The Dark Knight Rises...to exceed expectations

The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR) is the final installment of the Batman Trilogy by Christopher Nolan, and it was Awesome!

So what was the movie about?

TDKR take place 8 years after the previous movie, The Dark Knight. Gotham has gotten rid of all the organized crime that once plagued its city by using the death of Harvey Dent (from the previous movie) as the catalyst to clean up the streets and strengthen the laws to keep it that way.  Bruce Wayne, devastated by the loss of his love in The Dark Knight has become a recluse in his own mansion.  And Batman hasn't been seen, or needed, for 8 years. 


Although "all is well" in Gotham on the surface, underground a deep and devastating evil is patiently executing its diabolical plan to bring Gotham and its elite crashing to the ground.  This evil is Bane. 


Bane is the final survivor from the League of Shadow,s which was introduced in Batman Begins. He returns to Gotham to finish the work of Ra's al Ghul.  Bane is ruthless, without remorse, and overwhelming in every aspect. Bane's plan is to isolate Gotham and then crush  its people, both mentally and physically....and his first target is Bruce Wayne.

What did I Like About the Movie?

I find it hard to put into words what made this movie so great, but I will give it a try.

1) The movie is so much more than the main plot described above.  There are several subplots in the movie that lend depth, texture and a certain reality to the movie.  All of these moving parts seem to work effortless together as the movie progresses.  Each subplot is developed appropriately and nothing is forgotten or dismissed during the conclusion of the movie.

2) The movie felt like an action/thriller movie first and superhero/comic book movie second. When I watched The Avengers earlier this year, which I loved, you were transported into the comic book world and entertained by the super powers and skills of the Avengers. TDKR felt more like an epic action/thriller that just happened to have Batman as the hero. Everything about the movie was done well:  the story line, the special effects, the acting, and the ending.


3) Concerned about Anne Hathaway as Catwoman? Don't be. She played her role purrfectly. It was understated and although everyone knows she is Catwoman, the movie doesn't focus on that aspect the way you may think they do.


4) The movie needed the almost 3 hours to do it right.  I didn't feel there was a wasted moment in the movie. Each scene had a purpose. Each scene was part of an elaborate puzzle that was being built from the very first movie in the Batman Trilogy, Batman Begins to the end of TDKR. 


5) There were so many different ways to handle the ending of this movie and trilogy, and Christopher Nolan handled it perfectly. The ending is what really made the movie so great.  Without giving anything away, not only did I come away from the movie completely satisfied with how it ended, but I also felt like there was no other way it should have ended after watching it.  I don't know a tremendous amount about the Batman mythology, outside of what I have been told by those who do, but from what I do know and what I have heard, Nolan stays true to this mythology while still saying good bye.  Even though Nolan masterfully ends this Batman chapter, he does it in such a way that someone else can easily begin a new chapter in the Batman story line just like in the comics.

Would I recommend it?

If you have any interest in this movie, you need to see it in the movie theater.  The scope and grandeur of the film is too much to watch it for the first time at home.  I didn't watch in IMAX...and that was a mistake.  A lot of the movie was filmed using the IMAX format and you could tell.  The experience would be so much better in IMAX, so I recommend seeing it in IMAX.

Oh, and I am ready to see it again.

Chronicle: A weak title for a weak movie

Chronicle (verb):  Record (a related series of events) in a factual and detailed way.


This is the best definition of the word Chronicle I could find that would relate to movie I just watched. Except that title tells you exactly nothing about the movie. I can only imagine that the creators of Chronicle came up with an idea of having a film where the main characters were recording their actions as teenagers and then the footage is found later on, then thought, what should we have them film?  I think they can get away with this title because the movie is basically shot from the camera lense of the main characters as they record everything that they are doing. However, that is more of a filming style that adds an interesting element to a movie, but there is no compelling reason why this style needed to be used. 


So what was the movie about?


Three teenager stumble across a large hole/cavern in the ground that leads them to an "not of this world" glowing object. Two weeks after their encounter with the object they notice they have telekinetic powers that continue to grow as they use them.Through the lens of the camera they use to record their experience you watch them become fast friends as they learn to control and use their new found powers. As the movie progresses they also learn that these powers don't shelter them from the struggles of their normal life. As it becomes easier to use their powers they have to be more careful how they use the powers they have as their thoughts and actions begin to result in serious consequences. 


What did I think of the movie?


I found a lot of people liked this movie because of the originality of the movie and the portrayal of the characters in a smaller budget movie (compared to a blockbuster/Avengers-type movie). Personally, I felt the movie was just OK.


I felt like there was so much potential in this movie and they failed to deliver. For example, the movie was just 84 minutes long.  Watching the movie, I felt like it was 2 hours long. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was either just a slow developing movie (the kind I personally don't care for) or they could have paced it better. I had to pause the movie with about 15 minutes left, and I thought to myself how are they going to end this so quickly?  Nothing has really happened yet. Do I even care to finish watching this movie? But I was curious to see how it would actually end and so I did finish it. 


Thinking more about the movie today, I realized that maybe it wasn't that the pacing was off, but the development of the story and the journey they were taking was too shallow. They didn't spend enough time answering the questions or developing a couple of the main characters. That said, the last 10 minutes of the movie seemed to go into hyperdrive to wrap up the story. I find it somewhat ironic I enjoyed the last 10 minutes more overall than I did the rest of the movie. 


Would I recommend it?


I would give it a timid DVD Rental Recommendation since other people really seemed to enjoy the movie. It just wasn't a favorite for me and it is under an hour an half.

Take a Leap of Faith on Man on a Ledge

I just finished watching Man on a Ledge on DVD last night. It was a fun movie. When I first saw the trailer I didn't have much interest in the movie. Who needs to watch a movie where a I guy stands on a 2 ft ledge for a couple of hours?  But when I learned more about the plot, I thought I would give it a try.

The plot revolves around an escaped convict/ex-cop trying to prove his innocence.   I enjoyed the little twists and turns the movie provided and there were a few suspenseful parts in the movie to keep it interesting. Once you get a feel for the plot, there aren't any real surprises to how the movie ends. I like movies where the good guy wins and there is a happy ending for everyone but the bad guy. If you are looking for a more complicated movie, you will need to look elsewhere.

You could tell that most of the ledge scenes were legitimately filmed about 200 feet in the air which increased the authenticity of the film. Being a person who does not like heights, that definitely added another dimension to the film for me.

If you are looking for a fun DVD to rent, I would take a leap of faith on Man on a Ledge.