Tag Archives: Morgan Freeman

Famous People Who Became Successful Later In Life

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It just occurred to me today that I have spent far too much of my twenties trying to fit a lot of stuff in before I hit 30. And I actually have no idea why. Nothing huge is going to happen when I become 30, I doubt any huge revelation will happen. I actually reckon it will exactly be like becoming 29 only with one more year added on.

Of course it matters to other people. And bitchy people too. The moment I turned 25 people started asking me how I felt about being 30 soon, I mean, calm down. But who cares what other people think anyway, especially when they are rude. Of course, these people will be 30 themselves one day and will probably have someone younger than them act the same way towards them. That is one of the joys of aging: it’s equality. Nobody escapes.

What I have realised is that, actually, the only thing that bothers me about getting older is feeling that I have not done enough to be that age. But even that goes out of the window when I read about the amazing people below. Success doesn’t have an age limit, and neither does talent. In fact, when I hit 30 I will be married, have a successful business and a few other careers, I will have traveled and have amazing friends. Life can only (hopefully!) get more amazing from this point.

 

Deborah McKinlay

That Part Was True book

Deborah is the poster girl for life beginning at 40: she had a baby, got a seven-figure advance and a film deal for her novel, That Part Was True, and went back to University. The University just happened to be Cambridge. She was pregnant when she wrote her thesis and says: ‘You never know when life is going to turn around.’ She truly is an inspiration.

 

Betty White

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Betty White was a jobbing actress for decades but it was her role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show that made her famous. She was 51 at the time. The now 92-year-old actress has won numerous Emmys and was also a Golden Girl. Still working: she stars in Hot In Cleveland and hosts her own show Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.

 

Leslie Neilson

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It was his role in the classic 1980s movie parody Airplane! that made him famous at the age of 54. He starred in over 50 television shows in 2 years before that and worked for decades before making it big.

 

Hulk Hogan

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After failing to find work in movies Hulk became a wrestler and found fame in his 40s. This strategy worked as, after finding fame as a wrestler, he got work in movies and became a huge star.

 

Steve Carrell

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Made his name with The Office when he was 43 after sharpening his skills on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart for 6 seasons. He is now a movie star in his own right.

 

Morgan Freeman

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Became famous at the age of 52 after starring in 1988 film Driving Miss Daisy. He was Oscar nominated for his role. Morgan has starred in over 90 films and paid his dues for decades before finding fame.

 

Vera Wang

success later in life

Vera Wang only started designing wedding dresses in her 40s after failing to make it on the US Olympic figure-skating team and then being passed over for the editor-in-chief position when she was an editor at Vogue. She is now an incredibly famous and successful designer. So there you go.

 

Burt Reynolds

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Became an actor after an injury sidelined a professional football career. Burt Reynolds has starred in over 70 movies. His breakthrough role was in 1972 film Deliverance. He then became famous and has his own star on the Walk of Fame.

 

Steven Seagal

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Steven Seagal starred in Above The Law as a favour to a student from his dojo. He was a martial arts teacher before that point and Under Siege became a box-office hit a few years later making him an action hero at 40-years-old.

 

Samuel L. Jackson

success after 40

A former crack addict and alcoholic, Samuel decided to turn his life around in his 40s and is now one of the most famous and hardest working movie stars with over 100 movies under his belt. His breakthrough role was in Spike Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever.

 

Julia Child

Julia Child, Miami Bookfair International, 1989

Published Mastering the Art of French Cooking when she was 50 and then got her own show The French Chef which was successful. She discovered French cuisine after moving to Paris with her husband in 1948 when she was 36. She enrolled at the famous Le Cordon Bleu to learn how to cook. The rest is history.

 

Alan Rickman

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Got his first film role in his mid-40s after plugging away for decades.

 

Feeling inspired? Have any thoughts? Comment below.

 

Olympus Has Fallen | Film Review

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olympushasfallenAs the tattered flag of the USA is flung aside by the North Koreans during their attack of the White House, the President of the USA is taken hostage, his son goes missing and America’s prized nukes become their very own weapons of mass destruction. 

 

Olympus Has Fallen (the code word for the White House) is the scene of a merciless shoot-out between the Secret Service and North Koreans and only Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), can save the day.

 

A disgraced former presidential guard, Butler’s on a one-man mission to save the President (Aaron Eckhart), his son, and to stop the terrorists from obtaining the three passwords to detonate America’s web of nuclear subheads.  

 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, in the 13 minutes it takes the North Koreans to take over the White House (and a whole two minutes before the Army intervenes) the unwavering attack echoes the tragic scenes of 911 as a bomber plane whistles past high-rise offices and clips the Washington Monument before it comes crashing to the ground.

 

The film’s release is also at a somewhat ironic time as the hostilities between the two nations in our current world are also surfacing.

 

Intelligent and co-ordinated, the attack is played out with militant efficiency as innocents and secret agents’ bodies pile up on the lawn of the Presidential building and inside one of the safest places in the USA.

