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July 20, 2012

Movie Review ~ The Dark Knight Rises

2
by Joe Movie Review • Tags: Anne Hathaway, brothers, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Comics, Cotillard, Dark Knight Rises, DC, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, logo, Marion, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Studio, Syncopy, Tom Hardy, warner

The Facts:

Synopsis: Eight years after Batman took the fall for Two Face’s crimes, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion, Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 164 minutes

Random Crew Highlight: Facial Hair Maker ~ Carol F. Doran

TMMM Score: (9/10)

Review:

If crafting a successful sequel is akin to leaping tall buildings in a single bound for a filmmaker, delivering a top-notch third entry is like climbing Mt. Everest. With 2005’s Batman Begins and 2008’s The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan has spent the better part of the last decade in the mind of Bruce Wayne/Batman and the place he loves and calls home, Gotham City. In the first film, the city was under attack. In the second, the danger was directed to our titular character. The end of Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy sees the man and the city once again facing destruction…and this time there may be no happy ending.

Have no fear that I’ll spoil things for you as you continue this review. To divulge more than is necessary would be to rob the reader of experiencing the film in the theaters along with denying the viewer the opportunity to make their own discoveries. I realized about halfway through the nearly three hour running length that the previews thus far had only shown part of what is really going on in the film so even if you’re like me and have seen the trailer(s) countless times in the last year just know there is more in store for you.

In this third outing, all of the collective elements come together in service to the greater good (and bad) of Gotham City and the Caped Crusader. Nolan has pulled out all the stops and has asked his assembled team to do the same.

Opening with a spectacular stunt sequence (that I reviewed when it was shown in IMAX theaters in January), The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t so much hit the ground running as it does start off with a few warm-up laps. That pacing is OK because the running length and story arc provided by Nolan clearly has an endgame that can’t be guessed at immediately. Like the previous two films, this could easily have been a standalone Batman movie that doesn’t necessarily require previous knowledge to appreciate and enjoy.

Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight we find Bruce Wayne (Bale) living as a recluse similar to Howard Hughes in his later years. He’s given up the cowl due to the proceedings at the conclusion of the previous film and retreated back into his lonely existence. His is a solitary life, solitary even from Alfred (Caine) who we get the impression sees him less and less. When circumstances necessitate ‘The Batman’ don his suit again, it may be at the cost of more than just a few broken bones and spirits.

New characters for The Dark Knight Rises include Hathaway as Selina Kyle…a slinky cat burglar that is never called Catwoman outright but certainly looks the part. With a clever mask and sleek costume she’s overall no match for Michelle Pfeiffer’s seminal take on the character in Batman Returns. Still, Hathaway has checked her wide eyed, golly-gee, toothy, standard performance at the door and gotten in step quickly with the tone of Nolan’s material. I wasn’t convinced of her casting when it was originally announced but she’s acquitted herself nicely here with a well played performance.

Another character introduced is Miranda Tate given life by Cotillard in yet another spot-on bit of casting. Cotillard plays her cards pretty close to her chest as an entrepreneur that has a vested interest in the Wayne Corporation. Her participation for most of the movie is small but quite effective when she’s called upon later in the film.

While absolutely no match for Heath Ledger’s Joker, Hardy makes bad guy Bane appropriately rough and frightening. Ledger was so perfect because his character was an enigma that kept you off balance. Bane is the opposite…you know when he shows up that asses will be kicked in no uncertain terms. Here is a foe that you actually can believe could wipe out Batman with his bare fists. The problem I have (and have had since my original review of the prologue) is that the mouth device Bane wears coupled with Hardy’s thick-ish Brit accent makes much of Bane’s dialogue totally unintelligible. I caught more than I thought I would but I do have the feeling a few more viewings will be required to really get a handle on the material.

Oldman continues to be the center of the film with his valuable presence but it gets shared this time with Gordon-Levitt as an idealistic Gotham City cop that has more in common with our main character than it may appear. Gordon-Levitt is an actor that gets better with each role he takes on. Gone is the long-haired kid from a hit television show and present is an actor that Nolan is obviously quite inspired by. The evolution of his character in this one film only works because Gordon-Levitt and Nolan worked in tandem so well to give him blood and breath.

Freeman is less of a presence in this film but then again he has always been a sideline character that is called upon when needed. It’s not totally Freeman’s fault…it’s probably the casting of someone with his gravitas in an admittedly serviceably written role that makes you feel something is missing. Caine too has some great moments in this but his disappearance for much of the action in the last half of the film is one of a few quibbles I had with the film.

Speaking of quibbles, Caine’s absence and another moment involving him are just two of I’d say five problems I had with the movie that I won’t discuss here. They involve major plot points that I can’t give away but after you’ve seen it let’s talk and I’ll let you know a few creative choices I would have changed/removed that I felt kept the film from being the best of the trilogy (that still belongs to The Dark Knight).

Nolan’s knack for staging incredible and shiver inducing action sequences is still displayed in full force here. Having much of this play out over Hans Zimmer’s drum heavy score or without score at all were brilliant choices and only add to the gratitude I had for what Nolan has done for Batman over three strong pictures.

