Christopher Nolan confirmed over the weekend that the Joker would not be recast for the sequel to The Dark Knight. Which I suppose means we can rule him off the “list of potential villains” we’ve all been putting together in our heads as Batman 3 approaches. As much as I get the sense (and as much as rumours about the ‘trilogy’ that emerged before The Dark Knight was released would suggest) that the Joker was clearly imagined as playing a fairly lerge role in the conclusion of Nolan’s Batman saga, I can see the reasons for and respect his decision to not to recast the role.
Sex and the City 2 came out last week. Not that it really affects or bothers me one way or the other. I just find it fascinating that The Ticket, the normally rather wonderful entertainment supplement which comes with The Irish Times, chose to offer its front page to the girls, while containing nothing but vitriol within. It seems a little contrary to have your reviewer and your features writer going at the film with the critical equivalent of baseball bats and then give them prime of place in your lineup and publicity, no? Especially given that the front page didn’t read “Sex and the City 2: It’s Quite Crap, Actually”.
It’s a lie. For the first few years, Battlestar Galactica sold itself as a grand mythology. Every episode, in a narration repeated at the start of this film, we were reintroduced to the Cylons and reassured that “They have plan”. Except they didn’t. The show was written year-to-year, with no overarching scheme behind it all. This isn’t a criticism, but an observation. For most of its four year run, the show was the best thing on television. The series finale was a major disappointment but – for the most part – the design worked. So labelling this spin-off as Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is at best a little bit cheeky. At worst it’s a downright lie.
Damn it. It’s happened again. About once a year, I’ll watch a trailer and something will stay with me. Not necessarily a line (though the sheer eighties-tastic-ness of the “How do we kill them?”/“How ever you can” exchange from the Predatorstrailer keeps bouncing around inside my head), but just something. Sometimes it’s a stunning image that inevitably looks better all isolated and alone within the trailer, but sometimes it’s a piece of music. I’m not talking about that stupid “let’s sample a pop song” mentallity that is the fare of comedies or romances or heart-rendering dramas, I’m talking about some solid instrumental work. Last year it was the rather wonderful “Two Steps from Hell” from the trailer to Star Trek. This year, it’s the wonderful and ominous and “could easily be written by frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer” tune “Mind Heist” from the Inception trailer which I raved about last week. It’s embedded below and well worth a listen.
It’s amazing what we remember, isn’t it? I’m quite partial to the “Hello Zepp” from Saw, for example, and the variations that Charlie Closer has done for the sequels. Which is odd, because I’m not a huge fan of the sequels (though I really dug the originals). Of course, in my humble opinion, the best ambient sound track ever has to “Crockett’s Theme” from Miami Vice. I don’t care about the allegators or the fashion, it is a damn travesty that this beautiful piece of music wasn’t ported over from the television show into the big screen adaptation.
Another film, another only very vaguely controversial decision from Darren. I actually prefer Kill Bill, Vol. 2 to the Kill Bill, Vol. 1. There, I said it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Japanese samurai swords, massive brawls, over-the-top violence and kitchen knife fights as much as the next man, but there’s just something about the second half of this “roaring rampage of revenge” which appeals to me.
Well, as far as 3D is concerned, I’m not convinced, despite it’s increasing presence in the market place. However, after all my time criticising post-rendering in 3D or how certain films don’t necessarily need the gimmick, maybe it’s about time I got a little bit excited about 3D and stopped complaining so damn much. Or at least recognised that it’s not all bad. The good news of which I speak? The Looney Tunes are coming back… in 3D.
Prince of Persia is coming soon. You can’t miss it, what with all the airtime they’re filling the television channels with, and all the movie specials. The movie is what it is – it’s a cynical attempt to cash in on the retro-chic of the old swords-and-sandals pulpy serial adventures in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean originally did, while remaining anchored to a property with at least some geek recognition attached. It isn’t by any stretch of my imagination a must-see movie this year (not even making it into my top ten most anticipated films), but it looks it might manage to do what it says on the tin. It might offer a distracting low-brow Middle-Eastern-themed romp with an effective cast and competent direction masking what’s undoubtedly a weak premise. However, the movie has one major fact playing against it: it’s a video game adaptation. And those have something of a dodgy history in Hollywood.
Is Prince of Persia going to get to the next level of video game adaptations?
The second of the blockbusters arrives, celebrating the true arrival of summer. Chosen to open Cannes and featuring a return of the powerhouse pairing of maestro Ridley Scott and love-‘im-or-hate-‘im matinee icon Russell Crowe in a historic setting brimming with action potential and historic appeal, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot of pressure on the iconic outlaw, Robin Hood. So does he carry it off as confidently as he carries off that bow-and-arrow?
I remember being assured by somebody that pop culture will eat itself. I’m not sure who and I’m not sure when (maybe this person had a time a machine – because it seems to be happening). I never understood if that was a promise or a threat, and I still don’t. However, if you wanted to get a look at the below of the beast, I imagine it might look a little like Hot Tub Time Machine.
It’s hard to believe in retrospect, but the movie that kick started the whole superhero movie subgenre is nothing but a gigantic, big budget B-movie. And, trust me, that’s a compliment.
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