Category: Reviews
The Dark Knight Rises: Review
The latest and final installment in Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight Trilogy takes place eight years after The Dark Knight. Organized crime has for the most part been stopped due to the “Dent Act” and Gotham is in a state of peace. Batman has completely disappeared from the public eye after being accused of Harvey Dent’s death and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has become a recluse. Wayne Enterprises is going under and Bruce Wayne is almost completely broke. A man named named John Daggett is attempting a takeover of the business and employing every tactic he possibly can to succeed. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and a young detective named John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are the only few people left on the local police force that still believe in The Batman. Blake talks to Wayne and is able to more or less figure out that he is indeed the Cape Crusader. He tries to convince him the city still needs The Dark Knight. It’s only after a man known as Bane (Tom Hardy) appears in Gotham and creates chaos that Batman once again makes his presence known. With Selina Kyle’s (Anne Hathaway) help, Bane is able to take control of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s weapon room, let loose all the prisoners in Blackgate Prison and create an army of followers for his cause. All that is left for Batman to do is to stop Bane at all costs and try to return order to Gotham City.
Wow, where to start. This incarnation of Batman has to be the best that I’ve ever seen and I’m absolutely positive that no one will argue with that statement one bit. After The Dark Knight was released and was critically loved I was very interested on how they were going to top it. I don’t know if I can say that they topped it but they made it equally fantastic. With Joker being an anarchist and “mental” type of villain the only other option would be to have someone go up against Batman that was the exact opposite. Bane is a man that is intelligent but uses brute force and physicality to get the results he wants. The other movie version of Bane that we saw showed him as a huge meat-headed luchador. Thanks to Nolan and the world that he created that is much more realistic (well as realistic as you can get) we didn’t see any of that. What we did see was a very formidable foe and physical match for Batman. Tom Hardy brought to the role exactly what was needed. The only thing that bothered me (but wasn’t horrible) was Bane’s accent. A lot of the people had something to say about him being very muffled but that wasn’t even it for me. Something about the tone of his voice that made it seem weird. Michael Caine was again great as Alfred Pennyworth. Nolan really showed the evolution of the relationship between the two. The father/son/best friend aspect really showed in one of the more emotional moments when Alfred tearfully resigned after pleading to Bruce to not put the cape and cowl back on. The inclusion of Selina Kyle aka Catwoman fit in perfectly as she brought in the sex appeal and kind of connected the dots between some of the characters. I honestly think she was the best Catwoman I’ve seen. Hathaway almost had a bit of a feline feel to the way she delivered her lines without being overly cheesy (Thank god she didn’t say “Puuuurrrfect” or anything like that). The John Blake character was rather interesting seeing as no one knew any more than him just being a straight laced cop. Joesph Gordon-Levitt really did wonders with this character. Halfway through the movie I knew Blake was going to be important but I wasn’t sure to what degree. SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t seen the movie already then stop here. When it was revealed at the end of the movie that John Blake’s birth name was Robin I thought that was a great an clever way of including him without including him. Nolan was smart enough to add him in but not bombard you with it to allow the character to develop on its own and not have the viewer keep thinking “He’s Robin, He’s Robin”. If you are a fan of the comics then you know that Robin’s name isn’t Robin so I felt like he did more or less as a nod to the fans. In the film’s finale it is shown that Bruce Wayne is apparently dead and leaves his estate to the local boys home. He also leaves coordinates for John Blake to an undisclosed location. When he reaches the destination its shown that it’s the Batcave and that Wayne wants Blake to continue on as Batman. It was a great ending to a phenomenal trilogy. They ended on a note that they had been mentioning throughout the series. Batman is more of a symbol than an actual person. The movie could’ve probably been trimmed down a bit and had a bit more of the Dark Knight himself but in the end it was another excellent movie from an excellent director. I don’t even have to say go see it because I’m sure by now all of you have……multiple times 🙂
Savages: Review
Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in this film directed by Oliver Stone from the novel written by Don Winslow. Chon (Kitsch) and Ben (Taylor-Johnson) are best friends that decide to go into the marijuana distribution business after Chon smuggles rare seeds from Afghanistan during his duty as a soldier in the military. Soon after their business takes off and start to develop a wide customer base. This of course grabs the attention of a cartel in Mexico. The cartel sends them a video of several people being decapitated and lets them know that they are aware of their operations and would like to meet with them. After meeting with them and denying their offer for a partnership they kidnap Chon and Ben’s girlfriend O (Blake Lively) and threaten to kill her if they don’t do what the cartel wants. Chon and Ben decide to take them head on and get their girlfriend back and nothing will stand in their way.
