THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY (Ultimate box set)

[Johann]

This DVD release is extremely important to me.
I am not really a materialist, but the one that does reside in me finds this limited edition set really appealing. (141,000 copies only)

The films themselves have been ripped to shreds by "erudite critics", but I just laugh at them. And so does Chris Nolan, I'm sure.
Amazon has reviews that say the acting is bad (maybe in some cases, but so what?), that it is excessively violent (again, so what?),
and that the plots are absurdly ridiculous (again: so what?)
Batman fans and fans of cinema (yours truly) have their Brass Ring. And it's this Magnificent trilogy.

The set comes with a letter from Christopher Nolan himself, art prints (I love the Joker's), 3 die-cast replicas of the Bat-Pod, the Bat and the Tumbler, which people are griping are packaged horribly because you have to rip them from the cardboard- (SO WHAT? are you a fan or not, Clowny?)
The booklet is nice, with glossy paper and stunning images.
The slipcase for the 6 Blu-Ray discs is gorgeous, although I must warn you: they are hard to remove from the sleeves. Take your time.
You can easily damage your software here.
The white box embossed with the bat symbol is eye-grabbing, and as far as marketing this amazing trilogy of films goes, this set is Aces.
Ace of Spades. Bravo to Warner Brothers, although I'm sure Chris Nolan himself had his hand in it's look/design.
It is Marvelous.
Buy it before they're gone. 141,000 seems like a lot, but it's not. That's worldwide.



They've spotted the Batman!

[Johann]

I bought a second set of this trilogy at HMV. YOU ARE TEMPORARILY FORGIVEN, HMV!
It was on sale for $59.99 this weekend. Could not pass up buying another set.
It was $20 cheaper than what I originally paid.

This trilogy is either your cuppa or it's not.
I will literally be studying these films on blu-ray. The bonus disc of special features/making of's is only available in this set, and I will post soon about it. Michael Mann, Zack Snyder and Guiellermo del Toro all speak of the impact if this trilogy- del Toro says that Chris Nolan is a "cinematic mathemetician" (!)
Also included in this set are the complete IMAX sequences. That is enough for a film buff right there.
The art prints by MONDO are also frameable, and so is the "letter" from Christopher Nolan.
This is the kind of DVD release that I go nuts over.

[Johann]

I was given a Blu-Ray DVD for Christmas that I am excited to have (and subsequently will review):
THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, a DC Entertainment animated movie.

The film was released as two separate DVD's (part 1 and part 2) earlier last year, and the Blu-Ray I was given combines the 2 films into one seamless whole- over two hours in total.
Frank Miller's seminal (and absolutely essential for Bat-fans) graphic novel has been given the *animated* cinematic treatment, and I couldn't be happier. That (4-issue) book was huge for me as a youth (along with Alan Moore's timeless THE KILLING JOKE) and it has finally been made into an animated feature. I will watch it several times in order to not mince words about how good or bad it is.
It comes with 4 art cards and a "regular" DVD copy. You can't beat that. And I haven't even seen it yet.
Peter Weller is the voice of Batman.

"Batman: Year One" is another DVD I have earmarked for future purchase. DC Comics are tapping into that sweet-spot fan base: the ones who bought comics and graphic novels in the 80's, the ones who know the shit from the shinola.

And Frank Miller shines likes no other comics creator, Mang.

[Johann]

BATMAN BEGINS


It's not who you are underneath. It's what you do that defines you.



Batman Begins is fantastic cinema. Chris Nolan resurrected Batman for the screen in a way that no one saw coming. I sure didn't, and I've been a Batman fan forever. Since I was a kid. It just appeared out of nowhere in 2005, blowing people away with it's fresh, dark, and gritty reboot of the Batman mythos. What he did here is phenomenal. Most of what you see onscreen was done in-camera, that is, LIVE. No CGI trickery. There is CGI in the film for sure, but it is in concert with in-camera action. Nolan keeps it real. Really real. Parallels can be drawn with the Gotham City onscreen and some cities in the real world. Crime, corruption, poverty, drug wars, economic strife- they're all here and they all exist in the real world too.

