‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Blu-Ray Features Trailer —
BR available Dec 4.
(Vidpost by FilmsActuTrailers)
‘How The Dark Knight Rises Should Have Ended’ —
BY HISHE. Via mattynicegy
Christopher Nolan, Happy Birthday —
Born: Christopher Johnathan James Nolan on July 30, 1970 in London, England.
Credits include: The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Inception (2010), Memento (2000).
“Alfred. Gordon. Lucius. Bruce … Wayne. Names that have come to mean so much to me. Today, I’m three weeks from saying a final good-bye to these characters and their world. It’s my son’s ninth birthday. He was born as the Tumbler was being glued together in my garage from random parts of model kits. Much time, many changes. A shift from sets where some gunplay or a helicopter were extraordinary events to working days where crowds of extras, building demolitions, or mayhem thousands of feet in the air have become familiar.
“People ask if we’d always planned a trilogy. This is like being asked whether you had planned on growing up, getting married, having kids. The answer is complicated. When David and I first started cracking open Bruce’s story, we flirted with what might come after, then backed away, not wanting to look too deep into the future. I didn’t want to know everything that Bruce couldn’t; I wanted to live it with him. I told David and Jonah to put everything they knew into each film as we made it. The entire cast and crew put all they had into the first film. Nothing held back. Nothing saved for next time. They built an entire city. Then Christian and Michael and Gary and Morgan and Liam and Cillian started living in it. Christian bit off a big chunk of Bruce Wayne’s life and made it utterly compelling. He took us into a pop icon’s mind and never let us notice for an instant the fanciful nature of Bruce’s methods.
“I never thought we’d do a second—how many good sequels are there? Why roll those dice? But once I knew where it would take Bruce, and when I started to see glimpses of the antagonist, it became essential. We re-assembled the team and went back to Gotham. It had changed in three years. Bigger. More real. More modern. And a new force of chaos was coming to the fore. The ultimate scary clown, as brought to terrifying life by Heath. We’d held nothing back, but there were things we hadn’t been able to do the first time out—a Batsuit with a flexible neck, shooting on Imax. And things we’d chickened out on—destroying the Batmobile, burning up the villain’s blood money to show a complete disregard for conventional motivation. We took the supposed security of a sequel as license to throw caution to the wind and headed for the darkest corners of Gotham.
“I never thought we’d do a third—are there any great second sequels? But I kept wondering about the end of Bruce’s journey, and once David and I discovered it, I had to see it for myself. We had come back to what we had barely dared whisper about in those first days in my garage. We had been making a trilogy. I called everyone back together for another tour of Gotham. Four years later, it was still there. It even seemed a little cleaner, a little more polished. Wayne Manor had been rebuilt. Familiar faces were back—a little older, a little wiser … but not all was as it seemed.
“Gotham was rotting away at its foundations. A new evil bubbling up from beneath. Bruce had thought Batman was not needed anymore, but Bruce was wrong, just as I had been wrong. The Batman had to come back. I suppose he always will.
“Michael, Morgan, Gary, Cillian, Liam, Heath, Christian … Bale. Names that have come to mean so much to me. My time in Gotham, looking after one of the greatest and most enduring figures in pop culture, has been the most challenging and rewarding experience a filmmaker could hope for. I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he’ll miss me, but he’s never been particularly sentimental.”
- Christopher Nolan
Via: comingsoon.net|digitalcollage|danhacker
![‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Review by Steve Oatney —
Well, I started writing this review yesterday, before the tragedy in Aurora Colorado happened early this morning. I’ve been finding it ever so difficult to Finish writing my review of a film that is now tainted with the real-life spilled blood of the victims of the horrific event. Again, my heart and thoughts go to those directly, and indirectly affected by the shootings.
Having said that, I still feel it is necessary to review what I consider to be one of the best films of the year, and one of the best superhero films, to date, so here we go…
Two hours and forty-four minutes passed without a thought. TDKR is a long film, but does not feel excessive, save the last few minutes that could have been edited, or perhaps removed. Not to spoil, but the epilogue vignettes are somewhat unnecessary, though I didn’t dislike them as much as my film critic friends apparently did, in our post-film discussions.