How it all ends is for you to discover but I will say that I can’t imagine someone leaving the theater not feeling satisfied/complete in some way. It may not be the ending you wanted, needed, predicted, or dreamed of (and I’m not saying it’s not!) but I get the overall sense that this was always where things were headed and Nolan kept his eyeline on the horizon to get to this finale without making sacrifices or concessions to his vision. It’s one of, if not the, best trilogies in film history right up there with The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars . On its own, The Dark Knight Rises is a film brimming with soul and strength…like Batman…like Bruce Wayne…like Gotham City itself. The legend may end…but it won’t be forgotten.

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July 20, 2012

Down From the Shelf ~ The Dark Knight

by Joe Down from the Shelf • Tags: Aaron Eckhart, brothers, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, Legendary, logo, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Studio, The Dark Knight, warner

The Facts:

Synopsis: When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level.

Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 152 minutes

TMMM Score: (9/10)

Review:

The Facts:

Synopsis: Bruce Wayne loses his philanthropic parents to a senseless crime, and years later becomes the Batman to save the crime-ridden Gotham City on the verge of destruction by an ancient order.

Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: minutes

TMMM Score: (x/10)

Review:

The Facts:

Synopsis: When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level.

Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: minutes

TMMM Score: (9.5/10)

Review:  In some ways, sequels to popular movies are tougher sells than one might think.  Yes, you have a built in audience that you know will buy tickets on opening weekend – but the trick is to keep the word of mouth going in subsequent weeks to encourage new customers and repeat business.  With the critical and commercial success of Batman Begins it was a no-brainer that a sequel was green lit and the original director  (Nolan) was brought on board to oversee another Batman adventure. When tragedy struck at the end of principal photography it seemed like what was supposed to be a slam dunk now faced challenges.

Cleverly teased at the end of Batman Begins, the Joker is the main villain of The Dark Knight and what a villain he is.  Ledger’s work here will go down in the annals of film history as one of the most haunted/haunting performances on screen, richly winning him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  It’s hard to imagine anyone else inhabiting the role so fully, so perfectly as Ledger.  It’s a shame he died seven months before its release but his ghost doesn’t so much hover over the film but ground it better in reality.  Death is something that hangs over all of us and the Joker’s freewheeling foreboding with mortality is palpable when you consider the actor playing him is gone.

Even if the passing of Ledger did overshadow the film as it prepared for release, the final product is so epic and wonderful that the tragedy does get compartmentalized to the side as you go on Nolan’s grand journey.  Sequels are known for needing to be bigger and better and Nolan wisely focuses on better first and foremost.

One of the obvious betterments is Katie Holmes wisely declining to reprise her role as a love interest to Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne combo.  She’s replaced by Gyllenhaal who gives the character what she was missing in the first film – a purpose.  Holmes never locked in on where her part fit into the grand scheme of the Batman universe.  Gyllenhaal’s a smart cookie and colors her take on Rachel with textures Holmes was incapable of.  If Holmes was lost in the shuffle than Gyllenhaal has moments where she holds the deck.  Nolan still doesn’t write for women very well but working with Gyllenhaal brings out some good work.

All of the other actors from the first film are back on board here and succeed by making the steps necessary to move their characters onward.  Too often there is no furthering of character development in squeals due to lack of time between explosions but Nolan is more than happy to pause for moments that tell us the what’s underneath the masks we all wear.  He’s smart enough to know that the plot twists he adds here would never work if we didn’t understand relationships that exist between our characters.  Bale digs even deeper into his lower register to find Batman’s voice, Oldman’s Lt. Gordon continues to be a beacon of uprightness, Caine’s Alfred still cares, Freeman can do this type of role in his sleep, and Murphy returns in a nice cameo as Crane/Scarecrow.  Eckhart is one of the more underrated actors of his generation and is the second bit of perfect casting as D.A. Harvey Dent who becomes a romantic adversary for Wayne and a potential adversary for Batman.

Ledger and Nolan created the Joker to be one of the scariest villains not featured in a horror film.  When I first saw the movie, Ledger’s incessant lip smacking and slightly affected nature rubbed me the wrong way.  Taking in the film again recently I did a 180 degree turn and saw just how brilliant his choices were.  As memorable as Jack Nicholson was in Tim Burton’s take on Batman, he favored the comic side to the truly evil.  Ledger’s make-up and overall appearance subconsciously disappear as the film progresses so much so that you don’t even notice the grotesque smudged make-up by the end.  Not really explaining how he came to be is another brilliant move that makes the character all the more menacing – without reasons why he does what he does the audience is kept on the edge because you don’t know how far he’ll really go.

The action sequences in The Dark Knight still give me chills and are breathless examples of high concept filmmaking that simply can’t be duplicated.  I can’t imagine anyone other than Nolan putting together the kind of visuals on display here and years later I feel the impressive set-pieces will be used as guides in how to make a modern and timeless action film.

The Dark Knight was one of the first films to feature scenes shot expressly for IMAX cameras.  In utilizing this technology, I did feel there were two too many shots flying through skyscrapers and gazing down between buildings.  I get that there was a need to capitalize on the technique but several of these shots seem little more than grandstanding…but it’s the most minor of quibbles in what is otherwise an amazing film, tech-wise.

