The Dark Knight Rises

[Amaro]

That makes sense. I was pretty casual about the series till this latest one (god, 2008 was forever ago)...I pronounced him dead from the start, and any other time I saw the movie.

I'm glad there wasn't any twisty with him, too, now that I think about it. I just didn't like the Dent/Two Face portrayal much.

[Leman Russ]

Nolan has said many times there is no supernatural element at play in his Batman movies. If a person dies, they are dead, hence not even a mention of Ra's' Lazarus Pits. Shortly after TDK he said that Harvey was dead & would not be coming back to life, period. I imagine he'll have to say something similar about the ending of TDKR because of how many people are saying Alfred was imagining the whole cafe scene.

[Ruined]

Christian Bale visited the Aurora victims. (http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/dark-knight-rises-star-christian-bale-visits-colorado-shooting-victims-49126)

Classy move. SORT OF wish a nurse would've bumped in to him or got in the way of the shot. 'OH GOOOOOD FOR YOUUUUU...' Sheesh, a guy loses his shit due to a film crew member's mistake and the world never lets him forget it! HA! By the way, I think Anne Hathaway deserves special recognition for helping us to forget this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePgLOVNMSTo

[Bluegirl]

Some people are upset that catwoman was not really catwoman in the movie. I thought Christopher Nolan did the right thing. There were nods to catwoman without making the character dress up like a cat for no good reason. Because with the exception of "but she is catwoman" there is no logical reason to dress like a cat unless it is Halloween. It was bad enough that the whole two-face thing did not make sense out side of "but he is two-face."

[Conan The Barbarian]

Did those people even see the right movie?

[october_midnight]

Cam leaked. Looks like it was filmed with a potato. (not that I haven't already watched it all the way through)

Also, Bane masks make any villain scarier. (http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/bane-mask-makes-any-villain-look-scarier.html?mid=twitter_vulture)

[Conan The Barbarian]

lol

that newman one is priceless.

[Fixer808]

I think the second one is the most flawed it has a crappy ending and a gaping plot hole, it gets harder to look past every time i see it.

My roommate has also been INSISTING that batman died, as there was no feasible way for him to escape a six mile blast radius. Also if you look at the time on the bomb, theres no way he could have cleared six miles i from gotham in that time.

But this is nitpicking. For some reason, ive seen this three times, and they HAMMER IN that hes still alive. He fixed the auto pilot, ans theres no reason to include that line if he didnt survive. He somehow fixed the bat signal, changed his will and took the pearls witg him too. I dont even think its meant to be up for interpretation, like some. I think its just not answered as tightly as it could have been. A lot of people thought two face was still alive. Remember that nonsense?

First off, I fucking LOVED this movie. I think I was holding my breath for the entire last hour.

The part about the autopilot, in my interpretation, was to show that he COULD have set it to fly out to sea if he wanted to, but he felt like in the end he could do more as a symbol than a man, the same way they tried, but finally failed, to do with Dent. Alfred in the cafe at the end was simply seeing in his mind's eye what he always wanted to see when Bruce was gone before "Begins". That's my spin on it.

Also, the link o_m posted:
http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2012/07/25/25_karatekid.o.jpg/a_610x460.jpg
That's a movie I would watch.

[poinoup]

Watched this last night...then immediately came home and watched the cam version.

This flick was pure awesome...no other words. The sets were huge and detailed, and Gotham looked like a megacity...or a metropolis. Watching the 13 minute BTS feature made that Wall St. scene even more enjoyable. All those extras is just insane.

I have to say my favorite scene was in the sewer with Batman dodging the gunfire and only being "lit" by the bullets while he came at the screen. That was phenomenal.

Hathaway and Hardy played their roles to the hilt, but the cinema cracked up on Bane's "Of course!" answer in the plane with the cracking voice. But this was one flick I lost myself in, you really want Batman to just kick Bane's ass by the end...Bane had that cocksure attitude that made him ooze "The Big Bad".

People also applauded at the scene at the end in the cafe. Then it also happened in the cam version, and I had to laugh.

Either way, I'm going again this weekend. Just a great comic book summer film.

[Fixer808]

I was surprised that it wasn't Batman who actually FINISHED Bane, but then, he probably wouldn't have if he refused to kill the Joker.
And jesus, the absolute ferocity that Tom Hardy brought to the role was chilling.

[Vertigo]

What I loved most about Hardy's Bane was that he has this hulking "grr, smash!" physique, coupled with evil little beady eyes poking out from around the mask, so you expect him to be a wrecking ball of perma-aggression. Yet he usually holds back when you expect him to attack someone (even if it's just to attack them a little later than you were expecting...), like Joker he's more interested in defeating/"torturing" Batman than actually killing him, and when he talks, it's in jovial Liam Neeson-esque tones. It's that contradiction that makes him a believable leader.

It would have been all too easy for Bane to have ended up as no more than a big masked thug, but the execution is perfect; as Poinoup said, he exudes "Big Bad"ness. Obviously they were never going to match Ledger's Joker, but in my opinion Bane was as potent a villain as we could have hoped for.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I think that's part of what makes me favor Hardy's Bane to Ledger's Joker. Both were stellar roles, and each one definitely has it's share of strengths, but I think that what gives Bane the upper hand as a strong villain/leader is that we know some of his back story; we know he's not a thoughtless killer. He has reason for doing what he does, and he's not afraid to do what has to be done. Combine that with his size and strength, and the guy is incredibly terrifying in a different way from the Joker. Not necessarily more, but in a way that I can appreciate more than a pure agent of chaos.

I remember a couple pages back someone mentioned that part of what made Bane look so scary and inhuman was the fact that he seems like he never blinks. I tried to keep that in the back of my mind through the movie, and I don't recall seeing it anywhere. Not to say he never did, but I didn't notice. He rarely (if at all) blinked, and his eyes were always piercing forward. That just makes him seem so cold and calculated. The little things like that are what defined this role for me, even down to the way he moved. He wasn't just lumbering around, he carried himself with pride and power and some theatrics, like he knew how important it was that he present himself with some humanity, as opposed to the Joker's haywire and sporadic movements. Not that there was anything wrong with it - It was perfect for The Joker, but that wouldn't have fit Bane at all.

[orestes]

A little easter egg in the movie I noticed upon second viewing: when Selina and Holly were walking through some wealthy family's abandoned home, the shattered picture was of Christopher Nolan.

[Conan The Barbarian]

Good catch, I'll look for it when I go see it in imax.

Speaking of which, how much of the movie is filmed in imax?

[Broadbent]

I was surprised that it wasn't Batman who actually FINISHED Bane, but then, he probably wouldn't have if he refused to kill the Joker.
And jesus, the absolute ferocity that Tom Hardy brought to the role was chilling.


I really feel that's what Catwoman brought to the movie. The ying to batman's yang. She could do what he could'nt do, but had to be done. And he rubbed off on her to with the gunplay earlier in the movie. And they get together in the end, it's actually not a half bad love story when you think about it.

Anne did a good job as Catwoman, great grounded backstory, I Absolutely LOVED, that they didn't even say Catwoman out loud in the flick(although they did say Robin). for some reason it just would have been out of place to hear it spoken.

Gonna watch a cheap cam rip tonight, possibly see it again in theatres this weekend

Oh, and I'll probably take some flac for this, but the IMAX was not worth the extra 6 bucks.

[onthewall2983]

I'm not crazy about IMAX, I'm a fuddy-duddy about aspect ratios.

[Wretchedest]

My friends and i couldnt help but laugh at the line "i watched you die" as said by bruce to Ra's.

He also says this in the first one, when the old lady at the party "introduces" him to Ra's. But he says it right in front of the old lady... that akward moment...

[Broadbent]

Was the police in the sewers thing a shootout to the chilean miners?

[Kodiak33]

I think the actual IMAX footage was around an hour.

[littlemonkey613]

Oh, and I'll probably take some flac for this, but the IMAX was not worth the extra 6 bucks.

Ah HAYELL nah.


Just kidding but are you sure it was a real IMAX screen? There's only 80 in the US and the rest of them aren't the 80 foot tall real IMAX screens but converted stupid things.

[bobbie solo]

yeah, if you see this on a true IMAX screen (Like the one at the AMC Lincoln Center in NYC), you will understand that it is worth the extra $. it looks so, so awesome.

also, the guy above whose interpretation of the ending is that it's Alfred's projection...sorry, but there's absolutely no way thats the intended ending. You can obviously believe whatever you want, but it was written & filmed to show that he survived the bomb incident, and went to Florence with Seilna. Hence, the autopilot line.

[Conan The Barbarian]

and the missing pearl necklace.

[EPICRAGE]

How did Batman survive the atom bomb, or how did he get away from the blast radius when it showed him in The Bat with 5 seconds to go on the timer? Also, the publics perception was that "Batman" died in the bomb blast. Why does Bruce Wayne get a funeral as well/how did he die in the public eye?

These are two points that I just cant wrap my head around and are taking the enjoyment out of the movie, mainly because it seems the only purpose of this ending is for the filmmaker to have a GOTCHA moment after fooling the audience. I still liked it a lot but I don't like having these questions.

[fixate]

How did Batman survive the atom bomb, or how did he get away from the blast radius when it showed him in The Bat with 5 seconds to go on the timer? Also, the publics perception was that "Batman" died in the bomb blast. Why does Bruce Wayne get a funeral as well/how did he die in the public eye?

These are two points that I just cant wrap my head around and are taking the enjoyment out of the movie, mainly because it seems the only purpose of this ending is for the filmmaker to have a GOTCHA moment after fooling the audience. I still liked it a lot but I don't like having these questions.

I can only explain the first point as plain old misdirection.

As for Batman/Bruce Wayne's death. They could have explained that he died in Gotham's occupation. He was one of Gotham's elite and would have been normally targeted by Bane's people (if he wasn't Batman). And as far as Gotham knows, Batman may not be gone for long (i.e. the ending).

[Leman Russ]

I saw this again last night, and enjoyed it even more on the second viewing. Bane was absolutely terrifying to watch on screen. You could tell he felt no threat from Batman during their first fight, and was relishing every punch, kick, and taunt, and was dismayed when Batman came back. His disbelief when saying "But...I broke you..." was amazing. I can't wait to see it again. And again.

[EPICRAGE]

You should go by your full name, Robin Terry McGinnis!

[Fixer808]

Whoever does the porn parody is going to have a lot to work with. "I got a pearl necklace from Batman" *cue flashback*

[onthewall2983]

Not specific, but there's a Dark Knight XXX​ out already.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Whoever does the porn parody is going to have a lot to work with. "I got a pearl necklace from Batman" *cue flashback*

"But...I poop from there. I mean...I broke you..."

[orestes]

You were saying?

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/07/26/the-dark-knight-xxx-porn-review/

[Fixer808]

This. Is. Crazytown.Weeeelp... gonna have to see it now.

[Conan The Barbarian]

You were saying?

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/07/26/the-dark-knight-xxx-porn-review/


I was kinda looking foward to this after I saw the trailer. After reading the review, I feel like I will be let down. The trailer made it seem like it was going to have some serious attempt at some acting and such.

I might still check it out.

[spegettiwestern]

I thought Bane's whole image was completely ruined by essentially making the end seem that he wasn't this brilliant master-mind after all, he was just following Talia. It probably could have been worth while if not for Talia only driving a truck for like 5 minutes afterwards and dying without doing much of anything.

Either way, I absolutely loved it. I thought Tom Hardy did an amazing job and surprisingly enough I think Anne Hathaway stole the show, she really did an extraordinary job.

[Leman Russ]

Talia only driving a truck for like 5 minutes afterwards and dying without doing much of anything.

Except having one of the silliest movie death acts of all time.

But I agree. There really was no other spot to put her big reveal and have it be as impactful as it was, but I would have liked for her to be Talia for longer. I don't necessarily think Bane was just following her orders though, since when she left he told Batman he was going to kill him even though she said not to. She may have been pulling some strings, but Bane wasn't just a puppet with a sweet mask.

[Hula]

I thought Bane's whole image was completely ruined by essentially making the end seem that he wasn't this brilliant master-mind after all, he was just following Talia.

It only occurred to me as I read your post that that was exactly how I felt coming out of the cinema. As soon as Talia comes into the equation, Bane just seems so much more human—he even looks like Tom Hardy for the first time in the movie. They could have been trying to play the 'human underneath all those muscles' card but I don't think that was what they were going for. It just undermined his whole character.

I watched TDKR for the second time yesterday at the cinema (the smell of popcorn lured my companion and me inside). I caught a lot of stuff I'd missed the first time around (like the bomb being given an estimate of five months to go off, where I'd previously thought the movie took place over a month or two), which really helped me appreciate the movie more. One thing I didn't notice the first time around was Gordon's surprise upon seeing that the bat signal had been repaired. The first time, I'd thought he was responsible for it—that he was trying to make Batman, the symbol, live on. Now I feel like it's undeniable that Bruce survived at the end—and I was one of those who thought Alfred imagined him with Selina.

The ending felt a little bit rushed the second time around, though. I think when I first saw it I was so busy mopping up tears of sorrow over thinking Bruce was dead that the reveal completely knocked me off my feet and I didn't have time to think about it too much. Second time around, it doesn't quite stand up. It almost feels crammed in there, which is a shame since it was executed incredibly well in terms of a twist for first-time viewers.

[Amaro]

Except having one of the silliest movie death acts of all time.

But I agree. There really was no other spot to put her big reveal and have it be as impactful as it was, but I would have liked for her to be Talia for longer. I don't necessarily think Bane was just following her orders though, since when she left he told Batman he was going to kill him even though she said not to. She may have been pulling some strings, but Bane wasn't just a puppet with a sweet mask.

I agree more with this than spegetti's view above, regarding Bane.

Except, again, I at least didn't make a fuss about Talia's death scene when I first watched it...the only time. I remember her driving the truck, falling through a hole in the road, being somehow fatally injured, getting out some words about her dad's goal, and then just dying. Was there something about her face that was funny, or was it how she even got fatally injured, or?