Let’s do some comparisons, how does that sound? Let’s start by comparing the character Bane in TDKR and Batman & Robin. While I would have liked to have seen more of Tom Hardy’s full-face, as acting with a mask covering one’s face presents serious difficulties, I have to say his Bane was MUCH more realistic and believable than Joel Schumacher’s in 1997. The difference is that Christopher Nolan did not follow, in any way, what Tim Burton, nor Schumacher did with their respective story telling of the Bruce Wayne legend which began in comic books, so many decades ago. Less of a cartoon, and more of a modern-day warrior psychopath, makes Tom Hardy’s Bane a fearsome and formidable foe for the Bat. For those who know the comic book storyline, the character may deviate in some ways, but some of his his actions stay ever true to canon.
For those who may not know, there have been A LOT of Catwomen on the big, and small, screens. Live-action actresses Eartha Kitt, and Julie Newmar played the cat-burglar on television, and Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Halle Berry brought her to the big-screen. In my opinion, Pfeiffer is the only comparison to make against Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman, as the other actresses were either working within the limited campy versions of the character, or were not given powerful enough stories with which to work. While I loved Pfeiffer’s Cat, I have to say that Hathaway’s updated character not only works well, but surprised me, pleasantly, that she could pull it off without it coming off overdone and overacted.
OK, how about we briefly compare Nolan’s three Bat films, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. While TDK has firmly planted itself as one of the best superhero films of all time, Batman Begins was no slouch of a film in the sci-fi category. TDKR is a Nolan film, in the vein of both of his prior Bat-films, but it stands alone as its own entity. It is a whole new hero’s journey (much like Batman Begins), but with a healthy dose of darkness (like TDK).
What about our returning actors, you ask? Well, first off, Michael Caine as Alfred needs some recognition here, as he is given more than one good slice of dialogue which he delivered with practiced accuracy and seasoned talent. Morgan Freeman (one of my all-time favorite actors) is given some significant screen-time, but his character isn’t as integral and interesting this go-round. Christian Bale passed the Bruce Wayne test, and was again believable in that character, but Nolan didn’t seem to demand anything new from his portrayal, other than starting him off as out-of-shape and ill. Gary Oldman (another all-time favorite) reprised Jim Gordon with a good helping of being a key player in the film, which was well appreciated.
One last bit on actors [spoiler-less]. The new faces of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, and Matthew Modine really upped the ante for quality actors and their characters had developing depth which were perfect additions to the film’s story arc.
Two last things. 1) Will those in the Occupy Wall Street movement be pleased with this film? My guess is no. Direct comparisons can be made between the film’s criminal element, and the OWS, painting them in a less than flattering light. 2) Was The Dark Knight Rises BETTER than The Avengers? How dare you ask me that? That is like asking me to choose between DC and Marvel comics. However, I must say that while I’ll watch The Avengers more often, over and over, once I own it on Blu-Ray… I might have trouble calling it “better” than Rises.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7h3f393lc1qzgwuwo1_500.jpg)
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Review by Steve Oatney —
Well, I started writing this review yesterday, before the tragedy in Aurora Colorado happened early this morning. I’ve been finding it ever so difficult to Finish writing my review of a film that is now tainted with the real-life spilled blood of the victims of the horrific event. Again, my heart and thoughts go to those directly, and indirectly affected by the shootings.
Having said that, I still feel it is necessary to review what I consider to be one of the best films of the year, and one of the best superhero films, to date, so here we go…
Two hours and forty-four minutes passed without a thought. TDKR is a long film, but does not feel excessive, save the last few minutes that could have been edited, or perhaps removed. Not to spoil, but the epilogue vignettes are somewhat unnecessary, though I didn’t dislike them as much as my film critic friends apparently did, in our post-film discussions.
