Official Movie Review Thread

For the talkin' of jibba jabba.
User avatar
Siege
Site Admin
Posts: 2563
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:03 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Siege »

Peregrin wrote:Very Japanese? It's actually South Korean... ;)
Bah, details!
I know this might seem nitpicky, but the TV news the protagonist watches in the cell that's used to show the passage of time deal mostly with events in Korea so that should be very obvious.
I'm sorry, what? There's a bunch of scenes from North Korea if that is what you mean, but that doesn't clue me personally in to the fact that "this is Korea". Admittedly though, my West-centric ass is far from an expert on East-Asian culture (a fact Ford will gladly attest to...)
"Nick Fury. Old-school cold warrior. The original black ops hardcase. Long before I stepped off a C-130 at Da Nang, Fury and his team had set fire to half of Asia." - Frank Castle

For, now De Ruyter's topsails
Off naked Chatham show,
We dare not meet him with our fleet -
And this the Dutchmen know!
User avatar
Malchus
Posts: 1257
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 7:05 am
Location: In a chibi-land, eating the brains of H. P. Wuvcwaft.
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Malchus »

SiegeTank wrote:A brief mention not of movies but of TV, hot damn if the presenter of the Discovery show Future Weapons isn't the epitome of wanker. I mean, you're making a show about high-tech weaponry, right? This is a pretty damned awesome subject, right? So, seriously, how do they manage to fuck it up so much? You're literally out there filming grenade machine guns, Apache Longbows, Spooky gunships and other weaponry blow shit up. Just capturing it on film should guarantee awesome. But it doesn't, because of the presenter, who can't stop reminding us that he was a Green Beret (or something) and who fawns over each weapon he talks about with phrases like "these guys got exactly what they deserved". I mean fuck, dude. I don't have much sympathy for the bastards of this world either, but that doesn't mean you have to fap to their being torn apart with a .50cal...

Such a pity. I can only dream about a series of Future Weapons presented by Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame. Now that would have been fun to watch.
That's actually what killed any excitement in Future Weapons for me. It sounded too much like modern propaganda + fanboy. I like the shows which detail both the advatages and disadvatages in the weapons technology they're trying to show off better that the monotonous "fap fap fap" background noise of Future Weapons.

Although, the Future Weapons with Mike Rowe idea sounds absolutely awesome. Then again, just imagining his dry, self-depreciating wit narrating pretty much anything would guarantee a viewrship from me.
Image
I admire the man, he has a high tolerance for insanity (and inanity - which he generously contributed!). ~Shroom, on my wierdness tolerance.
User avatar
Shroom Man 777
Global Mod
Posts: 4637
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

At least those Top Ten Tanks feature on Discovery Channel had the decency to put the T-34 in #1. Does that Future Weapons show advertise any guns not made by Americans, rocket-launching Swedes (and other West Europeans), and extremely-killy Zionists? Like, I dunno, Russian weapons?

Oh, I know they also feature guns made by Apartheid South Africans, so yeah :mrgreen:
Image

"Sometimes Shroomy I wonder if your imagination actually counts as some sort of war crime." - FROD
Mobius 1
Global Mod
Posts: 1099
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 11:40 pm
Location: Orlando, FL

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Mobius 1 »

I've been plumbing Future Weapons for years. It's one of my favorite nonfiction shows, if it could update its ass at any rate.
SHADOW TEMPEST BLACK || STB2: MIDNIGHT PARADOX
The day our skys fe||, the heavens split to create new skies.
User avatar
Heretic
Posts: 1750
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 4:45 pm
Location: IN AMERICA

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Heretic »

Watched Jesus Camp, and I suffocated. Religion is fine and all, but this fundi-political stuff just made me barf. Thankfully, all religions aren't like this, or else I would've turned into an atheist in no time. One thing I hate more than hypocritical liberals are crazy Fundie Conservatives who use children to get their message across, just like Islamofascists. Ughh.

If Bush didn't help fight the war on terror, I would slap him upside the head.