[Hula]

I don't know about anyone else, but I smirked when she took her last breath since it was just the tiniest bit overacted. That, and the way she calmly closed her eyes at the end after dramatically expiring.

[Leman Russ]

Was there something about her face that was funny, or was it how she even got fatally injured, or?

As Hula stated, it was overacted. It was just your typical "I am getting the last word out, then dying right after" movie death scene. It wasn't that bad, it just made me laugh a bit.

[neorev]

I wondered if her role was cut down for the final movie. To me, it seemed with a little more development and especially with her and Bruce getting together that it would have made the ending that more emotional with the betrayal and reveal. It was already a long movie, but with a little more development with Bruce falling for someone new, it would have made it much more emotional. Here's someone who wanted to do great things with the world, like Bruce, but it was all a ploy to fuck him. Should have made the movie 15 minutes longer to add a little more of that. :)

[Conan The Barbarian]

It only occurred to me as I read your post that that was exactly how I felt coming out of the cinema. As soon as Talia comes into the equation, Bane just seems so much more human—he even looks like Tom Hardy for the first time in the movie. They could have been trying to play the 'human underneath all those muscles' card but I don't think that was what they were going for. It just undermined his whole character.

I watched TDKR for the second time yesterday at the cinema (the smell of popcorn lured my companion and me inside). I caught a lot of stuff I'd missed the first time around (like the bomb being given an estimate of five months to go off, where I'd previously thought the movie took place over a month or two), which really helped me appreciate the movie more. One thing I didn't notice the first time around was Gordon's surprise upon seeing that the bat signal had been repaired. The first time, I'd thought he was responsible for it—that he was trying to make Batman, the symbol, live on. Now I feel like it's undeniable that Bruce survived at the end—and I was one of those who thought Alfred imagined him with Selina.

The ending felt a little bit rushed the second time around, though. I think when I first saw it I was so busy mopping up tears of sorrow over thinking Bruce was dead that the reveal completely knocked me off my feet and I didn't have time to think about it too much. Second time around, it doesn't quite stand up. It almost feels crammed in there, which is a shame since it was executed incredibly well in terms of a twist for first-time viewers.


I have to disagree with ya on the ending, my second viewing, the ending was just as powerful. I think its the best partof the film. The big pay off.

[joplinpicasso]

I never took it as Bruce falling for Miranda (Talia)... This is evident when she asks about the picture of Rachel in the rain and about Alfred, and Bruce says, "He left...taking everything with him." He was feeling very vulnerable, and saw her as attractive and a powerful professional ally. That's probably the first time he'd ever kissed someone in eight years. The second viewing allowed me to catch these nuances in the characters' relationships. But when she did stab him, and you see Bruce's face, I was like, "Ahhh shit."

I'll be damned, but..I think TDKR might be my favorite of the trilogy.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I know it's a little more news-related, and I don't mean to derail, but I thought this was worth posting here. Hans Zimmer released "Aurora," an original composition put together for the Aurora Victim relief organization. You can get it for a minimum donation of 10 cents.

https://watertowermusic.moontoast.com/estore/embed/1336

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

I'll be damned, but..I think TDKR might be my favorite of the trilogy.

For me TDK was just so much more emotional for me. Plus, every time The Joker was on screen I couldn't take my eyes off of him; I just wanted more whenever a scene ended. I am not taking anything away from Tom Hardy, but Heath Ledger just does it for me all around when it came to portraying The Joker like he did. TDKR is in third for me, but I enjoyed it so freakin' much.

[joplinpicasso]

Props to Zimmer - will be getting soon.

Hmm, I feel TDK may be is definitely more cerebral, but I think I'm more emotionally connected to 1 and 3.

Alright, question: How do people feel about the pressure Bane put on the city that drove a lot of people to ransack the rich, take advantage of the lack of cops, and steal and pillage? How many people were going on with their normal lives? What would constitute a normal life for five months? Do you think it's a bit at odds with the moral fortitude shown in The Joker's ferry conundrum, or do you think the stakes were just that damn imposing?

[Torgo]

Finally saw this film so I don't have to mindful of the internet now.

Some personal opinions and notes:

- Bane: meh. He didn't do much for me. It might have been the fact that I...

A.) Could barely understand what he was saying half the time.
B.) Was confused by his Dutch (or whatever the fuck that was) accent. (I think someone appropriately mentioned earlier in this thread that it was a poor Sean Connery throwback. That's almost too spot on of a comparison. "I'll take Anal Rapist for $600!") Isn't he supposed to South American or something?
C.) His voice was horribly mixed with the rest of the movie. That may just be me with sensitive ears, but it was painfully obvious that it was dubbed.

- Anne Hathaway blew me away. I'm not a huge fan of hers and was going into the theater with the mindset that I would continue to not like her, but I was pleasantly surprised. Her character was one of my favorites in the film and had a lot of depth I wasn't expecting.

- Blake's character was solid. Who doesn't love JGL?



Overall, it was a very well-made film that wrapped up the ending for - what I think - is the best Superhero trilogy ever made. Sure, there were some bumps and bruises along the way in terms of plotline and certain production choices, but I really think that it was a fun, entertaining film.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Levitt is on the rise this year, for sure. Between this, Premium Rush, Looper, and something else I'm probably unaware of, he's got a big summer/fall season.

I agree on Bane's voice, too. I'm sure it was a bit of a challenge to try to get it just right without making it any more gutteral-sounding. I tried to do some tweaking on voices like that for a project last year and it was a nightmare. But given the budget they had and pressure on the movie, they probably could have done something a little better. I'm just glad I could understand him (more or less) this way.


Alright, question: How do people feel about the pressure Bane put on the city that drove a lot of people to ransack the rich, take advantage of the lack of cops, and steal and pillage? How many people were going on with their normal lives? What would constitute a normal life for five months? Do you think it's a bit at odds with the moral fortitude shown in The Joker's ferry conundrum, or do you think the stakes were just that damn imposing?

I thought about that a bit, too. I mean, the city was literally caving in on itself with Bane's help, but you have to think of all the people of Gotham that weren't as politically charged or as oppressed. Maybe the lower class was so intimidated by what was happening, they mostly just kept things the way they were out of comfort and familiarity. Maybe they felt scared, like someone was trying to FORCE them to rise up against the rich. Sure, nobody particularly wants to live in slums or anything, but you have to wonder how many of them would ransack homes if given the chance, versus however many would still just be trying to scrape together a living in a new social order.

And besides - if I were in that situation, knowing that someone in the city, unknown to me, was holding the trigger for the bomb, I'd probably be a little cautious about the people I bump into, ya know?

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Yea, there were a lot of times where me and my girlfriend had to keep asking each other what he was saying in some points of the movie. After awhile it got really frustrating at times having to focus on just what he is saying to understand it. It wasn't that bad though. That's why I love when comes out on Blu-Ray or DVD, subtitles!

And JGL is also coming out with Spielberg's "Lincoln", and is said to be in the Little Shop of Horrors remake. And it's Looper ;)

[PooPooMeowChow]

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/23721391.jpg

[orestes]

For those of you who follow Lt. Randazzo on Facebook, you've probably already seen this. For the rest of you, figure out why I posted this video here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSc6E4yG9s

[Amaro]

My girlfriend just was playing that yesterday and asked me who it sounded like... I actually took a little while, granted I wasn't totally focused, but that's quite spot on.

[onthewall2983]

One thing I love about Nolan's movies is the left-of-center approach to casting. Some of the people you usually see in smaller roles you'd never expect to find in a modern tentpole summer movie. Tiny Lister and Eric Roberts had some of the best lines in The Dark Knight. Tom Berenger hadn't been in a major Hollywood film for almost a decade, and he has a rather pivotal supporting role in Inception. All of his movies since Memento has this, and I was glad to see it continued here. Matthew Modine has a small role, but it has an arc all it's own and his final scene, however brief still managed to be effective. Also glad to see Aiden Gillen (most of you probably know him from Game Of Thrones, I mostly know him from The Wire and as the villain in a John Cena movie from a couple years ago) and William Devane in smaller roles in ​Rises.

[Ruined]

For those of you who follow Lt. Randazzo on Facebook, you've probably already seen this. For the rest of you, figure out why I posted this video here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSc6E4yG9s
I'd love to hear him state, "It's not about the money, it's about sending a message..."

[PooPooMeowChow]

I'd love to hear him state, "It's not about the money, it's about sending a message..."

Some one needs to go through his interviews, cut them up and mash them together into Joker quotes.

Viral video achieved.

[Elke]

I know about 30% of the movie was pretty much 'meh', but still: I'm blown away. I'd expected a bit of a disappointment after TDK, which I loved, but it didn't happen. Sure, some bits and pieces were silly: why does The Batman, once he's revealed to be Bruce Wayne, not just drop the shitty voice that is fooling absolutely no one except everyone in the cast? How does he know - without the visor shit of TDK and with no proper ways of communicating because of the city's broken down infrastructure - where everyone is all the time? Why does Gordon carry an incriminating letter with him all the time? How come Bane's army doesn't grow: after five months, half of Gotham should've gotten some form of Stockholm syndrome?

Silliness aside, I really hated 'the big reveal', mostly because of the crappy way Ra's Al Ghul floated around a bit and Talia's death was pretty much ridiculous. As was that Batman/Catwoman kiss. Mmm.

On the other hand, I though Bane was magnificent. Even the spot of crying at the end didn't ruin him for me. I'm a little upset they didn't keep the original mix of the voice - subtitles would have been a far more elegant solution I think - but it didn't bother me. He's clearly speaking through a filter, so why not assume it magnifies his voice? You can see Tom speak beneath the mask, and I think the dubbing was well done. I also liked that his accent sounded rather a lot like a poor man trying to speak in an upstanding way. And the physiciality of the character was spot on, to me.
I wasn't too impressed with either Bane/Batman fight, but I did LOVE the fact that he broke his back by smacking him to the floor. I knew it was coming, and while my way-too-empathising self was shifting in my chair, my inner geek was jubilant.

Another thing I loved was the dynamic between Alfred and Wayne. I've always loved Michael Cane's Alfred most in the previous movies, and he was so spot on here. He's the thing that had me in tears at the end, apologizing while he was in fact so right.

I also liked the fact that everyone's right: Gotham's not worth it. It's stupid residents are not worth it. When the bomb explodes in mid-flight, they cheer. They're greedy, ignorant and cowardly, and the few people who are actually trying to make a difference are pretty much at the bottom anyway. That's the whole point, I suppose, but I was really upset when I thought Bruce had actually died (which I would have preferred as an ending) for those people.

I also LOVED the music, it was - in the correct sense of the word - awesome. And I thought it quite fitting that the end of the trilogy was the most comic-booky of all.

[Conan The Barbarian]

Elke, I agree with your last paragraph.

[Elke]

I agree with my last paragraph too. :)

I also noticed I forgot to mention Gordon and Blake, who I thought were both excellent.

[Elke]

- Did not care about John Blake and his orphan bus and didn't feel it was at all necessary to continue cutting back to that during the film's climax.

Since I now saw it, I can browse through the whole thread, and I have to say I could not disagree with any statement more than this one.

I think one of the more clever themes of Nolan's trilogy, from the beginning, is the inability of people to think outside the box. The villains in each instalment are people who simply destroy the box: Scarecrow by drugging his victims, dragging them from reality; The Joker by changing the rules of the game to a game with no rules; and Bane by handing out some very simple rules that in a sane reality would make no sense - a civilian has the means to blow up the city, no one can get out, those ridiculous courts...
Bane manages to be the most disruptive of structured societal thinking, because he manages in the span of one speech to create a whole new set of societal rules that cannot be anything but contested, and still no one seems to be in a position to contest them.

In all three movies, there has been criticism of 'society' as an almost Heideggerian Das Man, a sort of bland uniformity of desires and vices that only occasionally manages to shake itself out of its apathy to do something - usually the wrong thing. And there's been the idea that individuals can change the course of events, that individuals can break through that apathy not AS individuals, but as symbols of something greater than themselves. Jim Gordon is not a flawed and fragile human being, he is the face of law and order - more even than the totally mythical Harvey Dent.

The whole school bus thing shows a non-symbolic individual in this society, try to push at the rules (the perverse Bane-rules) and banging his head against the brick wall of inflexibility that's always at the heart of how Nolan portrayed Gotham. The startled disappointment Blake displays when his efforts at communication are so ill recieved, is what in the end makes him swing through that waterfall. That's why he tosses his badge into the water: in that moment he sees and experiences what Jim Gordon tried to explain to him.

So that moment was not only crucial to one of the more interesting characters in this movie, it also mirrors the cliffhanger of TDK where the apathy of Das Man IS destroyed by humanity, and by ordinary individuals making a very iconic decision.

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it :D

[orestes]

Bane sketches and a deleted script page from The Dark Knight Rises. (http://io9.com/5929960/revealed-bane-sketches-and-a-deleted-scene-script-page-from-dark-knight-rises)

[DF118]

So how did he get back into Gotham? Anyone?

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

Maybe he used a grappling hook on one of the bombed-out bridges. Maybe he took advantage of his League of Shadows training to walk across the ice. Maybe he took advantage of same training to sneak across the one functioning bridge. Hell, maybe there's some underground passage only he knows about. Doesn't really matter.

[orestes]

That, and he's Bruce Fucking Wayne.

[ltrandazzo]

Wrong. He's the Goddamn Batman.

[onthewall2983]

My guess is Wayne Manor (and by proxy, the Batcave) was left unattended to.

[DF118]

See, this is the one thing that properly took me out of the movie. He was stranded in some remote middle eastern(?) location. With no resources and no passport. Then he's back in Gotham again and chatting away to Selena Kyle like nothing happened.

I did enjoy this and I wasn't disappointed. I actually lucky enough to follow Knightfall week by week when I was a kid, and this is as close as I could imagine anyone coming to realising that story, arguably sans verisimilitude. But some of the plot holes were a bit glaring.

[orestes]

My guess is Wayne Manor (and by proxy, the Batcave) was left unattended to.

