http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xWcN2qgK5c&feature=player_embedded#!

cant wait for the movie!

Man I was sold on seeing this the minute I left the theatre after seeing THE DARK KNIGHT four years ago. And it's still a friggin month away!

In fact I think Christopher Nolan's problem is that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES* has gotten too much hyped up by everybody to ridiculous proportions.

Or put it another way, look at PROMETHEUS. That backlash of massive disapointment will look like spilled milk pouting in comparison if TDKR ("The Dorker!") comes up short to people's expectations.

*=When that title was announced, I wonder what context did it mean? (I was personally rooting for THE CAPE CRUSADER.) Then the Anne Hathaway in tight suit photos came out, and well they would make Batman "rise."

Except for the occasional kids movie I took my grandkids to, I haven't been to the movies in years. However, I will go see this one because it was made in Pittsburgh and I got to see a few minutes of it being filmed last summer.

From what I understand in the comics, after a brutal fight, Bane defeats Batman by breaking his back. Almost kills him. Certainly puts him out of commission. Some other dude takes over as Batman while Bruce Wayne recovers.

The TDKR viral marketing chugs along...

i like this movie tralier. i think this movie gonna be a big hit.

Interesting. A mayor signing into law a modification of state statute. I don't think so. Then again, Gotham is a fictional city in what, I presume, is a fictional state in a fictional nation.

Here's the trailer again, since the one above got taken down.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQqjK47c04

Considering this is Gotham City we're talking about, a town so bad that it makes Detroit look like fMayberry, I wonder if the state government gave them local home rule to the extreme when it came to punishing criminals. I mean after the events of THE DARK KNIGHT when a public official was martyred by being murdered by the vigilante "The Batman," (nevermind Joker raising hell in the city) maybe the subsequent uproar is why this Mayor has extraordinary powers.

What? It's about as logical as a billionaire dressed up as a flying rodent and beating up crooks and rapists at night.

(Funny but in the comics, they never could decide where Gotham City was. Is it in New England as NYC? Is it in the midwest like Chicago? I remember one issue, it was placed between Boston and NYC. Metropolis has a similar problem. Official current continuity, Metropolis is in Kansas as basically Kansas City on steroids but previously it's also been a stand-in for NYC. Try to enforce comic book continuity, and your brain will explode like SCANNERS.)

EDIT - I love that Aquarius horoscope.

Why Batman needs to die in 'Dark Knight Rises'

http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news...ight-rises?lite

Off-topic, but director Christopher Nolan is being honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=62536

13 minute Dark Knight Rises featurette

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UuUxqfAOUM&feature=youtu.be

I saw the trailer of this great action movie THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.Its a super-cool movie.I always waiting to watch this movie.

The full soundtrack:

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=34498

I looked for an actual date of the ceremony. Coincidentally, I will be there tomorrow (touristing with visiting relatives) . It's been a long time since I was there but have never seen anyone officially be honored. I'll let you know.

One time, some years back, when I was there we just happened to see them film a scene from Ed Wood with Johnny Depp. Pretty cool, though they kept shooting the same scene over and over and over again. Guess it wasn't just right.


TIS

The Internet says it was on the 7th.

Well, I guess I'll be missing it then. LOl I hope something is happening when I'm there. We also plan to eat lunch at the Hard Rock in L.A. Last time I was there, was over 10 yrs ago and we were pleasantly surprised when KISS performed. You never know.



TIS

From watching the TDKR ads and trailers, one plot point I've been eagerly anticipating to see how it would be pulled off in dramatic context:

And the Oscar goes to ... Batman? Could happen with epic grandeur of ‘Dark Knight Rises’

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a...aGdW_story.html

No.

I only say that for two reasons. (1), there's so many upcoming movies that will also be serious contenders from Paul Thomas Anderson's eagerly anticipated THE MASTER to Spielberg's LINCOLN movie, it's too soon to speculate in July.