Good news is, I always wanted to fight against Fundamentals, but as my left eye is bugged out,I can't join the military and head for war. At least I can fight these guys and de-brainwash them :P
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
-Joseph Campbell
Mobius 1
Global Mod
Posts: 1099
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 11:40 pm
Location: Orlando, FL

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Mobius 1 »

Hokay, let's see.

Wanted. Or 'Akshun, the Movie'. Let's just say it's immensely better than the comic book. Which sucked. The characters are a tiny bit more sympathetic, and the twist in the middle bowled me over. As someone who read the original, I was expecting the dad to show up... but not like that. Well done. However, Fox's decision at the end had me leaving the theater with a sour taste in my mouth, even after the awesome through the cars, through the jelly doughnuts, through the train cars, through the Red Bull sniper shot, and Morgan Freeman saying (the best line ever) "Otherwise, shoot this motherfucker!". Almost a perfect good time.

Hellboy 2. What can I say. I loved the original, with one of the best villains ever- the ninja clockwork zombine nazi ninja. While the elf prince is more of a tragic character with a sympathetic motive, he has some truly kickass choreography with his swordspearthing (some might call it wanked Matrix-fu, I can it Akshun :) ). However, from the Wink fight to the Nuada infiltration, the movie truly dragged. The Wink fight was punch/punch/then punch with a painfully obvious ending, and the earth elemental set piece was rather meh. And the supernatural was everywhere, man. While the Troll Market was just about Mos Eisely-ish, having a random troll walking the Irish countryside killed it for me, and the Angel of Death/evil spear head was superfluous.

That said, Johann Kraus stole the bloody show. His fight with Hellboy- involving communal lockers- was the best part of the movie, and him possessing one of the Golden Army robots was just plain cool. I was thinking to myself, 4900 clockwork robots that can be taken out by a large revolver (I love how the screen shook each time it was fired) aren't that much of a problem, right up until they put themselves back together again. I gulped. However, Abe's love subplot and the death of Nuada/Nualla was rather lame. However, Abe and Liz being useful and confident and in the action was excellent, considering how much they stood around in the first. Still a bit fun, just not as good as the original.

Now, Batmang: the Gotham Knight, which I literally just finished. I liked it, considering how much a despise the Animatrix. I really rather didn't like the first short, but the second, fifth, and sixth blew me away. No really eye catching moments until the beginning of the action in the sixth story, the one with Deadshot. The assassin takes a shot on Jim Gordon from a moving train, and Batman flies in, and punches the motherfucking bullet out of the air. I sat up and went "Holy crap" when that happened. Holy crap.

Each of these movies are a good four out of five. Not perfect entertainment, but all fun summer movies. See them when you get the chance. Me, I'm putting my money on The Dark Knight. Not on Ironman, not on Indy. Not TDK. This movie had better rock my socks, and, fortunately, it looks like it will do just that.
SHADOW TEMPEST BLACK || STB2: MIDNIGHT PARADOX
The day our skys fe||, the heavens split to create new skies.
User avatar
Booted Vulture
Posts: 965
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 9:33 pm

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Booted Vulture »

Just watched Collateral wherein amiable Taxi Driver Jaime Foxx is unwittingly hire by assassin Tom Cruise to drive him around on a kill crazy rampage. Although quite tense, with some nice, nearly realistic action scenes, It never really struck home with me. Cruise's assassin is weird in that he occasionally seems to be helping Foxx out or making him do things for seemingly moral reasons while still being a ruthless killer.

By the end of the film, the CIA thinks Fox is the assassin, the only police man who thinks different is dead and Fox kills Cruise. They stand either side of a door and unload mags at each other. Foxx is completely untouced by this barrage, while Cruise takes a single wound. These guys were standing right next to each and couldn't even mange to hit the target. Unbelievable.

