Nerd Rating

Tag: Movies

  • Will Warner Use Justice League To Reboot Batman?

     

    File this under rumor but in parenthesis put BIG. A source has revelaed to Batman-on-Film.com that Warner Bros. is looking to jump head first into the superhero team up pool after The Man of Steel releases next year. And not only that but they would use the Justice League film as the opportunity to reboot Batman and begin to establish him and the other characters in one movie universe.

    No we all know that Marvel’s massive Avengers gamble paid off but I think DC may have to take another direction and this may be the best way. With how poorly Green Lantern was received and The Man of Steel not even released, DC has no real way of getting all these characters individual movies and guaranteeing that they will all be hits enough to lead to a Justice League movie. Taking the opposite direction of Marvel may be the answer for DC.

    It has already been reported that Warner would like the movie for summer of 2015 which would put it in the same year as The Avengers 2 and they have already (reportedly) been in talks with Ben Affleck and the Wachowskis about directing the film. Ben Affleck has denied any kind of involvement with the movie and although Speed Racer was a massive bomb, Warner still has faith in the Wachowskis to deliver a big time movie.

     

  • Star Wars Episodes 2 & 3 3D Release Dates.

     

    There was a bit of a surprise at the end of of Star Wars Celebration VI this weekend when the release dates for both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith 3D  were announced and the wait between the two films will be much less than the year apart Lucas and company had initially announced.

    Star Wars Episode 2 3D will release on September 20th, 2013 which is a little over a year and a half after Episode 1 was released this past February but they are making up for the extra wait by releasing Episode 3 on October 11, 2013, a mere three weeks later.

    Now I didn’t go see Episode 1 in theaters and for good reasons which any self respecting person should know but in my opinion the prequels did get progressively better so I will most likely be attending Attack of the Clones and definitely seeing Revenge of the Sith.

    Side note: Has anyone thought how differently the Star Wars movies would be thought of if there was no prequel trilogy, just Episode 3 which I consider a good movie.

  • Blade Runner 30th Anniversary Collector’s Set Detailed

     

    Blade Runner is undoubtedly one of my favorite films of all time. To me it is almost the perfect representation of what a sci-fi movie should try to be. Even when Ridley Scott could not leave it alone and kept releasing new, slightly tweaked versions I was always there to pick it up. With this year being the 30th anniversary of the movie, I have realized that I will most likely be purchasing a new collection every five years and that is fine with me. Thus is the life of a nerd.

    Here is the rundown of features that will be accompanying the Blade Runner 30th Anniversary Collector’s Set. It releases on October 23rd and retails for $64.99

    Disc 1:

    The Final Cut (2007) Feature (Blu-ray)

    Introduction to the Final Cut by director Ridley Scott

    Commentary by Director Ridley Scott

    Commentary by Executive Producer/Co-Screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Co-Screenwriter David Peoples, Producer Michael Deeley and Production Executive Katherine Haber

    Commentary by Visual Futurist Syd Mead, Production Designer Lawrence G. Paull, Art Director David L. Snyder and Special Photographic Effects Supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer

     

    Disc 2:

    3 Theatrical Features

    Ridley Scott Introduction to the 1982 Theatrical Cut

    Ridley Scott Introduction to the 1982 International Cut

    Ridley Scott Introduction to the 1992 Director’s Cut

     

    Disc 3:

    Photo Gallery + Dangerous Days, Existing EC + Workprint

    “Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner” Documentary (8 parts)

    • Part 1 Incept Date – 1980: Screenwriting and Dealmaking
    • Part 2 Blush Response: Assembling the Cast
    • Part 3 A Good Start: Designing the Future
    • Part 4 Eye of the Storm: Production Begins
    • Part 5 Living in Fear: Tension on the Set
    • Part 6 Beyond the Window: Visual Effects
    • Part 7 In Need of Magic: Post-Production Problems
    • Part 8 To Hades and Back: Release and Resurrection

    4 Trailers

    The Electric Dreamer: Author Philip K. Dick RT: 18:52

    Sacrificial Sheep: The Novel vs. The Film RT: 14:57

    Philip K. Dick: The Blade Runner Interviews RT: 27:38

    • Introduction by Paul M. Sammon
    • Inspiration for ‘Electric Sheep’
    • The Meaning of ‘Electric Sheep’
    • Wanting to Write the Script
    • Hollywood
    • Not Asked to Write the Script
    • Adapting Books to Movies
    • Being Left Out of the Production
    • Problems with the First Screenplay
    • Hating Hampton Fancher’s Script
    • Lashing Out Against ‘Blade Runner’
    • Meeting Ridley Scott
    • Loving David Peoples’ Script
    • Viewing ‘Blade Runner’ Footage
    • Harrison Ford

    Signs of the Times: Graphic Design

    Fashion Forward: Wardrobe and Styling

    Screen Tests: Rachel and Pris

    The Light That Burns: Remembering Jordan Cronenweth

    Deleted and Alternate Scenes with Introduction by director Ridley Scott

    1982 Promotional Featurettes

    • On the Set
    • Convention Reel
    • Behind-the-Scenes Outtakes
    • Original Trailers and TV Spots
    • 1981 Teaser Trailer
    • 1982 Theatrical Trailer
    • 1982 TV Spot
    • 1992 Director’s Cut Trailer
    • 2007 Dangerous Days Teaser Trailer
    • 2007 Final Cut Trailer
    • Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art
    • Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
    • Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers

