Dark Knight Rises | the m0vie blog

Digging the Claws In: The Wolverine, Superman/Batman, World Building and the Future of Blockbusters…

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Darren

When you produce one of the most successful movies of all time, you change the rules of the game. The Avengers was the biggest box office hit of 2012, narrowly edging out The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall for the privilege. That means that all the other major film studies were taking note of what Disney and Marvel had done. So it’s no surprise that the majority of announcements trickling out of this year’s Comic Con feel heavily influenced by the success of that blockbuster.

Most notably, it seems like DC and Warners will be fully investing in their superhero world-building, with the sequel to Man of Steel broadening its focus from the Man of Tomorrow, announced as a Superman/Batman team-up feature that will build towards the inevitable Justice League film. It seems like The Wolverine might just be the most major stand-alone superhero feature film we’ll be seeing for quite some time.

The future is now…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, Avenger, avengers, batman, brian michael bendis, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, dc comics, jamie foxx, Justice League in other media, man of steel, marvel, marvel comics, spider man, zack snyder | 7 Comments »

Superman: The Animated Series – Knight Time (Review)

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the release of Man of Steel this month, we’re going Superman mad. Check back daily for Superman-related reviews.

It’s always fun to compare and contrast Superman and Batman, partially because they are two of the oldest and most iconic superheroes in popular culture, but also because the lend themselves to contrast. Superman is all smiles and primary colours, while Batman is shades of grey and shadows. It’s fun to see the worlds of the two superheroes overlap, if only because they are so radically different in tone, atmosphere, mood and content.

While World’s Finest brought Batman and the Joker to Metropolis to play with Superman and Lex Luthor, Knight Time sees the Man of Steel substituting in for an absentee Batman in Gotham.

I gotta get me one of those…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Television | Tagged: bane, batgirl, batman, Bruce, bruce timm, Christopher Nolan, Dark Knight Rises, gotham city, lex luthor, lois lane, man of steel, robin, Roxy Rocket, Steel, superman, zack snyder | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight Returns, Part II

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Man of Steel this month, we’re going Superman mad. Check back daily for Superman-related reviews.

The Dark Knight Returns is pretty much the classic Batman story, even more than Year One from the same author. It’s the story which – for better or worse – defined a lot of what we take for granted about Batman as a character today. So it makes sense that there would be an animated adaptation. And I respect the decision to split the story across two seventy-odd minute instalments, creating a two-part movie which still runs significantly shorter than Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Adapting Miller’s story from print was always going to be a tough proposition. After all, Miller’s comic isn’t just one of the defining Batman stories, it’s a turning point in mainstream comics. Transferring it from its home medium was always going to be tough. Still, the production team working on The Dark Knight Returns, Part II acquit themselves well in offering a satisfying take on a classic tale.

It’s the Batman!

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, frank miller, games, gordon, heath ledger, joker, michael emerson, Miller | 5 Comments »

The Death & Return of Superman Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Man of Steel this month, we’re going Superman mad. Check back daily for Superman-related reviews.

The Death & Return of Superman stands as one of the most influential and iconic Superman stories ever told. It was certainly the best-selling, even if that doesn’t necessarily make it the most-read, due to the nature of the nineties comic book speculation market. Read today, separate from all the hype and publicity and novelty items, it’s a very interesting part of the character’s lore. It’s certainly an ambitious tale, epic in scope. However, it’s very clearly disjointed and oddly paced and often demonstrates a strange disconnect with its own subject. A story with the title The Death & Return of Superman should probably offer some profound insight into its lead character. This just feels like a series of plot twists peppered with some casual observations.

Death of a hero…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Adam, arts, bane, batman, clark kent, Dark Knight Rises, dc comics, Death & Return of Superman, doomsday, Earth, green lantern, Guy Gardner, Jonathan and Martha Kent, man of steel, Maxima, metropolis, peter tomasi, Steel, superman | 2 Comments »

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (Review)

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I’ll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC’s Doctor Who.

Resurrection of the Daleks originally aired in 1984.

The universe is at war, Doctor. Name one planet whose history is not littered with atrocities and ambition for empire. It is a universal way of life.

Which I do not accept.

Then you deny what is real.

– yes, in case you’re wondering, the show did let Davros win a philosophical debate with the Doctor

It’s a bit of a cliché to suggest that writer and script editor Eric Saward didn’t actually like Doctor Who. It’s a bit of sensationalist nonsense that appears quite frequently in discussing his contributions to the series. The evidence most often cited in favour of this admittedly exaggerated position points out that Saward had a tendency to marginalise the Doctor within his stories, to portray the character as inefficient or ineffective within the context of an increasingly cynical universe. This characterisation of the Doctor as inherently weak really came to a head during the Colin Baker period of the show, but you can see traces of it during the Peter Davison era, most notably in Earthshock.

However, Resurrection of the Daleks also provides a pretty compelling case study, if only because it makes a compelling case for the Doctor as a massive hypocrite and a coward. You have to worry when the script seems to side more with Davros’ outlook on life than with that of the title character.

