Man of Steel Trailer

It's finally here, the Man of Steel trailer and I know you all have probably seen it a million times already, but I wanted to give my two cents on it and what this new Superman film means to me. First off, let's check out this stupendous trailer... If you've already seen it, feel free to just skip ahead, I am late to this party after all.


Wow! First, the music is haunting and epic, a hero's call to adventure. This step here is what Marvel fails to grasp with their movies. Their movies are awesome, fun and I adore them. Will watch them over and over, but this right here, this music lets us know that we are going to watch a myth unfold, something that will inspire and stir the soul. Melodramatic, maybe, but think about the Marvel trailers with their hard rock scores, their driving beats. It says roller coaster thrill ride, screaming through the skies at Mach 3. It does not say legend in the way this does. I was immediately put into the mind of Gladiator, not Angus Young and martial arts films.

Then we have Henry Cavill, our new incarnation of Clark Kent, the latest to don the mantle of the icon that is Superman. From what I see here, he takes up the torch left by the Superman of my heart, Christopher Reeve, and goes forward, seeming to make the role his own. The expression in his eyes, his movements, he is far removed and above the nice, but ultimately flat performance of Brandon Routh.

Finally, there is no comic relief here,  no cartoonish Kevin Spacey Lex Luthor. With Michael Shannon as General Zod in this clip along with the military, the arrest, that brief holding of hands with Lois, the incredible Amy Adams, this is going to be a mythic journey that will see Superman break then come back stronger. I also love the scenes from his childhood, how Mr. Kent, Kevin Costner, tells Clark that he maybe should have let those kids die. This is a father in a raw moment wanting to protect his child no matter what.

I was so moved by this trailer and it brought me right back to that stirring of the heart that I got when I first saw Christopher Reeve oh so long ago. I can't wait for this movie. What did you all think?

The Dark Knight Rises: Epic Conclusion To The Superhero Trilogy

The Dark Knight Rises opens eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, in spectacular fashion with a jaw-dropping jailbreak at 30,000 feet. Super villain Bane crashes a plane and kills CIA agents along with one of his own,  all to obtain the services of one Russian scientist, who had eluded him.Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er Gotham,  they are celebrating Harvey Dent Day (WTF?). It would appear that the Powers The Be in Gotham have created themselves a gigantic bull shit sandwich and are gnoshing with relish at the seemingly perfect world they have fashioned out of lies and corruption. Underhanded dealings are all good when you put the "bad" guys away. In this New World Order, Batman is still Gotham's Most Wanted and everything else, including the League of Shadows, is second banana. Bruce has hung up his suit, mothballed the Bat Mobile and sealed the Bat Cave. He resides at Wayne Manor, a broken, grieving man who is just counting the ticks of the clock until he can either end his misery or find another outlet.

His big depressive brood comes to a halt when Selina Kyle shakes his ass up by stealing his fingerprints and helping herself to his mother's pearls. More scales are ripped away by police officer John Blake, who proceeds to tell him that the orphanage supported by Wayne Industries is no longer receiving aid. Suddenly there just might be some purpose to his existence again. While Bruce finally ditches his pity party, Commissioner Gordon is injured in a seeming random crime gone wrong whereby he discovers a strange underground army forming. Evil is afoot in Gotham and there's going to be hell to pay times ten. It's Batman time.

Oh Dark Knight Rises, how do I love thee? I was strapped in and ready for action from the opening seconds and was impressed to nth degree. Nolan's gritty, relentlessly dark story is perfect for this conclusion. Bruce is the Dark Knight, he's not Spider-man. You want hopeful, fun, go watch Spidey and Lizard man one more time. This is pure doom, gloom and then some. As it should be. There were some slow, lighter scenes, Nolan teasing us for sure, but they were all drama heavy and necessary to the plot. Speaking of... All the twists and threads were mind-blowing and a bit hard to keep track of at times, but ultimately it was okay as everything made sense by the end. I thought Nolan used all the characters effectively, doling out their secrets in small doses for just the right impact There a couple of times I was left looking like a slack-jawed yokel. 

The f/x were dazzling. Not as many as in The Dark Knight, but not necessary for this film. They were just plain cool and hard core, especially the plane escape at the start and the collapse of the football field as poor Hines Ward is returning the kickoff.  Wally Pfister's cinematography is fantastic, allowing the architecture and vibe of Pittsburgh to shine through just like Chicago in the first two.