I was made aware of this movie by Bruce Cook (Editor-in-Chief at Gonzogeek.com) and showed me the novel that it is based on. He asked me to read the first chapter and I did. “Fuck You” were the two words that were on the page. I flipped the page over and there started chapter two and after seeing that I was sold on it. I went in hoping that Kitsch was going to really shine in this. I think he’s really talented and I want to see him to his full potential. He really hasn’t been in the best movies recently (We’ll just forget about Wolverine and Battleship). I still feel like some of his best work was in Friday Night Lights (TV show) so usually everything he’s in, I compare to that. He didn’t disappoint one bit. I’m just really glad that Stone pulled the best performance from him. Hopefully this will turn things around for him a bit. Taylor-Johnson was fantastic in this as well. He has such a different look to him that I pretty much didn’t recognize him until the end of the movie (If you don’t know, he is the title character in Kick-Ass). His character is the Ying to Kitsch’s Yang. They complete and balance each other out nicely. Then there’s Lively who is the reason for the guys going on this “mission”. She played the usual damsel in distress role…..only she’s a pothead. Like I said, she is an integral part of the movie but I feel like she could’ve been an bit more lively (total pun intended) and not just gliding along through scenes. Benicio Del Toro makes his appearance as a enforcer for the cartel named Lado. All of Del Toro’s roles seem to be the same and this one is pretty much no different…..except he has a horrible mexican accent that sounds like he’s trying to imitate George Lopez. John Travolta plays a corrupt DEA agent and he plays it well. There’s something about his demeanor and delivery of some of the dialogue that makes you feel like he’s such a scumbag. Finally, Salma Hayek plays Elena, the cartel leader. She was extraordinary! Her intensity in the role was great and really made you believe that she could kill someone on the spot for crossing her. She has always been a favorite of mine and this cemented her spot. On top of the great story comes the great camera work and editing. Lots of angles and various types of cameras used. Classic Oliver Stone style and I really can’t wait to see the next thing he does. Go check it out
Ted: Review
Seth MacFarlane co-wrote, produced, played the voice of the title character as well as this being his live action full length directorial debut. Mark Wahlberg stars as John Bennett, a kid that no one seems to like or get along with. One Christmas Day he receives an adorable stuffed teddy bear that instantly becomes his best friend which he names Ted. He then makes a wish that changes everything. He wishes that Ted was real. Word spreads fast and next thing you know he becomes a celebrity. Fast forward 27 yeas later and Ted’s celebrity status went downhill. He and John are still best friends that do what most lazy slackers do: get drunk and get high. Its not until John’s girlfriend of four years (played by Mila Kunis) gives him an ultimatum that things being to change in the relationship between a man and his bear.
I haven’t seen a whole lot of MacFarlane’s animated shows (Family Guy, American Dad) but the bit that I have seen made me a fan of the randomness of it all and Ted is nothing different. The humor is raunchy if not more raunchy than anything you would usually see from MacFarlane and smart as well. Although in a packed theater some of the jokes went over the crowds head and all I heard was crickets. For the record, I thought they were funny. The other glorious thing that was so random was the two characters (somewhat crazy) love of Flash Gordon. The dream sequence involving Mark Wahlberg is hilariously cheesy. Wahlbeg hasn’t done too many comedy roles but I feel like this might be one of his strong points. He has great comedic timing and he is believable in his role as a doofus/slacker type. Mila Kunis has also proved that she can hang with the guys when it comes to disgusting comedy but still coming off as a voice of reason to John. I recommend this movie only if you want to laugh your butt off and are not easily offended.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Review
In this reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise directed by Marc Webb (I think they picked him purposely…lol) Andrew Garfield stars as the web-slinger Peter Parker and Emma Stone as his love interest Gwen Stacey. This film retells the origin of Spider-Man starting from Peter Parker being your run of the mill brainy, nerdy high school kid to him getting bit by a spider and gaining superpowers after taking a trip to a research facility. He quickly realizes that having that kind of power does require a certain sense of responsibility.
I have been exposed to Spider-Man’s origin story many times over the years (comics, tv and in film) so I wasnt looking forward to seeing it again but as the movie began and it started to build up into it I was fairly surpirised to see that it wasnt the same thing that I’ve seen constantly. The outline to his origin is still there and intact but they tweaked it in certain spots and made it feel fresh and new. I was happy that they included his parents into the story because there is a great little backstory that happens with them in the comics that looks like it may happen in this series of films. The other thing that I was fairly critical about with the previous Spider-Man films was Peter’s lack of actual mechanical web shooters. This film brings that to the table and I couldn’t be happier to have a big, important part of the comic worked into this version. Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Curt Conners perfectly in this movie. You end up sharing a bit of sympathy with the character and all he has been through. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the way Andrew Garfield played Spider-Man. He played Peter Parker exactly the way he should be played but Spider-Man was a different story. In my opinion he was a bit too lanky and very casual with the way he was Spider-Man. I kept looking for that “superhero moment but it fell a bit short. I thought they did a great job at this reboot and it has tons of potential to tell a really great story. I’ve heard that they plan on making this a trilogy, I just hope that if they decide to make more movies after that they at least keep the same continuity with or with or without the same actors. There are plenty of stories out there that can be told without seeing another origin story again. Go check this out in theaters now!
Prometheus: Review
Ridley Scott makes his way back to the genre that put his name on the map. Starring Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender as part of the crew of a spaceship called Prometheus. After finding similar markings (that turns out to be a star map) on Earth that spans various cultures over thousands of years they decide the embark on a mission to find the origins of the human race. It’s not until they get to their destination that they realize that there may be more to the story than they think.
I personally have been excited about this film for a while now. I’m a big sci-fi movie lover and a huge fan of the Alien franchise so when I heard that this movie was being made with Ridely Scott in the directors chair I couldn’t help but get kind of giddy. As more details started coming out about the film and an official synopsis was released I think made people a bit dissapointed and possibly confused about how/if this was going to be connected to any of the previous Alien films. With that being said when I made my way to the theater to watch it I went with a total open mind and completely told myself to disregard any of the other films. That is the best thing to do when watching this film. Ridley Scott succeeded in his comeback to the sci-fi/horror genre and Jon Spaihts/Damon Lindelof did a great job at writing a script the really made the viewer think and try to piece certain parts of the story together in their head (Lindelof is noteably the co-creator of the TV show Lost). The film was a bit controversial to the public in the sense that not alot of people “got it”. I think a better part of the audience felt like it left them with more questions rathter than answers but rest assured, the answers are there. People went in expecting an Alien film when in fact it is a stand alone film that does have certain nods to the franchise but has a life of its own. I must say that I did go see it twice because I wanted to have a better understanding of some aspects of the film but its not necessary to do so. I loved this movie and its a great conversation piece as far as discussing the film and its theories on the creation of life.
Side Note: There is a small scene at the end that is a MUST SEE
