Brian’s Review – “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)

Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

 
“The Dark Knight Rises”

9 out of 10

Warning: I apologize if some of my review sounds a little vague but my aim is to keep it spoiler free.

I really had my doubts about 45 minutes into this one that it was going to be anywhere as good as the previous two in the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy. It opens with a spectacular introduction to Bane’s character and then meanders and lulls for almost an hour before it picks up again. To the film’s credit, all of that exposition explains what has happened to Bruce Wayne since the events of the Dark Knight and sets up the ending, which I wouldn’t dare give away here. But, there’s almost zero action whatsoever and the plot isn’t really progressed as it is updated. However, once you see Batman show up, the film absolutely soars and at the end of the day comes out as the second strongest in the recent Batman series  (Dark Knight is in a word…perfect). The performances are all spot on. Christian Bale is still the best Batman ever and has a lot more dramatic weight to his character this time around. Michael Cane is still the perfect Alfred, Anne Hathaway shines as Catwoman, and Tom Hardy’s Bane is far more interesting than the comic book version of the character ever was.

As great as the performances are, it’s still the writing and directing of Christopher Nolan that has elevated this trilogy to more than summer blockbuster fare. There’s a brain behind all of the gadgets and comic book bravado. One of the key choices that Nolan made in the writing process is to have the motivations of the villains not be to destroy Gotham City but to have Gotham City’s own citizens destroy themselves. In all 3 films, those opposing Batman were anarchists that wanted to put the guns in the hands of the people and then watch them shoot each other.

I’d hate to give away more and ruin the plethora of surprises that await you at end to this groundbreaking comic book trilogy. I’ll just say this is by far the “biggest” film of them all. Gotham has never taken a pounding like it does in this film and Bane truly turns Batman into an underdog. And the ending is the perfect cap to those who have patiently awaited the final installment. It’s great to wait several years for a film and NOT be disappointed.

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Dark Knight Trailer #3 Released

Matt

The Dark Knight Rises, coming July 20, is the final and much anticipated conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s brilliant vision of Batman. The latest trailer looks very promising, leaving much to be the imagination while whetting our appetites for what promises to be an incredible closing chapter in the Nolan series. Enjoy.

 

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Released

Matt

The promise of “The Dark Knight Rises” is unlimited. I felt like that before “The Dark Knight,” which is hands down one of the best comic book films ever made.

I had concerns about the number of characters and villains in “The Dark Knight.” There was Two Face and Joker, and it’s difficult to pull off two villains in the same film because they can often not be developed into anything more than a cookie cutter bad guy. But that was not the case, at all. Christopher Nolan understands storytelling and has handled the Batman franchise with great care and respect for his audience.

I have no qualms saying that “The Dark Knight Rises” will be just as good as its prequels. The Bane charater, played by Tom Hardy, looks nothing short of menacing and terrible. The above photo is enough to give you the creeps. We also get a small glimpse of Catwoman, thought it’s hard to see much. Even though this trailer is a mere wetting of our appetites, “The Dark Knight Rises” already looks amazing. It’s going to be a long year of waiting.

Thanks for our sister blog TV-Tastic for the trailer!

Bronson

Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher) directs this biopic that delves into the life of Britain’s most notorious prisoner, Charlie Bronson (Tom Hardy) — who’s been jailed for nearly 35 years — and attempts to dissect the real man behind the deranged persona. While Bronson’s primary ambition was to be famous, he became a celebrity of sorts as a criminal who seized myriad opportunities to demonstrate extreme and terrorizing savagery.

Matt
Rating: 5 out of 10

It’s hard to believe there are people who want Charlie Bronson out of prison. He is an intriguing person — a thug by all definitions who has battered prison guards, held people hostage in jail, held up convenient stores and jewelery stores and has spent more than 35 years in prison. Most of that time — 30 years! — have been spent in solitary confinement. Any opportunity to have freedom is squandered by Bronson, who couldn’t be more violent and contemptuous for society, law, order or human nature.

Tom Hardy, who was excellent in “Inception,” is brilliant in the role. He put on a lot of muscle and had to go to some dark places to become Bronson (born Michael Gordon Peterson) the way he did. There is an intensity in him that is palpable when you watch the film. His unblinking eyes, massive gate when he walks, clenched fists and hunched shoulders become so encompassing that all sense of Hardy is lost immediately.

The problem with this film is in its direction. I understand that not all films have a linear, point A to point B approach. There are a lot of ways to tell a story. But when you want us to understand a character you need to take the time to develop it. Refn fails because the entire movie just hops in rapid succession to one violent act to another, with small moments where he attempts to develop character. There is a 1 minute scene where he tells a prostitute he loves her, and when she says she has a boyfriend, the next scene is him robbing a jewelry store — which does depict Bronson. But Refn never takes his foot off the breaks. I think if he took out some of the violence — not because I thought it was too violent — and replaced it with some genuine character development, he would have been more successful. We know he’s violent. He’s a renowned violent man, and that needs to be shown and shown with a sense of reality. What I want to know is, why? Refn didn’t answer the obvious or attempt to. This felt more like an action movie at times, rather than the biopic it was pitched as.

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Inception

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) cuts a deal with Saito (Ken Watanabe) and agrees to use his ability to enter people’s dreams for a special assignment involving business titan Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy). Along for the labyrinth-infused ride is Cobb’s new mind “architect,” Ariadne (Ellen Page). Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Tom Berenger and Dileep Rao also star in this sci-fi thriller from writer-director Christopher Nolan.

Brian
Rating: 10 out 0f 10

I actually saw this film on Thursday but need a few days to think about it before I submitted my review. Yes, it really is that thought provoking. In fact, there are so many adjectives to describe Inception that I thought I’d list a few: brilliant, spell-binding, thought-provoking, surrealistic, genius, dramatic, and visual. If it sounds like I’m over heaping praise on this film, it’s because it deserves it. Inception really is one those rare films that comes along every 3-4 years and makes you re-think what’s possible within the boundaries of the medium. I cannot remember a film in recent memory that inspired me as much as this one and it gets my absolute highest recommendation for those that like intelligent cinema.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the two people that really made this film shine. First, Leonardo Dicaprio; He really is on quite a roll. His resume is becoming legendary and he’s only 35 years old! His performance in “Inception” is excellent and holds the audience’s attention and makes the unbelievable seem believable. The other is Christopher Nolan who has never directed a bad film, and along with the Coen Brothers, is one of the 2(or 3 since they’re brothers) best directors working today.

This is the kind of film where in the hands of someone else could have been a disaster. But, Nolan holds it all together with fantastic pacing, visual excellence, and a storytelling-first mentality. He really has become one of the greatest film making minds on the planet.