What's good about "The Dark Knight Rises"

I'm very interested in leaving behind Christopher Nolan's latest film altogether, since it's rather brazenly overstaying its welcome in internet talk sessions, particularly for somebody who is not at all taken with it. Personally, I feel the need to move on towards other, optimistically better, film experiences, but I've caught myself with a few notions on "The Dark Knight Rises" that quite honestly aren't too shabby. If for no other reason than to alleviate some of the hate that's come my way due to my own personal opinion, which still stands. Just as most people can't understand why I hate it so fervently, I can't understand what so many people find great about it, but not for lack of trying.

Take for example the opening six minutes that played in front of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" half a year ago, which whet my appetite deliciously for what this film could be. I still maintain that it was a ridiculous and frankly overcomplicated scheme that served only to get this character, who is an absolutely cartoonish mad scientist. That doesn't stop it from being the lone example in the entire film of a true cinematic set piece, with some reservations. The sequence doesn't say a whole lot about the world these characters inhabit, other than the fact that the police and CIA are idiots. It doesn't come close to doing what The Joker announcement in "The Dark Knight" did, but it offers some legitimate and ambitious thrills that the rest of the film utterly fails on. Also, as a plus, the CIA agent looks like my uncle Joe, so that's something.

Film Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

I get tired of having to restate this opinion, but let me verify that I do not spend $15 to see a movie with the expectation, much less the intention, of hating it. Even with this particular film, against which this week has me particularly jaded, I went in with an open heart and a cautious mind, as I do with every film. When you get down to the bare skeleton of it, the film either has to be entertaining or compelling, which is something I can say both previous Batman films from Christopher Nolan did in unison. "Batman Begins" was stunning, insightful, and tightly plotted for the first 70 minutes, and "The Dark Knight" was a nonstop hammering of terrifying notions of terrorism, insanity, and political morality. Moreover, it was a complete piece of cinema, honest and deliberate in all its ideas.

Christopher Nolan has frequently stated that he always devotes himself to the film at hand, not thinking about the future and allowing for there not to be one after the film concludes. I assumed that would go both ways, with films not relying on past sympathy either. In respects to "The Dark Knight Rises", he breaks the promise that each of his films must stand on their own. However few people who go into this film with no previous knowledge of the series will be lost in rushed and extraneous story arcs. It doesn't work as a film on its own, but it doesn't trust the memory of the previous films. Alone, it's a string of plot details carried on from the first two films, but it doesn't tonally reconcile with the first two films in the slightest.

Batman, Marshall Fine, and being a film critic

This morning dealt a harsh blow to Christopher Nolan's already overhyped "The Dark Knight Rises", and one which may prove decisively crippling before the week is out. The floodgates recently opened regarding reviews for the trilogy conclusion, and that paved the way for several positive, even ecstatic, reviews to come rushing in. The excitement, hype, and one can assume general quality of Nolan's film have given it the best reviews of Nolan's career. It's something that I rather hope he deserves, and I would like to preface all this with as many well wishes as I can. Nolan puts undeniable effort into his films, as most who saw the goings on behind "Inception" will attest.

However, there will always be at least one negative review in the mix, and this time it isn't coming from Armond White, but from Marshall Fine of Hollywood and Fine, a site which is currently down, either for maintenance or avoidance of negative outlash. Any review where comparisons are made to "Transformers" is bound to get a certain amount of hostility, but given the overeager excitement that has been ballooning over the past several weeks, Fine got special treatment. Users over at Rotten Tomatoes took to the comment boards with their outrage, as they often do, in defense of the film. Defense, in this case, is wishing that Fine's site be pummeled into the ground, and pushing death threats upon him.