Image from Ron Phillips

As far as acting. we of course, got the goods from Christian, Morgan, Michael and Gary. They delivered their usual outstanding performances, though I found myself wanting a little more screen time with Lucius. However, Anne Hathaway blew me out of the water as Selina Kyle aka Cat Woman. Holy smokes did she deliver for the ladies and completely erase that rubber-suited slut bag performance by Halle Berry. She was smart, tough, and fast on her feet...In a word, badass. I'm sorry I ever doubted her because she needs her own movie right now. And there was my lovely Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the honest, eager cop John Blake. What a raw, earnest performance. He was a real hero, right up there with Batman. Tom Hardy gave a Herculean effort as Bane, he was scary, enigmatic and brilliant. Did not match the psychosis of Heath Ledger as The Joker, but he was terrifying. And for the critics who kept complaining that Bane and Batman were indecipherable, what movie were you watching? I understood every syllable they uttered. When a movie is this good, though, they need to nit pick.

Nolan totally pulled out all the stops on The Dark Knight Rises. It is an impressive, high-octane, grim action flick that delivers in every way. Is it better than The Dark Knight? No. The story this time was less about Batman and more about drawing closure. In that regard it's like the other third films in the great trilogies out there where the second film is always the best. Empire Strikes Back is better than Return of the Jedi and The Two Towers is better than Return of the King...You get the picture. This is a stellar conclusion to an epic trilogy, though,  and I can't wait to see it again. And again.




SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW MY THEORY ABOUT THE END, DO NOT READ, EXIT THIS TRAIN...




The end has many people agog, believing that what Alfred sees at the end is truth because well, the whole autopilot thing. And you know that Nolan loves to mess with our minds and keep us guessing. However, I don't think so. It is an illusion, a dream of Alfred's like the others . Bruce is dead. D-E-A-D. And not metaphorically, either. Why? Well, he's been basically on suicide watch since his parents were killed, but most especially since Rachel. Wayne has never been a happy man, it's not in his DNA. The only thing that gave him purpose was vengeance and that has been eating away at him. He's tired.

Furthermore, Bruce/Batman was stabbed mortally by Miranda aka Talia al Ghul. I thought the Batsuit was supposed to stop knives, but we all saw it go in and her twist it. So yeah, he's bleeding out. He got up, though, and pulled it together adrenaline style one last time for Gotham, like Maximus did for Rome in Gladiator. .Miranda's "keep him alive" was akin to Commodus' "bind him, so no one sees the wound."Anything else would be poor contrivance on the part of the writers and lessons the overall impact. The entire trilogy was geared towards the death of Batman. The Dark Knight had to die for a new one to rise to take his place. Bruce Wayne and his Batman are ash city with no happily ever after. Go ahead and call me brutal, say I'm wrong, but that's what I choose to believe. Some characters, like some people just don't get that happily ever after. They were born to pain and darkness. Period. End of story. It's the way the world works. Then again, there's always reincarnation...

First Look: Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

Check it out...Another first look to tease us. It's Anne Hathaway as the iconic Catwoman from probably the most anticipated sequel since Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight Rises. Here she is

Superman Man Of Steel: John Williams Famous Score Still an Option

Last week it was reported that Hans Zimmer, composer of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, was given the task to score the new Superman reboot. However at last nights Inception DVD/Blue ray release he has quoted quite the opposite.

Dark Knight Sequel Update: An Inception reunion on the cards? Tom Hardy Cast!

The Dark Knight Sequel is now most certainly gathering momentum, Deadline.com is reporting that Warner Brothers and Director Christopher Nolan have signed Tom Hardy for an unspecified role in the upcoming sequel.

October Updates: Superman Reboot, Dark Knight Sequel and Scream 4!

Below are updates to my previous posts with new gossip on the Superman Reboot, the Dark Knight sequel and Scream 4

Superman: Man Of Steel

New Superman Director Zack Snyder

What was once expected to be Jonathan Nolan’s directional debut, the Superman movie reboot has Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen and 300, now confirmed as helming the project. He was Warner Brothers and Christopher Nolan’s (who is godfathering/producing the movie) top choice for the upcoming massively anticipated project and was originally attached to Superman Returns before Bryan Singer took over. Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer are writing the script to which Zack Snyder had apparently immediately fallen in love with.

Superman - Christopher Nolan Reboot 2012

It is now very well known that Christopher Nolan, the man who brought us Batman back to the big screens in a way we all loved and respected is now helming a new Superman movie reboot. Nolan will be ‘godfathering’ the movie (no doubt producing) in what is expected to be his brother, Jonathan Nolan, first Directing debut.
While fans are elated that Superman will be getting the ‘Dark Knight treatment’, the main question that surrounds the reboot is just who will now play the Man Of Steel?

Nolan's Third and FINAL Batman...The Dark Knight Sequel

Christopher Nolan will bring his final Batman outing to the big screen sometime in July 2012. Nolan, who has rebooted the Batman franchise after the mess Joel Schumacher made with it in 1997 (Batman & Robin), has stated that the Dark Knight sequel will finish off his vision of the iconic DC character in this third outing.