Also Jason Statham bumps into Tom Cruise at the beginning of the film, never to be seen again. I never got what the point of that was.
Ah Brother! It's been too long!
User avatar
Siege
Site Admin
Posts: 2563
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:03 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Siege »

Booted Vulture wrote:These guys were standing right next to each and couldn't even mange to hit the target. Unbelievable.
They had by that point had a very long night, both had gone through a rather cataclysmic car crash, were wounded, and had been running for quite some time. Plus they were firing through glass and steel. I'm willing to chalk the miraculous survival of Fox and the death of Cruise up to sheer luck, but the circumstances definitely helped.
Also Jason Statham bumps into Tom Cruise at the beginning of the film, never to be seen again. I never got what the point of that was.
To add more AWESOME to the film, of course. PS: they switch briefcases, so Statham slips him his targets etc.
"Nick Fury. Old-school cold warrior. The original black ops hardcase. Long before I stepped off a C-130 at Da Nang, Fury and his team had set fire to half of Asia." - Frank Castle

For, now De Ruyter's topsails
Off naked Chatham show,
We dare not meet him with our fleet -
And this the Dutchmen know!
User avatar
Booted Vulture
Posts: 965
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 9:33 pm

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Booted Vulture »

SiegeTank wrote:
Also Jason Statham bumps into Tom Cruise at the beginning of the film, never to be seen again. I never got what the point of that was.
To add more AWESOME to the film, of course. PS: they switch briefcases, so Statham slips him his targets etc.
Yeah, I figured that out, in the middle of last night, while trying to sleep. I think's Statham's marvellously over-the-top cockney accent was distracting me at the time.
Ah Brother! It's been too long!
User avatar
Shroom Man 777
Global Mod
Posts: 4637
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

I thought Collateral was totally hot shit mang!
Image

"Sometimes Shroomy I wonder if your imagination actually counts as some sort of war crime." - FROD
User avatar
Vagrant Orpheus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 5:59 pm
Location: Looking for Tim. WHERE'S TIM, GODDAMN YOU?!

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Vagrant Orpheus »

So Ford and I just went and watched The Dark Knight. And to me at least, it was pretty damn good. I enjoyed it all, the action, the pacing, the dialogue, though there were a very few moments where the dialogue or timing may have seemed ever so slightly off to me. Batman is as badass as ever, and he gets a few nifty new devices for this film, including an armour upgrade (and an excellent snipe at the latex costumes of the Burton/Schumacher Batmen), a CIA-style skyhook and an awesome sonar device. While Ford and my other friends may have found the device a bit ridiculous and impossible, I think it merely accentuated the awesomeness of Batman, because only someone as rich and badass as Bruce Wayne could manage something even vaguely similar to the device. Plus it's a comic-book movie, I expect a few gadgets that are a bit beyond the scope of realism.

The Joker is goddamn awesome, I might add. Ledger does an awesome role in his final complete film, and completely captures the Joker as he should be, in my mind. The origin story is satisfying, the sheer psychotic nature is awesome, and basically, the Joker is pretty damn perfect as a foil for Batman in this movie. In addition, his little lessons that start to become known as the movie progresses really fit him, and I'm glad to say that the influence from The Killing Joke is quite noticable. There are other references as well to a variety of things that I enjoyed, and I must say, the movie reminded me a little of the No Man's Land arc that's recently concluded in the Batman comics, and I kind of hope that this facet carries through to the final film of the trilogy, though I now worry for the villains of the final film, since I really doubt any villain will be able to match The Joker any more.

Overall, it's the top movie of the year for me, and definitely a recommended viewing for any fans.
Image
User avatar
Booted Vulture
Posts: 965
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 9:33 pm

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Booted Vulture »

Who says its going to be a trilogy? I'd assumed that DC was going to keep making them until people stopped watching them.
Ah Brother! It's been too long!
User avatar
Malchus
Posts: 1257
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 7:05 am
Location: In a chibi-land, eating the brains of H. P. Wuvcwaft.
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Malchus »

Booted Vulture wrote:Who says its going to be a trilogy? I'd assumed that DC was going to keep making them until people stopped watching them.
I just hope they don't descend into flashy, neon nipple suit madness like in the late 90s.
Image
I admire the man, he has a high tolerance for insanity (and inanity - which he generously contributed!). ~Shroom, on my wierdness tolerance.
User avatar
Shroom Man 777
Global Mod
Posts: 4637
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Batman & Robin was awesome.