THE LISTS: Best below-the-line elements in Christopher Nolan's films

It's rather easy to underestimate how suffocating the cloud of hype for "The Dark Knight Rises" can be, even if you're trying to ignore it. Fact of the matter is that they simply didn't have a midnight screening for "Alps" for me to get excited about, so what else is a man supposed to do with his life except delve back into Nolan's filmography? Plenty ideas crossed my mind when deciding on where to focus my energies, one being the performances across Nolan's now eight films, but that's really something that requires much more time and further films in order to pick out the best. It's inferred that Nolan has plenty left in him.

At this moment, what seemed rather appropriate to do was go below-the-line with Nolan's films, especially considering how "The Dark Knight" achieved a rather difficult across the board perfection of sorts which this sequel hopes to continue. Nolan has worked with a lot of the same people across his career, switching up partners every once in a while when it seems prudent, and he's rather likely to find even more collaborators over the rest of his career, as well as continue the ones he has made. Given that we don't know what the future holds for him after "The Dark Knight Rises", which more and more is seemingly like a cutting point in Nolan's career, now is a rather good time to consider his collaborations thus far.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Trailer 3

I'd really like to get to a point of great excitement regarding Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises", but I know that the last way to get there is through the trailers. They have truly never known how to properly sell these films in marketing, always operating well within the material they have, and not diverging for something that's possibly better. Perhaps it's just my disdain for trailers and their knack to give away the game well in advance. That's why I can't muster up a high degree of enthusiasm for this film, but I want to. It sounds like an excellent proposal, but it relies on the execution. The previous flicks tend to fly a little kid-friendly, with cute jokes that really don't warrant inclusion. Hoping that doesn't happen again.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Trailer

It's rather difficult to post up something on a trailer that you haven't seen, and luckily I broke my self-embargo on film trailers for this particular one. I wish I hadn't, as it makes me all the more excited to see what Nolan has going on here. Notes of confusion from "The Dark Knight" continue irritatingly here, with many who keep asking annoying questions about what they think is going on. It gets old very quickly, but in short, I think Nolan is trying something rather special with this one. He's attempting to tie together the previous two movies in one final go, and though I have as much suspicion as I do anticipation, that's much of what makes this an appropriate tease. I'm done viewing trailers from this, and any other film next year. From here on, the floor is yours.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Teaser Trailer

I honestly haven't a damn clue why people are so damn disappointed about the new teaser for The Dark Knight Rises. The film is an entire year away from release, so what more could you have been expecting? I'd say we get a great deal more than we received from the teaser for The Dark Knight. It's clear that the stakes are raised, and Nolan's trilogy is effectively concluding. I'm hoping that he doesn't hold back on this one. I want massive hell to be unleashed upon Gotham, and this trailer hints at about as much as that. With luck, this could be the perfect joining of the pulp excitement of Batman Begins with the realistic tension of The Dark Knight.

"The Dark Knight Rises" teaser poster goes gray!

"Dark Knight", "John Carter", "Sherlock Holmes", and "Contagion" trailers playing in front of "Potter" finale

If that title is too insanely long for you, know that it's in service of fantastic news. On the heels of discussion about fantastic film trailers of the past, the final film in the Harry Potter series has just received an extra bump of anticipation. With everybody already in line for the midnight showing, it seems that every studio out there is trying to feed off the event by premiering trailers for their high profile projects. It seems that way, but in actuality Warner Bros. is trying to fuel most of its upcoming hits, with one particular hits standing above the rest.

There's no reason to beat around the bush. The first trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, capping off Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, is set to make its debut. Of course, I don't expect much more than a simple tease, because the teaser for The Dark Knight was purely dialogue driven, and the Inception teaser did nothing to answer questions about Nolan's mystery project. Still, expect it to get people talking until another trailer comes around sometime between December and January. Nolan knows better than to blow his wad a year in advance.

