Tag: The Dark Knight

Cinematic Batman: Worst To First- Part Two

See Part One of our countdown here.

4. Batman Returns

Returns is a movie that grows on me the more I watch it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the hell out of it when I saw it in theaters at the age of 11, but where some movies tend to lose their luster after repeated viewings, Returns somehow has grown better in my eyes.

As with 1989’s Batman, there is stuff that isn’t exactly canon, like Batman straight up murdering guys and Selina’s transformation into Catwoman, which I am sure has happened in real life because I can guess that Christopher Walken has pushed at least one woman from a high rise building. That’s just how he rolls. Danny DeVito is The Penguin…literally. Burton took the character and accentuated everything, even having him raised by penguins which I am still unsure how that works. If Bender can do it, why not Oswald Cobblepot. DeVito sometimes goes too far into loud, squawking territory. His best work is when he is being cold, calculating, low-voiced Penguin, which is how I imagine the character.

The reason Returns works for me after so long is Michael Keaton. He was settled into the role of Batman and it came with more nuance this time around. He was noticeably more comfortable as Bruce Wayne in his scenes with Michelle Pfeiffer. It was more natural than with Kim Basinger. He had the Batman voice down which was a darker variation of Bruce’s voice, not as grating as Bale’s performance.

Watching Returns make me wish that Burton and Keaton could have had one more go round.

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Ok, here we go. This is where the shit storm begins.

After The Dark Knight became the biggest superhero movie of all time at the box office (until The Avengers), everyone waited with baited breath to see if Christopher Nolan could finish up his trilogy with a bang. He totally did. People have bitched about The Dark Knight Rises ever since it was released in 2012. What is it about Bane’s goofy voice? How come cops don’t grow beards when they are stuck underground for three months? How does Bruce get back into Gotham so quickly?

-Tom Hardy’s voice was one of the best changes for the Bane character to me. I don’t want a deep-voiced Taco Bell dog yelling “Yo Quiero Batman”. When I read Bane in comics now, it is with Hardy’s voice.

-Is it so past the realm of possibility that with Bane’s thugs feeding and sending toiletries down to the cops that they could send a few goddamn razors?

-When Bruce gets out of the pit there is still a little under a month left until the bomb goes off. Could you not believe that a man as resourceful as Bruce Wayne (aka the goddamn Batman) could not find his way to Gotham in that amount of time?

Anyway, people like the movie or they don’t. I love Rises because it brings Nolan’s trilogy full circle playing almost as a sequel to Batman Begins instead of The Dark Knight. And can we just all agree with Kevin Smith and just be thankful that nerd society has become so big that we can have a character like Talia al Ghul in a fucking movie in the first place?

2. Batman

Watching Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman should be a nerd rage affair. Joker killed the Wayne family? Alfred lets Vicki in the Bat Cave? (WTF Alfred?!) Batman’s “no kill” rule is about as useful as chewy bacon. Yet, I still watch it with nine year old eyes.

Burton was the right weirdo to bring Batman into the gritty Frank Miller bat-verse that the 80’s brought us. Now today the movie does not seem near as dark, but I blame that on us as a society slowly devolving into a Purge-like state that has sat through seven Saw movies and three Hostels.

It was one of those wacky Hollywood moves that should not have worked. The director of Beetlejuice with Mr. Mom as Batman and a reluctant Jack Nicholson, who required a big payday and much convincing, as The Joker. But I’ll be damned if it still doesn’t entertain the hell out of me 25 years later.

It’s me, sugar bumps.

1. The Dark Knight

I am guessing when you began to read this you thought this would be number one, unless I went different just for the sake of being different. No surprises here. The Dark Knight is still the quintessential Batman movie.

One amazing thing about The Dark Knight is not just Heath Ledger’s performance (which has been talked about constantly for six years, deservingly), but the fact that he accomplished it in 33 minutes of screentime in a two hour and 40 minute movie. Mark Hamill will always be my favorite Joker. Sorry, I can’t change that. Ledger will have to settle for best live action psychopath.