Wayne Manor was across the bridge, outside Gotham, so it is possible.

[Piko]

What about the sewers? He easily could've snuck in from the ocean to the sewers. They had the city and bridges on lock down, but not the surrounding water. Sewer leads somewhere...

[ltrandazzo]

The funny thing about this is that there are actual people who are getting all bent out of shape over A) Bruce returning to the city undetected and B) the gasoline bat. IT'S BATMAN. That's what he does. I guess that it's too much to expect people to enjoy the spectacle of seeing something cool like a flaming bat without questioning the logistics of how it all came to be. Let go and enjoy it.

[Conan The Barbarian]

I dont understand why anyone cant understand that the scene was for dramatic effect. Signifying the return of the hero. Just use your imagination to fill in the gaps between the time.

[peter]

How did Batman survive the atom bomb, or how did he get away from the blast radius when it showed him in The Bat with 5 seconds to go on the timer? Also, the publics perception was that "Batman" died in the bomb blast. Why does Bruce Wayne get a funeral as well/how did he die in the public eye?


On that note, how in hell was Batman able to drag that unstable nuke all through Gotham, bumping into buildings like an oversized wrecking ball, without it going off?

[Fred]

The funny thing about this is that there are actual people who are getting all bent out of shape over A) Bruce returning to the city undetected and B) the gasoline bat. IT'S BATMAN. That's what he does. I guess that it's too much to expect people to enjoy the spectacle of seeing something cool like a flaming bat without questioning the logistics of how it all came to be. Let go and enjoy it.

IMO, far too many people play film critics these days. This is exactly the same as when "Prometheus" got slagged because of its "lack of realism." I've gone apeshit on several people who've complained about it, telling them straight up that if they think the films of today suck, they can thank themselves for making the studios turn to bloated unoriginal shit like "Avatar." Shut the fuck up, lean back and be entertained. I fear this is an ongoing trend, though; in the old days, a good story would suffice. Now we need 3D and IMAX to suspend our disbelief. It's pathetic.

Batman stories have to feature leaps of logic, otherwise, it's not the fucking Batman. The premise in itself is completely unrealistic. Why someone would buy into the premise of a billionaire playboy turning into a masked vigilante with almost superhuman strength and perception, only to criticize moments like the appearance of the flaming bat is beyond me.

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

On that note, how in hell was Batman able to drag that unstable nuke all through Gotham, bumping into buildings like an oversized wrecking ball, without it going off?
Of course actually a reactor can't just become a nuclear bomb, as they require very specific and precise engineering. Smashing the real thing into buildings would probably be a good way to deactivate it.


words
Honestly, guy, and I'll put this as lightly as I can: shut the fuck up. There's a big fucking difference between demanding sense and internal consistency in a film's narrative and plotting and demanding that the entertainment be outfitted with 3-D or whatever premium-ticket feature. The people complaining about the shittiness of today's movies aren't responsible for Avatar—seriously, what the hell?—because they're probably including it in their complaint (though at the very least I think we can give Cameron credit on that one for not (at that point) turning out another sequel or cannibalizing some already-popular source material).

[Deadpool]

I thought Bane's whole image was completely ruined by essentially making the end seem that he wasn't this brilliant master-mind after all, he was just following Talia. It probably could have been worth while if not for Talia only driving a truck for like 5 minutes afterwards and dying without doing much of anything.

I understand what you mean, but I didn't quite get the feeling that Bane was "just following Talia." Rather, it seemed to me that she she was just more personally motivated to conquer Gotham City, and perhaps came to Bane with the idea, but not the plan - or at least not all of it. Even if, at the end of the day, she was the true leader, a coup on that scale is something I imagine as a collaborative scheme between them. It was still Bane who executed most of the plan.

One thing I was trying to figure out my 2nd time was how much Bane had told his underlings about his relationship with Miranda/Talia - such as when she enters the Wayne Enterprises board room and he's there waiting. I got the vibe that it was something just between the 2 of them, like when Bane says towards the end "Bring her to me." The whole reveal definitely does something to undermine Bane, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it removes all credit from him. He presents himself as a very intelligent, charismatic villain throughout the movie, and he would have to be, even if he was just an avatar for Talia... which I don't think he was.

I agree that Talia is in too little of the movie to make a real impact, but I appreciate her place in the story if only for the way she colors Bane's character. One of my favorite moments of the entire film is Bane's reaction to her flashback ("he was my protector") - Tom Hardy's tears are so believable, even though everything up to this point has portrayed him as a monster. I love Ra's and I love The Joker in the Nolan films, but there's no equivalent scene for either of those characters in Begins or Dark Knight, with the possible exception of Ra's/Ducard recalling the loss of his lover - which I don't find nearly as powerful (but I don't think it's supposed to be since he's still an ally at that point.)

Potentially stupid question: how did Bane know that Batman was Bruce Wayne?

[DF118]

Potentially stupid question: how did Bane know that Batman was Bruce Wayne?

I took from it that he learned though his affiliation with the League of Shadows. In Knightfall he worked it out, just by basically being a smart-arse. That would have worked okay here, but John Blake got in there first, with the smart-arsery.

I know that a lot's been said about the audability and intelligibility of Bane's voice in Rising, but really, did anyone find that it wasn't just him that was hard to hear? A lot of the characters seemed to be either muffled, or drowned out by the soundtrack. My wife and I couldn't work out if this was because the sound mixing in the cinema was fucked, or if it was just the movie. We weren't the only ones to be pissed off in the theatre by this, so I suspect it was the sound system...

Also, how does Bane eat?

[Fixer808]

Also, how does Bane eat?
Quickly.

Also this. I question some of the numbers though, like for the batarangs, he makes the damn things in his spare time (and maybe goes back to collect them when he's done):
http://4.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BatmanInfographic.jpg

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

The world would be a better place if every person who made that much money became Batman.

[Conan The Barbarian]

Got back from the Imax. Cannot wait for this blu ray.

[koz-ivan]

IMO, far too many people play film critics these days. This is exactly the same as when "Prometheus" got slagged because of its "lack of realism." I've gone apeshit on several people who've complained about it, telling them straight up that if they think the films of today suck, they can thank themselves for making the studios turn to bloated unoriginal shit like "Avatar." Shut the fuck up, lean back and be entertained. I fear this is an ongoing trend, though; in the old days, a good story would suffice. Now we need 3D and IMAX to suspend our disbelief. It's pathetic.

i'm not sure the dark knight rises thread is really the place to call something like "avatar" unoriginal, there's what thousands of batman stories out there? and this is the 3rd part of a trilogy and the seventh batman film in the last 20 years or so...


Batman stories have to feature leaps of logic, otherwise, it's not the fucking Batman. The premise in itself is completely unrealistic. Why someone would buy into the premise of a billionaire playboy turning into a masked vigilante with almost superhuman strength and perception, only to criticize moments like the appearance of the flaming bat is beyond me.

the various "leaps of logic" never bothered me, in all honesty it never even occurred to me that the batman would have difficulty getting into and out of gotham. in hindsight the burning bat would have required some time and planning - but batman has always been a sneaky bastard, capable of using stealth and secrecy to great effect.

of the various leaps, the one i had the most problems with was the setup / intro, the cia just grabs a few random masked guys, never checks them out and just puts them on their plane, which is then crashed in a fairly implausible manner, and apparently was meant to look like a "normal" plane crash.

all that being said, rises is not the crown jewel of the batman franchise, or even this trilogy. as a film it does not hold up well it felt like a great disappointment.

- bane - the voiceover work was terrible, the voice was just over the top and silly, given that so much of what bane was up was spoken - it was even more glaring. not the worst batman villan we've seen on the big screen (see the riddler, mr freeze or b&r's version of bane) but still danny devito's penguin managed to be less silly than this incarnation of bane. anyone stepping into the role of batman badguy had their work cut out for them, returns' joker & two face were brilliant. hardy may have brought good physicality to the bane role, but it was also poorly fleshed out and executed. though clearly not to the extent of the b&r version, he still felt more like a pawn and his plans seemed rather muddy.

- the batman and bruce wayne - it didn't seem like we saw enough of either these roles, alot of scenes didn't seem to involve them at all.

- gotham under siege - this flies in the face of the last point, but i never really got a feel for what bane's gotham was like or what the logistics there were. maybe not enough looting and rioting. i did like seeing the batmobiles re-purposed back to their origins as military vehicles and scarecrow as the judge in the kangaroo court.

---

the good parts

- catwoman - was as perfectly executed as possible a good foil for both bruce and the bat, independently capable, and could work with batman but not feel like the sous chef or robin role. all of her scenes were great, morally grey, and she did have her own plans, intelligence and agenda.

- speaking of "robin" this story arc was also well executed. his scene on the bridge was great, he could fill "robin's" shoes without having to resort to a yellow cape. well done.

[Leman Russ]

- speaking of "robin" this story arc was also well executed. his scene on the bridge was great, he could fill "robin's" shoes without having to resort to a yellow cape. well done.

I sincerely hope they don't even go the Robin route with any future films. I would much rather see the movie be JGL donning the Bat suit and becoming the next Batman, which is honestly what I took from the ending of the film. Call the next movie "The Dark Knight Returns" or something, and show the continuation of the Batman legacy.

IMO, that'd be much more entertaining than a Robin movie, and would segue quite nicely into any proposed JLA movie down the line.

[kdrcraig]

I sincerely hope they don't even go the Robin route with any future films. I would much rather see the movie be JGL donning the Bat suit and becoming the next Batman, which is honestly what I took from the ending of the film. Call the next movie "The Dark Knight Returns" or something, and show the continuation of the Batman legacy.

IMO, that'd be much more entertaining than a Robin movie, and would segue quite nicely into any proposed JLA movie down the line.

I'd rather them not do any more movies with this version of the Batman story. It's finished as far as I'm concerned, I don't take anything that happened with JGL at the end to mean they plan on doing another movie with him in the lead, it was just a bad ass way to finish the trilogy. Maybe they'll do it without Nolan cause as far as I know he said this is his last Batman movie. Not to say they can't continue on without him or reboot it, my money's on a reboot.

[onthewall2983]

If they do reboot it, I hope they consider doing it for television instead of another movie franchise.

[Conan The Barbarian]

That would be horrible as you know it will end up on the cw. And that network sucks.

[wight rabbit]

Edit: Retracted to avoid stating the obvious.

[frankie teardrop]

The funny thing about this is that there are actual people who are getting all bent out of shape over A) Bruce returning to the city undetected and B) the gasoline bat. IT'S BATMAN. That's what he does. I guess that it's too much to expect people to enjoy the spectacle of seeing something cool like a flaming bat without questioning the logistics of how it all came to be. Let go and enjoy it.


yeah i don't understand all this hulaballoo about getting batman back to gotham. wayne manor is outside of gotham proper, in a suburb akin to westchester, and i'm sure there's all kinds of tunnels/gadgets to get him back to the city undetected. i bet there's a tunnel or two that bane isn't aware of.

as for getting back from the prison location, we can expect to see a scene of bruce hitting up a friend and/or western union on the dvd release.

[Leman Russ]

I'd rather them not do any more movies with this version of the Batman story. It's finished as far as I'm concerned, I don't take anything that happened with JGL at the end to mean they plan on doing another movie with him in the lead, it was just a bad ass way to finish the trilogy. Maybe they'll do it without Nolan cause as far as I know he said this is his last Batman movie. Not to say they can't continue on without him or reboot it, my money's on a reboot.

Agreed, it was a bad ass way to finish the trilogy, and Nolan said it was his last. So WB can either quickly reboot the series, or continue in the same universe. With Man of Steel coming out next year, and a proposed JLA "soon", I can't see trying to reboot Batman at the same time. Especially considering how well received Nolan's trilogy has been. I just think of how everyone I know reacted to Amazing Spiderman: didn't we see this movie already, and it was better? I feel rebooting Batman again would suffer the same fate.

And showing Blake find the Batcave at the end of TDKR was kind of pointless unless you're going to continue the story with him at the center. It'd be like having Sam Jackson show up in all the movies leading up to The Avengers, and then not having Sam Jackson be in The Avengers.

[Conan The Barbarian]

I was wondering, do you think Robin would mask his voice like Bruce did? I could imagine him going up to gordon and talking to him in his normal voice and gordon asking. "Blake? What the fuck are you doing?"

[Fixer808]

"Uuuh... Halloween costume."

[Space Suicide]

Where The Joker Might Have Been During Blackgate Prison Breakout (http://nukethefridge.com/2012/07/24/the-jokers-whereabouts-discovered-during-the-dark-knight-rises/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_27265)

[onthewall2983]

I maintain my position he was offed as revenge for the ferry takeover.

[orestes]

I laughed.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7yzc8moIt1qzwaddo1_500.gif

Also, if this isn't made of win (http://thehappysorceress.tumblr.com/post/28456427816) then I don't know what is.

[Conan The Barbarian]

Holy shit on the animated series pics.

[Findus]

Just finally got around to seeing it tonight (digital IMAX). I liked it a lot.

Perhaps my eyes and mind played tricks on me, but while watching the stadium scene, I thought I spotted the Scarecrow / Jonathan Crane amongst the fans. He's wearing a yellow bandana around the lower half of his face, like a bandit. Mind you, I had no idea Cillian Murphy was in the movie, but when I saw this fan, I figured the Scarecrow/Crane would show up later.

But, isn't Scarecrow/Crane one of the prisoners released from Blackgate Penitentiary? And doesn't the prison break happen after the stadium scene? Was it Crane in the audience, or was Cillian used as a semi-disguised extra, or was it someone else entirely? I did a Google search, but found nothing.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Huh...I'm not sure. He has a look about him that's pretty unique, especially in his eyes, but there were SO many people there with the bandanas over their face. I think it might've been because the sun was directly above and in our faces slightly...Anyway, If he was, I'm sure they wouldn't have told anybody. I also thought I saw Selina's blonde friend in the crowd in one of those close-up shots, so I guess it's entirely possible that Murphy was there, too!

Shit, that was the best time I've ever had getting full-body heat rash.