On a less massive point, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is also expected to throw a trailer into the ring. They already placed a few posters online, showing off a once more bearded Jared Harris as Moriarty. Here's hoping they do all they can to make his character as fascinating as possible. Steven Soderberg's Contagion is finally getting a trailer, which could work the same way The Town did last year. However, the trailer I'm most anticipating is outside of Warner Bros., and instead from Disney. Andrew Stanton's John Carter gets a teaser, and just in time. I was nervous that we wouldn't get a first look until November. I'm just glad that it's actually been happening. There's also word on a trailer for Martin Scorcese's Hugo, but we'll wait to see if that's any more than just rumor. In any case, the trailers are enough reason to shell out $10 at the theater.

Fincher and Nolan on the genius of Malick

It's nice to see that there's a very obvious line of succession through certain filmmakers and their influences. Since he's only really made five films, it's easy to downsize Terrence Malick's influence, but his films are still such massive achievements going back as far as the 1970s. Malick takes his time on his films, as made evident from the long gap between each individual venture. So it's not all that surprising that he served as influence towards such mainstream magnates as David Fincher and Christopher Nolan. It almost seems like an insult to the two to call them "mainstream". All the same, if you look at the aesthetic of Malick's films, you can see a bit of that trickle down into the works Fincher and Nolan.

"The Man Dresses Up Like a Bat. Clearly He Has Issues."

I feel like Christopher Nolan could craft this into the plot for Inception 2, if he were ever to make one. In any case, this is a really fun interesting fan item.

Those We've Forgotten...

So it does look like this following week is going to be moderately simple in approach. I'll hand out my weekdaily clips of films coming out this week, and then pretty much try to find something to talk about or comment on in the meantime. Today, that happens to be a piece that Alex Carlson, founder of Film Misery, published today on his reworked list of the greatest working directors. Entertainment Weekly did a similar list, but they skewed far too much towards the popular. You could tell that Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorcese, and David Fincher would be closer to the top, so I found Carlson's list to be revealing in more than one way.

For one thing, he keeps heavyweights like Peter Jackson, Christopher Nolan, and Sam Mendes in 20-11 range, rather than pushing them to the front. For another, I had quite honestly forgotten that some of these directors had work coming out this year. For example, do you remember Alexander Payne? No reason you should, expect that he directed Sideway, About Schmidt, and Election, three of the most interesting films released around the turn of the millennium. He has another film coming out this year, The Descendants, starring George Clooney as a man trying to reconnect with his two daughters as he deals with a developing schizophrenia problem. In a world of ten nominees for Best Picture, tell me with a straight face that's not going to be nominated.

Speaking of ten nominations, for years David Cronenberg has been just outside of the five, with fascinatingly dark films like A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. How he hasn't gotten a nomination yet is far beyond my vision. He is re-teaming with Viggo Mortensen for the third time on A Dangerous Method, the story of famed psychologists Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). I expect another wonderfully textured and hopefully grisly feature from Cronenberg. The list goes on to feature obvious legends such as Danny Boyle, Woody Allen, Guillermo Del Toro, and Quentin Tarantino, but there were some directors I had honestly forgotten about. Check out the list here, and comment on your thoughts over at Carlson's site.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Director

It's widely assumed that the winner of Best Picture usually comes out with the Oscar for Best Director as well, and it's happened so often that it's become difficult to diverse the two. Based on that assumption, Tom Hooper should by all means be going home with the Oscar tomorrow for The King's Speech, and I pray that that does not happen. That would be a catastrophic blow to the Academy's reputation, because Hooper is completely new to the awards field, and that's beside the fact that his direction doesn't leave any imprint on the feature. It's quite obviously plain and indistinct in appearance, which obviously works for the average moviegoer, but doesn't work with the quality obsessed.

To be honest, I didn't believe that Hooper would even be nominated, because there were such dynamic impressions that the other directors this year gave within their films. I expected Danny Boyle to make it in for carrying 127 Hours right along with Franco. Even more than that, I expected Christopher Nolan to be nominated for Inception, as most others did. The man has created such a wide diversity of moods and expressions across his career, and whenever we felt lost during Inception, he brought the vision to show us the way. There was a forward motion to his direction that kept the project together.