The Dark Knight was the first comic movie to take a premise and build it around the hero. Before Marvel said their movies would be like this (Ant-Man is a heist movie with a hero, etc.), The Dark Knight was a crime drama with Batman in it. What happens when someone takes on the mob? What are the repercussions of these actions?

The Dark Knight is not perfect. Bale’s voice grates ears more than the first and last in the trilogy. I am glad that we got the Harvey Dent/Two-Face story even though it was truncated in one movie which lessens the character some. But with so much good, everything else feels like nitpicking.

I think Ben Affleck will do a fine job in Batman v Superman, but his solo movie is where he will be fully judged and it will be against The Dark Knight.

August 26, 2014
The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Dated And Detailed
Here is the official first look at the American packaging for The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition. The set will release on September 24th and retail for $99.99. In it you will get six discs, three for the three films and three for extras. The extras will be comprised of what you have already gotten in the previous Blu-Ray versions as well as two new features that have Christopher Nolan and Superman director Richard Donner discussing the path it took to bring both heroes to the screen and the second feature is a look back at The Dark Knight Trilogy as a whole and its impact on the superhero movie genre.

The collection also comes with three toy vehicles from the films: the Tumbler, Batpod and the Bat as well as five villain character cards and a 48-page hardcover book.

If you do not own all three films this collection is well worth a look or, if you are like me, and own all three movies and are a collector then you will be getting this anyway because we have a disease. We need help. But not until after I buy this.

Check out the big fancy press release below from Warner Bros. about the collection:

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY:

ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION

BLU-RAY™ DEBUT SEPTEMBER 24

FROM WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

All Three Films, New Special Features, and Memorabilia

Burbank, Calif. July 2, 2013 – Christopher Nolan’s reimagining of the Batman franchise beginning with 2005’s Batman Begins enjoyed phenomenal critical and box-office success.

Now on September 24, Nolan’s three Batman films – Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises – will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition. The six-disc set will feature all three films with their existing extra content, two new featurettes and exclusive new collectible memorabilia. This must-own collection for fans of DC Comics’ Caped Crusader is available in premium packaging and will sell for $99.97 SRP.

About the Ultimate Collector’s Edition (UCE):

*Disc 1 – Batman Begins Feature and Special Features

*Disc 2 – The Dark Knight Feature

*Disc 3 – The Dark Knight Special Features

*Disc 4 – The Dark Knight Rises Feature

*Disc 5 – The Dark Knight Rises Special Features

*Disc 6 – Bonus Disc of New Special Features (details follow)

NEW Special Features:
- The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy – The inside perspective on the fascinating story behind the creation of one of the most celebrated franchises and how it changed the scope of movie making….forever. Full of never-before-seen footage, rare moments, and exclusive interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Michael Mann, Richard Roeper, Zack Snyder and others.
·         Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation – For the first time, Directors Christopher Nolan (The Dark KnightTrilogy) and Richard Donner (Superman) sit down to discuss the trials and triumphs involved in bringing the two most iconic superheroes of all time to the big screen, and how Superman influenced Nolan when developing Batman Begins.

·         IMAX® Sequences: The Dark Knight; The Dark Knight Rises – See your favorite scenes as they were intended in the original IMAX© aspect ratio

Exclusive NEW Memorabilia:

·         Premium Mattel Hot Wheels Vehicles: Batmobile, Batpod and Tumbler

·         Newly commissioned collectible art cards by Mondo featuring Scarecrow, Joker, Bane, Harvey Dent, and Ra’s al Ghul

·         48-page hardcover book featuring production stills and behind the scenes images from all three movies

About The Films

Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

The Dark Knight (2008)

The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes. Returning from Batman Begins are Oldman, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

Dark Knight Rises (2012)

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act.

But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. Christian Bale stars, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman.