So how fascinating is it that a Billionaire who loses his parents to a thug with no decency allows that to define who he is, to allow it to make it his destiny? Amazingly fascinating to me. Not only does he allow it to shape his destiny and define it, but he does not account for the collateral damage. This is one of the things that makes this movie compelling. He has the Police on his side with James Gordon, he is making a definite impression on criminals in Gotham, silently stalking them and terrorizing them. He is imposing fear on those who prey on the fearful.
And because he's wealthy, he can afford equipment that gives him a huge advantage over the perps he's roughing up and sending to Arkham.
His transformation from just a rich kid with really nothing to offer the world to a sheer Beast of a Vigilante, supremely physically fit and supremely stealthy is Awesome. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he is the best man to embody that character I've seen. I don't think he has to worry about Ben Affleck making people forget him. Bale nailed Batman. He did a tremendous job, and it stands for all time.

Chris Nolan is very faithful to the Batman mythos, and Batman fans like me are so grateful that he took it seriously and proved that it can be done. He chose villains that could actually exist in a real city. No Killer Croc. No Clayface. No Penguin.
Here he has Ras al Ghul and the League of Shadows, Ducard (a terrific Liam Neeson), The Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane)- who is probably the most dangerous villain after Bane. Scarecrow can attack Batman without laying a hand on him. He can get into his cowl, into his brain, and fuck it up. Zsasz is another great Batman villain, a serial killer who uses a knife, who cuts himself with a tally of his victims. Victor Zsasz was a wealthy businessman until he gambled his fortune at a Gotham casino and lost it all to the Penguin. He is a villain that I would like to see have his own movie with Batman. Batman is on the record in the comics as saying Zsasz is the one villain he hates the most.
He is seen briefly in Batman Begins, played by Tim Booth. He's a thug of Carmine Falconi's who butchers citizens for money.

Cillian Murphy is great as Scarecrow. Good casting job having him play the Scarecrow. My favorite scene is with him being given a dose of his own hallucinagen, with Batman's cowl melting into a bitchin' black mask of rage. Fuckin'A Awesome.

Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes is serviceable, nothing special. She was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhal in The Dark Knight and nobody missed her. Did you? I didn't. Michael Caine is perfect as Alfred. He adds humour, emotion and is a real anchor, not just for Bruce Wayne. For us too.
Caine is a comforting presence in Batman Begins. Gary Oldman as I've said before is perfect to play James Gordon, the most important cop on the GCPD. He is exactly as the character is in the best comics stories that he appears in. Fans are real happy with Gary here. He is a big reason these Batman films rock.
Stellar support also from Morgan Freeman (always reliable), Tom Wilkinson and Rutger Hauer. No appendages flapping around on this movie! The casting is spot-on. All of them add something to make this film much larger then the sum of it's parts.

The gadgets Batman has are great, especially the Batmobile (The Tumbler), an idea that Chris Nolan was tinkering with leaving out.
You can't have a Batman movie without a Batmobile. No way. No Batmobile, No Batman. You dig?
What's he gonna get around with? He needs bitchin wheels Yo. And the tumbler is one Bitchin' Machine.
I'm also glad Chris Nolan insisted on Batman having a cape. Batman just ain't Batman without a fucking cape. Bats have wings. Batman has a cape.
End of story.
Tremendous action and emotional resonance this film has.
Batman Begins launched a series of films jam-packed with conscious intensity. These aren't for kids, these films. they have a serious darkness, a moody brooding quality that I've heard people complain about, even with Man of Steel. I don't care. I love it's darkness.
Tim Burton's Batman was fucking dark too. Nobody complains about his Batman.
Chris Nolan did it right.
He gave us a Dark Knight For The Ages.

[Johann]

THE DARK KNIGHT



Ha Ha Ha Oooh Heee Hee Ha....and I thought MY jokes were bad!


