Edward Norton

 Image Credit: The Insider

This blog is slowly converting to a movie review blog. Which I have absolutely no problem with. And neither should you.

Up until last week, I had watched 2 movies of Edward Norton. Fight Club and more recently The Illusionist. I remember watching American History X when it came out, but then I was a stupid college student who probably slept through most of it (I blame my then crazy schedule for this and it should by no means be indicative of my love for cinema). Anyway, this entry warrants a little background about my movie watching habits and seasonal obsessions.

 As Monty Brogan in The 25th Hour

When I like a movie I watch, I go to it's Wikipedia and/or IMBD page and read up on the actors/directors/writers etc. I then go about watching every movie of the said director or actor. This method has served me well in finding hidden gems. For example, I watched Matilda, directed by Danny De Vito a while back, which made me watch Death To Smoochy (same director), which made me watch all movies of Ed Norton. Once I am done with him - I still have the Obama campaign documentary remaining, I'll move on to Throw Momma from the Train and the rest.

As Smoochy the Rhino

Image Credit: NYTimes

Now, most people agree on Ed Norton being a good actor. Sure, people sometimes relegate him to being predictable and repetitive (multiple-personality roles), but why change something that works as good as this (think Tom Cruise). Looking beyond these roles, he has done some amazing "normal" characters with aplomb too - Father Brian in Keeping the Faith and Smoochy the Rhino in Death to Smoochy.

Whatever people may label him as - controlling and difficult (he works on the scripts of all his movies), intelligent and articulate (Yale grad after all), I can confidently (by virtue of watching every single YouTube video of him in 2 days) say that he is a honestly genuine and level-headed person who knows exactly what he wants, in movies and otherwise.

Also, he is super involved with conservation, sustainability and the environment - all of which I am/try to be involved in. Maybe some day when he is testifying at the Congress again, I'll get a glimpse of him!