As was Batman Forever.

Riddle me this... riddle me that. WHO IS BATMAN?!

I AM... BATMANG!!!!

Goddamn Jim Carrey!
Image

"Sometimes Shroomy I wonder if your imagination actually counts as some sort of war crime." - FROD
User avatar
Ford Prefect
Posts: 957
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 11:12 am

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Ford Prefect »

Vagrant Orpheus wrote:While Ford and my other friends may have found the device a bit ridiculous and impossible, I think it merely accentuated the awesomeness of Batman, because only someone as rich and badass as Bruce Wayne could manage something even vaguely similar to the device.
The thing was that it was just not satisfactorily introduced. It was foreshadowed, except the foreshadowing itself just didn't make any sense. I don't want to know how, but I would like to be able to say 'oh, yeah, that's fine'. You compared it to the Arc Reactor from Iron Man, and though it wasn't really plausible, it was much more satisfactorily introduced. It didn't basically come out of nowhere like the ridiculously accurate mobile phone array did. Mind you, this is basically my only complaint of note in regards to the film. On reflection, my initial niggle about the 'second climax' has been removed simply because I believed in Harvey Dent, and so everything bad that happened to him was pretty tragic, in my mind.
The Joker is goddamn awesome, I might add.
Totally. This is also my top film for the year; I prefer it even to Iron Man. This is fairly major because a) Iron Man is my favourite comic book character and Batman doesn't even rate for me and b) I was waiting for an Iron Man movie for ten years. Even outside of general films I've seen in the last year, this is probably my favourite, even compared to No Country For Old Men. It was just generally superbly written, and the actors gave generally great performances. Ledger and Eckhart especially.
The origin story is satisfying
I don't think he's really given one, to be honest. He tells that gangster one story about how he got his scares (Where his father gave them to him), then he tells Rachel a different version at the penthouse (Where he gave them to himself to cheer up his mother). I would probably guess they're something he made up in order to play his mindgames. I actually expected a third version at the climax, but Bruce cut him off.
FEEL THESE GUNS ARCHWIND THESE ARE THE GUNS OF THE FLESHY MESSIAH THE TOOLS OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION THAT WILL ENACT THE LAW OF MAN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
User avatar
Vagrant Orpheus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 5:59 pm
Location: Looking for Tim. WHERE'S TIM, GODDAMN YOU?!

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Vagrant Orpheus »

Yeah, Ford, that was my point, that the origin story was awesome precisely because he had no origin story. The Joker is an absolute in the movie, he is simply there, he does what he does, and that's it. We don't need motivations or any sort of crap like that, it's just the Joker being the Joker. I've known for ages there wouldn't be an origin story, because it was mentioned in an interview a while back. And I was pleased, because for me every attempt to explain the origin of the Joker is doomed to fail from the start.
Image
User avatar
Ford Prefect
Posts: 957
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 11:12 am

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Ford Prefect »

Oops, my bad. That's precisely one of the reasons why the Joker worked - his actual backstory could be summed up as 'hilarity ensues'.
FEEL THESE GUNS ARCHWIND THESE ARE THE GUNS OF THE FLESHY MESSIAH THE TOOLS OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION THAT WILL ENACT THE LAW OF MAN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
User avatar
Vagrant Orpheus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 5:59 pm
Location: Looking for Tim. WHERE'S TIM, GODDAMN YOU?!

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Vagrant Orpheus »

Actually, I do have two minor complaints. The first is Cillian Murphy's cameo as Scarecrow. Woefully underexplained and underutilised. I really liked Scarecrow in Begins, but now I'm not entirely sure exactly what happened with him in the end.

And also, Two-Face's suit. When Two-Face turned up in an impeccable suit I was like "Awesome, they're not going to do the lame dual-style suit thing"... and then a car exploded and guess which part of the suit conveniently got roasted into a slightly messy, reddish and painful looking suit of death? Yeah... that bit made me cringe inwardly a bit. I mean, if Dent had gone ahead and just torn the shit out of half of the suit and stained it and shit, I'd be okay with it, since that'd be a deliberate act and more reasonable, but yeah. Two-Face really doesn't get much time to shine in this film, which is disappointing, but considering the length of the film, it was going to be inevitable that unless his whole tale was going to be placed into the third film that Two-Face was going to have short screen time.

