Chopper, THE DARK KNIGHT was many things, but "realistic"? I think the term you're looking for is "believable," but that's a subjective concept so what do I know? I like to think Nolan's Batman movies, no matter how fantastical they go (and they do go fantastical) there is always a sense of grounded reality to them.

Call me a cynic, but for whatever I do buy the idea of the U.S. government allowing Bane's occupation, even in spite of that movie universe's President claiming he doesn't negotiate with terrorists. Yet what does that govt. do? Give in. I just accept that, and I even liked that scene of JGL on the bridge confronting the military near the end.

More and more, this movie ages well for me personally, especially in the details. Like THE DARK KNIGHT, I think the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. I mean really, who didn't like that "exile" set piece? That was brilliant. (TDK might be slightly better than TDKR, but that's like saying Abbey Road might be better than the White Album.)

Really we've had a good summer when we have two "awesome" superhero movies in TDKR and AVENGERS, and I really can't pick which is better. The Internet has a bug up it's ass in spite of this wonderful season for that genre (and shit, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was decent too.)



Blame that on the era of PG-13, where heaven forbid you can bash someone's head in but it's OK if no blood. Weird but in that regard, we're back in the pre-1980spre-PG-13 era where blood wasn't that frequent in such big popcorn blockbusters. If Bale was smoking in TDKR, MPAA would give the movie a R rating.



You want my pet theory? No evidence, but I like to believe in exchange for the regular food/water supplies being lined down to those cops, Bane forced them in exchange to give up their guns in those same buckets. (Yeah it's a stretch, but the concept is sound.)

What do you mean by that line about the female cops? That they're not that many women cops there, or that they're there at all?

That JGL gun toss came to my mind as well, but a friend of mine argued that it thematically helms back to BATMAN BEGINS when Christian Bale threw away that gun, and well with JGL's fate, I suppose that makes sense.

I also wonder if JGL tossed it because he didn't want to get distracted with that investigation and all that, he was too busy to solve that mystery. I mean this is the same city after all that chased Batman instead of guys who hijacked the stock market. (Misplaced priorities by the local police if you ask me.)



I will disagree with you by arguing this:

Box office estimates so far are almost $170 million.

It was about to become a massive, hand to hand brawl. What were they gonna do?

Let me quote a movie I loved as a kid, THE MONSTER SQUAD: "Kick him in the nards!"

I know there's nothing realistic about a guy dressing up as a bat and jumping rooftops, perhaps that was the wrong choice of words.

But the Dark Knight felt more believable indeed, and that is what Nolan brought to the Batman Legend: a more realistic, grittier take on the tale. I enjoyed TDKR a lot, but with the atomic bomb, certain people coming back from serious injury with a vengeance etc., it had much more of a comic book feel to it all.

And one thing I haven't mentioned yet: the Selina Kyle character was great. Smart, dangerous and sexy.

So this is where Nolan got the idea...

Slightly off-topic, I was talking with some friends about why is it that Batman seems to be eternally popular despite the changes in times and culture. I felt stupid for not mentioning Batman's #1 trump card immediately: His Rogue's Gallery.

The Joker
Penguin
Two Face
Poison Ivy
Mr. Freeze
Scarecrow
The Riddler
Scarface
Harley Quinn
Ra's al Ghul
Bane
Black Mask
Killer Croc
The Mad Hatter
Solomon Grundy*
Hush
Man-Bat
Firefly
Victor Zsasz

And so many others but those were the ones I remembered directly by memory. (I was going to add Catwoman too, but do people consider her a Bat-villain anymore?) I mean most of those names and their own particular, interesting gimmicks (most with a psychological flavor of some kind to them) is why I think Batman is still popular. You're only as good as your villain. Or Villains actually.

*=Not exclusively a Batman villain (originally a Green Lantern adversary actually) but I remembered him so I'll count him as well.

A nice end to a terrific trlogy. Hathaway stole the show IMHO.
Good thing the Nolan productions are over cause Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are getting a little long in the tooth.

Did Tom Waits Inspire Heath Ledger's Joker?



Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight is legendary. So is Tom Waits.

If these thoughts seem disconnected, you clearly need to watch this video.

The 1979 Australian TV interview with then 29-year-old Waits has been making the viral rounds on the Internet this weekend, and for good reason -- Waits' voice is virtually indistinguishable from Ledger's memorably creepy Joker. The only difference? Waits is speaking this way in real life.

Also worth noting is interviewer Don Lane's impressive -- and presumably unintentional -- rendition of Phil Hartman's Frank Sinatra impression.

The two share a genuinely awkward (read: hilarious) conversation -- witness Waits struggling to sit up and Lane attempting to avoid second-hand smoke to no avail.

Ledger's extreme commitment to his role as The Joker has been a topic of interest for years, particularly after the actor's untimely death.

But it seems that a little credit may be due to Waits's unique voice -- and perhaps even his casually bizarre demeanor.

Do you see the similarity? Let us know in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

http://news.yahoo.com/did-tom-waits-inspire-heath-ledgers-joker-video-193319410.html

Just seen the movie, wasn't too bad. Didn't like the ending though would of been better if batman had died like we initially thought. A heroic and noble act saving the city and then the end. Instead now were going to get loads of other movies.

Even if Batman did get nuked as you would prefer, you really think Warner Bros. will just end the (very lucrative) Batman movie series like that? He's become one of those characters that like James Bond, we'll always be getting more movies.

They're "rebooting" Batman (and rebooting a reboot at that) regardless if Batman got exterminated literally or not. There won't be a JGL spin-off (or Catwoman spin-off for that matter.)

Hell there was a report the other day that the "new" Batman would premiere inn the planned JUSTICE LEAGUE movie (2015?), and then his new film series starts the year later.

~If rumors are right, Summer 2015 we could very well have both AVENGERS 2 and the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie.

I'm not a batman fan but i went to see this film today and i was impressed with the film,

The outside scenes of the house where Bruce Wayne lives was filmed at Wollaton Hall which is in my home town of Nottingham..

I thought this film was excellent as another poster put, "it was a good end to a great trilogy", I dont wanna go any further or my inner nerd will come out, I was a pheen for the comics coming up..

Nolan is a badass director/writer, everything Ive seen him hasnt let me down, def one of the best in the last 8/10 yrs easy..

Good list, forgot a few but nicely done off the top... One villian forgot and who is off-topicly linked to TDKR is "King Snake" who is actually Bane's father, just sayin..

^^^^^ Thanks For Sharing. I happened to be a big fan of "King Snake."

No problem bro, me too he was badass, him and his "crew"--he actually shot Bane in one of the comic books(remember)when King Snake was just about to shoot BatMan and Bane jumped in the way, it was a crazy issue to say the least..

Honestly I don't remember King Snake so that's why I didn't mention him.

A Batman villain I really like that unfortunately the comics have never tackled yet was believe it or not from the Adam West TV show: Bookworm. (Played by Roddy McDowall.)

He's one of those classical Golden Age villains that's so ridiculous, it's adorable. Photographic memory of every book he's ever read, staging crimes using that knowledge. His Achilles heel is that he lacks Zero original creativity, going into crime after a failed career as a novelist, a detail I rather enjoy.

I think he's asking for a good "reboot" into the Batman comic universe.

Just saw this movie twice in the past two days, real good!!!