 

The light and sound effects on the big screen will leave you feeling shocked and impressed at the same time.

 

With its twists, split-second timing and traitors, Olympus Has Fallen has all the ingredients of a Hollywood action movie and at times, picked up on the comedic lines of Bruce Willis in the Die Hard sagas.

 

When the Defence Secretary Ruth McMillan (brilliantly played by Melissa Leo) is kicked and punched to the floor – a tad uncomfortable to view– she asks the president how her hair looks and when Banning calls his nurse wife to ‘check-in’, they both skirt around the truth and say they’ve had busy days.

 

At times the plot was a little contrived and the continuity was lacking. Banning, who no longer worked by the President’s side, was still able to gain access to the White House security systems and files, just as well really.

 

And as the guns blaze and Banning’s driving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, his smooth face cuts to a stubbly square-jaw line in the next scene.

 

Overall, Olympus Has Fallen is an impressive action movie despite its recurrent plot line favoured by Hollywood directors.

 

And the inclusion of Morgan Freeman, the Speaker of the House who by default becomes the unlikely Acting President, is a sure fan-pleaser.

 

Butler provides the eye-candy, the North Koreans are the baddies and America is hailed as an undefeatable nation.

 

The Dark Knight Rises Review

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I don’t mind saying that I struggled putting this film review together; there are so many people who have already seen The Dark Knight Rises – a film which is now being called the ‘motion picture epic of the summer’ that almost very little remains to be said. As such I was left with a dilemma; do I re-trod old ground of other reviewers, do I try to fill the gaps left by the countless other reviews without giving the plot away or do I try to find a fresh perspective to describe this incredible movie?

The Dark Knight Rises is the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy; a set of films disparate to any other superhero movies previously seen. Looking at the Avengers and Iron Man films of recent generation it is easy to forget that comic book films formerly prided themselves on suiting their primary audience (which were children) opting for jokey style film making and humour. Caped Crusader (and Bond) films especially were synonymous for focussing on the gadgets rather than on the characterisation. However thank heavens for Mr Nolan, (himself a fan of the Batman comics) because fortunately for us he hadn’t gone through the whole Peter Pan thing – he actually grew up, and as such brought the film bang up to date in a massive, grimy and brutally honest way. Over the past two movies (and equally in this movie) you have villains that actually scare you (The Joker portrayed  by Heath Ledger was actually psychotic) and when we talk about crime syndicates we actually see about the dark and dismal pits of crime corruption where you can trust no one. Written by David S. Goyer, Jonathan Nolan and Bob Kane what we have here in The Dark Knight Rises an incredible master class in film making, fantastic acting from all performers and an astonishing end to perhaps the best film of the summer.

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Taking the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the Dark Knight became a fugitive sacrificing everything so that a law which Dent wanted to pass would go through. For a time the lie worked; officers fought with vigour and criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the anti-crime Dent Act. However the arrival of Bane, a masked terrorist with incredible strength and will power and who threatens to crush Gotham city brings Batman out of retirement for one last battle. Oh yes and the arrival of a sexy cat burglar too. The stage is set.

Watching this film I was trying to remember the last time I saw so much emotion in a superhero film. Christian Bale easily carries his part as both billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne and as the Dark Knight. Gosh that man has got so much talent. You can tell he gave the role everything, from the visceral fight scenes to the moment to moment realities with his butler Alfred (played impeccably well by Michael Caine) you just can’t help but believe him and in his cause. When Batman does show up – it is incredibly exciting. Equally well played is Tom Hardy as the super-villain, aptly called Bane; a slab of muscle and brutal killing power, every appearance on screen just makes you think something bad is going to happen. Anne Hathaway plays the part of slinky, sexy cat burglar Cat woman. She carries her role well and for the most part is easy on the eye and provides some much needed breaks between the bloody and dark tone of the rest of the film.

And what a dark tone it is – a vision of near apocalyptic catastrophe that quickly swishes through the near 3 hour running time with action, explosions, suspense and twists and turns in spades.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a terrific performance as the young, idealistic police officer, Detective Blake, and there are some excellent role reprisals from Morgan Freeman and even Liam Neeson.

It is sad to think that this is the ‘reportedly’ last Batman movie under Christopher Nolan’s direction. I don’t believe his movies will be forgotten for quite some time. Bearing in mind the amount of money this film has already made at the box office – it is doubtful that we have seen the last of the Caped Crusader one can only hope that the future iterations will be as good as this.

If you havent seen the final instalment in the Batman Trilogy make it your aim to do so – it is a fantastic film.

