My Beef: His name is Christian Bale

With the movie "Public Enemies" being filmed on home turf (in the Columbus, WI/Beaver Dam, WI area), there is so much talk of Johnny Depp.

Sure, Johnny Depp is in the film.

Sure, Johnny Depp is a fine actor - probably one of the best actors to grace the technicolor screen.

But.

An actor of (at LEAST) the same caliber shares the top billing of this film. His name is Christian Bale, and he has managed to remain successfully below the radar since we were first introduced to him compliments of Steven Spielberg in "Empire of the Sun." (1987)

Bale hasn't fallen in to the "bumbling-romantic-comedyesque-hasn't-this-guy-been-in-every-movie-this-year-and-aren't'-we-sick-of-him-yet" hell. Instead, he has chosen his roles very wisely, for example:

• Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho" (2000)

Based on the best seller, Bale portrays a man who is the epitome of all things that I loathe... the murderous tendencies aside. Bateman is snobbish, cruel, self-centered - picture every go-getter from the eighties ready to screw anyone that gets in his way. He pulls it off with a sense of humor, and made me want to see more of what he could do... which brings me to...

• John Preston in "Equilibrium" (2002)

In a futuristic world where human emotion is illegal and anything that can provoke feeling is eradicated, why go on? John Preston, a cleric who's job it is to destroy this "contraband" has decided to stop dosing and start feeling. I was blown away by his performance. If his character touched something for the first time, I felt it for the first time. Moving. Period.

• Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist" (2004)

Should I ever get the chance to interview Bale, my first question would be about the weight he lost to play this role. Normally seen as a very fit person these days, Bale's body transformed in to nothing but skin and bone. His character in this film has a bout of insomnia... a bout that has lasted a year. The cause of his unease is revealed throughout the film, and, since I'm not a spoiler, I won't go further - all I will say is that if you are a fan of mind-bending psychological movies that make you want to discuss the film with everyone you meet, watch it.

Oh yeah. And he's Batman.

There are few actors that will not let me down, and Christian Bale is one of them. I can rely on him to constantly push himself to new limits and take on roles that other actors are too intimidated to try. He hasn't let me down yet.

Well... I'll let "Reign of Fire" go. Everyone deserves a Mulligan.

Check out the amazing career of Christian Bale: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000288/