But most importantly, (2)Christopher Nolan's last two movies were insanely successful blockbusters. THE DARK KNIGHT made a billion, and INCEPTION actually did better overseas than TDK. Both blockbusters were pretty darn popular with critics and shit even both scored prestigious nominations for Nolan from the Director's Guild of America. The DGA self-explainatory the Hollywood union of directors and they vote those DGA awards, so shit even Nolan's peers thought he did pretty well both years.

And both times, he was snubbed by the Oscars for even a director nomination. With three DGA nods and ZERO Oscar directing nods, he shares that disgraceful honor with Meathead himself, Rob Reiner. (Nolan was previously DGA nominated for MEMENTO.) Without a Director nod, you can't be a serious contender to win Best Picture.

Nolan's predictament reminds me of the Oscars ignoring Spielberg for years. They even at one point gave him the Thalberg Award at a very young age (41) to win such a lifetime honorary prize just so they could get over the public's confusion for why the #1 successful filmmaker in history was snubbed by the Oscars. (His THE COLOR PURPLE infamously scored 10 nominations but won Zero.)

The Oscars in their self-absorbed world would rather not nominate, much less let win, massively popular "popcorn" movies unless their hand is absolutely forced by their voting body. Since the Best Picture nomination field expanded in recent years, its why several Pixar releases (rightfully) got nominated but zero director nods because they're animation which aren't "real" movies.

Now obviously because you are a popular blockbuster, it doesn't mean you can't win the Oscar. TITANIC (biggest hit at the time) and GLADIATOR and the last LORD OF THE RINGS movie are good exceptions. (Going back even further, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and FOREST GUMP.)

But that's the thing with the Oscars, that never-ending battle between voting for the popular entertainments and the wonderful if underseen/little-seen limited released/indie productions.

I mean I don't know about you guys, but I thought NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was an oustanding movie in every regard and absolutely deserved that Oscar. I thought THE HURT LOCKER was pretty damn good too, exceptional action filmmaking in our era of the despised "post-action" shakey cam nonsense. (Plus it deserved the win more than fucking AVATAR.)

Then in '08, THE DARK KNIGHT wasn't nominated. It should've been, not just because it deserved it IMO but because it was better than every single movie nominated for BP that year.

In short, I wouldn't be shocked if THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is better than the last two Best Picture winners*. And it still won't win, a nomination perhaps because of the 5+ nom field. I mean even INCEPTION got a Picture nod.

*=It won't take much to be better than THE ARTIST, a movie I thought was charmingly decent at the time but it's not aged well in reflection.

As a huge Batman fan, I will choose to ignore Ronnie's comment and hope he is wrong.

When it comes to The Dark Knight Rises, I'm not hoping for an Oscar. Just for the movie to actually live up to the hype. While I liked the underlying premise, I thought Batman Begins was kind of boring. The Dark Knight was better but mainly due to Ledger's performance. To this day, I still prefer the 1989 version.

Blasphemy, I know.

I think it will be impossible for it to live up to the hype (I hope it does, but that would be unrealistic). I liked all three films wih TDK as my favorite. Batman Begins was good as well but I agree that the whole origins story aspect of it was a bit boring IMO, but it needed to be told.

See that sentiment you two share on BEGINS baffles, for I was enthralled by that origins story, crafted with an appropriate larger than life stage. I know people wonder why these superhero movies need to have an origin story, but honestly when they're done right, they're pure storytelling magic. Even if it's an origin as well-known even to casual audiences as say Batman's origin. (I liken it to Jesus. There's some stories with tapestries worth weaving.)

I like that we see the evolution of Batman not just in getting his ass-kicking skills and costume, but specifically his ethical code. That's something taken for granted, because Batman came from a children-aimed literary medium of comic books. Superheroes didn't kill people. (I'm sure Punisher gave those old-timer cartoonists a stroke.)

But if you question that one rule of integrity, even when considering everything bad in the comics that's happened to Batman and his pseudo-family. I mean why doesn't he break Joker's neck after he murdered the 2nd Robin and paralyzed Batgirl? Wouldn't you? I would. I mean enough is enough, hell Gotham City would celebrate like Americans did after Osama Bin Laden got toe tagged. But really, why doesn't Batman lose his cool? Hell why doesn't he turn Gotham into a police state? What needs does he have of the (usually useless) Gotham cops?