David O. Russell has me in a divided place, because while I have massively lightened up on The Fighter, I still think that he was missing his own personal groove. It was closer to distinction than Hooper achieved. I'll give him that. I'm still greatly impressed with Joel & Ethan Coen's work on True Grit, keeping a streak of gritty authenticity that the film would have been lost without. And David Fincher? Well, seeing as he's the most likely to win this Sunday, he quite obviously brought the goods to the job. He truly reinvented himself, drawing a line away from his past films like Fight Club and Se7en. In every single scene of The Social Network, you can see an attention to detail far beyond any other. To not reward that would be a shame.

Personally, my own interests skew darker than that, and I'm put in favor of Darren Aronofsky for his work on Black Swan. It's quite possibly the most impressive directing job of his career, because I wasn't taken with The Fountain, and The Wrestler was mostly a showcase for Mickey Rourke. Black Swan brims with distinction, creating a fine conceivable line between the two sides of each character and pushing towards the heart of the matter. It's highly meticulous emotional territory, not to mention the specificity required in the world of ballet. Aronofsky no doubt had to take a crash course in ballet like all the actors in the film, just to get into the heart of the world he was creating. It's an emotional feast in the most subtle of ways, always straying away from being too obvious. Unfortunately, this isn't the year Aronofsky wins, and we'll have to wait for that to happen.

1. Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
2. David Fincher (The Social Network)
3. Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
4. David O. Russell (The Fighter)
5. Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)

Will Win: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Should Win: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
Potential Upset: Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Should Have Been Nominated: Christopher Nolan (Inception)

What's Next: Best Original & Adapted Screenplay

Since we've already talked about all the actors and actresses nominated for this year's Academy Awards, lets head into the people working behind the camera and what they'll be working on next. Some of them are kind of obvious, since Christopher Nolan is obviously finishing up rewrites on The Dark Knight Rises. What we did not know until just recently, and regard this as merely a possibility at the moment, is that he might be working on his own Howard Hughes biopic after he wraps up his superhero trilogy. Plenty of people have already suggested that he go all meta with it and cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes. I know I'd certainly be on board for that.

Another Year writer Mike Leigh doesn't have anything lined up yet, so while were waiting you might want to actually see the film he's nominated for. None of the writers of The Fighter have anything in the works yet, so there's no point in mentioning all their names. For that matter, Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right), David Seidler (The King's Speech), Debra Granik (Winter's Bone), and Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit) have nothing slated for next year. This is a field that doesn't really demand that you get back to work immediately, so there's bound to be a few people taking a break.

Simon Beaufoy is breaking off of his alliance with Danny Boyle for a bit so he can work on Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. After working on Toy Story 3, Michael Arndt is taking on Rock of Ages for director Adam Shankman. The director has never made anything truly great, but I trust the integrity of the writer to bring us something worthwhile. Finally, and this is the one people are going to want to hear about, Aaron Sorkin did some revisions on the screenplay for this year's Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, so that will definitely be on our radar. He also bought the rights to The Politician, a book about John Edwards, with hopes of writing and directing it himself for his directorial debut.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Original Screenplay

Here is yet another case of determining what should win in opposition to what actually will win. The only film nominated for Best Original Screenplay that I haven't seen is Another Year, and as things are right now, most people haven't gotten around to it. That's probably the main reason it didn't get any more nominations than this, and that's clearly a shame. However, we can't really do anything about that now, so we can only deal with what we've been given. The film that's undoubtedly going to win is The King's Speech, which is prepping to tie with Inception and The Social Network for most wins next Sunday. Going over the film again, things are rather predictable, and the dialogue a bit forced. It has the touch of experience from a former stammerer, but not much more than that.