Oh yeah, the length. 2 hours 32 minutes. Some people seemed bothered by it. Considering how the film seemed to be in a constant state of climax from beginning til end, I didn't even notice that it was that long, except that I fully expected that Two-Face wouldn't make more than a single showing at the end of the film to reveal the next movie's villain, and was proved wrong.

Now I'm racking my brain, trying to think of who might be the other one or two villains in the next movie, but it's pretty hard. Nolan seems to have no interest in using other villains who've already been in Batman movies, which rules out Penguin, Catwoman, The Riddler, Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze. Which, in a way, is awesome. I'm trying to think of who'd be suitable, keeping in mind that the Dark Knight universe doesn't seem to suggest much in the way of actual super-powered beings.

Given the context of the end of The Dark Knight though, I've decided that the most reasonable bets are probably Hugo Strange, as depicted in the Prey arc, Hush or Deadshot, depending on the canonicity of Gotham Knight. Of course, given the way that the next movie (if there is going to be one) has been set up, I wouldn't be overly suprised at a lack of villains in general, but I will say this: I would love to see the Knightfall saga turned into a movie, with Azrael and Bane.
Image
User avatar
Invictus
Posts: 1306
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 11:44 pm

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Invictus »

Damn, now I have to see it.

In a similar vein...

Image
"This explanation posits that external observation leads to the collapse of the quantum wave function. This is another expression of reactionary idealism, and it's indeed the most brazen expression."
-
REBUILD OF COMIX STAGE 1 - Rey Quirino Versus the Dark Heart of the Philippines
"...a literary atrocity against the senses..." - Ford

REBUILD OF COMIX STAGE 2 - Advent Rey Returns: REVERGELTUNG
Coming NEVER
Mobius 1
Global Mod
Posts: 1099
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 11:40 pm
Location: Orlando, FL

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Mobius 1 »

Hokay, the Dark Knight. I'm a half hour out of theatre, so I'm a bit shaky. Ford hit the majority of it in his review on SDN, but I'll make my notes. Obviously, spoilers.

This is an Oscar-type movie in superhero clothes. There's a magical thing called acting in this movie, something we first got a taste of in Iron Man, but get full blast in TDK. The characters dominate without chewing scenery, especially Ledger. It's not hype, and it's not that he's dead. He deserves a straight full-on Best Actor award, not Supporting. He's, quite seriously, one of the best villains of all time. He's the force of the film, a hurricane that flies across it. He's got a lot of great lines, his talks on good and evil and anarchy are wonderful, and he fucks everyone over, for the entirety of the movie. And, besides. The pencil scene was the best part of the entire movie, hands down.

But let's not forget Aaron E., Two-Face, Harvey Dent. The White Knight. He's the supporting actor winner of this film, his preformance is pure strength. While, admittedly, the final scene in the burnt parking garage, the final stadoff with him and Batman and Gordon was rather disjointed, muddled, (even if it tied up the character arcs) and ultimately my only complaint about the movie, he was otherwise bloody good.

Alfred, of course, gets a helping of win for his action concerning Rachel's letter, for he knows that half the reason Batman chose Harvey over Rachel was that, if Gordon saved her, Bruce and Rachel would finally come together (The other reason, of course, being that Batman values Harvey over Rachel, a massive character moment for the Batman). Freeman is top game, and Oldman is effortless. While I despise the distorted voice of Bale when he's in the suit, he does it very well, even if he's not the main character, but just an equal part of the cast. And, of course, Maggie Gylenhaal is a massive step up over Katie Holmes.

Now for the scenes. The opening heist is effortless, but the scene with Loeb's funeral, where Gordon faked his death, was rather muddled on the part of Wayne, and his trip to the apartment, which wasn't really explained or possessing much sense. However, the true climax of the film, action wise, is the massive, massive chase in the middle. There are dozens of greats bit in there, from the great Batpod being part of the Tumbler (Man, I did not expect that, and was pleasantly surprised), to Batman not killing the Joker, and ramping his bike straight off the wall. The off-the-wall part, along with the pencil scene, was one of several 'oh, snap!' moments I said outloud in the theatre.

