers," and I think of all those movies that I auditioned for or movies that I was desperate to get that I didn't get - that really turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Looking back on my life and everything, I tried to control as much as I could and worked as hard as I did, but a lot of it really is down to luck.
Any in particular?
MD: One of the biggest ones was, there was a Werner Herzog movie called Rescue Dawn that Christian Bale did, and Werner and I were talking about eight years ago about me possibly playing that role. I was really strongly considering it, and instead I met with the Farrelly brothers. I remember talking to my mother, and my mother said you don't always have to go into the jungle and lose a lot of weight. I did the Farrelly brothers movie and that's where I met my wife. And four kids later, that was a pretty fateful decision.

To read what Matt says about his lost dancing scenes, just

Emily, is there anything you'd change about The Adjustment Bureau?
EB: I would mix it up with the hats I think. Maybe rock like a baseball cap once in a while. Maybe not even need the hats.
MD: It's hard to answer that without sounding like Miss America. 'Well, first of all, world peace!'
It looked like there was going to be a moment where Matt would bust a move, but somehow he got out of it. Is there footage of Matt dancing on the cutting room floor?
EB: I think [his] wife put the kibosh on that. She was there that night and she was like, 'Don't let him dance!'
MD: There is a lot of footage of me running around in a white shirt and a blue fedora . . . I definitely burst into song and dance a lot in that costume. It felt appropriate. I left the dancing to Emily, thank God. And it was nice to be in one of those movies where I wasn't the guy training my ass off. I was just sitting in the corner eating doughnuts.