Putting the Fifth Doctor to the test…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bbc, Colin Baker, Dalek, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Davros, doctor, DoctorWho, Eric Saward, List of Doctor Who henchmen, London, Regroup, Resurrection of the Daleks, science fiction, Sixth Doctor, tardis, Terry Nation, Time Lord, Unearthly Child | Leave a comment »

Watch! ABC Family Batman Begins Trailer! Batman Fight For Family… But Live for Love!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Darren

I kinda love misleading trailers. Okay, there’s nothing worse than being duped into seeing a movie that you wouldn’t have wanted to watch, but it’s often quite impressive to watch how skilfully advertisers can twist something to make it look like what they want it to look like. For example, they make Batman Begins look like a feel-good romantic family drama. But credit where credit’s due, I didn’t even realise that Christian Bale smiled that much in the entire trilogy. And you gotta love that “whip” sound effect they add as Bruce hits the brakes on the Tumbler.

Watch out for the trailer to The Dark Knight pitching it as a hilarious laugh-off between Batman and the Joker while Rachel struggles to pick her one true love, or The Dark Knight Rises as the touching story of how hope can help a man triumph over adversity and recover from a damaging spinal injury to help those orphans facing an uncertain future in a city far away.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, batman begins, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, drama, joker | Leave a comment »

Watch! Behind the Scenes at the Hardy Bucks Movie!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Darren

Universal Pictures just sent over this behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Hardy Bucks Movie. It’s released on February 21st, but it’s hosting its premiere as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, in case you’re interested. Anyway, take a look below.

You can check out our recommended highlights of the festival here.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Dark Knight Rises, Film festival, Hardy Bucks Movie, jameson dublin international film festival, Movie, tom hardy, United States | Leave a comment »

“It’s None of Your Damn Business What I Think About That”: Tarantino and the Limits of Film Directors…

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Darren

It’s a clip that’s gone viral. Tarantino lashing out at Channel 4 interviewer Krishnan Guru-Murthy has become something of in internet touchstone. “I’m shutting your butt down,” the director protests after getting another of those inevitable questions about the link between movie violence and real-life violence. It’s cringeworthy and awkward, and it plays into Guru-Murthy’s hands better than a straight answer would have, but I can’t help but empathise with Tarantino’s position.

Incidents like the shooting in Aurora or Connecticut shooting are truly horrifying and very hard for us to contextualise. I can understand Tarantino not wanting to get into that debate, because it’s really not the place of anybody involved in cinema to talk about it. It’s arrogant for anybody with any film background to try to relate their work to it, and it’s negligent of any journalist to try to sensationalise a link between film violence and real violence when the real questions are tougher, more uncompromising and more uncomfortable than a quick jab at Tarantino.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Anthony Lane, Channel 4, Daily Mail, Dark Knight Rises, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, London, Nikki Finke, People, quentin tarantino, tarantino, Violence and Abuse, women | 4 Comments »

My 12 for ’12: The Dark Knight Rises & Blockbusters with Brains…

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Darren

I’m counting down my top twelve films of the year between now and January, starting at #12 and heading to #1. I expect the list to be a little bit predictable, a little bit surprising, a little bit of everything. All films released in the UK and Ireland in 2012 qualify. Sound off below, and let me know if I’m on the money, or if I’m completely off the radar. And let me know your own picks or recommendations.

This is #1…

There’s a popular idea that just because a movie makes a lot of money, or just because it attracts a large audience, or just because it features fantastical elements, that it is somehow unworthy of discussion and debate. The Dark Knight Rises has been a divisive film, sparking a lot of debate about its relative merits and those of Christopher Nolan, the director and co-writer. Following on from the massive success of The Dark Knight, Nolan opted for an unconventional approach for his sequel. Structurally and tonally, The Dark Knight Rises represented a significant departure from The Dark Knight. While the The Dark Knight had been an urban crime thriller exploring the wake of 9/11, The Dark Knight Rises was an epic social drama pondering how divided American society had become.

It isn’t quite as fantastic as The Dark Knight, but it was strong, bold, vibrant and challenging film making – proof that budget does not belie brains.

Continue reading →

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, British Isles, Bruce, Christopher Nolan, ChristopherNolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, DarkKnight Rises, film, Forbes, Guardian, Lykke Li, Mitt Romney, Moonrise Kingdom, Movie, Muppet, nolan, Silver Linings Playbook | 6 Comments »

12 Movie Moments of 2012: Chris Cooper Raps (The Muppets)

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Darren

As well as counting down the top twelve films, I’m also going to count down my top twelve movie related “moments” of 2012. The term “moment” is elastic, so expect some crazy nonsense here. And, as usual, I accept that my taste is completely absurd, so I fully expect you to disagree. With that in mind, this is #1…

If you ever need proof of how delightfully absurd The Muppets was, the sight of Oscar-winner Chris Cooper dancing and rapping across his desk, only to unleash a storeroom full of chorus girls while Jason Segel looks on in confusion should do the trick. It’s a fantastic moment because it’s so ridiculously surreal. Cooper is rapping for about a minute of screen-time, meaning that it’s over before it has really begun – leaving both the characters and the audience wondering what the hell just happened.

In a great way.