[Maurish]

The Sound and Music of The Dark Knight Rises.


http://vimeo.com/46759301

[Hazekiah]

So I finally got home from my Amtrak trip up to Chicago to see The Dark Knight Rises at its IMAX premiere.

On ACID!!!

>:D

I also managed to procure some cocaine and marijuana and wine while waiting so it was a fucking DOOZY of a night, lol.

Or, morning rather, since it was actually the 3 a.m. screening on its opening day. Sure glad we had all those party favors!

Anyway, it was an amazing, amazing experience. My pals were pissed that I ditched them for a few minutes while they were getting their parking slip for the Navy Pier lot and, yeah, I was supposed to be holding their spot in line to pay, but we were last in line anyway and the sunrise after the movie was just GLORIOUS and I quickly found myself going on a little sightseeing trip instead.

I mean, the grand atrium of Navy Pier had GIANT ILLUMINATED NEON JELLYFISH HANGING FROM THE CEILING (http://aminus3.s3.amazonaws.com/image/g0024/u00023188/i01467398/1b1ee933dbb67dd416a124ded2879bdf_large.jpg), ffs!!!

O_O

And going up the atrium stairs to try and snap an eye-level shot of them I quickly discovered the doors to the Navy Pier Crystal Gardens (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1PRFB_enUS485US490&q=navy+pier+crystal+garden&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1006&bih=573&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=x-sZUP6XIoi_rQHS5oC4AQ) were unlocked and spent a few minutes just stumbling around inside its geometric infrastructure beneath flocks of indoors birds singing to me as the tropical condensation dripped down on my awestruck face.

Yeah, my pals were annoyed but FUCKING WIN. And I paid $20 for their parking so w/e.

:P

Anyway, I was inadvertently tuning out of the conversation in the car as we left and happened to overhear the radio at a low volume behind my head as it was reporting on the shooting in Aurora.

Not really having been able to hear it properly though I'd actually been under the mistaken impression during our post-movie diner breakfast that some kid had shot-up his school in the suburb of Chicago also called Aurora. While we were all hashing out our various impressions of the movie my mind kept returning to the garbled newsblurb I'd overheard and I kept entering into the conversation my prediction that given that it was a kid and that it happened on THAT day that it just HAD to be some Nolanite and/or Batgeek on a rampage while "celebrating" the day they'd been flooding and spamming and trolling the ENTIRE fucking internet about for YEARS.

It just seemed like the obvious, logical answer, sadly.

I even went so far as to joke that he'd probably been dressed up like Bane and how hilarious it must have been when he started issuing his demands/concerns/threats/etc. while everyone around him just looked around at each other like, "WTF did he just say? I can't understand a word through that stupid fucking mask," lol.

Imagine my utter shock when I finally found out it was a college kid at a midnight premiere of that very movie with a gas mask on his face.

Whoa.

Called it!

Maybe not quite so funny, though.

:-\

Anyway, like I said on fb, "If you've gotta die at a Batman movie HOLY FUCK this is the one."

LOVE THIS FUCKING MOVIE.

Saw it again immediately later that day after unloading a truck from the San Diego Comic Con and going STRAIGHT back to another theater to see it again. And then again. FUCK, YEAH.

I've seen it six times now with five friends and can't WAIT to go again.

Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely.

Definitely weird to go back on opening day and then rush out before the show to try and discretely smoke a joint really quick only to discover the place was practically surrounded by cop cars, though. No problem there, mind you...just missed a couple previews walking a bit further down the street than usual.

But I was DEFINITELY extremely self-conscious of the fact that I was wearing my military O.D. pants with ammunition-pouches on my belt. Like I generally do, full of pocket change and rolling papers and stuff. I just thought it would be cool to wear my "utility belt" to the Batman movie but, um...yeah. Again, no worries though. Just really felt the cops' eyes burning holes through my back on my way in and out, lol.

What a strange, strange world.

Speaking of which, like I was saying at the start, I finally made my home and got to check out the latest issue of "Rolling Stone" that arrived in the mail while I was away.

You know, the one with Justin Bieber on the cover.

Pleasantly surprised by its contents, however...






http://i.imgur.com/btl3w.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/3vgH1.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/0Bjju.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/LE3Fw.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/hpakP.jpg?1



Man, I fucking LOVE that picture at the top of the first page.

Too bad IT wasn't the cover shot of the issue, they probably would've sold TWICE as many copies, easily.

Ho-hum.

Great photographs, great articles, great review, OUTSTANDING fucking interview.

AWESOMENESS.

:)

[orestes]

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/arcee_cola/sweartome.jpg

[eversonpoe]

I know that a lot's been said about the audability and intelligibility of Bane's voice in Rising, but really, did anyone find that it wasn't just him that was hard to hear? A lot of the characters seemed to be either muffled, or drowned out by the soundtrack. My wife and I couldn't work out if this was because the sound mixing in the cinema was fucked, or if it was just the movie. We weren't the only ones to be pissed off in the theatre by this, so I suspect it was the sound system...

Also, how does Bane eat?

i honestly had no trouble understanding him, but i HATED the way they did his voice. as a sound designer, it just seemed really sloppy to me. he NEVER sounded as if he was in any of the scenes/spaces he was in, because it just sounded like he was doing a voice-over that over-powered everyone else's dialogue. i guess they did it to make his dialogue more intelligible, but it really seemed corny and ridiculous.

[Iran_Ed]

Just got back from seeing the film and loved it, but the plot hole discussion earlier in this thread brings up something I notice I find in all of Christopher Nolan's films.
I feel like he tries to add so much detail to his films that at some point in the film it feels like a cram session.
I have not seen The Prestige, Following or the Insomnia remake, but everything else makes me feel like "Chinese food" if you will.
The films are a joy to watch, but they don't hold up in my head the way I wish they would.
The worlds he creates are magnificent, Inception to me is the blueprint to making a perfect film.
Well thought out, giving the audience everything they need to know to follow and if they can't keep up fuck em.
I would love to see what he could do without time constants. I would love to read a Christopher Nolan book.
This is the only "Superhero" film franchise I gave a damn about, if only everything else had this kind of care.

*Edit* Also did anyone else think Bane sounded like Sean Connery

[Lutz]

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/arcee_cola/sweartome.jpg

He's making that face because he thinks his mascara is running.

[dlb]

Saw it yesterday and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I hated Begins and thought the Dark Knight was pretty good.

Bane totally stole the show in my eyes and was IMHO the best adaption of a Batman-villain ever. Hardy looked and sounded spot on eventhough they really made it seem like a voice-over just like Lutz pointed out. I may even prefer Bane over the Joker, since my own personal view of the Joker yet has to materialise. Mark Hamill might be the closest to how I picture the character.

Michael Caine was also brilliant and Bale convinced me more than ever this time around. I was also surprised how well they dealed with Catwoman. Absolutely not ridiculous in any way and I was sceptical at first when hearing Hathaway got the role.

BUT things that really threw me of: The Bat looked so uber-shitty in my eyes. The way its coachwork was stuttering away in-flight and the general design of it just hurt my eyes. It sounded great though and the scene were the police thinks they trapped Bats only for him to escape with the Bat was also very well done.

Then of course the whole plot just pissed me off somewhat. A nuclear bomb? Really? C'mon... It just seemed like the easy way out to create a larger than life threat for Gotham (which they made no effort obviously to disguise it as New York... not the stylised art-deco/German expressionism-whatever Gotham that I like and that we see in the animated series which is my favorite version of the city). And as cheap as I thought having an A-bomb as a plot device so was Batman getting this thing away from the city in under a minute. Definitely expected more from Nolan as it really stuck out in an otherwise highly detailed and well thought-out movie.

And as good as Hardy was as terrible was his passing. Where have you been Catwoman? You could have ended this in the first 30 minutes of the movie! And the Talia-twist? Don't get me started.

Other than that I felt that it concluded the series on a high but not perfect note. It left pretty much no open answers and created a really menacing and haunting villain that unfortunately coudl have been even better if it wasn't for his cheap passing. I'm curious whether they will expand on JGL's character or if the next director will go down a totally different route.

[Leman Russ]

*Edit* Also did anyone else think Bane sounded like Sean Connery

We've had a lot of fun combining Bane's lines with lines from Connery movies.

When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die Money Penny.
You're the man now Mr. Wayne!

[Vertigo]

Huh. I thought he sounded more like Liam Neeson.

[Fixer808]

Saw it for the second time last night, this time hammered on wine with a friend. Still loved it. Especially the "breaking of the bat" when he first meets Bane. Just so amazing. I love how all the tricks and tools Batman uses to terrify criminals are absolutely shrugged off as nothing by Bane, especially when the lights are killed, Bane's line "You think darkness is your ally?". Just the general amusement in his voice. Chilling.

[orestes]

You guys suck at accents. :p

[Mr. Blaileen]

Got the weekend off, and I think I'm gonna see TDKR for a third time tomorrow morning. I haven't seen a flick at the local IMAX we have, and I think I'm finally gonna give it a shot with this movie. Gonna sleep in, get to the theater a little early, smoke some nice bud, and kick back in a hopefully pretty empty theater. Pumped.

[Lutz]

You guys should take the money you are spending to see this two or three times and go see Cosmopolis instead.

It's a much better movie.

[Sallos]

Saw it for the second time last night, this time hammered on wine with a friend. Still loved it. Especially the "breaking of the bat" when he first meets Bane. Just so amazing. I love how all the tricks and tools Batman uses to terrify criminals are absolutely shrugged off as nothing by Bane, especially when the lights are killed, Bane's line "You think darkness is your ally?". Just the general amusement in his voice. Chilling.

The shot was cut in half we could barely see him getting breaked. Couse you know, blood or anything extreme is not allowed in any of Nolan's pictures now. You gotta cash in.

This movie was a real let down for me. Dreadful script, dialogues, sometimes acting, it really didn't do it for me. Atleast Bane looked cool and had a fitting demise. Oh and yes i agree, they pulled it very well with catwoman's character.
Should know better though, after Inception.

[Deadpool]

i honestly had no trouble understanding him, but i HATED the way they did his voice. as a sound designer, it just seemed really sloppy to me. he NEVER sounded as if he was in any of the scenes/spaces he was in, because it just sounded like he was doing a voice-over that over-powered everyone else's dialogue. i guess they did it to make his dialogue more intelligible, but it really seemed corny and ridiculous.

True, there was rarely the sense that Bane's voice was interacting with his environment, but ultimately I think it was a practical decision like you said: should his voice be presented realistically or should it be intelligible above all? I think they made the right call, all things considered. I can give it a pass is because, to me, it made him more intimidating. The way it cut through the mix was obvious, but it seemed appropriate given that Bane was so often asserting his dominance, i.e. "Why did you come here?" in the sewer with Gordon and "Speak of the devil, and he will appear" with Dagget. Hardy's performance was consistent, even if the presence of his voice was slightly overbearing.

And as far as the whole Sean Connery thing is concerned - I hear it occasionally, but Bane's voice is more gravel-y and deep. Furthermore, Hardy really plays with his pitch during the first showdown with Batman that seems uniquely Bane. Unfortunately, he doesn't do that anywhere else in the film that I can think of, but it makes that scene that much more memorable. Speaking of that scene, I think the lack of score is what puts it over the edge. It just wouldn't be as amazing with musical accompaniment.

[Amaro]

^ Meant to Like. Total movie buddy.

Elke said it well too...on the voice of Bane.

I'm a little upset they didn't keep the original mix of the voice - subtitles would have been a far more elegant solution I think - but it didn't bother me. He's clearly speaking through a filter, so why not assume it magnifies his voice? You can see Tom speak beneath the mask, and I think the dubbing was well done. I also liked that his accent sounded rather a lot like a poor man trying to speak in an upstanding way. And the physiciality of the character was spot on, to me.

(Page 27)

[Lutz]

The only time I didn't understand Bane's dialogue was when he was delivering the speech about the bomb at the oval. I just sat there thinking - oh well I'm sure that extremely important plot point will be reiterated half a dozen times more before the movie's out (it was).

[Deadpool]

^ Meant to Like. Total movie buddy.

Elke said it well too...on the voice of Bane.

I also liked that his accent sounded rather a lot like a poor man trying to speak in an upstanding way. And the physiciality of the character was spot on, to me.

(Page 27)

Now that's an interesting comment, especially since that theme is touched upon with Selina during her dance with Bruce ("It's pronounced 'Ibitha'" - I don't know about anyone else but I learned something new!). Considering that, it kind of colors Bane as a dark mirror for Selina which is cool. Nice thought, Elke.

Bane's physicality is great. My brother and I love how his at rest/default pose is the hands-on-collar look - it says so much about the character and his confidence. When it cuts to Bane atop the roof after Batman and Selina dispatch his mercs, I gasp a little bit, because suddenly you realize that situation could have gone a lot worse had Bats and Selina been delayed. On that note, I love how Batman and Bane keep missing each other leading up to their brawl - first they speed past each other on the road then there's the aforementioned rooftop. Some nice, subtle foreshadowing there.

Watching Bane lift Batman before breaking his back is awesome, too: You see Bane put in the right amount of effort, but it doesn't look particularly difficult for him either. Love it.

I hope the blu-ray includes some on-set footage of Hardy in character, just to get some sense of what it was like to hear/see him perform in person with the mask on. I'd be very interested in that. Also, is it too much to ask for any kind of audio commentary? Sadly, I get the feeling we'll have to wait for a deluxe boxset a la the deluxe The Matrix set for commentaries... if we ever get any.

[Elke]

Oh God, yes, commentaries. There's so much going on in these movies...

[onthewall2983]

I suspect we'll see a big box-set re-issue somewhere down the line. It'll be cool as long as it's done right the first time.

[cahernandez]

For the Doctors/medicine students reading this thread: what was the worst thing that could have happened to Batman after his back was broken in that particular way? Was a recovery possible? I really liked the movie, and I'm no Doctor, but I was under the impression that after someone breaks your back like that it's pretty much impossible to come back...

