The First Catwoman: Julie Newmar

In light of the smash hit The Dark Knight Rises and Anne Hathaway as the newest incarnation of the villainous Catwoman, I thought you all might a like stroll down memory lane with the elegant Julie Newmar, who first portrayed Catwoman on the old Batman television series from 1966-68. Here she is with Michael Yo, giving us some insights into working with Adam West and what she thinks of the new Nolan films.

I adored Julie as well as the equally marvelous Eartha Kitt. They both embodied the slinky, sexy gracefulness of Catwoman as she was originally imagined.

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...

411 November Update

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

More Superhero Hype

Though this year is in no way short of some great comic book action spilling out onto the screen with the likes of Green Lantern, X-Men First Class, Captain America and Thor, still 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the Superhero movie.
We will see the initially not so welcomed reboot of the Spider-man movie franchise , another attempt at bringing Superman to our big screens that works with this generation, and maybe the most anticipated superhero sequel of them all - The Dark Knight Rises.

Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane…No, it’s Henry Cavill!

The 28 year old British actor Henry Cavill who’s mostly know for his co-starring role in Tudors was confirmed as the new Man Of Steel yesterday.

Cavill is one of the present rising stars in Hollywood and had been linked to the roles of Batman, James Bond and a previous version of Superman earlier in his career.
But now he has finally bagged the title role of Clark Kent/Superman in Zack Snyder’s 2012 reboot of the franchise and the news is already getting a big thumbs up by fans.

Catwoman and Bane announced as the Villains in The Dark Knight Rises

Today Christopher Nolan reveals two major announcements on the upcoming Dark Knight Rises set to be released in July 2012. After months of speculation weather Anne Hathaway will join the cast of the new film, today’s announcement reveals that she has indeed signed for the role of Selina Kyle, who’s alter ego is non other than Catwomen, a role made famous by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns (1992). Tom Hardy’s character has also finally been revealed, he will play Bane one of Batman’s most formidable rogues best know for breaking Batman’s back in the comics.

Superhero Gossip Corner/ November

2012 is shaping up to be the year of the Superhero movies. Superman: Man Of Steel, the sequel to The Dark Knight, the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise and a much anticipated Avengers movie, all set to be released in the summer of that year.

With all films set to start shooting next year, gossip and internet rumours are spreading thick and fast. Here’s some recent gossip surrounding some of them movies....