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (BD)

Street Date: September 24, 2013

Order Due Date: August 20, 2013

Catalog/UPC #: 1000372133 / 883929308002

Pricing: $99.97 SRP

Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.

Blu-ray Disc™ and Blu-ray™ and the logos are the trademarks of Blu-ray Disc Association.

® & © 2009 IMAX Corporation. All rights reserved.

Warner Home Video Blu-ray Discs™ offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The format also provides a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film.
July 3, 2013
Zod Issues His First Statement To Earth In Man Of Steel Viral Video

So I made a joke last week about Michael Shannon looking awesome as Zod when this first photo was released, yet I did not think that he could match up to Terence Stamp’s iconic voice.

Yeah, so I was wrong.

This viral video was released last night featuring Shannon’s Zod telling Superman to hand himself over or Earth will face the consequences. It reminds me of the first viral marketing for The Dark Knight in 2007 when people got their first listen to Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Rumors abound that we will get a new trailer for Man of Steel this week.

Man of Steel releases on June 14th.

April 15, 2013
First Screens For Batman: Arkham Origins Surface, New Info Given

All photos courtesy gameinformer.com

Hot off the heels of yesterday’s announcement of Batman: Arkham Origins a host of screenshots have been released by Game Informer. There are shots of Deathstroke, a younger looking Penguin, Black Mask and Gotham adorned in Christmas decorations as Batman looms over some thugs.

In Batman: Arkham Origins, you will control a younger Batman as Black Mask hires the world’s greatest assassin’s to take down The Dark Knight. WB Montreal is handling development of the game instead of Rocksteady this go round, but they have full access to the engine that ran Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

It was also announced that for the first time in the Arkham series there will be a fast travel option for Batman now that he is patrolling the streets of Gotham. When you pick a point on the map you will get to take a trip in the Batwing to your desired location, although the Batwing is not able to be controlled (bummer).

For the next-gen I would like a fully realized open world Gotham. If I want to spend 45 minutes driving around the city doing nothing but mourning the death of my parents, I should be able to.

Batman: Arkham Origins releases on October 25th.

The first screens for Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate have also been released. The game will be released on October 25th for the 3DS and Vita.

April 10, 2013
Megan Fox Cast In Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtles…..God No

Photo courtesy geekmodeonline.com

Jesus Michael Bay, it’s like you are just doing this sh** on purpose now.

So remember Michael Bay’s bastardization of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise? You know, where he was going to make them not teenagers or mutants, but rather adult aliens? You had four jobs Bay!! Here it is:

-Teenagers

-Mutants

-Ninjas

-Turtles

And he couldn’t even do that correctly.

The movie was put on definite hold last year while they worked out the kinks in the script and development which I assuming meant actually writing a script and figuring out how to fund this giant clusterf***. Well things are back on you lucky fans. And Michael Bay has decided on his April O’Neil…..Megan Fox.

I give up.

You know what we should really have been expecting this. We have great Marvel movies and The Dark Knight trilogy so there has to be a punishment somewhere and Michael Bay is here ready with his cinematic cat of nine tails.

February 22, 2013
2012 Box Office Rundown

Mayan Apocalypse Doesn’t Scare Off Moviegoers.

Now that it is officially 2013 we can look back on the year that was at the box office. 2012 set a new record with almost 10.8 billion dollars which overtakes 2009’s total of 10.6 billion. No doubt having so many choices at the theater feature wise helped out receipt totals with many films being in IMAX, 3D, IMAX 3D and theaters that have D-BOX motion chairs.

The big winner of 2012, by far, was The Avengers which took in $623.3 million domestically and over 1.5 billion dollars worldwide as well as setting the single weekend record with $207.4 million in just three days. The Dark Knight Rises did not make as much as it predecessor, The Dark Knight, domestically but made more in worldwide totals.