Because as an idealized ubermensch American creation, he believes in Democracy and it's essnetial balance of law & order with a free open society. Yes he's a vigilante, but he doesn't kickass to feel better about himself or to defeat some rival ideology. In his mind, he tries to bring harmony back to that "balance" bent out of shape by the criminals and influences who've hijacked the governmental legal system for their own gain at the public's loss. It's why he doesn't kill criminals, he beats the hell out of them and leaves them for the police to collect. It's why people are incorrect to call him a fascist, he's rather democratic, disciplined and civilized for a vigilante.

It's why I loved that storyline of Bruce Wayne joining the League of Shadows (or League of Assassins from the comics), a secret army of vigilantes. I mean that's good, right? Who isn't for killing those bad evil people who get away with it?

Until of course he (and the audience) realize that this League is actually Al Qaeda, willing to kill thousands of innocent people in the name of "justice." That's why Batman is the hero, and they're the villains.

Tim Burton's first BATMAN movie is strange, like I don't care for it but it has so many elements I do admire. From Danny Elfman's soundtrack (and Prince's songs) to Keaton's Bruce Wayne to Nicholson having fun, etc. But the movie feels sorta mindless really, like a saturday morning cartoon on autopilot. I never really cared what happened. As an empty (but brilliant) aesthetics visual parade, it reminds me of DICK TRACY.

Plus personally, I just don't like Joker given an origin story or treated as a person. I prefered how Heath Ledger portrayed his Joker: not a person, but an absolutist in crime, evil, terrorism, whatever term you prefer. He's more powerful by that regard.

Wait scratch that metaphor. BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES was a saturday morning (and weekday afternoon) cartoon, and what exceptional storytelling, fun and usually quite engaging writing with even some deeply moving moments. I cared about Batman and well everything else happening in that show. (MASK OF THE PHANTASM is a worth-seeing movie based off that show. Better than the Burton movies.)

Of course I did like Burton's BATMAN RETURNS, one of the more insane summer blockbusters ever produced. It's not for everybody (unlike most summer releases try to be), but it's so perversely wacky in it's camp. Pfeiffer's Catwoman is able to drag some sort of interesting story out of Batman personally, so I liked RETURNS. (That scene of Penguin biting that dude's nose off freaked me out as a kid.)

Even though I prefer the 1989 version (mainly because Jack Nicholson is the best joker ever) I liked the whole idea behind making Batman more "realistic" and less comic book if one is going to do an updated reboot. So I like the idea behind it all. I thought it just didn't translate all that well in the first movie. But probably my biggest reservation was the look of Scarecrow, as much as I like Cillian Murphy as an actor. Also, there really is no need for the way Bale talks when he's in disguise.

Compared to the first, the second one was certainly better all around, though mainly due to the unexpected quality of Ledger's performance. But I still cringe at all the lavish worship heaped on it by the Nolan fan boys who act like it's the superhero Gone With the Wind and that Nolan is the Second Coming. If anything, I attribute it to the fact that, since so much of what comes out of Hollywood sucks nowadays, anything or anyone who produces some quality is looked at as a phenomenon.

In my opinion, Batman Begins was mediocre. The Dark Knight was pretty good. Hopefully The Dark Knight Rises will live up to the hype. As for Nolan, in a way he's like the Beatles. Is great at his craft, and has done some fine work, but not really worthy of the God-like praise he gets.

I have never been a Batman fan; never read the comic books, never really watched the old tv show AND never saw a Batman movie until I saw previews of "The Dark Knight". I was so intrigued by Heath Ledger's Joker, I actually went to the movie theater to see it. I only go to the theater when I really want to see a film. Everytime TDK is on tv, I have to at least watch parts of it. The Joker, in that film, has become one of my favorite movie villains.

It would appear, by the title of this new film, they are trying to draw off that character no? I can't imagine anyone holding a candle to Ledger in that same role. Also, totally on another subject, why is Christian Bale's voice so weird when he talks as Batman? Just my two cents.

TIS

I guess it's just part of his disguise. As I mentioned above, not really necessary, in my opinion.