[waffel]

For the Doctors/medicine students reading this thread: what was the worst thing that could have happened to Batman after his back was broken in that particular way? Was a recovery possible? I really liked the movie, and I'm no Doctor, but I was under the impression that after someone breaks your back like that it's pretty much impossible to come back...

I was twitching during that whole scene. .Honestly I thought he would have little chance for recovery or at least walk with a lean to him, due to the fact that he had shit for cartilage in his body. They may have not specified about the state of cartilage in his back, but I assumed that they're wasn't much left either. The worst i would say would be he'd wheel chair bound since it kinda looked like he was hurt in the middle/upper lumbar region in the back. My great-grandfather has his back broken in the same place when he was in the concentration camps and he walks with a lean to this day. Though my father broke his back in almost exactly the same way...several times and he can walk and move around just fine, but he has some residual damage that will bite him in the ass later. So it may be "fixed" now but Bruce Wayne is going to be practically immobile when hes older, unless he turns himself into a cyborg.

[orestes]

Hey, if Batgirl/Oracle can recover from this, then anything's possible. ;)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IZf4vmz1Wa4/UBqDgkYTHjI/AAAAAAAAMVg/HykOBP-hbk4/s1600/COFA99_04.jpg

[Mr. Blaileen]

I loved the IMAX showing I saw the other day. Being so close to such an enormous screen made it such a rich experience..everything was gorgeous, and it was really easy to get immersed in Chris Nolan's world. I dipped out of the theater really quickly when Bruce was making his first prison-leap attempt so I could hit the bowl, and I got back inside as Bruce was making his successful prison jump, Watching the last hour while freshly baked really was a treat. I was geeking out during the end of the film like I did the first time I saw it. I think I'll have to catch this at least once or twice more before it leaves theaters.

Talia's death still made me cringe though..the way she shuts her eyes. Just awful.

[dlb]

Scored tickets to see it again yesteday and I did enjoy it a bit more. Of course a lot of things still pissed me off and I can't believe how ridiculously bad Bane's and Talia's deaths were and how Bruce escaped the bomb, but god damn, I said it before, Hardy puts on a hell of a show even if his voice was made a bit too present in post-production. Bane might be the best thing to happen to a superhero flick ever. Favorite villain since No Country for Old Men and Daniel Plainview for sure! Prometheus' Space Jockey was also great, but I don't count fantasy creatures.

Now off to finally watch Warrior. Can't get enough of this guy...

[ManBurning]

Finally got around to checking this movie out over the weekend.

So, I went into this movie with rather low expectations. I also went in not reading ANY reviews and beleive it or not, NOT watching any trailers before hand either.
One might ask, how? Easy... I had ZERO interest in this movie. Now one might be asking: WHY!?

Easy, for those that read my post like 5-8 pages back, I hated the Dark Knight, absolutly hated it. Just wasn't impressed with it, thought it was boring. And it wasn't that i'm not a fan of Batman, I grew up watching the 80s and 90s movies, the cheesy live-action TV series and the animated series, played all the releated video games and loved the hell out of Batman Begins.

With all that out of the way, let me go into my impressions now... I enjoyed the film. Now, I wasn't blown away by it, and it's not as amazing as people say. I don't understand the people going to see this 5-6 times, it's not THAT good, but it's their money, I'm not gonna tell them what to spend their money on.
Anyway, I found the first half of the movie to be extremely slow starting. In fact I didn't start getting into the film until when Bane and Batman first met and Batman got his ass kicked, at that point I was hooked, I was on the edge of my seat and I loved every minute of the movie afterwards. My inital impressions were "oh no, not another Dark Knight clone, this is gonna be bad" but i'm glad the movie redeemed it's qualities during the second half.

After a fwe hours of watching the movie, I think it sunk in as to why I couldn't get into this trilogy as much as I wanted, it's the style of directing from Christopher Nolan, the films are good for what they are, but I think I was just expecting something else from a Batman film, I guess that's all, they just don't seem like Batman/Superhero movies in the end, and I think that's why alot of people like them, because they take the genre to a new level. They try and cut out the campiness and the cheesiness of a "typical" comic movie. They take a darker, more mature and serious approach. They rely less on visual effects and more on dialogue and character development. That's why the movies are so long, they really flesh them out. They are like CSI with Batman, haha, I think that's the best way to describe them. A serious Crime-Drama with Batman thrown in there.

Going back on track to my feelings about the film, I loved Bane. I thought he was executed very well on screen. Tom Hardy did an amazing job playing him. In fact, i'm not afraid to admit he is my faviourte Batman film villain of all time! He just as just an evil presence to him, you know he's a threat to Batman, he's a maniac and he's not gonna let anything stand in his way. Very emotional and intelligent charachter. The only thing that bothered me about him was I couldn't make out what the hell he was saying half the time and that bothered me.

Asside from that, catwoman was better than I expected as well. I thought this was gonna turn into a "spider-man 3" with too many charachters on screen at once, but it all worked out and her presence worked out well. I liked JGL's cop charachter Blake as well, even though he was kind of a set up charachter. A total gateway to A sequel / Robin movie, whatever you want to call it. I know alot of people are bothered by Nolan throwing that "robin" line in there, but I actually found it quite a fitting nod to the franchaise that kind of made everything come full circle. I don't really have much else to say about the film. Oh wait, I don't remember the actors name, and it's been a LONG time since I saw Batman Begins, but that judge guy that was deciding the fate of Gothams people, he was supposed to be the Scarecrow from the first film right?? I thought that was an AWESOME cameo! Glad they brought him back for the part, I was blown away when I saw him. Too bad he wasn't wearing his scarecrow mask.

[Reznor2112]

I wonder if a Collectors expanded edition of the score will be released. The deluxe digital edition is cool.

This is a baller song:

http://youtu.be/gfQX8DMMigM?hd=1

[PooPooMeowChow]

Now off to finally watch Warrior. Can't get enough of this guy...

Tom Hardy's gunna be big in Hollywood some day. He kicks some serious ass in Warrior.
I hope you've seen him in Bronson. My favorite movie evver.

[Leman Russ]

Tom Hardy's gunna be big in Hollywood some day. He kicks some serious ass in Warrior.
I hope you've seen him in Bronson. My favorite movie evver.

I thought he was great in Inception, and thought he looked familiar. I didn't realize till I looked him up on imdb that he was in the awful Star Trek Nemesis. His portrayal of Bane was amazing; I may have to go watch more of his films now.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I wonder if a Collectors expanded edition of the score will be released. The deluxe digital edition is cool.

I've realized that this soundtrack + any mundane activity = Awesome activity. I wonder if any passers-by notice me blasting the DKR soundtrack throughout the building at night. :P

[Hazekiah]

http://i.imgur.com/T7UVu.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/4kGuY.jpg?1


http://i.imgur.com/WrD5S.jpg?1





I don't necessarily agree that an inflatable Obama punching bag is WORSE than Joker-boy Shooter-tard.

DEFINITELY dig Hathaway's catsuit, however.

And I LOVE the illustration of Batman the Billionaire.

But that article was a piece of shit.

This is coming from a fan of Taibbi's, mind you. I always look forward to his "Rolling Stone" articles and enjoy them a great deal, but he dropped the ball here. I think it's safe to say that whoever writes the "Rolling Stone" sports column and the magazine's financial exposés should probably STFU about comics and art.

I appreciated his attempt at an angle and all, but it just reminds me of the "Wall Street Journal" review of The Dark Knight that interpreted it as a vindication of Bush's wiretapping. The key difference being that BATMAN knew it was wrong, used it when he HAD to, and then DESTROYED the device and gave us BACK our privacy. How's BUSH feel about THAT?!?

Batman's exile isn't an "Atlas Shrugged-ian strike," he's willfully taken the fall for Dent's crimes to support the greater good, rather than to withhold his awesomeness from an undeserving populace in the John Galt tradition. He isn't "refusing to leave his mansion until we stop blaming him for all of our problems," he WANTS us to blame him. It was HIS idea, ffs. He doesn't "resent the very idea" that he's "one of us," he in fact believes in the goodness of people perhaps almost to a fault. And exactly how anti-99% can a guy be when he's basically dating a working girl who's made an entire career out of robbing the 1%?

I appreciate Taibbi's politics and journalism but reading this piece he sincerely comes across as just another troll with an ax to grind who never bothered to learn wtf he was talking about.

FAIL.

[Leman Russ]

That article was dumb. Plain dumb. I don't ever remember seeing Batman beating up anyone of the occupy movement, unless you count drug dealers & criminals with their faces painted as occupy members. Furthermore, had the author paid one bit of attention to Begins, he would have seen that the Lamborghini driving, idiot billionaire playboy image was suggested by Alfred so people wouldn't suspect he was Batman.

[marodi]

I just want to point out that I wasn't the crazed otter who bit a triathlete 25 times.

Also: Batman rules.

[Hazekiah]

Admins or not, howzabout you step out from behind your elitist "facepalm" option and post your disagreements with my posts where we can all see how SHIT they really are?

And, y'know, discuss them.

It's a fucking DISCUSSION FORUM after all, right?

You're welcome for the scanned content, btw.

[Leviathant]

Holy moses, Hazekiah. I'm not going to speak for the Lieutenant here, but did you stop to think for a moment that maybe he was facepalming Rolling Stone? There's nothing Randian about all the social programs that Wayne donates to at all. It's a silly angle.

ELITISM! FASCISM! ADMINS SUCK! NO ONE APPRECIATES ME! Chill out man. It's just a discussion forum, after all.

[october_midnight]

Yeah wow, and I know the entire forum would be lost without all the long, drawn out magazine scans that most of us couldn't be bothered to waste our time with.

[Hazekiah]

Fair point.

Not entirely sure why someone would facepalm both positive AND negative articles on the same subject, but sure.

Fair point, I suppose.

[eversonpoe]

Fair point.

Not entirely sure why someone would facepalm both positive AND negative articles on the same subject, but sure.

Fair point, I suppose.

you tend to start conflict wherever you go on this board. people find you frustrating. you ask for conversation and discussion, but then you simply spew venom when someone disagrees with you.

also, the magazine scans tend to take up a whole lot of space, which people might find irritating. maybe post links to the images instead of the images themselves?

and another thing, your whole story about the night you saw the movie, and feeling the need to compare all your little bits of narrative to what happened in colorado was tasteless and offensive.

so, there: discussion. i have offered you several points which are valid and i guarantee will be backed up by others on this board for why your posts get facepalmed, and why people tend to have a hard time talking to you.

now, can we please go back to talking about batman? thanks.

[REPLICA]

now, can we please go back to talking about batman? thanks.

I think if Batman were a sandwich, he would be a pizza within a philly cheese steak.

Seriously though, I thought Bane's voice was a little strange but as the film went on, it grew on me. His actions were also well done, I really thought Bane had Batman after Talia stabbed him.

[eversonpoe]

I think if Batman were a sandwich, he would be a pizza within a philly cheese steak.

Seriously though, I thought Bane's voice was a little strange but as the film went on, it grew on me. His actions were also well done, I really thought Bane had Batman after Talia stabbed him.

is that the kind of sandwich you have to eat with utensils? because it sounds really messy.

i'm wondering if they'll have a different audio mix option on the home video (can't believe i just used that term) release; specifically, hardy's original on-set voice with subtitles.

[REPLICA]

is that the kind of sandwich you have to eat with utensils? because it sounds really messy.

i'm wondering if they'll have a different audio mix option on the home video (can't believe i just used that term) release; specifically, hardy's original on-set voice with subtitles.

Yes it is. But then again... There is a Philly cheese steak pizza.... I might have to think about it.

I don't believe I have heard his original set voice, I'll have to look in to that one.

EDIT: Maybe he might be a Lobster Roll...

[ManBurning]

you tend to start conflict wherever you go on this board. people find you frustrating. you ask for conversation and discussion, but then you simply spew venom when someone disagrees with you.

also, the magazine scans tend to take up a whole lot of space, which people might find irritating. maybe post links to the images instead of the images themselves?

and another thing, your whole story about the night you saw the movie, and feeling the need to compare all your little bits of narrative to what happened in colorado was tasteless and offensive.

so, there: discussion. i have offered you several points which are valid and i guarantee will be backed up by others on this board for why your posts get facepalmed, and why people tend to have a hard time talking to you.

now, can we please go back to talking about batman? thanks.

I think you just spoke for everyone on this board, good job! I was contempalting being the one to step up and say something like this, but I didn't want to start a war that the admins would look down upon. But Kudos for the response! Someone needed to say it.

[Hazekiah]

you tend to start conflict wherever you go on this board. people find you frustrating. you ask for conversation and discussion, but then you simply spew venom when someone disagrees with you.

Really. SHOW me these conflicts I've started. SHOW me this venom I've spewed in the face of disagreement.

Unlike many of the truly contentious bastards who often pop up here, I generally stay away from topics I don't have nice things to say about and, in fact, pretty much use this site ENTIRELY for the discussion of bands and movies I like and to share on-topic media regarding those bands and movies.

How incredibly frustrating that must be for everyone.


also, the magazine scans tend to take up a whole lot of space, which people might find irritating. maybe post links to the images instead of the images themselves?

Maybe they could just scroll down? Compared to the consumption of time and finances involved in my procurement and sharing of said scans it doesn't seem like too much to ask. I make them big enough to read and small enough not to stretch out the pages, I guess I don't really see the problem here.

Aaaand, just to keep things a bit more on-topic for this thread...


and another thing, your whole story about the night you saw the movie, and feeling the need to compare all your little bits of narrative to what happened in colorado was tasteless and offensive.

I in NO WAY WHATSOEVER compared anything about my opening day adventures with this movie to what went down at the theater shooting. I simply related what happened in the course of my moviegoing experience, and since I don't live under a rock and it was national news, the news of the shooting, its fallout, and discussing it with my friends was a part of that tale.

If you're that easily offended or find it in bad taste then perhaps you shouldn't be frequenting a site devoted to the artist behind such tasteful and inoffensive ditties as "Big Man with a Gun," ffs.