A few of the surprises of the year were the comedy Ted which was Seth MacFarlane’s first feature film and grossed $218.6 million off of a 50 million dollar budget. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum’s 21 Jump Street came in with little expectations and pulled in over 138 million dollars.

2013 is loaded with releases including the second Hunger Games film, Catching Fire, and the return of The Man of Steel but may have a hard time keeping pace with 2012’s record pace.

Here are the Top 20 releases for 2012 domestically followed by their worldwide totals:

1. [amazon_link id=”B0083SBJXS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Avengers[/amazon_link]- $623.3 million/ $1.51 billion

2. [amazon_link id=”B004LWZWGK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Dark Knight Rises[/amazon_link]- $448.1 million/ $1.08 billion

3. [amazon_link id=”B0084IG7KC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Hunger Games[/amazon_link]- $408 million/ $686 million

4. [amazon_link id=”B007REV4YI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Skyfall[/amazon_link]- $289.6 million/ $1 billion

5. [amazon_link id=”B007857FOO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2[/amazon_link]- $286.4 million/ $799.6 million

6. [amazon_link id=”B008QZ5PY2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Amazing Spider-Man[/amazon_link]- $262 million/ $752.2 million

7. [amazon_link id=”B005LAIHZY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Brave[/amazon_link]- $237.2 million/ $535.3 million

8. [amazon_link id=”B007ZQAKHU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey[/amazon_link]- $228.6 million/ $702.1 million

9. [amazon_link id=”B005LAII1C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Ted[/amazon_link]- $218.6 million/ $501.7 million

10. [amazon_link id=”B0091JK1B4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Madagascar 3[/amazon_link]- $216.3 million/ $742.1 million

11. [amazon_link id=”B0085Z3B2Q” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax[/amazon_link]- $214 million/ $348.8 million

12. [amazon_link id=”B008518MOW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Men in Black 3[/amazon_link]- $179 million/ $624 million

13. [amazon_link id=”B00A7OJ0DC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Wreck-It Ralph[/amazon_link]- $175.5 million/ $275.7 million

14. [amazon_link id=”B005LAIISU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Ice Age: Continental Drift[/amazon_link]- $161.1 million/ $875.1 million

15. [amazon_link id=”B005LAIHSQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Snow White and the Huntsmen[/amazon_link]- $155.1 million/ $396.3 million

16. [amazon_link id=”B009UWYFFK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hotel Transylvania[/amazon_link]- $143.9 million/ $311 million

17. [amazon_link id=”B0067EKYDG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Taken 2[/amazon_link]- $138.8 million/ $365.5 million

18. [amazon_link id=”B003Y5H5BA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]21 Jump Street[/amazon_link]- $138.4 million/ $201.5 million

19. [amazon_link id=”080507970X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lincoln[/amazon_link]- $131.8 million/ No Worldwide Release Yet

20. [amazon_link id=”B0085Z8F4A” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Prometheus[/amazon_link]- $126.4 million/ $402.4 million

January 2, 2013
Take It Home Tuesday. December 4, 2012.

Batman Rises And Master Chief Moves Forward.

[amazon_link id=”B004LWZWGK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Dark Knight Rises[/amazon_link]

Christopher Nolan ends his Bat trilogy in a big way with Bane, the League of Shadows and a really big bomb. Some were less than kind but we here thought it was a great ending. Check out our review here.

[amazon_link id=”B009JBZH54″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Dark Knight Trilogy[/amazon_link]

You know how collections work. All three Nolan Bat flicks in one box.

[amazon_link id=”B009B8YZKS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn[/amazon_link]

The web series makes it way to Blu-Ray. It is somewhat of a prequel to Halo 4 telling how Thomas Lasky first came to meet the man known as Master Chief. It is a fun and well produced series and should be checked out by all Halo fans.

[amazon_link id=”B0095XPZBC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Star Trek: The Next Generation- Season Two[/amazon_link]

Picard and company’s second season gets the high def remaster. Season One was very beautiful and who doesn’t want to see the Federation’s first contact with the Borg again all shiny and new.

