review | the m0vie blog

The Politics of Nolan’s Batman Films…

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Dark Knight Rises, July is “Batman month” here at the m0vie blog. Check back daily for comics, movies and television reviews and discussion of the Caped Crusader.

I think it’s fair to say that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is quite an accomplishment. I think there’s a valid argument to be made that the series can be successfully measured against other classic film trilogies like the original Star Wars trilogy or even the more recent Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, I think it’s also notable just how much political discourse and discussion the trilogy has generated, particularly for its political content. It’s quite impressive that Nolan’s three films about a masked pulp hero have provoked such debate, and I’d certainly argue that The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are easily two of the most politically complex and fascinating blockbusters in quite some time.

A caped social crusader?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, bane, batman, caped crusader, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], films, george w. bush, joker, Movies, politics, review, star wars | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman! (1966)

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Darren

I have to confess, I think that Adam West’s Batman! gets a bit of an unfair time from comic book aficionados, movie fans and even casual pundits. In the years since the iconic movie and television show, fans have acted like camp and comedy are elements that have no place in the world of the Caped Crusader. There is – of course – a reason for that. Darker portrayals have since come dominate Batman’s characterisation, from Tim Burton’s Batman to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. However, I think one of the most endearing aspects of Batman as a pop culture icon is his ability to adapt. “I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be,” Batman tells Gordon at the climax of The Dark Knight. Sure, sometimes we need him to be a staunch and iconic hero triumphing against adversity. Other times we simply need him to whip out the Bat Shark Repellent.

Batman was “Urk-ed” by the Penguin’s plan…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adam west, batman, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, ChristopherNolan, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rise, Dark Knight Rises, DarkKnight Rises, film, gotham city, joker, Movie, non-review review, Penguin, review, riddler, robin, tim burton | 14 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Darren

Note: Here’s a spoiler-filled, more detailed version of my review of The Dark Knight Rises. If you want a spoiler-light look at the film, click here.

It’s here. Christopher Nolan has defied the law of superhero trilogies, which seemed so natural that it was akin to gravity. The Dark Knight Rises might not be the perfect piece of cinema, but it does perfectly wrap up Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, with enough grace, wit and intelligence to avoid the problems that faced other superhero threequels. While it falls a little short of The Dark Knight, mainly because of what it lacks rather than what it fails at, The Dark Knight Rises manages to make some telling observations about its central character, while proving an epic for our time.

The Dark Knight was the best mainstream film to explore the War on Terror, and The Dark Knight Rises might be the best movie about the social implications of the current economic strife – the philosophy of the “1%.” Finding a way to handle both the political allegory and the central character’s myth in under three hours is no small accomplishment, and Christopher Nolan once again demonstrates why he’s one of the best directors working today. Nobody blends blockbuster scale and aesthetic with sophistication and suspense nearly as well as Nolan.

The Dark Knight Returns?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Charles Dickens, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], DarkKnight Rises, film, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, Movie, nolan, non-review review, review | 32 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Darren

If you’ve already seen the film, there’s a more in-depth, spoiler-filled version available here.

The Dark Knight Returns?

Note: There will be some spoilers in this review. I won’t summarise the plot, but I will discuss some plot points. I won’t spoil any twists, but I may quote some dialogue. Don’t worry, I’ll warn you when I’m digging into the story itself below.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bane, batman, batman begins, Charles Dickens, Christopher Nolan, dark knight, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight [Blu-ray], film, joker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, Movie, nolan, non-review review, review | 34 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman – Year One

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Darren

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises just around the corner, it makes sense for Warner Brothers to capitalise on one of the greatest influences on Nolan’s trilogy. Frank Miller’s take on Batman – as defined in Year One and The Dark Knight Returns – was bold, brash, clever and iconoclastic. So it’s only fair that both stories are receiving animated adaptations for Warner Brothers. While Batman: Year One might be little more than a shot-for-shot and line-by-line adaptation of Frank Miller’s origin for the Dark Knight, there’s absolutely no shame in that. Year One is perhaps my favourite Batman story, and I think it’s one certainly worth telling.

“I shall become a bat…”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman begins, Bruce, Christopher Nolan, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, dc animated universe, dcau, film, frank miller, FrankMiller, gordon, Miller, Movie, non-review review, review | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Teen Wolf

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Darren

Teen Wolf is quite possibly the single strangest werewolf movie I have ever seen. I would love to have been a fly-on-the-wall at that pitch meeting:

Teen movies are all the rage this year, sir.