[october_midnight]

Compared to the consumption of time and finances involved in my procurement and sharing of said scans it doesn't seem like too much to ask. I make them big enough to read and small enough not to stretch out the pages, I guess I don't really see the problem here.

What kinda weirds me out is your consistent opinion that we should be so grateful that you 'took the time' to scan these and forked out all that money. Again, almost no one cares...seriously, if you decided to just up and save all that hard earned money and not scan all these magazine articles that we really don't give a shit about, no one here would probably lose too much sleep.

[Hazekiah]

I'm not expecting or asking for anyone to bow down and kiss my feet for it -- if I minded the money spent or time expended all that much I wouldn't bother in the first place -- but people are treating it like an imposition on THEM that they have to deal with all those on-topic contributions.

Which is obviously utterly ridiculous, of course.

Does anyone see ME complaining about animated .gifs or making-of clips or techno score-remixes?

They could at least simply say quietly to themselves, "Well, it was nice of him to share" and move along instead of harassing me about it.

[Leviathant]

Take it to another thread, please. Much appreciated.

[Wretchedest]

That article very articulately explains the atlas shrugged comparison i made a few pages back... and I think peoples refusal to acknowledge the conservative nature of these films is basically just a form of denial. They're well made, great movies, but I don't think people want to associate their favorite super hero with elitist, randian allegories.

[NotoriousTIMP]

Not sure if this has been posted before but news of parts of Bane's backstory has been left out according to this:

http://m.ign.com/articles/2012/08/07/banes-origin-sequence-cut-from-dark-knight-rises

[orestes]

That article very articulately explains the atlas shrugged comparison i made a few pages back... and I think peoples refusal to acknowledge the conservative nature of these films is basically just a form of denial. They're well made, great movies, but I don't think people want to associate their favorite super hero with elitist, randian allegories.

Bruce Wayne /=/ John Galt.

[Elke]

That article very articulately explains the atlas shrugged comparison i made a few pages back... and I think peoples refusal to acknowledge the conservative nature of these films is basically just a form of denial. They're well made, great movies, but I don't think people want to associate their favorite super hero with elitist, randian allegories.

Given that the greatest heros of the last movie are poor Alfred, who's a servant of a not-clear but probably not-very-posh background; a not-filthy-rich orphan; a cat burglar and a corrupted police officer - I'm going out on a limb and say it's not elitist.

Also, linking it to Rand in any way is completely overlooking the social commentary of the movie: the 'villains' of the piece rise up from the sewers. Literally. The streets were swept clean, Gotham's authority seems highly focussed on fighting crime and little else (given that benefits seem quite important and a boy's home is quite dependent on a private donor) - it's the minimal state's wet dream. (And don't forget out Hero, Teh Bat, actually helped this come about.) It's Bane who rises up against this situation and points out where it all went wrong.

There's more, I think, but in essence I think people don't disparage the idea because they're liberalis, but because even if there are parallels to be made, those are not the only ideas or themes and I think to most viewers they don't seem to be the most important ones.

edit: Oh, and the thing that I found most annoying about the whole thing? That superheroes used to be nerdy everymen. No they didn't! Comic books are modern day epics, and there's nothing everyman about Hercules, King Arthur, Robin Hood or supersmart Peter Parker. In fact, the most famous 20th century everyman is NOT a superhero, but a Hobbit in a catholic morality play. So there! Stupid article.

[Ryan]

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/293155_10151156901716221_426925648_n.jpg

[Mr. Blaileen]

I lol'd. ^

I can't say this has happened more than a handful of times in my life, but I'm experiencing genuine cravings to see this movie (again). It's like I got a fever..and the only perscription..is more DKR.

[Reznor2112]

I lol'd. ^

I can't say this has happened more than a handful of times in my life, but I'm experiencing genuine cravings to see this movie (again). It's like I got a fever..and the only perscription..is more DKR.

I feel the same way. I only felt the need to see TDK once but Ive seen this one twice in 2 weeks and really want to see it again. Cant get this damn movie out of my head.

[NotoriousTIMP]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ5l5ls0hP4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[october_midnight]

TDKR is #3 in this weekend's box office, and just over $835 million in worldwide gross...I think it should safely pass the $1 billion mark.

[carpenoctem]

Just saw this for a second time, and even sitting in the very front row (we got there late) didn't ruin the experience for me. I feel sad that this movie is being criticized so much, I was entertained and hooked throughout the whole thing, which for a movie of that running time is quite a feat to accomplish these days. Really, the only thing that bothered me during the movie - the thing that took me out of its spell and made me stand back and nitpick instead of staying immersed in the story - was Talia's death scene, which I found to be hammy and silly. ("My evil plan cannot be stopped!" *dies a weird shrugging death*) But I have nothing but praise for Bane, and Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Catwoman was excellent and totally reaffirmed my faith in her and Nolan. I'll see it one more time before it exits theaters, and then I can't wait to do a marathon of all three!

[dpeters]

Batman retiring to protect a public servant and put the faith into a District Attorney rather than his bourgeois costume is not similar enough to Galt.

Different motivations; less condescension.

[october_midnight]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/185581_10151091267742708_1936380103_n.jpg

[fillow]

The New Meme Rises?

[Elke]

David Cronenberg on TDKR. (http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/robert-pattinson-david-cronenberg-cosmopolis-interview)

[october_midnight]

I dig Cronenberg, and I understand why certain people look down on comic book movies I guess....but still, if he'd say this to me in person my only response would be 'Supreme cinema art dude?.......Crash, man. Crash.'

[onthewall2983]

In a few interviews I've read of his, David never seems to go out of his way to bash other films, which seems incredibly petty.

BTW, I loved Crash. ​And isn't it one of Trent's favorite films?

[Elke]

Crash was brilliant.

[frankie teardrop]

i grow pretty tired of the 'you can't criticize something unless you're a master of it yourself' argument. crash is pretty great, regardless of if it qualifies, but that's just my opinion, and that is just apples/oranges.

i think his point is that everyone holds nolan and co. as this kubrickian genius, master of the intelligent blockbuster, and while i do think many of his movies are enjoyable far beyond the usual michael bay level of action flick, they aren't as dense and complex as many think they are (see my many rants on inception). batman indeed is an adolescent sort of story- ingrained in everyone since childhood via comic books and film mediums, and while nolan did an excellent job grounding the character and stories in real life/adult situations, it is still very much a superhero movie. superheroes primarily work as a figment of the imagination. we're still connecting to the escapist/fantastical realm of the subject matter regardless of how gritty and real it seems.

[Leman Russ]

Wrong on so many parts. I may be in the minority here, but Memento was an absolute snore-fest. I could barely stay awake through it, and my only lasting impression of it is "That awful movie all the hipsters say is sooooo great?". Furthermore, Nolan doesn't shoot in 3D, he's said it himself. IMAX, yes.

[Alpha 60]

I don’t want to get too off topic but the only two Nolan films I own are Following and Memento. The Prestige is the last film of his I saw in the theater. I don’t have anything overly negative to say about the Batman franchise (or Inception), I think Frankieteardrop summed it up pretty well. I also don’t think what Cronenberg said was all that negative, just putting things in perspective. They are technically well made films that are very entertaining, but there is nothing overly psychologically or philosophically interesting happening from an artistic or filmmaking point of view.

[Elke]

I think the fact that Nolan's Batman movies actually have a clear but more complex socio-political message, and that at the heart of every movie there is an ethical problem (and a solution that is not simply GOOD TRUMPS EVIL BOOYAH) makes his movies a lot more intelligent than whether or not you can see the third act reveal coming or not. Aside from the technical skill, that - to me - elevates him. In that regard, I think he's a bit like post-E.T. Spielberg: a very skilled storyteller who has something to say about the world as he sees it but at the same times knows that an entertaining and fun story helps digest that idea.

I'm a bit fed up with the Kubrick analogy: I've seen and heard it a lot since Inception, and always infavourable to Nolan, and it's a completely batshit insane analogy. I always think of Kubrick as Terrence Malick who learned that stories need structure when you tell them to someone who doesn't live in your head. Kubrick's movies aren't particularly intelligent either, but he does this thing where the way he dresses the story (or lack thereof, fuck you Eyes Wide Shut) makes it look spectacularly brilliant while actually it's social commentary of about the same level as Nolan's. But Kubrick is a film maker obsessed with the aesthetics and craft of filmmaking, and Nolan is a very classical storyteller, and that puts them in vastly different categories.

It just strikes me as one of those discussions where the merrit of a movie is judged as rather poor because it's fun. And we can't have that! Really good movies, movies that make it into the art category, can't be fun!
I hate that.

Also, I just realized you could read all that in an angry!David Mitchell voice and it actually sounds like him.

[neorev]

hey I love Nolan's work... still think The Prestige was his best
but is he a Kubrick? no way
Paul Thomas (P.T.) Anderson is the only current director that I feel matches Kubrick's level of work... take There Will Be Blood for example
though I love Nolan's work, he's a different kind of storyteller from Kubrick

[frankie teardrop]

agreed on anderson being the only director with that sort of spirit, and nor do i necessarily agree with the nolan vs. kubrick comparison either, just an obseveration on what the general public perceives nolan as. it's interesting how a few off-base comparisons and criticisms can alter the perception of someone, isn't it? the speilberg comparisons are not off-base, though, but do keep in mind speilberg is OFTEN criticized for replacing the artistic merit of films with thinly veiled mellodrama.

sometimes i get the vibe that nolan suffers from the same sort of fan vs. validity issue that radiohead has these days- where the public pretty much inserts their own level of almighty importance into the work and any criticism is met as blasphemy. that's not nolan's fault. the only issue i have with (most of) his films is the constant need to dumb down or constantly explain mildly complex storylines in order for the movie-going public to understand them. like "hey, this is pretty complex let me break it down to you about six or seven times and one more just in case," which i find kind of insulting. that's less so his fault and perhaps a comment on the caliber of moviegoers these days, though.

tangent aside, of course a fun film can also be an artistic/political/social statement. i'm moreso taking issue with people who believe that because this movie is more realistic, that it somehow transcends the fact that it's still a superhero flick. a really fucking good one, but let's not kid ourselves. that's what i'm taking away from the whole cronenberg/october_midnight comments. it's still a film about batman, so it may be hard for some to separate that from a film based on something with a little less adolescent appeal. it's still a popcorn flick, which is what gets people into the theatres to begin with.

[neorev]

I can agree on the Nolan meets Spielberg comparisons, though Spielberg is much more aimed at big popcorn family events. But I see what ya mean.
But I've never been the real comic book type, so I enjoyed Batman set in a more realistic tone. I have yet to see The Avengers because I did not enjoy any of the individual lead up movies. Just wasn't my thang. When it's on tv, I'll watch it.

[Leman Russ]

The same criticisms have been made about the Transformers movies. It's like they forget that they are about giant alien robots fighting each other. I'm not expecting to have my views on the global economy changed by giant fighting robots. Sure, they're poorly written, poorly acted, and overall dumb. But they're about robots. Same thing with Nolan's Batman films. At the end of the day, they're about a guy who dresses up in a cape and fights bad guys. Granted, Nolan's films are well done, well acted, and grounded much more in reality than many others of the genre, but they're still Batman movies. If you go into them thinking "man this Batman movie better make me see another side of XX issue", then you're getting your information and influences from the wrong source. You probably also believe Fox NEWS is fair and balanced. :)

[Elke]

GOD! I'm so sorry, this post is HUGE! I guess it shows my passion, which my therapist assures me is one of my good sides :) Feel free to totally skip it.


This is a complete sidenote that I will ingore after one tiny, tiny step in the direction of total derailment BUT: comics are thoroughly, thoroughly political. From the absolute onset. Actually, a lot of big dumb movies have been vehicles for some of the best social commentary ever made in film. Think of Dawn of the Dead, for instance, which is absolutely brilliant - as well as horrific fun and pretty low on the artsiness; or Godzilla. And a lot of more recent heroes & monsters movies have tried to do the same thing: Cloverfield was a pretty good post-9/11 update of the ol' Japanese weirdly biologically impossible waterdinosaur (if hammering the plot home a bit too enthusiastically); Spielberg roared at individualism in War of the Worlds; The Mist hit you over the head with a hammer-shaped opinion until you couldn't see the creepy crawlies through the blood running over your face; not to mention the X-Men movies which have constantly overplayed the theme of otherness that's also in the book, and the rarther depressing vision of capitalism in Iron Man (not IM2 though, that was bad). Even Singer's Superman reboot was about as thinly veiled in its poltical commentary as The Usual Suspects was predictable. I'd go on and on if it wasn't bedtime for me :)
Anyway, point is: there's no such thing as just a comic book movie or just a superhero flick, and since the dawn of incredibly crap light entertainment reading, most of pulp's enduring classics had something going for them far beyond the adolescent appeal.

Let's put it this way: when I read the first interview with Bryan Singer about X-Men, I was struck with a sense of recognition. He talked about being a geeky gay kid, and discovering the Xverses and how the book had become his portal into self-acceptance. For me, it's always been Lord of the Rings, which is only more high brow than comics because it was a stuffy litterature professor's vehicle for self-devised languages. No philosopher I ever read, no single line from the Bible (which is, after all, my holy text of preference) and certainly none of the high-brow movies I've seen (and loved) over the years have helped me accept myself and my role in this life better than Boromir of Gondor. That's completely ridiculous, but it's also very normal: as a young teenager, that image struck me. It's been more influential than anything else in my life. (A friend of mine, I recently discovered, had a similar experience with Peter Parker - much like Andrew Garfield himself, it seems.)
So perhaps a small percentage of people now raving about how TDKR taught them all kinds of things about the world and/or themselves, are not overstating it at all: maybe they mean it. Not everyone sees 2001: A Space Odessy at 16 and decides he now understands the universe (like my brother, who's several IQ points up on the scale from anyone in our family).

And on that note, one last thing: yes, Nolan takes the time to explain things. For people like my mother, and for some of my friends and students, this is really helpful. They're not used to reading/watching dense complicated stories, and they need some moments of exposition to simply catch up.
Have you considered that, in the same manner that I've known the ending of every Shyamalan movie within the first ten minutes (except Signs, it took 20' there) and have a faultless Midsommer Murders post-series 3 track record, you're simply smarter than the movie because it's a medium you're well-versed in?