    Workprint Feature Version with Introduction by Ridley Scott

    Commentary by Future Noir Author Paul M. Sammon

    All Our Variant Futures

     

    Disc 4:

    Final Cut Feature Disc  on DVD

    Introduction to the Final Cut by director Ridley Scott

    Commentary by Director Ridley Scott

    Commentary by Executive Producer/Co-Screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Co-Screenwriter David Peoples, Producer Michael Deeley and Production Executive Katherine Haber

    Commentary by Visual Futurist Syd Mead, Production Designer Lawrence G. Paull, Art Director David L. Snyder and Special Photographic Effects Supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer

    [amazon_enhanced asin=”B00845MRKE” /]

  • Who Doesn’t Want To See Short Round In High Def?

    September 18 is almost here. So if you are on the fence about getting The Indiana Jones collection on Blu-Ray then watch the trailer and try to contain your smile and realization that you really, really, really want this collection. It is priced at $99.99 but can be pre-ordered on Amazon for about 70 bucks.

  • Review: The Dark Knight Rises

     

    Let’s just go ahead and answer everyone’s question right up front. Is The Dark Knight Rises better than The Dark Knight? No it is not. But that in no way is a negative judgment against Christopher Nolan’s last Batman adventure. Not a lot could top The Dark Knight. It was a force of nature four years ago and still is today upon repeated viewings, so if you go into the theater expecting a better movie you may leave a little disappointed. What you will get is a long, ambitious epic that puts a perfect cap on Nolan’s Bat trilogy.

     

    It has been eight long years since Harvey Dent went a bit on the crazy side and tried to kill Jim Gordon’s family while Batman took the fall for the fallout so that the city could hold up Dent as their savior and use his death to pass an act that has cleaned up the city. With major crime effectively under control Bruce Wayne has retired from being the Caped Crusader to become a recluse who nurses his battle wounds and lives in regret over the death of his love, Rachel Dawes.

     

    But like with any hero Bruce cannot escape his need (or want) for Gotham to have the Batman again. When he is robbed by a lovely cat burglar named Selina Kyle, played very capably by the scene chewing Anne Hathaway, he begins to slowly come out of his shell eventually getting back into the cape and cowl despite his butler Alfred’s insistence that he should stay away.

     

    As happenstance would have it, the return of Batman comes about at the same time a new big bad known as Bane is setting his master plan in motion to take over Gotham and complete Ra’s Al Ghul’s vision. Bane is viciously played by Tom Hardy who is not as scene stealing as Heath Ledger’s Joker but is much more of a physical threat to Batman. This is one thing that helped the movie immensely. While Batman Begins had Ra’s and Scarecrow and The Dark Knight has the Clown Prince of Crime, none really seemed like Batman’s physical superior. That is not the case here. Bane is a physical specimen and much more dangerously is just as smart as he is strong.  If you are read up on Bane’s history in the Bat universe then you know basically what is coming about halfway through the movie but the event is still powerful and brutal.

     

    I really had no problem understanding Hardy’s unique voice during the movie. With stories floating around since last December about his performance being lost in the muffled voice behind the mask I had a few concerns going in but it looks like Nolan did heed advice and clear up Bane’s dialogue which is great because Hardy’s nuanced performance adds so much to the story. It’s not just the voice (which yes does sound like Goldfinger) but the emotions he is able to convey with his eyes and body motions that complete the character.

     

    Now don’t get me wrong the movie is not without flaws. But most of them are so small that they don’t merit mentioning but one that I do want to mention is Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon. He has plenty to do in this movie but after having him be such an integral part of The Dark Knight he does seem to get lost in the shuffle of the massive story and the number of characters that are given screen time. Oldman is still wonderful in his scenes but Gordon had much more of a meaningful role in The Dark Knight.

     

    Everyone else on the roster has brought their A-game as you would expect. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake does not seem like a thrown in character. Much of the first half of the movie is from his perspective yet it feels completely at home in the Nolan Bat-verse. Morgan Freeman is his usual witty self and Michael Caine puts an exclamation point on the statement that he his the best version of Alfred ever, comics or film. Seriously, dude had me tearing up in two scenes. In a Batman movie.

     

    This is a big, robust movie that is like most of Nolan’s work. It gets so big with so much at stake that you feel that it may collapse on itself but in the hands of a great director it transcends just being another Batman story and speaks on many levels including political unrest, the loss of hope and how anyone can become more than a man.

     

    Where The Dark Knight felt as a stand alone movie this feels like a companion piece to Batman Begins while also bridging every character from all three films. It succeeds in bringing to a close the greatest super hero trilogy ever and avoids the pitfalls of most third films (see Godfather, Spider-Man) by giving a true emotional payoff for the characters that we have been investing ourselves in since the summer of 2005.

     

    When I look back I would probably say that The Avengers is still the greatest comic book movie ever made but The Dark Knight Rises may be the better movie.

     

    NERD RATING- 9/10