Verdict

9.5/10

The Dark Knight Rises {Film Review}

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*WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!*

 

Since 2005, Christopher Nolan rebooted the Caped Crusader as we all thought he was long gone with Batman Begins. No one had expectations when the director of Memento was on-board but he delivered one of the biggest surprises and created a film that many other comic book hero films will try to imitate. Then he raised the expectations even higher with the announcement of a sequel and he delivered The Dark Knight in 2008. Continuing to bring maturity and intellectual story-telling but also made an impact to many filmmakers. Now Batman has risen from the darkness and finally has a new challenge, not only from new villains but also Christopher Nolan announcing it will be the conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy. Many argue there hasn’t yet been a great comic book hero trilogy and the third in the series always tends to not live up to its predecessors (X-Men, Spider-Man etc.) I can safely say this isn’t that case and will say early that this is the best comic book hero trilogy to date!

 

The story is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne hanging up his mantle as Batman and keeping away from the spot-light since. Until the terrorist known as Bane enters the stage and plans to bring destruction and chaos to Gotham City. Meanwhile, Bruce interacts with Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman, though never referenced by that name), a cat-burglar but an anti-hero who only helps her own (survival of the fittest). Bruce sees this as an opportunity to go back as the dark knight and come face-to-face with Bane but things go worse than expected (A LOT worse!).

There’s only so much I can reveal the story but it is better to experience it on the big screen. Wally Pfister’s cinematography and Nathan Crowely’s production design really amps the scale, you feel the anarchy Bane delivers from the many set-pieces this film delivers (if you thought the hallway fight scene in Inception was mind-blowing, Nolan really tops that from the opening sequence which could mistake it as a Bond opening). Hans Zimmer’s music is a more bombastic score, further bringing the thundering emotion of Bane’s menacing speeches and actions. Everything about the production in this film is top-notch, do you expect anything less with a Christopher Nolan film? I will say the film is bold and daring to go to places most filmmakers would not even think twice on going, all credit goes to not only Chris Nolan but co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan. Though people will find obvious references to Occupy Wall Street, especially Bane’s motivation on punishing the wealthy and supporting the people (even releasing the prisoners of Gotham to have the city to their own will). The story really does come to full-circle, whatever happened in Begins or Knight comes to full affect in Rises. With all the gloom and doom in this film, Nolan doesn’t forget to bring some humour into this film as he had done from his previous films. The story’s events comes from these three Batman comic book story arcs; The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall and No Man’s Land.

 

Christian Bale really does shine as he delves deeper to his emotional struggles in this movie, you can feel the suffering and pain he has to go through. Which makes his journey to rise from the ground and come out soaring! Like his father says to him in Batman Begins “why do we fall, Bruce? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up!”, a line that runs through his motivation to save the city and its citizens. Tom Hardy brings a brute menace to Bane and finally brings justice to the character that was ruined in Batman & Robin. He may have the muscles and brawn to show but it’s his tactical thinking that makes him even more threatening. He may lack the sinister edge of Heath Ledger’s Joker but that doesn’t detract the type of villainy he delivers. You honestly worry about Batman, as Bane just brushes off everything Batman throws at him from fists to various techs from his utility belt. Anne Hathaway is terrific as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, she has her own code which is she looks for her own self and doesn’t get involved with anyone else. Though the chemistry between Bruce and Selina is quite electric, both exchanging quips and sassy comebacks but it evolves to something more intimate. Seeing the both of them work together is probably my favourite scenes from the whole film and I honestly think (controversy incoming) Hathaway does portray Catwoman more faithfully than Michelle Pfeiffer did in Batman Returns. The rest of the supporting cast continue to bring the best of their characters; Michael Caine makes an emotionally strong performance as Alfred, fearing the loss of Bruce and not wanting to go through the pain again as he lost Bruce’s parents (a powerful scene where Alfred confesses to Bruce that he wished he never came back). Gary Oldman continues to be the best Jim Gordon, growing to stand being a strong character and is actually exciting he can take care of himself despite his age. Morgan Freeman is the ever charming Lucius Fox, he too continues to grow such a strong supporting character.

 

Is it perfect? No but neither was The Avengers and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The surprise twists won’t surprise most comic book fans but I also blame the media on releasing a few images online that really should have been left offline. Bruce’s reason on exiling himself from the world for such a long time because of the death of Rachel Dawes is a bit hard to swallow but is a minor nit-pick that doesn’t affect the overall film. Zimmer’s score is great to listen to and gets your adrenaline going but it is a bit too thundering at places (and sometimes partially hard to listen when characters are talking). I think many people (including the YouTube community) will start to make fun of Bane’s voice, though I never had a problem understanding him from trailers and didn’t have a problem understanding him in the film. The ending may split opinions, as some may find it being something really bold and broad but then leads to something completely different. Also a reference towards the character of John Blake felt a bit forced and didn’t work in my opinion.

 

As much I really do enjoy this Batman series immensely, I am glad Christopher Nolan has finished with the series and will be moving forward to make more films in the same vein as Memento or Inception where his strengths as a story-teller really does show! Though for now, he’ll be producing Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013 with Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman.

 

Overall; this film is fantastic, a satisfying conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy. Despite the minor faults this movie has, it still delivers an epic blockbuster not only just from the scale but also in emotion. Thank you Mr. Nolan, you made an honourable farewell to one of the greatest iconic heroes of our time.

 

4 out of 5