[frankie teardrop]

well, flattery will get you everywhere ;)

if anything, the comic book medium does give something for the casual movie goer to get sucked into- come for the escapist comic book aspect, and hopefully get something deeper out of it- and that's all right with me. i think putting social and political issues into a surface level popcorn flick is indeed a wise decision- so long as the agenda isn't too skewed towards an extreme. it definitely adds a level of enjoyment for me- figure if i want meaningless fluff i'll just watch a romantic comedy or something, and lord knows i've watched many of those while exhausted from a long night of djing.

so yeah, i don't disagree with a word of that. i just want to call a spade a spade.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

JGL's take on Blake's ending. Nothing really new or revealing at all, but it's kinda cool to know how he sees the ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKi_ke9_dlc

[onthewall2983]

The funny thing about this whole Cronenberg thing is is that despite not wanting to do comic book or superhero movies, he already has kind of. A History Of Violence was based on a graphic novel. And it can be argued that The Dead Zone ​was a superhero movie.

[Iran_Ed]

The night I saw the film I posted in here. I reposted it elsewhere and added this.

Nolan took Batman and planted him firmly in reality. This is why these films work, to a degree they are plausible.
The Dark Knight Rises is: A terrorist attack during and fueled by an occupy Wallstreet like protest. This is the most important part of the film.



A few weeks later and the film has lost some of its luster to me. As I said in the first post
it feels like he's trying to put way to much information in his films. And as Frankieteardrop
pointed out. There are times when it feels like things are being repeated to make sure everyone
can follow along.

After about two or three weeks of thinking it through I've decided that I would love to see this movie without
Batman and Catwoman. I would rather see the citizens of Gotham have to rise together to take back control of their city.

[Elke]

^ Isn't that what they do, though? Gordon, Blake, even Selina with 'her territory' - they all work to recapture something. Batman functions even more as a symbol in this movie than in the prior two, where he's a lot more in the business of single-handedly saving the world than in this one.

edit: Also, as an aside, I think the Occupy movement would take offense being compared to either the violent war lord Bane or the handful of running-on-empty saboteurs in the movie.

[Iran_Ed]

^ Isn't that what they do, though? Gordon, Blake, even Selina with 'her territory' - they all work to recapture something. Batman functions even more as a symbol in this movie than in the prior two, where he's a lot more in the business of single-handedly saving the world than in this one.

edit: Also, as an aside, I think the Occupy movement would take offense being compared to either the violent war lord Bane or the handful of running-on-empty saboteurs in the movie.

Yes a handful of citizens do, but I'm talking about a massive uprising. Are Bane and his team ultra violent, yes, but as the scene at the football game shows they are massively outnumbered. The final battle in the streets is between the police force and Bane.
I keep having the thought of something like the Iran election protest from 2009. Men and women of different ages and backgrounds fighting to bring attention to a wrong. The everyday people rising up and assembling.

As for my Occupy movement comments. Yes the one in the movie is fake and backed by the very people who it's suppose to be critical of, but that's the point. It's a great distraction, like the shooting of the horse in The Killing.(since everyone wants to compare Nolan to Kubrick) Everyone's attention is wrapped up in the movement, money and the Harvey Dent law's overconfidence, that the glaring problem is sneaking up on them right below their feet.

Edit: Gotham City painted as Homs Syria. That's what I want.

[Elke]

Mmmm.... I'm not convinced. It's probably me projecting, but to me Bane and his troupe were a lot more like African rebel bands.

[Fixer808]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/185581_10151091267742708_1936380103_n.jpg
Very first thing I would do upon returning to my car and seeing that would be run out and get some clear-coat sealant.

[onthewall2983]

That's got to be photoshopped, right?

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/71079595.html

My girlfriend came upon this article today and I found it very interesting. Even though it is from Star magazine, and makes no sense what so ever.. I still found it interesting little article.


There was a rumor that JGL wasn't very liked on the set, but that's why they are called rumors. Check this interview out with Caine and Freeman... so awkward when they are asked about JGL. Skip to 5:55.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsF6RzJtK9s&feature=player_embedded#!






(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsF6RzJtK9s&feature=player_embedded#!)

[Luke Flanaghan]

In My Own opinion, the best Nolan/Bale collaboration was The Prestige. Although very well made, beautifully designed and shot, Nolans Batman Movies never really leave me with any sense of satisfaction. The third act in all three movies so far has been far too drawn out with little in the way of edge of the seat tention or satisfactory pay off. The first two movies just seemed to meander to their conclusion, the most dramatic part of the last movie was the reveal at the end, which is a typical movie trick of making the last thing you see exciting to color the vast sections of the film which were just brooding bland scene building.

A cast of Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman, all used as support characters to balance out and try and humanise Bales Batman just didn't really do much for me personally. In fact, the only two people I empathised with in the movie were Hathaway and Levit, who at least added a little colour to an otherwise plodding, overly moody and depressingly drab world that Nolan laid out in front of me.

I can take these movies of leave them, they are fairly good but hardly the wondrous works of Cinema that people are making them out to be. When Nolan said he wanted to pay homage to how old movies were made with a feel of epic scale, I was expecting the Drama of such movies as Ben Hur, that had intimate scenes of character introspection, and vast casts flodding the eye when the action kicked in.

What we got was three hours of Batman meets Doctor Zhivago........ and by that I mean a third of the movie had lots of people plodding about in snow not looking particularly happy.

That being said, roll on Dredd, where we will see more dark broody stern justice (and some suitably decent drol black humour to go with it) without it trying too hard to come across as Citizen Cane with a cloak.

And before anyone on here is going to start talking about how Karl Urban's Dredd voice is trying to 'Do a Batman' please check the history of Dredd, Dredd was based on Dirty Harry, so Urban is lifting Clint Eastwood :P

For entertainment and satisfaction, the Dredd Movie is going to OWN the DarkNight, but then I am a biased 2000ad fan who over the years has seen 2000ad writers cross the pond to save the American comic industry and create things like Watchmen, Sandman, Red Son, Preacher and Bat Man Year One for them.......

Batman Year One.......

The book that pretty much made Batman THE DARK KNIGHT

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

David Bordwell's one of the best critics/historians/professors of film, and he's got a pretty great piece up now looking back over Nolan's career.

http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2012/08/19/nolan-vs-nolan/

I have only a welterweight dog in this fight, because I admire some of Nolan’s films, for reasons I hope to make clear later. Nolan is, I think all parties will agree, an innovative filmmaker. Some will argue that his innovations are feeble, but that’s beside my point here. His career offers us an occasion to think through some issues about creativity and innovation in popular cinema.

[wizfan]

Watched it yesterday, a few days after I saw Rescue Dawn. Bale apparently has a thing for being imprisoned and tortured while barefoot.

[Iran_Ed]

http://iran-ed.tumblr.com/post/29744281940/ianbrooks-bane-capital-twitter-feed-we-are

Sorry if this has already been posted

[wizfan]

Also, I watched it after the truly horrible Darling Companion, which also featured a dislocated bone scene. Surprisingly, the scene in DKR was much easier to watch than the one in DC.

[Ryan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOXCdSMaNeE&feature=share

[october_midnight]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7enjABApKWE

[Alexandros]

Finally saw it...pretty much everything has been said already in this thread. I think it was good, with some of the flaws present in the other Dark Kinght films. It's a weird combination of many things happening very quickly, a furiously paced editing, yet the film is a slow-burner overall. Can't explain it more clearly. I enjoyed it truly, as I have the other Dark Knight films, but I also find them difficult films to return to. I mean, I'm not sure I've seen the previous film for a second time, even if Ledger's Joker is kickass. As is Bane by the way, that was quite a memorable villain, well done Tom Hardy! And all the rest really, Hathaway, JGL, great new characters!

So, on to nit-picking: At first I was one of those that thought Bruce did die, yet then the thing with the bat signal was pointed out so I guess he must be alive (though I would prefer if he had been killed off, I feel like they copped out in the final minute). However, in that case, isn't it a bit careless on his part, the way he casually shows his face in public? I mean, he is (was) a famous billionaire that died recently. His face has been in Gotham's media and it's fair to assume in international media as well. Won't someone recognise him eventually? This did not diminish my enjoyment of the film, but I find it curious.

[eversonpoe]

However, in that case, isn't it a bit careless on his part, the way he casually shows his face in public? I mean, he is (was) a famous billionaire that died recently. His face has been in Gotham's media and it's fair to assume in international media as well. Won't someone recognise him eventually? This did not diminish my enjoyment of the film, but I find it curious.

when alfred spots him, they are in a foreign country, not gotham.

[kdrcraig]

when alfred spots him, they are in a foreign country, not gotham.

Yeah but he was one of the richest people in the world, had recently lost his fortune and just "died". Pretty sure his face would've been plastered all over global media for a while after all this shit. It doesn't really bother me, I absolutely love the way they ended this movie.

[Alexandros]

when alfred spots him, they are in a foreign country, not gotham.

Yes I know, that's why the full sentence goes "His face has been in Gotham's media and it's fair to assume in international media as well". I'm just saying that he's not your average Joe to simply get lost in the crowd without some form of disguise. It's plausible that he could remain undetected, or even that someone that did recognise him would shrug it off, but even so, it strikes me as very lax behaviour.

[GibbonBlack]

"you're the prince of Gotham. You'd have to go a thousand miles to find someone who doesn't know your name" or something along those lines

[Mr. Blaileen]

Just got out of another viewing of DKR, which makes it an absurd amount of times I've seen this movie. Some random thoughts and opinions:

*I never got that Blake's line about 'giant alligators' was a nod to 'Killer Croc'. Well done, Nolan.
*I will never, ever get tired of seeing Anne Hathaway in the catsuit and or bent over the Bat Bike. Hotttttt damn.
*I never noticed, until this viewing, that Bane sheds a few tears when Talia is in the middle of her long speech.
*I really love the soundtrack. I'm a Hans Zimmer fan, so I could be biased, but it really adds to the feel of the movie..for me.
*I absolutely LOVE the first scenes with Batman in them in this film. The scene where he's being chased by 234340 police cars is gorgeous..loved the camera work there. The music during this scene kicks ass as well.

[cashpiles (closed)]

I was finally able to watch this film since it was only released in China last week. Cat Woman was a big highlight for me. She was just dark enough while also contributing most of the much-needed comic relief. Bane was a formidable and scary opponent. Batman totally overestimated his own abilities and Bane destroyed him. He was basically locked in a room with a monster whose own army was terrified of. The backbreaking shot could have been filmed in a way more brutal fashion. After the backbreaker, the movie, to me, fell apart. I didn't like how Bane was not the mastermind. He acts like a brutal, cold-blooded mastermind throughout the film and then ends up looking like a puppy dog with a heart. Blake was well-acted...

So I've been wondering why Batman had not trained in 8 years. The only answer I've come up with so far is that he was too heart-broken over the loss of his love. The other idea that he hasn't trained because Batman is no longer needed doesn't make sense. Things could easily go to hell at any moment. He would have been thinking that.

And the whole thing about Batman being simply a symbol that anyone can become is bullshit. I hate that story point. Batman is Batman. Nobody else can be Batman. My other gripe is with the stupid speech sequence with Bane in front of the prison before all the inmates are freed. Lame.

Anyways, the film was a bit sloppy and the weakest one in the trilogy. I now rank Batman Begins as the best of them because it's the tightest. Somewhere during the progression of this trilogy the focus on Batman was lost. When I watch Batman I want to see plenty of Batman's mind and character. I want to know what he's thinking and how he's handling everything that is unfolding.

The Bane themes kick ass,but I noticed that some of the soundtrack sounds like leftovers from Inception.

[onthewall2983]

Rumor going around that the Blu-ray may include the director's cut (http://www.slashfilm.com/rumor-dark-knight-rises-blu-ray-to-include-christopher-nolans-directors-cut), incorporating a few scenes including Bane's origin scene.

[Hazekiah]

I'm particularly hopeful that THIS scene will be included:



http://cdn.crushable.com/files/2012/07/anne-handcuffs.png


I definitely approve of the direction the story seems to be taking there.

;)

[october_midnight]

I'm sure everyone has heard by now, but there's no director's cut, we've already seen it. Blu Ray confirmed for a December 3rd NA release.

[imail724]

Yes.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81btTe%2BOIBL._AA1500_.jpg

[Conan The Barbarian]

Meh, looks bland. This trilogy deserves a better class of box sets.

[elementroejoy]

I dig it but aside from owning Batman Begins (on DVD though) and The Dark knight, I already own The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy. I'm hoping I can just purchase the trilogy bluray box set alone. Though why does Batman Begins have only one disc? Also, I would hope (but certainly doubt) The Dark Knight bluray could offer ANY decent special features. Still bummed about that.

[october_midnight]

Ahh, do I get the trilogy or just the broken mask version that was announced as well? Already have the first two on Blu Ray. Fuck it, I'll get 'em both.

[Exploding Plastic]

Broken mask version? That sounds intriguing...

[orestes]

Meh, looks bland. This trilogy deserves a better class of box sets.

I see what you did there.

[Leman Russ]

Meh, looks bland. This trilogy deserves a better class of box sets.

Let's not blow things out of proportion

[henryeatscereal]

I saw it coming: the "ultimate-special-definitive-collector's-limited-numbered-deluxe edition", now christmas is going to get expensive!

[october_midnight]

Broken mask version? That sounds intriguing...

Picture of it is here. (http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/NerdyGeek/news/?a=67871)

It's cool and all, but I'm past the point of needing special editions of stuff. This would just be another thing that doesn't fit correctly on a shelf lol. It's still pretty cool though.

[Fixer808]

Like those (not even special edition) Simpsons season box-sets shaped like the characters' heads. Fuck that noise.

[october_midnight]

Exactly. Just give me the media. Though Batman is one of the few things I'd even consider in terms of getting a special edition of anything, I'm more concerned with just watching whatever I bought. Those Simpsons sets were a pain in the ass, though it was the time of special editions when I was running a music store here, and people ate it up. Now, not so much...