There is a chance that Inception could come in for the win here, seeing as it already won the WGA award about two weeks ago. That was the greatest glimmer of light in this predictable awards season, and if anything's going to upset The King's Speech, it will be Nolan's film. That's something I'm desperately hoping for. If the world were to go by my own specific plan, as I sometime imagine it should, The Kids Are All Right would walk away with this specific prize. Across the past several months, the one thing that has stayed a constant is Lisa Cholodenko's suburban comedy, and I remain steadfastly in love with the film. The only lacking bit of the script is Julianne Moore's still heart-rendering confession to the family at the end of the film, but everything other than that is gold.

The only other contender in this race, and the one that doesn't stand a single chance in hell, is The Fighter. Since seeing the film, I have greatly lightened up on it, and it's been making its way up the ranks over the past few weeks, but the predictable story remains predictable. I would much rather have had Black Swan be nominated here, because there are some wonderfully original ideas employed in Aronofsky's latest work of art. It's a pity that isn't nominated.

1. The Kids Are All Right
2. Inception
3. Another Year
4. The King's Speech
5. The Fighter

Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: The Kids Are All Right
Potential Upset: Inception
Should Have Been Nominated: Black Swan

"Enveloped In His Rapture"

It's a bit too easy to forget why Inception was such a towering achievement, so consider this a healthy reminder.

Awards 2010: Writer's Guild of America Winners

This week, I did something that I haven't done since late 2009. I sat down and watched Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight from start to finish. I'd seen fragments of it on television, usually during the ambitious gotham city car chase that takes place in the middle of the film. I can honestly say that I've never fully realize the full scale of Nolan's accomplishment until just now. At face value, it's a dark crime thriller with some breathtaking action set-pieces propelling it, but what always shook me to my core was that final 25 minutes. The Joker had already made it abundantly clear of his intention to show the citizens of Gotham as the murderous fiends they truly are. Ultimately what that final showdown, and what the entire film actually boils down to is the struggle to keep hope alive at whatever the cost. The stakes are made so personal by the face-off between Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon, and that menace shows how painful it is to live in a world with absolutely no hope. That was what made the film so unforgettable.

With that said, Inception is never going to come close to what that film meant and what that film did. To even suggest that is crazy, because Nolan creates a softer film with less emotional stakes. It's dazzlingly well crafted with a powerful and under-appreciated supporting turn from Marion Cotillard, but it won't be what Nolan is remembered for. Recently I have been twisting and turning at how unbearably predictable the Oscar race has become, and it's so unbearable because it's currently in favor of The King's Speech, which is quickly becoming my least favorite film of the bunch, aside from The Fighter. It's amazing how unanimous praise can expose your despise for a film.

Yet this evening we got a glimmer of hope that maybe everything isn't set in stone. Inception took home the WGA award for Best Original Screenplay, making it Nolan's first win at the prestigious awards. For the past seven years the WGA has been spot on in predicting the outcome of the race, despite the strict rules of qualification. This year, The King's Speech was cut out of the race because of such technicalities, so this could break the WGA's streak of voting so correctly. However, I manage to believe that Nolan still has a shot at the win. The message of outcry amongst the fans at Nolan's omission from Best Director has been heard, so voting for Inception could also work as a bit of damage control.

Of course Aaron Sorkin also took the obvious win for his precise screenplay for The Social Network, which has a much greater struggle for the win in Best Picture. It'll be a struggle for David Fincher to recieve his deserved Best Director win against the undeserving Tom Hooper. I feel a greater stream of optimism this evening than I have in a long time. I've adjusted my Oscar Predictions page, so check it out. The winners are listed below.