Let’s do some comparisons, how does that sound? Let’s start by comparing the character Bane in TDKR and Batman & Robin. While I would have liked to have seen more of Tom Hardy’s full-face, as acting with a mask covering one’s face presents serious difficulties, I have to say his Bane was MUCH more realistic and believable than Joel Schumacher’s in 1997. The difference is that Christopher Nolan did not follow, in any way, what Tim Burton, nor Schumacher did with their respective story telling of the Bruce Wayne legend which began in comic books, so many decades ago. Less of a cartoon, and more of a modern-day warrior psychopath, makes Tom Hardy’s Bane a fearsome and formidable foe for the Bat. For those who know the comic book storyline, the character may deviate in some ways, but some of his his actions stay ever true to canon.
For those who may not know, there have been A LOT of Catwomen on the big, and small, screens. Live-action actresses Eartha Kitt, and Julie Newmar played the cat-burglar on television, and Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Halle Berry brought her to the big-screen. In my opinion, Pfeiffer is the only comparison to make against Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman, as the other actresses were either working within the limited campy versions of the character, or were not given powerful enough stories with which to work. While I loved Pfeiffer’s Cat, I have to say that Hathaway’s updated character not only works well, but surprised me, pleasantly, that she could pull it off without it coming off overdone and overacted.
OK, how about we briefly compare Nolan’s three Bat films, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. While TDK has firmly planted itself as one of the best superhero films of all time, Batman Begins was no slouch of a film in the sci-fi category. TDKR is a Nolan film, in the vein of both of his prior Bat-films, but it stands alone as its own entity. It is a whole new hero’s journey (much like Batman Begins), but with a healthy dose of darkness (like TDK).
What about our returning actors, you ask? Well, first off, Michael Caine as Alfred needs some recognition here, as he is given more than one good slice of dialogue which he delivered with practiced accuracy and seasoned talent. Morgan Freeman (one of my all-time favorite actors) is given some significant screen-time, but his character isn’t as integral and interesting this go-round. Christian Bale passed the Bruce Wayne test, and was again believable in that character, but Nolan didn’t seem to demand anything new from his portrayal, other than starting him off as out-of-shape and ill. Gary Oldman (another all-time favorite) reprised Jim Gordon with a good helping of being a key player in the film, which was well appreciated.
One last bit on actors [spoiler-less]. The new faces of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, and Matthew Modine really upped the ante for quality actors and their characters had developing depth which were perfect additions to the film’s story arc.
Two last things. 1) Will those in the Occupy Wall Street movement be pleased with this film? My guess is no. Direct comparisons can be made between the film’s criminal element, and the OWS, painting them in a less than flattering light. 2) Was The Dark Knight Rises BETTER than The Avengers? How dare you ask me that? That is like asking me to choose between DC and Marvel comics. However, I must say that while I’ll watch The Avengers more often, over and over, once I own it on Blu-Ray… I might have trouble calling it “better” than Rises.
I Live in Denver, Colorado
As you know, I review films. What you may not have known, is that I live just a few short miles from Aurora, here in Colorado. Aurora is a suburb East of Denver proper.
This morning, I’m finding it quite difficult to focus on finishing my review of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ as I am feeling intense sorrow for the families affected by the shooting at the midnight showing, last night. I’m also harboring a great deal of anger towards the killer.
My thoughts are with the people caught unaware in that theater, and the people of Aurora, who may now think twice about going to see movies in their city.
As a fan of Batman, for over three decades, I will get around to posting my review of the film, later on. I will do so, with a heavy heart, but I will wait a while, out of respect for the dead, and for those suffering. Lastly, I’d like to send out a quick “thank you,” to those who have worked all night on aiding the injured and distraught, and to law-enforcement who have hopefully captured the guilty criminal and will see him brought to justice.
- Steve Oatney
12 Dead, 38 Wounded, at Batman Movie in Colorado —
(CBS/AP) AURORA, Colo. - A gas mask-wearing gunman opened fire early Friday at a suburban Denver movie theater, leaving at least 12 people dead and dozens more injured, police said.
The violent and chaotic scene erupted about 12:30 a.m. local time as the suspected gunman, identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, stood at the front of one of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall where the latest Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” was playing. Witnesses reported that the gunman entered the theater through an emergency exit door and threw a gas canister before opening fire.