[amazon_link id=”B009846274″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Wu Dang[/amazon_link]

Wu Dang? Yeah, Wu Dang. I haven’t had a chance to see this yet but most reviews have been saying this is a fun adventure flick that is basically a “kung-fu Indiana Jones”. High praise indeed.

December 4, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy Collections Revealed

The Dark Knight Rises Collector’s Edition Also Announced.

Warner Bros. has already announced that the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy would be coming home on December 3rd and they have just revealed the packaging for the movie as well as unveiling the collector’s edition of The Dark Knight Rises and that they will be releasing all three Bat films in a trilogy box set.

No price or list of special features has been announced yet. Both trilogy collections are shown with The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy book. It has not been announced if the book will be coming with the box set but I can say from owning it that it is a large high quality book that chronicles all of the three movies very well and is worth a buy.

The Dark Knight Rises Collector’s Edition (Blu-Ray Broken Cowl Edition)

The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy (Blu-Ray)

The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy (DVD)

September 27, 2012
Top 15 Comic Films (2012 Edition)

Yes it is another list. But this should be a fun conversation starter since people these days have mostly varying opinions about what they consider a great comic movie. And can we all just realize what a great time we live in that there are actually enough comic related films out there that we can debate about a list of them? We are in a renaissance of nerdiness that I could only dream of as a kid.

It’s been about three years since I made a list like this and by looking at it you can tell how much has changed in that short span of time. I started out with ten but just couldn’t seem to leave some films going unnoticed so I stretched it to a generous fifteen. Let’s all have some fun!

#15 Batman (1989)

When you go back and watch Batman now it is kind of amazing how this film was considered so “dark” for a long time. It shows how we have changed as a society and that “dark” 20 years ago seems a little bit cheesy by today’s standards. The great thing though about Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster is that even with the changes to the mythos, the annoying, slightly different bat symbol on the chest and Kim Basinger’s man hands (seriously, pay attention to them) this movie is still a great bit of fun that was carried by an amazing actor’s portrayal of The Joker. Sound familiar? And just so you know I will always prefer Burton’s Batwing over Nolan’s Bat. Sorry Chris, but Tim wins that round.

#14 Batman Begins (2005)

When Batman and Robin took a massive crap on our collective heads in 1997 we all knew that it would be a long time before Warner invested their time and money into the caped crusader again…and we were right. Eight years seperated the two Bat films but the wait was well worth it. Director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer brought Batman into a world realistic enough that it was hard to imagine him being a comic book creation. And massive kudos to them for not instantly going into the rogues gallery and picking the easy choice of The Joker first, instead crafting a story that involved The Scarecrow, Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows. You can tell Nolan was still getting his bearings for a true action movie with some of the fight scenes being jarring and hard to follow at times but was quickly rectified in the two sequels. The reboot is so good we can even forgive them for Katie Holmes.

#13 Iron Man (2008)

To say a lot was riding on Iron Man is an understatement. If this movie failed would we even have gotten to go to the theaters this year and watch The Avengers set new records? But it did succeed. Maybe even more than Marvel had planned. With the perfect casting of Robert Downey Jr. and the near brilliant idea to give this big budget movie to Jon Favreau, Marvel firmly placed the mantle of comic movie king on it’s head. The movie started out smart by bringing Tony into this generation by having him attacked by terrorists which led to his injury and creation of the Iron Man suit and showed him go full on philanthropist after dealing with the horrors of his captivity. Now let’s not call the movie perfect because the final fight with War Monger leaves something to be desired but what this movie did right, it did right in a huge way.