Best Original Screenplay: Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Documentary Writing: Inside Job
Miniseries/TV Movie Adapted Screenplay: The Pacific
Miniseries/TV Movie Original Screenplay: The Special Relationship
Episodic Comedy: Modern Family
Episodic Drama: Mad Men
New Series: Boardwalk Empire

Oscar 2010: Nomination Reactions, Surprises, and Snubs

The dust hasn't really settled, and I'll say it'll be up in the air for a few days since these nominations were announced. We knew there were going to be a few surprises, but we hadn't the foggiest idea what they were. Now we do, so lets start at the bottom with my reactions and work our way up. The short film categories don't grab much attention, and they never have. We'll have to seek them out in order know more, but I'm glad Day and Night snagged a nod. I never saw what people didn't like about that one. TRON Legacy was snubbed for Visual Effects, most likely due to that distracting Jeff Bridges doppelganger, so that left a place open for a film to sneak in. Unfortunately, it wasn't Scott Pilgrim vs. the World as I predicted, but Hereafter for that one tsunami scene. I'm alright, if alright means despondent.

I hadn't an idea at all of what would be nominated for Best Sound Editing and Mixing, so I all the surprises are a bit negated by that. Salt and Unstoppable making it in was mildly surprising, but even more shocking was that Black Swan was snubbed for both. I thought it had some heat going in those categories, but it seems I was wrong. A few of my friends will be disappointed that Burlesque went home with absolutely no nominations, specifically in the Original Song category. I'm glad Toy Story 3 and Tangled made it in for "We Belong Together" and "I See The Light", respectively. Only four nominations is also a bit surprising, without a doubt.

No doubles for Desplat for Original Score, but he did get in for The King's Speech, so count that for what it is. Only real surprise in that race is that A.R. Rahman made it in for 127 Hours, a score which I wasn't really too taken with. My first big victory lap is in the Makeup category where, even though The Wolfman was horribly nominated, Alice in Wonderland was snubbed and The Way Back and Barney's Version made it in! You cannot believe how happy that makes me. I would be so much happier if it weren't for the next news, which is the first blow against Christopher Nolan's most recent success. Inception was snubbed for Film Editing! This was the first sign that this wasn't going to be Nolan's year. Perhaps they're pushing him to do better with The Dark Knight Rises. I can't know for sure.

Anne Hathaway Cast in "Dark Knight Rises"

Things are becoming a little clearer when it comes to the final film in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, because we finally know who the villains will be, and who will play them. I'm always cautious about which news I believe, and which is complete rubbish. Seeing as this is coming from Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan, I'm willing to believe that it is the truth, but I am comprehensive nonetheless. Anne Hathaway, who most recently underwhelmed audiences and critics in the shallow Love and Other Drugs, has been cast in the role of Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman in terms of the comic mythology. On top of that, it's been confirmed that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Christopher Nolan has made some brilliant films in the past, and they've had an increasingly massive scale to them. Nolan is currently fighting it out with David Seidler for the Academy Award for Original Screenplay, so I'm not about to question his genius. I still can't shake the gross image of Bane from Batman and Robin from my head, but I also thought I'd never get the cheesy nightmare of Jack Nicholson's Joker out of my head. Tackling a villain from the film that had seemingly ended the franchise more than a decade ago is a bold move, and I'm sure it'll be better than we're envisioning it. As for Anne Hathaway, it's hard for me to see her in the role, because the last film she was in didn't really embellish her best. Nolan has extracted some great performances from his casts, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, as I did after he announced he was starting on Inception. Look how that turned out. Please comment on what you think of these developments. Optimistic? Pessimistic?

Awards 2010: Director's Guild of America Nominations

The guild awards season does tend to seem a little single-faceted at times, mostly because they have one basic category to decide on each. When it comes to the DGA, I'm a bit surprised at the nominations. Most of them are right on the money, but I find it a bit shocking that David O. Russell made the cut for The Fighter while Joel & Ethan Coen were snubbed for True Grit. Other than that, I have no qualms or quarries with this year's nominations. I'm pretty sure David Fincher will end up winning, but I'd like to think that Darren Aronofsky still has a chance.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”)
David O. Russell (“The Fighter”)
Christopher Nolan (“Inception”)
Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”)
David Fincher (“The Social Network”)