Today I start out My Mission with the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven.

I actually bought this dvd on a bit of a whim. I had seen the theatrical cut and found it quite boring. I'm not sure I actually finished it. But I had heard the directors cut was a massive improvement, so when I saw it at a decent price a few years ago I thought "fuck it", and finally 5 years or so later I put it in and man I gotta say, this movie is better than Gladiator.


Whoa. Whoa. Calm down. I still love Gladiator. I mean, that movie fucking rules. It's rousing and violent in all the right ways, with a commanding performance from the Crowe. But this version of Kingdom of Heaven has bigger ideas and themes, not to mention rich direction from Ridley that ranks it amongst his best films. Aside from Orlando Bloom, I'd also say that there is an overall better cast here than in Gladiator. Again, not that anyone was bad in that film, but with Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons and a literally unrecognizable Edward Norton all giving their all for Mr. Scott, it's easier to see how this movie rises above that other sword and sandal epic.

Coming back to Bloom for a moment, he is no way bad, and honestly handles himself quite nicely, but put him next to any of the talent listed above and he immediately seems like a lesser actor. Still, it doesn't hurt the movie much and I would be curious to see how he would have fared if a few more director's of Ridley's caliber had taken a chance on him as well.

If you saw the original as I did, give this version a shot. It really is great. I actually wish I had more time to expand on here ( and shit, maybe I will tomorrow) but I got movies to watch today.


Next up is the mind fuck of Being John Malkovich. This movie has been on Netflix instant for a while now, but I knew one day I would own it so I put off watching it. Finally, the gods over at criterion released a wonderful blu ray version of the film which I picked up earlier this month.

This is a movie that takes me back to a time when I was really discovering some good fucking movies. 1999 brought us The Matrix, Magnolia, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense, Toy Story 2, American Beauty, The Green Mile and about a dozen other magnificent flicks. This isn't my favorite movie of that period, but it sure as hell is the most creative and ambitious.

The cast is all great, particularly John Cusack and Cameron Diaz. It's been a long while since Cusack has been in something this great, and honestly it appears as though he's mostly given up trying, but watching him here playing sad and dopey puppeteer Craig Schwartz reminds me just how good he can be, especially with dark comedy. Same goes for Diaz. Unlike Cusack, I always find her to at least be engaging with whatever material she's working with, but rarely does she choose material as good and unglamorous as this. This same year she starred in Any Given Sunday, another movie that gave her a great showcase other than the sweet, bubbly personality that shot her to fame in There's Something About Mary and I really hope we can see a return to form for her.


Of course, special mention has to go to Malkovich himself, who allows his past and personality to be completely ravished here, all in the name of film. There are a number of ways they could of gone with in terms of Being (insert name here), but I'm glad they chose him. Such a weird, wonderful movie.

Full disclosure, these viewings have been split over two days because after Being John Malkovich yesterday, I had a beer and had a grave desire to watch True Blood. So there.

So today I started again with Primal Fear, one of the many legal thrillers to come out of the 90s, but more importantly, includes the film debut of one Mr. Edward Norton.

On the surface, this is a pretty by books lawyer film, with corruption, sex, priests and court scenes a plenty. But it's the performances that help this one stand out. Richard Gere has always been dependable, never phoning it in even if the some of the films he appeared were questionable, and here he is extremely charismatic as a hotshot defense attorney. Laura Linney, Francis McDormand, Andre Bauer, John Mahoney and Alfrie Woodard are also peppered throughout the cast and each making their presence felt.


It's Norton who steals the show though. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen it, but he plays a fine line here, and the fact that it's his first role is remarkable. Definitely deserving of the Oscar nomination he received. Of course, the reveal isn't quite dramatic as it was in 1996, but the performance stands, especially that final scene with him and Gere. Mmm, mmm. nothing like a 90s courtroom drama to waste the day away.


Alright guys, that's it for now. It will be a couple of days before I do this again. Sometime next week I reckon. I promise this though, Alien will be viewed soon. Like tomorrow or the next soon, hopefully. Until then, suck it.