When The Dark Knight was released, the Oscar field for Best Picture was still locked in with five nominees.  It’s omission as a contender for Best Picture was the impetus for the Academy revising its policies and expanding the field for up to ten nominees.  Had the field been wider at the time The Dark Knight would have (and should have) been a top pick for Best Picture.  In case you need a reminder, this was the year that Slumdog Millionaire (yuck!) took the title over Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, and Milk.  In this company of arguably weak titles, the critical and audience favorite sequel to Batman Begins had a shot for Oscar’s top prize.

Like Batman Begins, The Dark Knight could easily have been a standalone movie.  Yes, elements from the first film do play a part here but they are minor enough that it really wouldn’t matter.  Batman Begins was a strong start to this franchise reboot and The Dark Knight improved in every way on an already solid first effort…and now with the release of The Dark Knight Rises the trilogy will be complete.  How will it all end and will The Dark Knight Rises usurp its two predecessors?

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July 20, 2012

Down From the Shelf ~ Batman Begins

1
by Joe Down from the Shelf • Tags: batman Begins, brothers, Christian Bale, christopher, Cillian Murphy, DC Comics, Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Legendary, Liam Neeson, logo, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, nolan, Studio, warner

The Facts:

Synopsis: Bruce Wayne loses his philanthropic parents to a senseless crime, and years later becomes the Batman to save the crime-ridden Gotham City on the verge of destruction by an ancient order.

Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 140 minutes

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review:  Whenever a filmmaker wants to start or re-boot a franchise of a character in the popular culture they must first decide how they want to tell the important origin story.  Do they stick to the book with the expected framework for a familiar character or do they break new ground with a revisionist vision of how a fabled figure came to be?  Director Nolan may not have been an obvious choice to head up Warner Brothers mega budget restart of their Batman franchise but he was a wise one.  Nolan had displayed highly cerebral work in his previous films and his exploration of how Bruce Wayne became Batman gets to the heart of the matter in a film that takes its time but still delivers the goods.

Of all the men considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bale is a brilliant casting decision in that he’s one of Hollywood’s rare actors that jumps into any role head first.  He lets the character and process consume him so much that he totally disappears into the part.  There’s a lot of mileage to cover in Batman Begins and Bale is more than up for the challenge of giving us a new take on Bruce Wayne.  While I greatly enjoyed Michael Keaton’s somber take in the Batman of the 90’s, Bale takes it a step further and shows a lot of complexity in his take on the orphaned millionaire that will become the Dark Knight.

I struggle more with Batman Begins than I did its sequel because I’m not totally sold on our central baddie and his plot to destroy Gotham City.  Nolan has created such an interesting take on the legend of Batman that it’s a bit of a bummer when behind it all is a bit of a muddled third act that clearly favors action sequences over the fleshing out of personal vendettas.  Now that’s not to say the final 1/3 of the film is not smash-up entertaining because it so very much is – it’s just that everything that came before it was so sophisticated and deliberate that you can’t help but see a few extra cracks.

Nolan surrounds Bale with a male dominated cast of good guys and bad guys that feature some of the most respected actors in Hollywood.  Caine makes for a wonderful Alfred who becomes a surrogate father to Bruce Wayne and even if I prefer Michael Gough’s stolid take in the previous films to Caine’s slightly convenient calming presence, Nolan’s devotion to making even the most sideline character have something important to say is admirable.  Oldman cuts a nice take on Jim Gordon as does Freeman as an employee of Wayne Enterprises.  Neeson had just started to really take ownership of his action man presence – even if his villain is one of the more boring in filmdom.  The big thumbs down here is Holmes as the lone female in the boys club.  Even without being in the presence of better actors, Holmes is totally out of her league here in a performance that can nicely be described as laughable.

The kick starter to Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is overall a winner because it’s not a film that just exists to lay the groundwork for subsequent sequels.  It’s a film that could (and does) stand on its own with high concept intentions and a solid delivery from most (not Holmes) involved.

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July 20, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ Here Comes the Boom

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: Boxing, Columbia Pictures (Sony), Frank Coraci, Henry Winkler, Kevin James, logo, Salma Hayek, Studio, Trailer

Synopsis: A high school biology teacher looks to become a successful mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extra-curricular activities from being axed at his cash-strapped school.

Release Date:  October 12, 2012

Thoughts: Here’s what has me interested in this film: Kevin James in what looks to be a quasi serious film.  Here’s what does NOT have me interested in this film: Kevin James being directed by Frank Coraci in what looks to be a quasi serious film.  Coraci has delivered a few stinkers courtesy of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison productions and I’m not confident that he’ll be able to pull this one off if it is indeed the less comedic drama its billing itself as.  I’m sure the film will have its share of laughs and I’m hoping that James gets out from under the oafish roles he’s been cashing in on and starts to take himself seriously.  Sandler has tried that out to some success before but has wound up regressing to lame-brain comedies.  James isn’t a bad actor and it would be a shame to not at least try something new.

 

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