#12 The Rocketeer (1991)

The way Disney advertised for The Rocketeer way back in 1991 you could tell that they wanted to be their next big thing, a sequel machine. Sadly it did not happen but the movie we got is so wonderful that I am kind of glad we never got a chance to have a sequel ruin it. The cast was really good including Billy Campbell, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton and Jennifer Connelly before she became a six foot toothpick. It’s about a man that finds a jetpack, becomes a hero and saves the world from an actor trying to help the Nazis win WW2 all while saving the hot chick. What about that does not sound like an awesome comic book movie?

#11 Thor (2011)

Of all the movies that led up to The Avengers, Thor was the odd duckling. It would be Marvel’s first film to delve into the mystical elements of superheroes. To top that off, they cast Chris Hemsworth, a relative unknown unless you remember the first ten minutes of JJ Abrams Star Trek and hired Kenneth Branaugh to direct it. Now I know that might get a big loud HUH? from most people but it all came together perfectly. Hemsworth proved himself a leading man and the famed Shakespearean actor and director was able to give the movie a fantastic other wordly feel even while keeping a lot of it grounded here on Earth. But the movie belongs to Tom Hiddleston whose portrayal of Loki truly stole the movie and proved large enough to have him take on The Avengers.

#10 X-Men: First Class (2011)

Can we just all go ahead and give director Matthew Vaughn a big collective thank you for bringing the X-Men back to their roots? The reason why X-Men 2 was good was the character driven story that Bryan Singer delivered and X-Men 3’s Brett Ratner completely left behind for the bloated special effects film we got. Perfect casting like Michael Fassbender and Kevin Bacon (yeah I know, Kevin Bacon) brought the super group back from the near dead. Who would have ever thought that taking the X-Men 40 years in the past would have saved their future?

#9 Unbreakable (2000)

Yes this is technically not a “comic book” movie but you can not watch this movie and not feel that this could have easily been on the pages of any monthly book. Remember waaay back to the year 2000 when M. Night Shyamalan was the next big Hollywood director and his movies were still genuinely big deals? The beginning of David Dunn’s journey of discovering that this world is much more than it seems. Complete with heroes that are blessed with powers (even if they don’t realize it) and villains that are just as deranged as anyone written in the pages of a comic. I still get chills when I hear “They called me Mr. Glass”.

#8 The Incredible Hulk (2008)

After Iron Man hit it huge in May 2008, you would expect the second movie in Marvel’s Phase One series would have been as big a deal. Sadly The Incredible Hulk didn’t do near the business that Tony Stark mustered and one would have to think a big reason was Ang Lee’s 2003 version which left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of moviegoers. That is a shame because this version is as close as you are going to get to a Hulk comic on the big screen (not counting the obvious Avengers). Edward Norton put a lot of work and love into this project and even though he and Marvel were not the best of friends during and after production you can’t deny that this was an awesome movie. I mean really, that fight with Abomination at the end is why we go see comic book movies.

#7 Spider-Man 2 (2004)

As time keeps on flying by the first Spider-Man does not hold up very well. The dialogue gets weaker, James Franco seems to be high the entire time (normal, I know) and that Green Goblin costume…..that costume. So while Spider-Man 1’s porridge was too hot and Spider-Man 3’s was too cold and emo like and just soul sucking bad, Spider-Man 2 gets it right. Taking from John Romita, Sr.’s classic Spider-Man No More story and having Alfred Molina play a near perfect Dr. Octopus (my favorite Spidey baddie) showed how great this character can be when you have a Spider-Man that may be filled with internal conflict but his love for New York and his promise to Uncle Ben overcomes all doubt.

#6 Watchmen (2009)

Watchmen is the greatest graphic novel of all time. Since the first time I read it when I was 14 it has only gotten better with time. It was the perfect desconstruction of the superhero that showed how flawed these people can be. When you read it you can’t help but think that there is no way someone could make a movie out of this. Well Zack Snyder did and despite a lot of flak for some of his other films, he did what I and a whole lot of other people thought impossible. He made Watchmen. And it didn’t suck. In fact it was completely amazing and the changes that were made (i.e. Nite Owl’s costume) made complete sense to me. And I know this may put me on Alan Moore’s death list but I liked the movie ending better than the comic. I’m sorry I just find it hard to imagine watching a 40 foot vagina with worm arms destroying New York. Call me crazy.