The good cop-bad cop joke brought a smile to my face, and the double jeopardy concerning Harvey and Rachel was quite the twist. Dent's rampage was muddled, and, IMO, needed more time to truly have an effect- even in a massive two and half hour movie, it was too compressed for Dent. The dual bombs on the ferries were quite the social experiment, and the crook tossing away the remote was another grin-inducing 'oh, snap!' moment. Now, obviously, the final showdown between the Joker and Batman was rather weak, but I expected that, with the cilmax of action being back in the street chase. I did enjoy Joker retelling his origin in different ways, and Batman cutting him off the third time with our obligatory akshun moment- even if he defies the old movie and saved the Joker.

Although that brings up a quandary, quite the quandary. Ledger is dead, and I believe, if his Joker character is not dead in the movie, there's nowhere you can really go from here. Nowhere. TDK, it goes without saying, is the best Batman movie in the series, but there's nowhere to go the top. Not with Ledger gone. Call me lame, but I like my villains (Dent doesn't count, I say he's not dead. Batman survived the same fall, why couldn't Dent have?) in comic book movies to die. Especially if they're good.

The cinematography runs on the same edge as Begins in that it's almost too jumpy, but this movie was a tab bit better in allowing you to follow it. Batman running through crowds of goons are always weak blurs of unfollowable motion (we get the point- well, I do. Batman's using stealth and surprise and is so fast he's not followable. I get the point. But I want to appreciate the fight itself, dammit, not the theme, if the theme has already been lain out). Nolan runs his best work in this movie, though (Even if the Prestige is absolute pure plot win) the most noticeable part is that he cut out all the lame sideshots that were so prevalent in Begins (Think the homeless guy saying 'Nice car!' to Gordon when he's in the Tumbler blowing up the bridge), and I appreciate that a lot. I've honestly never been on the edge of my seat in a movie, but this movie managed it several times, with the Rachel/Harvey dilemma, the dual boats, and Harvey's final scene.

So, The Dark Knight is a rare opprotunity for me. I'd value a well-done popcorn movie over a weighty Oscar drama anyday, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the greats, good preformances, and extremely-well done characterization and development. The Dark Knight is a rare achievement in that it combines a summer popcorn action franchise with excellent preformances, characterization, and development, as well as rather deep themes that are based in the characters and the genre itself. Themes like control and chaos, good and evil, Batman versus Bruce Wayne, the corruptibility of good all make their plays in TDK, and are played almost perfectly. Is it the best comic book movie around? Yes. It has something for everyone.

I placed my money on The Dark Knight to be my favorite movie of the year (because saying 'the best movie of the year' is rather pretentious), and I was right. It is.

So, who wants to see a magic trick. Watch, as I make this pencil disappear!

EDIT: I'll thank Wiki for explaining to me the final, final ending montage, and while I think the scene with Dent was meh, the ending did make sense.
Gordon laments the fact that all hope died with Harvey because he was the best among them. Batman and Gordon decide that the Joker would win if anyone found out about Dent's corruption and madness. In order to uphold Dent's vision, Batman convinces Gordon to blame all of Dent's murders on him. Batman returns to his status as an illegal vigilante to preserve Dent's image as Gotham's hero and give the city hope. As Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal, a manhunt is issued for Batman. Gordon's son asks why Batman is being pursued, as he has done nothing wrong, to which Gordon explains, "Because he's the real hero... a Dark Knight."
EDIT 2: I realize this completely destroys a hueg character moment for Batman, but what if the Joker purposefully gave Batman the opposite locations- the location he said house Dent was really Rachel, and vice versa?
SHADOW TEMPEST BLACK || STB2: MIDNIGHT PARADOX
The day our skys fe||, the heavens split to create new skies.
User avatar
Vagrant Orpheus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 5:59 pm
Location: Looking for Tim. WHERE'S TIM, GODDAMN YOU?!

