The Dark Knight Rises

So I’m trying to think how I’d rate “The Dark Knight Rises” 

A few things I liked.  The fight scenes with Batman and Bane were intense all the way through.  Bale as Batman was great as expected.  He’s the best actor to put on the mask.  Bane was done really well.  Nolan not only made him someone with great strength, but also with substance.  I liked the way that Anne Hathaway portrayed Catwoman.  I don’t think she was pushed into story lines to much, and added something to the story.  Gordon-Levitt did a great job in his role to as a cop/detective.  The regulars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman were great as usual.  The Batmobile was destroyed in 2 and well there was no new tumbler but the bike was still there.

A few things I didn’t like.  Matthew Modine’s character felt forced and not really well introduced.  The mayor didn’t have a huge role in the film unlike he did in the previous 2.  The Bat (aka plane) was pushed in there I think for the Batman geeks. 

Now with that being said I’m giving it 8/10 (same as Batman Begins).  There was no way it was going to be better than The Dark Knight in my opinion.  Heath Ledger’s Joker and the interactions with Bale have that as one of my favorite movies of all time.  I want to see stories with this Batman and the Riddler.  The ending left me with wanting more from this story; I didn’t feel this was a conclusion.   I felt he’d be a great villain in the world that Nolan built.  I do hope this makes enough money to maybe “coax” the main players back. 

So that’s my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises, really good movie.  Enjoy it, this is the Batman series that we all wanted to see. 

8/10 Stars

The Fighter

The Fighter came out today on DVD, got it reserved on RedBox right away to watch tonight.  With a few pauses and then restarts I got through it and it was a great movie!  It's based on the story of boxer Mickey Ward and his rise to the Welterweight World Championship.  I'm going to have to do some research to see how much of it was "Hollywood" but the story and acting was great.  

Christian Bale was excellent as Dicky Ecklund and was worth of his Supporting Actor Oscar win.  He dropped weight to showcase Ecklund and had his role down.  I didn't care for Mickey's mom, portrayed by Melissa Leo (another Oscar win - Supporting Actress), it seemed as if she was using Mickey as a stepping stone for Dickey and his failures.  

Amy Adams was amazing in the role, I thought she should have won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, I thought she was Superior to Leo in this movie.  

Wahlberg didn't get the accolades acting that the other 3 did from the Oscars but he did great as Mickey Ward. He has also expressed interest in a sequel that shows Wards 3 battles in the ring with Aturo Gatti.

Going to give it 4 stars, defiantly worth a watch and rental. 

The Dark Knight Rises

So it came across the website Dark Horizons this week that the villains for the third installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman series were going to be Catwoman played by Anne Hathway, and Bane played by Tom Hardy.  For this more realistic version of Batman I love the selections.  Great villains to choose.  Penguin and Killer Croc and some of the other villains are harder to portray in the world that has been built by Nolan.  I love what Nolan has done.  He’s taken the Batman franchise to a whole new level.  The Dark Knight I thought was the film of the decade.  Heath Ledger’s Joker may be the best acting job I’ve ever seen, even it was a supporting role.  And I can’t wait for the new movie to hit next year.  My only hope is that Warner Brother’s throws enough money at Nolan and Bale to come back for a 4^th movie.  Reason being, in this Gotham that Nolan has created, the Riddler needs to be involved.  That character seems like a great fit and would just need the right story.  I really hate to see this world end with a 3^rd movie but really how can they top what they’ve already created.

Other movie tidbits.

• Dark Horizons posted a bunch of new photos from the XMen: The First Class
• New Spiderman pictures have also surfaced

• There is talk of rebooting the Lethal Weapon franchise?  Um no, don’t do it.  Create something new! Leave Briggs and Murtoch alone in film history.
• Captain America and Thor apparently have had rough drafts screened and got positive reviews

Thor is the first big movie (in my mind) to start the huge lineup this summer.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get to all the biggies that come out.  Looking forward to it.  Nothing really else is on my horizon to see but movies that are already out. 

Best Movie of the Decade

In the next 3 weeks the decade 2000-2009 will come to an end, so lots of media outlets, web sites, TV and radio shows are coming out with their best of the decade in all categories. Thought I’d throw it out on here too.

So the decade saw a lot of great movies. Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, American Psycho, No Country for Old Men, Wedding Crashers, Old School, and the Departed. My best movie of the decade is none of those. My best movie is something that would have won an Oscar had it not had been based on a comic. The story was great, the acting great, scenes and everything.

The best movie of the decade is DARK KNIGHT.


Heath Ledger caps of his career magnificently as the Joker. One would think it’s hard to top Jack Nicholson’s Joker from 1989, but Ledger did. If you’ve seen this, how could you not take your eyes of him. He was engrossed in the role. He was a psychopath, maniac, and dark….exactly what the Joker is. The rest of the cast is great. Bale is the best Batman since Michael Keaton, maybe better. The casting of Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox and Michael Caine as Alfred are excellent. Harvey Dent didn’t need to die in the movie, maybe expand on his character a bit, but tying him in and the turn was good. Maggie Gheylenhal taking over for Katie Holmes might have been the only drop off but doesn’t affect the movie.

If you haven’t seen it and are just reading this, you may have been spoiled a bit, but if you haven’t seen it…GO SEE IT!

Honorable Mention:
The Departed
A Beautiful Mind
Gladiator

Terminator Salvation

Nice ties back to the first 3 movies. Lot of guns and explosions. And more cyborgs. Thought Christian Bale used some of his "Batman voice" as John Connor, but he was ok as the resistance leader. Liked the Marcus Wright character too and his interactions with Kyle Reese. It was entertaining and think that the ties to the past 3 movies and the story line here set up another movie and maybe 2. SPOILER-so don't read on if you don't want to. Part of me thinks John Connor's human body is dead and his brain was transplanted to the cyborg Marcus to keep the resistance going instead of the cyborgs heart going to John's body.