#5 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

This is the movie that is bound to be the most polarizing on the list. Who in their right mind could ask Christopher Nolan to follow up The Dark Knight with something better? Expectations can never be met when hype is as high as it was for this movie. But you know what? Nolan did the near impossible and crafted a movie that finished out his Batman saga his way by taking Bruce to the depths of hell and despair and raised him up and proved that Batman is more than just a man. He is a symbol that keeps holding the line against impossible odds and even a broken body never means that the spirit is broken. Why do we fall?

#4 Captain America (2011)

I loved Captain America. I mean that is probably obvious by how high it is on my list but this movie was easily Marvel’s best until The Avengers. To me this flick got Cap exactly right. People that complain that he is a goodie goodie and a boyscout apparently have never read Captain America. That is who he is. He is mission first, no grey area, serves one God and believes America is the greatest land on the planet. Now in today’s world that is looked down on but it is the heart of the character and Chris Evans embodied it as well as anybody could. The supporting cast is the strongest of any Marvel movie with Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Hayley Atwell and Sebastion Stan each making use of their screen time creating a believable support system for Cap. Who’s ready for Winter Soldier?

#3 Superman (1978)

The more that the years pass on, the more this statement remains true. Christopher Reeve is Superman. He always will be. I feel sorry for any actor that has the task of playing the character now until the end of time but Christopher Reeve was Superman in bright red and blue. Richard Donner took on a massive undertaking when he decided to make a movie about the best known comic character in history and he did so in a time when making these movies was not the “thing” to do. Gene Hackman chews up every scene he can and Ned Beatty plays inept very well (Mr. Loothor) and even Margot Kidder gives Lois the punchy attitude that she deserves but in the the end there is Chris Reeve with the giant “S” on his chest showing you that the comics you grew up on were right there in front of you, in real life.

#2 The Dark Knight (2008)

When is a superhero movie not a superhero movie? The Dark Knight brings up that question for every bit of its two hour and fourty-five minute runtime. It would appear to be a cops and mobsters movie that happens to have a guy in a bat suit chasing a psycho interweaved in it. That’s the beauty of what Christopher Nolan did with this middle film in his Bat trilogy. He so grounded it in reality that you did not have to stretch your imaginiation too far to realize that this could completely take place in some close reality to us. And yes it has been four years and you can not mention this movie without saying how insanely (literally) great Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning performance was. Remember when he was cast and everyone thought he would disgrace Jack’s 1989 performance? Yeah, how’d that work out?

#1 The Avengers (2012)

I wanted to name The Avengers the greatest comic movie ever the second I saw this very scene above these words. The camera spinning, Alan Silvestri’s amazing theme blaring through the speakers, seeing all six of these heroes preparing for what may the final battle Earth ever sees. Seriously I have goosebumps now thinking about it. You thought about it as a kid. What if you could get Captain America and Hulk and Thor and….well as a kid you kept throwing Avengers in there just to make the movie more awesome in your head. Even when X-Men and Spider-Man ushered in this new era of comic films in 2000 and 2002 respectively you still never thought you would really, truly ever see an Avengers movie. It was too big, too bold. Hollywood and Marvel could never get their stuff together enough to get it done. And that’s why watching this in theaters you realized that something truly special was happening. Under the careful guidance and love of Joss Whedon, Earth’s mightiest heroes came together and for two hours and twenty minutes put a huge child like grin on my face. And it was great and easily my number one pick for this list.

Now lists are breeding grounds for agreements and arguments and that’s cool. Let me know what your top picks would be. And if there are big disagreements leave a comment below and let’s see if we can’t all be friends. That or make your own list.

EXCELSIOR!!!

August 31, 2012
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

August 19, 2012