The sequel to Batman Begins topped what came before it. Chris Nolan upped the ante in ways that still stoke me up when I think about them.
He takes us back to Gotham City, which is still corrupt, still mired in political wrangling and wrongdoing, with crime at an all-time high, white collar, blue collar, no collar...it's pretty bleak in Gotham. Pretty fucked up.
The District Attorney is trying to fight crime on a large scale, fight the mob, he holds Jim Gordon in contempt yet needs his help, and in the beginning arc of the film he is almost assassinated by the mob in a courtroom filled with people. Harvey Dent is a strong character and an important character.
He's a huge name in Batman's mythology, as he eventually becomes the rogue villain Two-Face. He is played perfectly in my opinion by Aaron Eckhardt. He almost steals the movie. But The Joker stole it back.

Heath Ledger does an almost superhuman acting performance here as The Joker. If you think I'm being too generous by saying it was "superhuman", let me tell you the truth: I had no opinion about Heath before I saw this film. I couldn't care less about the films he did. He just didn't do anything for me. Then I see The Dark Knight. This guy transformed himself into the Joker. He seems like he wasn't acting, that he was that psychopathic clown. The Joker just appears, with no background information. We first see him crash a mob meeting, in grotesque makeup and a purple suit with greasy green hair. It's hard to believe they are listening to this character, let alone that they do business with him, that he holds sway over them, and finally dramatically exits the scene, threatening to blow everyone up including himself with grenades.
Who is this guy? Why does he wear makeup? In the opening bank heist scene we get a hint that he wears it "to scare people, you know, warpaint".

The story here is that crime is off the map in Gotham, and the public trusts and "Believes In" Harvey Dent to restore law and order .
But Dent is seriously pissing off the criminal elements in Gotham. The courts are overflowing, Dent is loathed, Batman is loathed, ESPECIALLY by the Joker, and he demands that Batman take off his mask in order to restore order in Gotham.
He crashes a fundraiser for Dent by Bruce Wayne. Riveting scene of the Joker looking to find Harvey and execute him onsite.
He doesn't find him, but he finds Rachel, and that's when Batman arrives. It's On between the Joker and Batman.

That famous quote of "The Price Of Protest Just Went Up" applies here, as the criminals are ready to take over the asylum. They are protesting the tight squeeze that Harvey Dent and Batman have been putting on them and continue to put on them.
So the Joker takes glee in rigging up ways to kill public officials and anyone else he feels like for the rest of the film, doing random attacks and unexpected hijackings, culminating in a great chase and showdown in the streets complete with a semi-trailer flipping over, machine guns, rocket launchers, pistols, the Bat-Pod, the Tumbler, tasers, shotguns, flames and all around badass destruction. Chris Nolan outdid the previous film and it was intentional. That's how much vision he has/had. He wanted to make a sequel that did what The Empire Strikes Back did for Star Wars: outshine it and enhance it. And he succeeded. It works.

The acting is not to be studied here. It's a comic book story, and the dialogue doesn't lend itself to particularly deep and resonant acting scenes that allow an actor to show off. Heath Ledger shows off. He's allowed to play, and that's how it should be. The character demands nothing less than complete anarchic freedom. He could inspire jealousy in some who feel he is a Hero, someone to be admired.He's Not. The Joker is not a Hero. He's a nutjob, a purposeless criminal, an unredeemable one. Just like that idiot who dressed up like him in Denver and shot all those people at The Dark Knight Rises premiere. He is a character to be despised. A terrorist.
Heath Ledger deserved his posthumous Oscar for playing the Joker. Precisely because he makes a purposeless criminal somewhat sympathetic and riveting. He did something truly amazing with this role. He did a better job than Jack Nicholson, and that's saying something, because Jack was the fucking BOMB as the Joker.

Batman is second fiddle to the Joker here. Heath steals the movie from Aaron Eckhardt, who would've stolen it if there was no Joker here. Heath steals the movie from both Aaron and Christian Bale. But the villains in Batman are always more interesting than Batman himself, right?
Right-Right. Righty-Right.

Bottom line, the acting is not what you watch this movie for. You watch it for the spectacle and the amazing performance of Heath Ledger.
It's Batman. It's a comic book-based action film. For adults. This one you would have to give parental guidance to young ones.
It's got themes that are dark and sinister and could actually manifest themselves in reality. We hope not, but it's possible.
This is a hostile political world...
Thank you Chris Nolan for a Bitchin, Badass Bombastic Beautiful Batman film.