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Vagrant Orpheus »

Glad to see you found it entertaining and satisfying. What were your thoughts on the sonar device? That seems to have been the only real complaint from many of my friends, but I didn't care about that at all, so I'm just curious.

I also find it curious to note that you also think that there's a chance that Joker switched the locations on Batman, since that had always been my impression, and that he'd gone to save Rachel. Ford and some of my other friends managed to convince me that I misheard who Batman was going to save, but still, the fact that you pointed that out makes me wonder.
Image
Mobius 1
Global Mod
Posts: 1099
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 11:40 pm
Location: Orlando, FL

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Mobius 1 »

I knew the device wasn't one bit realistic, but I honestly didn't find myself caring. Any theory for the question-raising dual bombs with Harvey and Rachel works. That the Joker switched, knowing that Batman would go for Rachel, and Gotham, no matter what, would see the White Knight Fall. But yeah, the oddest part is that Batman said he was going to save Rachel, but appeared at Dent's place. So either he lied and arranged the switch with Gordon off camera, or he got punked by the Joker.

Oh, and Dent grabbing the gun and punching out the crook in the introductory scene in the courtroom was pure badassery.
SHADOW TEMPEST BLACK || STB2: MIDNIGHT PARADOX
The day our skys fe||, the heavens split to create new skies.
User avatar
Shroom Man 777
Global Mod
Posts: 4637
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

At first, I also thought that Bats was going for Rachel. But did he say "I'm going to get Rachel" or did he say "You get Rachel" to Gordon? Hrm... what were those addresses the Joker told him?

HELL. Wiki says that the Joker switched the locations!


Everything that has to be said about this movie has been said. The ending part was the weakest, but overall.... mang! This movie was tense and tight! It wasn't a Hollywood Popcorn Akshun Flick, it probably doesn't even fall into the basic 'superhero movie' category. It's suspense, it's drama, it's character and plot driven. Goddamn!

I mean, stuff like Ironmang relies on the actor and character awesomeness and big arse explosions, which is totally cool.

But Batmang relies on grittier actor/character interactions, and more tense plot developments. It's more ambiguous, faster, tighter, harder. It's got suspense and it kept me on the edge of my seat, mang! And not just because of explosions or ass-beatings! Plot! Drama! Twists and turns! The movie never slows down!

Jim Gordon was the hero of the movie, mang :D

But, yeah. I loved it. I mean, Ironmang has the movie carried mostly by Robert Downey Jr.'s awesomeness. But in this one, it's an ensemble cast! They're all fucking great, and the dynamic works in an entirely different way. It's not just focusing on one centerpiece, no. There's so much shit happening that if you're slow, well, poor you =P

But that's not to say that Batmang does it like how the Pirates of the Caribbean movies did it. Since the later Pirates films weren't totally made out of win and had parts that did, in fact, fail.


I think the super-ultrasound device thing was wanked, but I didn't mind it. It does show to what lengths the Goddamn Batman's willing to do to do the stuff he has to do. Mang.

I need to watch it again. To digest it fully.


Goddamn Joker!

FUCK! This probably means we won't get a sequel... or will we?


I liked Cillian Murphy's cameo. That guy is totally awesome. And Batmen!

[Mang, the Joker was such a sociopath! Like, totally more horrible than Hannibal Lecter! What a psycho!]
Image

"Sometimes Shroomy I wonder if your imagination actually counts as some sort of war crime." - FROD
User avatar
Magister Militum
Posts: 921
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 8:01 pm
Location: California

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by Magister Militum »

Yeah, I can't really say anything else that hasn't already been said about The Dark Knight except that this was easily the best superhero film that has been made, and one of the best films I have seen. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I plan on seeing it again just to be able to fully absorb the more subtle elements of the film.

