Gaps in his resume

NO knock on Christian Bale’s ability to get deep into any part he chooses to play, but his latest turn as a “thuggish Iraq vet” is either a step up or a backslide into the guy he played in the remake of “Shaft” a few years back [“Here Comes Trouble,” Nov. 12]. Same guy now with a lot less hair and, as Bale says, more “Celtic flush.”

And why wasn’t the “Shaft” role even mentioned by writer Fred Schruers, who didn’t seem shy about filling space by running down almost every film Bale’s appeared in since age 12?

PAUL OLDEN

Los Angeles