And werewolf films have been trending up since The Howling.

Now if there were only some way to combine the two.

As the name implies, Teen Wolf is the story of a teenager who discovers that he has hair in places where he didn’t have hair before. Lots of places. The film does an… interesting job using a conventional movie monster as an exploration of teenage “otherness”, and I actually like the film’s second act is completely off-the-wall, but even the considerable charisma of Michael J. Fox isn’t quite enough to salvage a muddle mix of eighties clichés, knock-off eighties theme songs, and confusion about the movie’s rather basic “be yourself” metaphor.

Scott’s attempt to grow a beard has gone horribly wrong…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adolescence, An American Werewolf in London, film, Folklore, Howling, literature, Mark Vieha, Michael J. Fox, Movie, MTV, non-review review, Randy Newman, review, Teen Wolf, Tyler Posey, werewolf, werewolves, wolf | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman – Mask of the Phantasm

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Darren

There is a legitimate argument to be made that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman movie produced prior to Christopher Nolan taking over the film franchise. While I narrowly prefer Batman Returns, it’s hard to deny that this animated take on the character from the creator behind Batman: The Animated Series isn’t a superb exploration of the Caped Crusader and his world. Kevin Conroy is still, after all these years, my favourite actor to play Batman, and I can’t help but feel like the movie deserves a lavish re-release to celebrate the pending release of The Dark Knight Rises.

You’d have to finally go batty to do this in the long-term…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alfred pennyworth, Andrea, batman, Bruce, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, danny elfman, Dark Knight Rises, Dick Sprang, film, frank miller, gotham, gotham city, Harley Quinn, joker, kevin conroy, Movie, non-review review, Phantasm, review, Shirley Walker, tim burton | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Darren

I’m convinced that there must be a half-decent Ghost Rider movie to be made. In fact, I’m sure that Nicolas Cage already made it, in the form of the deliciously pulpy Drive Angry, which touched on a lot of the grindhouse and B-movie qualities one expects from a movie featuring a stunt driver with a flaming skull who sucks souls from criminals. In contrast, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance feels like it’s trying a little too hard. The script feels just a little bit too stilted and conventional, while the direction seems to overcompensate, feeling gimmicky to the point of being distracting and almost disorientating.

Hell’s Angel…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Brian Taylor, Camera, ciaran hinds, Crank (film), Drive Angry, film, ghost rider, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, hulk, Idris Elba, Johnny Blaze, Mark Neveldine, Movie, Movies, nicolas cage, non-review review, review, Satan | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Rushmore

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Darren

I am quite fond of Rushmore. It’s strange, because I found that Anderson’s schtick wore off on many of his following films – The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited. I suspect my affection for the film is rooted in the fact that it was the first Wes Anderson film I ever saw, and so his quirks and style were refreshing to me. There is, after all, nobody who writes movie dialogue and directs scenes quite like Wes Anderson. In a way, he feels a bit like Quentin Tarantino, an autuer who seems to sign almost every frame of his work. I think, perhaps, that I am so partial to Rushmore because Anderson’s plot devices and his writing seem much better suited to it than to many of the films that followed. After all, it’s a lot easier to accept a film based around a character who acts like an emotionally immature teenager when that character is an emotionally immature teenager.

It all goes to the Max…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anderson, Bill Murray, film, Grover Cleveland, Jason Schwartzman, Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom, Mount Rushmore, Movie, non-review, Olivia Williams, Owen Wilson, Oxford, review, Royal Tenenbaum, Rushmore, Sorbonne, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, United States, wes anderson | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Dracula (1931)

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Darren

I have a soft spot for classic Universal horror. Not that it should come as a surprise – I’m a sucker (ha!) for some vintage Hammer Horror as well, and all other forms of classical horror (even if they may occasionally veer into the realm of kitsch). It’s really hard to overstate the massive influence that the 1931 Universal version of Dracula had on the subsequent adaptations of Stoker’s truly iconic novel. I honestly don’t believe that the character would the same without Bela Lugosi’s truly magnificent central performance, as seen here. Sure, I’m less than convinced about the ending, but most of Tod Browning’s adaptation is a feast for the eyes and pulpy horror classic.