The Dark Knight Rises

[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.

[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, 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 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...

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]

[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]

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.

[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.

[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:

[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.