[Reznor2112]

Broken mask version? That sounds intriguing...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/713WlrzUOmL._AA500_.jpg

[Leman Russ]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/713WlrzUOmL._AA500_.jpg

Looks really cool, but echoing october's earlier sentiment, I don't need another something that won't fit correctly on a shelf. My bowling ball shaped copy of The Big Lebowski is already a big enough pain in the ass

[october_midnight]

Pics of the actual packaging it comes in. (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/09/27/the-dark-knight-rises-blu-ray-exclusive/)

[Deadpool]

I gotta say - the lack of commentary on the Blu-ray isn't surprising, but it's still a bit disappointing. What I'm really bothered by is the total lack of deleted scenes. I thought Rises' final cut & pacing was pretty much perfect for a movie with that much story to be told and wrapped up, so I was never expecting an Extended or Director's Cut. That said, aren't we at least a little bit entitled to those cut scenes of Bane in the League of Shadows with an early version of his mask?

I'm sure there's a chance we'll see glimpses of that stuff on the other Special Features, but that seems like a glaring omission since it was revealed it existed. If we're lucky, I guess it'll turn up on its own.

Blah blah blah I'm still really excited to own this movie. It still kind of blows my mind that it exceeded my high expectations.

[onthewall2983]

I would not be surprised if Nolan has given up on commentaries like some directors have, like Paul Thomas Anderson.

[NotoriousTIMP]

.That said, aren't we at least a little bit entitled to those cut scenes of Bane in the League of Shadows with an early version of his mask?

Did you really write this while being serious?

[Conan The Barbarian]

ugh, too many versions, ill be hitting target and best buy. I still dont know about the trilogy box set seeing as I dont know what it comes with bonus feature wise( if its the same shit on the single disks, then forget it.)

I was hoping they treated the box set with way more attention, I mean it is the best trilogy since the original Star Wars in my opinion. Maybe a bad ass edition will come down the line like Begins did when TDK came out.

[NotoriousTIMP]

Im more than positive that the trilogy will get the double if not triple dip treatment

[Deadpool]

My face is red. Very red indeed.

[onthewall2983]

I'm going to wait for the one coming out next year.

[richardp]

Im more than positive that the trilogy will get the double if not triple dip treatment

WB has already confirmed that there will be an definitive ultimate collector's trilogy set next year. The trilogy set in december is nothing more than a collection of the 3 already released sets.

[Ryan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_fPB_bmXLU&feature=g-all-lik

[Conan The Barbarian]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1159123&l=f98f5e8c91&id=135782296476611

Well this pretty much helps my decision on not getting the box set.

[richardp]

Just wait until next year.

[Reznor2112]

So there def will be an ULTIMATE collectors edition in 2013

So http://www.batmanytb.com/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=5924&display

[Reznor2112]

Sorry for double post. Here are all of the exclusives for the US

Basic blu ray
http://images2.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/53361_large.jpg

Blu-ray/dvd/UV combo with bonus features not included on basic Blu ray
http://images2.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/21212_large.jpg

Limited Edition Bat Cowl Blu-Ray
http://images4.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56795_large.jpg

BEST BUY Exclusive Steelbook Blu/DVD/UV combo includes the new documentary The Dark Knight Reborn
http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/51955_large.jpg

Target Exclusive Blu ray Digibooks
http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/57117_large.jpg http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56921_large.jpg

Trilogy Collectors Edition (contains basic blu ray special features)
http://images4.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56689_large.jpg

The ULTIMATE Collectors edition which Warner Bros. has stated will be released in the 3rd quarter of 2013 will have "all new never before seen features"
http://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/100412_0100/Page-2

Here's hoping that that includes TDKR deleted scenes, TDK new transfer etc...:rolleyes:

Here are the bonus features for the Bluray combo pack that are not featured in the basic blu ray:
Special Features:
The Batmobile Documentary
Ending The Knight
Production
The Prologue: High Altitude Hijacking
Beneath Gotham
Return to the Batcave
Batman vs Bane
The Bat
Armory Accepted
Gameday Destruction
Demolishing a City Street
The Pit
The Chant
The War on Wall Street
Race to the Reactor
The Journey of Bruce Wayne
Gotham's Reckoning
Characters
A Girl's Gotta Eat
Shadows & Light in Large Format
Reflections
The End of A Legend
Trailers
Art Gallery
US ONLY: Includes UltraViolet so you can enjoy the film on many different compatible devices. Must enter redemption code by 12/04/2014 to redeem UltraViolet offer. Does not include iTUNES file.





SPOILER!!!!




How Matthew Modine's character was originally supposed to die...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yucv7GB_lRo

[Broadbent]

when the hell is this dvd gonna leak onto the net? the dvd is only a month away!!!

[october_midnight]

WB releases new photos, launches website to campaign for TDKR Oscar nominations. (http://batman-news.com/2012/11/12/warner-bros-launches-the-dark-knight-rises-oscar-campaign-releases-new-photos/)

[thefragile_jake]

WB releases new photos, launches website to campaign for TDKR Oscar nominations. (http://batman-news.com/2012/11/12/warner-bros-launches-the-dark-knight-rises-oscar-campaign-releases-new-photos/)

If anything, The Dark Knight would've been the one out of this series to be nominated with a possible chance to win any Oscar.

TDKR will be lucky to get a score or possible special effects nod.

[S. Chonson]

BluRay rip is out there.

[october_midnight]

This has me fuckin' pumped for the 4th. (http://imgur.com/a/rH7fe)

[Fixer808]

fuckin' BATMAN pumped (http://imgur.com/a/rH7fe)
http://i.imgur.com/QdmAx.jpg

[onthewall2983]

If anything, The Dark Knight would've been the one out of this series to be nominated with a possible chance to win any Oscar.

It did win several Oscars.

[imail724]

creepy...
http://i.imgur.com/dDFXD.png

[october_midnight]

Haha that picture's the best. A gif of something like him licking his lips would be in the running for the creepiest thing ever put online lol.

[theburningreptile]

Sorry for double post. Here are all of the exclusives for the US

Basic blu ray
http://images2.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/53361_large.jpg

Blu-ray/dvd/UV combo with bonus features not included on basic Blu ray
http://images2.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/21212_large.jpg

Limited Edition Bat Cowl Blu-Ray
http://images4.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56795_large.jpg

BEST BUY Exclusive Steelbook Blu/DVD/UV combo includes the new documentary The Dark Knight Reborn
http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/51955_large.jpg

Target Exclusive Blu ray Digibooks
http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/57117_large.jpg http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56921_large.jpg

Trilogy Collectors Edition (contains basic blu ray special features)
http://images4.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/56689_large.jpg

The ULTIMATE Collectors edition which Warner Bros. has stated will be released in the 3rd quarter of 2013 will have "all new never before seen features"
http://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/100412_0100/Page-2

Here's hoping that that includes TDKR deleted scenes, TDK new transfer etc...:rolleyes:

Here are the bonus features for the Bluray combo pack that are not featured in the basic blu ray:
Special Features:
The Batmobile Documentary
Ending The Knight
Production
The Prologue: High Altitude Hijacking
Beneath Gotham
Return to the Batcave
Batman vs Bane
The Bat
Armory Accepted
Gameday Destruction
Demolishing a City Street
The Pit
The Chant
The War on Wall Street
Race to the Reactor
The Journey of Bruce Wayne
Gotham's Reckoning
Characters
A Girl's Gotta Eat
Shadows & Light in Large Format
Reflections
The End of A Legend
Trailers
Art Gallery
US ONLY: Includes UltraViolet so you can enjoy the film on many different compatible devices. Must enter redemption code by 12/04/2014 to redeem UltraViolet offer. Does not include iTUNES file.





SPOILER!!!!




How Matthew Modine's character was originally supposed to die...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yucv7GB_lRo
I was thinking of getting the best buy exclusive. I was wondering how long the Dark Knight Reborn documentary will be. Like feature length? Does anyone know?

[Reznor2112]

^^The Dark Knight Reborn doc is sadly only 35mins long according to Best buy.com I will still be getting the steel book just to go along with the other 2 steel books.

But im hoping that the deluxe trilogy next fall will have new transfers of TDK. and more bonus features.

[onthewall2983]

I think there's going to be a more comprehensive documentary covering the three films in next year's set. Personally, I'm holding off until that comes out to get a release of this film.

[Conan The Barbarian]

ill pick it up, but will also pick up the box set when it releases, then give my single copies to my brother or something.

[Reznor2112]

Blu-ray & Bonus features review:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Dark-Knight-Rises-Blu-ray/21212/#Review

I just finished watching the Blu ray that leaked and the back and forth from 2.40:1 to 1.77(IMAX) footage looks just as bad as on TDK.

I dont understand why you dont notice the difference in aspect in the theater...

[thefragile_jake]

It did win several Oscars.

Yes I know, I meant as far as Best Film Catagory though

[wight rabbit]

Blu-ray & Bonus features review:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Dark-Knight-Rises-Blu-ray/21212/#Review

I just finished watching the Blu ray that leaked and the back and forth from 2.40:1 to 1.77(IMAX) footage looks just as bad as on TDK.

I dont understand why you dont notice the difference in aspect in the theater...

I noticed it... Then I got used to it and just admired the scenes any time they showed up.

[Clownboat]

I just finished watching the Blu ray that leaked and the back and forth from 2.40:1 to 1.77(IMAX) footage looks just as bad as on TDK.

I dont understand why you dont notice the difference in aspect in the theater...
Man, I sure noticed it. It wasn't bad in the non-IMAX screening (still noticeable) but when I saw it in the actual IMAX theater the difference was jarring.

[onthewall2983]

Yes I know, I meant as far as Best Film Catagory though

Eh. I think Nolan has one in him, but not yet. The year everyone was going crazy thinking Inception was going was going to win, I was rooting for Social Network.​

[r_z]

Nolan's movies are quite too flawed to receive an oscar for best film or script, imho. They're enjoyable movies/blockbusters that sell you an image of being smart or intelligent, but if you start thinking about certain elements of their stories, everything falls apart. Even TDK, that everyone loves so much, is flawed at its core, takes itself too seriously ("why so serious...?" heh) and fails spectaculary at trying to comment on political issues (like terrorism or the all seeing eye stuff). It's a well done, very enjoyable action-movie, but that's all it is (no shame in this). The same goes for Nolan's other movies, of which TDKR must be his weakest to date. The story is just so bloated and flawed, it's ridiculous.

[joplinpicasso]

^^^ TDK isn't trying to get at terrorism/gov't control so much as morality and chaos, in my opinion. That is where I think it excels. Same for TDKR: rather than the veiled 1% comparisons, I feel the topic of sacrifice shines through perfectly.

EDIT: my faves
http://i.imgur.com/zU6vo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TsZeN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PFYm2.jpg

[Conan The Barbarian]

If anyone in this movie deserves an award, it's Micheal Caine.

[dpeters]

http://i.imgur.com/PFYm2.jpg
"Can afford CGI, uses kids' puppets."

[elementroejoy]

Actually those bats were real, they were frozen or something so they could get the right lighting for the scene when they did use CGI bats. They attempted to use real bats flying around but it was too difficult to work with.

[joplinpicasso]

Christopher Nolan and his Frozen Bat on a Stick.

[richardp]

Man, I sure noticed it. It wasn't bad in the non-IMAX screening (still noticeable) but when I saw it in the actual IMAX theater the difference was jarring.

Yeah I saw a legit IMAX screening in Chicago at Navy Pier and the 35mm stuff looked TERRIBLE. But the IMAX footage was so beautiful that I didn't really care.

[october_midnight]

To dabble in the 'take this with a boulder of salt the size of Kentucky' field, the internet is buzzing after Hit-Fix revealed a story saying that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is lined up to play Batman in the Justice League movie in 2015. (http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/exclusive-is-joseph-gordon-levitt-already-set-to-play-batman-in-justice-league)

That, with the appearance at the end of Man of Steel actually makes sense (in keeping the movie universe all connected, etc etc) but still...don't bother with the 'I DON'T BUY IT. IT'S A BULLSHIT RUMOR.' because it is...just a rumor.

[joplinpicasso]

With all this Nightwing talk, I almost forgot to mention:

So, I've gotten involved with 'Nightwing: Escalation,' this fan-made web series, as a set photographer and production assistant. The obvious indie budget provides its own limitations, but I firmly believe that what's done with the characters -- Gordon, Barbara, Grayson, some obscure ones, etc. -- is fantastic. It's heavier on the dialogue and drama than the action sequences, and the episodes only get better with each subsequent production. Right now we're filming and raising funds for episode four.

If you feel so inclined to check out the series and support the production, please do so!

http://www.indiegogo.com/NEscalation?c=home

[/shameless promoting] :) Thank you so, so much in advance, guys. The indie film fire rises.

[Lutz]

They need to cast Jon Hamm as the new Batman.

[Fixer808]

GET BACK IN YOUR SHAME CLOSET! Jon Hamm... try Jon HAMN'T... wait, that doesn't work. I'm firing my writers.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Wasn't sure where to put this, and don't have the time to make a new thread but sources say Joseph Gordon-Levitt will definitely be playing Batman in the Justice League film and one other cast member from TDKR.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/11/27/news-joseph-gordon-levitt-to-play-batman-in-justice-league

[imail724]

I don't think it really makes any sense to have JGL play Batman in the Justice League movie. If he does it will go one of two ways: either a. the movie has nothing to do with the Nolan universe and JGL plays Bruce Wayne, or b. JGL returns as John Blake who becomes Batman, in which case it still doesn't make sense because like someone else said, superpowers a-plenty.

[Fixer808]

Batman's always been in the Justice League, and frankly, he could take any one of them in a fight, despite having no superpowers. Hasn't he kicked Superman's ass on a few occasions? Seriously, he's got contingency plans and backup plans for his backup plans and I'm pretty sure he's got a set of kryptonite-studded brass knuckes on that utility belt... just in case...