Oh, and about the whole Harvey/Dawes switchup, Batman clearly said that he was going to rescue Dawes, not Dent, which is reinforced by the fact that Gordon's reaction to the warehouse blowing up is that of seeing the last hope for Gotham disintegrating, which is what Gordon would have assumed. As such, this leaves two possibilities; either the Joker lied to Batman and he was unaware of that, or Batman assumed the Joker would lie to him and thus went to the warehouse where Dawes was supposed to be in order to save Dent. As to which of the two theories is correct depends on whether you believe that Batman was willing to sacrifice the love of his life in order to save the life of Gotham's white knight. Of course, that still doesn't explain the potential goof-up of who Batman says he's going to save. It's possible that Batman lied to Gordon (but why?), or it could have been an error or some sort.
Democratic Socialist | Atheist | Transhumanist | Bright Green Environmentalist | Worldbuilder | IT Professional |


Germania your game is through, now you're gonna answer to... The Freestates! Fuck Yeah! Now lick my balls and suck on my cock! Freestates, Fuck Yeah! Coming in to save the motherfuckin' day! Rock and roll, fuck yeah! Television, fuck yeah! DVDs, fuck yeah! Militums, fuck yeah! - Shroomy
User avatar
speaker-to-trolls
Posts: 766
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 12:34 am
Location: The World of Men

Re: Official Movie Review Thread

Post by speaker-to-trolls »

Well, the last movie I saw was Prince Caspian, which I thought was actually rather good. I haven't seen the first one and I didn't read the Narnia books as a child, so I don't really have anything to compare it to, which is good. Plot in one sentence: Evil conquistadores conquer Narnia, true heir to the throne displaced by evil uncle, English schoolkids summoned by magic horn assist true heir along with army of monsters and beastmen but still require Panthera Theo Liam Neeson to bail them out, kids go home, true heir assumes throne, all right with the world. A long sentence, admittedly, but I count a sentence as being acceptable if it's 3 lines or less.

The film's clearly been changed from the book, which is good because it makes for it being more dramatic and add slightly more adult touches, though not enough to be obnoxious or look like it's trying to be something it isn't. For example I can't imagine the book contained the kind of glimpses into the political intrigue of the Telmarine court, and apparently has all the good guys working together perfectly whereas the movies friction between Caspian and Peter (leader of the English schoolkids in the last film and king of Narnia for decades in fairy-time) actually makes much more sense. Also includes a cool (though stupid) midnight assault on the Telmarine castle which is not in the book, but is cool, and unlike the stupid battle in The Golden Compass the stupidity does not counteract the coolness ('set your daemon on her, o noes! a GODDAMN POLAR BEAR and an army of gypsies has appeared out of nowhere! How surprising!').

OK, that wasn't a very good review, but the point is I liked it, for one thing I think that it's cool to see a fantasy story which has really strange fantastic elements, like talking animals and an army of trees that look less like ents than something out of an HP Lovecraft story. I mean I know everyone says this, but it's so tedious to read fantasy stuff on the internet (I'm very picky about what books I buy these days) and just see page after page of 'human kingdoms, dwarves, elves, orcs and various evil guys, magic drawn from invisible energy field or something, vaguely hellenic pantheon with catholic style priesthood, undead somewhere, grand malevolent force half way between medieval demons and Moorecockian Chaos. OK, that's everything'. It sounds weird to describe Narnia of all things as a breath of fresh air, but that's how it felt, plus it's just fun to watch because it is, despite the glances into more adult things, a fairly simple childrens story of going into a fantasy world and sorting out its problems through a high stakes adventure (incidentally, travelling into a fantasy world turns posh public school kids into medieval killing machines, I dread to think what would happen to the fantasylanders if a bunch of modern chavs made the crossover).

I once saw a man on a forum suggest the Goledn Compass movie poster show Iorek Byrnisson bumming Aslan to show which franchise is superior, but from where I'm standing, having seen Golden Compass and Prince Caspian, I think Panthera Theo is coming out on top (just in terms of the franchise, mind you, Iorek Byrnisson personally is still better than Aslan).

PS: It's weird that the Telmarine army copied the Immortal facemasks from 300 when the evil usurper king is the spitting image of King Leonidas.
"Little monuments may be completed by their first architects, but great ones; true ones leave their copestones to posterity. God keep me from completing anything."
Post Reply